Last pain-in-the-ass PCR tests done…

Life finally returns to normal. In other words, another week of government-by-patriots-only. Or is it government-by-bivalve-molluscs-only? Hard to tell.

A veteran Hong Kong journalist does a better-than-average summary of the city’s plight…

Hong Kong is on a losing spree.

The first thing I saw after walking out of my quarantine hotel last week was a long line of people clutching flowers outside the British consulate. As I watched, a police van drove past, and a cop in the front passenger seat seemed to be adjusting a device that looked like a hand-held radar gun, but I guessed was a heavy-duty video camera. I vaguely assumed the cops were filming the mourners. Hundreds were still turning up last night, when – inevitably – Glory to Hong Kong broke out. One harmonica-player arrested.

Lausann Collective joins all the other peeved tankies in telling the Hong Kong public what they should feel and do. Another delusional rant here, if you must. HKFP does a better job explaining the apparent outpouring of grief for the Queen in the former colony…

“It has been a long time since I have taken part in an event in a public place with people who, I think, share some of my ideals.”

Both articles mention the cliche-fact that ‘the British never gave Hong Kong democracy’. Might be worth recalling that the UK gave dozens of colonies self-government in the 1950s-70s, and Britain had no reason in principle not to do the same here. The difference was that Beijing made it clear from back in the late 50s that any such move would be unacceptable. It was the CCP that forbade democracy in Hong Kong, then as now.

(While we’re at it, it was also Beijing that insisted on tight land-supply in the late 80s-90s, culminating in the property bubble and crash in 1998-2003. Donald Tsang got his knuckles rapped for pointing this out when he was Financial Secretary under Tung Chee-hwa. Mainland officials’ less-than-convincing argument had been that the Brits might run away with the money if they sold more land. As with refusal to allow representative government, a perpetual property bubble has been fixed policy since the handover.)

The next NatSec show commences. The HKJA’s Ronson Chan is charged with obstructing police, and Al Jazeera on why Cardinal Zen (along with Margaret Ng, Denise Ho, et al) is on trial

“The Chinese government wants to cut off all forms of organizing and solidarity that run outside of the Communist Party’s control in Hong Kong,” William Nee, research and advocacy coordinator at Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said…

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12 Responses to Last pain-in-the-ass PCR tests done…

  1. Low Profile says:

    You have to wonder what planet this Keawe Wong is living on. I don’t believe any HK school has ever taught that “Japan used military force to liberate China” – in fact, most western countries fought on the same side as China against Japanese aggression.

  2. Mark Bradley says:

    “You have to wonder what planet this Keawe Wong is living on. I don’t believe any HK school has ever taught that “Japan used military force to liberate China” – in fact, most western countries fought on the same side as China against Japanese aggression.”

    He is quick to block if you challenge him on his delusions.

    Also I advised all blue ribbon families in that thread who claimed “their nephew” or “their brother in law’s sister’s daughter” received CIA money to immediately contact the NSL police or they are committing a crime themselves.

    One halfwit took the bait claimed it’s not required to report them under NSL and was immediately proven wrong: https://twitter.com/windteller/status/1572093513927467008?s=21&t=YEWxUIoS-pNfFSrbmFhKtQ

    Blue ribbons really do have shit for brains. They don’t understand NSL, just blindly support without turning on brain.

  3. HK-Cynic says:

    I’m sure some patriot has reported Mr. Wong to the police for failing to disclose the fact that his nephew received payment from the CIA. Would be fun to see his reaction when the NSL cops show up at his door….

  4. steve says:

    Lausan Collective are not tankies, not remotely.

  5. dimuendo says:

    Steve

    Having used wikipedia (sorry) to ascertain what is mena by “tankie” and which I condense to being a [left wing] supporter of communism, please explain why Lausann Collective are not such. Or ar you simply saying jumping on the bandwagon that as UK did not introduce democracy to HK they are to be condemned? If so, I refer you to Hemlock’s comments.

  6. Stanley Lieber says:

    Who can doubt that Hong Kong would have democratically-elected representative government today if the massive pro-democracy marches experienced since 1997 had occurred under British rule rather than CCP rule?

    That such marches did not occur under British rule is an indicator of the overall contentment of the populace with the local administration at the time.

  7. Dr Zhivago says:

    “Both articles mention the cliche-fact that ‘the British never gave Hong Kong democracy’.”

    Agree with Hemlock very much.

    Prior to the handover (nearly) every adult Hong Konger was familiar with voting for District Elections. Voter turnout was high and competition continued well after the handover up to the NatSec axe.

    While Beijing banned universal suffrage for the executive level, both before and after the handover, Britain gave as much democracy at the administrative level as it could squeeze through.

  8. Sam Clemens says:

    @Low Profile

    Your comment on Mr. Wong’s crazy idea about “Japan liberating China” triggered my pet theory of a future Sino-Japanese conflict, to wit:

    The Japanese hold China in enduring contempt after Chinese men offered weak resistance to the Japanese invasion of China, and then the collaborationist government of Wang Jingwei looked the other way as the Japanese raped Chinese women, stole everything they wanted, and then walked out of China in 1945, untouched by Chinese arms.

    In my opinion, this unspoken but burning humiliation is well known to both sides and permeates their relations, and will one day demand a reckoning.

  9. Guest says:

    “It was the CCP that forbade democracy in Hong Kong, then as now.”

    Hong Kong’s elites are just as responsible as Beijing for the city’s lack of democracy.

  10. justsayin says:

    pain in the ass corona tests Hemmers? I am not sure what kind of tests they have you on in HK but for me they were more a pain in the nose…

  11. Stanley Lieber says:

    @Guest

    Their cowardly silence made them complicit, then as now.

  12. steve says:

    Diminuendo–

    Not quite right on the tankie definition. These are people who are utter diehard Communists who deny that post-1949 China or the Soviet Union (post-Soviet Russia gets awkwardly shoehorned into their trajectory) has ever committed an act of imperial aggression. They’re often all in on the Stalin revival, and you wouldn’t believe the excuses they come up with for his mass murders. Tankies defend–celebrate!–the steamrolling of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and their understanding of China appears to have terminated in 1965. These days, they’re defending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the CCP’s plans to assimilate Taiwan by force. And, of course, they attempt to justify the Party’s imperial/colonial crackdown in Hong Kong.

    The Lausan Collective supports none of this garbage. They stand against imperialism and colonialism of all kinds, from wherever it appears on the political spectrum. They’ve condemned the Russian war on Ukraine, US adventures in the Middle East, and CCP threats against Taiwan (as well as other imperialist adventures in Asia and elsewhere). And they’re vehemently opposed to the Party’s Hong Kong shitstorm.

    Lausan can sometimes be dogmatic, as with their partial misreading of Hongkongers’ motivations in commemorating Elizabeth–but much of their perspective there was brutally true, even if some people don’t want to hear it. And in general they’re fighting the good fight.

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