Review: Fahrenheit 11/9

Moore explains how Trump got into the White House

Ah Michael Moore is back, this time gunning for Donald J Trump in Fahrenheit 11/9, referring to November 9, 2016, when the previously thought underdog became the 45th President of the United States.

Showing footage from the day before and the bizarre turnaround of election results from TV clips, Moore asks, "How the f*** did we get here?"



He says it started when Trump was fired from The Apprentice and was annoyed to hear Gwen Stefani was making more money from appearances than he was. So the Don created a fake event that looked like a presidential rally to make him look popular (with paid supporters).

What happened in the 2016 election? Moore asks

Somehow that stuck and people were interested in him. Why? Because he was refreshing, he spoke in simple words for people to understand (whether they were true or not), and the media admittedly enjoyed high ratings as he methodically took down his fellow Republican candidates.

But were we prepared for what happened afterwards, him declaring war on the media, being accused of collusion and corruption, and undoing almost every policy Barack Obama had implemented?

Moore tries to find out how this happened, and one theory backed with statistics is that many Democrats gave up on voting in 2016 because they felt the party was not listening to them. And for the record, in West Virginia Bernie Sanders had support from all 55 counties, but at the Democratic National Convention, the delegation spokeswoman declared the state was supporting Hilary Clinton. The old guard had decided she would go head to head with Trump.

The 64-year-old Moore also blames the rise of the right to Obama's policies, where he deported the largest number of illegal immigrants of all previous administrations, and ordered a lot of air strikes that led to the casualties of a lot of innocent people in Syria.

What's interesting is that the United States really is a liberal country, and cites a slew of statistics about acceptance of gay marriage, supporting free education, social health care, pro marijuana, and so on. But Moore also reveals a lot of cracks in the system, and uses his hometown of Flint, Michigan as an example.

He gives Governor Snyder some polluted Flint water

Rick Snyder just recently stepped down as Michigan state governor because of term limits, but during his time he created an unprecedented disaster with the water supply to Flint in 2014. Originally water had been sourced from Lake Huron, but that was changed to the Detroit River which was polluted. Tens of thousands of children were poisoned from the lead in the water and people died, and yet Snyder was never criminally charged for knowingly doing this.

In addition, the residents were disappointed in Obama not doing enough to condemn the situation and fix it by calling a state of emergency. During his speech he asked for a glass of water and some observers claimed Obama pretended to drink it which made a farce of the issue.

Also the city was literally under attack by the US Army that used Flint to practice fighting against terrorists in an urban setting -- except the residents weren't even told about it ahead of time.

But there are people across the country who are not depending on the system and are fighting back.

He meets student survivors of the Douglas Parkland shooting

After the Douglas Parkland shooting on February 14, 2018, where 17 students and teachers were killed and 17 others injured, surviving students took on local politicians who underestimated the teenagers in the gun control debate. On camera they were caught flat-footed in what they were going to do about magazines and AR-15 semi-automatic rifles.

Moore is very pleased to see the next generation taking matters into their own hands and holding their own rally to bring attention the needless violence days later.

The filmmaker is also fired up by teachers who went on strike for more pay, and a former war vet in West Virginia who is willing to fight for change for his community, as he is tired of politicians pandering to corporate interests over the best interests of citizens. He also talks to Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, who are shaking up the Democratic Party.

And then there is the comparison of Trump to Adolf Hitler, with interviews with two historians who say patterns from World War II are repeating themselves. The warning from Fahrenheit 11/9 is that we need to be careful to preserve our democracy otherwise it will be taken from us before we realize it.

Moore back in the 1990s joking around with Trump on TV

I enjoy Moore's humour -- he admits that Steve Bannon's company distributed his movie, Bowling for Columbine, and that Jared Kushner held a launch party for his documentary Sicko on the state of healthcare in the US. He also remembers meeting Trump on Roseanne Barr's talk show and seems to regret not having a go at him on TV.

Moore tries to make a citizen's arrest of Snyder and fails, and retaliates by spraying polluted Flint water on the property where the governor's mansion sits (sadly too far for the water hose to reach).

The research he does for his documentaries are pretty solid and you can't help but cheer him on and be pleased that someone out there is fighting for us. But this time he is warning that we must take matters into our own hands too.

Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018)
Written, narrated, directed by Michael Moore
120 minutes

Donald Tsang Loses Appeal

Donald Tsang was rushed to hospital after he lost his appeal in court

Disgraced former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen did it again -- he came into court to hear the verdict of his appeal, and came out claiming illness and was carried out in a stretcher.

Today his appeal to turn over a conviction for misconduct while in public office was rejected. It was for not declaring his interest in a three-storey penthouse flat in Shenzhen that he was leasing from a company owned by Chinese businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau.

Businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau let Tsang a flat in Shenzhen

Wong was also majority shareholder of radio station Wave Media, that was applying for a  broadcasting license of which Tsang was in charge of approving these license applications.

Three Court of Appeal judges unanimously ruled the evidence was "formidable as it was compelling", that the 73-year-old Tsang had concealed this conflict of interest from the public while he was chief executive from 2005-2012.

However, his original sentence of 20 months in jail was reduced to 12 months, while his fine of HK$3 million to cover prosecution costs was dropped to only HK$1 million.

Apparently the court took into consideration the impact of paying the full amount would have had on Tsang, as he was "not a wealthy businessman but a retired civil servant", who would depend solely on his savings and pension in his remaining years.

Tsang was to live in the penthouse flat

Can we remind readers that the salary of the chief executive of Hong Kong is over HK$300,000 a month -- which is more than what then US President Barack Obama was paid at HK$260,000, while Chinese President Xi Jinping makes HK$14,000.

And being a career civil servant for 40 years, surely Tsang has a decent chunk of change in the bank -- he certainly made much more than the average person in Hong Kong -- or perhaps he is completely unaware of how us plebeians live.

How long will he be at Queen Mary Hospital in Pokfulam, and will that count for jail time as well?

Meanwhile, outside the court his wife Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei said, "Today I feel disappointed, and my heart aches."

Tsang looked fine when he arrived at court this morning

Will this be the last we hear of Tsang, the son of a police officer? Probably not...

Picture of the Day: Good Company

Pictures from Barack Obama's visit to Great Eastern

We flew to San Francisco this morning and were bleary eyed and tired when we finally arrived at the hotel.

When we wanted to have lunch at around 2.30pm, it turns out many restaurants and cafes are already closed. We had to find something open and in the end the deli across the street solved our hunger pangs with hot pastrami and meatloaf sandwiches.

After a two-hour nap to battle jet lag, we headed to Chinatown for dinner. The restaurant is called Great Eastern Restaurant and it looks like your typical Chinese dining establishment.

Overall the food was average, not particularly sophisticated with really large portions. We had a lettuce wrap, a dry roast chicken, roast duck with steamed pockets, dried tofu with mustard greens, and fish sliced to pieces that were pan-fried while the bones deep-fried.

The highlight was stir-fried crab in a thick sauce that had really fresh meat. The kids at our table weren't that keen in tackling the shellfish, leaving more for us.

After we emerged from the restaurant we noticed a laminated poster. Turns out then US President Barack Obama ate there in 2012 and took pictures with staff, everyone grinning from ear to ear.

Another poster had pictures of other celebrities like basketball player Yao Ming and the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking!

So we were in pretty good company!

Great Eastern Restaurant
649 Jackson Street
San Francisco
(415) 986 2500

Hong Kong Votes and Obama's Apparent Snub

Taikoo Shing earlier this evening, where lots of people were waiting to vote

The polls for the Legislative Council election have technically closed as of two minutes ago (10.30pm), but there are still people out there queuing to vote. They will allow them to vote, but only those who were in line before 10.30pm.

It's pretty amazing to hear reports like this, that people have come out in droves and I hope this demonstrates to the Hong Kong government and to Beijing that we care about who we vote for and we don't want to lose this right to vote directly for people to represent us.

Last minute checks at the polling station on who to vote for

Apparently social workers were out in some elderly homes to make sure seniors weren't coerced into voting buses to cast their ballot for a certain candidate or party, though Apple Daily reported some elderly had numbers written on their hands of which candidates to vote for.

I voted this morning at 11am in Kennedy Town and there was no line-up. I gave them my poll card, but they didn't want it -- they just wanted my Hong Kong Identity card. Surely they should at least match the two together? And take the polling card to cross-check later just in case? I find this a very strange practice.

A friend, YTSL, had asked if there would only be names on the ballot or numbers. It turns out EVERYTHING is on the ballot -- the person's name in Chinese and English, their political party AND their picture. Surely you can't get your vote wrong so hopefully there won't be many spoiled ballots.

US President Barack Obama emerges from Air Force One

In the next several hours the votes will be counted at AsiaWorld Expo, and the results will be out in the wee hours of the morning.

It's pretty exciting to see so many people come out, though it's expected that those in their 60s and above probably voted pro-establishment, while those 50 and under voted pro-democratic, and probably those in their 20s for localists.

Another big story today was the arrival of American President Barack Obama in Hangzhou for the G20 summit and things didn't work out too well because he didn't come out onto the rolling staircase, but instead emerged from the belly of the plane, which is usually reserved for high security risk areas.

A White House aide and Chinese security official arguing

Then the New York Times reported a shouting match between a White House member of staff and a Chinese security official. When she pointed out this was not normal protocol, he could be heard clearly saying to her, "This is our country".

Also the media had trouble on the tarmac too. The Times reporter who said he had covered the White House for six years, and never had he seen a foreign host prevent media from watching a US president disembark.

Then at the West Lake State House, where Obama would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, White House aids, protocol officers and secret service got into another shouting match about how many Americans would be allowed into the building before Obama's arrival. The reporter said there were fears things could escalate to a physical confrontation.

"Calm down please," an American official said, according to the pool report. A Chinese foreign ministry official said, "Stop please... there are reporters there."

However, a Hong Kong media outlet claims the "staircase snub" was not that at all, but that it was Washington's decision.

"China provides a rolling staircase for every arriving state leader, but the US side complained that the driver doesn't speak English and can't understand security instructions from the United States; so China proposed that we could assign a translator to sit beside the driver, but the US side turned down the proposal and insisted that they didn't need the staircase provided by the airport," the official was quoted as saying.

That reasoning is hard to believe -- what happens in every other foreign country that the US President arrives in?

It still seems like a deliberate snub at Obama to show him who's boss. He didn't make much of a fuss about it in front of the media, advising them not to "overcrank the significance".

But one can't help but wonder, the arrival of every other state leader in Hangzhou was fine...

A Tale of Two Leaders

Leung Chun-ying's speech was read out like a laundry list for two hours...

This morning our time, the President of the United States, Barack Obama gave his last State of the Union address. While he noted the differences between the Democrats and the Republicans is more divisive than ever, he also praised the country for its diversity, and how the rest of the world looks to America for leadership.

He also talked about the country's future: how to ensure equal opportunities for everyone, how to harness technological change, how to keep the country safe, and how to bridge the political divide.

...while Barack Obama talked big ideas in his speech

This is Obama's vision for the country in his last year in office, and the way he spoke instilled pride and inspiration in the audience.

Contrast this to Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's policy address this morning, his last one before the election next year.

He spoke at the Legislative Council for two hours -- even taking a 10-minute break in between --  to read out a laundry list of initiatives his administration has done or will do, from free kindergarten for some families (details to be ironed out), give HK$2 billion to startups, double the number of wifi hotspots to 34,000 in three years, make the city more accessible for the elderly, and free admission to permanent exhibitions in museums.

Whoohoo.

More interesting were the four times Leung was interrupted by lawmakers who complained the chief executive was not fulfilling election promises, how the government would destroy the environment when developing Lantau, and demanding to know where missing bookseller Lee Bo and his four associates are.

Leung's speech hardly contained any vision. While he is concerned about the growing aging population, with nearly one-third of the population will be seniors within 20 years, Leung only proposes making public areas more accessible and extra hospital beds for them.

Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan demands to know where Lee Bo is

Why not look far into the future and propose more preventive health measures, like encouraging seniors to exercise more, give them more money so they can eat better, and build more assisted living facilities.

And for kindergartens, it is only free for those who attend half day, and even then, the scheme looks to be more complicated with various conditions. As a result some families will be shut out. If 70 to 80 percent of kindergartens are supposed to be free under this scheme, why not just make all of them free of charge?

While throwing HK$2 billion to startups is generous, will that actually lead to something Hong Kong will be famous for globally? What startups have been successful here so far? Seems like a long shot bet that may not result in much except for an easy grab for startups desperate for funds. Is this the most effective way to spend our taxpayer dollars?

Perhaps the only bold initiative on Leung's part is banning the ivory trade "as quickly as possible" he said in the press conference afterwards. Again details need to be worked out, but at least the government is taking a strong stand on this issue.

Other than that, as Leung's critics have pointed out -- including Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee -- the speech only talked about piecemeal items that don't show any sign of looking at Hong Kong's long term future. There are no big ideas, only small initiatives to try to win quick points.

We don't want a government that only picks the low-hanging fruit. We want a vision of the city's future. And today was far from inspiring...

State Dinner's Asian Twist

The two couples say cheese before dinner at the White House

Yesterday US President Barack Obama hosted a state dinner for visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan at the White House.

Mark Zuckerberg with Priscilla Chan

The guest list included Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and his pregnant wife Priscilla (in a ravishing red lace dress might we add). First Lady Michelle Obama wasn't afraid to show off some cleavage in an off the shoulder Vera Wang black ball gown, though Xi's wife Peng was more demure in a peacock blue dress.

Xi wore his mandarin jacket probably in an attempt to hide his large frame, but really, he already wears ties, so why not a bow tie? The jacket just looks too plain... maybe Peng can work on that...

Anyway my sister-in-law pointed out that the chef who cooked that evening was Anita Lo, chef and owner of Annisa restaurant in New York. We actually ate there two years ago, and I remember it being curious flavour combinations and ingredients.

The main course featured one of her signature items, garlic fried milk, a crunchy smooth  garnish for the grilled Colorado lamb.

Anita Lo of Annisa cooked the state dinner that evening

What an honour for Lo, and her dinner must have shaken up the palates of the Chinese delegation to see a new interpretation of Chinese and Western food!

Finally Gao Appears and Speaks

Gao spoke to AP sometime earlier this year about what happened to him

We were so relieved to read Associated Press had an exclusive face-to-face interview with leading Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng.

He dropped out of sight in April 2010 and although he was released over a year ago, we wondered what had happened to him in that time.

Turns out he told AP he was tortured with an electric baton to his face and spent three years in solitary confinement during his latest period of detention since 2010.

Despite the harsh treatment, Gao refuses to leave China even though he is separated from his wife and two children who are living in the United States.

When he was released from prison in 2014, the formerly outspoken lawyer could barely walk or speak full, intelligible sentences, which raised concerns that Gao had been permanently broken physically and mentally.

But a year later he seems to be himself...

His wife Geng He is living in exile in the US with the children

"Every time we emerge from the prison alive, it is a defeat for our opponents," he told AP.

Gao now lives in a dug-out cave on a cliff in Shaanxi province with his older brother, though he is constantly under surveillance. He apparently managed to finish manuscripts for two books that were secretly sent out of China for publication.

In the interview and in one of his books, Gao said he spent three years in solitary confinement that he survived thanks to his faith in God and his unwavering hope for China.

"I thought about giving up and giving my time to my family, but it's the mission God has given me" to stay in China, Gao, a Christian, said.

His wife Geng He said from Cupertino, California, that she didn't understand why her husband was imprisoned and why he continued to be under house arrest.

"I don't understand why the government has to imprison him. He is just a lawyer. His legal profession requires him to help and serve others. Why is he being treated like this? He is standing up for greater freedom in China."

She later posted on her Twitter account a letter from her husband urging her to decline an invitation to meet a US deputy secretary of state before the summit between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He told her such a meeting would be futile. Since the administration of President Bill Clinton, "the American political class has disregarded the basic humanitarian principles and muddied itself by getting close to the sinister Communist Party," Gao wrote, according to his wife.

In one of Gao's books -- that has yet to be published -- he predicts the authoritarian rule under China's Communist Party will end in 2017 -- a revelation he says he received from God. He also outlines a plan to build up a democratic, modern China after the party's collapse. The book also details his inhumane treatment in prison.

The other book is addressed to his son and tells of his family's story.

Jerome Cohen, a New York University law professor and expert on China's legal system, says Gao has become a symbol of the repression of rights lawyers in the country, and that it was heartening to hear he had given an interview.

"I had worried that Gao had become a forgotten man," Cohen said. "He was the leading human rights lawyer in China. He was a bold, courageous, outspoken person, and they broke him, they broke him in the cruelest way."

In Gao's book, he said he endured more torture, including with an electric baton to his face -- a moment he remembers as a near out-of-body experience when he heard his own voice.

"Undoubtedly, it was from me. I don't know how to describe it," Gao wrote. "That sound was almost like a dog howling when its tail is forcibly stepped on by its master. Sometimes it sounded like what a puppy makes when it's hung upside by its tail."

During these years of detention, Gao says he was able to build a mental barrier against the physical perception of pain. "This is a special ability I have acquired to allow me to survive difficult times," he said in the interview.

He says he was secretly tried in December 2011, and it was only then that the government acknowledged it was holding him by sending him to prison.

This was the first time he was taken outside -- albeit hooded -- for the first time in 21 months. "It was the first time I heard a dog bark and that I could breathe fresh air," he said.

Then he was moved to a prison in Xinjiang and while he was no longer beaten, he had to stay in a room of 8 square metres (86 sq ft) without windows or ventilation for three years.

As a result he could not cope with being in large spaces after his release. "I found I could not walk at the airport, but i could walk inside the locked-up room," he said.

Gao said at one point during his three-year period in prison, the authorities installed a loudspeaker in his cell that spouted propaganda on socialist values for 68 weeks straight. "You cannot imagine the mental harassment they inflicted on me," he said.

Now out of prison (but constantly being watched), Gao is able to speak to his wife and children daily, but feels he cannot leave China to be reunited with them.

"My wife is suffering, but I can do nothing," he said. "I understand those persecuted souls who have left China and I am glad for them, but I cannot be among them. I cannot go," Gao said.

If what Gao says is true, the Chinese authorities have no shame in torturing a human being to the point of physical and mental breakdown. A government that prides itself on being on a "peaceful rise" is far from the truth.

Does China think we on the outside cannot see this? We understand that people like Gao and Liu Xiaobo need to do their work from the inside, but we need them to know we are on their side cheering them on, to tell them they are not alone.

Free At Last

According to Dui Hua Foundation, Xue Feng has arrived home in Houston

Foreign media are reporting that Chinese-American geologist Xue Feng has been released and deported back to the United States, according to the Dui Hua Foundation.

If this is true, it will be a bitter sweet reunion for his family, who have been fighting for his release all this time. He was detained in China in November 2007, then formally detained in February 2008 and then tried in July 2009, then eventually sentenced in July 2010 for "illegally procuring state secrets", a vague charge.

The US government had lobbied hard for his release, and even when President Barack Obama visited Beijing and personally brought up the case, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Xue's case was a difficult one, as China still insists on recognizing those who were born in China, but became naturalized citizens elsewhere as Chinese citizens. As a result, those returning to the mainland to do business are putting themselves at risk of being in trouble with the law -- even if they may not have done anything wrong, but China feels they have.

With regards to Xue's situation, he was working for an American consulting company and introduced the company to an oil industry database he thought was commercially available. The company bought the information and Xue was detained.

For weeks American embassy officials were not allowed to see him, and when they were finally able to, he told them of being mistreated and abused in prison, showing them cigarette burn marks on his arms.

Once one is charged with anything regarding state secrets, the defendant is pretty much doomed and then it's a matter of how severe the sentence will be. For Xue, he served all but 10 months of his eight-year sentence for good behaviour.

Dui Hua Foundation's executive director John Kamm said, "Dui Hua is delighted that Dr Xue has finally been reunited with his family in America after a terrible ordeal. The foundation wishes him every success as he rebuilds his life."

The family also released a statement asking for privacy so that "they can begin the process of recovery from this unimaginably horrible experience of torture, incarceration for a crime that was not committed, and the unconscionable trauma associated with their forced separation that he and his family have suffered for seven and a half years".

How does one begin to heal from an ordeal like that?

How does one get back that time lost from loved ones?

We hope Xue will heal with time and love from his family.

This is a terrible tale of caution where those who are lured back to the motherland must think twice about returning, with the Chinese government becoming more stringent on foreign competition, and having the freedom to deem anything as "state secrets".

The Paper Trail Ends Here

The confiscated toilet paper and packets of tissues with Leung Chun-ying's face

The Democratic Party is now scrambling to find alternative products to sell during the Lunar New Year Fair after its potentially top-grossing item, toilet paper featuring the face of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, was confiscated by mainland authorities.

They not only seized 7,600 rolls of this toilet paper, but also 20,000 packets of tissues with Leung's face on them.

Last year the Democrats grossed HK$100,000 ($12,900) from selling 4,000 rolls of the toilet paper, and this year ordered from the same company.

Kelvin Lai King-wai is head of the Democrats' creative media division. He was surprised that the authorities were able to track down their latest order because they had placed it under the name of someone who was not a member of the party, and had not revealed their identity in the process.

"The stocks had been packed and were to be shipped to Hong Kong today, but the mainland officers suddenly inspected the factory and took away all the boxes," he said yesterday, adding that they also sealed the factory.

Lai said the party spent HK$70,000 for two booths in Victoria Park and another HK$20,000 as a deposit for the toilet paper and tissues. They are now scrambling to find a local manufacturer to produce the same products.

Not only does the factory in the mainland produce toilet paper with Leung's face on it, but those of former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and United States President Barack Obama without any problems.

Perhaps the Democrats could stock up on the Tsang toilet paper, as an announcement on possible charges is imminent...

But it's quite obvious someone -- either Leung himself or someone related to the Liaison Office -- wanted that toilet paper tracked down and confiscated.

Would this be considered an obstruction to freedom of expression? Or a covert operation to stop Leung being the butt of all jokes?

If anything it's given the Democrats some badly needed popularity points. We'll see what they come up with in the next few days...

Innocent Observation?

The picture of a student's letter to Xi Jinping

Seems like the the topic of the Chinese president's weight is off limits when it comes to the censors.

A nine-year-old schoolboy from Henan wrote an essay suggesting Xi Jinping should shed some pounds and it went viral after his father thought it was amusing and posted a picture of it on his WeChat.

It was soon picked up by the media, but then word came down from the propaganda department to take down any reference to it.

The innocent letter by Niu Ziru was addressed to "Xi Dada", a close term for an older man, and started off talking about the space industry.

"The United States and Russia -- even the European Union and India -- are all planning to land on Mars. Let's hurry up," Niu wrote.

Then he changed the topic to something he thought was a "lighter subject" by saying, "Xi Dada, you could lose some weight. [You] don't have to look as slim as [US President Barack] Obama. It's all right to look like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."

The Zhengzhou Evening News ran a story on the letter, but then it and other news outlets scrubbed the story from their online editions.

What's wrong with an innocent suggestion as that? He's only concerned for Xi's health...