Big Lychee, Various Sectors

A Nikkei Asia op-ed…

When the inferno tore through the Tai Po renovation site in Hong Kong on Nov. 26, the flames consumed more than the homes of the thousands residing in Wang Fuk Court. They revealed the deeper rot beneath Hong Kong’s governance — years of corner-cutting, collusion and censorship wrapped in the language of progress and stability.

…Concerns about how such contracts are awarded are not new. In 2017, investigative outlet FactWire used tender data to identify irregular, “rotating” bidding patterns among several major contractors in Hong Kong, including [Wang Fuk Court renovation contractor] Prestige, across at least 13 residential refurbishment projects. The reporting showed these patterns as consistent with bid-rigging schemes, where pre-selected firms alternate winning bids while keeping outsiders at bay and prices high. FactWire closed in 2022 amid mounting pressure under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. When institutions capable of exposing collusion are dismantled, risks do not disappear; they accumulate quietly in concrete, wiring and facade systems.

…Arresting a few mid-level site managers may satisfy public anger temporarily, but it leaves untouched the chain of political and bureaucratic negligence above them.

…Volunteer groups quickly organized relief and donated supplies in the area. The founder of a petition demanding thorough independent investigation and support for affected residents was soon questioned by national security police. What began as an act of compassion became treated as subversion.

…The “bamboo problem” is not just a weak explanation; it functions as a tool of cognitive warfare. Its purpose is to guide the public toward forgetting — either to forget the Tai Po fire entirely once the news cycle moves on, or to forget who was actually responsible and treat it as something closer to a natural disaster than an engineered failure. 

In the Globe and Mail…

…the timing of the election is awkward nonetheless, because it highlights the degree to which Hong Kongers have little say in how they are governed just as serious questions are being raised by the Wang Fuk Court fire about government oversight and responsiveness.

…The dilemma the government faces is one of its own doing. By revamping elections to be “patriots only,” the authorities have removed a potential release valve for public anger. They have also lost a vital source of accountability and responsiveness, particularly at the local level, where fully-elected District Councils have been replaced by largely appointed bodies run by government bureaucrats, and “care teams” akin to mainland China’s red-armband-wearing neighbourhood watch organizations.

In the past, district councillors and elected members of Hong Kong’s legislature were easily accessible, often distributing their WhatsApp numbers to all residents in their constituency, and sending out newsletters detailing the work they were doing. Many ousted former councillors have been involved in the Wang Fuk Court fire response, organizing on the ground and online.

By comparison, representatives of the new system feel to many like extensions of the government, equally distant and unaccountable.

More hyper-nervousness about activists discussing the Tai Po fire…

Local media reported on Tuesday that Bruce Liu, a solicitor and former chair of the Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood (ADPL), was taken in by the police force’s national security department.

Shortly before Liu was taken in, organisers of the event sent a statement to media, including HKFP, saying: “The civil society press conference scheduled for 3pm today regarding Hong Kong’s high-rise building maintenance policy has been cancelled due to notification from relevant departments.”

The cancellation notice was sent out less than four hours before the event was scheduled to be held.

The press conference would have covered topics including support for affected residents, the establishment of a commission of inquiry, potential bid-rigging, substandard materials, and the roles of regulatory bodies including the government.

Other speakers at the press conference included Kwok Wai-shing and Jay Li, both of the ADPL, as well as town planner and former opposition Democratic Party member Stanley Ng.

The government is allowed to hold press conferences. And it uses one to announce an independent inquiry in the Tai Po fire. (Unlike Miles Kwan, the government is also allowed to call for an independent inquiry.) Then again, it is an ‘independent review committee’, which is not the same thing…

…An independent review committee differs from a commission of inquiry, which has been established five times since 1997 under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance to investigate matters of public importance.

Although both are chaired by a judge, a commission of inquiry has a high level of independence and extensive investigative powers. It can summon anyone to attend and give evidence, receive and consider materials that might not be admissible in standard court proceedings, and punish any contempt of the commission, such as refusing to answer questions.

…By contrast, an independent review committee was set up for other issues … including [in 2012]…

to review rules to prevent potential conflicts of interest, following a series of allegations.

…Those reviews focused on the regulatory framework and monitoring system.

Kevin Yam claims a review committee will be ‘toothless’.

Can’t see AFP being allowed to ask questions at government press conferences again after this one. Transcript here.  HKFP reports on the CE’s comments…

Hong Kong will not tolerate those who “exploit” the fatal Tai Po fire and “sabotage” society’s effort to support the victims, chief executive John Lee has said, following three reported arrests for alleged sedition.

…Asked about the arrests on Tuesday, Lee said: “I will not tolerate any crimes, in particular crimes that exploit the tragedy that we are facing now.”

“Society [and] everybody in Hong Kong are uniting to help those who suffer… Anybody who dares to sabotage this attempt, this commitment of society, we will do anything we can to ensure that justice will be done.”

How do petitions or concerned citizens’ press conferences ‘sabotage’ anything? Do the authorities expect everyone to pretend the tragedy hasn’t happened? What are they afraid of? This isn’t how you win public trust.

From literary journal Cha, an eloquent piece by Stuart Lau Wai-shing, translated by Tammy Ho Lai-ming…

When I saw, beyond the police cordon, the platform where survivors of the Wang Fuk Court  fire had gathered, I watched them staring at their own homes as they burned. Some cried out that they had lost contact with their families. Some covered their eyes, unable to bear the sight, yet still peered anxiously through their fingers, tears blotting the gaps between them. In those eyes one saw not only sorrow but desolation, anger, and self-reproach. These emotions weigh heavily for the people of Tai Po, and empathy renders them piercingly clear. Yet have any officials perceived them? Are they reduced to nothing but “mouths”, given only to sophistry and evasion?

…During my run this morning I saw police driving away the volunteers and the Care Teams taking full control of the collected goods, treating those who had hurried to aid the victims as though they were thieves. The absurdity of it left me dazed, as if I had strayed into another land…

LegCo election to go ahead, apparently. Millions rejoice. It would be interesting to know what officials thought when making the decision. Did they wonder whether public opinion would see sticking to the schedule soon after the Tai Po fire as disrespectful or callous? Were they concerned that postponement would make the polls look expendable? Did they worry that turnout might be lower if (say) voters stayed away as a form of protest? Or did they calculate that voters would be even more exhausted by prolonged promotional campaigns? 

Or maybe they just went by the book. The CE can postpone an election for two weeks for public safety reasons (like a major typhoon). Anything longer would require the use of emergency powers. 

Kevin Yam on the release of Miles Kwan…

Normally, HK law enforcement officers LOVE to have the media swarm around the vehicle taking arrested persons out of the station and have the media take as many photos and videos as they want.

…But if one looks closely at this video [here] of Miles Kwan leaving the police station, one will see that the HK police made all efforts to try and stop the media from filming. They only failed because they underestimated the size of the media contingent present at the scene.

Peggy Wong distances herself. (Why do these people all have that ‘DAB look’?)

A former Tai Po resident writes in the Diplomat…

How could fire alarms be disabled for a housing estate of over 4,600 residents? If the government enforced safety standards as necessary, could this have been prevented in the first place? How is the government not more concerned with the underlying series of oversights that have led to this tragedy? 

The Standard reports…

National security police have arrested a former district councillor and a volunteer for allegedly attempting to incite discord through comments about the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po that has killed 146 people and injured 79.

Former district councillor Kenneth Cheung Kam-hung was arrested at his Fanling residence around 7pm Sunday, while a surnamed Lee female volunteer was also detained in the operation conducted by national security officers.

AFP story…

The demands by [Miles] Kwan and other organisers turned into an online petition that gained more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day.

However, Hong Kong media reported on Saturday night that Kwan was arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition and the text of the online petition had been deleted, showing how, under Beijing’s watchful eye, dissenting voices in Hong Kong can vanish as quickly as they appear.

…Hong Kong has previously used judge-led commissions of inquiry to undertake complex fact-finding exercises in a public forum — a practice left over from British colonial rule.

By contrast, city officials have so far announced only an inter-departmental task force to investigate the blaze.

From Reuters, via the Guardian…

University student Miles Kwan, 24, was arrested on suspicion of trying to incite sedition in relation to the blaze in the Wang Fuk Court complex in the northern Tai Po district, the South China Morning Post reported. Hong Kong police did not respond on Sunday to a request for comment.

The online petition promoted by the group reached over 10,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon before it was closed.

A second petition with the same demands has been launched by a Tai Po resident who is now living overseas.

“Hongkongers demand the truth and justice,” wrote KY in the comment section of the new online petition.

A post from Yuen Chan saying Ta Kung Pao has deleted a recent story on corruption in the building maintenance industry.

A post linking to info about legal advice for Tai Po victims.

A Github database aiming to document the fire.

An impressively long series of heartfelt rants.

No-one can accuse the Hong Kong government of being too touchy-feely. Following the worst disaster in living memory, the government by Friday faced grassroots volunteers distributing supplies, activist campaigners and a petition with a list of demands. It might have been a good time, after the constant post-2019 stress on national security and all-patriots public life, to tolerate and possibly embrace some resurgent civil society in order to win community trust. But nope. Someone wants to prioritize Mainland-style ‘stability maintenance’.

A Wen Wei Po editorial dated early Sunday complains…

Some individuals are attempting to exploit the anxiety and uncertainty felt by the victims and the general public, disseminating a large amount of smear campaigns and false information online to incite hatred and discontent against the government. Some are … making “four demands,” and some are even discussing and initiating demonstrations online. These are definitely malicious attempts to distort the post-disaster recovery efforts … All Hong Kong citizens should trust the SAR government’s arrangements to provide the victims with a quiet and safe environment so they can overcome this most difficult time … We … need to be vigilant against this risk to prevent a repeat of the black-clad violence and hijacking incidents of 2019. All Hong Kong citizens must resolutely see through and resist this trend and behavior that attempts to profit from others’ misfortunes and take the opportunity to ferment social discontent and hatred.

From HKFP…

Beijing’s national security office in Hong Kong has warned “anti-China disruptors” that they will face the “full force” of the security law for seeking to co-opt the deadly Tai Po fire to “incite resentment” against the government.

According to a statement issued by the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) on Saturday evening, “anti-China disruptors” and those with “ulterior motives” are still awaiting opportunities to cause chaos.

At a “critical moment” when the people and governments of Hong Kong and China are united in relief efforts, disruptors have “abandoned all humanity, disregarded facts, spread false information, maliciously attacked the SAR Government’s relief efforts, stirred up social division and confrontation, and incited resentment towards the Chief Executive and the SAR Government,” it warned.

An item in the SCMP’s rolling coverage (9.47pm Saturday) says…

A source has confirmed that a founder of a petition for the government to address four demands on follow-up work to the fire has been taken in by national security police.

The Post has learned that the man concerned is identified as “Miles” and is one of the people who launched the online petition.

“Miles” and a group of unnamed others set up the “Tai Po Fire Concern Group” and launched a petition calling for “four demands”. They include ongoing support for victims, setting up an independent commission of inquiry and pursuing accountability and holding government officials responsible.

(The previous headline is’ 79 Indonesians remain unaccounted for: consulate’.)

HKFP report on the arrest here.

Sky News video on grassroots volunteers being told to stop their work.

Although some local officials have a taste for accusing critics of ‘soft resistance’ or ‘inciting hatred’, they might have considered that there are still some big differences between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Hongkongers felt free to speak out or organize until just a few years ago, and those attitudes remain deeply ingrained. And Mainland authorities can eliminate all on-line mention of specific subjects just by entering keywords into a censorship system; in Hong Kong, social media will now be full of chatter about, say, the arrest of the petitioner. Like this.

Some international coverage from Friday/Saturday…

A thread from Bloomberg’s Matthew Brooker…

Digging up and reporting on local corruption scandals was a specialty of Apple Daily before it was shut down by Hong Kong authorities following China’s imposition of a national security law in 2020…

Who is left now to fulfil this civic duty, now that free media outlets have been tamed, intimidated and in some cases destroyed? The Legislative Council is entirely made up of pro-government loyalists now that opposition parties have been banished as unpatriotic.

This tragedy is inseparable from the change in the governance of Hong Kong from an open, transparent and pluralist system to one of unquestioning obedience to its Beijing masters, a secretive and autocratic culture in which corruption can flourish.

And another from exile Glacier Kwong Chung-ching on the problem of corruption and bid-rigging in renovation works…

Wang Fuk Court was in the middle of a HK$330M “mega-repair.” Residents had protested the sky-high cost, accusing the owners’ corporation of force-pushing the plan through despite objections. Transparency was minimal. Oversight was weak.   This is exactly how bid-rigging works in HK housing estates: pre-selected contractors, inflated prices, limited competition, opaque decisions, and incentives to cut corners on materials and safety,  because no one is genuinely checking, nor can the civil society did what it used to do– to hold different people to account and raise awareness of these issues. 

From the NYT…

…the Labor Department confirmed that it had received complaints from residents about the construction netting. It said that it had conducted 16 inspections at Wang Fuk Court since July 2024, most recently a week before the fire. It found multiple violations and warned the contractor about unsafe working conditions on the site, the department said.

…Last month, when Chinachem Tower, a commercial building in central Hong Kong, caught fire, some Wang Fuk Court residents took their fears to a Facebook group. Firefighters had found netting and bamboo scaffolding at that building that looked similar to what was used at their complex.

“Everyone must be extra careful with fire during the winter,” one resident wrote.

“There are so many flammable items outside.”

…some residents fretted that the contractor was inflating costs while compromising on safety. They filed a complaint with the Labor Department in September 2024, two months after the scaffolding went up, according to the department and[Jason Poon Chuk-hung, a civil engineer-turned-activist].

…When the residents of Wang Fuk Court came to him, Mr. Poon eagerly took on their case.

He admonished officials at the Labor Department for misstating the fire risks at the construction site and pointed them to the applicable ordinances they had missed.

A Reuters story…

Residents of the housing complex that was engulfed in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in seven decades were told by authorities last year that they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining repeatedly about fire hazards posed by ongoing renovation works, the city’s Labour Department told Reuters.

Benedict Rogers in the Spectator…

While the immediate cause appears to be the flammable netting and polystyrene foam boards catching alight, a broader factor that appears to have contributed to this tragedy is the lack of transparency and accountability. So who should be held accountable, and how can accountability be ensured?

…this will be a test for Beijing and its proxy regime in Hong Kong. The regime has spent the past six years focused on implementing a crackdown on dissent, ripping up basic freedoms, human rights, the rule of law and autonomy promised in an international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, instead of investing in infrastructure and the welfare of local residents.

Disasters like these bring to the fore the tensions that simmer beneath the surface. If public anger cannot be expressed through free speech and peaceful protest – both now criminalised under Hong Kong’s repressive national security laws – in what ways might Hong Kongers seek accountability?

The death toll at Tai Po reaches 94.

The Labour Dept last year said the netting used in renovation at Wang Fuk Court complied with fire-safety standards…

…as public anger grows over a resurfaced 2024 email in which the department described the fire risk from such nets as “relatively low”.

…In its reply on October 4 last year, the department explained that the primary purpose of installing the net is to limit the falling range of objects and stated that current regulations enforced by the department for construction sites contain no provisions covering flame-retardant standards for safety nets or any materials.

The department subsequently received a complaint arguing that this response was incorrect. After the investigation, it concluded that the initial reply “was unclear and had led to misunderstandings.”

DAB district council member and (I think) advisor to the owners’ committee Peggy Wong ‘dismissed fire safety concerns about the Wang Fuk work as malicious rumours misleading the public’. Is anyone looking into the tendering process for the project?

ABC of Australia on the community-run Google spreadsheet that updated the known status of apartments’ residents during the Tai Po fire.

HKFP guide to funds and charities aiding the Tai Po victims.

What happens to the site now? I guess they tear it down.

Oiwan Lam at Global Voices on the Hong Kong government’s attempts to boost voter turnout at the LegCo election in two weeks. She quotes a pan-dem now in the UK…

At the local level, high voter turnout can be seen as a vote of confidence in the John Lee administration, especially against the background of the Chief Executive election in 2027. […] The embarrassment is that Macau’s Legislative Election in September this year saw a high turnout of 53.35 percent, prompting Beijing officials to compare which ‘child’ performed better. In fact, Hong Kong officials reportedly visited Macau to study its voter mobilization tactics, fearing that low turnout in Hong Kong could be interpreted as public skepticism toward the political performance of Lee’s administration and the Central Government’s Hong Kong Liaison Office. 

The government is thinking of postponing the election after the Tai Po fire.

Bitter Winter on a Chinese movie designed to push the idea of unification with Taiwan…

…“The Battle of Penghu” (澎湖海戰), a state-backed historical epic slated for release in 2026, dramatizes the Qing dynasty’s 1683 defeat of Ming loyalists in Taiwan. The film’s promotional trailer features the slogan “Unifying Taiwan is unstoppable”—a blunt encapsulation of Beijing’s political messaging. However, the backlash that followed suggests that even in tightly controlled media environments, history resists being reduced to propaganda.

The film centers on Shi Lang, a Qing admiral who led the conquest of Taiwan, defeating the forces of Ming loyalist Zheng Keshuang … Critics on Chinese social media questioned why the narrative glorifies the Qing, a foreign dynasty, while vilifying the Ming loyalists, who are often seen as defenders of Han Chinese sovereignty. Some even sarcastically proposed that Beijing’s next cinematic venture might celebrate Wu Sangui, the infamous Ming general who betrayed his dynasty to the Manchus.

…in attempting to draw a straight line from Qing conquest to modern-day claims over Taiwan, the state risks alienating those who see the Ming loyalists as patriotic resisters. The backlash was swift—and swiftly censored. Negative comments were scrubbed from Chinese platforms, leaving only official narratives and supportive voices visible.

…By weaponizing history through cinema, Beijing risks undermining its own credibility. When propaganda masquerades as art, and when dissenting interpretations are silenced, the result is not unity but skepticism. As the reaction to “The Battle of Penghu” shows, even carefully curated narratives can unravel when confronted with the messy truths of the past.

The barbarian Goths and Vandals who took over parts of the Roman Empire were already familiar with Roman culture and embraced it after taking control. Roughly similar story with the Manchus, who further Sinicized after defeating the Ming in order to consolidate their power. But to Southern Chinese, in particular, they were foreign invaders and the Ming who fled to Southeast Taiwan true Chinese. (Fascinating history, starring mostly Fujianese Ming loyalist Chinese, Dutch, Manchus and Taiwanese aborigines, with a guest appearance by the Spanish.)

The Qing established control over the western lowlands of Taiwan to suppress rebels. But they didn’t claim the mountainous regions in the middle and east until around the 1870s just a couple of decades before signing the island over to Japan. The only other arguable period of Chinese ownership of Taiwan would be when the KMT took over the place – more brutally than the Japanese did – and established a rump ‘Republic of China’ on the island after 1949. That became defunct in practice after democratization in the 1980s.

So there is something awkward about the movie’s basic premise. Presumably, it’s the best they could do to claim some sort of historical ‘Chinese’ ownership of Taiwan. The only remaining argument is that Taiwanese are Han who speak Chinese – but that’s like saying the Irish, New Zealanders, Australians, etc are white and speak English, so their territory must be British.

Getting messages from overseas hoping I’m not affected by the tragedy in Tai Po. The fire at Wang Fuk Court is a big story worldwide not just because of the statistics (latest: 44 dead and a horrifying 279 unaccounted for), but because of the visuals. The beauty of Hong Kong’s juxtaposition of high-rises, mountains and sea suddenly turns surreal and nightmarish.

Nearby residents have been asked to stop delivering supplies to the area as volunteers can’t cope. McDonalds is donating thousands of meals.

Presumably we will hear how much bamboo scaffolding, plastic netting, and the close proximity of the apartment blocks contributed to the tragedy. Will we hear whether officials tasked with enforcement might have been negligent? Whether some of the NatSec budget could have been better spent on policing worksite safety? (This would be a good time to wrap up the endless subversive pancakes frenzies.) Or will the narrative speedily move on to rah-rah about heroic emergency services and support from the north?

Hong Kong’s Press Photographers Association cancels its 35th anniversary exhibition after Baptist University decides the exhibition gallery needs to be closed for ‘emergency maintenance’…

…the HKPPA said it had no choice but to axe the event, which opened on Tuesday and was originally set to run until December 8.

The exhibition took nine months to prepare and featured a selection of historical photographs and photo stories covering important moments in Hong Kong since the late 1980s to the present, the press group said.

Baptist U actually has a department of journalism, so is an ideal location for such an exhibition. But perhaps there are other considerations. Maybe ‘late 1980s’ is a clue, though there are quite a few subsequent important moments in Hong Kong a nervous university might worry about.

The HK Pride Committee scraps an outdoor festival at Kwun Tong Promenade…

In October, the committee said on social media that it “has been asked to postpone the outdoor ‘Rainbow Festival’ originally scheduled for November 29” after being notified that the venue had to undergo “urgent construction work” required by the Buildings Department

On Sunday, the organisers published a longer post saying that the outdoor event would be cancelled altogether.

According to the post, although Aquabeat, which operates the promenade event space, said the venue was unavailable due to government construction work, the Buildings Department later clarified that no such work was scheduled for that day.

Funny how places suddenly need work done on them at times like this.

An anonymous ‘patriotic group’ demands that the sale of merchandise for an LGBTQ dramatic production be stopped…

“…online posts still show your company assisting in producing and selling merchandise for We Are Gay. May we ask whether your company intends to continue opposing government actions and spreading anti-government sentiment?” it continued.

“We request that you immediately cease the production and sale of merchandise related to We Are Gay and stop promoting ‘soft resistance,’” it continued.

To be clear – the play itself had previously been cancelled just before it was due to appear at the West Kowloon Cultural District last month. And the HK Academy for Performing Arts scrapped a planned appearance by the playwright – a graduate of the school. Presumably the merch must be forbidden as well, just to be safe.

As well as official meetings with Japanese diplomats and a youth exchange trip to Japan…

Hong Kong superstar Ekin Cheng Yee-kin has been forced to scrap his long-awaited solo concert scheduled for next Friday, December 5, at a major Tokyo venue, with organizers citing an event outside of their control as the reason.

The sudden announcement, posted on the event’s social media on Tuesday, comes against a backdrop of escalating diplomatic friction between China and Japan.

And the government is considering banning two ‘subversive’ organizations. Few have heard of them, except perhaps in previous government announcements denouncing them. RTHK adds…

The Security Bureau issued written notices to “Hong Kong Parliament” and the “Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union” on Monday to allow them to make representations as the security chief looks to exercise his powers under Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law to ban their operations in the SAR.

Tang said the two groups undermined the country’s constitution and the body of power of the SAR, having carefully considered all relevant information.

“In the event of the two organisations being formally declared prohibited, it would be unlawful for anyone to act as a member of these organisations, attempt to incite others to join them, participate in their activities, or provide assistance,” he said

Also banned: calling for a boycott of the LegCo election, of course.

I remember a Sino-Japanese spat several decades ago, when then-Chief Secretary Anson Chan shrugged the whole thing off as nothing to do with Hong Kong, and referred to the focus of the dispute as the ‘Senkaku Islands’ – the Japanese name. Things have changed.

Invest HK and government economic officials cancel planned events and meetings with Japanese consular personnel. The Education Bureau pulls Hong Kong students from a Japan-East Asia youth exchange visit to Japan. The Security Bureau issues a travel advisory suggesting Japan is dangerous to visit. And RTHK scraps a Japanese manga TV adaptation series.

All, of course, to ‘align’ Hong Kong with Beijing’s major gnashing-of-teeth over the Japanese prime minister’s remarks suggesting that Japan could be involved militarily should China attack Taiwan. More of the CE’s comments here.

Is this compatible with the city’s much-claimed role as an open international business hub? How does this square with Hong Kong’s usual welcoming of Japanese companies, investment and tourists here? 

(Trailer for Cells at Work! here. There was a fully animated TV version made about 10-15 years ago, which was both funny and educational.)

Civil Service Secretary Ingrid Yeung urges everyone to vote. Slight twist: the video also features a guy echoing her message in Indonesian, complete with hand grenade. Different!

A Domino Theory op-ed criticizes the pace of justice for Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung and others…

Since the crackdown on the democracy movement in Hong Kong in 2020, a disturbing phenomenon has emerged. Political prisoners, accused of crimes that are no crime at all but simply normal participation in what was supposed to be a free society, are not even able to access the twisted version of legal process that is still afforded them.

Instead, they wait in jail without bail for years for trials that do not come, and then for verdicts that are not announced. Jimmy Lai (黎智英), publisher of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, and Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤), the lawyer and activist, are but two of the individuals hanging in limbo in these circumstances.

…“For ordinary common law criminal trials in Hong Kong, there is always a presumption of bail that if a defendant unless he’s seen as committing a serious crime or the court deemed the defendant has this possibility to abscond from trial,” Eric Lai [of Georgetown law school] said. But for national security trials, “this principle is totally subverted to presumption against bail.” 

…There are examples in other cases, Eric Lai said, of the prosecution repeatedly asking for adjournments to prepare more submissions and documents before the trial started. This has been allowed by the court despite the objections of the defendants.

If someone was held without bail and without trial in a common law jurisdiction, they would typically have grounds to have their case thrown out because of abuse of process, Eric Lai said.  The fact that they have not been shows “the mass arrests as well as the massive use of pretrial detention against these people is more a political act rather than a legal act.” Eric Lai also pointed out that after long pretrial detentions, many political prisoners end up pleading guilty or even turning prosecution witness…

A technically proficient, imagery-heavy mural by Hong Kong artists in California. 

A bookshop runs into trouble after holding what appears to be an informal Spanish class on its premises…

The owner of a Hong Kong independent bookstore has been accused of managing an unregistered school after holding a Spanish class at the shop earlier this year.

…[Owner Pong Yat-ming] stands accused of breaching the Education Ordinance by managing a school that was not registered or provisionally registered, according to the charge sheet.

The charge sheet also stated that he allowed somebody who was not a permitted teacher to teach at Book Punch. The individual’s name was given as Antonio Baro Montane.

Active Experiential Learning Company, the parent company of the bookshop, was charged with two offences – permitting an unregistered teacher to teach and owning an unregistered school

Sounds weird. All sorts of groups host lessons and training in all sorts of subjects, from swimming to Bible study. A store near my home offers classes in sausage-making. But here’s a clue…

…Book Punch and other local independent bookshops have been closely scrutinised by Hong Kong authorities in recent years. In July, a book fair featuring independent bookshops and publishers came under fire by Beijing-backed media outlet Wen Wei Po, which accused the organisers and participants of spreading “soft resistance” through a book fair.

Books with messages that “oppose China and disturb Hong Kong” were sold, the outlet reported.

In September, Book Punch said it was forced to cancel multiple events in the past two months due to “anonymous and false” complaints. The bookshop said some guests, such as university teaching staff and representatives of organisations, faced “top-down pressure” to withdraw from its events.

Shades of the tax audits of independent media. Why not just ban all bookshops that are not controlled by the authorities and be done with it?