Big Lychee, Various Sectors

Felt sorry for the extremely old and frail campaign workers handing out election leaflets, so I now have promo materials for Judy Chan (of Regina Ip’s New People’s Party) and Jeremy Young (Liberal Party) running in HK Island West. And we have a possible answer to the question: what sort of platform do you adopt in an all-patriots election in which all candidates must be pro-government? 

Judy’s slogan is ‘Family-friendly, encouraging childbirth’. This sounds facile, but it does give her an opportunity to differentiate herself. Specifically, she urges the relaxing of restrictions on single women using assisted reproductive technology – which actually puts her at odds with official government policy. Or it would if she hadn’t made sure to say ‘explore the relaxing of…’ She also calls for tax breaks for families that hire foreign domestic helpers, which is amusingly inane. The focus on fertility and children squeeze out any thoughts she might have on the other 99% of issues.

The ‘pro-business’ party’s Young spouts vacuous slogans like ‘underpinning economic pillars’, ‘unleashing Hong Kong’s potential’, and ‘committing to economic transformations’. No mention of what these actually mean (are they even compatible with one another?) and certainly no hint of actual policy proposals. Nothing on (say) tackling the budget deficit or abandoning outdated thinking on land prices, tourism and ‘hubs’. But he does mention safeguarding national security, which Judy – to our horror – has overlooked.

Within just a few weeks, medal-winning fencer girl Vivian Kong has gone from a humble PR assistant at the Jockey Club to rumored possible LegCo candidate to ‘considering’ running in the Tourism functional constituency to attending a high-profile photo shoot with industry figures to appearing on the ballot. Apart from a very brief glimmer of uncertainty about her Canadian passport, it was one of the smoothest- and fastest-ever entrances to Hong Kong ‘politics’. 

A clue as to what’s going on: China Daily carries plenty of glam-pics. As does the Standard. The other candidate – an actual tourism guy of some sort and district council member called Marco Ma – must be wishing he hadn’t bothered. The Tourism constituency has only 170-odd voters, all of them organizations rather than humans…

According to sources, Kong secured more than 10 nominations from the functional constituency, including support from Regal Hotels, Miramar Group, and Guangdong Holdings, along with Election Committee nominations from violinist Yao Jue and Josephine Tsui Mei-wan.

But perhaps there are hopes that her fame as a former Olympic champion will encourage wider interest in an otherwise not-very-compelling election.

From AFP via HKFP – one outgoing lawmaker and a few commentators lament the rubber-stamp nature of the all-patriots body…

The city had two decades of spirited opposition politics, which took off in the final years of British colonial rule and grew into a pro-democracy coalition in the 2010s before being wiped out.

“(Nowadays) a lot of the speeches have an echo chamber effect… The culture is monotonous, and those who are relatively lively have given up re-election,” said Kenneth Chan, a political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Departing legislators have cited reasons such as age and party strategy.

More than a dozen lawmakers declined to be interviewed by AFP.

Not-for-profit news site HKFP reports on its own experience of an audit by the HK Inland Revenue Dept of independent media outlets…

The tax office has closed a 20-month investigation into seven years’ worth of HKFP’s accounts, after the newspaper was “randomly selected” for an audit.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) claimed an alleged tax underpayment of HK$3,020 during the 2021-22 assessment year, worth 0.78 per cent of HKFP’s income.

Last month, HKFP chose to settle the case and pay HK$57,692, including penalties, to avoid the likely prohibitive cost of further disputing a modest discrepancy. It is unclear how much the case cost taxpayers.

Last February, the IRD launched an audit of HKFP’s corporate accounts and the personal accounts of its founder, Tom Grundy, from 2017 onwards. The Hong Kong Journalists Association revealed this May that much of Hong Kong’s independent news sector – including companies, staff and family members – was also under audit, with some facing “strange, unreasonable claims” from the IRD.

In July, it emerged that many in the independent book sector were also being audited.

…The IRD arrived at the HK$57,381 settlement by applying the 0.78 per cent shortfall during the 2021-22 tax year to HKFP’s declared income during the six other years of inspection. The sum of HK$24,381 was added to a HK$33,000 penalty, plus interest of HK$311.

Within weeks of the IRD probe, accounting firm Noble Partners dropped HKFP as a client, claiming they did not “possess the required knowledge and experience” to handle an audit.

More in this statement from HKFP, including an appeal for donations. 

Meanwhile (from a post by razvenhk)…

Pro-democracy Thai restaurant Thai Ki Lung in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong announced that they have decided to close after 12 Nov, citing a worsening business environment and constant visits from government departments.

From HKFP – arrests are still taking place for involvement in the 2019 protests. Six are charged with weapons offenses, with two also alleged to have conspired to incite others to riot. One was recently acquitted of terrorism charges.

Bloomberg looks at investors trying to reduce their exposure to Hong Kong’s property market…

When Blackstone Inc. bet on Hong Kong’s commercial real estate sector in 2014, it bought a 20,000-square-foot retail space in the bustling Mong Kok district for HK$700 million ($90 million) to target mainland Chinese tourists seeking brand-name wear.

Today, the space that once housed Forever 21 is valued at less than half that amount and Blackstone is in talks with Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Co. to renegotiate terms of a loan for the property…

The soured bet by the world’s largest alternative asset manager offers a glimpse into the risks for global private equity funds that poured $17 billion into Hong Kong’s once-booming commercial real estate market between 2010 and 2019, according to data from Colliers. From Gaw Capital Partners to Schroders Plc, investors are facing a dilemma: Sink more cash into struggling properties or forfeit them to lenders.

…The average price of retail space in the city plunged 41% as of August from a 2018 peak, according to Hong Kong government data. Offices, near their worst vacancy rates, have also tanked 49% in value.

That’s eroding the collateral value behind many bank loans, which could lead to margin calls, refinancing challenges and in more severe cases distressed asset disposals.

William Pesek in Asia Times on the Trump-Xi meeting…

On Thursday, Trump gushed about an “amazing” meeting with Xi, where he agreed to cut China’s tariff to 47%. But the odds that posterity will concur are exceedingly low.

For one thing, there’s nothing “grand” about the bargain to which Trump and Xi are discussing in the loosest and vaguest terms possible. Specifics, targets, enforcement mechanisms and punishment for non-compliance will all be discussed by US and Chinese trade officials at a future date.

Nothing on the table, though, alters the mechanics of a US$659 billion trade relationship in any notable way. Face-saving agreements to throttle back on tariffs, buy more soybeans and increase the flow of rare-earth minerals are grand on some levels. But narrowing America’s trade deficit with China requires a wholesale remaking of commercial dynamics.

For another, myriad tripwires could — and likely will — return Trump and Xi to battle stations. Count the ways things could go awry: China depreciating the yuan; Trump depreciating the dollar; the US economy slowing sharply; either side failing to live up to a deal; domestic political troubles prompting either leader to lash out abroad.

On YouTube, James Marsh reviews a new Hong Kong animated fantasy Another World. Sounds more like a Ghibli derivative than something authentically local. 

But the movie version of Kobayashi-san’s Maid Dragon is opening soon.

HKFP reports…

“Opposition forces” are smearing Beijing’s warnings about the upcoming “patriots only” Legislative Council elections, Chief Executive John Lee has said.

Speaking at a regular press conference on Tuesday, the chief executive said “anti-China elements” and external forces had attempted to obstruct the Legislative Council (LegCo) polls scheduled on December 7.

Lee’s comment came days after the top Beijing office overseeing Hong Kong affairs warned of “interference and destruction by anti-China forces” in the race.

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) in Beijing issued a commentary on WeChat last Friday. The commentary warned of “false claims” that Beijing had meddled with the elections and that it had a list of “endorsed candidates.”

(In the Standard story, Lee refers to claims of restrictions as ‘soft resistance’. The Global Times piece quotes him as saying that ‘it is only natural for the central authorities to be concerned about and pay attention to the election’.)

It is a fact that Beijing played a role in devising the ‘patriots only’ election system that removed all opposition voices from Legislative and District councils. It is also a fact that, in order to get on the ballot, candidates must be nominated by (pro-government) members from all five ‘sectors’ within the Election Committee, one of which comprises local representatives on national bodies. Whether or not there is a ‘list of endorsed candidates’, everyone on the ballot will have been cleared/approved.

The HKMAO and Hong Kong government seem particularly sensitive about allegations that officials behind the scenes have ordered LegCo’s old guard and some others not to run again. Their vociferousness might just deepen suspicions. But does claiming that Regina Ip was told to stand down pose a threat to the election? It is more probable that most people in Hong Kong are not interested: only 22% of LegCo seats are now returned by popular vote; it is likely that many of the candidates will be unknown to most of the public; and no candidates will actively oppose government policies or demand better ones. 

It’s interesting that the CE is criticizing unnamed ‘opposition forces’ for smearing Beijing’s warnings about threats to the election. As if to say that you are insulting the higher authorities if you think their fears of ‘interference and destruction by anti-China forces’ in the election are exaggerated. 

Security Secretary Chris Tang weighs in, saying…

…resolute law enforcement action will be taken against illegal acts to allow the upcoming Legislative Council elections to be held in a safe and orderly manner.

He said it could be illegal for people to encourage others to cast a blank ballot or not to vote in the December 7 election.

Tang also said it is against the law for anyone to collude with foreign forces to control, or interfere in, the elections.

“We will carry out all kinds of law enforcement actions, including intelligence gathering, against any illegal act that aims to undermine the safety of the elections,” he said.

What does it say that the authorities have criminalized the act of urging people to boycott an election? 

RTHK reports that the CE…

…said on Tuesday that he expects fierce competition in December’s Legislative Council elections and called on everyone in society to throw themselves into the polls.

Lee said he will write to all civil servants on Tuesday to call on them to cast ballots.

He also called on other segments of society to support and participate in the elections, saying appeals would be made to organisations and firms to fulfil their social responsibility.

If the authorities want people to believe that hostile forces aim to sabotage the election, it might help at least to suggest a motive. Why would anyone bother? Otherwise, the whole fuss might be seen as a way to stir up interest in a process many people are ignoring. The only obvious thing that might spoil the election in December is indifference and a low turnout – compared, say, with the 71% turnout in November 2019’s district polls. And what would cause such apathy? 

If turnout is low, will the people who claim the CIA paid Honkongers to protest in 2019 say it paid them not to vote in 2025? 

The Standard reports that ‘Smiling Queen of Fencing’ Olympic gold winner Vivian Kong will not run for LegCo. Someone (‘political figures’) apparently approached her to run in a geographical constituency as her ‘popularity and wholesome public image were seen as potential assets that could inspire voter engagement and inject a fresh face into the political scene’. But she has a foreign passport, so she can’t.

Reading between the lines, the ‘political figures’ were not sufficiently well connected that they could deliver ‘community networks’. Which sounds like we’re not talking United Front ‘A List’. Do we detect a whiff of Regina’s New People’s Party? Though the Standard print edition story focuses on the Business and Professionals Association’s nominations. 

Anyway, Joel Chan adds a decisive lunge…

In her master’s thesis submitted to Beijing Renmin University in 2021, “[Vivian] Kong hailed Beijing’s bid to revamp Hong Kong’s electoral system, saying it ensured only ‘patriots’ could hold power in getting the city back on [the] right track.”

The trial of Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung was due to begin on May 6 this year, was then postponed to November 11, and is now delayed again until January 22 next year. They are accused of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ as leaders of the HK Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized Tiananmen vigils for years. If you are charged under the NatSec Law, you cannot get bail. Thus Chow and Lee have already spent over 1,500 days in pre-trial detention.

HKFP story.

Amnesty International issues a statement in which an Executive Director says…

…the National Security Law uses the vaguely defined ‘endangering national security’ as a pretext to systematically deny defendants the right to bail, seriously undermining their right to a fair trial.

More importantly, freedom of expression is a human right. Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan should never have been arrested and prosecuted for commemorating 4 June and seeking historical truth. The Hong Kong government must immediately drop the charges and release both of them.

For anyone who doubts that the authorities ordered all Hong Kong’s older all-patriots lawmakers to retire… Not only do Beijing and local officials insist that it’s not true, but Regina Ip – indefatigable stalwart of butting in and being Really Important – drops out of the coming election. 

If you need a summary – the BBC’s report on last week’s fourth plenum of the CCP.

Andrew Batson reviews a new book on China’s all-important university entrance exam…

The gaokao is not seen as legitimate because it is instituted by the Communist Party; rather, it is the Communist Party that gains legitimacy by administering the gaokao in an even-handed way.

…One of the more interesting implications of the book is that because the social prestige of the gaokao is so high in China, and because everyone has been trained to understand and work with that kind of system, that it has implicitly become the model for other social institutions outside of education. The authors analyze the underling structure of the gaokao as a “centralized hierarchical tournament”: the competition between students is centralized because there is only one standard of success, and it is hierarchical because success is defined in relative terms, by doing better than those around you. Once the concept is grasped, it is easy to see many other centralized hierarchical tournaments in Chinese society.

The most consequential of these is probably the competition among local governments to generate economic growth, which many scholars have identified as one of the fundamental structures underlying China’s reform-era growth boom. Local officials are always competing for promotion and advancement, and one of their key performance indicators is economic growth in their jurisdiction. That competition is centralized because there is, effectively, only indicator of success, GDP growth, and only one arbiter of success, the central Party apparatus. And it is hierarchical because success is defined relative terms: it’s about where is your GDP growth relative to your peers and predecessors in office.

The SCMP reports the government’s eagerness to get LegCo election voting numbers at or above the 30.20% achieved last time…

Hong Kong’s leader has called on the public and private sectors to encourage employees to vote in the coming Legislative Council election, describing it as their social responsibility.

RTHK says…

Chief Executive John Lee and the head of Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) David Lok on Thursday jointly called on voters to cast their ballots in the Legislative Council elections on December 7, saying the polls will directly affect their daily lives and shape the city’s future.

At an event to mark the beginning of the election process, with the nomination period to begin on Friday, Lee said electing capable, responsible lawmakers is crucial, as many policies require legislation or funding.

“I call on and expect all institutions, enterprises, and organisations in Hong Kong to respond enthusiastically, and actively fulfil their social responsibilities, encouraging and providing conveniences for employees to fulfil their civic responsibilities by casting a sacred vote.

Memories of lawmakers who held the executive branch to account – or criticized it – are still fresh. With no-one but pre-selected ‘all-patriots’ now on the ballot, some might see not voting as a way to protest. But for many it might just be a question of what or who is there to vote for? The candidates are few in number; you’ve never heard of them; and all you ever hear of LegCo is its automatic support for the government.

From the Standard…

The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office has commended outgoing Hong Kong legislators for making way for “new blood” as the nomination period for the city’s eighth Legislative Council election began on Thursday.

In a commentary published under the pen name “Hong Kong and Macao Ping,” the office warned against interference by “anti-China troublemakers” while praising the political transition.

“The successful holding of this election is of great significance and far-reaching impact for accelerating Hong Kong’s transition from order to prosperity and better advancing high-quality democracy suited to Hong Kong’s reality,” the article stated.

It noted that some members of the current legislature had chosen not to seek re-election to facilitate the transition between generations of patriotic forces, showing “noble spirit and exemplary conduct.”

The commentary highlighted broad social consensus supporting the improved electoral system and recognition of the seventh Legislative Council’s performance, with expectations that the upcoming election would further demonstrate high-quality democracy.

However, the article cautioned that “anti-China troublemakers have never stopped interfering with and sabotaging elections, and Hong Kong society must remain vigilant against their resurgence.”

It recalled how these elements had previously collaborated with external forces to disrupt elections through smear campaigns, misleading polls, and even violent threats before the electoral overhaul.

Maybe that will change everyone’s mind and boost turnout.

Some weekend reading…

HKFP report on an exhibition on LGBTQ history in Hong Kong in the 1980s-90s.

The National Catholic Register on why Hong Kong’s Catholics deserve better leadership from the Church.

From AP, the story of a diary written by a Chinese sailor seconded to the Royal Navy on D Day…

Sleuthing by history enthusiasts Angus Hui and John Mak in Hong Kong pieced together the story of how Lam found himself aboard HMS Ramillies and proved vital in verifying the authenticity of his 80-page diary, written in 13,000 wispy, delicate Chinese characters.

…One breakthrough was their discovery, confirmed in Hong Kong land records, that the abandoned 9th-floor flat where the diary was found had belonged to one of Lam’s brothers.

Another was Hui’s unearthing in British archives of a 1944 ship’s log from HMS Ramillies. A May 29 entry recorded that two Chinese officers had come aboard. Misspelling Lam’s surname, it reads: “Junior Lieut Le Ping Yu Chinese Navy joined ship.”

China Media Project on Beijing’s official line on China’s economy…

When it comes to China’s economy, the future has never been brighter. That is the point forcefully made this month by a series of eight commentaries published in the official People’s Daily, which repeatedly stress that “to believe in China is to believe in tomorrow.” The articles were written by Zhong Caiwen (钟才文), a very prominent economic expert that no one on earth has ever heard of — because, of course, he does not exist.

Zhong Caiwen is a pen-name for a collaboration between writing groups at both the Central Propaganda Department (中宣部) and the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission (中央财经委员会), the bodies within the Chinese Communist Party that are responsible for political messaging and supervision of the financial system respectively. Such homophonous pen names are common in Party-state media, allowing powerful departments to voice official positions while signaling their authority to other Party insiders.

…this bold declaration of confidence, republished by multiple media outlets within China, suffers from a fatal flaw hardwired into how China’s ruling Party continues to communicate even well into the 21st century — a kind of repetition complex. If someone reassures you that everything is just fine, you relax: Good, that’s good to hear. If they say it again, there is a frisson of doubt. And when the reassurance comes a third time, it begins to sound like something other than confidence. You are sure there is much more they are not saying.

Foreign Policy looks at the apparent contradiction between China’s technological prowess and its underlying economic stagnation…

The split screen of techno-wizardry on one side and empty apartment complexes and struggling villages on the other conveys valuable yet only partially accurate pictures of a complex country.

…In many cases, both the upward signs and the worrying ones may seem unconnected but are really two sides of the same coin…

…the high-tech push has not translated into maintaining rapid growth and a stronger macroeconomy. After the boom-boom years of 1980 to 2010, China has seen an uninterrupted 15 years of slowing growth and rising debt—and the tech push is part of the problem.

…China’s sweet spot is moderately difficult technologies that can be tweaked and improved incrementally and then sold in massive amounts at low margins. China has had more difficulty in the most complex, advanced technologies where economies of scale are less valuable.

(Such as commercial aircraft,  complex fine chemicals, quantum computing, and high-end precision machining.)

…As capital has been drawn to priority sectors, investment in areas that might produce greater employment or income growth has been crowded out … China lags far behind in many high-value-added service sectors. Among the most prominent are healthcare and education, labor-intensive sectors that would soak up urban employment and provide services that would strengthen human capital.

…China has one of the most poorly educated labor forces in the upper-middle-income world … it will still take decades to achieve the levels that South Korea and Ireland had when they were middle income and striving to move up to high-income status. No country in the world has successfully moved from middle- to high-income status with the low levels of aggregate human capital that China has today.

Also from AP – a report on the increasingly bizarre anti-science movement in the US, discouraging vaccination, fluoridated water and other public-health measures…

On raw milk, bills would allow for sales beyond farms in Arkansas, decriminalize its sale in Hawaii and let Oklahoma farms sell raw donkey milk.

Having grown up next to a dairy farm, I have been in cattle sheds – where the animals are milked. The places are ankle-deep in cow shit. If you oppose pasteurization (or vaccines, or fluoride, or washing your hands), you are a moron. Wellness influencers and Putin love you. More…

Less than a week later, Emily Marris’ toddler, Brooklyn, was hospitalized and nearly died after drinking raw milk.

The Southern California mom did research online, finding a homesteader Facebook group and buying raw goat’s milk from a seller who called it “clean and tested.” Retail sales are legal in California.

Brooklyn ended up on dialysis and a ventilator, suffering three cardiac arrests before finally turning a corner. She now has high blood pressure and walks with a limp.

If these people want to kill themselves, that’s great. But I feel sorry for the kids.

Interesting article by US academic Ryan Fedasiuk on China’s modern-day success and hubris…

The questions I fielded from diplomats, scholars, journalists, and cab drivers — whether there are any China experts left in the U.S. government; whether tariffs are designed to deliberately collapse China’s economy; or whether the United States may be deliberately goading China into launching a disastrous war over Taiwan — revealed how distorted the picture of the United States has become. The Party’s success in sealing out Western influence has also sealed in ignorance about the American policy process and political economy.

…After decades spent demanding respect abroad, the irony is that China has engineered an environment so controlled and self-referential that it no longer understands the world it seeks to lead — or the superpower it aims to surpass.

A (probably paywalled) NYT column raises the question of who takes over after Xi Jinping goes…

“Xi almost surely realizes the importance of succession, but he also realizes that it’s incredibly difficult to signal a successor without undermining his own power” said Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Policy Center for China Analysis. “The immediate political and economic crises that he faces could end up continually outweighing the priority of getting around to executing a succession plan.”

Speculation about Mr. Xi’s future is highly sensitive and censored in China, and only a handful of officials may be privy to his thinking about the issue. 

…Even officials poised to be elevated to central leadership at the next Communist Party congress, in 2027, are probably too advanced in age to succeed Mr. Xi, said Victor Shih, a professor at the University of California San Diego who studies elite politics in China.

With Mr. Xi likely to serve another term or even longer, his successor could prove to be an official born in the 1970s, likely now working in a provincial administration or an agency of the central government. The party has been promoting some younger officials who fit that profile, said Wang Hsin-hsien, a professor at National Chengchi University in Taiwan who studies the Communist Party.  

But…“Xi is highly distrustful of others, especially those officials who have only an indirect relationship with him,” Professor Wang said. “As he grows older and has fewer connections to the generation of his possible successors, this factor will become more important.”

In the years ahead, the upper ranks of the party may grow more fluid as Mr. Xi tests and discards potential recruits for leadership, experts said. Behind the scenes, officials within his circle may jockey more intensely for influence and political survival.

“This will make the succession process more fragmented, because he can’t possibly just have one designated successor,” Professor Shih said. “It has to be a collective to choose from, and that probably also means they will have low-grade power struggles with each other.”

History Workshop (a ‘digital magazine of radical history’) on the UK’s stash of old Hong Kong government files, most of which are still not open to the public…

Control over history has been exercised to an even greater degree in the Hong Kong case than [other colonies]. As in other territories, colonial officials maintained the administration based partly on the extensive information they held and, towards the end of the administration, chose which documents to remove to the UK. But unlike other territories, the British Government continues to deny access to the Hong Kong files. Even after the 1997 handover and recent pressures on Hong Kong’s history, the records that were relocated to the relative safety of the UK remain closed. By controlling access, the British Government maintains a handle on the narrative of its colonial administration and on the broader history of Hong Kong. In withholding these files, the British Government denies Hong Kong people access to their own cultural, social, economic, political and personal past, controlling history as it controlled the colony.

The UK government releases papers after 20 years, but some are kept under wraps for longer for national security or other reasons. Sensitive materials (in Hong Kong’s case, perhaps to do with the handover) don’t account for more than a tiny percentage of the content and are redacted. One possible reason the Hong Kong files are still not released is simply that there are huge amounts of them, and they are mostly on microfiche, which is a pain to digitize – not because of a desire to ‘control history’. 

The 16th and 17th members to pull out of the all-patriots Legislative Council are Michael Tien and Tony Tse. One prominent name remaining on the departure-bingo card is of course the indefatigable Regina Ip. (Or should that be ‘once indefatigable’?)

The body has cancelled its usual end-of-term valedictory motion…

Starry Lee, chair of the House Committee, announced the decision on Tuesday, a day before the Valedictory Motion was scheduled to be delivered, saying that the lawmakers’ final remarks might influence the elections in December. The nomination period will begin on Friday.

“It was a difficult choice,” Lee said. But she added that withdrawing the motion would allow lawmakers to “focus on legislative work and ensure the election’s fairness.”

The Valedictory Motion, a post-Handover LegCo tradition, allows each legislator to deliver a speech within the chamber to say goodbye and reflect on their time in office.

Earlier, on Monday evening, Ming Pao reported that LegCo was considering scrapping the farewell motion to avoid “embarrassing” scenes.

Visions of Reg being dragged out of the chamber like Hu Jintao. And quite right – we can’t have anything that might harm the election’s fairness.

HKFP reports…

The managing body of the West Kowloon Cultural District cancelled an LGBTQ-themed play on Saturday, hours before tickets went on sale, after complaints alleging the drama “defames Hong Kong.”

The production team of the play We Are Gay, written by award-winning playwright Candace Chong, said in a statement on Saturday that the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) notified them of the cancellation at around 9am that day, roughly two hours before tickets were to go on sale.

…In an emailed reply to HKFP, the WKCDA said on Saturday that it had received “a large number of complaints,” which alleged the play “promotes confrontation and defames Hong Kong.”

“To be prudent, the Authority considers it inappropriate to stage the programme at [the West Kowloon Cultural District]’s venues,” it added.

Separately, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau told HKFP on Saturday that it had been consulted by the WKCDA and that it supported and consented to the venue’s decision.

…State-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po published a commentary article on Saturday, alleging that Chong “stirred political confrontation under the guise of a cultural worker and incited social division.”

The article also criticised the WKCDA for allowing Chong’s play to be staged in the Xiqu Centre.

We Are Gay was first performed as part of the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2022.

What’s going on here? You might think that Wen Wai Po, acting as a watchdog against ‘soft resistance’, drew attention to the drama because it dislikes the playwright, and someone took this as a cue to complain, resulting in the WKCDA and its government Bureau overseers hurriedly disowning the planned performances. But who knows?

The Wen Wei Po commentary is quite something. It mentions that Candace Chong worked with a group connected to the Hong Kong Alliance with Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, reposted a statement by the authors of the lambs and wolves cartoon book, ‘fled’ Hong Kong, having the backing of a ‘red-bearded, green-eyed foreigner’, writing plays aimed at Hongkongers in the UK, and being among the ranks of ‘shameless people who call themselves intellectuals but are actually accomplices of evil’.