A Sombre Look to 2021

New Year's Eve is cancelled in Lan Kwai Fong tonight

 

This year's New Year's Eve will be muted with social distancing measures preventing people from marking the end of 2020 in restaurants and bars because of the coronavirus pandemic. Already after lunch streets around Lan Kwai Fong were blocked off by police and barricades about to be put in place.

But if no more than two people can gather what is the point of going there when everything there is closed and the possibility of being fined for not social distancing?

Lai on his way to the Court of Final Appeal

2020 is also ending on a disappointing note with Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying back in jail after the Court of Final Appeal agreed to the Department of Justice's argument to hear an appeal on the question of bail in a national security law case.

However, that case won't be heard until February 1 to decide if Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang erred in granting bail to Lai on December 23. 

Until February 1, the media tycoon will be in jail... his reprieve was a very short seven days.

As for 2021, there will be more of the same. Talking to people in the last few days we all expect social distancing measures to continue well into January in the hopes the pandemic will be under control by Chinese New Year, but for sure the protests have been forced underground for now.

The wave of emigration from Hong Kong has already begun, with people starting new lives elsewhere, lost as to what to do and sad for their hometown. More will join their ranks in the coming months.

Economically it will continue to be tough in Hong Kong, though the fact that businesses with restaurant licenses can operate is much better off than those in New York, Los Angeles, London and Paris. Retail has been hit the hardest, with people either not in the mood or lacking the funds to shop unless it's for necessities.

Looks like a sombre year ahead, but with vaccines coming there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. 

Wishing everyone a better and healthier 2021.

Remembering Li Wenliang, the 12 Hongkongers and Jimmy Lai

Tributes pour out for Li who warned about the coronavirus

 

Today is the one year anniversary of Wuhan ophthalmologist Li Wenliang sending a text message in a group chat with his former classmates about a mysterious virus that seemed to be life threatening.

At first he was silenced by the police, and then later he himself contracted the virus and died on February 7. 

Zhang sentenced to four years for her reports

One year later, citizen journalist and lawyer Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" when she shot videos of what she saw in Wuhan. She knew she was going into sensitive territory as police and security guards threatened to destroy her phone if she continued filming. Zhang did, revealing how much the government wanted to prevent the truth from coming out.

She is not the only person to give first-hand reports in Wuhan, but also Chen Mei, Cai Wei, Li Zehua, Chen Qiushi, and Fang Bin. They have either been arrested or detained, but we have yet to have any update on their situations.

And look where we are today, with over 82 million cases, almost 1.8 million deaths worldwide.

Meanwhile this morning in Shenzhen, the verdict came down on the 12 Hongkongers who tried to flee to Taiwan by speedboat but ended up being intercepted by the Guangdong coast guard.

The Chinese authorities claimed the trial was open, and yet none of the relatives of the 12 were in the courtroom, nor were diplomats allowed in either. 

Two under aged Hongkongers freed from China

First, two were underage and after pleading guilty, they were handed over to Hong Kong police this morning after spending four months in detention. The pair, Liu Tsz-man and Hoang Lam-phuc, refused to talk to the media about their experience.

Eight of the fugitives face seven months' in prison, but having served four months, it is expected they will be released in March.

However, Tang Kai-yin and Quinn Moon were convicted for organizing the crime of illegally crossing the border. Tang was sentenced to three years, and Quinn -- the only woman in the group -- faces two years in prison.

Reaction from their families and pro-democracy activists was that the sentences were too harsh, while mainland lawyers and pro-Beijing politicians felt the outcome was lenient.

A family-appointed mainland lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the punishments handed to Tang and Quinn were "too heavy".

The families of the 12 have had no contact

"If their role only involved buying or driving the boat as a group, it shouldn't constitute organizing the crime," he said, in a reference to Tang's role.

Barrister Chow Hang-tung could not understand why the fugitives' offences were categorized as "serious" when they were first-time offenders.

"On the mainland, many illegal border crossing cases were not even treated as criminal cases," she said. "But for a closed-door trial, any sentences is too tough. Everyone knows this wasn't an open and fair trial. This sentences was extremely excessive -- it was meant to deter Hong Kong people from continuing with their [political] movement."

However, Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole representative to the National People's Congress Standing Committee said the sentences were understandable.

"Some Hong Kong critics have tried to politicize this, and said mainland authorities will prosecute them on charges related to national security," he said. "But that did not happen... The only message from the court was that if you cross the border illegally, you will bear the consequences. Nothing else."

Judge says Lai is giving his personal opinion

Then in Hong Kong, a High Court judge said Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has an "arguable" case against a charge of breaking the national security law, in his explanation of why he allowed the tycoon out on bail.

While the prosecution claimed Lai's commentaries proved his collusion with foreign forces by requesting foreign governments impose sanctions on the mainland and Hong Kong, Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang said these purported requests could be seen as mere personal opinion.

The judge added the fraud case against Lai lacked enough evidence to prove he and two co-defendants had intended to deceive the landlord about subleasing space to another firm.

Justice Lee also felt the restrictions on Lai's movements and actions were reasonable, and that he would not flee Hong Kong. 

 

Remembering Fu Ts'ong and Other News

Fou Ts'ong was a well known expert in playing Chopin

An update on what happened today before getting to my main post today: 

Student activist Tony Chung Hon-lam was sentenced to four months in jail for defiling the Chinese national flag;

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has resigned as chairman of parent company Next Digital to focus more on personal affairs;

The 12 Hong Kong activists who were detained at sea for allegedly trying to escape to Taiwan by speedboat will hear their fate on Wednesday morning;

Citizen journalist and lawyer Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" for her fearless reporting in Wuhan during the height of the pandemic. She refused to cooperate with the so-called "investigation" and went on a hunger strike, and the authorities tied her hands and forced a feeding tube down her  nose;

And Hong Kong recorded 53 new cases today, but still 14 of them have unknown sources which is worrying.

Fou made London his home since 1958

This afternoon came the sad news that renowned Chinese pianist Fou Ts'ong passed away of Covid-19 in London. He was 86 years old.

I feel so privileged to see him perform in Beijing in December 2007 and my account of the concert is here.

He was very passionate about Chopin, and is considered a master in interpreting the Polish composer. In this nine-minute video you can see his enthusiasm for Chopin, and he elucidates his reason for loving his music so much.

"And I always said it always takes a genius to understand genius. Ordinary people always try to pull the genius down to their level, they don't understand the composer. There are a lot of imitators but nobody is Chopin. He is unique," he says in the video.

Zhu Meifu, Fou Lei

However, one has to think of the life Fou has been through for him to be able to interpret Chopin so beautifully. Fou's life has been full of success and praise, but also tragedy and pain.

He was born in 1934 in Shanghai and studied piano at a young age under Western pianists before winning a scholarship to the Warsaw Conservatory after taking third prize in the 5th International Chopin Competition in 1955.

Fou was the son of Fou Lei, a well-known French translator of Honore de Balzac, Romain Rollard, Voltaire, and Andre Gide. 

While the younger Fou made London his base in 1958, his father was concerned about him being so far from home and began writing letters to him -- almost 200 of them -- which were later compiled into a book called Home Letters by Fu Lei and published in 1981. 

However in 1958 Fou Lei and his wife Zhu Meifu were labelled rightists in the Anti-Rightist movement, and by 1966 when the Cultural Revolution began in full swing, both parents committed suicide.

It wasn't until 1979 after the end of the Cultural Revolution could Fou Ts'ong return to China to mourn them, and a year later gave his first concert there in over 20 years.

Fou Lei's letters to his son

Fou's personal life is interesting. In 1960 he married Zamira Menuhin, the daughter of Yehudi Menuhin, and they had one son; they divorced in 1969. Later he married Hijong Hyun, a daughter of South Korea's ambassador to Morocco that later ended in divorce.

Then he married London-based, Chinese-born pianist Patsy Toh. Sadly she was hospitalized with the coronavirus as well and tragically could not be with Fou before he died.

Watching his videos now, I wish I had an opportunity to speak with him. Musicians and artists are so passionate about their craft, and they are so keen on sharing their love of it with others. 

Fou's energy talking about Chopin five years ago shows his admiration for the composer has hardly waned;  he was still trying to understand what Chopin wrote, after decades of playing those pieces over and over again.

He is so lucky to pursue his love of music to the utmost and make it his mission to disseminate what he knows to others.

Judging from the social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram today, many are sad to hear of Fou's passing. We will all miss him dearly.

Ex-Lawmaker Arrested by ICAC

Lam (left) talks to an ICAC officer at his home this morning

It is becoming harder and harder to comprehend what is happening in Hong Kong with the victims being charged as perpetrators. There is no respite for those who are asking for the truth.

The city's rule of law continues to deteriorate with the arrest of former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting this morning for allegedly revealing the name of a person under investigation by the ICAC, or Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Three ICAC officers enter Lam's home

Three ICAC officers showed up at Lam's home to tell him he was under arrest.

The irony is that Lam was previously an ICAC investigative officer himself, and told the trio the commission had become a "tool for political persecution".

"We both graduated from cadet school and know the law," he said to them. "You are interpreting the law in this way for purely political reasons. My arrest today clearly marks the fall of the ICAC and also demonstrates the fall of Hong Kong."

White-shirted men attacked MTR passengers

The person under investigation is allegedly linked to the Yuen Long mob attack on July 21 last year.

Lam was taken from his home and later appeared at Eastern Magistracy wearing a T-shirt with the ICAC logo on it.

The case was adjourned until early March and he was released on bail for HK$2,000.

If Lam is convicted of disclosing details of an ongoing ICAC investigation, or identify those under investigation, he could face up to one year in prison and a HK$20,000 fine.

To add insult to injury, on July 21 last year, he was one of dozens of people who were attacked in the MTR train by men in white shirts with sticks -- Lam sustained injuries to his mouth that required 18 stitches -- and yet he was charged with rioting. He had gone to Yuen Long that night to find out what was going on.

Lam refuses to hold an independent inquiry

Hongkongers have asked for an independent inquiry into the protests and yet Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor refuses to do so. 

Instead the government and the police are presenting another narrative of what happened that night in Yuen Long, and arresting those who were witnesses, arresting journalists who are trying to find out  more information, and barring any possibility of a independent inquiry so needed to heal divisions in the city.

It is a lost opportunity gone forever.

People's Daily Blasts Jimmy Lai's Bail

Lai (centre) was released late Wednesday night on bail

 

It took four days for Beijing to respond to Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's release on bail and as expected, it criticized the Hong Kong courts for allowing the "extremely dangerous" Apple Daily founder to go under house arrest.

An editorial in the People's Daily today with the headline: "Bail granted to Lai Chee-ying severely hurt Hong Kong's rule of law", warned the mainland had "sufficient legal grounds" to take over jurisdiction of the 73-year-old's national security law case.

Lai is the first person to be charged under the national security law for colluding with foreign forces, and the first to be granted bail.

People's Daily editorial today

On Wednesday, he was granted bail for HK$10 million in cash by a High Court judge, and is now under house arrested under strict restrictions, including not being allowed to be interviewed or interview others, publish articles, meet with foreign government representatives, or publish social media posts.

The strongly worded online commentary urged the judiciary to "make the right decisions", and punish "insurgents" like him.

"If the judiciary fails to handle the case impartially and in accordance with the law, it will have severely hurt Hong Kong's rule of law and placed the country's security in an extremely dangerous situation, in turn bringing incalculable negative effects," it said.

The unsigned editorial pointed out Article 55 of the security law allows the central government to assert jurisdiction over certain cases and move defendants to the mainland for trial, saying there were valid grounds for invoking this provision in Lai's case.

It went on to accuse Lai of continuing through "words and deeds", to call on foreign governments to sanction Hong Kong, despite the security law being enacted on June 30. It also maintained demands to release Lai made by foreign politicians, including US Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, had "confirmed" the allegations of collusion with foreign forces.

"Under these circumstances, many Hong Kong citizens have called on the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong to intervene in this case decisively in accordance with the law," it added. "There is sufficient legal basis."

Tsang faces charges but has gone into exile

Who are these "citizens" the People's Daily is referring to? In Hong Kong there has been no media reports of residents, nor pro-Beijing politicians, clamoring for Lai to be extradited to the mainland to face trial. 

People in Hong Kong appreciate the city's rule of law and are patient enough to let the case wind through the courts.   

The People's Daily editorial described Lai as "notorious and extremely dangerous", and that the bail conditions set by the court were "unbelievable" and "completely out of proportion to the possible harm Lai might cause to national security".

It said cases like Lai's should not even entertain the prospect of bail, as it was necessary to prevent suspects from continuing to endanger national security. It also urged local courts to learn a "bitter lesson" from the case of Tsang Chi-kin, the 19-year-old student who was shot during last year's protests and was facing charges of rioting and assaulting police, and who has since reportedly fled into exile.

"Lai has been an important pawn of some external forces, and has great value on anti-China campaigns. External forces have the motive to facilitate his escape from Hong Kong," the commentary said. "Who would shoulder responsibility if Lai absconds or continues to wreck Hong Kong while on bail?"

Law (left) and Hui meet up in the UK

This shows just how much Lai means to Beijing -- it is desperate to put the man behind bars to use him as an example. So far Lai has done nothing to violate his agreed terms of house arrest. He has even deleted his Twitter account and has not spoken to any reporter since Wednesday. So how can he continue to "wreck Hong Kong" while on bail?

There is also a news report that Hong Kong police have a list of 30 people who are overseas on suspicion of having violated the national security law. They include: former lawmakers Ted Hui Chi-fung, and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, and Brian Leung Ka-ping, who is currently in the United States after he and other protesters stormed the Legislative Council on July 1 last year.

Others are Nathan Law Kwun-chung, former British consulate worker Simon Cheng Man-kit, and activist Ray Wong Toi-yeung.

The police insider said these people had fled overseas to Europe, the US and Taiwan, and added if they returned to Hong Kong they would be arrested upon arrival. 

The crackdown is relentless. Life in exile is already hard, but for the Chinese authorities that isn't enough; justice must be done.

Picture of the Day: Wan Chai Waterfront Extension

Boxing Day views of the Convention Centre and beyond

 

The Victoria Harbour water front on Hong Kong island is becoming more and more accessible. In mid-October the Belcher Bay harbourfront opened in Kennedy Town, and now a patch in between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay has opened to the public, east of the bus terminus by the Wan Chai Star Ferry.

Chocolate Rain has painted fun characters

A friend had posted a picture on social media the other day so we went to check it out.

It's a small area right now, but it's very colourful with lots of illustrations by local design brand Chocolate Rain. Instead of steel gates lined by the water to prevent people from falling in, instead there are relatively thin steel cables hung between posts to allow more view of the water.

There's even a maze painted on the ground as well as other drawings, making it another version of "Instagram Pier" -- the latter being a real working port complete with cranes and well-worn shipping containers and stacks of pallets, making it industrial and edgy. This new area is perfect for young children to hang about, though if the skaters find out about it, they'll be all over this new concrete space...

With the pandemic children have taken to playing with scooters, while teenagers and young people are showing off their tricks on their skateboards. 

Steel cables prevent people from going into water

Nevertheless, we're liking these new extensions every few months. They add a few more kms to our walks!

Carrie's Quarantine Hell

Lam plays hardball extending hotel quarantine to 21 days

 

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor gave residents a lump of coal just a few hours before Christmas Day -- that any Hongkonger returning to the city will have to quarantine in a hotel for not 14 days, but 21 days. 

The bombshell was announced just before midnight, not giving anyone a chance to try to come back as soon as possible, which infuriated lots of people who were about to come back or were about to leave Hong Kong and cancelled their plans.

Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, who advises the government on the pandemic, said this latest move was necessary to ensure undetected infections would not spread among local households.

Travelers were angered by quarantine time

"Tight border control is very important," he said.

The Chinese University respiratory medicine expert said the government also had the option to further raise quarantine to 28 days, but was unlikely to be used for long, even if introduced.

Nevertheless, the knock-on effect was immediate, with designated quarantine hotels benefiting from travelers coming back in the next days and weeks having to stay for three weeks, but will miss out on future business of those who were about to leave Hong Kong and cancelled their trips altogether.

Those impacted are not happy with the extra cost, while those stuck in the UK and South Africa will not be coming back to Hong Kong anytime soon. And when they do return, they will probably have to quarantine for three weeks on top of that.

Many in the UK are parents who thought they were smart to go visit their children instead of them coming back to Hong Kong, and now the fathers and mothers are desperate to return.

Tung and Leung are active critics of Lam

They should know especially in this fourth wave that the situation is changing rapidly not just in Hong Kong but around the world, that it is better to stay put than risk traveling.

But perhaps the main reason for this severe measure is pressure from Beijing or the pro-establishment camp on Lam to be more effective in battling the coronavirus pandemic.

She's recently received a lot of flak from former chief executives Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying, both have no qualms openly criticizing her, which was previously considered a no-no -- they are supposed to support her policies.

In addition, the liaison office has been uncharacteristically quiet, neither defending nor attacking Lam; some China watchers think the liaison office is waiting to see to see how effective these criticisms are before stepping in, or seeing how far these critics can further humiliate Lam.

Either way it's probably a sign that Lam will be a one-term chief executive, which will be a relief on all sides.

But who who will replace her? Who dares to take on such a divided city? It's definitely not for the faint-hearted...

HK Govt Blames Protests for High Poverty Rate

Law Chi-kwong says the poverty rate is lower than reported

 

Yesterday the government said Hong Kong's poverty rate reached a record high last year, and the protesters were to blame.

In its annual poverty report, the government said 21.4 percent of residents were considered poor last year, up one percentage point from the year before. It said 1.49 million of Hong Kong's total population of 7.52 million were under the poverty line -- which is calculated at 50 percent of the median monthly household income before government allowances and subsidies.

The median monthly household income in 2019 was HK$28,900, which is difficult for a family to live on, and half that at HK$14,450, even worse.

Govt report says 1.49m are below the poverty line

Nevertheless, the government had the gall to blame the situation of the poor on the anti-government protests last year and the trade war between China and the United States, saying the "double whammy" caused the SAR's first economic recession in a decade.

"The unrest caused severe disruptions and battered sectors related to consumption and tourism that involved substantial lower-skilled jobs. Grassroots families were particularly hard-hit," it said, adding that the labour market worsened in the second half of 2019.

How can the government blame poverty on the protesters, when it was the government that came up with the extradition bill in the first place and refused to listen to 2 million people protesting against it that caused the months-long protests that rocked the city? 

And in any event, why does the government even allow employers to pay its workers such low wages to start with? It is the government itself that does not value these grassroots families to start with.

Perhaps after receiving a lot of heat for this weak explanation of why there are so many people in Hong Kong, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong hit back, and began interpreting the numbers differently.

On a radio show today he claimed it was wrong to extrapolate there were 21.4 percent of people living below the poverty line in Hong Kong, based on the report his administration published.

Critics say report only tells half the story

"It doesn't tell us how many people are actually living below the poverty line. It tells us how many people would be living in poverty if the government does nothing at all," Law said.

He explained that after factoring in various social security allowances and government relief subsidies, the poverty rate was only 9.2 percent, or 640,000 people. That meant the so-called post-intervention poverty rate marginally improved by 0.1 percentage points from 9.3 percent in 2018, he said.

Law added the efficiency of the government's social welfare programs helped 850,000 residents out of poverty through Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, and Old Age Living Allowance.

However, in many cases the government makes it very difficult to be eligible for CSSA, and the allowance for seniors is a very small sum each month, less than HK$1,500.

Ng Wai-tung, community organizer for the Society for Community Organization, said the welfare chief's analysis also did not reflect the whole picture.

"It's only half correct," Ng said. "On the one hand, it reflects the scale of low-income groups before any government assistance, but on the other hand, it underestimates the harsh reality that so many people are not even earning enough to make ends meet."

White elephant projects like Kai Tak waste money

Perhaps one thing Law and Ng can agree on is that the poverty rate could climb higher next year due to the coronavirus pandemic that greatly impacted areas such as tourism, hospitality, retail and construction.

Law said the government has already rolled out multiple poverty-alleviation schemes this year.

While the effort is appreciated, the government's investment in the poor is pittance compared to how much it throws into white elephant projects like the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, and Disneyland.

If the government put more effort into really helping the poor, it would benefit Hong Kong's economy even more. Social mobility is what makes an economy stronger and gives hope to people.

But it seems the Lam administration is keen on blaming others for high poverty rates, when it is those in the position in power who have caused this problem of inequality in the first place.

 

Jimmy Lai Granted Bail

Jimmy Lai waves to an Apple Daily reporter at his home

The breaking news today that Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was granted bail was surprising considering he is being charged under the national security law. Most thought Lai's chances of ever stepping out of prison again were next to nil.

This development gives hope to three others charged under the national security law -- Tang Ying-kit, Tony Chung Hon-lam and Adam Ma -- to try to get bail too as now there is a precedent.

Lai walks out of the Court of Final Appeal...

Lai's lawyers were able to get a temporary release just in time for Christmas, but there are some serious strings attached to his home arrest.

He is not allowed to publish anything on social media, or publish any articles, not to meet any foreign government officials, take any media interviews, or host interviews. The newspaper tycoon also had to post HK$10 million (US$1.29 million) in bail, and three guarantors had to pony up HK$100,000 each. 

In addition Lai also had to give up his passport and has to report to the police three times a week and can only leave his home to attend court hearings.

Lai was remanded in custody since December 3 when he and two others were charged with fraud for allegedly breaching land lease terms on the use of Next Digital's office space in Tseung Kwan O. He was later charged with collusion under the national security law.

The Department of Justice immediately applied for a certificate from the court to appeal against the bail decision at the Court of Final Appeal, but this was later rejected by the High Court which said it did not have the jurisdiction.

... and into his waiting car to take him home

There was a lot of media attention around Lai's release, as reporters and photographers waited for hours for Lai to be released from the Court of Final Appeal in Admiralty. After 9pm a woman wearing police identification tags told reporters he wouldn't be released until 11pm so everyone disappeared for their washroom/food break.

But at 10.52pm Lai finally walked out with two plastic bags holding his personal belongings and was escorted by two men into his Mercedes Benz. About 20 minutes later cameras were pointed at the road coming up to his home in Homantin. Lai looked busy on his phone and wore headphones in the front passenger seat.

Afterwards he thanked the media for coming but said he had to leave and went into his house.

It turns out some of these conditions conditions of house arrested were suggested by Lai's lawyers, perhaps in a bid to get home home to his family for as long as possible.

 

 

Covid Patient on the Lam

Li was taken back to hospital after he was caught in Mongkok

 

There was a sigh of relief in Hong Kong after a 63-year-old man who is infected with the coronavirus was caught on Sunday evening after he escaped the hospital on Friday.

Li Wan-keung was found near Shanghai Street and Changsha Street in Mongkok late on Sunday evening and taken back to Queen Elizabeth Hospital by officers wearing protective gear.

Li Wan-keung was on the lam for 54 hrs

The man was out on the lam for 54 hours and refused to tell the authorities where he went, which will make contract tracing next to impossible. There are concerns he might have visited some brothels which are near where he was arrested, which makes this already scary story sound seedier.

"We will check security camera footage from shops, dash cameras of vehicles and buildings to find out where he had been during the period he was missing," a source said yesterday.

It is expected Li will be discharged from the hospital on January 18 and then he will be formally arrested. It is illegal for anyone who is in quarantine or isolated in hospital to flee. If convicted, people can face a fine of up to HK$5,000 and two months' imprisonment.

This was not the first time Li tried to flee the hospital. He had tried to leave the day before and it was reported medical staff found him very uncooperative; it took some convincing for him to cooperate with treatments and tests. 

Apparently on Friday the medical staff, dressed in full protective gear claimed Li "moved too quickly" for them to catch him.

Security will be beefed up at all hospitals now

Now the Hospital Authority is looking into beefing up its security following this incident, and Li's ward will have security guards watching the entrance and security will be stepped up in other hospitals.

Li seems to be an anomaly, as most patients just want to get well as quickly as possible so that they can leave the hospital and so they are willing to take whatever medication or treatment necessary.

Hopefully Li will be out of action as it were for the next few weeks, gets better and cooperates with the authorities and healthcare workers. We all need to work together to fight this virus!

Oh did I just parrot a government slogan?!

Hong Kong's Eroding Freedoms

New Zealand, Switzerland and Hong Kong are the top three

 

The Fraser Institute describes itself as an independent, non-partisan research and educational organization with its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada.

Every year it releases its Human Freedom Index, and surprisingly for 2020 Hong Kong is third on the list -- for the third year in a row; in 2017 it was second after Switzerland.

The HFI measures personal freedom, which includes freedom of movement, speech, assembly and religion, as well as economic freedom, as in the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions without government or crony interference.

76 indicators used to rank 162 countries, regions

It uses 76 indicators of personal and economic freedom including, rule of law, movement, religion, expression and information, legal system, access to sound money, and freedom to trade internationally.

While Hong Kong does tick these boxes (for now), it is interesting the 2020 report still lists the Chinese city in third place despite last year's protests.

However, in the executive summary it notes:

The HFI also finds a strong relationship between human freedom and democracy. Hong Kong is an outlier in this regard. Although Hong Kong's ratings and rankings have decreased since 2008, the impact of the Chinese Communist Party's unprecedented interventions in the territory in 2019 and 2020 are not reflected in this year's report (which, as noted, is based on 2018 data). Those recent events will likely decrease Hong Kong's noticeably in the future.

The top 10 countries are: New Zealand, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Estonia, Germany, and Sweden.

National security law has infringed HK rights

China was ranked 129th, behind Taiwan (19), Kazakhstan (75), Rwanda (78), India (111) and Vietnam (121).

And in July this year, the Fraser Institute along with think tanks from 35 countries and territories around the world signed an open letter to the people of Hong Kong.

The letter summarizes Hong Kong economic rise, due to a high level of personal freedom that has seen its per capita GDP rise from US$2,000 in 1950 to US$40,000 in 2018, four times the world average.

However the letter ends by saying:

Most recently, China has ordered large scale arrests of dissidents and, on May 28, China's National People's Congress imposed a national security law which attacks Hong Kong's freedoms and Hong Kong's Basic Law (effectively, a freedom-protecting constitution), by bypassing Hong Kong's Legislative Council. While the Communist Party of China has yet to release details, the law is intended to allow mainland authorities to crush freedom in Hong Kong and extend absolute CPC rule.

Moderates are being silenced by the government

Pro-democracy demonstrators, young and old, Chinese and the many other groups that populate Hong Kong, are demonstrating to protect their freedoms and hopes for the future of their children and grandchildren. We stand with the people of Hong Kong as they attempt to protect their freedoms and rights and believe a strong global response is critical.

So we shall wait with curious anticipation what the 2021 report will say, taking into account data from 2019 and 2020...

Joan Cornella's My Life is Pointless

Cornella's art is laced with black humour

 

This year has been... a write-off to say the least. The inability to get together with friends and family, to travel, having to wear masks all the time, working from home, and dealing with social-distancing measures have all taken a toll on all of us.

Which is why we all need a laugh, and artist Joan Cornella has a sarcastic, and often black humour in his work.

This work sums up 2020 for me

The 39-year-old artist from Barcelona is holding his third solo exhibition called My Life is Pointless in Hong Kong, at Sotheby's no less in Pacific Place in Admiralty. 

To ensure social-distancing measures were in place, visitors had to book a time slot to visit the gallery -- and yet they were all filled up before the exhibition started, and there are even wait lists! With the help of a publicist involved in promoting the show, I got a Friday morning time slot -- and only five or six other people were there at the same time.

Before entering we had to fill out health declaration forms, including recording our temperature, and use hand sanitizer.

Young Hongkongers seem to love Cornella's biting observations about modern life that he captures with surreal, often disturbing images.

The last time his show was here, he had some Hong Kong-inspired elements, such as how people need to multitask to survive, and how people's living spaces are so tiny that he questions why people would pay mortgages for them.

A Hong Kong-related piece?

This time the images are more general, but still satirical. As the introduction explains, his characters all share a generic blank smile and a bright cheery colour palette akin to 1950s advertising or airline safety pamphlets. 

Cornella pokes fun at horrible topics, such as cannibalism, infanticide, murder, suicide and amputation. 

"In m comics, characters are like plastic and always have a big smile even though horrible things happen to them constantly. Everything is exaggerated, although certain behaviours can relate to real life," he says.

Perhaps one piece that sums up 2020 with a woman smiling and says: "Today is a good day to feel more boredom and pain!"

Another is a cut out of a man who is smiling and his T-shirt says "free hugs" but he himself has no arms.

You get the idea.

Perhaps the only Hong Kong-related piece is a man in a suit holding up a picketing sign that reads: "Stop demonstrating" when he himself is.

Point a CCTV camera at yourself

Cornella has also created pieces of a man holding a selfie stick with a gun attached to it, pointing at his smiling face. Another version has a CCTV camera attached to the selfie stick, in case he wanted to record his every move -- which many influencers do!

If you are keen on any of Cornella's work in this exhibition, they are available for immediate purchase... someone is desperate to make a sale. We didn't dare ask the prices, but wondered who buys his work when they define the moment right now. Do they stand the test of time?

The gallery is spacious, though we had to feel for the security guards who had to listen to strange music playing all day that sounded very unsettling.

Nevertheless, we just enjoyed seeing these crazy art pieces to give us a bit of levity in such an annus horribilis to the nth degree.

My Life is Pointless by Joan Cornella

Sotheby's Hong Kong Gallery

5/F, One Pacific Place

Admiralty

December 15, 2020-January 29, 2021

Quote of the Day: Chief Secretary on Oath-Taking

Cheung (left) says oath-taking is "nothing special" on RTHK

 

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung tried to play down civil servants having to take the oath of allegiance to the Basic Law and HKSAR.

In a radio show this morning he said taking the oath was only a basic responsibility.

"I think people should not suspect that taking the oath will put civil servants in a difficult position... People should not look at this from a biased point of view, it's nothing special," he said.

Lam (left) presides over civil servants' oath-taking

"It's like asking you to support your company in an employment contract. When you work for a company, mustn't you wholeheartedly want the company to develop?"

Most people would agree that if they were employed by a company they would want to do the best job they could to help their employer to succeed, as promotions and pay rises would be in their favour.

But no one has to take an oath to do that -- it's understood.

However, for Cheung to say the oath is "nothing special" is quite odd.

How can one erase that stark image of the bare large room with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-gnor standing there presiding over a group of people (socially distanced) and raising their right hand to pledge allegiance.

New American citizens taking the oath are proud

It's hardly like when people take the naturalization oath of allegiance to the United States, where they are excited, emotional and proud.

Instead the Hong Kong civil servants are expected to take this oath, and if they don't agree, then they are not going to be promoted, or worse, told to leave.

Canada Added to Hong Kong's High Risk List

HK-born public health officer Tam asks people to stay home

 

It was getting harder for Canada to effectively control the coronavirus pandemic despite urgent (and polite) pleas from health officials to minimize socializing these last few months.

On Thursday Canada reported over 7,000 new confirmed cases, with a total of 488,000 cases.

As a result the Hong Kong government has now put Canada on the list of high-risk coronavirus cases after observing the ever-increasing number of cases. 

Passengers take Covid tests on arrival at airport

Starting from Christmas Day, passengers returning to Hong Kong from Canada must take a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of boarding their flight. They must also have a hotel booking at a designated quarantine hotel for 14 days.

Passengers who fail to comply or provide inaccurate or misleading information can face up to six months in jail and a HK$10,000 fine.

Currently passengers from 19 countries are already subjected to these rules. They are: Bangladesh, Belgium, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

Another Acquittal in Protest Prosecutions

Social worker Hui talks to the media after being acquitted

 

The prosecutions against people charged with various offenses during last year's protests continue, and yet not all of them lead to successful convictions. If anything a number of them are acquitted because of lack of evidence, or in this latest case, police officers are unreliable witnesses.

Yesterday a social worker was acquitted of obstructing police when officers were arresting protesters in September last year. In fact the magistrate found Hui Lai-ming to be "very cooperative" and ordered prosecutors to pay for her legal costs.

The trial was heard at West Kowloon Court

On September 29, 2019, Hui observed police apprehending more than 100 protesters in Admiralty. However, the 52-year-old director of the Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union was accused of pushing Constable Chong Tik-long twice that evening.

Before Hui's trial began last Thursday, her lawyer asked prosecutors to drop the charge of assaulting a police officer, due to new video evidence that showed the social worker did not attack the policeman.

Then prosecutors changed the charge, accusing Hui of wilfully obstructing the officer, which carries a maximum sentence of two years.

But Magistrate May Chung Ming-sun found Chong to be an unreliable witness, citing "major differences" between his evidence and the defence's footage of the incident.

Chong testified Hui appeared very emotional and kept pushing a police cordon in an attempt to get closer to the arrested protesters.

Hui was accused of obstructing a police officer

However, the magistrate found that account unsubstantiated, pointing to footage that showed a peaceful Hui moving away from the scene. Chung said the footage in fact showed the defendant being pushed to the roadside by a group of officers, including Chong.

In addition, the officer fell on the ground later, not because the defendant shoved him, but because he lost his balance during the confusion. He fell a second time when another officer grabbed the defendant's hand and swung it at him accidentally.

"[Chong] fell on both occasions by accident. The defendant had no intention to assault [him]," Chung said. "The defendant had been very cooperative. She had no intention to resist police."

Hui said her acquittal was thanks to friends who put in a lot of effort to find the video evidence to prove her innocence. 

"It was through everybody's effort that we obtained the footage so that I could have a fair trial." she said, adding when the verdict was read out, she started crying, tears of joy.

Many protest-related prosecutions are acquitted

Even after Hui's lawyer told prosecutors it had fresh evidence, they still went ahead with the court case which obviously led to an acquittal and wasted taxpayer money. 

Perhaps what is worse is that these officers who give unreliable testimony are not punished for this; in other jurisdictions this would be perjury.

Is that because going down that route would be tedious? Or with so many cases going through the courts that there isn't time to do more than a slap on the wrist of the officers involved?

In any event the number of acquittals continues to rise, making the Department of Justice look less credible day after day...