The MTR says it will start services early on December 7 to encourage people to vote in that Sunday’s LegCo election.
Will this boost the turnout meaningfully? Perhaps not. Maybe they could re-engineer the turnstiles so, instead of waving your Octopus card, you have to put a ballot into it. Or put polling stations on the trains.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission releases its annual report. Someone isn’t going to like this…
As the Hong Kong government marked the fifth anniversary of the National Security Law, its ongoing crackdown has eliminated a once vibrant civil society and created an atmosphere of repression comparable to mainland China.
…Hong Kong security forces have expanded a campaign of transnational repression against leaders of the democracy movement who fled abroad, placing bounties on an additional 15 activists—including two Canadian citizens—canceling passports, and blocking access to their pensions. Authorities have also escalated harassment of activists’ family members still in Hong Kong.
…Hong Kong has emerged as an export controls and sanctions evasion hub, facilitating international transactions with and flows of restricted goods and advanced technology to Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
…Hong Kong firms are now subject to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) directives and that the Party will interfere in commercial transactions to advance its geostrategic objectives.
…Despite years of cracking down on activism, stifling democracy, and narrowing the space for civil society, Hong Kong’s government continues to see threats to Beijing’s control of the city’s civil discourse and legal system.
…Hong Kong authorities have continued to prosecute cases for previously protected political speech, including allegations of seditious online comments and graffiti and “insulting” the national anthem.
…Beijing’s “have your cake and eat it” approach to Hong Kong’s economic autonomy is indicative of its broader strategy to the special administrative region: it seeks to cash in on the remnants of Hong Kong’s status as an independent, rule of law, and pro-market jurisdiction while eliminating vestiges of independence, moving to rule by law, and ensuring its ability to intervene in and steer the commercial sphere as it does in the Mainland.
And sure enough, the Hong Kong government…
…strongly disapproves of and firmly rejects the groundless attacks, slanders and smears against various aspects of the situation of the HKSAR including safeguarding national security, protecting human rights and business environment in the so-called “2025 report” issued by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry office in Hong Kong weighs in.
The Global Times argues that Okinawa shouldn’t belong to Japan, and that perhaps China has a better claim to it…
The Ryukyu Islands lie between China’s Taiwan island and Kyushu island of Japan, facing Fujian Province of China across the sea. As early as 1372, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) formally established a tributary relationship with the Ryukyu Kingdom: Ryukyu acknowledged Chinese imperial authority and followed the Chinese calendar, while China treated Ryukyu with exceptional generosity under its “give much, ask little” policy.
The ‘give much, ask little’ policy? A full list of measures Beijing has taken against Japan recently here.
Has Hong Kong banned the import of Japanese seafood yet?
If they do, it will be for purely political reasons.
If other countries ever take similar action taken against Hong Kong products, then there should be no complaints
I saw someone actually take an election leaflet yesterday.
Shocking.
Two minutes later the kid had made a paper aeroplane with it.
Only patriots should be allowed to vote in the LegCo election!!
@Paul Lewis: Seeing the HK government already made a travel advisory against Japan with the same fictional argument that “Japan is not safe for Chinese citizens”, the seafood copy paste ban is just a question of days most likely.
So the MTR will open earlier than 0600 for polling stations that open at 0730? My polling station is a whole 5 minute walk away. Where do the ‘voters’ that this action actually come from that requires an over 90 minute ride?
@Psycho Wong: re “Only patriots should be allowed to vote in the LegCo election!!”
You joke, but this might appeal to our esteemed leaders, since with this change to a small-circle electorate, we can then achieve 99%+ voter turnout. Would be a huge bump to the already-high quality of our high-quality democracy.
Great time to head to Japan.
Re extension to election time,
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3192377/hong-kong-watchdog-suggests-reduced-voting-hours-citys
and I remember patriotic parties whingeing years ago that long voting hours favoured the demos.
@Probably – functional constituencies, maybe?
Even the HK Observatory has got in on the act – I checked out the weather forecast on my phone, and first had to close a bunch of election propaganda on screen.
Unrelated whinge: Google prompts me to change “got” in the above post to “gotten”. Apparently we are all Americans now. Well, no.
Asia’s export controls and sanctions evasion hub has a nice ring to it
“I remember patriotic parties whingeing years ago that long voting hours favoured the demos.”
These patriotic punks never could win an election fairly and are such sore losers. And now that their big daddy jailed the opposition (since these worthless punks could never win on ideas alone) very few want to see them doing their tightly managed stage show and extending the hours likely won’t change that.
Good point, Ms. Melville. Authoritarians always want to make it harder to vote when they know they’re going to lose. The Republican Party in the US has been on that train since the 1990s, and boy do they have plans for 2026.
In HK, the CCP and the Vichy government are comfortable that they have the system sufficiently rigged that they’ll get the desired result. The downside is that people can see the charade for what it is, hence the panicky efforts to get folks to participate. Short of handing every voter an envelope of cash as they leave the polling place, there probably isn’t a viable solution. (I don’t think bakery coupons for a free steamed bun would be a sufficient bribe, but that’s probably what the cheap bastards would try.)
@Still stoic: I am not joking. once we achieve 99% approval from the electorate, we`ll have reached North Korean style electoral perfection. Just like in China.
https://www.bastillepost.com/global/article/5388599-weaponising-rumours-to-wreck-hong-kongs-election-is-a-criminal-offence
Only $150 ………………. clearly fake news. A Muslim pal told me at the time that before the 2016 election $300 was being offered to potential voters near the the mosque. He pocketed the cash and then voted for his own preference.