Perusing international press to see how they describe Sunday’s Chief Executive ‘election’. More than in the past, they tend to acknowledge that there is something shady about the process. Probably something to do with a poll where the sole candidate wins 99.2% of the vote after heading a committee that screened the ‘voters’.
Still, many lazily/naively imply in their reports that 1,461 ‘elites’ made some sort of active decision – when a box of dung beetles would have performed the task just as well.
Among better stories, Politico introduces Beijing’s ‘new enforcer’ in Hong Kong, and in Vice academic Steve Tsang says…
“Beijing clearly does not bother to pretend that this is an election in any sense of the word.”
Academic John Burns has some interesting comments about how not having political skills seems to be a requirement for Hong Kong CE.
CNBC quotes lawmaker Michael Tien as admitting that Hong Kong now has a Mainland-style voting format, and David Dodwell (author of incessant dull SCMP business columns) as saying it’s ‘a big stretch to describe Hong Kong’s vote as a genuine election’. A roundup from HKFP.
Or you could try a wackier offering from the SCMP…
As Lee marks the third devout Catholic out of five Hong Kong leaders since 1997 … the pious could almost be forgiven for believing that everything that has happened in our city in the past 25 years was designed by God to test the will, endurance and faith of Hongkongers.
Unpatriotic Hongkongers who do not wish to be part of China’s new Hong Kong are embarking on an exodus. The mass arrests of 53 pro-democracy activists in January 2021 for subversion, after they held a primary election in July 2020 – two weeks after China’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong – were a sign of God’s wrath.
(I assume this is clever satire. Right?)
Back to business as usual…
HKFP op-ed on the amount of time prosecutors are taking in political cases.
The Court of Final Appeal registrar denies Samuel Bickett an appeal hearing.
And in the Mainland, a journalist gets seven months [link fixed] in prison for pointing out that a fantasy-propaganda movie about China’s soldiers in the Korean War was stupid.
Speaking of seditious words, that appalling attempt at satire ought to be an offence under the National Security Law.
it took 25 years, but in the end CCP succeeded in returning HK administration status to 1992 and clearing all of Patten’s reforms. It’s not they never said they wanted to do that.
The next CE will be appointed directly, just like the previous colonial administrator were, and will probably be a mainlander
“(I assume this is clever satire. Right?)”
Has to be. Author studied the Irish constitution and natural law.
“A race of one pre-selected man against himself, whose only voters are a handful of ultra loyalists, whose rallies no one was allowed to attend.”
And YET…he did not secure 100%. What a fucking LOSER.
Seven months link goes to wrong tweet
Given that everyone accepts it was a sham ‘election’ has anyone asked where the millions of totally unnecessary campaign funds went? Maybe we should ask the ICAC to investigate??….. OK, i’ll get my coat…
On any level, straight or satire, the Phil C W Chan article is a good summary.
Wonder if this is the came Phil CW Chan?
https://isdp.eu/publication/hong-kongs-summer-of-rage/
If so what a volte face.
On the topic of volte face, I didnt think I would ever see Tedros getting censored on the mainland for saying that Zero Covid isn’t a good idea.
I think that given
a) Hong Kong’s current political situation;
b) Marshall McLuhan’s maxim “the medium is the message”; and
c) The level of confusion displayed here
We can only honestly conclude that Phil Chan’s SCMP Op Ed is definitely not satire, even if he intended it to be.
@BongBong
You don’t get it!
You see, the (patented, right?) democracy with Hong Kong Characteristics is a true democracy. Dissenting votes are even ordered! So, you never have 100% because that would look like a rigged vote. Right?