Finding Alternative Solutions

Slim pickings for meat after abattoirs test positive for Covid

After a Covid-19 outbreak at Hong Kong's two abattoirs, the supply of fresh meat has plummeted, affecting supply, and now the government is considering allowing mainland butchers to come in to help out.

The city's largest operator Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse, and its smaller rival in Tsuen Wan would shut down temporarily on Saturday until further notice for disinfection after 183 of 866 samples from the Sheung Shui abattoir tested positive.

Supplies of pork and beef are disrupted

This has resulted in a knock-on effect with retail shops selling beef and pork having to shut temporarily as well due to having no more meat to sell.

Why do we have to bring in mainland butchers? Why not use this opportunity to push people to eat a more vegetarian diet?

Isn't this what people had to do during war time? If you want to eat meat, then you have to pay more for it.

While we are not at war, we are in a pandemic situation where food supplies are not consistent, so we should learn to make do with what we have and eat other protein-rich foods like tofu and legumes. 

Why not eat more tofu products to get protein?

Novel idea?

Meanwhile it has been reported by the Wall Street Journal that Chinese President Xi Jinping summoned Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to Shenzhen to receive a direct order via Vice Premier Han Zheng that she has to get the fifth wave under control before Xi arrives for the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China on July 1.

Some China watchers are expecting the city to implement even harsher lockdowns... but how is that even logistically possible? Today Hong Kong reported 22,000 positive cases (a mixture of preliminary positive and rapid antigen tests).

By the way now in Hong Kong rapid antigen tests count as a positive test.

How is Lam going to tackle this, when the number of cases are rising exponentially? The current idea of universal testing starting next month is ridiculous and half-baked. Meanwhile we are are trying to prevent ourselves from getting infected so we don't test positive and get hauled into quarantine.

Han warning Lam to get Covid-19 under control

Meanwhile Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee told Bloomberg today that the government had Covid-19 "under control"...

She's saying this while the numbers of cases are rising exponentially everyday.

The deadline is looming, Carrie. How will you emerge victorious in stamping out the virus? 

More importantly -- did she wear a mask during the meeting?

Picture of the Day: National Security Education Day

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Done Deal

Hong Kong's election system has changed forever from today

With 2,895 votes for, none against, and only one abstention, the proposal to make sweeping changes to Hong Kong's electoral system was made today. It was an eerie memory of when the national security law was passed for the city last year.

Now another nail in the coffin has been hammered forcefully into the 1997 handover promise of "one country, two systems", that nothing would change for 50 years.

Instead integrating Hong Kong into the mainland has happened 25 years ahead of schedule.

The changes will ensure "patriots administering Hong Kong", and enlarge the election committee from 1,200 to 1,500, with the extra 300 from the pro-Beijing camp; it will also have the power to vet who can become a candidate to run in the Legislative Council elections.

Lam says changes will plug loopholes in Legco

Legco will also be expanded from 70 seats to 90, with the additional 20 coming from the pro-establishment camp.

"I firmly believe that, after the principle of 'patriots administering Hong Kong' is fully implemented and loopholes of the existing electoral system are plugged, we will be able to resolve the problem of the Legislative Council making everything political in recent years, and effectively deal with the reckless moves or internal rift that have torn Hong Kong apart," Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said this evening in a media briefing.

When it came to the question of "patriots", Lam had this to say:

"Loving the Communist Party is an obligation of party members. I am not a party member... but we have to accept Hong Kong is part of [China]," she said. "This socialist system with Chinese characteristics under the Chinese Communist Party is written in China's Constitution... we should not do anything to undermine the system."

Interesting for Lam to disclose she is not a card-carrying member, but this qualification may change for subsequent CEs.

A spokesman for Beijing's liaison office said the overhaul was a legitimate way for the central government to "improve" the electoral system. "It shows the collective will of the Chinese people in safeguarding national sovereignty and security... This is necessary for Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, and is lawful, just and progressive," he said.

Soon after the vote was taken and the results revealed, several Hong Kong government departments immediately announced their backing of the new decision.

The opposition has effectively been silenced

Where were the opposition voices to speak out? 

Oh -- there are none these days. They have either disassociated themselves from the political parties they belonged to, or have been arrested and awaiting trial, or are in prison, or in exile.

Who knew back in 1997 that Hong Kong would turn out like this? 

When a country becomes increasingly authoritarian, there is a higher chance of incompetence and corruption. 

Here is one letter to the editor that sums up the dire situation Hong Kong is in:

The changes proposed to our Hong Kong electoral system are extraordinary.

Firstly, for any aspiring pan-democrat to be able to stand, they will have to be nominated by an unelected committee comprised of their opponents -- you have to read that a few times, and pinch yourself, to check that you're not dreaming it. Next you have to be checked that you are sufficiently patriotic, that term being wholly dependent on the subjective interpretation, again, of your opponents.

Today's vote had none against the changes

Assuming you get this far, you can then stand, but only for less than one-third of the seats in Legco, down from the current 40 out of 70, in other words a reduction in influence of about half. That, apparently is an "improvement" and consistent with gradual "progress" towards full universal suffrage as set out in the Basic Law.

This reduction in influence is to close a loophole, the loophole presumably being that you might actually win a vote in Legco. While in Legco, you will be constantly vetted to ensure you continue to be a patriot, so will probably have to vote with the government otherwise you'll get thrown out or prosecuted for not being a patriot any more.

If you need to get nominated by your opponents, and your vote won't count for anything anyway even if your voting record is considered loyal, then why bother trying to get elected in the first place? There is only one overriding consideration in any electoral system -- will the legislature properly represent the interests of the community it governs? For example, how will the two million people who peacefully protested in June 2019 be represented under this system? How will it represent the 55-60 percent of Hongkongers who regularly vote for pan-democratic candidates? Quite simply it won't. 

When you severely restrict the range of views that will be listened to, the outcome will be like having 90 tone-deaf Carrie Lams -- ask any corporation about how diversity of opinion improves decision-making and you will see why these changes are so dangerous for Hong Kong.

Who in Legco will represent these people?

They will lead to a collapse in the standards of governance (why bother governing properly if you're going to win an election anyway?) and an increase in cronyism, populism and corruption. All these proposals will do is stoke the resentments that are still boiling away and will, at some point, just explode again.

The letter is foreboding, but will mostly probably come true. 

Why even bother trying to represent the people who would vote pan-democrats when it's practically impossible to be voted in?

It's an impossible task and the end of an era.

CY Leung Hungry for a Power Grab

Leung wants to spar with Lam over chief executive elections

 

After Leung Chun-ying stepped down as chief executive in 2017 citing family reasons, and was rewarded with the title of vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference -- China's top political advisory body -- most of us assumed he would go off to Beijing and climb further up the ranks.

But the past week Leung, known as a "cunning wolf", has revealed his claws and is taking swipes at his successor and former chief secretary, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Every CE has been elected by a committee

Does he really want to be CE again?

God help us.

On January 18, Leung suggested Hong Kong's next leader did not have to be voted on by an electoral committee, but rather through consultation.

He cited Article 45 of the Basic Law that said the chief executive "shall be selected by election or through consultations", and that if the next leader was chosen through the latter process, it would still be legal and the British government could not complain about it.

The following day Lam hit back, saying all previous chief executives had been chosen through an electoral process since 1997.

"I think whether it is from the perspective of historical development, or the social effects of an election, it's better for the chief executive to be elected," she said.

Over 600,000 took part in the July primaries

Currently Hong Kong's chief executive is chosen by an election committee of 1,200 people, not one person, one vote, which triggered the 2014 Occupy Movement.

Interestingly when Lam was chief secretary, she spearheaded an effort to have the chief executive elected by popular ballot by 2017. That did not happen after the 79-day protest.

Meanwhile Leung wrote on his Facebook that the opposition camp's close ties with the United States made him question the necessity of a chief executive election.

"What's the actual situation in Hong Kong in recent years? The major politicians from the opposition camp have refused to recognize their roots... or have even asked the American government to sanction Hong Kong," he wrote.

"If this actual situation causes a puppet of the American government to be elected as chief executive, do we still want an election?"

Leung has some twisted thinking the US would influence the Hong Kong chief executive election, but why would he worry about that when all the members of the Election Committee are pro-Beijing?

The NSL has led to arrest of ex-lawmakers

He continued his campaign again this week, claiming the opposition still had a chance of winning more seats in the Election Committee when the pan-democrats have been completely decimated in the Legislative Council, last September's elections were postponed because of the pandemic, and the national security law led to the arrest of many former lawmakers for taking part in last July's primaries.

In addition, Leung seemed to believe pro-democracy people were becoming more politically involved in the governing bodies of professional groups, such as the Bar Association and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

"Forgive me for saying this, but the [candidates] are all anti-establishment, not just pro-democracy," he said. "All professional bodies seem to be like this, and you can say that the silent majority just won't come out."

Asked to comment about Leung's latest argument, Lam did not want to argue with her predecessor in the media, and that his suggestion would require changes to the Basic Law.

Lu Ping insisted on "consultation" in Article 45

Meanwhile Martin Lee Chu-ming who helped draft the Basic Law before the handover, explained the word "consultation" was added in Article 45 to mirror the wording in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

"Lu Ping insisted we should stick to the exact wording of the joint declaration," Lee recalled, referring to the senior Chinese delegate involved in the negotiations with Britain over the transfer of the city's sovereignty.

"Back then, not a single one sitting on the Basic Law drafting committee called for picking the city leader through consultations. No one opposed the inclusion of 'consultations' [in Article 45], as we all were well aware that eventually elections would be held after the handover."

Lee said in the 1980s, Beijing was determined to hold chief executive elections after the handover to secure the confidence of foreign businesses and Hongkongers, to convince them to stay.

Lee suggests Leung wants to become CE again

However, Lee believes Leung's latest comments are a bid for him to try to make a comeback.

"He fears he may not win the election and so proposes doing it through consultations," he added.

Ouch.

Perhaps Leung is still sore from only securing 689 votes compared to his successor's 777?

Both choices were hardly stellar for Hong Kong... anyone else willing to take on Leung in 2022?

 

Teacher De-Registered for Factual Errors

Teacher at Ho Lap Primary School was de-registered last week

A primary school teacher who was de-registered last week for making up historical facts, has countered that history was not his subject, and that he was actually hired to teach English and computer skills.

It was discovered on his online teaching video he told the class that Western powers waged the Opium Wars in the mid-19th century to rid China of opium when in fact Europeans traded silk, tea and porcelain for opium from India.

Teacher was wrong about Opium War

It was just one sentence in a 15-minute video, in which he talked about Hong Kong's handover to China and the SAR and national flags.

The Education Bureau said last week that the teacher at Ho Lap Primary School had to be de-registered permanently because he had made serious mistakes by inventing historical facts. 

But when talking to the media today, the teacher -- who only had one year's work experience -- felt he was sacked because the authorities wanted to deal with him "politically".

"This whole matter was politicized. I feel resigned. I never imagined that making a mistake over a short history passage could cause the Education Bureau to de-register me. It was just a minor passage," the teacher said.

"I think the whole matter sends a chilling effect, other teachers may feel nervous."

The authorities added that in another video for general studies, the teacher told the class that paper was invented in ancient China to ensure that tortoises didn't become extinct because people were using their shells to write on.

Again this is an erroneous point, but the teacher told reporters he was only trying to to teach in a humorous way, and made corrections right away when the school discovered problems with his videos.

He added he wanted to apologize to the students and parents for his mistakes.

Paper wasn't invented to replace tortoise shells

Definitely the teacher made factual errors -- but de-registering him is an extreme form of punishment. Why not give him a verbal or written warning? After all, history is not his expertise, though admittedly he should have been more careful about teaching the facts.

Nevertheless, he is appealing the decision with the help of education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, who accuses the authorities of bowing to pressure from the pro-Beijing camp to de-register the teacher.

The whole incident makes all teachers in Hong Kong nervous. With most classes now taught remotely, the lessons are all recorded and so the authorities may be screening many of them to make sure they are politically correct...

We can thank the pandemic for accelerating the Education Bureau's scrutiny of teachers and punishing them so brutally. 

The government's war on teachers is its bid to weed out bad ones from influencing students to stand up to authority. Yes Hong Kong only needs compliant students. That's how the city is going to be competitive and international.

Not.

Two Extreme Reactions to Coronavirus

While there were fewer cases today, the trend is still worrying

Hong Kong recorded 73 new cases today which is a drop from yesterday's staggering 108 cases, but the city is far from being able to curb the virus that seems more virulent than back in March.

This morning top microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung warned Hong Kong may have to go into a virtual lockdown if the number of cases continue to increase in the next seven to 14 days.

Dr Yuen warned of a possible lockdown in HK

"We might possibly need to lock down, not a lockdown of the whole city, but... close to a lockdown," he told a radio program.

The reaction to the surge in cases has seen polar opposites. There are those who are terrified, and some 4,000 of them rushed to hospitals to get tested even though they had no connection with any of the recently reported cases, or they socialize like they did before the pandemic, and not as stringent about wearing a mask.

Perhaps that's why some of the cases are connected to a giant party on July 9 where some 100 people celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the handover (wrong date, but it was also on a weekday) with dancing and singing (mask-less), a birthday party, and a mahjong parlour.

A mahjong parlour had a cluster of infections

Professor Yuen said the outbreak could be attributed to a failure to control who goes through the border including quarantine exemptions, and that the outbreak happened after Father's Day, when restaurants were back to full capacity.

Meanwhile Dr David Hui Shu-cheong said taking the test without overt symptoms did not give people "any sense of security", and could stretch healthcare services.

"The text will only prove that you are negative at this moment, but it does not mean you will not get the virus the next day, if you have not passed the incubation period," said Hui, a respiratory medicine expert, who is also consulting the government on the coronavirus.

"People should not rush to the hospitals for testing unless you have symptoms or you were close contacts [with an infected person]. It will increase the burden on our health care system," he said.

Hui asks public not to overwhelm health system

"We encourage people with symptoms like respiratory disease and epidemiological linkages with earlier confirmed cases to do a test, but not the general public."

In the meantime, the rest of us should stay at home as much as possible, and as soon as you step outside your flat, wear a mask! We understand it's hot and stuff wearing one, but we all need to protect ourselves and each other together.

The Darkest Day in Hong Kong (so far)

The 2003 protest against Article 23 had half a million people turn out

At around 3.30pm the skies in Beijing suddenly turned very dark. It was very ominous, just as the two sessions were about to begin in the Chinese capital.

Then later in the afternoon word came from Beijing that the National People's Congress will put through legislation to enact Article 23, the national security law that will ban all seditious activities aimed at toppling the central government and interfering in Hong Kong's affairs.

It will be proposed tomorrow and will be voted on on May 28, thus completely bypassing Hong Kong's Legislative Council; in other words, "one country, two systems" is dead in Beijing's eyes. The Basic Law means nothing.

“This is the end of #HongKong, this is the end of 'One Country, Two Systems'.” https://t.co/Tg28B6uBEV pic.twitter.com/oDzqvneIul

— Richard Pyne (@richardjpyne) May 21, 2020

The central government has been waiting since 1997 to pass this contentious law, only to have it shelved in 2003 when half a million people came out in the streets to protest against it, resulting in Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa retreating with his tail between his legs, and his then security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee leaving the city for a few years to study a masters degree in East Asian Studies at Stanford University.

This afternoon the skies went ominously black suddenly

Fast forward to 2014 after Beijing decided that in electing the next Hong Kong chief executive, China would choose the three candidates, which erupted into the Umbrella Movement, an unprecedented occupation of parts of the city that were paralyzed for 79 days, but did not resolve anything.

And then last year no one could have predicted the protests against the extradition bill would manifest into a massive anti-government movement that had peaceful marches of over 2 million people that later led to violent clashes between protesters and the police. The authorities used lawfare, or the law to prosecute everyone from pan-democratic politicians to youngsters. Calling protesters rioters meant that if convicted, they could be in jail for 10 years. And yet they continued to come out and voice their dissatisfaction with the government.

Meanwhile it became more and more obvious Beijing was involved, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was only going through the motions. And when on July 1 Legco was stormed, and then July 21, when the national emblem at the liaison office was splashed with black paint, Beijing's patience was worn down to threads.

Last year's protest march in June drew 2 million people out

For a country that likes to play the long game, waiting 23 years for the national security law to be passed in Hong Kong seems relatively short, but perhaps Beijing wants to lay down the law now to show who's boss, or terrified of the city descending into chaos and thinks this law will set its residents straight.

But for us in Hong Kong it's a shock and sadness that we are powerless to do anything about this, that Beijing never intended to uphold "one country, two systems" or the Basic Law. The Hong Kong as we know it will change forever.

Beijing is using the pandemic to push through this legislation as quickly as possible to avoid criticism from other countries that are too busy tending to those infected with the virus (that seems to have originated from Wuhan).

How will we Hongkongers move forward? Should we even stay here anymore? Many have been asking this question in the last few days. While some had thought of emigrating because of the protests, the rest of us were willing to stick it out. But what now?

The end of the British Empire in Hong Kong in 1997

We are the frogs in the water that is already boiling. It's not a good sign.

I remember June 30, 1997. Despite the heavy rain that drenched Prince Charles, Hong Kong had such a party atmosphere; looking back it was naive at the time. Hotels and restaurants had an excuse for two parties, one British-themed, the other Chinese. But what did it all mean after July 1, 1997?

It actually seemed fine, business as usual. People even came back to Hong Kong, lured by business and job opportunities.

But now, 23 years later, what has happened? How did we get here? And what do we do now?

Beijing Speaks on Hong Kong

Spokesman Yang Guang gives a rare press briefing on the Hong Kong issue

Today we all waited for 3pm to come -- when the State Council Information Office held a press briefing about the situation in Hong Kong -- the first of its kind since the handover in 1997.

So it's taken 22 years for something serious enough to merit this event.

What did they say? Our response in bold.

1. What has happened in Hong Kong recently has gone far beyond the scope of peaceful march and demonstration, undermined Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and touched the bottom line of the principle of "one country, two systems". Those horrendous incidents have caused serious damage to the rule of law, public order, economy and people's lives in Hong Kong and its international image, and great distress to all of those who love and care about Hong Kong.

Despite her faults, Beijing says it still supports her

We love Hong Kong too, but someone made a serious mistake that caused the "serious damage to the rule of law, public order, economy and people's lives in Hong Kong".

2. We call on people from all walks of life in Hong Kong to unequivocally oppose and resist violence. No civilized society under the rule of law would ever allow acts of violence to take place. We call on the general public of Hong Kong to be aware of the grave nature of the current situation and to jointly condemn the evil and criminal acts committed by the radical elements and prevent them from causing trouble to Hong Kong.

We oppose violence too, but someone's administration still has not responded to our demands so some of us have taken a more radical approach to get their attention and to no avail. Is that our fault?

3. We hope that Hong Kong people will stand firm in defense of the rule of law. The rule of law is a core value that Hong Kong people take pride. in. It is a cornerstone for the good business environment and the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. We must not sit idly by and let a small number of people trample on this important value.

Beijing also supports the police for fulfilling its duties

We stand by rule of law too. But someone made a grave mistake in not allowing enough time for stakeholders to give feedback about the extradition bill, making it unacceptable to 2 million people who marched in protest. But still our government did not listen.

4. The central government firmly supports Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam in leading the HKSAR government's administration under the rule of law, the Hong Kong police in strict law enforcement, the HKSAR government agencies and the judiciary body in meting out punishment to violent criminals according to law, and people who love China and Hong Kong in safeguarding the rule of law in Hong Kong. We understand the huge pressure facing the Hong Kong police and their families, and would like to salute the Hong Kong police who have been fearlessly sticking to their posts and fulfilling their duties against all odds.

We know you insist on keeping Carrie, it's a face thing, we get it. Ditto with the police. But can we charge the government with dereliction of duty and the police for not using their crowd control tools properly, like shooting tear gas directly at people instead of in the air? What we'd really like is an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, but we know your stand on the issue.

The standoff will continue until Lam says the w-word

5. We hope that Hong Kong will get over the political contentions as soon as possible and instead concentrate on developing its economy and improving people's livelihood. Hong Kong enjoys a good foundation for development and favourable conditions and unique advantages. That said, Hong Kong cannot afford to have instability. Should the chaos continue, it is the entire Hong Kong society that will suffer.

We'd like to resolve this issue too -- one person just has to say the w-word and call for an independent inquiry and then we're good. Until that happens yes, we will all suffer. Who's fault is that again? As for developing Hong Kong's economy, do you have any other brilliant ideas other than more shopping malls catering to mainlanders?

6. Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the practice of "one country, two systems" in the region has been a widely recognized success. The policies of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong", and a high degree of autonomy have been faithfully implemented. The central government will continue to unswervingly implement the principle of "one country, two systems" and ensure that this principle remains unchanged and is not bent or distorted in practice.

Really? "One country, two systems" has been a success? It doesn't look like it is as you can see from the current mess. What do you mean by "high degree of autonomy" when you have meddled in Hong Kong's affairs, and Carrie Lam even parrots phrases you like to use, like "hurting the feelings of 1.4 billion Chinese people"?

Yang inundated by the scrum of reporters and leaves

7. We are confident that with the full support of the central government and the mainland, and under the leadership of Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the SAR government our Hong Kong compatriots are surely able to govern, develop and manage Hong Kong well, and Hong Kong will surely overcome all difficulties and challenges on its way forward. The ship of "one country, two systems" will surely sail far and steady despite winds and storms.

How can Hong Kong overcome its difficulties when Carrie Lam has done nothing to solve this huge problem? Sounds like you have no great ideas either except rhetoric.

The spokespeople then took a few questions (some scripted) from journalists and sidestepped queries on Lam's work performance, the PLA coming into Hong Kong, and thoughts on an independent inquiry on the police. They also refused to be drawn into whether the triads in Yuen Long last Sunday had any links with Beijing.

So on the whole it was predictable and the stalemate continues.

What next?

One Location, Two Divergent Activities

Protesters ramming a makeshift trolley into the Legislative Council on July 1

So much has happened since the July 1 rampage through the Legislative Council, and today the police have begun arresting people who trashed the government building, identifying them through their fingerprints.

It's a tedious process, but it seems the government is determined to punish anyone who was involved in some way.

On the same day was a pro-China festival in Victoria Park

Reporters asked people on the street how they felt about the protesters who stormed Legco and they sympathize with them. These are people of various ages and ethnicities. Some middle-aged people said 1 million and then 2 million people came out on the streets to protest the extradition bill, and yet Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said nothing -- at first.

And then she did apologize, but she seemed to do so unwillingly said one man, which didn't look sincere at all. He pointed out that when former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen apologized, at least he bowed -- she did not.

As a result, the man said, the young protesters' patience had run out and they felt they had to resort to violence to make their grievances heard.

Others also pointed out how Lam didn't even reach out to the protesters and only talked to people in her inner circle, thus handling the crisis all wrong.

I talked to another communications professional today who said Lam did everything 110 percent wrong, adding she should fire the communications people who advised her.

However, not a soul was to be seen at this event

This person also thought the 4am press conference was unheard of and not how one would handle the situation at all, adding Lam was digging herself into a bigger grave.

We are all waiting to see what will happen next.

In the meantime I'd like to point out that at the July 1 march that started in Victoria Park, we were unable to convene at the six football pitches because they were completely taken up by an event called the "Greater Bay Festival".

It was organized by the pro-Beijing group, the Hong Kong Celebrations Association. Its mission?

"By planning and organizing celebrations programmes for festivals in Hong Kong, HKCA aims at enhancing social participation, promoting and increasing national consciousness of the home country, propelling the building up of a harmonious society," it says on its website. Many of the co-organizers have China links.

Lots of booths were set up, but it hardly looked festive because NO ONE was there. Xinhua reported that organizers were expecting 100,000 people to attend the festival that focused on innovative technology.

What would Queen Victoria (centre) think of her subjects now?

But who would be caught dead walking into this festival even though admission was free? On top of that were groups of police officers standing at each possible entrance to the festival, making it daunting to check out the event.

And anyway, what was the point of this event, other than to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Greater Bay Festival seemed like an opportunity for brown nosing, held on the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China. Whoohoo.

When we finally got to march out of Victoria Park, we looked over at the stalls all set up, but it was literally a ghost town in the cordoned off area. What a complete waste of money and time, or perhaps the HKCA has lots of money to burn?

The Chorus against Extradition Bill Gets Louder

Carrie Lam says she's willing to take the political criticism for extradition bill

The protest against pushing through the extradition bill in Hong Kong is growing, with the legal sector weighing in and planning a silent protest march next Thursday, June 6.

This will be the fifth such march since Hong Kong's handover to China, and this bill puts the judiciary in a difficult position. Critics are concerned about unfair trials and lack of human rights protection in the mainland, but the government insists the city's courts would have the final say on granting the arrest and eventual transfer of any fugitive.

Dennis Kwok is organizing a silent march for judiciary June 6

Legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok, who is organizing the upcoming march, accuses the government of being "deeply shameful and dishonest" about misleading the public when it said the courts would be an effective gatekeeper.

"There is nothing the courts can do [to ensure] the defendants would receive a fair trial and due process once he or she is extradited to that jurisdiction," he said.

Another critic is former Bar Association chairman Edward Chan King-sang. He criticized the government's legislative effort for already undermining the city's reputation for rule of law and the principle of "one country, two systems".

"The government has created an impression in the outside world that the central government could directly intervene in the city's internal affairs," Chan said, adding there is widespread concern by business chambers and foreign diplomats.

He said the government was obliged to ensure the place requesting extradition could provide a comparable standard of justice, and should spell out the safeguards in the law.

Another critic is former Bar Association's chair Edward Chan

But it is well known China has an constitution that looks good on paper, but it doesn't follow it to the letter, the same could be said about its legal system.

Meanwhile in the Legislative Council, pro-establishment lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, who does not support the extradition bill, says Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her administration are responsible for the controversy surrounding the bill.

"A solution was only proposed one year after the case [of the Hong Kong man murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan] had happened," Tien said. "It was bundled with a problem that has not be solved for the past 20 years."

He was referring to the lack of an extradition agreement between Hong Kong and the mainland since the city returned to Chinese rule. And his observation is correct.

Lawmaker Micheal Tien does not support the extradition bill

In the meantime, the Lam administration is trying to propose some amendments to the bill to make it more palatable, such as allowing local criminal suspects convicted in mainland courts to serve their prison sentences in Hong Kong, and raise the threshold for extradition to seven years instead of the current three. This would mean bribery and forgery would still be extraditable offenses under Hong Kong law, but offenses like assault causing bodily harm would not count.

With Lam having to pass this extradition bill whether we like it or not, it is better to have it watered down as much as possible for our sakes, but how much change Beijing will tolerate is hard to know since it has been wanting to do this for years.

The chief executive is trying to make it seem like a chore she has to complete and has said, "No matter how much political criticism I'm getting personally, I still think this is worth doing." 

How is this "worth doing"? Lam is choosing to treat this extradition bill as something to cross off her "to-do list". But this bill has profound implications for 7 million people...

A Literary Giant Passes Away

Wuxia novelist Louis Cha or Jin Yong has died in Hong Kong at 94 years old

Big apologies for not blogging everyday -- I have been on a cruise where internet service is spotty not to mention expensive!

But before I continue writing about my trip to Italy and Spain, there's sad news in Hong Kong that Chinese martial arts novelist and journalist Louis Cha Leung-yung has passed away at the age of 94 after a long illness.

Tributes have been pouring in from the likes of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to Alibaba chairman Jack Ma Yun.

I only knew Cha as a wuxia novelist who used the pen name Jin Yong and lots of people loved reading his stories about kung fu masters in ancient China that combined Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. His novels -- over 100 million copies sold worldwide -- were transposed onto the big screen and even made into video games and graphic novels.

Only now did I know that he was the founder of the Ming Pao newspaper, after having made money from serializing his novels in the New Evening Post. Ming Pao was apparently started by four people in 1957, including Cha, who was its editor-in-chief and the paper was mainly a vehicle to serialize his stories.

Cha was born in Hangzhou in 1924 and graduated from the Law School of Suzhou in 1948 in international law with the intention of becoming diplomat. To make some money as a student, he began working as a journalist and translator for Ta Kung Pao newspaper in Shanghai and then a year later continued working for the same paper in Hong Kong.

He then left Ta Kung Pao in 1955 and published his first martial novel, The Book and the Sword in the New Evening Post that became an instant success, which spurred him to write 14 other very popular martial arts novels, the last one called The Deer and the Cauldron in 1972.

On appreciating his novels, Cha admitted readers would need "some training in Chinese thinking to understand", describing his books as "traditional Chinese novels in their themes, morals or philosophies".

Cha's 15 novels have been translated into English, French, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, Malay and Indonesian.

"Martial arts for me are just an instrument, a sugar coating. They can be used as a way of expressing my artistic ideas," Cha said. Those ideas, according to him, were distinctly anti-feudal and liberal.

When it comes to his political stance it seems it was not so straight forward.

His editorials in 1966 were critical of China's Cultural Revolution, writing that it threatened the destruction of Chinese culture and tradition. He was said to be on a list of prominent people targeted for assassination that was published in left-wing newspapers during the 1967 riots in Hong Kong because of his critical stance against Beijing.

However, when China and Britain reached an agreement on Hong Kong's handover in 1997, Cha was appointed by Beijing in 1985 to be a member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee, Hong Kong's mini constitution. But after the Tiananmen Square massacre, he resigned in protest in 1989.

He later was part of the Preparatory Committee set up by the Chinese government in 1996 to monitor the transfer of sovereignty. Perhaps it was because then leader Deng Xiaoping was a fan of Cha's novels; Cha was the first non-Communist member from Hong Kong to meet Deng.

But others felt the best-selling author was a sell-out for agreeing to Beijing's proposal of that the first three Hong Kong chief executives should be elected by a "broadly representative" committee, a move that hindered the timetable for universal suffrage.

Nevertheless, Cha will be remembered more for his novels that transported readers into a chivalrous fantasy past and his massive contribution to Hong Kong and China's contemporary literary culture. 

Where to Start July 1 March?

Last year's July 1 march had a colourful and healthy turnout

The annual July 1 march is weeks away and organizers still haven't secured a spot where protestors can gather before it starts.

It turns out a pro-Beijing association has taken over the usual spot, Victoria Park, with a three-day cultural event featuring lion and dragon dances to mark the 21st anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China.

For the second year in a row, the Hong Kong Celebrations Association, an umbrella group of 40 pro-Beijing societies, has been given priority to use all six of the park's pitches over the annual march that draws tens of thousands of people.

Will Victoria Park look like this instead with many lions?

Civil Human Rights Front deputy convenor Au Nok-hin said the Leisure and Cultural Services Department had been "unfair" in processing applications to use the park's football pitches on July 1.

"With the participation of political parties, it has become a political event, not a charity event," Au said.

Meanwhile the pro-Beijing association chairman Cheng Yiu-tong said it was necessary for the three-day event to have all six pitches. "We need such a large venue... Even if we were willing to share the six pitches [with the front], the police would not agree to it."

Really? Six pitches are needed for three days of lion and dragon dancing? Surely there are other ways to celebrate July 1? Oh wait -- there is also an exhibition on the "Greater Bay Area" plan -- a social and economic integration of Hong Kong with Macau and nine mainland cities.

Encountering pro-Beijing protestors along the way

Another way to remind us that we're a part of China and that Hong Kong is just another Chinese city...

In the meantime the front organizers are struggling to secure a meeting spot for its march. While it has applied for the march to begin at either East Point Road or Great George Street, the police would rather the march started on the park's central lawn.

Aren't we back at the beginning again? None of this would be a problem if the LCSD just approved the march to start at Victoria Park on July 1 and then allow the pro-Beijing group to have its festival on July 2. Monday is a holiday anyway...

A Secret Garden in Hong Kong

Visitors are given a key... to go where?

At 5pm I made my way up to the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre for an intriguing art installation that is headed by local artist Kingsley Ng. He always has interesting projects with lots of meaning and significance behind them and are usually executed well, which is why I was keen to check it out.

This latest one is called Secret Garden and it is loosely based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett and the wildly popular colouring book by Johanna Basford, and is site specific, as the building used to be the former Victoria Barracks for the families of British soldiers to live in.

The exterior of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre

The building underwent renovations in the 1970s to become a government-run place for art classes, and the families that lived here were either moved to Tamar or left Hong Kong. So Secret Garden has a fictional story of three children who discovered a secret garden here and when they had to leave, they promised to come back on the last night.

But what does the last night mean? Ng says it could be June 30, 1997 when the British handed back Hong Kong to China, or it could mean the day the families had to move. The interpretation is open to the visitor, who is led on a 40-minute guided tour through the building to see different aspects of this secret garden.

Ng explained afterwards that he coordinated the project, giving the secret garden theme to several groups of artists who interpreted it in their own way, from books with empty pages, to ceramics to items from our childhood.

Ceramic balls are placed on spotlights with dramatic effect

I don't want to give too much away in terms of what exactly you see in the installation, but it's the various things you see, touch and hear that build up multiple meanings or like a patchwork quilt, create loose connections.

When we visited for the preview it wasn't quite dark, so it'll be better when it starts in earnest tomorrow when it's shown at night.

The first batch of free tickets were snapped up right away, but Ng told me the second batch will be released on Monday March 19 at noon. Check it out at www.hksecretgarden.com.

Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre

7A, Kennedy Road

Hong Kong

(In Hong Kong Park)