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.

Remembering Those who Defended HK

Japanese troops take over Tsim Sha Tsui

Every year around this time when I wear a poppy, some Hongkongers ask me where I got the pretty flower, others suddenly remember that it's that day where you remember the war dead, other expats don't seem to care or notice. 

I wear it to remember the Canadian soldiers who died for us, and in particular, think of those who tried to defend Hong Kong from the Japanese during the Battle of Hong Kong from December 8-25, 1941. This year is the 80th anniversary, but there is nothing in the news to remind people.

Some locals remember having to wear poppies at school, but students today don't wear them.

Sai Wan War Cemetery above Chai Wan

Is this part of the government's efforts to quietly forget what happened 80 years ago? Is it because it was an embarrassing defeat? Soldiers from Britain, Canada and India rushed over to try to defend the then British colony, but were not well prepared, didn't have much knowledge of the terrain and were overpowered, leading to the surrender on Christmas Day, 1941.

Over 1,500 Indian and Canadian soldiers died in battle.

Then the rest were taken in as prisoners of war in camps in Hong Kong and Japan until the Japanese surrendered in 1945.

Attending the Remembrance Day ceremony at Sai Wan Military Cemetery in 2018 was a moving experience, seeing over 1,500 graves, many of them Canadian soldiers who died in a place they were not familiar with.

What happened 80 years ago is a part of Hong Kong's history whether Beijing accepts it or not. It must be remembered by generations to come. 

Meanwhile fast-forward eight decades later where the freedoms these soldiers defended have now given way to the national security law.

Statue of Canadian soldier in HK Park

Today a second person was handed a lengthy sentence, not for committing murder or causing injury to someone or destroying property. It was for chanting pro-independence slogans during the anti-government protests, violating the national security law on the grounds of inciting secession.

Former delivery food worker Adam Ma Chun-man, 31, was accused of promoting separatism on 20 occasions between August 15 and November 22 last year, using expressions such as "Hong Kong independence, the way out", "Hongkongers, build our country", and "Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times",  a signature rallying call of the anti-government protests two years ago.

Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said he found the national security law violation serious enough to warrant at least five years behind bars, as the defendant repeatedly incited others to separate Hong Kong from China, and failed to display even "the least bit of remorse" -- something Ma himself acknowledged.

Originally the sentence was set for six years, but Chan knocked off three months, saying Ma saved the court's time by agreeing to most of the prosecution's case.

However when the sentence was read out, people in the gallery shouted the sentence was "too long", and "insane".

While the defence counsel asked for a more lenient sentence, Chan refused, saying Ma's actions could have provoked others to resort to radical ways.

"Who knows? Maybe some of those incited would become another Adam Ma," said Chan.

Ma sentenced to almost six years in jail today

In a letter to the court, Ma wrote he was inspired by jailed activist Edward Leung Tin-kei, and felt he bore a responsibility to achieve the latter's aspirations for independence.

"Today is the 311th day I have been in jail," he wrote in his letter, dated September 28, the first day of the trial. "I have denied the allegation, but my mind is exceptionally calm, even with a bit of joy.

"Your Lordship, I do not feel any shame, nor do I have the least bit of remorse for what I have done in the past. I also promise that I will not display the slightest bit of weakness in the fight for democracy and justice," he added.

Amnesty International deputy secretary general Kyle Ward called Thursday's ruling "outrageous", and urged the Hong Kong government to stop criminalising "mere acts of expression".

"This conviction and sentencing clearly shows that restrictions on the right to freedom of expression in Hong Kong are dangerously disproportionate," he said.

While the outside world may be outraged, this is only the beginning. There are some defendants who are determined to stick by their beliefs to the end, even if the courts do not agree with them.

And they will pay dearly as we have seen today.

For them this is their sacrifice...

Two Pianists, One Star Rises, the Other Falls

Liu stands after his winning performance in Warsaw

 

Just as a new piano star is crowned, another has fallen in disgrace.

On October 21, Bruce Xiaoyu Liu of Montreal, Canada was named the winner of the prestigious 18th Frederic Chopin piano competition that comes with 40,000 euro (US$45,000) in prize money in Warsaw, Poland.

The 24-year-old who was born in France, is taking the big win in stride, though he hopes he can continue his "hobby", because he doesn't want piano playing to become something he has to do out of obligation.

He beat out 86 other young pianists around the world to clinch first prize in the competition that is only held every five years, but was delayed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Liu knows his career will accelerate from now on

During the competition Liu wowed the audience with his interpretation of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11. Even before the last notes were played the people, many of them music critics and Chopin experts, shouted and clapped, impressed by his intense playing. He says the performance was a blur and he didn't get much sleep before the competition.

When asked how he will celebrate his win, Liu said he didn't have time to think about it because he will be going on tour and it will be a while before he returns to Montreal. 

Nevertheless he seems to be taking it all in stride.

Liu describes his victory as a "life-changing event", and knows his career is about to accelerate and he is "ready for it".

But on the opposite end of the spectrum is well known pianist Li Yundi, who was reportedly caught with a prostitute in Beijing.

The news broke on the same evening of October 21 with police reporting they had detained a 39-year-old pianist surnamed Li on suspicion of patronizing a 29-year-old prostitute in the Chinese capital. 

Li also won the Chopin competition in 2000

Cryptically the police posted a picture of a keyboard with a message: "The world is not simply black and white, but one must distinguish black and white. It must never be mistaken."

Li rose to fame in 2000 when he won the Frederic Chopin competition at the age of 18. However, in recent years he has moved away from serious classical music performances and more towards entertainment shows in China.

Later a police statement did not specify how long Li would be detained, but according to Chinese law, soliciting prostitution is illegal and typically leads to administrative detention of between 10 and 15 days. It could be reduced to five days or fewer if the circumstances of the offence are minor.

However, the damage has already been done and the fallout begun -- the "prince of the piano" has been boycotted and numerous organizations have cut ties with Li, including the China Musicians Association, the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, and Mango TV, where he was part of a televised talent show named Call Me By Fire.

Esteemed China law expert Jerome Cohen questions why Li was singled out when so many others solicit the services of prostitutes but aren't prosecuted.

Li detained for allegedly soliciting a prostitute

"Did he offend a leader by some remarks of a political or personal nature? Was he 'set up' for this charge? Can one be confident that the facts alleged are true? Is this the use of the police as an instrument of revenge by some powerful person? Is this simply a part of the current campaign to transform and 'purify' the entertainment and other industries? Will Li be allowed to leave the country after serving his punishment to pursue his career abroad? That seems unlikely," Cohen writes in his blog.

"Prostitution is such a time-honoured Communist Party claim against political opponents that one has to be suspicious of this case. In any event, the manner by which the police have made the matter public only adds to the unsavoury story."

We will have to wait to see the fate of Li, while we hope to one day watch Liu's performance in person.

 

 

Two Michaels Return Home

Kovrig (left) and Spavor (second from right) arrive in Calgary

After over 1,000 days, the two Michaels are finally home in Canada.

It is a relief to have this saga that lasted over two years to be over.

The speed at which they were released demonstrates that, as former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson says, it was one for the other.

Robertson says it was clearly a hostage-taking

"China... up until now, has said there's been no linkage between the two, but by putting them on the plane [Friday night], they've clearly acknowledged that this was a hostage-taking."

Lynette Ong, a China specialist at the Munk School of Global Affairs agrees.

"The timing, it's totally undeniable that the two Michaels were unjustly detained because of the arrest of Ms Meng in Vancouver."

It is believed that not only diplomats behind the scenes were working hard to secure their release, but that US President Joe Biden played a pivotal role in lobbying Chinese President Xi Jinping.

While the Canadian side is breathing a sigh of relief and grateful to Biden and its allies, China is playing up Meng's return with a hero's welcome in Shenzhen.

Meng receives hero's welcome

Wearing a red dress and no mask, she was received on the tarmac with a red carpet, and a bouquet of red roses.

"Chairman Xi cares about the safety of every Chinese citizen, and he also has my situation in his heart. I am deeply touched by this," Meng said upon her arrival.

During her flight she also released a statement thanking officials for her release and this interesting statement:

"For the past 1,028 days, I have been stumbling around, and it was difficult to choose between a thousand things; for the past 1,028 days, I have been wandering day and night, even if I had a thousand words to say; for the past 1,028 days, there have been endless mountains and rivers, and I did not know which way to return."

Let us be clear that Meng was released on bail and allowed to live in her luxurious home in Vancouver and come and go as she pleased as long as she abided by the bail conditions.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were subjected to severe prison conditions, living over 1,000 days in tiny cells deprived of being able to speak freely to consular officials and lawyers, let alone access to sunlight and proper meals.

While this saga has finally ended happily for all involved, it does not mean it may not happen again.

Adopted Chinese Baby a Gold Medal Swimmer

Maggie MacNeil with her gold medal in the 100 butterfly

 

A few days ago China was in a tizzy when an adopted Chinese girl won Canada's first gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 Games in the women's 100 butterfly. She beat out China's Zhang Yufei by 0.05 seconds.

Maggie MacNeil is 21 years old and according to Chinese state media, she was abandoned by her biological parents in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province in February 2000. A year later she and her younger sister were adopted from a local orphanage by Susan MacNeil and Edward MacNeil and taken back to their hometown of London, Ontario.

MacNeil beat Zhang of China by 0.05 seconds

She began swimming in 2008 and became a sensation in the University of Michigan where she trains with Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey.

When Chinese netizens found out about MacNeil's origins there was a torrent of comments online.

"Imagine had she not been brought up from the orphanage, or had she not been deserted by her biological parents, what would she be now? The adoption changed her life orbit completely as she was given such quality care and training."

Another said: "She might have dropped out of school to support a younger brother had she stayed in China."

China is now trying to encourage young families to have three children in a bid to boost the country's population numbers, but not many are interested in fulfilling this patriotic duty, particularly young career-minded women.

She began swimming at the age of eight

It is also an extreme response following decades of the one-child policy since 1980. As a result many families preferred to have boys than girls, resulting in many female babies being abandoned, much like MacNeil and her sister.

China launched its international adoption program in 1991 and it is estimated some 110,000 children from China has been adopted, mostly to the United States. According to the US Department of State, of the 82,456 children that Americans adopted from China between 1999 and 2020, 82.14 percent were females.

Some netizens felt that though MacNeil was born in China, she did not bring glory to the motherland.

"Her victory only proves how ethnicity does not matter in sports, as Asians clinched gold and silver in such an epic match," said one.

"She helms the citizenship of Canada, and all the credit should go to those who raised and trained her well in Canada," another said.

China's Zhang, MacNeil and Australian McKeon

"I feel ashamed to see media attention that MacNeil was born in China," a netizen said. "What is more worthy of being mentioned may be that we gave her up 20 years ago."

Ouch.

Nevertheless, MacNeil is taking the controversy in stride.

"I was born in China and I was adopted when I was really young, and that's as far as my Chinese heritage goes," she said in a post-race press conference. "I'm Canadian and I've always been Canadian, so that's just a very small part of my journey to where I am today. It's kind of irrelevant when it comes to swimming."

 

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?

Lam says Govt Shouldn't Give Cash for Jabs

Vaccines will expire soon if people don't get inoculated

 

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has no clue how to get more residents vaccinated.

It's gotten to the point where millions of vaccine vials will be dumped because they will expire soon and there are not enough willing to get the jab.

Tsang tells people to hurry and get the jab

Thomas Tsang, a former controller of the Centre for Health Protection warned Hongkongers they only had a "three-month window" before the vaccines would be out of date.

"The vaccines all have expiry dates," Tsang said on RTHK Radio. "They cannot be used after the expiry date and the community vaccination centres for BioNTech will, according to present plans, cease operating after September."

He added it was "just not right" that Hong Kong was sitting on an unused pile of doses while the rest of the world "is scrambling for vaccines".

On Twitter many were calling for the rest of the vaccines to be sent to Taiwan and India; a colleague had a brash idea of bringing Indians to Hong Kong to get the jab, but of course that would never happen.

In any event employers were wringing their hands in despair after a report that Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels is offering HK$2,000 for each employee who gets vaccinated, and another HK$2,000 for the 1,700-strong staff if at least 70 percent of them get jabbed.

Was there a sudden uptick in injections?

Lam thinks businesses should give jab incentives

But is it really up the responsibility of businesses to do the job of the government to urge people to get inoculated for the benefit of the entire community?

Apparently the city's leader thinks so.

This morning Lam dismissed the idea of paying cash handouts to residents to get the jab.

"To offer cash or something physical to encourage vaccination shouldn't be done by the government and may even cause the opposite effect," she said.

Lam felt it was better for employers and private organizations to dole out cash or gifts as incentives.

So here we are looking silly with so many vaccines on hand and not enough people willing to roll up their sleeves to do their part, or at least selfishly protect themselves from being serious affected by Covid-19, when people in other countries including Canada, Taiwan and India are desperate for the jab.

At this rate Hong Kong's economy will not improve significantly and more importantly the opportunity to travel is getting further away when people are not getting inoculated.

HSH that owns The Peninsula is giving out cash

It was announced that 40,000 mainlanders who hold two-way permits and 13,000 asylum seekers would be allowed to get the jab later in July. They might as well give them injections now since the vaccination centres have no lines these days...

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."

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.

 

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.

 

Hong Kong's Eroding Freedoms

New Zealand, Switzerland and Hong Kong are the top three

 

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

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

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

76 indicators used to rank 162 countries, regions

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

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

However, in the executive summary it notes:

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

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

National security law has infringed HK rights

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

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

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

However the letter ends by saying:

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

Moderates are being silenced by the government

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

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

Canada Added to Hong Kong's High Risk List

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

 

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

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

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

Passengers take Covid tests on arrival at airport

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

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

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