Via HKFP, AP looks at how politics has ‘turned into pageantry’ in Hong Kong….
More than 100 primary school children under the age of 12 sat transfixed in the City Hall theatre on Tuesday as a woman wearing a teddy bear headdress reminded them to never disclose state secrets, part of a new campaign by the city’s Security Bureau.
The piece also looks at the debate-free ‘Patriots Collaborate for Good Governance’ election forums. Perhaps if the authorities want to make politics less participatory, while pretending the population still have some involvement, the result must be more theatrical and make-believe.
China Daily reports on more attempts to boost turnout on December 7…
Polling for the upcoming Hong Kong Legislative Council election will commence at 7:30 am and end at 11:30 pm on Dec 7, two hours longer than the last time in 2021.
In addition to 615 general polling stations, to encourage voting, the government has, for the first time, introduced designated polling stations for elderly, disabled, medical staff, ethnic minorities and civil servants and disciplined services personnel on duty.
…a total of 10 designated polling stations for civil servants will also be erected citywide to provide convenience for nearby civil servants and on-duty disciplined services personnel.
…seven polling stations will be established for medical personnel outside seven hospitals.
Two more polling stations for ethnic minorities will be set up in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui to allow those who plan to visit the Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple and the Kowloon Mosque for religious rituals on Sunday to vote.
Three polling stations will also be established near the boundary at Sheung Shui, the Hong Kong Port of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the airport.
In addition, polling stations will be set up outside 11 elderly nursing homes and four district support centers for persons with disabilities.
Earlier, the government announced … a one-off HK$20,000 ($2,574) allowance for District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities and Elderly Centres to arrange transportation for the elderly, the disabled and their caretakers to the polling stations.
But another reminder: don’t urge anyone to boycott the polls…
The Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday arrested three people for allegedly reposting online messages that incited others not to vote or to cast invalid ballots during the upcoming Legislative Council election.
The suspects — two men and one woman aged between 55 and 66 — were detained on suspicion of breaching election laws.
…In a statement, the ICAC “strongly condemns” attempts to interfere with or undermine the election by circulating messages discouraging voter participation.
…the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong voiced support for the enforcement action.
A spokesman accused individuals “inside and outside Hong Kong” of spreading smears, rumors, and calls to boycott the election or cast blank ballots, and of deliberately damaging campaign materials.
The spokesman said such activities are aimed at weakening the legitimacy of the current electoral system and obstructing Hong Kong’s governance and democratic development, accusing these actors of revealing a “malicious nature” and an intention to undermine “One Country, Two Systems.”
The Office stressed that “those who endanger national security will face countermeasures,” adding it will not tolerate any acts that threaten national security and will firmly back action taken by Hong Kong authorities against interference in the LegCo election.
You like the occasional musical reference…
“When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
Say something once, why say it again?”
(Talking Heads)
Filling a blog post with copy-paste drivel from Shee-na Daily… why bother? Why not just take the day off? The weather’s nice.
“Two more polling stations for ethnic minorities will be set up in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui to allow those who plan to visit the Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple and the Kowloon Mosque for religious rituals on Sunday to vote.”
What about the ethnically-inferior who aren’t Sikhs or Muslims? That seems a bit discriminatory…
And why do some get to vote not at a specific polling station like the rest of us have to? Perhaps there’s a pre-registration process not mentioned like I seem to recall was required to use the boundary polling stations in the past. I must’ve missed an announcement of things-perhaps-set-in-law-or-regulations having been changed…
Anything to better 30.2%, I guess.
From the AP article:
“The crowd was taught to cross their arms to signal disapproval for bad deeds, such as sharing disinformation online.”
This is so painfully retarded. We really do have living trash cans as HK officials.
The Reagan era “Just Say No To Drugs!” campaign had more credibility.
“Filling a blog post with copy-paste drivel from Shee-na Daily… why bother? Why not just take the day off? The weather’s nice.”
Are you the same person that was crying about the coverage of sham elections on here?
No one is forcing you to read it. If you don’t like the (s)election coverage just skip reading for the day. I’m personally interested in what Hemmers has to say about it.
And when it comes to State media: Even in a book of lies sometimes you find truth.
Apart from the strong coercive implications, some of the additional voting stations are a form of gerrymandering as one should vote within one’s constituency.
So will ballot papers for all 10 constituencies be available at these out stations?
The privacy issues are also significant as these polling stations would need to have the verification data for all 10 at hand as the participants are from teritory wide.
How will they verify that voter has not already cast a vote at his/her desiganted station?
The arrangement is convoluted and with potential for ballot stuffing.
I could just stop. etc
You may read China Daily, I do not.
One of Hemlock’s functions is to give his readers the opportunity of learning or knowing of other sources that that would normally not.
So I will continue.
@Mary Melville
“The arrangement is convoluted and with potential for ballot stuffing.”
Indeed. Probably by design. Everything else here that is convoluted seems to be.
Does Hemlock have to have a “function”? I did not know that. The Big Lychee (Various Sectors) is here, I had thought, for self-interest and the love of the craft (presumably journalism/writing) with the fact that anyone reads it at all being a bonus. It’s not as if anyone is paying. It is a public service a la David Webb.
The arrangement is convoluted and with potential for ballot stuffing.
True. And one could argue that in calculating the turnout for the election, the number of votes cast at those two stations should be dismissed, or at least given a haircut.
Are Caucasians an ethnic minority? We need to know.
@yeah, I could just stop clicking on your link instead
If you feel you’re being overcharged, just stop clicking on the link instead.