Five more Hong Kongers have HK$1 million bounties put on their head

 

Hong Kong in 2023 is a Hong Kong where Chinese Communist Party

as well as People's Republic of China flags can be seen flying 

(*though the former far less often than the latter still)

 

And then there were 13.  By this, I'm referring to the fact that yesterday evening saw Hong Kong’s national security police announcing that they had arrest warrants for five more overseas activists -- one of them an American citizen -- and placed HK$1 million bounties on their heads like they had in July with exiled activists Anna Kwok, Finn Lau, Christopher Mung Siu-tat, Elmer Yuan Gong-yi and Kevin Yam along with former legislative councillors Nathan Law, Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok.

 

"Police named Simon Cheng, Frances Hui, Joey Siu, Johnny Fok and Tony Choi as wanted for alleged offences under the national security law during a press conference on Thursday." And like with the previous batch, they appear to be a a bit of a mixed bag.

 

Of this quintet, Simon Cheng is probably the most well known. A former trade and investment officer at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong, he is, as the Hong Kong Free Press report points out, now "based in London [and] the founder of Hongkongers in Britain, a group that supports Hongkongers settling in the UK. He was detained by Chinese authorities as he attempted to return to Hong Kong from a business trip in Shenzhen in August 2019, when protests engulfed the city, and was granted asylum by the UK government three years ago."

 

Then there's Frances Hui and Joey Siu, both 24 year old activists "based in Washington DC, in the US. Hui is a policy and advocacy coordinator at The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, while Siu works at NGO World Liberty Congress and was a former policy advisor at NGO Hong Kong Watch, according to her LinkedIn. Sui has US citizenship."  

 

Hui also is known as the then Emerson College student who came under attack from Mainland Chinese students after she penned a piece in the college newspaper in April 2019 entitled "I Am From Hong Kong, Not China" which included the lines "I am from a city owned by a country that I don’t belong to" and "I will strongly hold onto that identity because I am proud and I want to tell people where my actual home is."  Meanwhile, much has been written in the past 24 hours or so (on Twitter and elsewhere) about Joey Siu being an American citizen who the Hong Kong government is accusing of colluding with... her own country's government!

 

Then there's Johnny Fok and Tony Choi who, frankly, I had not heard about until the news of their arrests yesterday. Apparently, they are Youtubers "accused of inciting secession and inciting subversion?"!  And, as The Wire China's Aaron McNicholas Tweeted, "accused of misleading Tsang Chi-kin and several others into arranging an appeal for donations to aid their escape from HK, an escape which never happened. We can only speculate how much of the case against those two is based on Tsang's testimony."

 

In any case, suffice to say that their having HK$1 million bounties on their heads is a big deal -- as is the fact that the Hong Kong government has decided to increase the number of the people they have done this too.  And it is a tragedy that this situation has come to pass -- for Hong Kong along with the individuals concerned, and their loved ones too.

 

As Anna Kwok, who herself has a HK$1 million bounty on her head, was moved to Tweet: "Solidarity with my fellow Hong Konger advocates and activists in the US and the UK [who now have this burden put on them]. Having a one-million [dollar] bounty on your head does imply safety risks and psychological pressure."    

 

Then there's this Tweet from Kevin Yam, the one Australian citizen among the 13 Hong Kong activists with HK$1 million bounties on their head: "By all means wish them well. But don’t congratulate them or say it’s an honour for them etc. Some of them may choose fighting words in response. But I can say from personal experience that it’s not a nice thing to be happening and one wouldn’t wish it on anybody."

 

I'll leave the last words today of this post to Joey Siu though.  First, from her 20-year-old self's college newspaper piece: "I have never felt so desperate to find other people from Hong Kong and advocate for my culture."  And finally from a Tweet yesterday: "More to say later but for now: I will never be silenced, I will never back down."

Hong Kong national security police "scare tactics" affecting families that have become all too familiar

  

A protest piece put up back in 2019 

and still, amazingly, up in 2023!

 

I know you've heard this before but more relatives and friends of one of the eight Hong Kongers who've had HK$1 million bounties put on their head were brought in for questioning by the Hong Kong national security police in recent days.  More precisely, the sister-in-law of former legislative councillor Nathan Law was taken from her apartment in Tung Chung on Saturday afternoon "to assist in investigations".  Also, on Friday afternoon, "a woman with reported links" to Law, named Yu Chi-yan, had been taken away from her apartment in North Point for the same purpose.

 

As of Monday evening, I've not seen reports of the woman having been arrested (and charged) or let go.  I'm going to presume that it's the latter, as that has been the case for Nathan Law's other relatives and friends, and the relatives and friends of Anna Kwok, Dennis Kwok, Christopher Mung and Elmer Yung, who have been taken in questioning in recent weeks: a total of 40 individuals since July 3rd.  For as was noted in a recent article in The Guardian about these occurrences: "Observers and supporters say while there is still fear that could happen, it isn’t really the point."

 

Rather, "“It’s essentially hostage-taking, sending a message to activists and potential activists abroad that if you stand up to the Hong Kong government they’ll go after your family,” says Samuel Bickett, a US-based fellow at Georgetown’s centre for Asian law, and a former activist who was previously jailed in Hong Kong. “Whatever [the authorities] do to couch this in terms of the law – saying they’re interviewing witness and things like that – that’s not what this is. They know exactly where these [activists] are and what they’re doing, there is absolutely no reason to question the families.”"

 

As pointed out in the article: what the Hong Kong national security police are doing/have done is to apply "gangster tactics" as well as borrow a leaf from their Chinese compatriots; one whose true objective is to scare overseas activists and potential activists into silence.  But while they may have achieved their aim with regards to some individuals, the eight who have HK$1 million bounties on their heads (and thus would seem to be the most wanted) do not appear to have been cowed and, in fact, are continuing to speak out and otherwise continue their activities.

 

As an example, Kevin Yam continues to keep an eye on, and Tweet about, Hong Kong.  Today, he also Tweeted his congratulations to Ted Hui -- complete with a smart looking photo of Hui at the Australian Supreme Court -- on his recently becoming a barrister and solicitor of South Australia, pointing out that Hong Kong "might consider him a criminal, but Australia sees him as fit and proper to practise law!"

 

In The Guardian piece I previously mentioned, Elmer Yuen was reported as stating that "he worries about his children in Hong Kong more than they worry about him overseas.“Hong Kong is like big prison. If they don’t allow you to leave the airport, there’s nothing you can do,” he said."  I'm not sure how much truth there was in his former statement but I do reckon he's got a point about Hong Kong being -- or, at least, feeling -- like a big prison at times.  And yes, I do know people who worry when they go to the airport that they won't be allowed to leave Hong Kong, even arrested when trying to do so.

 

The worst of it all with regards to national security law arrests is that, thus far, there has been a 100% conviction rate with regards to people charged with violating it.  Speaking of convictions: Hong Kong gained one new political prisoner last Thursday; bringing the total number of political prisoners in Hong Kong to 1,614 as of August 17th.  And sadly, we know that number will increase rather decrease in the coming days and weeks and months.  (So much for Carrie Lam's assurances about the national security law targeting only "a small group of people" and all that jazz!)

Returning to the families of the eight Hong Kongers with HK$1 million dollar bounties on their head and The Guardian's piece: "Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, remains worried that the targeting of families could escalate to arrests or even criminal charges under the very broad national security law and sedition ordinance.

“We’ve seen this in many other circumstances across the mainland,” Richardson said. “Every time people ask a question like that I’ve taught myself to think back five, 10, 20 years and see if we saw this [crackdown in Hong Kong] coming. We didn’t necessarily anticipate this escalation of hostility, or the appalling distortions of law, misrepresentations of law.  This is going to be an ongoing story."  So to those of you who care for Hong Kong, Hong Kongers and justice: please don't look away; and, instead, keep your eyes on Hong Kong.

Hello to a Hong Kong that's slipped down to 88th in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index

  

Hong Kong is really beautiful -- but is not without its problems;

and, in all honesty, I'm not sure it's currently a place which

many tourists will truly be able to get to know and thoroughly enjoy

 

In a (desperate) bid to attract tourists to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government announced yesterday that it will offer 500,000 visitors free air tickets to Hong Kong from next month on. "“I will personally carry the promotional messages of our proudest [sic.] as the world's freest economy and China's international financial center when I visit Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the coming week,” Chief Executive John Lee also was reported as saying (in a piece in The Standard).

 

As the official launch of the "Hello Hong Kong" campaign yesterday, unmasked performers danced and a super cringey promotional video featuring John Lee was played (which I will spare you the pain of viewing by NOT linking to it).  The "[a]uthorities also played a promotional video featuring famous celebrities, including Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, Sammi Cheng Sau-man, and Kelly Chen Wai-lam, saying hello to tourists and calling on them to come visit" that some critics have likened to Chinese propaganda videos featuring dancing Uyghurs.

 

Note to people thinking of visiting Hong Kong: many Hong Kongers -- for a number of reasons, including our preferring the city's streets to be relatively uncrowded and unclogged like they have been during the pandemic -- will be less welcoming of tourists than those folks who, let's face it, have been paid to try to lure tourists to the city.  Potential visitors would also do well to realize that it was reported yesterday afternoon too that "Hong Kong has slipped three positions in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, falling to 88th out of 167 countries and territories."  Its ranking and "overall score of 5.28 out of 10 [is] an all-time low since 2006", the first year that the Democracy Index was compiled. 

 

For comparison and context: The continent of Asia has an average score of 5.46; and "[a]cross the region, top scorers include New Zealand (9.61) in second place in the global ranking, Taiwan (10th), Australia (15th), Japan (16th), and South Korea (24th)."  As for (Mainland) China: It occupies a lowly 156th position.  So, yes, Hong Kong still has a ways to go before becoming the same/as bad as its "Motherland"; though God forbid that it ever does do so.

 

As things stand, "Hong Kong's score fell from 5.60 in 2021 to 5.28 [in 2022], reflecting problems with the quality of the civil service and new impediments to organizing independent trade unions, according to the think tank.  The city now ranks lower than Liberia and Tunisia." Yes. In an international Democracy Index whose analysts "described Hong Kong’s democracy as being “in retreat”" and "also cited the Beijing-imposed national security law, as well as a decline in press freedom and academic freedom in the city."

 

So... who will want to respond to the government's "Hello Hong Kong"?  Definitely not those living outside of Hong Kong who (still/nonetheless) really f**king love Hong Kong; this not least because they fear getting arrested upon their arrival/return (or, at the very least, being barred from entering the city -- like has happened to such as Human Rights Watch founder, Kenneth Roth, back in January 2020).

As human rights activist Xun-ling Au Tweeted in response to a suggestion that people consider visiting Hong Kong: "Reminder that the [national security law (NSL)] is both retroactive and extraterritorial.  Sooo nah."   And should anyone need further reminders of how draconian it is, consider the case of the 47 democratic politicians and activists arrested back on February 28th, 2021, for having participated in and/or organised the democratic primaries that took place in July 2020.  

Their national security law trial is set to finally commence on Monday (February 6th), close to two years after their arrest and getting charged with trying to topple the  government.  In these two years, the majority of the defendants (who include Joshua Wong, Gwyneth Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan -- three of the six Hongkongers that the Congressional-Executive Commission on China have nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize) have been denied bail -- and thus been behind bars.

 

As per an AFP report: "The proceedings are expected to last more than four months, and the defendants face sentences of up to life imprisonment if convicted."  Also reported in the article is this: "The defendants say they have been targeted for normal opposition politics, with observers saying the trial illustrates how little room there is left to criticise China's rule since huge pro-democracy protests in 2019 were stamped out".  And this too: "China says the law was needed to curb political unrest, but rights groups and Hong Kong opposition figures say an ensuing crackdown has all but ended the city's autonomy and political freedoms."

 

A couple of other things worth noting: This trial -- like all of the national security trials that have taken place in Hong Kong to date -- is a jury-less trial.  Instead, it will be decided by the judges.  And is noted in the AFP report:  "Judges who sit on national security cases are handpicked by the city's leader and there has not yet been a trial in front of a jury.  In December, Beijing said Hong Kong's leader could also bar foreign lawyers from taking part in national security trials."  

 

Put another way: the odds are very much stacked in favour of the prosecutors and it also not a case of "Innocent until proven guilty" in the new Hong Kong that I cannot, in good conscience, tell people is a great place to visit and have a fun time.  This even though I really do think that Hong Kong is very beautiful and I have come to really  f**king love this place so very much. :S

A place with lots of political prisoners is not an ideal tourism destination (duh!)!

 

Not that many visitors in the vicinity of the Peak Galleria

the last time I visited the Peak -- and sorry, but I don't

necessarily think that this is all that bad a thing!

 

Two pieces of welcome news greeted Hong Kongers at the beginning of this new week.  The first involved the release from prison of Figo Chan, the convenor of the now-disbanded Civil Human Rights Front which used to organize the annual July 1st protest marches and so much more.  Sadly, the human rights activist's father passed away while he was behind bars; on a positive note, the now 26 year old did appear to be in good spirits after he left prison yesterday.

The second involved the release from prison too of the five speech therapists who were found guilty of sedition just a little more than a month ago.  On the one hand, we should indeed be happy that they -- whose "crime" was to produce illustrated children's books about sheeps and wolves -- are out of jail.  But on the other hand, it should be realized that Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung Yat-yee, Sidney Ng Hau-yi, Samuel Chan Yuen-sum and Marco Fong Tsz-ho were indeed given prison terms of 19 months and the reason why they are out so "soon" is because their remand time was so long!

 

Something else that should never be forgotten: there still are a good many political prisoners in Hong Kong, many of whom haven't even been found guilty and sentenced yet!  The following are just three of Hong Kong's political prisoners: Carol Ng, former chair of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, in pre-trial detention for 585 days and counting; Lee Cheuk-yan, another former chair of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, in pre-trial detention for 542 days and counting; and Winnie Yu, former Chairperson of the Hospital Authority Employee Alliance, in pre-trial detention for 216 days (and counting) now.

 

Moving on: we are seeing evidence of the Hong Kong government's latest international charm offensive having gotten underway -- with such as (deceptive) tourism ads figuring Australian pop personality "Honey Badger" Cummings and Lonely Planet producing puff pieces that are meant to attract visitors to the Big Lychee.  Here's my question: how many people would come to Hong Kong if they knew that it's now got so many political prisoners and, also, many Covid restrictions and regulations still in place?

 

I don't know about you but I've long made it a point to not only visit war torn countries but also ones whose political oppression and repression is well known.  I've also sought to avoid holidaying in places where the majority of the populace are poor and don't stand to benefit from a tourist presence.  

 

I realize some people might think that I'm overthinking things.  But the fact of the matter is that I really would much rather spend my leisure time in places whose local populace might resent my presence and are (understandably) not feeling super happy.  Consequently, if I were a tourist with no ties to this fair city, I would think twice re spending a vacation in national security law-era Hong Kong!

The latest works by VA Wong Sir and Ah To say so much about the situation in Hong Kong, and "the Far East"

Remember VA Wong Sir and Ah To?  The two talented political cartoonists may have left Hong Kong but they are keeping their eye on what's happening in the city they love and continuing producing works that are say so much about the situation in this part of the world.  And in recent days, both of them have produced illustrations that I think are very much worth sharing with others.  

 

So without further ado, I present to you this from VA Wong Sir (who now is on Twitter as well as Facebook as well as Patreon) which points out that Hong Kong is not (yet) "back to normal" like the Hong Kong government (including the Hong Kong Tourism Board) would like you to believe due to existing pandemic regulations and restrictions (never mind the national security law):

 

And this from Ah To (who has a Twitter account but appears to be more active on Instagram), produced to "celebrate" the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st of this year, which was inspired by -- and updates -- Tse Tsan-tai's "The Situation in the Far East" of July 1898: 

N.B. To appreciate the details of the illustrations, particularly Ah To's, click on the images to view enlarge versions of them!

Hong Kong is really beautiful but, alas, not without problems so bad that it's seeing record numbers of people leaving :(

Hong Kong looking idyllic on a bright blue sky summer's day

-- but too many don't think they have a bright future here :S

 

I've been experiencing a rare good mood in recent days.  It started with my going on Thursday evening to a favorite bar that a friend had heard was closing down, with its proprietor planning to return to Japan after living here for some two decades, and finding out that he appears to have had a change of heart and is going to try to keep going for a bit after all.  

 

And probably adding to the lifting of my mood has been there being a (temporary) break this weekend in the rainy spell that Hong Kong has been having for some weeks now.  For yes, it's turned out to be another hot weather warning day but seeing blue skies and high visibility are treats that I no longer take for granted after all these years of living in this part of the world.

 

Yet, amidst all this, I can't forget that, well, Hong Kong has problems.  If it didn't, you wouldn't have   113,000 residents leaving the city in the past year -- the largest percentage decline over a 12-month period since records began in 1961 -- leading to Hong Kong’s population dipping to around 7.29 million (from a high in 2019 of 7.5205 million people), would you?  

As Bloomberg's David Ingles Tweeted: "This is a record decline and it's not even close."  And as lawyer Kevin Yam, once of Hong Kong but now Australia, Tweeted in response to another of Ingles Tweets on the matter: "Let’s not dance around the issue. COVID curbs played a part (and a big part for some, esp expats), and it was a convenient excuse for many who didn’t feel safe to admit that they are leaving for another reason, but we all know the real main reason for people leaving."

 

On a personal note: I've long thought of Hong Kong as a transient city; with my averaging a friend leaving a year for a number of years.  But starting from 2020, I've seen a really startling number of friends and acquaintances leave Hong Kong.  As in, we're now in double digits and while I've started to lose count of the exact number, I'd estimate that we'll be getting to the 20 mark by the end of this year, if not before.

 

For the record: The first people I knew who left in 2020 were pro-Beijing/"neutral"-types upset because the protests had disrupted their lives; both of whom returned to Australia, where they had studied and gained citizenships (but had not been born there; with one of them, in fact, having been born in Hong Kong).  Then, post the national security law coming into being, pro-democracy types -- including a number who had never ever previously lived anywhere other than Hong Kong -- decided to leave -- to countries with democracies, like the United Kingdom, USA and Canada.  Also, although it has been made much of by the media, actually, very few people I personally know have left (principally) because of Covid curbs

 

And this exodus will continue, I'm sure, because, sadly, it's not like all the oppression has ended.  Adding to pro-democracy Hong Kongers' woes is that this is something that much of the world outside of Hong Kong do not realize -- or care? -- about this.  This is in part because we've not had any major street protests authorized and taking place for some time now -- thanks in large part to the pandemic, and "anti-pandemic" regulations and restrictions that often work better at controlling people than the coronavirus -- and thus no scenes of violent clashes involving tear gas and riot police for the media to film, photograph and beam out to the world.     

So it is good that the likes of Al-Jazeera are still producing articles (from time to time) like the explainer that came out yesterday entitled "What's going on in Hong Kong's courts?" (written, it's worth noting, by a journalist who used to be based in Hong Kong but also became part of the exodus).  Some choice excerpts from it:

More than 10,000 people have been arrested in the past three years for their alleged involvement in the protests, government criticism and pro-democracy political activities, according to Hong Kong government data. Of those facing charges, the vast majority are people below the age of 30, although they also include some of the city’s veteran opposition leaders...

Chinese “mainland-style criminal justice” and “lawfare” tactics have found their way into Hong Kong, said William Nee, research and advocacy coordinator at Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

“The volume of cases is part of it, and part of it is the lengthy legal process that people face – and we’re only two years into it,” he told Al Jazeera. “We predict it could go on for many, many years where people are unable to travel, unable to leave Hong Kong, unable to speak to the media, and unable to participate in public life,” he said...

The national security law has created a new criminal procedure in Hong Kong that strays from its common law tradition.

National security defendants are heard before a panel of three judges handpicked for terms of one year by the city’s chief executive, said Nee, which means the justices can easily be removed.

Unlike other criminal cases, there is no jury and defendants are almost exclusively denied bail while legal proceedings continue – often for months...

Sentencing has also become harsher regardless of age or past criminal record, said Steven Vines, a veteran Hong Kong journalist who left the city in 2021. Public order cases that once might have ended in fines or community service now attract prison time...

“People with no criminal convictions whatsoever are being given custodial sentences for things like unlawful assembly, which in the past would’ve incurred a fine, nothing more. People who are being convicted of more serious offences are getting sentences which are akin to armed robbers with a criminal record,” Vines told Al Jazeera...

[P]rosecutions of 2019 protesters are expected to continue over the next two years due to the lengthy backlog – the national security cases could take even longer due to the volume of evidence compiled by prosecutors and successive delays. In the meantime, much of Hong Kong’s opposition and civil society will remain silenced, exiled or in jail.

More on Samuel Bickett and Hong Kong's still very serious and politicized pandemic situation

Hong Kong, troubled but still really beautiful

 

I watched and listened to the Hong Kong Free Press' Tom Grundy interview Samuel Bickett last night (Youtube video available here).  This was actually the first time I had had heard him speak at length and 'live', and I must say that he acquitted himself very well; this not least since he clearly was still fatigued and probably also in shock to some extent from his most recent ordeal(s).  And, almost needless to say, I found the close to 40 minute long interview interesting and informative, and moving too.   

 

At various points, the now US-based lawyer -- who first moved to Hong Kong in 2013 -- spoke about planning to provide more details himself on his blog about his most recent prison experience and plans to continue pursuing his case up to the Court of Final Appeal, and I look forward to reading more of his writings in the future.  Mr Bickett also elaborated on a number of points he had made in the message he posted on Twitter two days ago and provided some background about his family -- and it's interesting, even while not super surprising, to learn that he has his parents' support in his pursuit of justice for himself and Hong Kong; and that he was raised by people who took part in civil rights protests in the USA.

 

On the subject of protests: More evidence for how difficult it is to stage them in Hong Kong these days came yesterday after three people staging a pro-Ukraine protest were fined by the Hong Kong police yesterday, and two taken away and arrested.  For the record: none of them was actually fined or arrested for protesting.  Rather, the fines came from their contravening the current anti-pandemic measure involving no public gatherings of more than two people being allowed and the arrests came from those two people not carrying any identification documents (like Hong Kong ID cards or their passports) with them. 

 

Nevertheless, there's no disputing that there is a feeling among many Hong Kongers that anti-pandemic measures, along with the actual Wuhan coronavirus itself, have played a key role in dissuading, even preventing, people from staging and taking part in large-scale protests since 2020.  As Quartz's Mary Hui wrote back in April of that year (i.e., some three months before China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong): "Since January, as the novel coronavirus spread rapidly in China, large-scale protests in Hong Kong have taken a pause as people called on each other to avoid crowds"; and a "Hong Kong regulation banning public gatherings of more than four people, enacted [in March] in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic, immediately stoked fears that it might be used to crack down on political dissent—and it appears to be happening already."

 

Speaking of the "novel coronavirus" that's now not so novel: Hong Kong's daily new Covid cases dropped down to a one-month low today.  Even so, it's still over the 10,000 mark (specifically, 10,401; with only four of the cases being imported ones) -- a far cry indeed from the 0 or even single digit figures Hong Kong had become used to for much of last year.  Also, the number of fatalities is still way higher than should be the case: with 192 deaths reported today (162 new; 30 backlogged); bringing the number of fifth wave deaths to 6,749 and total Covid deaths in Hong Kong to 6,962.  

And while the number of new daily cases are expected to keep going on a downward trajectory (as per the pattern of Omicron variant waves which sees the coronavirus spread easily and quickly but then appear to naturally burn out faster than that of other variants), the number of Covid fatalities are  expected to be high for a time.  And it most certainly doesn't help that the Hong Kong government appears to be sticking to a pandemic strategy that's far more guided by politics than science -- with today's major pandemic announcement by Carrie Lam involving the planned distribution of Covid kits next month that will include boxes of "traditional Chinese medicine" (TCM) along with N95 masks and rapid test kits (all of which will doubtlessly have been made in China).    

 

While the "traditional Chinese medicine" in question, Lianhua Qingwen, is promoted by the Chinese government as an effective treatment against Covid, it's actually been banned in Australia and back in July 2020, Hong Kong companies were warned by the USA's Food and Drug Administration against stating that any traditional Chinese medicine products, including Lianhua Qingwen, can treat or even mitigate the effects of Covid!  It also is not approved for treatment against Covid in Singapore; with Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) having issued an advisory which specifies that: "there is no scientific evidence from randomised clinical trials to show that any herbal product, including Lianhua Qingwen products, can be used to prevent or treat COVID-19." 

 

Scarily, not only has Lianhua Qingwen been adjudged to be ineffective by various government agencies but it in fact can be harmful.  Earlier this month, there was a reported case in Hong Kong man having  experienced acute liver failure after reportedly consuming painkillers and Lianhua Qingwen capsules! And while one doctor was quoted in local media as saying that overdosing on paracetamol can damage the liver, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Chinese Medicine also went on the record to state that Lianhua Qingwen "contains a level of toxicity that can be harmful to the liver"!

 

Almost needless to say, Carrie Lam and her administration's reluctance to listen to actual medical experts here in Hong Kong greatly frustrates and upsets said medical experts (among them, at least one RNA virologist, professor of public health and medical practitioner).  As for the public: ignore this linked The Standard article's headline and note the line in it that "Respondents rated the SAR government 2.68 out of 10 in terms of their efforts in terms of curbing the fifth wave of pandemic"; and that, for many people, that rating is already way higher than should be the case! 

Some reasons given to hope in Hong Kong today but also to stay wary!

Fifth wave Hong Kong signs outside 

the Legislative Council building

 

In recent days, there has been much (international media) coverage of Hong Kong's fifth coronavirus wave disaster -- for good reason.  Maria Ilaria Sala's article for The Guardian on Friday had this stark headline: "Here in Hong Kong, Covid has surged and we’ve run out of coffins. Please learn from our mistakes".  And Timothy McLaughlin's piece in The Atlantic includes the following choice quotes about Hong Kong's situation:

[I]n early 2020, Hong Kong was ahead of the COVID curve, not lagging behind it. As soon as news emerged of a still-mysterious virus, everyone here began wearing masks and adapted to social distancing almost immediately; I wrote article after article about what life would look like in the weeks to come in America, having seen the future myself. While the West was caught off guard, Hong Kong felt prepared. 

 

Now medical facilities are overwhelmed with sick patients, and because morgues have struggled to keep pace, body bags are piled up in hospitals alongside patients still receiving treatment. Coffins are being shipped in to meet the demand. Construction workers are racing to build isolation facilities, including one that looks like a wartime field hospital on the border with the mainland. Some 300,000 people are in isolation or under home quarantine. After recording only 213 deaths and about 13,000 cases of COVID-19 from January 2020 to early 2022, the city is swamped by the current Omicron wave, which began at the start of the year and has led to more than 960,000 cases and more than 4,600 deaths.

That article came out on Thursday.  Just one day later, Hong Kong's number of Covid cases passed the 1 million mark and its death toll exceeded 5,000.  And this despite the daily reported number of cases and deaths having dropped sufficiently to provide confirmation that we are over the peak of the fifth wave.  Put it another way: the numbers are still on the disturbingly high side; with today's involving 14,068 new cases and 223 new reported deaths.  

Nevertheless, a good number of people in Hong Kong are feeling better this evening than they have for a number of days, even weeks, because of a series of announcements made by Carrie Lam this morning involving the scrapping of Covid flight bans, the reduction of the quarantine period for incoming travellers from 14 days down to seven days and the setting out of a time table for relaxing social distancing measures.  Oh, and there also is the announcement that plans for Compulsory Universal Testing of Hong Kong residents has been "suspended".

 

Still, though those who are inclined to celebrate this would do well to remember to remember the Extradition bill saga (which involved a suspension before a long overdue withdrawal but also development for the worse soon afterwards) as well as Carrie Lam's words today that "I am not saying today that we will definitely not do this".  Put another way: how can we really trust her and what she says?  This is not least because she's prone to flip flops, if not playing with the truth and delivering outright lies.  And it doesn't instill confidence that the day earmarked for the resumption of flights to Hong Kong from the nine currently banned countries (which include the U.S.A., U.K. and Australia) is April 1st: April Fool's Day!       

In all seriousness though, there's also the fact of so much damage having already been wreaked on Hong Kong and the Hong Kong government's attempts to stem the flow of exiting expats and international businesses, never mind local residents, is already too little too late.  Thus it was that in her report today about Carrie Lam's announcement that some of Hong Kong's Covid restrictions will be relaxed (beginning from next month), CNN's Kristie Lu Stout also talked about the damage down to lives and livelihoods, and referred to the city where she currently is based as "a once vital world city" rather than one that is remains so. :(

Of Hong Kong film censorship and international celebrities who are speaking out

Hong Kong's second biggest film festival is currently taking place!

 

The latest edition of the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday, the day that Hong Kong's now opposition-less Legislative Council passed amendments to the film censorship law to allow film censorship on the basis of national security considerations.  As a Variety article points out: "The revision to the law is the latest operation to tighten the government grip on civil society, artistic and speech freedoms in the country"; and "[u]nder the film censorship amendment, violators screening unauthorized films may face punishments including fines up to $129,000 (HK$1 million) and three years in prison." 

 

As was pointed out in the same piece: "Significantly, the amended law gives authorities retrospective powers. Films that have previously received release approval can now be blocked if they are considered to be glorifying or supporting acts that could endanger national security."  And I wouldn't be all that surprised if a film (or more) will end up getting pulled from the ongoing Hong Kong Asian Film Festival; this not least because one of the Hong Kong International Film Festival's scheduled opening films ending up being pulled from the program this year.     

 

As it so happens though, both of the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival's opening films were allowed to be screened as planned.  Something else worth noting is that, for now, the amended film censorship law does not cover the online screening of movies.  And neither does it cover music videos.  Thus it is that while Malaysian bad boy rapper Namewee's Fragile music video (featuring Australian singer-actress-model Kimberley Chen) has been banned in Mainland China, this Mandopop song which makes fun of jingoistic Mainland Chinese nationalists known as "little pinks" has not been banned in Hong Kong -- and, in fact, has gone to the No. 1 spot on Youtube in Hong Kong as well as Taiwan!    

 

Actually, Namewee and Kimberley Chen -- not just their particular collaboration -- have now been blocked from Weibo in the wake of the release of Fragile!  But neither entertainer seem particularly upset or regretful about this.  After all, their music video now has more than 20 million views and been a big hit in Namewee's native Malaysia and neighboring Singapore as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan! 

 

Amidst all the furor, NBC News reported that Namewee had said some interesting things which I reckon deserve amplifying.  Firstly, in response to accusations that he, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, is insulting Chinese people: “I am [ethnically] Chinese. Am I insulting myself?”  And in response to accusations that he has been promoting Hong Kong and Taiwan independence: "I have never said anything [about Hong Kong and Taiwan independence]. If you don’t believe me, you can do a search... “Regarding this question, you should ask the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan what they think. My nationality is Malaysian. I cannot speak on their behalf."

 

At the same time though, Namewee made the following clear: "I will definitely stand with freedom and democracy. The human rights that we were born with are universal values, and that is what [I am] after as a Malaysian. This is why people take to the street to protest over and over again."  

 

After seeing the likes of his compatriot, Nigel Ng (AKA Uncle Roger), kowtow to China (or, at least, Chinese money), this is a refreshing take to see and hear.  Also refreshing and heartening to see and hear has been NBA player Enes Kantner standing up for Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hong Kong and Taiwan.  At a time when many people living in China don't feel able to speak up (for themselves, never mind others), it is a good thing that there exist people ouside of it who are caring and willing to do so.     

Nicole Kidman shows the world, with the help of the Hong Kong government, how some animals are more equal than others in Hong Kong as well as Animal Farm

Now that's what I call a big screen!

 

The Hong Kong International Film Festival's younger, smaller and seasonal sibling, the Summer International Film Festival, began earlier this week -- but it is by no means the entertainment-related talk of the town in Hong Kong.  Instead, that (dubious) credit goes to Australian actress Nicole Kidman having been allowed to skip quarantine when coming to town -- to film an Amazon Prime series about privileged expatriates in Hong Kong that had already been derided by many Hong Kongers. 

 

Actually, this news has been reported internationally too (see here and here and here for starters).  And the Hong Kong government has only fanned the flames of indignation, in its distinctive way, by acknowledging that it had approved Kidman's quarantine exemption and sating that this should be okay because she's keeping away from Hong Kong people (prompting one wag to note that "She certainly did her research on the expat lifestyle"!) and not allowed to take any public transportation whilst in Hong Kong with a quarantine exemption!   

 

Even before this, it's not like people were feeling positive about the Amazon Prime production that Nicole Kidman is an executive producer for and, also, may be starring in.  Among other things, it didn't help that Expats' director, Lulu Wang, is the scion of privileged Chinese Communisty Party members, and seemingly unaware that Hong Kong has an established film and TV industry of its own and thus should not be the kind of place where you need to import cameras for your production!  Oh, and there's also the tone-deafness of choosing to make a contemporary TV show about Hong Kong expats that doesn't look like it'll acknowledge what's been happening to Hong Kong in the past two years (like, you know, protests and repression).  

 

If this wasn't bad enough, amazingly, Amazon has now committed to a secondly series focusing on Hong Kong expats: this one entitled Exciting Times -- and no, it doesn't seem like its title is meant to be ironic in any way -- based on a novel that rang at least one Hong Konger's alarm bells back in January of last year!  This all has prompted some people to wonder if it has to do with the Hong Kong government's plans to launch an international publicity campaign to promote Hong Kong as the "best place in Asia to live, work and invest in" post its hiring global PR firm Consulum FZ LLC (Consulum) to "relaunch Hong Kong" and make its image more positive post it being sullied by such as mass arrests of pro-democracy politicians and political activists, the shutting down of the territory's largest pro-democracy newspaper and the imposition by China of a national security law for Hong Kong.  

 

Speaking of negative Hong Kong news: yesterday saw the arrest of four University of Hong Kong undergraduates-- aged between 18 and 20 years of age -- for "advocating terrorism" (by having released a statement, which they later retracted, expressing “deep sadness” over the death of a man who had wounded a police officer this past July 1st and appreciation for his “sacrifice”); and the announcement of the imminent halting of operations of the 612 Humanitarian Fund established to help arrested Hong Kong protestors due its soon not going to have a bank account it can use. 

 

Then today also saw two members of the Hong Kong 12, Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah, pleading guilty in a national security law case that is linked to jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai (as a result of what some suspect torture and other pressures), and tens of thousands of Hong Kongers holding British National Overseas passports being forced to leave behind their retirement savings when they leave for the United Kingdom.  And yes, I easily could have made one of these the main focus of this blog post -- and no, my not doing so doesn't mean that I think that all those happenings are not noteworthy.      

The reason why I've discussed in greater detail the Nicole Kidman quarantine exemption case, though, is because I think it shows so clearly how, in contemporary Hong Kong (not just George Orwell's Animal Farm), some animals really are more equal than others.  It also majorly highlights how Hong Kong's anti-pandemic measures don't seem to make complete sense if taken purely as medically-determined ones -- all of which doesn't exactly get people trusting the Hong Kong government with regards to anything, including its vaccination program.  Speaking of which: isn't it interesting and/or ironic that, even while it's younger Hong Kongers who tend to be seen as virulently anti-government, the least vaccinated of Hong Kongers currently are those who are over 70 years old?!        

Hong Kongers who have gone into exile, and one who has opted to stay against the odds

Which road to take?  Is one better than the other?

 

Democratic Party vice-chairman Lee Wing-tat has left Hong Kong -- joining an ever-growing list of former pro-democratic camp legislative councillors who have gone into exile  It's not just Nathan Law (currently based in Britain) and Ted Hui (in Australia) but also the likes of former legal sector representative Dennis Kwok (in Canada) and "Oathgate"'s Baggio Leung (in the U.S.A.).  When you consider that the likes of Glacier Kwong and Ray Wong also out of Hong Kong, there really is quite a sizeable contingent of (former) politicians and (still active) activists out there now, many of whom are continuing to make their voices heard and seeking to tell the world about Hong Kong's plight.

I'm not sure how much difference it can make for Hong Kong but one can't say that their voices are being completely ignored.  Just this week, we've seen: American president Joe Biden blocking the removal of Hong Kong residents from the U.S.A. for 18 months, citing Chinese repression; Canada officially issuing a warning to its citizens that the authorities in Hong Kong can prevent people leaving the city under a new law that has raised fears of Mainland China-style exit bans; and a Washington Post editorial warning of 'white terror' sweeping through Hong Kong and pointing out that President Biden has talked of a global contest intensifying between democracy and dictatorship, "and right now the despots are taking over Hong Kong." 

 

That Washington Post editorial about Hong Kong also referenced Steve Vines and Kacey Wong having decided to leave Hong Kong.  Meanwhile, the veteran journalist has also a piece out today in the Hong Kong Free Press about why he decided the time finally came to leave his home of 35 years old, a few choice excerpts of which I quote here:   

Killing the spirit of Hong Kong was never going to be easy but the Chinese Communist Party has set about this task with a vigour and determination that is quite breathtaking...

There is a real fear of the knock on the door in the early hours of the morning by National Security police. The almost daily arrests confirm that this is so. The idea that the rule of law has not been undermined is hard to sustain following the introduction of a slew of new legislation clearly signalling that Hong Kong citizens can no longer look to the law to protect them from injustice. I could go on, but the litany of body blows to liberty is sufficiently well known..

...loving Hong Kong has become a suspect activity. The Quislings now running Hong Kong and their mini-me supporters revel in their disdain for everything that makes this place distinctive. Most of all they hate the people, the millions who poured onto the streets calling for democracy and even those who chose to stay at home but cherished all the things that made Hong Kong so distinctive. They even hate the Cantonese language and the free-wheeling culture.

At the same time, as Vines also noted in his piece: "Yet other people – including those considerably more exposed than I have been – have opted not to leave. Some have no choice, while others could go yet have decided to stay."  Among these are filmmaker Kiwi Chow, whose protest documentary, Revolution of Our Times, recently had its world premiere at Cannes. 

As it so happens, there's an interview with Kiwi Chow in the Hong Kong Free Press today too.  Some excerpts from that piece:

His film was [an] outlet for the emotions Hongkongers could not express. Many now fear that discussing the pro-democracy movement publicly or showing support for the protests may breach the sweeping security law.

“The year of 2019 was traumatising. But when people cannot even talk about this distress, it is like being traumatised for the second time,” Chow said...

Hong Kong has seen an exodus of families since the national security law was implemented last year. While Chow’s anxious friends urged him to quit the city in pursuit of a safer future with his family, he is adamant that he will stay.

Chow said there was no need for him to leave, as he wanted to “follow Jesus Christ” and “bear witness” to what happens in his home city.

(For those who didn't realize: Hong Kong is home to a not insubstantial number of Christians.  For the record: Carrie Lam is a practicing Catholic; as is Hong Kong's second Chief Executive (and now also ex-jailbird), Donald Tsang.  And on the other side of the political equation: there's Cardinal Zen, Martin Lee, Reverend Chu Yiu-ming and Joshua Wong, among others.)