HK And Macau Affairs Office boss Xia Baolong issues fierce-sounding warnings against ‘anti-China forces’ and anyone who ‘dares challenge the bottom-line of One Country, Two Systems’. Pro-Beijing figures Tam Yiu-chung and Regina Ip clarify that this doesn’t apply to all democrats, but just those who collude with foreign forces. But…
“The central government has emphasized time and time again that patriots must rule Hong Kong. If the Democratic Party wishes to reenter the legislature and be involved in governance, they must be able to adhere to this gold standard. The central government does not have an obligation to accommodate differences in opinion,” [Ip] said.
(Love that perhaps-unintentionally candid last sentence.)
This overlooks a couple of details. First is that most of the once-elected pan-dem politicians are in jail. Second is that, under a one-party system, genuine involvement in ‘governance’ or ‘politics’ is off-limits to all but a small group of self-selected power-holders behind closed doors in Beijing. Even the local Hong Kong officials they appoint are kept on a tight rein, and others allowed into the Legislative and Executive Councils perform only a ceremonial role.
Some mid-week links…
Good thread on Xi Jinping’s recently renewed claim that Uighurs and other ethnic minorities are all part of one ‘Chinese’ bloodline. How does this idea deal with the fact that huge numbers of people outside the PRC’s borders have cultures, languages and even genetics that match those of ‘Chinese’ Uighurs, Kazakhs, Mongolians, Koreans, etc? Or don’t we want to know?
From the Guardian, Jackie Chan’s latest ‘best possible taste’ (yet another ‘wolf warrior’) movie, using a war-devastated Syrian city as a location. Hey – you want a realistic set, right?
The BBC with more on MI5’s naming of Christine Lee as a Chinese agent…
Gardiner’s friend was about to be accused not of being a spy but something more hazy – an agent of influence carrying out “political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party”.
From CNN, an interesting personal and nostalgic account of the decline of Taiwan’s waishengren.
i was reading recently the history of the MI5, and one of the things that I learned from its pages was that in the early days, the team would often air the names of people who were minor players in the web of intrigue to see what they could flush out. seems a likely thing in this case with ms. lee
“The central government does not have an obligation to accommodate differences in opinion,” [Ip] said.”
Beautiful own goal by the Vag. But at least she’s staying relevant.
And as far as “Kneepads” Chan goes, the sooner he withers away in irrelevance the better. One can only suck so much for so long.
Koreans eat dogs, “Chinese” eat dogs. Why don’t Uighurs eat dogs??
The Democratic Party is the target of attacks by the state media in recent weeks. Looks like they won’t even allow a weakened pro-democracy party with no seat in the Legislative Council to exist.
Now where did we hear something like …….
“But the CCP is China, like China is the CCP”
Ah ya! Rudolf Hess, 1934
“CCP, Sieg Heil!”
From HKFP:
The monthly rent for Carrie Lam’s 2,874 square foot office above Pacific Place will be HK$377,000 as part of a three-year rental contract.
Questions:
Why does she need nearly 2,900 sq ft as soemone who has already stated that she will not be contributing to HK affairs in future?
OR
1. Does she need it to store all the cash she has and will continue to rake in?
OR
2. As she claims that she cannot afford to buy a flat in HK, will she be using it as living space when not at the “family home” in the mainland?
AND
How many staff will she be employing to justify the space and to suck at the taxpayer’s teat?
All this “Chinese bloodline” stuff is uncomfortably reminiscent of Hitler’s “pure Aryan race” fantasies – and of course equally unsupported by science.
wmjp – Taking up office space in a building owned by Swire seems to be very unpatriotic and a national security risk to me.
@wmjp: It’s definitely not like she’ll be hosting visiting dignitaries/foreign meddlers that go to hear her little nuggets of wisdom on how to effectively rule, deal with adversity and win hearts & minds.
@wmjp Interesting to see a landlord violating US sanctions on top of that.
“The central government does not have an obligation to accommodate differences in opinion,” [Ip] said.”
Perfect admission by this cunt that promises written into the Basic Law mean jack shit,
While William Han seemed to be well versed in his ancient history, he kind of jumped over the White Terror and 38 years of martial law in Taiwan. Maybe grandpa forgot to tell him about that.
Is the recently reported invite for Xinning the Poo to meet with European leaders after his re-coronation not colluding with foreign forces? We should be told if he has transgressed the NSL!
@justsayin
While William Han seemed to be well versed in his ancient history, he kind of jumped over the White Terror and 38 years of martial law in Taiwan.
He also disregarded the fact, on his own admission, that the incomers were only 12% of the population. Minority Rules OK.
@casira
I think they get round that because it is rented by the administration not She Who Fails. On the other hand, that should mean the HK administration as a body is sanction busting as well as Swire.
From RTHK:
The government has promised to put young people at the forefront of policymaking, with a revamped Home Affairs Bureau also including youth policies in its purview.
As the new bureau’s top official, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak says young people must be given opportunities to pursue their dreams and succeed.
As long as they love the country and swear undying allegiance to the CCP.
@wmjp When you put it that way, there are some parallels between the ‘Minority Rules’ era Taiwan and Apartheid South Africa