An Orwellian Day in Hong Kong

A dramatic backdrop for Carrie Lam commenting the IPCC report today

 

Today there was so much news going on besides the pandemic that as one local person on Twitter remarked: "Sometimes one gets the feeling Hong Kong is crumbling before one's eyes."

He was referring to a question on the DSE or the Diploma of Secondary Education exam, only one of the outrageous fiascos that happened today in another sign that Beijing is further inserting itself into Hong Kong.

The fall of Hong Kong to the Japanese in December 1941

The other day it was found one of the questions on the exam for students to be eligible for university had upset Beijing. Nay, it had "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" -- a line from the mainland Chinese playbook to demand sympathy.

That's because the history question asked students if they agreed Japan did more good than harm to China between 1900 and 1945. 

There were accusations from pro-establishment lawmakers that the question played down the impact of the Japanese occupation of China, and that it led exam candidates to come to a biased conclusion that "seriously hurt the feelings and dignity of the Chinese people who suffered great pain during the Japanese invasion of China".

Maybe it was a trick question to see if students were paying attention or not, but it is up to them to be in favour of or against the statement by supporting the argument with facts and analysis.

Education minister Kevin Yeung criticized an exam question

However it got too controversial to the point where Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung held a press conference today, saying the Education Bureau would ask the Examinations and Assessment Authority to void the question and make appropriate adjustments to ensure the credibility of the exam.

Yeung said given Japan's invasion of China, the answer to the exam question must be "doing more harm than good to China". "There is no room for discussion."

His curt comment probably came after Beijing was riled up about the question. The foreign ministry publicly criticized the authority over the question, warning that education could not be allowed to run out of control, like a "chicken coop without a flap".

Education in Hong Kong is becoming more politicized. Surely the teachers setting the exam questions knew they were going to be verging into hot-water territory with the Sino-Japanese war?

Sin Ka-ho, 22, was jailed for four years today for rioting

The next fiasco that happened today was the sentencing of 22-year-old Sin Ka-ho, who was jailed for four years for his part in the anti-government protests last year. The lifeguard pleaded guilty to ramming police barricades and hurling helmets and umbrellas at the police outside the Legislative Council on June 12.

Sin was a first-time offender and while his defense counsel said the young man did not regret his actions, he admitted setting a bad example to young people and would urge them not to resort to violence.

Many HongKongers were outraged by the sentence because he is being used as an example to others, being the first to plead guilty -- because he was clearly captured on video for his actions.

But compare this heavy sentence to a pro-Beijing tour guide who had attacked pro-democracy activists with knives at a Lennon Wall in Taipo last August, and was only sentenced to 45 months in jail last month. Three people were wounded in the attack, one seriously.

How is this justice?

Then the third event today was the release of the report on police violence by the IPCC, or Independent Police Complaints Council. The 1,000-page report details main events during the anti-government protests last year, including June 12 (where Sin was caught throwing umbrellas and helmets at police), July 1, July 21 and August 31.

How can there be no collusion from this photo taken July 21?

When it comes to July 21, when white-shirted men, apparently triad-related, were armed with sticks and attacked people, mostly protesters returning to Yuen Long at the MTR station, the IPCC report glosses over the violence and claims there was no collusion between the police and the white-shirted men.

How could there be no collusion when there are numerous videos of police officers patting the backs of some white shirted men? How can there still be so few arrests to this day?

One of the former independent advisors to the IPCC, Clifford Stott, a professor of social psychology at Keele University in the UK, has advised government around the world around policing. He says the section on July 21 was a result of "misinformation".

"It would seem the release of the IPCC report is part of a wider set of coordinated announcements designed to deliver the new 'truth'," he tweeted, attaching a quote by George Orwell.

Indeed.

At the 6pm press conference today, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stood in front of a backdrop that featured a collage of photos from violent protests with the slogan: "The Truth About Hong Kong".

The IPCC report was released today, but soft on police actions

She said now was not the time to have an independent inquiry because the city is too busy fighting against the pandemic, and besides, people who volunteered to join the independent review panel were busy and dropped out.

Lam described the report as "comprehensive and objective", and that she would take into consideration "areas of improvement" where police clashed with protesters. She spent 10 hours reading the report and implement some of the 52 recommendations, which include drafting guidelines for journalists reporting at protest scenes, reviewing internal police command structures, and improving the identification of police officers with clear numbers.

If that didn't get more Orwellian, how about removing a pan-democratic lawmaker who heads a committee because he has been filibustering for months, but that is his legal right to do so?

After weeks of complaints from Beijing, Legislative Council President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen removed Dennis Kwok Wing-hang from the House Committee and replaced him with pro-Beijing councillor Chan Kin-por.

Legco President Andrew Leung removed Dennis Kwok today

Leung claimed he was invoking his power under article 92 of the council's rules of procedure to deal with the current impasse after seeking legal advice. He defended the unprecedented move, saying: "This is a hard decision, and I think it's incumbent upon me to take a decision to make sure that we can, as the legislature -- on the whole -- to fulfill our responsibility under the Basic Law."

He added that he chose Chan for his experience in chairing the Finance Committee. 

For all these four things to happen in one day, it's too much to digest and understand what is going on in Hong Kong. If anything, it is the increased "mainlandization" of the city, made possible to a pliant local government.

How can everyone, from opposition lawmakers to ordinary people stop more of this from happening before 2047?