If it’s not the LegCo elections, it’s the National Games. A major border crossing will close for nine hours to make way for a marathon…
Authorities said the Shenzhen Bay Port will be closed on Saturday morning to make way for the National Games marathon, as they called on travellers and motorists to use other border checkpoints.
The Shenzhen Bay Port will not be open to the public from 2am to 11am on Saturday.
Plenty of roads downtown will be affected as well.
Is this the event where they carry a torch? Out of curiosity, I Google it, and find one hell of a website dedicated to the whole NatGams®. It seems the Games have in fact already begun. I honestly hadn’t noticed.
Would a sudden outbreak of sports taking place all over Hong Kong and beyond be so easily ignored if it were the Olympics? It wouldn’t be for another 11 years – but even so, this is scary…
With the 15th National Games unfolding, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Honorary President for life Thomas Bach noted the Greater Bay Area (GBA) has all the necessary conditions to host the Olympic Games.
Bach made his comments when watching the rugby sevens event at the Kai Tak Stadium this afternoon. He was accompanied by local sports figures, including the president of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong (SF&OC) Timothy Fok Tsun-ting [and others]
…Bach highlighted that GBA is equipped with numerous world-class sports facilities that qualify it as a potential Olympic host.
Bach agreed that [a 2036 bid] is worth exploring. He acknowledged that the venues may be dispersed, but the successful hosting of large-scale national events like the National Games positions Hong Kong and the GBA as strong candidates for future Olympic bids.
His Majesty the Honorary President for Life isn’t sounding totally enthusiastic. But then we’re not at the envelopes-under-tables stage yet.
All I can say is: No no no no no no no. Complete nightmare.
Which brings us back to the LegCo election. RTHK tries to make one of the all-patriots’ forums sound interesting…
Speeding up the construction of the Northern Metropolis is the consensus among all five candidates in the New Territories North constituency in the upcoming Legislative Council elections, who spoke at a government-organised election forum on Wednesday.
One interesting thing about the government-organized NT North non-debate: the backdrop (‘2025 LegCo “Patriots United in Governing Hong Kong” Forum’) was in Chinese only. I couldn’t care less. But I get the impression that officials usually ensure such signage is bilingual – except when it’s some hardcore Motherland-oriented event in which, say, the PLA garrison commander addresses local schoolkids about NatSec and panda bears. You may draw your own conclusions.
Why pay attention to fake elections? Partly, perhaps, for amusement. But also because they tell us something. Courtesy of a commentator, a CSIS analysis explains…
Because authoritarian elections are performative, they reflect important information about the concerns and weaknesses of these regimes.
Olympics knocking on dooor. Getting desperate as economies are feeling the pinch and it is obvious that the Games are a Big Black Financial Hole. Fewer jurisdictions are now prepared to host.
With dwindling resources and billions required for years to come to fund the Northern Metro plans, HK is in no position to commit.
Unfortunately the cost of the current games will not be published as this would give an indication of the investment that would be required.
“It seems the Games have in fact already begun. I honestly hadn’t noticed.”
When did you last switch on your TV?
Here’s another great deep dive into sham elections and why Authoritarians love them:
https://politicsgeo.com/the-elections-trap-why-authoritarians-always-want-you-to-vote/
@Low Profile Does anyone under the age of 50 watch terrestrial TV?
Thank you Hemlock and @Mark Bradley for those two trenchant analyses of elections in non-democracies.
The CSIS one (using examples of Algeria, Tunisia and Venezuela) tends to an international perspective, and concludes that the US (et al) should forego short-term benefits from turning a blind eye to certain useful authoritarians, to tackle the abiding risks of contagion.
The meatier Geopolitics one (looking at Georgia, Russia, Iran and Serbia, and mentioning North Korea, China, Central Asia, Venezuela, Egypt, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Mexico and Malaysia) focuses more on internal dynamics. It begins with a neat definition of democracy as “a political system in which political parties lose elections, and not always the same ones”, and provides context that “with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Eritrea, all authoritarian systems organize elections—often with great fanfare.” The analysis lays out the many benefits and a few risks of elections for autocrats, towards a prescription for their (internal) opponents, who face the inverse: many risks and a narrow path of opportunities.
How long until Hong Kong is modelled into these sorts of studies?
typing “HK National” into a search engine gives autocomplete suggestions, with “games” being the 8th option down the list. a bit of digging reveals that HK is hosting basketball (men’s U22), track cycling, fencing, golf, handball (men), rugby sevens, triathlon, beach volleyball, and bowling. with the exception of rugby, these are hardly sports that draw out the plebs – no wonder ticket sales are <30%
Admittedly, I don’t watch terrestrial TV, partly because I can’t get a signal where I live, but I did catch some cycling event on Now TV. Also, while walking through Olympic City Mall the other day, I saw a huge screen showing the NG with seating for the residents and shoppers to enjoy the show.