The Stand News sedition trial continues with the former editor defending the outlet’s opinion columns by politicians…
Citing how now-deceased Hong Kong novelist Ni Kuang was once allowed to say he “hates the CCP to death” on RTHK, Chung said more radical voices criticising the CCP had been heard in Hong Kong between 1997 and 2020.
Chung said his own understanding was that only speeches or comments which advocated immediate violent acts would constitute sedition. He believed [Gwyneth] Ho was only speaking of her political stance.
As with people charged for things like reposting Facebook content, Stand News is on trial simply for quoting or publishing others’ views.
The Guardian on the trial of the NatSec 47…
“The Communist Party believes civil society is a threat to a dictatorial regime. They need to crackdown on the most outspoken voices in society because those are the free voices that refuse to bow to government control,” said Dr Teng Biao, a former mainland rights lawyer…
And a UN committee notes the closure of dozens of unions and other civil-society groups, and asks…
…how Hong Kong could ensure that the security law would not be used as a “pretext to suppress civil society and severely undermine the… fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights.”
Hong Kong’s population continues to drop, by nearly 1% in 2022. There was a sharp fall in the number of births and a rise in deaths – that latter (if not both) presumably related to Covid. And another 60,000 emigrated.
A couple of links for the weekend…
We view China’s real-estate/construction sector as a massive chunk of GDP – but now try it as a percentage of global carbon emissions?
From New Bloom, all you need to know about the barring of Mainland officials from the funeral of Taiwan Buddhist monk-luminary Hsing Yun.
To be fair, “Wallis Wang” (Standard reporter about the demographic reductions) sounds like a porn name.
He’ll never win a Pulitzer with that name.
Cry me a river: Commie officials whinging about not being allowed into the Free, Democratic Nation of Taiwan for a funeral junket and calling it a denial of their “religious freedoms”. Just too fucking rich.
And I’m reassured that the “Sudden Zero Zero COVID” policy by the CCP paid off so resolutely. Yes, I’m sure the public would agree. Especially the ones still languishing in jail because they dared hold up a blank piece of paper.
It’s time to let go of the idea that the Liaison Office is going to bring the parasitic tycoon class to heel. The tycoons are having a field day with the sudden lack of scrutiny in Legco and a cowed media. The government’s been quietly flattening the few checks and balances in the town planning process, “simplifying” away public consultations, lowering the threshold for compulsory acquisition, making it easier for the developers to capitalize on their hoards of agricultural land. Between the natsec horrors, Covid faffery, and obsequious propaganda, I don’t feel like anyone except the plucky supernerds at the Liber Research Community has been paying a lick of attention to the fact that the tycoons are setting the stage to make out like bandits.
If Beijing ever intended to punish the tycoons for their garbageosity, they’re failing miserably. It looks more and more like wishful thinking or a manufactured silver lining to make the natsec stuff go down easier. Adjacent to “most people are only angry because of the house prices”.
I had that Regina Ip in the back of the cab the other night.
She’d had a few Jolly Shandies at a Liaison Office DAB shindig and we drives to her place where she discovers she has no cash.
What does she do the trollop?
She hitches up her skirt, opens her legs, parts her Ediths and says:”You can take it out of this.”
Quick as a flash I looks back and says: “ Haven’t you got anything smaller?”
@ Cassowary
Elegantly put.
Well I for one think @Cassowary is making some very good points
The public would (have) to agree with the conclusion, I’d say
Interesting photos in HKFP’s report on the visit of the Chief Enforcer to Legco to share a roast pig. Despite wearing masks when sitting in their socially-distanced seats when in session, not a mask in sight when they are all crowded round the pig. Actually, I lie, The Ip can be seen in one pic wearing a nice patriotic red one, though it looks like she realises she is out of sync and is trying to remove it.
What world does this man live in? From RTHK:
Legislative Council president Andrew Leung on Friday hailed a spring luncheon with top government officials as a sign of Hong Kong’s complete return to normality.
“As we enter the Year of the Rabbit, everything starts afresh – and the Legco spring luncheon is also back,” Leung said in a speech before the meal, which was attended by more than 200 people.
“Not only can we all get together and have a good time, this also shows that Hong Kong has fully returned to normality in a positive manner.”
You have to laugh. More from RTHK
Civil service secretary Ingrid Yeung said authorities launched a government-wide tsunami drill on Thursday, mobilising 10,000 staff from various government departments.
The drill, codenamed “Exercise Touchdown 1”, was part of a plan outlined in the Chief Executive’s policy blueprint to enhance the administration’s ability to respond quickly to major incidents.
Yeung said 300 staff arrived at the North Point Community Hall within three hours of notice, in the face of a simulated tsunami in a nearby area.
Do you mind, please. Some of us have still to consume dinner.
Cassowary said: “It’s time to let go of the idea that the Liaison Office is going to bring the parasitic tycoon class to heel.”
Indeed. If anything, the commie shoe-polish-in-hair gang get seduced by the EZ money thrown around in Hongkers and (secretly) buy into it, snapping up some choice apartments and/or having their children’s overseas education/housing/expenses fully taken care of by some knee bending twat “heavyweight”.
Re Cassowary: via appointments of executives from government quangos like Airport Authority, Housing Society, Science Park, URA, and bodies reliant on government handouts, there are now only a few genuinely ‘independent’ members left on Town Planning Board.
Even if they question the merits of a plan, they are always outnumbered when it comes to a vote.
In addition the administration for expediency has abandoned any pretence of adhering to statutory regulations and it’s own guidelines and thereby is creating precedents that leave the gates open for the developers to demand the same laxity. Often the ink is not dry on an Outline Zoning Plan that, according to the papers, has been based on extensive impact assessments, when there are applications for what must be the most abused expression in planning history, Minor Relaxations. All are approved.
As for the spin about creating better living conditions, this is patently untrue as new homes for the hoi polloi are shrinking in size and the towers getting progressively higher on ever diminishing footprints while the objective of the mega regeneration plans is to decant lower income families from urban districts to remote estates to free the land for gentrification.
In addition nothing is being done to break the monopoly developers have on household expenditure via the incorporation of their subsidiaries and services into every facet of the management of large developments.
The process is now a charade and the only objective in participating is that from time to time objections can achieve an increase in community services.
For developers and their monopolistic practices the future is indeed a Good Story.