Well-intentioned reminder smeared

Hong Kong opposition figures still in their natural habitat don’t come much more meek and mild than Democratic Party chair Lo Kin-hei, but Security Secretary Chris Tang gets sorely vexed over the guy’s Ming Pao opinion piece on his comments on the mentally ill…

In Lo’s opinion piece published on Thursday, he said that Tang’s recent comments in the Legislative Council may exacerbate stereotypes and stigma of mental illness.

According to Lo, Tang said: “Anyone who sees someone with weird facial expressions, muttering and looking ferocious, should notify the police as soon as possible.”

…a Security Bureau spokesperson said that Tang had been replying to a question raised in the legislature, and was reminding members of the public to notify the police as soon as possible if they suspected a crime may be committed.

…the writer has taken a well-intentioned reminder out of context, distorting it as prejudice and discrimination against the mentally ill. We are ‘extremely shocked’ by the twisted representation of a positive crime prevention message by the writer,” the statement continued.

The spokesperson said Lo had “disregarded public safety and smeared the well-intentioned reminder…” 

Presumably, Ming Pao, now without cartoonist Zunzi, is the real target here. I mean – who realized the DP still exists, let alone has a chair?

The government statement in full. Another complaint about smears, also from yesterday…

“The HKSAR Government solemnly urges the UK to discern fact from fallacy, stop immediately their wanton slanders and smears against the NSL and the implementation of the Law in the HKSAR, and refrain immediately from interfering with the internal affairs of the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong matters,” the spokesman reiterated.

Some weekend links…

A world record attempt…

Aussie Hong Konger @maxmokchito and I will attempt to carry out the most consecutive breaches of the Hong Kong National Security Law. 

A big explainer with over-the-top graphics on how the Fukushima power plant will release its radioactive water. (I’m sure the Japanese government will appreciate the paper dropping the paywall for this piece.) Sample…

The concentration of tritium is reduced to less than 1,500 becquerels per liter — about one-seventh the maximum safe level designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water.

…Liquids containing tritium are also generated at nuclear power plants and reprocessing plants around the world and flow into rivers and oceans. For example, a reprocessing facility in France discharged 10,000 trillion becquerels in 2021. That is approximately 450 times more than the annual limit of tritium to be released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

A ban on Fukushima fish could lead some 600 Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong to close. A Standard op-ed…

Hong Kong’s response is rather drastic – more draconian than what many in the catering industry may have expected.

…This came after Beijing said it would uphold a ban on food imports from roughly one fifth of Japan’s 47 prefectures due to food-safety fears.

…a huge number of local restaurants are heavily dependent on food imports from Japan due to Hongkongers’ almost addictive preference for seafood fresh from the country.

…it seems inevitable that local Japanese restaurants will bear the blunt of the wastewater discharge row.

A China Media Project piece on Mainland media’s annual ‘social responsibility’ reports…

Xinhua affirms that its work is led by the political thought of Xi Jinping, and by the “Two Establishes” (两个确立), the concept that defines Xi Jinping as the unquestionable “core” leader of the CCP, and his ideas as the Party’s bedrock.

Further, the preface affirms the principles of “Party spirit” (党性), and the Mao Zedong-era notion of “politicians running the newspapers” (政治家办报)…

…Every assessment turns on the question of how well you have gratified the assessor.

Also from CMP – use of the phrase ‘era-ization’, more usually translated as ‘modernization’.

For fans of Airplane! and no-one else: a video shows how the movie draws rather heavily (as in word-for-word much of the time) from a 1957 epic called Zero Hour! Clips from the old b&w film suddenly seem hilarious.

Over to Neuroscience News for a psychological study…

The study suggests conspiracy theorists are not necessarily ‘mentally unwell’, but often resort to conspiracy theories to fulfill unmet needs and rationalize distress. Analyzing data from 170 studies with over 158,000 participants, it identifies a need to understand and feel secure in their environment, and a sense of superiority over others as key drivers.

In addition, personality traits such as paranoia, insecurity, impulsivity, and egocentrism were found to be common among conspiracy theorists … [and] social identity motives and a desire for uniqueness.

Not unrelated – a diagram showing techniques of science-denial.