Thrown in Jail for Doing his Job

Tens of thousands gathered to reclaim Yuen Long on July 27

Today a judge sentenced a social worker to one year in jail for impeding a police operation during an anti-government protest, saying he and his peers caused chaos and "dealt a blow" to police work.

On July 27 last year, a week after the horrific attack on people by white-shirted men at the Yuen Long MTR station, protesters came out to the New Territories district to demonstrate against the police's lack of action in this incident.

At the time tens of thousands showed up to support the neighbourhood and to protest against the brutality, when the police did not approve the rally and moved to clear the protesters.

Social worker Lau sentenced to a year in jail

Lau Ka-tung, 24, and two other social workers stood in front of the police cordon, asking police officers to slow down and allow protesters to leave the area.

Lawyers for Lau said he wanted to communicate with the police because he feared officers would cause a stampede if they suddenly charged towards the protesters.

However, the defence failed to convince acting principal magistrate Don So Man-lung, who said social workers on the scene led to chaos and anger, as well as having "fundamentally dealt a blow" to police work.

The magistrate said the social workers prevented the officers from enforcing the law.

"The duty of police is not to rally alongside protesters... Police are entitled to charge at the gathering crowd and jostle protesters to break down their size," So said.

"In the present case, no one was allowed to stop the advancing officers, just as nobody should prevent police from chasing a robber."

Jail social workers to silence dissent?

How are protesters who have a right to express themselves, and to assemble, be judged on the same level as a robber?

While the defense suggested Lau be punished with a fine, Magistrate So said time in prison was more appropriate considering the magnitude of the obstruction called by Lau and his two colleagues.

This sentence made a lot of social workers upset, because they come to protests specifically to provide any legal advice, to try to negotiate between the protesters and the police, and to be a resource for those needing help during these tense and often violent incidents.

"I am extremely angry," said Cheung Chi-wai, vice-president of the Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union. He made the statement during a press conference alongside lawmakers Shiu Ka-chun and Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, both social workers by profession.

"The presence of social workers on protest scenes is both lawful and appropriate. It is not open to challenge," Cheung Chi-wai said.

It is shocking that a social worker who was not actively protesting was sentenced to a year in jail for supposedly obstructing the police from doing their work. While police were discharging their duties, so were the social workers. How are they in the wrong?

This is only the beginning. It will be sad to see more and more convictions of this nature.

Hong Kong's Growing Poor Population

Over 1 million people in Hong Kong live on or below the poverty line

Following yesterday's news that someone paid a mind-boggling HK$1.16 billion for two flats on The Peak, today's story is another whopping figure -- the number of poor in Hong Kong could be over 1 million next year, even after taking into account cash handouts from the government.

The Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report for 2016 was released a few days ago and showed that 1.35 million of the city's 7.35 million residents were living below the official poverty line. When taking into account cash handouts, the number drops to 996,000.

Law claims the government is doing its best for the poor

To determine who is poor, the authorities only look at income and not assets. The poverty line is decided at half the median monthly household income according to household size.

Last year the poverty line was set at HK$4,000 per month for a single person, HK$9,000 for a two-person household, and HK$15,000 for three people.

"If income rises quickly and the [increase in] inflation is slower than that of income, then the poverty gap becomes bigger," said Secretary for Labour and Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong on two radio programs.

Also last year the Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme was launched -- cash handouts for people living below or near the poverty line. They could get from HK$300 to HK$1,000 a month for adults, and HK$400 or HK$800 for children.

However, only 30,000 people benefited from the scheme.

Many of the poor are elderly with not enough savings

Last year the poverty figures were the highest since the city began measuring in 2009, with 7,000 more impoverished people than in 2015.

Law disagreed with criticism that the government made matters worse for the poor because there were more living near or below the poverty line despite the handouts.

"It's not that the government has not done more [to help], but that what it has done is not enough to close the gap," he said.

For someone who used to be with the Democratic Party and then quit in order to serve Carrie Lam's administration, this response is troubling. The government does not seem to realize that it's crucial to lift people out of poverty otherwise their numbers keep growing as we are seeing now.

The way to do that is to raise the minimum wage as Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung has suggested, as well as a non-means tested universal retirement scheme to help the elderly, as many of them are financially challenged due to inflation.

Some supplement their savings with collecting cardboard

Hong Kong is a very wealthy city, though the gap between the rich and the poor is widening so much that it's staggering how great the chasm is. And yet the government doesn't do enough to help the poor. Small amounts of handouts here and there are barely enough to feed people let alone help pay their rent.

There are a few who may own flats that are worth a lot, but if they sell, where are they going to move to? Or their place is so run down they can't afford to have it fixed up, so they are stuck in a dilemma too.

Decades ago, as long as one worked hard, they would be eventually pay their dues and be able to establish themselves. Nowadays working hard isn't enough to get ahead because of inflation and salaries remain stagnant.

Is the Hong Kong government really that blind to the situation? Piecemeal handouts are barely a band-aid solution to the issue. There needs to be a systematic way of accounting for every poor person in Hong Kong, figuring out their needs and finding an effective way to tackle them, be it low-income housing, social welfare, finding jobs or retraining.

The sooner this is done, the better, otherwise there are going to be many more people on or below the poverty line next year.

Macau's Weaknesses Laid Bare by Hato

A van partly submerged into the water in Macau after Typhoon Hato

The story these few days has been the impact of Typhoon Hato in Macau. At least nine people have died and the destruction in the casino hub is shocking.

There are images of blown out windows, flooding in the streets, debris everywhere, cars dangling from bridges... it's like a bombed out city.

Windows blown out in an apartment complex

I contacted a friend of mine to see if she was OK and she sent me a video of her using her dog's leash to hook onto the window clasp to keep the window from flinging open. She wasn't able to keep her window shut when Typhoon Hato hit.

It demonstrated that perhaps her building was not built properly, or the windows themselves are not good quality.

The scenes of destruction and the slow response show the Macanese government has not prepared for typhoons with proper drainage, emergency plans, and supplies even though it is such a wealthy city.

Even the casinos were shut down with blackouts despite having backup generators. There's video on social media of one luxury hotel casino where some 20 staff struggle to keep the main doors closed while the wind is blowing so hard.

Residents line up for water from fire hydrants in the city

Two days later, today, the People's Liberation Army was called from the Macau barracks to come out and help clean up -- something that should have been arranged yesterday. While the help was greatly appreciated, there were again questions why the government didn't ask for assistance right away.

Basic supplies are scarce -- there isn't enough drinking water and some homes still don't have electricity. People are lining up at fire hydrants to take water, even though the government has asked them not to do so. Supermarkets are raided for water as soon as they have supplies and of course it costs much more.

Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on last night apologized to residents and families of the victims, and said that the head of the observatory Fong Soi-kun had resigned for not giving people enough time to prepare or take the typhoon seriously.

The PLA came out to help clean up the city today

My friend told me the government just thought the typhoon would only hit Hong Kong, but in fact it just passed by the city and moved on to Macau before making landfall in southern China.

And now with Typhoon Pakhar on the way this Sunday, will Macau be ready to deal with that too?

A few weeks ago a friend had told me that there were reports saying five typhoons would be passing by Hong Kong soon and I thought it was crazy. But now we have the second one coming, it might not be so crazy after all!

Umbrella Protests 2.0?

Police shooting pepper spray at protesters near the Liaison Office tonight

Police and protesters are clashing in Sai Ying Pun as I write this post around 10.45pm on Sunday evening. The MTR has announced that the station entrance there is blocked and has told commuters to get out or get in at HKU station instead.

Meanwhile on Queen's Road West protesters are armed with whatever they have -- masks, googles and umbrellas, while police stand ready with riot shields and helmets ready to subdue violently if need be.

Earlier today people gathering for the afternoon protest march

But the afternoon didn't start like that.

At the appointed time of 3pm, there were some 11,000 people gathered at Southorn Playground in Wan Chai to march to the former Legislative Council in Central which is now the Final Court of Appeal.

There were some amusing caricatures of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying as well as Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, someone waved the Hong Kong colonial flag and some had yellow banners that read "I want true universal suffrage".

We saw the likes of "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung and Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung and press reports had Youngspiration pair Sixtus Baggio Leung Hung-chang and Yau Wai-ching there.

Protesters showing off their handmade signs and umbrellas

The march began in earnest around 3.40pm and unlike Wednesday evening which was a pleasant stroll, this march painfully inched its way out of Southorn Playground to see even more people standing outside -- by the garbage dump -- which made us realize there were even more people than we expected.

Just as we came out of Southorn Playground near a church was a small group of pro-establishment protesters using a bullhorn to taunt protesters for being like dogs. Marchers just drowned them out periodically with the Chinese version of boos (hurrrrrrr). But it was good because they got the crowd ignited for their cause, though for the rest of the way we were quiet, not even chanting slogans.

However it seemed like the police were limiting our progress and periodically we had to stop and wait, though no one was complaining. In the crowd were seniors, middle-aged, young families, young people, young couples holding hands.

We finally arrived at the Final Court of Appeal at 5pm, though the crowd was encouraged to go to the Liaison Office -- a destination that was not part of the official protest march plan.

There were some 11,000 people marching peacefully earlier

I left at this point to go for a swim, and when I went back to the same spot to go take the MTR around 7pm, there were still media and some people milling around.

My two other friends headed to Western District and around that same time people were trying for 45 minutes to get the police to open sections of the road to protesters who had been confined to the pavement.

Some had enough trying to wait for the police to accommodate the situation and jumped the barricades, which promoted the police to unfurl its warning sign and then use pepper spray on protesters around 8pm.

Reports on the ground say the scene is reminiscent of how the Umbrella protests erupted two years ago and currently the police are trying to contain the situation, though protesters are now spreading through Sai Ying Pun, which resulted in the MTR shutting its gates, much to the frustration of commuters who may not even be protesters.

At this juncture some people decide to go to Western District

The police are hoping people will leave peacefully, but it may be a long night.

This is what happens when the lingering anger and frustration from the Occupy protests are not fully resolved, and with Beijing voicing its say in the oath-taking issue now called #oathgate, Hong Kong people are more frustrated than ever at trying to protect whatever they have left.

For more on the clashes this evening head to Webs of Significance.

Macau's Reversal of Fortune?

Chief Executive Fernando Chui and Chinese President Xi Jinping have a toast

Today Chinese President Xi Jinping marked the 15th anniversary of the handover of Macau back to the motherland, but it may also signal the end of its free-wheeling days.

In his speech, Xi called on the Macanese government to find "greater courage and wisdom" to "strengthen and improve regulation and supervision over the gaming industry".

Seems the President is expanding his anti-corruption campaign to Macau, but is Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on the best person to deal with this? He doesn't seem to have a good grip on how discontented the Macanese are with his leadership, or rather his lack of authority.

Chui now has to come up with a concrete plan to shift Macau's economic model from one that currently sees more than 85 percent of taxes coming from casinos. When asked how he would go about doing this, he responded the government would "undertake a review" of the casino industry in spring of next year, ie the earliest would be after Chinese New Year.

Macau's dependency on gambling will have to change

In the last few weeks, Macau's casino takings have sharply fallen due to the anti-corruption campaign as well as the economic slowdown on the mainland.

China will also launch a crackdown on the flow of illicit funds through casinos, overseen by the Ministry of Public Security. This also means VIP junket operators, who bring in high rollers and arrange financial credit for them, will be closely monitored.

Many gamblers transfer funds through their UnionPay ATM and credit cards, and the security  ministry's Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau will be watching for suspicious transactions...

Xi also mentioned resisting "foreign interference", which could mean targeting specific casino operators who may have angered Beijing. Wonder who is on this hit list?

In the meantime, can someone please explain to Xi that it's not the casino operators' fault, but his own citizens who have this incredible urge to gamble?

These casino operators have tried desperately to diversify entertainment with shopping and shows, but mainland visitors aren't interested in fine dining restaurants, historic landmarks or entertainment -- they just want to have fun by throwing down wads of cash on the slim chance of winning big.

The other big question is, casino operators are currently spending millions building their next phases to incorporate more entertainment as well as gambling tables. Can they afford to have mainland visitors drop to a trickle?

Xi's edict also reveals Chui has not been an effective leader at all -- something the Macanese have known all along. But is Chui the man to fix things with an iron fist? Issues like housing and transportation are crying out for attention, but the government has been too busy counting money to tackle these problems.

Perhaps one good thing that may come out of Xi's anti-corruption campaign in Macau will be that the city will be cleared out of mainlanders and then Hong Kong people can enjoy it again without having to fight the crowds!

Praising Macau Over Hong Kong

Li Gang praises Macau for adhering to "one country, two systems"

In the run-up to the 15th anniversary of Macau's handover back to China on December 20, Chinese government officials are praising the former Portuguese colony as a role model for basic, law, fully adhering to the principle of "one country, two systems".

Last week it was Li Fei, deputy secretary general of the National People's Congress Standing Committee who said this, and yesterday it was Li Gang, Beijing's liaison office director for Macau.

Li also urged the SAR not to rely so much on gambling and diversify its entertainment offerings to visitors.

"The whole community adheres to, supports, learns and promotes Basic Law," Li said. He added Macau was a place where "anyone who says the Basic Law is not good will be [as despised as] a rat on the street"... People in Macau thank the central government and thank the Basic Law."

Macau CE Fernando Chui was re-elected without challenge

Talk about putting words in people's mouths...

But also the platitudes are a strong hint that Beijing is not happy with Hong Kong's Occupy/Umbrella Movement, where civil disobedience is being played out (though they will be cleared out tomorrow morning).

Is this China's way of praising the younger brother for being obedient to shame the older rebellious one?

If you ask the protesters, especially the younger ones, they really don't care.

And it is ironic that Beijing is praising a small city that makes the vast majority of its revenues from one of the vices communists despise.

Also, this year has been one of the rowdiest to date with a number of protests in Macau over wages and in particular people's dissatisfaction with Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on's leadership.

Protests this May forced Chui to do a U-turn on his proposal

In May he had tried to pass a bill in the legislature that would give former chief executives a stipend of 70 percent of their monthly salary as long as they were unemployed. It would also grant them immunity from criminal charges.

Retired ministers would get a one-off payment of up to 30 percent of their monthly wage for every year of service.

But a massive protest, the largest since the handover in 1999 forced Chui to scrap the idea two days after he proposed it.

So it seems both Chui and Hong Kong's Leung Chun-ying are just as oblivious to reality in their hometowns, though Macau hasn't staged an Occupy protest yet...