HK's Press Freedom Under Threat

How much longer can the media report freely in Hong Kong?

Press freedom continues to be eroding at a fast clip in Hong Kong.

On Tuesday it was revealed in a proposal to the Legislative Council it was up to the individuals who own the companies to decide how much information to make available on the Companies Registry, which in turn will be harder for journalists to find information of owners and shareholders to do investigative work.

Lam says journalists shouldn't have privileges

When asked about this new change at a press conference that day, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor seemed to reveal her contempt for the media.

"Personal information should be protected... It should not be disclosed unless there is a crucial need for it to be made public," Lam said.

"I cannot see the reason for journalists to have that privilege. Why should information that is not available to others be accessible to journalists? None of the people in Hong Kong should enjoy such privilege."

And now Hong Kong courts have stopped providing personal details of people standing trial as well as the police officers handling the cases. Information on the defendant's ID card number, name, addresses and date of birth has now been redacted since March 30.

Previously all this information, including the defendant's age, gender, nationality and occupation were readily available on a charge document.

Yeung says judiciary should release info to media

Chris Yeung Kin-hing of the Hong Kong Journalists Association said the decision was not in line "with the principle of open justice the judiciary has promised".

He added: "We are disappointed that the judiciary, which should function independently, seems to have followed the moves by the executive authorities to impose tighter restrictions on access to court information.

"Journalists have used that information for reporting. There have been no cases of misuse of abuses. We urge the judiciary to reconsider their decision and remove the curbs on the press."

And if that wasn't enough, the new director of broadcasting at RTHK is withdrawing all of the broadcaster's entries for various awards.

Government appointed career bureaucrat Patrick Li Pak-chuen assumed the post on March 1 and since then has been reviewing every single program and pulling them off the air if he deems them "one-sided" or have "inaccuracies".

Lam praised him on Tuesday for doing exactly what she asked of him.

Li wants withdrawal of all RTHK award entries

The submissions for these awards were made earlier, and RTHK has been praised locally and internationally for its quality documentaries and shows.

The Human Rights Press Awards revealed that Li asked to withdraw RTHK's entries "in totality", but said it was unable to comply with his request.

"Because the judging process for the Human Rights Press Awards is already underway, and because entries can only be withdrawn by the individual who submitted them, HRPA has not withdrawn RTHK's entries," a post on social media said.

One wonders how Li feels about not being able to have his way, and if RTHK wins, will he prevent its journalists from collecting the award?

Press freedom in Hong Kong is under serious threat -- how can journalists stop its erosion any further?

 

Massive Overhaul of HK's Electoral System

Read all about the new electoral reforms all printed up

 

The rules for the next phase of Hong Kong's "democracy" keep changing, but today it has been finalized.

Beijing unanimously passed (167-0) the electoral reforms for Hong Kong this morning in Beijing and in the afternoon Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had to explain the changes, of which there are many to ensure once and for all the pro-establishment will win a majority regardless.

First, there will be no summer break -- president of the Legislative Council Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, announced there were too many bills to pass and so Legco will continue working until December, the new date of the elections that were supposed to be held in September 2019.

Leung says Legco election to be held in December

As promised, the Legco make-up will include another 20 seats to 90 in total, all of which need to be vetted by the Election Committee, which has also been enlarged by 300 members to 1,500, and headed by someone who "holds an office of state leadership".  

That means it could be Tung Chee-hwa or Leung Chun-ying...

The number of directly voted seats in Legco will be drastically cut from about 50 percent to 20 percent.

Those hoping to run for office and the Election Committee must first be approved by the "candidate eligibility review committee", and that group will be made up of Lam and "principal officials" in her administration.

But even before that, the police will vet people's backgrounds and that information passed to the Committee for Safeguarding National Security, which Lam will also chair.

So the police are really stretched -- not only do they fight crime and ensure social distancing and mask-wearing, but also have to judge whether art is subversive and now do background checks on people running for public office.

Tam says HK has achieved "patriots running HK"

Oh and those 117 seats for district councillors in the Election Committee? 

Gone.

Despite all these hurdles, Lam says pan-democrats are welcome to run. 

"One should not take it for granted that all pan-democrats are unpatriotic. That would be very unfair to them," she said. "There are pan-democrats who were patriotic in the past, now and in the future. They would not be unpatriotic simply because they call for democracy."

How... diplomatic of you, Carrie. 

When fielding questions from the media, Lam was asked if there was conflict of interest with her sitting on the vetting committee.

"The public can judge whether the decision has been made rightly or wrongly," she replied.

Lam even said Beijing was sincere about giving Hong Kong universal suffrage, but opposition politicians had vetoed previous reform attempts. With riots and social unrest over the past few years, Lam said, Beijing had no choice but to overhaul the electoral system.

Blaming the protests on opposition lawmakers doesn't persuade the public. And yes, overhauling the electoral system makes it even further from any semblance of a democracy...

Lo says HKers have lost hope in Legco

So now the race to see who will be in the Election Committee will be held in September so that Legco elections can be held in December. The election for the next chief executive remains unchanged for next March.

Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole representative in the standing committee says this overhaul has a "solid" mandate which would implement the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong".   

What is the pan-democratic side going to do? Lo Kin-hei, chairman of the Democratic Party says they need to absorb the new rules first.

"It is also too early at this stage to discuss whether we can get the nominations, the bigger question we have to decide is whether or not we would want to participate in elections," he says admitting it's a "huge hurdle".

Lo says the overhaul has effectively brought the political system to a pre-1997 stage, adding that the ultimate goal of universal suffrage was now further away. "The changes drastically reduce wider representation of different voices in the system... I think for many Hong Kong people, they have lost hope in Legco."

Sadly, yes.

No Access to Freedom of Information Threatens Press Freedom

Less freedom to access information means less press freedom

Freedom of the press is being seriously threatened in Hong Kong with the government making it harder for reporters to get access to public information to hold individuals, organizations and companies accountable.

The media uses public records to find out the ownership of cars, properties, companies and even information of executives of public companies in order to determine who is responsible for certain actions or decisions, and now the government is proposing to shield these people.

In a proposal submitted to the Legislative Council on Monday, the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau said companies should be first given the option to withhold information, such as residential address and full identification numbers of directors and secretaries.

Choy was arrested for her investigative work

Then, from October 2022, all company documents submitted to the registry that contains "protected information",  such as residential addresses, can be hidden from public view.

The only people who can have access to this information are the executives themselves, their companies, officials and members of "public organizations".

By late 2023, all companies will be able to apply to withhold "protected information" from the registry.

The government is planning to submit this legislation to Legco in May.

Journalists use this information to do investigative stories, and they can verify hunches or tips by going through public records. 

After the July 21, 2019 attacks in Yuen Long, RTHK producer Bao Choy Yuk-ling and the investigative team went through the tons of video clips of the violent incident and found the alleged attackers rode in vehicles that trace back to community leaders in the New Territories.

So she went to the car registry to request information on the owners of those vehicles.

Choy traced the ownership of the van in 2019

These kinds of searches are considered routine for journalists, but not this time.

In November 2020 Choy was arrested on suspicion of making false statements under the Road Traffic Ordinance when requesting information on the ownership of the vehicles.

That is an attack on press freedom, and now this proposal by the government -- not by companies or organizations -- will further hinder the media's efforts to find out what is going on, who is responsible and connections between people.

This will prevent the media from finding out information of executives of public companies that are supposed to be transparent and accountable to shareholders.

It will also make it harder for the media to find corruption, to trace the movement of money, to find how much property a Chinese official or his offspring and relatives own in Hong Kong, what shell companies they hold and the vehicles they own.

As a result the Hong Kong Journalists Association is strongly opposed to the government's proposal, calling for its immediate withdrawal.

HKJA's Cheng says people have right to know

The association said the government should instead enact a freedom of information law -- as well as an archives law -- to protect the people's right to know.

HKJA also points out the proposal has no clause to allow journalists to find out information in a transparent way, and adds this kind of research is not just limited to the media, but also academics and investors doing research on public companies and want to know if it is worth investing in or not. This affects the free flow of information.

Hong Kong's financial system is based not only on rule of law, but also freedom of information and freedom of the press.

When both these are under threat, who will continue to feel comfortable in investing in Hong Kong if they cannot find out the information they need to make an informed decision?

The city government is shooting itself in the foot by doing this, but it is only following the lead of the mainland to become more opaque. And this will only lead to the fall of Hong Kong as a financial hub. The dismantling of institutions here continues its fast pace in 2021.

Picture of the Day: National Security Education Day

First I heard of it, but 2021 will be the sixth year of the event

 

The other day my walking buddy took me on a path to walk by the Cross Harbour Tunnel and it was there that we saw some new billboard signs.

All of them were covered with messages saying: "April 15 National Security Education Day".

It was the first I had heard of it, but I just looked it up and it has been happening since 2015 when China promulgated the state security law.

Pro-Beijing organizations participate in symposiums to learn more about the law, but perhaps we didn't really pay attention until now because it was sprung upon us late last June.

And to mark this year's event, five disciplined services, including police and customs officers will perform the Chinese military's "goose-stepping" style of ceremonial marching instead of the British foot drills.

"Performing British foot drills when promoting the importance of national security does not seem right. After all, we have been handed over for nearly 24 years," one top officer said, referring to the city's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

"The public performance on National Security Education Day this year is a good start to show the unity of the disciplinary forces, as some already plan to infuse the Chinese style into routing training."

In the Chinese military style of "goose-stepping", troops keep their legs rigidly straight when lifting them off the ground, while their arms swing at a 90-degree angle in front of their chest.

It sounds like a very uncomfortable way to march, but gotta integrate with China, right?

But yes, National Security Education Day. We'll be watching for it.

"Environmental Factors" Damaged Vaccine Vials

Initial investigation found long travel time damaged vials

 

This evening a preliminary report was released by German drug maker BioNTech and Chinese distributor Fosun Pharma investigating the 57 cases of damaged vaccine vials and found no systemic errors that merit an extended suspension.

On Wednesday the Macau and Hong Kong governments abruptly stopped the vaccine program for BioNTech after several reports of cracked vials and stains on the glass exterior.

The vaccine program abruptly halted Wednesday

Perhaps hampering the investigation was the revelation that healthcare workers were instructed to dispose of the damaged vials -- making it difficult for the vaccine maker and distributor to determine exactly what went wrong and could only do random tests on existing vials and found there were no leakages.

Nevertheless, BioNTech and Fosun Pharma say "environmental factors" could have damaged the vials during the long-distance transportation, but concluded that the defects were not related to logistics and cold-chain management. 

"Our plan is if the current batches have no quality and safety concerns, we can resume the vaccination," said Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen this morning, adding priority would be given to those due for their second vaccine dose.

Nip says BioNTech jabs to restart soon

According to Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, co-convenor of the expert committee monitoring the effects of vaccines, expected the BioNTech vaccinations to restart next week.

So far about 437,200 people have gotten at least one jab, about 6.6 percent of the eligible population. 

Today was also the first time Hong Kong has no local infections since November 16 when the fourth wave began. 

"We are finally reaching a stage where we have a chance to achieve zero cases, and we hope it will remain that way," government pandemic adviser Yuen Kwok-yung said. "We have to be very careful with any lifting of social-distancing measures at this moment. If we can record a consecutive 14-28 days without a local infection, the city will be free of the coronavirus."

Yuen says HK needs 14-28 days of zero local cases

If more people get vaccinated then the chances of having zero cases is higher. Isn't that a good enough incentive to get the jab? 

In any event restarting the BioNTech vaccinations soon will be good news for those eager to get the jab. 

Picture of the Day: Regina Ip's Burberry Boycott

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Ip seems to look longingly at her scarves

 

The uproar over cotton from Xinjiang has dragged fashion labels into the fray. Fast fashion brand H&M immediately felt the wrath of China when it was completely wiped out of the Chinese internet sphere when it declared it would not use Xinjiang cotton.

Other companies are sending out mixed messages with Hugo Boss saying on its website it did not use cotton from China's northwestern province, but its Chinese office said it did.

Then celebrities were caught up in declaring their allegiances too, with Cantopop singer Eason Chan Yik-shun cutting his ties with Adidas, while others supported Xinjiang cotton, such as Joey Yung, singer Pakho Chau Pak-ho, actor Jordan Chan Siu-chun, and actress "Angelababy" Angel Yeung Wing.

Politicians got into the act of showing off their patriotism, with Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee taking the lead.

On Twitter she posted a picture of herself sitting on a couch and seemly looks longingly at her three Burberry scarves. The British fashion brand said it would not use Xinjiang cotton.

Ip's post said Burberry is one of her favourite brands: "I will stop buying or using Burberry products until Burberry has retracted or apologized for its unfounded allegations against Xinjiang."

Is that all Ip has in her wardrobe from Burberry? Three scarves?

Hardly seems like a boycott... 

Record Capital Outflows to Canada

Hong Kong families are looking to move to Canada

 

If skeptics are wondering if Hongkongers really are leaving their hometown, then perhaps they can follow the money.

According to electronic fund transfers recorded by Fintrac, Canada's anti-money laundering agency, about CAD$43.6 billion (US$34.8 billion) moved from Hong Kong banks to Canada last year, the highest level on record.

Fintrac, which reports transfers above CAD$10,000, has been recording outflow amounts since 2012. 

Some people are looking to move to Vancouver

One Canadian lender, Equitable Bank, confirmed to Reuters it had seen a surge in deposits from Hong Kong just after the national security law was introduced in late June 2020. 

However, the Hong Kong government claims it has not seen significant capital outflows since the anti-government protests in 2019 which were sparked after the extradition bill was first introduced.  

The record transfers are happening when Hong Kong police froze the bank accounts of several people linked to the pro-democracy protests, triggering concern among some residents about asset safety.

Perhaps the Hong Kong government considers the capital outflows as minimal, as they only represent 1.9 percent of the city's total bank deposits in 2020. But Fintrac's data does not include transfers via cryptocurrencies, between financial institutions, or under CAD$10,000.

Some may move to Canada's biggest city

And then there are lawyers, immigration consultants, and real estate agents fielding lots of enquiries, and say many families are ready to move to Canada along with millions of dollars as soon as the pandemic is under control. 

Canadian visa applications excluding visitors's visas rose 10 percent to 8,121 in 2020, with other highly favoured destinations like the UK and Australia.

There are also about 300,000 Canadian citizens living and working in Hong Kong. Some who immigrated to Canada before 1997 have returned to Hong Kong; however the implementation of the new security law has made people concerned about eroding rights and freedoms and want to move children abroad for better education. 

The UK government is expecting as many as 320,000 Hong Kong residents to migrate there in the next five years.

Harvey has seen five-fold increase in clients

Jean-Francois Harvey is a Canadian lawyer based in Hong Kong who specializes in immigration for high net-worth individuals. He has seen a five-fold increase in clients seeking to move to Canada since mid 2020. His clients have transferred at least CAD$1 million, typically between CAD$5 million to CAD$10 million in the last 12 months.

"There has been an incredible increase in demand especially for Canada in Hong Kong, so much that in the middle of Covid-19, I had to double the team and the size of the office in Hong Kong," said Harvey, worldwide managing partner for Harvey Law Group.

"This is more than a spike. It's a wave."

Conviction Rate of 2019 Protests Could Rise

More protesters could be prosecuted following new ruling

Lawfare, or using the law as a weapon, continues to thrive in Hong Kong with the latest ruling by a High Court judge who upheld prosecutors' wide power to indict suspects that even aren't physically present at an unlawful assembly or riot can face the same charges as actual participants under the legal principle of "joint enterprise".

Chief Justice of the High Court Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor acknowledged the law could be applied by prosecutors to go after all kinds of suspects ranging from a lookout or a driver of a getaway car, to a social media user who merely clicked "like" on a post promoting an illegal gathering -- depending on the strength of the evidence.

As a result this could lead to even more prosecutions and convictions of those who may have aided or abetted people who took part on the 2019 anti-government protests.

Poon: ruling applies to rioting, unlawful assembly

Poon said the common law doctrine must apply to the offences of rioting and unlawful assembly, as it was in the public interest to punish not only offenders caught at the scene, but also accomplices who were not.

"An accessory or a party to a joint enterprise is liable as the principal. This serves the public interest of maintaining the public order," Poon said. "A contrary construction which excludes the doctrine of joint enterprise... will have dire consequences for the maintenance of public order."

Poon dismissed suggestions the interpretation might lead to the "overcharging" of innocent people, saying an individual would remain safe unless he or she "crosses the line". He also rejected the notion that freedom of speech would be compromised.

"Freedom of expression is not absolute. It does not provide immunity to those who have actually, in the eyes of the criminal law, participated in an unlawful assembly or riot, such as by encouraging or promoting it, in the disguise of exercising their freedom of expression," he added.

The Department of Justice asked the appeal court to uphold the application of the common law doctrine of joint criminal enterprise, which allows all members of a group to be held liable for offences committed by an individual member, as long as they had a common purpose.

To and Tong acquitted on lack of evidence

The application was made in relation to the verdict to the first riot case related to the 2019 unrest, where three people -- student Natalie Lee Yuen-yui, and gym owners Tong Wai-hung and his wife Elaine To -- had assembled with protesters in a common purpose in Sheung Wan on July 28, 2019. The judge did not find sufficient evidence to convict them.

While the verdict on the trio will not be appealed, this latest ruling now gives prosecutors reason to prosecute and possibly convict more people future ca

Today's ruling will probably also give people another reason to leave Hong Kong if they have not done so already. The use of lawfare, or using the law as a weapon, has only started in Hong Kong and will only continue to gain momentum.

BioNTech Vaccine Scheme Halted

At around 10am people could not get BioNTech vaccines

 

The vaccination drive in Hong Kong received a setback this morning when there was news that frontline workers had reported 57 instances of packaging issues with the BioNTech vaccine, ranging from cracks in containers, leakage due to overpressure from vials, to loose caps and stains or marks on the outside of bottles.

Chan said Fosun Pharma needs to investigate

Some 150,000 doses of batch 210102 were administered up till Wednesday, while another batch 210104 have not been opened yet. And it was actually the Macanese government that halted the use of the same batch one and a half hours before the Hong Kong authorities followed suit.

As a result the government has abruptly halted the use of the BioNTech vaccine until an investigation is completed. So people who arrived at the makeshift clinics this morning were told their jabs were cancelled without a clear reason and given a pack of masks as compensation. Many were very disappointed, having waited up till now to get the jab, while others were angry.

One complained that even though seven people died after taking the Sinovac vaccine, the vaccination scheme was not halted, whereas the government to stop administering doses of BioNTech because of packaging issues.

It will make those skeptical even more so, wondering if this is an effort to push more people into taking the Sinovac jab instead.

There were over 50 cases of defective packaging

Nevertheless, many were upset they could not get their jabs today, whereas those who already had their first shot from this batch wondered if the jab they got was less effective, and would they have to retake their first dose.

So far officials say the batch in question did not pose any health risks. 

"Fosun Pharma [the agent distributing BioNTech in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau] has told us that they have no reason to believe the doses now pose safety risks. But they found some packaging defects, so they need to investigate," explained Dr Sophia Chan Siu-chee, Secretary for Food and Health.

After an emergency meeting with Fosun, Director of Health Dr Constance Chan Hon-yee said the vials with packaging defects were disposed of and not administered to the public.

Fosun and BioNTech have been asked to investigate the matter, but no deadline has been set, which means the vaccination program using BioNTech is suspended for now.

Constance Chan says defective vials not used

The vaccination scare had an immediate effect on the stock market, with the Hang Seng Index closing 2.03 percent lower or 579 points to 27,918.

My colleague was supposed to get the jab this evening and was very upset not to be able to get her shot -- despite her fear of needles.

She is so anxious to get vaccinated as soon as possible so that she can travel again.

It's a disappointing setback, but for those unsure about how the government is promoting the vaccination scheme, this is yet another argument for them not to get the jab -- yet. Which means we could possibly wait more than 300 days to get herd immunity in Hong Kong...

Hong Kong Mulls Widening Vaccine Scheme

Carrie Lam got her second vaccine yesterday

 

As of today, 403,000 people have gotten the vaccine in Hong Kong, but that's just 5.4 percent of the population. At this rate it could take 300 days for before the city achieves herd immunity.

More people are choosing to get the BioNTech vaccine, but the problem now is that another shipment is coming soon and we still haven't used up the first one! There aren't enough storage facilities for BioNTech that needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

This is how pathetic Hong Kong's uptake of the vaccine is.

People are choosing BioNTech over Sinovac

A recent poll on Twitter asked what reasons people were hearing from others as to why they were not getting the jab. In the results on Saturday, 68.6 percent said the reason was "wait and see", 16.4 percent have no trust in the government, 13.2 percent don't trust the vaccines, and only 1.8 percent are anti vaxxers. 

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen says 25,000 people are getting vaccinated per day, but that could be increased to double that daily.

But where is he going to get double that number of people willing to get the jab?

He said the government is now looking into possibly further widening the vaccination scheme to people 16 years and older. Again this won't solve the capacity issue as the vast majority of takers are expats, who are not exactly a big chunk of the population.

Nip added the government is aiming to get the majority of the population vaccinated by the end of the year.

Nip says capacity can be doubled, but with who?

Well almost one quarter of the year has already gone, so we really need to step up the numbers of people getting the jab.

It doesn't help that the government postponed the Legislative Council elections because of the pandemic and now the electoral system is being overhauled, completely ignoring the will of the people; this mistrust in the government has spread to vaccines, as a kind of revenge in preventing Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor from achieving her goal of zero infections, and inoculating the vast majority of the population. 

The push back from the majority of the population is kind of like laam chau, or "if we burn, you burn with us". They are not anxious for the economy to get back on track as soon as possible, nor are they in a hurry to travel either, further frustrating the government's efforts to get Hong Kong back to some kind of normality.

The sports hall in Sai Ying Pun was empty at 6pm

Some have suggested people not be allowed to be given the promised HK$5,000 handout unless they get the jab, or offer some other enticing incentives. But shouldn't getting the vaccine be a civic duty, much like voting? It's the most effective way to protect each other in our bid to fight the pandemic.

But some feel the vaccines have come out too quickly and would rather way a few months to see what happens to the first batch of people before deciding if they will get the jab or not.

However, getting a vaccine is a no brainer -- one has to take it eventually so why not now?

The Two Michaels on Trial

Diplomats from 23 countries came out for Kovrig's trial today

 

This morning was the second of the "Two Michaels" trials -- Canadians Michael Spavor in Dandong in northeastern China, and then today Michael Kovrig in Beijing.

Diplomats from 23 countries came to the courthouse to attend the proceedings -- but were shut out on claims that it is a national security case. Kovrig was formally charged last June for allegedly spying and conspiring with businessman Spavor.

Last Friday diplomats from eight countries tried to attend Spavor's trial but were also denied entry, along with journalists in both cases.

Yang criticized the US during the Alaska talks

Both men have been held practically incommunicado since December 2018 in deplorable conditions and then were suddenly put on trial because officials from the United States were meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska, the first meeting since the start of the Biden administration.

China probably hoped to gain more concessions from the US, but the two-day meeting ended in lots of verbal posturing and not much accomplished. May we add that for all of Director of of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Yang Jiechi's attacks on the US, his daughter Alice graduated from Yale...

But back to the urgent matter at hand.

Marc Garneau, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: "We are deeply troubled by the total lack of transparency surrounding these hearings and we continue to work towards an immediate end to their arbitrary detention.

"The eyes of the world are on these cases and proceedings and I want to thank our international partners for their continued support and solidarity."

Esteemed legal scholar Jerome Cohen wrote about the Spavor trial, saying it would be ridiculed by all democratic nations.

Spavor (right) and Kovrig were suddenly on trial

While questioning why diplomats and reporters were not allowed into the courtroom, and how was the trial conducted, did Spavor have any interpretation access or were there any witnesses called to testify, Cohen asks and adds:

"Is the handling of this case designed to demonstrate that China has stood up to the world judicially in a blatant exercise of a newly empowered 'sovereignty' that rejects conventional contemporary standards? What can its leaders be thinking? Are we back to the days of Chinese-Western conflicts over Imperial China's criminal prosecutions of Western sailors at the end of the 18th century or early 19th century?"

To Cohen the whole affair is terribly archaic.

Spavor's trial ended in less than three hours and no verdict was announced, while Kovrig's spanned the whole day before a verdict would be given at a later date. 

Meanwhile China's Foreign Ministry criticized the gathering of diplomats outside the courthouse. 

"Be it a few or dozens of diplomats trying to gather and exert pressure, it is an interference in China's judicial sovereignty... and not something that a diplomat should do," said foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

Guy Saint-Jacques says this is a political case

Former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques said he expected the proceedings to be short.

"China does not even try to make this look like a real trial as evidence is not shared with the defence and the judge does not even take the time to review it," he said before Kovrig's hearing. "It just confirms that the process is preordained by the Communist party and this is a political case."

Saint-Jacques seems to be hinting the end result is not going to be good for both Michaels even though they have suffered more than enough already.

We can only hope they still have the will to keep hoping.

 

PIcture of the Day: Wan Chai Waterfront Promenade

A giant "frame" that acts as a shelter and seating area

 

Aside from the Hong Kong government dismantling the city's institutions, most recently the electoral system, the city is actually trying to make its waterfront more accessible and look better, and yesterday I saw its latest effort.

A neon sign that doubles as a park bench

Past the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre going east towards the Wan Chai Star Ferry is a new addition called the "Wan Chai Temporary Promenade". Hope it isn't going to be temporary because it's a good mix of seating and shade, as well as a homage to the area.

There are some mini seating areas with neon signs that say, "Ship Street", "Stone Nullah Lane" and "Johnston Road" in Chinese and English. 

Further along there are larger "patio" kind of spaces that offer shade and seating. They look like giant frames which gives opportunities for photos. 

While the area is only about 150 to 200 metres long, it's a nice place to stop and rest or hang out with friends.

A nice public space created with shelter

I saw it again this evening and it's fun to see the neon signs lit up -- another reason to visit at night.

Slow Vaccine Uptake in HK

Many have taken selfies of themselves getting the jab

 

Even though a lot of people (mostly expatriates) are posting on social media pictures of themselves getting the injection or of the makeshift medical clinic with the hashtag #HKTwitterGetsVaxxed, only 304,100 people have gotten the jab in total, either Sinovac or BioNTech.

Considering 5.5 million people are eligible for the vaccine, so far only 4 percent of the population has gotten at least the first dose which is still a very low uptake.

As a result the government is considering incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated.

Chan hints at some incentives for vaccinations

Health Secretary Sophia Chan Siu-chee said today on a radio show the authorities would consider measures such as allowing those who have received a vaccine to enter certain premises, to visit care homes and hospitals, or to be exempt from other social distancing measures.

Errr... can you make these incentives more exciting? Sounds quite dull to be honest.

Infectious diseases experts David Hui Shu-cheong who was on the same radio program added that at least 50 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated.

"If the general public actually is actively taking part in the vaccination program, then I think we'll see fewer and fewer outbreaks in the community. By then, a lot of the social distancing measures can be relaxed," Hui said.

Sigh. 

The problem is most people are on the fence or don't care about being vaccinated. My hairdresser said, "I don't want to get the jab. The rest of you can get it so I don't have to."

Those vaccinated get special stickers

My hairdresser is dying to travel -- so getting a vaccine is most probably going to be a prerequisite!  

Even more bizarre is her parents are so pro-China and yet they aren't even touching the vaccine either!

Tonight I had to persuade my relatives to get the jab, that it was better to get it done now than later, but they were not in a rush to book online even though it would take five minutes.

Sigh.

The government better hurry up and come up with some really enticing incentives otherwise we're going to have to wait a really long time for at least half the population to get the jab...

Cheap and Cheerful Thai

The flavourful (and not spicy!) boat noodle soup with pork

 

Earlier this week a friend I haven't seen for a while suggested we catch up over a cheap and cheerful Thai lunch in Wan Chai.

It's a noodle shop called Kin Kao and one may want to characterize it as a cheaper version of Samsen, an extremely popular Thai eatery in Hong Kong that has expanded to two locations in Wan Chai and Sheung Wan.

I ordered the set lunch for the unbeatable price of HK$78: a bowl of boat noodle soup with pork balls and sliced pork in a flavourful dark soup stock with lots of chopped basil, and comes with a drink and I chose an iced Thai milk tea.

A very fluffy crab omelette at Kin Kao

My friend ordered stir-fried broad noodles with prawn, chicken and pork in a dark soy sauce (HK$78) and we also had the crab omelette (HK$88) that was fluffy and light.

The staff there are Thai Chinese and it's definitely a shop where you eat and go, though we lingered for a while, as tables around us had two to three rounds of customers.

During lunch most of the people who ate there worked in the area. Afterwards if you still weren't full you could line up at the nearby Bakehouse for its famous egg custard tarts, dark chocolate cookies, scones, danishes...

Also at the opposite end of the same street is International Curry House, offering Hong Kong-style curry dishes in a range of styles (Malaysian, Tamil, Vindaloo, East Indies, Pakistan), and any ingredient like beef, chicken, mutton, prawns, vegetables, along with rice or chapatti. This place is also cheap and cheerful! 

Kin Kao

G/F, Tai Wong Building

3 Tai Wong Street East

Wan Chai

2529 3806

Does HK Still have Artistic Freedom?

M+ in West Kowloon is completed, and will open end of 2021

 

Hong Kong's premier contemporary art museum, M+ is finally completed. Last week the media were taken around to have a look and one big question was now that the national security law has been implemented, will that affect what is shown at M+?

The museum's director, Suhanya Raffel, said there would be "no problem" in showing dissident artist Ai Weiwei's works and other pieces included in the M+ permanent collection, because their inclusion was based on research developed from "historical facts".

M+ director Raffel says collection "no problem"

"We have always had a robust curator-led approach to everything we do and that is underpinned by research and academic rigour," she said. "Like any global museum, it is our role to present art in a relevant and appropriate manner and stimulate debate, knowledge and pleasure. A city can only be a welcoming arts hub if it offers an open environment for artists and for different views."

Raffel may have to re-think her words after Eunice Yung Hoi-yan from the New People's Party raised concerns on Wednesday that Ai's work may violate the national security law by "spreading hatred against China".

She cited the example of a black and white picture of Ai holding up his middle finger in Tiananmen Square.

"If you point your middle finger towards Tiananmen Square, it means you want to show your anger against it, or you want to subvert the government with your artwork," she told RTHK.

Yung wonders if Ai's works are subversive

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government will protect freedom of expression, but added she was confident the museum's curators would be capable of distinguishing works that constituted artistic expression from those endangering national security.

Of the 33 galleries in M+, 12 will be dedicated to the 1,000-piece collection of contemporary Chinese art from Swiss businessman Uli Sigg. Some of the pieces were shown in an exhibition in 2016 and some of those works would definitely not be shown in mainland China.

These include the above mentioned Ai piece called A Study Perspective: Tian'anmen, and photojournalist Liu Heung-shing's picture of the June 4 crackdown where a tricycle cart driver peddling two men with gunshot wounds to hospital.

Today Ai hit back at Yung's suggestion that his work was subversive.

Is this photograph subversive or is it art?

"All artworks, if they are of value, raise questions and challenges. Challenging authority is one of the core values of art," he told RTHK.

"If she thinks artworks are just ornaments, then I'd say she doesn't understand art," Ai said.

He added if his works cannot be exhibited in the museum, this would be a signal that Hong Kong is moving further away from universal values and is becoming part of authoritarianism.

This puts M+ curators in a tough spot -- will they stand their ground in the name of artistic freedom?

 

Number of the Day: 144,000

Even monks are waiting in line to get vaccinated in Hong Kong

Even though 5.5 million people were eligible to sign up for a vaccine yesterday, only 144,000 took up the offer, though it was an eight-fold jump from 18,600 the day before.

It seems a lot of people are still not convinced to get the jab right away, including many domestic helpers, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor seemed disappointed by the low-key response.

Carrie Lam answering questions in Legco today

In a question and answer period with lawmakers in the Legislative Council, Lam sought to reassure the public, explaining there was an expert panel who decided on which vaccines to have in Hong Kong. She also said the government was considering ways to nudge people to get vaccinated.

"We are now considering offering incentives not only in aspects of cross-border travel, but also room to relax certain distancing measures for those who have been vaccinated," Lam said.

However, respiratory medicine specialist Dr Leung Chi-chiu believed even if there are incentives to encourage people to get the jab, the relaxation of social-distancing and travel restrictions will be limited until more people are vaccinated.

Leung said there was "a confidence problem that must be addressed", otherwise not enough elderly or vulnerable members of society would get vaccinated. 

Only 144,000 out of 5.5m people signed up

Professor Benjamin Cowling, an epidemiologist from the University of Hong Kong, said he was worried not enough people would take the shots even when there were enough doses for everybody in the city.

A high vaccination rate was the city's "pathway back to normal", he said.

Will people accept the government's incentives? To some degree many will as they are desperate to travel and dine more freely, or see a live show.

But many are in no hurry to get a vaccine yet, forcing everyone else to wait until they get the jab before Hong Kong can finally relax some restrictions.