Police go after ‘non-factual’ cartoons

The suspension of kids at St Francis Xavier College for ‘disrespecting’ a flag-raising ceremony gets the school’s vice principal into trouble. She…

…broke down in tears at the meeting [with teachers] and she did not turn up in school yesterday morning, though she was spotted by students in the library in the afternoon.

What were the school administrators thinking? We can assume that they were petrified of repercussions – possibly prompted by informants’ leaks – for not disciplining the students, so they over-reacted to be safe.

On the subject of over-reaction, the thin-skinned cops complain at great length about a Zunzi cartoon in Ming Pao

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Public Relations) Joe Chan wrote that he feared the cartoon’s content could lead to misunderstanding among readers that the police would actually deploy staff to handle such matters

…it was possible that the illustration might mislead readers into thinking the school had reported the students accused of “disrespecting” the flag-raising ceremony to the police.

The cartoon was likely to place pressure or stress on the school’s headmaster, teachers and students, Chan said.

“The false descriptions in [the illustration] might make the public misunderstand police work. They not only damage the Force’s image, but also harm the cooperation between the police and the public, as well as our effectiveness on cracking down crimes,” Chan said.

The police force that arrests people for publishing cartoons of sheep or playing the harmonica is beyond criticism, let alone satire. Perhaps the funniest (or saddest) thing is the police PR boss’s insistence that editorial cartoons be ‘factual’. CY Leung joins in about the cartoon ‘smearing’ the police, of course. No wonder if, faced with the threat of denunciation, institutions like schools (or PayPal) fall over themselves in their attempts to appear obedient or loyal to the system?

Education bureaucrats – themselves nervous about displaying insufficient patriotism – must now draw up detailed guidelines on how schools should handle students who ‘disrespect’ the flag. You must take such transgressions seriously, but not too seriously, but then again quite seriously. 

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7 Responses to Police go after ‘non-factual’ cartoons

  1. Overhead Luggage says:

    “Hong Kong education authorities tell schools to handle students who misbehave during national flag-raising ceremonies in ‘fair’ manner”

    A year in prison is probably what they mean by “fair”.

  2. Chinese Netizen says:

    Assistant Commissioner of Police (Public Relations) Joe Chan wrote that he feared the cartoon’s content could incite rioting, insurrection, terrorism, bomb making and an overall bad attitude amongst the citizenry.

    But yes…I’m betting the Vice Principal was erring on the side of not getting her own ass charged with aiding and abetting if she allowed such lawlessness to go on.

  3. Chinese Netizen says:

    “They not only damage the Force’s image, but also harm the cooperation between the police and the public…”

    Sorry Joe, you all did that a long time ago…

  4. A Poor Man says:

    Unfortunately for the naughty students, the local National Security po po will share their names and identity information with their counterparts in the Mainland and Macao, and this will have long lasting repercussions.

  5. Strangely Brown says:

    Perhaps this is an apt time for the police force to sift through the Onion’s amicus brief – then promptly carry on regardless:

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/20221003125252896_35295545_1-22.10.03%20-%20Novak-Parma%20-%20Onion%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

  6. so says:

    54 F.R.D. 282
    ——
    UNITED STATES ex rel. Gerald MAYO
    v.
    SATAN AND HIS STAFF
    ——
    Misc. No. 5357
    United States District Court
    Western District of Pennsylvania
    Dec. 3, 1971
    Gerald Mayo, pro se.
    MEMORANDUM ORDER
    Weber, District Judge.
    Plaintiff, alleging jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 241, 28 U.S.C. § 1343, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 prays for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. He alleges that Satan has on numerous occasions caused plaintiff misery and unwarranted threats, against the will of the plaintiff, that Satan has placed deliberate obstacles in plaintiff’s path and has caused plaintiff’s downfall.
    Plaintiff alleges that by reason of these acts Satan has deprived him of his constitutional rights.
    We feel that the application to file and proceed in forma pauperis must be denied. Even if plaintiff’s complaint reveals a prima facie recital of the infringement of the civil rights of a citizen of the United States, the Court has serious doubts that the complaint reveals a cause of action upon which relief can be granted by the court. We question whether plaintiff may obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant in this judicial district. The complaint contains no allegation of residence in this district. While the official records disclose no case where this defendant has appeared as defendant there is an unofficial account of a trial in New Hampshire where this defendant filed an action of mortgage foreclosure as plaintiff. The defendant in that action was represented by the preeminent advocate of that day, and raised the defense that the plaintiff was a foreign prince with no standing to sue in an American Court. This defense was overcome by overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Whether this would raise an estoppel in the present case we are unable to determine at this time.
    If such action were to be allowed we would also face the question of whether it may be maintained as a class action. It appears to meet the requirements of Fed.R. of Civ.P. 23 that the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, there are questions of law and fact common to the class, and the claims of the representative party is typical of the claims of the class. We cannot now determine if the representative party will fairly protect the interests of the class.
    We note that the plaintiff has failed to include with his complaint the required form of instructions for the United States Marshal for directions as to service of process.
    For the foregoing reasons we must exercise our discretion to refuse the prayer of plaintiff to proceed in forma pauperis.
    It is ordered that the complaint be given a miscellaneous docket number and leave to proceed in forma pauperis be denied.

  7. Putting the Ass in Assistant Commissioner says:

    Assistant Commissioner of Police Joe Chan calls a press conference where he implicitly admits that neither he nor his bosses understand what cartoons are or how they work.

    And he thinks it’s the cartoon that’s making the police look stupid?!

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