The Odyssey - Democracy in Hong Kong

[Randy W]

A return to C.Y.? Interesting only if you want to learn a little more about Hong Kong politics, especially with regards to the Basic Law, protests, and censorship.

What leadership does HK need? Former Chief Executive CY Leung on Talking Post
Hong Kong's former leader CY Leung tells Yonden Lhatoo about his views on leadership and the city's future, while keeping everyone guessing as to whether he wants another shot at the top job.

Read the full report: https://sc.mp/pvc3

https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/246813560949084/

One thing that both C.Y. and Carrie make obvious is that Beijing is their overriding master.

Edited January 28, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

National security law: Hong Kong university student gets 5 years’ jail for inciting secession on social media

• District Court judge finds engineering undergraduate Lui Sai-yu’s offence to be of a ‘serious nature’
• Police initially focused on his sale of weapons through social media, but later turned their attention to his Telegram channel containing more than 1,000 provocative messages

The defendant was originally picked up by police in 2020. Photo: Handout
 

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In the District Court ruling, Judge Amanda Woodcock found engineering undergraduate Lui Sai-yu’s offence to be of a “serious nature” and warranted at least five years’ imprisonment in accordance with the new legislation, regardless of how much remission the court agreed to offer on the basis of his remorse for the crime.

 . . .

Lui pleaded guilty on Wednesday in exchange for prosecutors dropping two charges stemming from possession of firearms and offensive weapons.
In September 2020, police’s national security unit raided his home in Fanling and seized a pepper ball launcher, two military knives and an extendable baton, as well as protective equipment commonly used by protesters during the social unrest in 2019.
Initial investigations had focused on Lui’s sale of weapons through social media, but officers later turned their attention to his Telegram channel containing more than 1,000 provocative messages and illustrations.

The prosecution said the defendant and another unknown user had co-administered the platform, named “Channel of Anti-Communism and Hong Kong Independence”, to make repeated calls for independence.
Police found the channel published 357 posts between June 30 and September 23 in 2020.
Among the offensive statements were expressions such as “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times”, the signature rallying cry during the 2019 protests, as well as “Hong Kong independence, the only way out” and “Fight against totalitarianism”.
Other posts offered to sell weapons and body gear in support of “a war against the People’s Republic of China”, and also called for donations to be used “in fighting for Hong Kong independence by this channel”.

 

 

[Randy W]

Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) will officially perform Chinese-style foot drills
From July 1, 2022, the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) will officially perform Chinese-style foot drills of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The HKPF held its first PLA-style foot drill training in February 2021.

from the People's Daily - Hong Kong on Facebook

[Randy W]

The 25 years since Hong Kong’s handoverFrom Disneyland’s opening to Occupy Central, Hong Kong has had an eventful journey since the city ceased to be a British colony on July 1, 1997.

Read more: scmp.com/hk25

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/430486828716011/

[Randy W]

'It’s hard to talk about dreams now': A Hongkonger reflects on two decades living in BeijingThere are about 370,000 Hong Kong people living and working in mainland China as of November 2020. Among them is Bing Chiu, who moved to Shanghai in 1998 then Beijing to work in the advertising industry.

Bing said he initially had to adjust to the more political environment in the Chinese capital, but he went on to pursue his dream of opening a restaurant and forming a band.

Opportunities started opening up for his band, including TV performances that allowed the group to find bigger audiences. But the situation changed once the country began tightening control on cultural events starting in 2015.

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/1499920677134734/

[Randy W]

Xi Jinping Says Hong Kong People Must Respect Communist Party

• Chinese leader to leave Hong Kong shortly after first visit since 2017
• Xi defends China’s handling of Hong Kong protests
• Says ‘one country, two systems’ model works well
• UK, US, Australia criticize China’s handling of city

from Bloomberg, live updates

Xi offered little new, adhering steadfastly to a Communist Party version of Hong Kong’s reality that few inside the territory or outside China would recognize. The president praised One Country, Two Systems and said it must be adhered to in the long run, though the US, UK, European Union and Australia among other countries say Beijing has broken the promises it made under the arrangement to guarantee Hong Kong’s autonomy for 50 years after the 1997 handover.

and the SCMP

live | Xi Jinping says Hong Kong's unique status and advantages must be upheld as he hails ‘one country, two systems’

• President says one country, two systems must be executed comprehensively, with China having overall jurisdiction but city enjoying high degree of autonomy. He also stresses need for patriots in office and upholding of city's free economy and common law system
• He also sets out expectations for John Lee administration, stressing efficiency, national identity, integration and solving livelihood issues

This blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Hong Kong: What’s happened in 25 years of Chinese rule?Since China took over in 1997, Hong Kong has gone from promises of democracy to a crackdown on dissent and uncompromising rule by Beijing. Here’s a look back at what’s happened

from Al Jazeera on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera/videos/1030141737700411/

[Randy W]

Xi visits HK for 25th handover anniversaryUnlike past anniversaries, there were no pro-democracy marches this year in Hong Kong. A security blanket was in full force for Xi Jinping’s 2-day visit.

 

Read more: scmp.com/hk25

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/570797958082699/

 

 

Edited July 2, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

A Chinese Canadian billionaire mysteriously disappeared from a luxury Hong Kong hotel more than five years ago. Now he is on trial in China, in a case that is seen as part of a crackdown on an earlier era of freewheeling capitalism.

from the NY Times on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/pfbid02wcHVCqRJu1qiesNoKX8qqimqxApXT4rUf3pEePSryKgA1Tw5g9xR9tstgeZc9Yc7l

Five Years After Vanishing, Chinese Canadian Billionaire Faces Trial
The case against the financier Xiao Jianhua is widely seen as part of a crackdown on the debt-fueled excess that drove China’s economic growth.

Xiao Jianhua in Beijing in an undated photograph. He has not been heard from since he was taken out of Hong Kong under mysterious circumstances in January 2017.Credit...The New York Times
 

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Mr. Xiao’s case has been widely seen as part of the Chinese government’s continuing campaign to curb the debt-fueled excess that powered much of the country’s economic growth in recent decades. In 2020, the Chinese authorities seized nine companies, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, linked to Tomorrow Group. That is the holding company behind Mr. Xiao’s sprawling business empire, which he built over two decades thanks in part to his high-level political connections.

In seizing control of two securities firms and a futures company in 2020, China’s securities regulator accused the businesses of providing misleading information about their shareholders and controller. In July 2021, regulators extended the seizure of the nine companies by another year to “further promote risk disposal work and defuse financial risks.” The Tomorrow Group conglomerate also had interests in state-dominated industries, including banking, insurance, coal, cement, property and rare-earth minerals.

Apart from the takeover announcements, the Chinese authorities have said little about Mr. Xiao’s case. For years, there was no official word about his whereabouts after he was snatched in 2017 from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong in a wheelchair by half a dozen unidentified men. It wasn’t until 2020 that Tomorrow Group confirmed that Mr. Xiao was on the mainland and cooperating with the government’s efforts to restructure the conglomerate.

 

 

[Randy W]

Canada says denied access to trial of Chinese-Canadian tycoon
Billionaire Xiao Jianhua has not been seen in public since disappearing from a luxury Hong Kong hotel in January 2017.

The Canadian government says Chinese authorities have prevented diplomats from attending the trial of dual citizen Xiao Jianhua [File: Next Magazine via AP]

from Al Jazeera

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Chinese-born Xiao, who is known to have links to the ruling Communist Party elite, vanished amid a flurry of prosecutions of Chinese business people accused of wrongdoing. The Tomorrow Group founder’s disappearance at the time raised fears that Chinese authorities were operating outside of their legal authority in Hong Kong, which has a separate legal system under the “one country, two systems” formula that is supposed to guarantee the city unique freedoms until at least 2047.

Since then, Beijing has dramatically curtailed civil liberties in the former British colony, using a sweeping national security law to effectively wipe out all political opposition and force the closure of media outlets and civil society organisations.

Xiao, who was reportedly whisked away from his hotel in a wheelchair with his head covered, was ranked 32nd on the 2016 Hurun China rich list, with an estimated net worth of $5.97bn at the time.

In 2020, regulators seized nine Tomorrow Group-related institutions as part of a crackdown on risks posed by financial conglomerates.

 

 

[Randy W]

It's not clear how impactful this "drop" actually is

Hong Kong suffers biggest ever population drop as exodus accelerates

from CNN

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Hong Kong has recorded its sharpest annual drop in population, with experts blaming the decline on strict Covid control measures and a political crackdown that have taken the shine off a financial hub long advertised as "Asia's world city."

The city's total population fell from 7.41 million people to 7.29 million, a 1.6% decrease, the Census and Statistics Department said Thursday.

That's the steepest decline since the government began tracking figures in 1961.

Though authorities attributed some of that to a "natural" decrease -- more deaths than births -- experts said the figures also reflected an exodus that has accelerated in the past few years amid periods of massive social upheaval that have included anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic.

Around 113,200 residents left Hong Kong over the past year, the department said, compared to 89,200 the year before. The figures include expatriates and other non-permanent residents.

 

 

[Randy W]

On 7/11/2022 at 5:42 PM, Randy W said:

Canada says denied access to trial of Chinese-Canadian tycoon
Billionaire Xiao Jianhua has not been seen in public since disappearing from a luxury Hong Kong hotel in January 2017.

 

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The Canadian government says Chinese authorities have prevented diplomats from attending the trial of dual citizen Xiao Jianhua [File: Next Magazine via AP]

from Al Jazeera

 

 

Breaking News: China sentenced Xiao Jianhua, the Chinese Canadian billionaire snatched from a Hong Kong hotel in 2017, to 13 years in prison and fined his company $8 billion.

from the NY Times on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/pfbid0jkPzVZd8uG7CzG6MC4XTtrbL5V4yf6Mvxm6G3QPXe4ZqV4ZVQ7MKvpFJMxhE1329l

Chinese Canadian Billionaire Sentenced to 13 Years for Financial Crimes
Five years after being grabbed from a Hong Kong hotel, Xiao Jianhua, who came to symbolize China’s corporate excess, also faces a hefty fine, as does his company.

Xiao Jianhua in Hong Kong in 2013. He vanished into Chinese custody in 2017.Credit...Next Magazine, via Associated Press

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 . . . after he pleaded guilty to bribery and other crimes that authorities said had “seriously jeopardized” the country’s financial security.

Mr. Xiao, whose Tomorrow Group umbrella of companies was once worth hundreds of billions of dollars, was also fined $1 million, a Shanghai court said on Friday.

One of several Chinese business tycoons caught in the cross hairs of a crackdown on corruption, Mr. Xiao was snatched from his home in a luxury Hong Kong hotel in 2017 and disappeared into Chinese custody. There was no news of him until 2020, when Chinese officials confirmed he was on the mainland and cooperating with the government in restructuring his businesses. Last month, he re-emerged to stand trial in a Shanghai court, but authorities kept details of the charges against him a secret.

His trial, which began on July 4, was attended by top Chinese officials, including deputies to the National People’s Congress and members of the China People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s state media reported on Friday. Mr. Xiao and his business relationships — which reached as high as the family members of China’s top leader, Xi Jinping — were once an illustration of the close ties between China’s business world and the political elite

The Tomorrow Group empire came to symbolize the excesses of China Inc., and its demise in 2020 was a signal from regulators that an era of freewheeling finance, in which wealthy executives used their political connections to build huge companies that scooped up trophy assets at home and abroad, was over.

 

 

[Randy W]

Breaking | Hong Kong national security law: 6 ex-Apple Daily staff to admit collusion in Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai to stand trial without jury after pleading not guilty

• Lai, 74, charged alongside six former employees of tabloid-style paper with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces
• Prosecutors allege they had sought international sanctions or hostile actions by foreign governments against Hong Kong or mainland China

from the SCMP

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is facing a charge of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. Photo: Winson Wong
 

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Prosecutors alleged that the defendants had sought international sanctions or hostile actions by foreign governments against Hong Kong or mainland China since July 1, 2020 – one day after the national security law took effect – until the newspaper’s closure on June 24 last year.

 . . .

The six Apple Daily staff members and Lai face a separate joint count of “conspiracy to print, publish, sell, offer for sale, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publication” under the colonial-era sedition law, with the alleged offence dating back to April 2019 before the national security law took effect.

The two charges also target three affiliated companies – Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited and AD Internet Limited – which face a compulsory shutdown and fine if convicted.

 . . .

Apart from his involvement in Apple Daily, Lai faces a charge of colluding with foreign forces for allegedly attracting foreign sanctions through his commentaries and activities on social media.
He also faces a second count of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces for allegedly masterminding an anti-China campaign since the 2019 social unrest by funding an international lobbying campaign in the hope of attracting foreign intervention on local affairs.

 

 

 

[Randy W]

5 in Hong Kong Sentenced to Prison Over Sheep Book 

from the VOA

FILE: Li Kwai-wah, left, senior superintendent of Police National Security Department speaks in front of a screen showing pages from children's books ruled seditious. The authors were sentenced to nearly two years in prison, Sept. 10, 2022 for their role in their publication.

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Five Hong Kong speech therapists were each sentenced to 19 months in prison Saturday after being found guilty on sedition charges for a series of published children’s books that were deemed anti-government.

On Wednesday the five were convicted of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications under a colonial-era law.

District Court Judge Kwok Wai-Kin said the books were aimed at “brainwashing” children and all were made with seditious intent.

Sheep and wolves

The books featured cartoons of sheep that were trying to repel wolves from their village. The publications referenced real events in recent years during Hong Kong’s political turmoil, including the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019 and how 12 dissidents attempted to escape to Taiwan in a speedboat before being intercepted by the Chinese coast guard.

After convicting the five, Judge Kwok implied that children reading the books would be told they are the sheep and the wolves that are trying to harm them are Chinese authorities.

Lorie Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung, Sidney Ng, Samuel Chan and Fong Tsz-ho, all younger than 30, had pleaded not guilty in July. All five were members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, which has since closed.

In a two-month trial, prosecutors said the books had caused hatred toward the government and argued a sedition offense is like “treason.”

 

 

[Randy W]

Coronavirus: departed companies not looking back, Hong Kong business chamber warns, urging lower threshold for talent scheme

• Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce CEO George Leung says even if travel curbs fully eased, results and recovery will only come in first quarter of next year
• Survey by chamber shows about 30 per cent of large firms are considering leaving or have already departed, 10 per cent have left for good

Business chamber says even if Hong Kong drops all entry restrictions soon firms will only benefit in the first quarter of next year at the earliest. Photo: Sam Tsang
 

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Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce CEO George Leung Siu-kay on Sunday urged the government to promptly lift all Covid-19 entry restrictions and called for lowering thresholds for talent schemes to avoid further losing out to Singapore.

 . . .

In the long term, firms were less likely to move back to the city if they had relocated their Asia-Pacific headquarters to Singapore, which offered many of the same advantages as Hong Kong, while companies focused on the Greater China market might return, he added.