Tsang Angry at WSJ's Editorial -- Again

Tsang complains about WSJ editorial second time in a month

Constitutional affairs minister Erick Tsang Kwok-wai complained yet again to the Wall Street Journal about its editorial on Sunday's Legislative Council election, describing it as a "sham poll", and accusing the newspaper of "arrogance which knows no bounds".

It is the second time in a month that Tsang sent a strongly worded letter to complain the New York-based newspaper must correct its "inaccuracies".

"I am sickened by your biased and unsubstantiated editorials on Hong Kong issues and have given up hope that you will ever try to report accurately and fairly on Hong Kong," Tsang wrote in a letter dated on December 23.

Tsang (second left) retorts NY's voter turn out low

The opinion piece was titled: "Democracy Boycott in Hong Kong", which was published hours after voting closed on the first poll following the massive revamp of the electoral system.

The newspaper described the Legislative Council election as "a sham poll" in which democratic candidates were blocked from running", adding that "all candidates must receive Communist Party approval".

How is the second part incorrect? Because it was one-sided, the democratic candidates did not feel it was worth throwing their hats into the ring.

Tsang compared the poll's 30.2 percent turnout -- the lowest since 1997 -- to the 23 percent recorded in the recent New York mayoral contest, and the 33.3 percent of this year's French regional elections.''

"Following the logic of your argument, would you also suggest that 'almost nobody came to the election' in those two elections?" Tsang asked.

This is where Western countries have to be ashamed for their poor voter turnout, whereas in Australia you must vote otherwise you will be fined.

Only one non pro-Beijing candidate won

He also refers to a line in the editorial which said the news paper "seems to have a better feel for Hong Kong public sentiment than the government does", to which the minister countered: "I wonder how many times you have visited our city for you to be able to make such a claim. I am stunned by your arrogance which knows no bounds".

Earlier this month Tsang threatened to "take necessary action" against the WSJ over an editorial that he claimed incited residents to boycott the election or cast blank votes.

An opinion piece the following day disputed Tsang's December 6 letter and said he "seemed oblivious to the irony" when he started that Hong Kong upheld freedom of speech, the press and publication.

Tsang's knee-jerk reaction is so shrill and emotional, it's hard to take him that seriously...

An Upcoming Election Not Many Know About

Hong Kong will have an election soon, did you know?

Hong Kong will have its first election for the Legislative Council since the electoral system was overhauled on December 12, but ask people if they know who's on the ballot and they'd probably reply that they didn't.

The changes to the electoral system include adding 20 more seats to the legislature's previous 70, but the number of directly elected lawmakers has decreased from 35 to 20. 

Pro-democracy parties criticised the move as a way to silence dissent and make it harder for them to run; in the end they decided there was no point in running, which will further change the political landscape.

Number of directly-elected seats down to 20

There is no more intense campaigning or rallies, only the odd leaflet handed out and no one cares to grab one either.

A survey on November 24 by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute found of the 838 people questioned, 60 percent did not know any of the candidates running in their geographic constituency, while 40 percent knew at least one.

In addition, 52 percent of them plan to vote, which is a sharp drop from 2018 when 80 percent said they would definitely cast their ballot.

Perhaps this is why the Hong Kong government has decided to set up polling stations at three border check points, Heung Yuen Wai, Lo Wu, and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line so that Hongkongers living in China could cast their votes -- quarantine free. The numbers of people living in these areas could add another 111,000 votes... for which side?

In the meantime the authorities are cracking down on anyone who is directing people on how to vote on December 19. Today arrest warrants were issued for former lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung who is now in Australia, and former district councillor Yau Man-chun now in the UK, for urging voters to either cast blank ballots or boycott the election.

An arrest warrant was issued for Ted Hui

Hui and Yau posted on their social media pages between October 30 and November 29, with the former calling for the public to cast blank votes, while the latter told people not to vote, according to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

In his post, Hui hoped there would be more blank ballots than those filled out as a sign of resistance to tyranny, while Yau called for an outright boycott of the election.

The ICAC presented its investigation to the Department of Justice and it said there was enough evidence to prosecute the two men, and hence the arrest warrants. Hui faces four charges, Yau, eight.

The anti-corruption agency urged the public not to engage in making illegal appeals or repost unlawful content to uphold a fair and clean election.

"The commission will continue to take resolute enforcement actions to combat conduct manipulating and sabotaging the election to ensure that it will be held in a fair and just manner."

Yau is in the UK

In response to the warrant, Yau wrote on his Facebook page: "As for the coffee invitation from the ICAC, my response for now is: noted."

Earlier this month, the ICAC arrested three people for allegedly urging others to cast blank ballots in the Legco election, shortly after security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung warned that such calls might be illegal.

Two men and a woman aged between 29 and 65 were arrested for reposting an online post that encouraged voters to cast blank votes. The trio were later released on bail pending a further investigation.

And just to make sure the elections go smoothly, on December 19 there will be 10,000 police officers all over the streets of Hong Kong... 

Record Number Hongkongers Opt for Canada

Record number of people are seeking study permits to Canada

Although the steady exodus of Hongkongers to the UK continues, there are more people interested in heading to Canada -- including those in their 50s and 60s.

Education and immigration consultants are seeing a record number of people obtaining study permits. Official figures from Canada showed 4,915 Hongkongers were given study permits from January to September, up sharply from 1,975 from the first three quarters of last year.

Of the 4,915 permits, 1,670 were issued in August alone, a new monthly record since 2015, a three-fold increase from 520 in August last year.

More middle-aged people interested in studying

From 2015 to 2020, Canada issued about 200 study permits each month. The monthly figure jumped to an average of 630 from March to September this year.

The sharp increase happened after Canada announced new immigration pathways for Hongkongers in February this year in the wake of the national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing last June.

Canada has two routes for Hongkongers to emigrate. One is to complete post secondary education at designated Canadian institutions in the past three years to apply for permanent residence.

The second is for those who have worked in Canada for at least a year in the past three years, provided they attained recognised post secondary qualifications within the past five years.

As these offers are available until August 2026, people who start studying soon will have enough time to complete their studies and apply to remain there.

Canadian immigration faster than in the UK

This is a much shorter way for Hongkongers to gain foreign citizenship than compared to the emigration programs offered by the UK and Australia. However, Canada has said that the offer could be revoked at any time, which is why there is a rush to apply now.

Jeannie Tse, country manager in Hong Kong and Macau for EF Education First, said the number of inquiries about studying in Canada tripled as soon as the schemes were announced. She also noted fielding questions from people over 50, something she had never seen before.

Immigration consultant Chan Yuet-sum also observed more middle-aged Hongkongers inquiring about studying in Canada, including someone in their 60s.

"They can apply for permanent residence in Canada right after graduation and the processing time of around six to 10 months is shorter than Britain's BNO visa scheme," she said.

Many have opted for the UK with BNO passport

Another reason for the growing interest in Canada is that because of the coronavirus pandemic, Australia has closed its borders for two years and so students looking to study overseas are choosing Canada instead as it has opened its borders earlier.

Hong Kong Needs to Find More Doctors

Hong Kong urgently needs more doctors to alleviate system

 

Hong Kong has a serious shortage of doctors. Currently the ratio is two doctors for every 1,000 residents, compared with Australia at 3.8 and 4.3 in Sweden.

The problem is that the professional medical body makes it near impossible for non-locally-trained doctors to practice in the city with its licensing exams. Dentists also have a similarly difficult exam -- the regulatory body sets the rules and in the case of dentists, the questions aren't necessarily technical questions, so it's impossible to get almost 100 percent on the exam, which is the standard.

The academy says the govt did not consult it

So the Hong Kong government made a bold move by suggesting the city should recruit non-permanent residents to practice as specialists without taking the local licensing exam.

Needless to say the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine was dismayed at hearing the news.

"During the process of drafting the amendments, the government has always maintained good communication with the academy, but it did not consult the academy on the three changes put forward on Tuesday," it said, in response to the announcement from health authorities on proposed changes that included that of allowing non-permanent residents to practice as specialists.

The body claimed just having more non-locally trained doctors alone would not be enough to solve the issue.

"The government should review the system holistically and improve retention measures within the public medical system to ease the loss of talent and ever-growing need for manpower," it said.

Chan suggests ways to recruit more doctors

However, the loss of talent has only been in the recent year or so -- what about for the past years and decades? The body has not helped in suggesting ways to alleviate the pressure on the health system, only to fiercely protect its own.

In May health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee floated the idea that foreign-trained permanent residents who had graduated from a list of recognized medical schools be allowed to practice without taking the local licensing test.

Another idea is to allow permanent resident medical students trained abroad to do their internships in Hong Kong after passing the licensing test, and giving overseas trained doctors already in the city on short-term "limited registration" contracts a chance at full registration.

Chan says if these suggestions are not implemented by 2030, there will be 1,650 fewer doctors than needed, and the figure will rise to 1,940 by 2040.

Chan wants non-resident doctors to be specialists

It was suggested by Chan's department that some 1,000 Hong Kong medical students educated abroad could do their internships in the city.

While the government insisted the academy would continue as the gatekeeper of specialist qualifications, wouldn't the body still make it difficult for overseas trained permanent resident medical students trying to get jobs in Hong Kong?

Perhaps it's an effort at appeasement, but Hong Kong really needs more doctors to keep the health care system functioning...

Aussie Lobsters Sneak into China

Australian rock lobsters are being smuggled to China via HK

Australia and China have had long simmering disputes as of late, and this has led to the latter banning numerous food products from Down Under.

First it was wines, along with barley, log timber, copper, coal, and sugar, and recently it's rock lobsters.

But the red crustaceans are making their way to China via Hong Kong thanks to some daring smugglers.

Australian wines are banned from entering China

Back in 2015 when China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was signed, smuggling was brought to a halt and four years later, more than 90 percent of Australia's rock lobsters were exported to China, worth a staggering US$553.7 million a year, according to the Australian agriculture department.

However, the trade ban has resurrected smuggling operations. It's not just lobsters the smugglers are bringing over to China, but also frozen meats, cigarettes and other goods, possibly jewellery, bird's nest, or shark's fin.

In April, Hong Kong imported a whopping 157,978kg of Australian rock lobsters -- about 50 times the amount imported in October, just before the ban took effect.

Lobsters are packed in boxes and kept chilled

But none of the lobsters show up as cargo being re-exported to mainland China, said Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department. Only 5 percent of the lobsters are re-exported to Macau.

"How could people in Hong Kong consume so many lobsters?" asks a local seafood trader. "Of course they must have ended up on the mainland."

Mainland e-commerce sites like Xianyu and Taobao have suppliers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou selling rock lobsters for 300 yuan to 1,000 yuan (US$45-US$155) per kilogram.

How they get to China is, the lobsters are chilled -- not frozen -- to keep them alive and the cold temperatures put them to sleep. After an eight-hour flight from Perth to Hong Kong, and cleared customs, the crustaceans are put in water tanks for two or three days to freshen them up and then repacked again in boxes to make the illicit journey.

The lobsters end up on dining tables in China

Some are hidden in fishermens' boats together with their usual haul to get to the other side a few kilometres away, while others are taken by speedboat by smugglers. It's crucial to get the lobsters transported as quickly as possible because no one wants a dead lobster on arrival...

Two Years Ago Today

A sea of white two years ago, 1 million protest extradition bill

 

It's hard to believe it was two years ago that the first mass protest against the now-withdrawn extradition bill was held. One million people came out dressed in white t-shirts and tops to symbolize light.

It was the first massive demonstration since 2003, when 500,000 protested against Article 23 security law which was soon shelved by then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. 

Lam did not back down as expected

But this time Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stood her ground.

At 11pm on June 9, 2019, the government issued a press release, saying that while it respected people's rights and freedoms to express their opinions about about the issue, the second reading of the bill would be held three days later.

So that escalated to June 12, 2019, when a general strike was called that day and some people began occupying Tamar Park, where the Legislative Council and government headquarters are.

And it led to the June 16 march with a staggering 2 million people turning out in the streets of Hong Kong to protest, and there were demonstrations every weekend after that, escalating into skirmishes with police that included tear gas, water cannons, live ammunition, and a tense standoff in two university campuses.

How things have have changed so much since then. June 9, 2019 seems so long ago.

Chan (left) was released October 2019

Even the murder in Taiwan that precipitated the proposal of the extradition bill hasn't been resolved; the murder suspect Chan Tong-kai is still living in relative freedom under the care of Reverend Peter Koon Ho-ming, and still has yet to turn himself in to Taiwanese authorities where there is bureaucratic red tape before he can enter to face murder charges.

Two years later Hong Kong has completely changed, mostly in part of the national security law that was implemented almost a year ago and over 10,000 have been arrested, including so many lawmakers, politicians, and activists. 

Who knew this would happen? And during a pandemic?

When 1 million people came out to march on June 9, it was expected that Lam would back down or at least reconsider the extradition bill. 

But she didn't and now here we are, Hong Kong has changed so much that people are leaving for places like the UK, Canada and Australia. 

Many people in this picture are in jail now

And now with the authorities desperate for people to get vaccinated so that Hong Kong can lift its border restrictions with China, some people refuse outright because they don't trust the government at all, thanks to how it handled the 2019 protests.

So many things are happening because of what conspired two years ago.

Who can forget?

Walking on the Colourful Side

Colourful ribbons shimmering in the wind

My walk along the harbourfront has become more interesting.

Today we saw a lot of new additions, some of which make us question where our taxpayer dollars are going.

Near the PLA dock in Central is a cordoned off space called Design District HK and there is a giant undulating net tied with 18,000 colourful ribbons. It looks like a rainbow-coloured rectangular carpet waving in the breeze.

Swings anchored to the ground

It happened to be the first day today of the event, and we had to use our LeaveHomeSafe app and take our temperature before going into the space free of charge. Inside there are a number of large green (fake grass) circles on the ground, presumably for social distancing.

It was nice to lie under this art installation called River of Light by artist Patrick Shearn, but after a few minutes of admiring it and taking pictures, then what? We walked back to the entrance nearby and they politely told us we had to walk to the far end of the grounds to exit. 

With no signage saying so it was annoying to have to walk all the way to the end.

Nevertheless we continued on our way eastward and saw the water barriers were removed just past the Wan Chai Star Ferry pier. The area near the pier is covered in fake pink roses, and it's pathetic to see this cheesy floral theme is still used and now with some seating in pink complete with flamingos, or decorated with more fake flowers.

In the distance we saw some rubber tire swings (with fake pink grass) seating and thought we could have some fun on it. But when we sat on them, they didn't move! The rubber tire swings were anchored at the bottom with chains.

Why? WHY?

The letters "V" and "H" for Victoria Harbour

Why can't we swing on these swings?! The authorities are probably terrified someone is going to get hurt.

That was really infuriating.

And to complete the area, there was a "V" and "H" to denote "Victoria Harbour" that people could pose with. Whoohoo.

When we finally arrived at the Wan Chai Harbourfront Promenade, there were what looked like giant bendy straws at the end. When we went around them, they made different percussion sounds like synthesizer bells or xylophone which was interesting. 

It's called Sky Castle designed by Australian multimedia design studio Eness in collaboration with Hattrick Creative.  

So we ran around and around these giant archways where senors triggered them to release sounds and would probably make more "music" if more people went around them.

Giant tubes that make sounds! Great for kids

Perhaps the Hong Kong government realizes people need some things to keep them occupied, and this public art will get them out and about discovering the harbourfront. It also helps that there are giant green arrows on the ground pointing to where people should go...

However at the same time each of the sections have wildly different design elements that aren't very consistent or cohesive. It seems no thought was put to having a consistent theme and each section was determined by a singular group or individual. 

This does not work well. The High Line in New York works so well because the overall look is very consistent, even though the plantings may be different. The benches are quite similar or site specific, but still keep with the same kind of minimalist design. 

Instead on the Hong Kong waterfront it's a hodgepodge of different things for different people, which is understandable to a degree, but they vary so much in terms of their overall look that it's hard to believe they are all connected by one path.

But really, can something be done about those swings?

World Press Photo Exhibition

Dancer Musa Motha by Alon Skuy

 

The 2020 World Press Photo Exhibition is in its 63rd year and this is the third time it has been shown in Hong Kong.

This year it was supposed to be held on March 1 at Hong Kong Baptist University in Kowloon Tong, but it was abruptly cancelled in late February by the university's officials who were concerned after a pro-Beijing media outlet, DotDotNews attacked the tertiary institution for "inciting violence".

School girls on the way to protest in Hong Kong

Management was concerned pro-Beijing figures would come to the show and stage a protest over the Hong Kong images, and then draw pro-democracy activists to counter protest which could then possibly result in a clash.

So the university cited "campus security" and the coronavirus pandemic as reasons why the exhibition was called off.

Luckily the event was back on March 28, this time in a co-working space in Admiralty, with visitors having to preregister online to ensure only a certain number of people were inside the room per hour.

I managed to catch the show today, the second last day, after work and when the elevator doors opened, there was a large crowd of people waiting to get into the show, filling out paper health declaration forms and showing their confirmation emails to go in.

A first-aider in shock of being arrested

The exhibition shows the best images from the annual photo contest that began in 1955 when a group of Dutch photographers organized an international photo contest to expose their work to a global audience.

It is now shown in 120 cities in 50 countries, and this year, 4,282 photographers from 125 countries entered 73,996 photographs to the contest.

There were photographs of the 2019 anti-government protests by Danish photographer Nicolas Asfouri. It's a series of pictures including school girls in a blue and white uniform holding hands on their way to a "human-chain" protest looking defiant and confident, while another shows a young man who is a first aider pinned down by a police officer on the ground, his facial expression reveals shock at what has happened to him, on his chest are vials of saline solution to treat people for tear gas.

A roadrunner looks at the US-Mexico wall

To be honest these pictures were not the best ones taken during the social unrest, but it is good to see the protests included in the exhibition.

Photographer Alon Skuy of South Africa, took a beautiful portrait of a young man, Musa Motha, who was a promising football [soccer] player, but at the age of 11 had his leg amputated because of cancer. He took up dancing instead and uses his crutches and gravity to create his moves and now performs professionally with the Vuyani Dance Theatre in Johannesburg.

A striking photograph is of a giant barbed wire fence and a roadrunner looking at it inquisitively. It was captured by Mexican Alejandro Prieto of the wall then US President Donald Trump was building along the US-Mexico border. There were concerns the wall would negatively affect 23 endangered and at-risk species. With Biden administration in office, construction of the wall has halted, but nothing yet has been decided.

A car melted by the Australian fires

The Australian fires were shocking to see in the news -- remember those koalas that had to be rescued by humans? Here photographer Matthew Abbott for the New York Times captured the heat of the intense fires with a burnt out car that is melting. Aluminum melts at 660.3 degrees Celsius and there's streams of the melted metal emanating from the vehicle creating an eerie sight. 

The Toronto Raptors had an amazing run in 2019, winning the NBA Championships. Canadian photographer Mark Blinch shot a great picture of the game-winning shot of the Raptors against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals in Toronto. Every person's reaction is captured -- almost all of them eyeing the ball go into the basket, as if frozen in time. It could have been a painting of that moment. Amazing.

The final second of the Raptors vs 76ers game

There are other horrific stories, like that of Belarusian women who were forced to have abortions. One woman had a wooden leg when she was pregnant by her boyfriend but he left her when his mother told him she didn't want a disabled daughter-in-law. Another aborted after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, worried she could not handle another child (she already had one). One young woman was sexually assaulted by her boss. All these women did not reveal their faces or names.

In addition there were mages of people fleeing Isis, people burying their loved ones, others just trying to survive under the Taliban, or being defiant and holding protests in the streets, but unsure of what would happen.

Animals were also subjects, with one pangolin held by the tail as a cook is about to butcher it for a meal, or orphaned orangutans clutching onto their human mothers for a chance at survival, and a polar bear mother and cub inspecting flags posted on the Arctic Circle. 

A pangolin about to become someone's dinner

So glad to be able to see this exhibition and see what all the fuss was about. Everyone in the room was respectful and quiet in looking at the pictures, so why cancel it? This is an international photo exhibition that deserves to be shown, photographers capturing moments as they saw them. They help us witness what is happening around the world.

 

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."

Ex-lawmaker Makes New Life in Australia

Hui announced he had left the UK for Australia

 

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung has announced he has moved from the UK to Australia on his Facebook page, but feared for his safety and did not reveal exactly where he was, except that he is in southeastern Australia. He arrived on Tuesday and is currently undergoing quarantine. 

Hui wrote he would continue his lobbying work in Australia, while leave activism efforts in Britain to Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who moved there just before the national security law was implemented in late June. 

Law is busy with lobbying efforts in the UK

When contacted by the media, Hui denied he was pressured by the UK government to leave, saying he always saw it as a stopover place before going to a third destination. He said he would live on his savings, and support through a social media platform called Patreon, where many pro-democracy activists receive donations from supporters.

"For the long term I've yet to think it over," he said.

Hui thanked Australian authorities for allowing him to come in on a tourist visa despite the strict Covid-19 entry restrictions and that he was undergoing two weeks of quarantine. In the social media post he also thanked the Australian government for coordinating his flight arrangements, thought he had not applied for asylum and would not do so unless it was his last option.

"Although there are many Hongkongers living and studying in Australia, there are relatively few Hong Kong political leaders who are in exile here and are engaged in lobbying work. This is one of the reasons why I decided to move to Australia," Hui said, adding he had relatives in the country who could help him.

Hui at a climate change meeting in Copenhagen

He explained he would lobby the Australian government to press sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials, and loosen its immigration rules to allow residents facing persecution to move there. 

Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong last July, saying it was "deeply concerned" about Beijing imposing the national security law on the city.

The 38-year-old lawmaker fled Hong Kong in late November while out on bail late last year, facing numerous charges related to the anti-government protests in 2019.

Denmark invited Hui to come attend a supposed climate change meeting in Copenhagen, and he was able to secure court approval to leave Hong Kong while awaiting trial.

His family joined him later and they flew to Britain, but then five bank accounts belonging to his family were frozen by HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China. He urged the British authorities to impose sanctions on HSBC for freezing credit cards and savings accounts belonging to him and his family due to "political considerations".

HSBC and two other banks froze Hui's accounts

It will be interesting to see how Hui and his family fare in Australia, but with relatives to support them, it sounds like a practical decision. But surely the Chinese will be conducting surveillance on him, so Hui needs to be careful. 

Nevertheless it is possible he can carve out a career as an activist in exile and keep the discussion going on Hong Kong and its deteriorating environment.

Hong Kong's Rising Number of University Dropouts

The numbers of students graduating are decreasing

 

If one needs another sign that Hong Kong's young people are leaving the city, look no further than the university statistics. They show more than 2,100 students dropped out of eight local universities in the 2019-20 year, up 15 percent from 2018-19.

It's the highest number of dropouts since 2004 when this data was first recorded. 

Chinese University was damaged from clashes

The figures were released by the University Grants Committee, the main funding body for the city's public institutions of higher learning, showed that some schools had more dropouts than others, with one as much as a 40 percent increase in 2019-20 compared to the previous academic year.

While most universities cited personal and family issues as the reasons for withdrawals, student leaders said their peers left to study abroad following the anti-government protests in 2019.

There are other surveys showing students in primary and secondary schools dropping out over the past year, including from elite institutions, which indicates they most probably left Hong Kong.

In the 2019-20 academic year, 2,120 undergraduate and postgraduate students withdrew from the city's eight publicly-funded universities, up 15 percent from 1,848 in 2018-19, according to statistics from the grants committee.

While City University and Education University did not see an uptick in dropouts, Polytechnic University saw the biggest drop at 505 students leaving, 40 percent more than the 359 who quit the previous year.

HKU saw a low number of students drop out

Meanwhile the University of Hong Kong saw 357 students leave, the University of Science and Technology had 207 students withdraw, up 36 and 35 percent respectively, and Chinese University had 311 students leave, a 13 percent rise.

The numbers include local and non-local students.

Poly U and Chinese University sustained the most damage during the 2019 protests when protesters occupied the campuses and had clashes with police. 

Edy Jeh Tsz-lam, a student representative of HKU's governing council and former president of the student union, said she believed some dropouts could be non-local students who returned to their home countries because of the coronavirus pandemic, while local students left Hong Kong to study elsewhere.

She heard of students transferring to universities in Taiwan and the UK, while others had quit university to reapply to study other subjects because their personal goals had changed.

"For instance, a friend of mine who was studying law told me [during the 2019 protests] that she was considering quitting university and reapplying for dentistry, as she believed studying law and [entering the legal sector] in Hong Kong was no longer meaningful," Jeh said, citing critics who had declining confidence in the local judicial system.

CUHK saw 13 percent increase in withdrawals

PolyU student union president Alan Wu Wai-kuen said he had peers who had chosen to study elsewhere after dropping out, going to countries like Australia and Canada. 

However officially, Baptist, Polytechnic, Education and Lingnan universities cited personal reasons for why students withdrew, while a Chinese University spokeswoman said students transferring to another local institution or overseas universities was also a major factor.

The dropout figures for 2019-20 were the highest since the 2003-04 academic year, the earliest for which the grants committee data was immediately available. That year about 1,704 students withdrew, while in the 2010-11 year saw the lowest number of students dropout at 1,057. It has hovered around the 1,800 a year since 2015.

But the most recent figures are troubling, and professor Lau Chi-pang of Lingnan University's associate vice-president of academic affairs and external relations says more studies should be conducted to find out the real reasons why students have quit.

Poly U saw biggest drop in students leaving

"The government should maybe also look into the phenomenon. It is not just universities being affected," he said, pointing to the concurrent rise in dropouts at primary and secondary schools. "It is, after all, not an isolated topic."

Lau is right and the government should be worried that a stream of students are leaving or have changed their majors. Are we going to see fewer studying law as Jeh suggested, or even history now that national education will change how the subject is taught in schools? 

Hong Kong's political and social environment continues to deterioriate daily, and the numbers of students leaving are a big red flag.

Mini Protest Outside of Court

A sea of people clad in black wait outside West Kowloon Court

Hundreds of Hongkongers dressed in black came out in support of the 47 charged with subversion under the national security law. Some of the even lined up at 9pm the night before to be able to go into the court room. Even if they couldn't get in they stayed outside the West Kowloon Court as a sign that the pro-democratic movement has not wavered.

They shouted slogans, like "Five demands not one less!", "Hongkongers add oil!", and "Hongkongers revenge!" that haven't been heard for about a year. 

Some diplomats tried to get into the court today

"Hong Kong people are so angry. No other protests can happen, so we come here. The new law forbids everything else," said Wong Tin-yan, a district councillor, who was standing outside the court.

Consular officials from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Australia tried to get into the courtroom, but were not able to.

Even at 10.30pm only six of the 47 had their lawyers complete their bail applications.  It's going to be a long night for everyone. 

Already the prosecutors have asked for an extra three months to complete their investigation, which means three more months of sitting in jail for the defendants. Paul Harris, one of the defense lawyers said if prosecutors move fast to charge someone, then they should also ensure a speedy trial.

But it seems Beijing has already decided the verdict even before the trials have begun.

Where is the rule of law here? Innocent before proven guilty?

Benny Tai being brought to court

Head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Xia Baolong said in a speech that media publisher Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, and Benny Tai Yiu-ting should be "severely punished" for "instigating riots with extremely notorious acts".

"The small minority of people who called for foreign forces to interfere with Hong Kong affairs... are destroyers of 'one country, two systems''; we must not allow them to gain any of Hong Kong's public power," Xia was quoted as saying in pro-Beijing Bauhinia Magazine.

"[They] should not be merely banned from infiltrating any public office in Hong Kong, but also strictly punished in accordance with the law for their illegal acts... The minority of people who oppose China and mess up Hong Kong will only cause disasters, including destruction, instability and terror."

Xia paints a very dire picture, but since the national security law was implemented, there has been hardly any protests or gatherings due to the fear of arrests. 

And this charge of subversion? These 47 defendants participated in a primary to choose the best candidate to run for the Legislative Council elections that didn't happen because of the pandemic.

Many shouted slogans from the 2019 protests

So how is that be a crime?

Prosecutors are framing this as a plot to subvert Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor -- a violation of the national security law -- and so those involved must be prosecuted.

While the outlook is bleak, the fact that hundreds came out in support of the almost four dozen defendants is impressive and shows people are still willing to fight -- albeit cautiously in an increasingly repressive environment.