Police Continue to Punish Businesses

Char siu pork ribs on the far right, pork shoulder on far left

Late this afternoon I met up with a restaurateur who insisted that I try his latest creation -- char siu pork ribs for an early dinner before his eatery closes at 6pm.

And they are delicious -- why hasn't anyone else thought of this before? Why just use the pork shoulder to make char siu when the ribs are just as good?

We asked him if he was excited to finally have dinner service back on April 21, but he shook his head.

Police in casual clothes out to fine people in TST

Then he told us that he was upset to find that his two restaurants (next door to each other) were recently fined when the police descended on them and checked everyone's LeaveHomeSafe app to see if they had scanned the restaurants' QR codes.

It turns out one diner did not scan the LeaveHomeSafe app, and both restaurants -- which are under one license -- are banned from operating for the next two weeks.

Now he has lost the opportunity to not only make money back from months of just serving lunch, and what is he going to do with kitchen and wait staff having nothing to do for two weeks. 

So please -- everyone -- scan your LeaveHomeSafe app in restaurants and other establishments if you want to support these businesses! A fine is a minor financial hit compared to being banned from running a business for two weeks.

In addition, anyone who has been out of work for 30 days can apply for HK$10,000 compensation from the government, but since hairdressers were out of work for 28 days, they are not eligible for this money. 

So basically the government looks like it is helping people, but when looking at the fine print, it really doesn't.

Use your LHS app when supporting a business!

The same goes for the police raking in some HK$90 million from fines, some from jumping in the bushes to ambush runners on trails who aren't wearing masks, to making domestic helpers pay HK$5,000 -- more than their monthly salary -- for being in what may look like groups of more than two.

There is talk that the sixth wave could come in a few months -- how much more financial punishment can people take?

While the restaurateur I saw today has accepted the financial hit of the punishment, he found out he is not the only one who was caught with not every guest scanning the LeaveHomeSafe app. 

After over two years of being hit hard by the pandemic, how are businesses in Hong Kong supposed to get back on their feet again when they are constantly being knocked down?

Activist Jailed for Unlawful Assembly

Commuters were attacked by men in white shirts July 21, 2019

Many Hongkongers will forever remember the Yuen Long attacks on the evening of July 21, 2019, when some 100 men in white shirts with sticks and rods beat people in the MTR station, not only on the concourse but in the train carriage as well.

It was such a shocking incident that people watched the events unfold live, and one journalist, Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam filmed herself being assaulted by a middle-aged man. Forty-five people were injured, including lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting.

Attackers went into MTR trains to assault people

Only seven people were convicted and sentenced for the assaults.

A week after the horrific incident, activist Max Chung Kin-ping organised a "Reclaim Yuen Long" march on July 27, 2019.

However, the police filed a Letter of Objection, saying the protest may cause traffic disruptions. 

While Chung suggested he would march alone, and urged people not to follow him, some 288,000 people showed up that day to show support for the district, and by 5pm the police started firing tear gas at the protesters.

Today Chung was jailed for 16 months after he pleaded guilty to organising an unauthorised assembly.

District Judge Amanda Woodcock described the atmosphere in Yuen Long in the days after the mob attack as a "tinderbox situation", and the banned demonstration was a potential source of violence.

Chung pleaded guilty to unauthorised assembly

She did not believe Chung did not see emotions were running high and that violence could have erupted easily.

Woodcock noted the defendant used "provocative and inflammatory" language and "covertly" asked people to participate in the unauthorised procession.

"[Chung] made a conscious decision to break the law... actions have consequences for everyone...," she said.

In addition Woodcock disagreed with the defence's argument that the court should not blame him for violent acts that took place adjacent to the demonstration route he proposed.

The court also dismissed the defendant's plea that it was "unfair" for Chung to be prosecuted more than two years after the demonstration took place. The prosecution said it had taken time to look into a high volume of evidence, and Woodcock said relevant parties faced a heavy workload.

"Two years was not a very long time... there was no intentional delay. More importantly, I see no prejudice...," the judge said.

Some 288,000 came to Yuen Long on July 27, 2019

Chung was originally sentenced to 24 months in prison, which was then reduced to 16 months for submitting a guilty plea. 

He was arrested the day of the protest but he was not charged. Chung was later apprehended last August and remanded in custody since. 

Quote of the Day: John Lee as Conductor

Lee announced he was throwing his hat into the ring today

Former chief secretary John Lee Ka-chiu is positioning himself as the conductor of a symphony in his bid to be Hong Kong's next chief executive.

Speaking to reporters today, he launched his campaign with the slogan, "Starting a New Chapter for Hong Kong Together", and said his decision to run was because of his loyalty to the country, love for Hong Kong and his sense of duty to Hong Kong people.

Sounds very familiar to Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's decision to run in 2017. At that time in her manifesto she wrote: "I decided to contest the Chief Executive election because I love this city and I care for the well-being of our 7 million population who live here. I am willing and ready to lead the politically appointed officials and our 170,000 civil service."

Lee likens being a conductor of an orchestra

Lee hopes to build a Hong Kong that is energetic, happy, open, united and peaceful.

"This new chapter will be a new symphony. Being the conductor, each member will be able to leverage his or her strengths to create the synergy effect... Together, we will play a more splendid new piece for Hong Kong," he said.

Never knew Lee was such a classical music lover. 

While he is conjuring the image of everyone working together to channel their energy and efforts to create a rejuvenated city, a conductor does use a baton... which a police officer uses too...

John Lee Tipped for Top Job

Lee announces his resignation in a bid to run for CE

The election for Hong Kong's next chief executive has one candidate so far, and he may be the only one Beijing endorses. Former Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu has emerged as the front runner and no other are contesting the top job -- yet.

Earlier today he formally resigned from his position citing his ambitions -- if given Beijing's blessing -- to run in the May 8 election.

"If my resignation is approved by the Central People's Government, I shall plan to prepare to stand for the upcoming Chief Executive Election," he said, adding he would inform the public of his next move if Beijing accepted his decision to quit.

Protests erupted over the extradition bill in 2019

His press conference was only five minutes, making his announcement in Cantonese and English and left without taking any questions from reporters.

The choice of Lee signals Beijing's priority of security over social welfare, the economy or development. 

He has always been involved in law enforcement, beginning his career in the Hong Kong Police force, starting as a probationary officer in 1977, and moving up the ranks.

In 2012, then chief executive Leung Chun-ying made Lee deputy commissioner, joining government circles, and then was promoted again five years later to chief of the Security Bureau. 

Last June he replaced Matthew Cheung Kin-chung as Chief Secretary.

Lee and Lam announcing the bill was "dead"

It should be pointed out that in 2019 it was Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Lee who proposed the extradition bill, which led to millions of people protesting in the streets, and later implementing the national security law.

He also instigated the arrests last year of 47 politicians, activists and academics for holding a primary in 2020 to see which candidates would be best suited to run in the Legislative Council election. 

He claimed their plans would paralyse Hong Kong's government and pull the city into a "bottomless abyss".

So while Beijing will be satisfied with the choice of Lee, Hongkongers are beginning to worry about the consequences of having someone who has no expertise in how to kickstart the city's economy out of the doldrums or care about the underprivileged, or even housing issues.

Many people in this photo are behind bars

Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has hinted he won't be running, while no word yet on former chief executive Leung or former secretary for security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee. Ip may always be the bridesmaid and never the bride...

If Lee does become the next chief executive, things may get more stricter and more authoritarian...

Tense Commemoration of Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung died 19 years ago today, fans still remember

Today is the 19th anniversary of singer and actor Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing's death. He was at the gym on the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental, asked for a glass of fresh orange juice,  a piece of paper and pen.

He wrote a note that turned out to be a suicide message, went out on the balcony and then jumped to his death on April 1, 2003.

When news first broke of Cheung's suicide, people thought it was an April Fool's joke.

Previous memorials with lots of flowers, fans

But it was the cruel reality that one of Hong Kong's beloved artists died after battling depression and could not fight it anymore.

That day flowers were placed around the outside of the hotel and since then, every April 1 fans have paid tribute to Leslie 哥哥 or "older brother Leslie" by bringing bouquets or having florists deliver giant flower displays there with loving messages, saying they miss the singer, and that they still love him, some from Japan even.

The floral displays were quite amazing and heartening to see, that he has so many devoted fans after all these years. The hotel quietly allowed fans to commemorate the singer on this one day each year.

Last year what happened and the year before? I guess the gatherings were small because of the pandemic, but still happened?

This year no memorial, but lots of tension

However today the loving and nostalgic atmosphere of previous memorials had been completely sucked out of the area.

I went to check it out around 5pm and there were none of the large floral displays -- they had been removed earlier. Instead there were several people clutching their small bouquets and taking pictures of themselves holding the flowers in front of the hotel as proof they had paid tribute to their idol.

Some took pictures of several bouquets on the ground, and as soon as that was done, they scooped up the flowers and left. 

It took me a minute or two to realise there were undercover police there shooing people away.

One older male fan wearing a yellow mask got into a tense argument with one of the undercover cops, who was dressed in black, and dared him to speak louder and ordered people to move along and not to gather.

Fans lingered with flowers then left

The man complied, but not before saying, "hak ging" or "black police" and walked away. "Why can't we gather there," he muttered.

Yes, why can't we?

Has Cheung suddenly become forbidden to remember, like June 4?

Or if it's because of pandemic reasons, how about being more polite about it, letting people have their moment to pay tribute and then leave?

Restricting people's freedoms further just creates more tensions and resentment, not to mention further hatred of the authorities...

Post script: It turns out in the end fans were able to place flowers at the hotel later in the evening. They sang a song at 6.43pm, the time of his death and to avoid further trouble, they dispersed quickly into the night.

Street Sleepers Get Justice

Nine street sleepers finally got justice today, three years later

About three years ago, 22 police officers cleared Tung Chau Street Park in Sham Shui Po where some 80 to 100 street sleepers lived.

These homeless people were given three minutes to pack up their items and move on, the rest of their personal belongings were collected as garbage, which filled 12 rubbish containers, each with a volume of 600 litres.

I remember this story and the public outrage at how these homeless people were treated without any dignity.

The homeless lived in this park in Sham Shui Po

Yesterday nine of those street sleepers won a token HK$100 each in Small Claims Tribunal when it ruled in favour of them, as their personal items were disposed of without their consent.

Arthur Lam Hei-wei, the presiding adjudicator, awarded nominal damages of HK$100 to each of the nine claimants, as none of them could provide sufficient evidence of the value of their possessions.

Not all nine can claim this payment, as one died this month after becoming infected with Covid-19. 

Initially there were 14 claimants, seeking compensation ranging from HK$2,000 to HK$13,290 over the loss of their items, such as garments, mattresses, cash and travel documents.

However, two of the claimants have since died, and four others lost contact with the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), a concern group supporting the street sleepers in the proceedings.

Lam found the department had failed to discharge its duty of care, as janitors made no independent identifications for the seized items items and left them in the depot, forcing the claimants, some of whom were physically disabled, to rummage through the rubbish containers. 

They only had minutes to pack their belongings

The Justice Department, representing the police and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, had asked the claimants to pay HK$26,000 as court expenses incurred by the authorities in the proceedings, but Lam refused and instead ordered both sides to shoulder their own costs.

One of the claimants, Chan Chi-wing, said the ruling had served justice to two of his fellow street sleepers who died earlier. Chan, who uses a wheelchair said: "It's not a matter of how much I can claim, I'm fine as long as justice is served."

SoCO community organiser Ng Wai-tung called the ruling "belated justice", adding it was "ridiculous" that authorities failed to keep visual records of the confiscated items.

"The homeless should not be subject to humiliation," he said. "Their belongings are also private property. The right to private property is a basic human right, of which nobody should be deprived."

This is the third time homeless people have taken the authorities to court over confiscating their personal items without prior notice. The previous lawsuits in 2012 and 2016 were settled out of court.

The claimants were awarded HK$100 each

It is terrible seeing people sleeping on the street, but where else can they go? The government is not providing them the assistance they need, and instead trying to sweep them under the carpet...

Other good news?

Today's case count for Covid-19 was below 7,000 at 6,976, 135 deaths of which 117 were in the last 24 hours, and 18 backlogged.

Fighting to the End

Pang wants to clear his name even though he was acquitted

A 19-year old Hongkonger is taking the Secretary of Justice to court.

In June, Parco Pang was acquitted of possessing a laser pointer for illegal purposes after a West Kowloon court ruled the prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had possessed the laser pointer at a protest in Mongkok on November 11, 2019.

Today he spoke to reporters at District Court, saying he believes prosecutors withheld documents during his trial which were inconsistent with testimony given by two police officers. He said this amounted to unfairness.

He was accused of carrying a laser pointer in 2019

"I'm filing this suit because certain evidence has arisen after the conclusion of my criminal prosecution, which suggests the possibility of certain documents which were withheld and not disclosed to the defence in the course thereof, which in my opinion, had led to the criminal case being, to a certain extent, unfair, which is why I'm bringing this suit to clear my name," Pang said.

Pang says he is seeking HK$520,000 (US$66,734) in damages. 

Perhaps even more extraordinary is that the teenager defended himself in the trial and will represent himself again in this latest suit.

"At this juncture, I think I'm the most suitable [person] to conduct the case as I'm most familiar with the facts and the relevant circumstances."

Wow. Just wow.

This couple was acquitted after lack of evidence

What happened to Pang is not unusual. He was one of the some 10,000 cases related to the 2019 anti-government protests. In several cases that have gone to court so far, the police officers could not recall things clearly, or the prosecution did not have enough evidence to convict, and the judge not only acquitted the defendant but also berated the prosecution for shoddy case preparation.

Those who are acquitted breathe a sigh of relief and move on.

But Pang is going a step further and is hitting back at the government as a warning shot.

When asked to comment in the suit, the Department of Justice said it does not comment on individual cases... like its own...

An Upcoming Election Not Many Know About

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

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

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

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

Number of directly-elected seats down to 20

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

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

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

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

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

An arrest warrant was issued for Ted Hui

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

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

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

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

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

Yau is in the UK

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

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

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

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

Gov't Defends Culling Wild Boars

The wild boars were lured down with bread by the authorities

Animal rights groups are up in arms after the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department captured and killed seven wild boars in Wong Chuk Hang.

In plain sight of the media, the AFCD lured the wild pigs with bread -- which the government has repeatedly told the public not to feed them -- and then tranquilized them with dart guns.

Seven wild boars were culled 

It seems the AFCD is now taking drastic action after a wild boar knocked down an auxiliary policeman before biting him in the leg and then the animal plunged 10 stories to its death in a residential car park in Tin Hau last Wednesday.

There had been numerous complaints from the public for the authorities to do something about the wild boars, capture them and take them to remote areas, instead of ignoring the problem and worse having ignorant people feeding the animals as if they were pets. The number of sightings involving wild boars rose from 225 in 2011 to 1,002 last year.

When criticized for using food to lure the wild boars down, Simon Chan Kin-fung, the department's assistant director for conservation said on a radio show: "Even if we did not use food to attract them down from the hill yesterday, they would still come [to urban areas]."

Perhaps what made the optics even worse was that several of the boars had young ones with them when they were "compassionately" put down.

Police officer bit in leg by boar

"Some other parts of the world have been using the hunting method. We are using a very humane way to put down the wild boars, with dart guns and medicine injection. We will continue to use food to capture the wild boars in the city area," Chan said.

Last week the department announced that wild boars in urban areas would be "regularly captured for humane dispatch with a view to reducing their number and nuisance"... in other words cull them.

The previous strategy was to capture them, neuter them so they would not be able to breed and then relocate them to a remote area. 

About 20 staff were involved in capturing and euthanising the seven animals, which weighed between 50k to 170kg.

Chan said the department only targeted wild pigs that were frequently found in urban areas, not the ones in rural places.

However, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals condemned the AFCD for its actions, accusing officials of ignoring suggestions on how to manage the problem.

"The SPCA reiterates that a non-lethal approach to wildlife management is always preferred, and is against the idea of hunting boars, as this has proved to be problematic on several fronts," it said.

The boars had young ones with them last night

Roni Wong Ho-yin, a Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group committee member who witnessed the operation, described the use of food to capture the animals as "despicable and bloody".

He said the bait could attract animals that humans were not regularly feeding.

"The department has been educating people not to feed the wild boars," he said. "But they are doing something self-contradictory. This could change the behaviour of some wild boars which are not used to being fed by humans."

Others felt the public must be educated not to feed the animals because it gives them an unnatural food source that encourages them to reproduce. 

So if they are, then it seems they are reproducing at a much faster rate than the AFCD can neuter them, or the authorities are not capturing enough of them to really make an impact on the population numbers.

An artistic impression of the wild boar cull...

In any event, while there was a lot of outrage online, one artist took to his blank page and created a riff off of artist Wang Xingwei's riff off of the Tiananmen Square massacre picture of people riding bicycles and taking two penguins that were shot in the chest.

Instead a Hong Kong artist showed boars riding a bicycle with a wooden board behind, carrying another wounded boar, one in the foreground wearing a yellow helmet and tears dripping from its eye.

Even wild pigs have feelings too...

Patriots Governing Hong Kong

Lam got last-minute instructions from Han in Shenzhen

 There's an election tomorrow but us lowly Hong Kong citizens will not be eligible to vote.

Almost 4,900 people will vote for who they want to be in the Election Committee, which will decide who will be the next chief executive as well as future lawmakers in the Legislative Council.

The thought of universal suffrage that was demanded way back in 2014 is far from reality.

Up to 6,000 officers will be deployed tomorrow

Instead the slogan is, "Patriots governing Hong Kong", which means a certain demographic of the city.

In one last meeting in Shenzhen before the election, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor met with Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng, who instructed her not to have any trouble during tomorrow's election, the first under the newly revamped electoral system.

But Han need not worry -- Lam had already planned to deploy between 5,000 and 6,000 police officers on the streets to ensure there is law and order in the city tomorrow.

A total of 4,889 voters representing different professions and trades will cast their ballots at five voting stations in Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun between 9am and 6pm.

The rest of us will see what fate lies for Hong Kong, though the outcome will be pretty much expected.

That's elections with Chinese characteristics.

 

Hard to Forget, Two Years Later

A woman remembers the events in Prince Edward MTR

 

It has been two years now since the August 31 attacks in the Prince Edward MTR station. But there are no public remembrances with the national security law in place.

There is no space for the public to reflect on the horrific scenes in the MTR carriage when police in military uniforms attacked unarmed commuters with batons.

These indelible images are a reminder of 2019

Instead Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor insists there is no crackdown on civil society groups, and even quibbled with the word "crackdown", saying the government was only ensuring that individuals and groups were not violating the national security law.

When reporters asked her about the legal status of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, Lam said the police is only doing law enforcement work.

"We respect civic society. Hong Kong has large numbers of NGOs and think tanks and research agencies who are shouldering their civic responsibility in trying to improve Hong Kong's situation," she replied to the media before the weekly Executive Council meeting.

Lam says there's not crackdown on civic groups

"But where there are associations, whether they are registered or not registered, that exist in order to undermine Hong Kong's security, let alone to advocate independence or collude with external forces to harm Hong Kong and the country, that is not something we should condone."

She was probably also referring to Civil Human Rights Front, that had been around for 32 years, 30 of which it organized the annual Tiananmen Square candlelight vigil, and the 47-year-old Professional Teachers Union is not being recognized by the Education Bureau anymore.

Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee said that even if groups disbanded, there was no "indemnity" against investigation and that the force had gathered evidence against a variety of political organizations.

Siu says there is evidence against various groups

Political commentator Chung Kim-wah insisted there was clearly an ongoing crackdown on civil groups, given it was hard for many of them, including the alliance, to avoid connections with overseas pro-democracy bodies. He questioned, however, if authorities could silence dissent through such actions.

"The movement advocated by the alliance for more than 30 years has become part of the city's identity. The crackdown on it won't make people forget June 4," he said.

And by extension the anti-government protests of 2019...

More Civil Society Groups Targeted by Police

 

CHRF organized several peaceful marches in 2019

The Hong Kong Police have set their next target on the Civil Human Rights Front, which is best known for organizing the annual July 1 protest marches from 2003 until last year. The group is reportedly disbanding.

And even though the government has said the national security law is not retroactive from July 1, 2020, Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee says CHRF is suspected of violating the national security law in recent years.

Siu says groups can be investigated anytime

Pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao quoted Siu as saying the police will investigate whether CHRF has violated the national security law.

The front had organized some of the biggest peaceful protest marches since the handover, in particular their first rally with over 500,000 protesting against Article 23 and against the extradition bill in 2019.

Siu said the CHRF had never registered with the authorities since its establishment in 2002.

However, every year, the police coordinated with the CHRF in having police officers along the route to ensure the march was orderly.

Nevertheless, Siu said the police are always collecting evidence and can take action against unlawful groups at anytime.

Chan, Sham and Lee (far right) are all in jail now

He added even though well-known figures from CHRF are already behind bars, like Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit and Figo Chan Ho-wun, the police can still investigate other key members and charge them.

The police are using the national security law to pressure groups to disband even though they may have not done anything legally wrong up to July 1, 2020. 

But in the hopes of avoiding the force from possibly arresting members and freezing bank accounts like what happened to Apple Daily, groups like the Professional Teachers' Union and now the CHRF hope they can try to wind things up quickly and not get in trouble with the law.

Except it seems that once they are targeted, that's the beginning of the end, no matter how they try to continue to exist -- they can't.

HKJA may be the next police target

While the PTU will disband soon, the group still has to sell off its various properties and ensure some 200 staff are paid in full. Having to sell quickly means the union will not necessarily get good prices for the properties, but it has no choice but to dissolve as quickly as possible.

It's a difficult situation for those affected and those who think they may be next.

The next target? Possibly the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, which a pro-establishment newspaper has described as protecting violence and spreading rumours...

Teachers' Union Forced To Disband

This afternoon the PTU said it had no choice but to disband

 

Just over a week after Chinese state media declared the Professional Teachers' Union "a malignant tumour" that had to be removed, and the Hong Kong government cut ties, the group, which has 95,000 members, announced it had no choice but to disband.

At a hastily arranged press conference, PTU president Fung Wai-wah said: "In recent years there have been big changes to the social, political and economic environments.  Especially in recent weeks, the situation has become worse. As of now, we do not see a future... We have decided to disband. We shall start the process of disbanding."

Lam at 45th anniversary of PTU, now has cut ties

Founded 48 years ago by the late Szeto Wah, the union decided to call it quits after education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Saturday urged Hong Kong teachers to "thoroughly rethink" their relationship with the PTU, and said his bureau would no longer recognize it as a professional organization.

In addition the police commissioner said the force would "definitely investigate" the union for any potential national security violations.

"We have gone through, with many residents, Hong Kong's historic moments," Fung said. "We face huge pressure. Although we have tried to find new ways to continue our work, we regret that we have failed to find a workable option to ease the crisis this time.

"We aim to disband in an orderly and reasonable manner. We shall call an extraordinary members'  meeting... We hope to take care of the rights of some 200 staff members... make financial arrangements and dispose or properties and assets properly."

PTU's two supermarkets were busy today

The union is a large group that gives lots of benefits to teachers, from two supermarket for them, to discounts on school supplies, even travel agent services, insurance, even medical and dental clinics -- practically a small ecosystem of its own. What will happen to all the staff running these businesses? The PTU also owns several properties that Fung said would take time to sell off.

And just like that another opposition-leaning group is eliminated. According to AFP, this is the 33rd political or professional group that has disbanded since June 30, 2020. It is also the oldest group to dissolve so far.

The relentless pace at which the government is dismantling civil society and grassroots groups is blindingly fast, shocking and difficult for many to fathom. Where it ends, no one knows, only that it is ongoing.

Senior Police Officer Caught in Scandal is Reassigned

Choi will start overseeing human resources and discipline

 

Remember the Hong Kong police's national security director who was caught in an unlicensed massage parlour during a sting operation?

While Frederic Choi Chin-pang was cleared of any illegal misconduct, he has been removed from his post and assigned another one -- director of personnel and training in charge of the force's human resources, discipline and training.

Many officers were outraged when they heard the announcement today, saying Choi, 50, hadn't been punished at all, basically retaining the same rank, and that the transfer was "a fatal blow to the force's integrity".

Choi was No. 2 in force's national security

"Although it was lawful to visit an unlicensed massage parlour, as a senior police officer like him who heads a sensitive key post, his behaviour left an awful impression on society, whereas members of the public and even the force's own members question his integrity," a senior officer said on condition of anonymity.

"And now he will oversee the force's training and discipline? What shall he tell those who are accused of misconduct or those new recruits who are being trained in police college? It's a fatal blow to the force's integrity management."

Another insider said: "Choi should be whiter than white. Officers can use Choi as an example and find excuses for their alleged misconduct. He should at least be put on leave until the disciplinary hearing is over."

Choi was the No. 2 officer at the national security department of the police when he was caught during a raid on the Viet Spa in Wan Chai where illegal sex services were being offered. He was put on leave in March, but according to Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee, Choi still faced a disciplinary hearing, but would begin at his new post in the coming week.

Siu says Choi was cleared of criminal charges

The Department of Justice completed its review of the case last week and cleared Choi of any criminal charges. 

When asked whether Choi was fit for his new role, Siu replied," As we have confirmed no crime elements were involved in the incident, and as Choi has served the force for more than 25 years, we are confident in his work capability."

No one else in the force is just as capable, if not more?

During the raid, six women with Hong Kong identity cards were arrested on suspicion of running a vice establishment, while four people were later charged with the crime. In June a man accused of operating the spa appeared at Eastern Court, along with three women. They were charged with six offences, including four related to offering sex in an establishment.

In Hong Kong it is an offence to run an unlicensed massage establishment, with offenders facing up to six months' imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,440). Buying sexual services at such premises is not illegal.

Viet Spa was raided here in Wan Chai

If that is the case then Choi is cleared, but the optics of him being reassigned to another post are not good, and it seems like the force is divided on this issue.

The integrity of the force was already on shaky ground, and this just adds more to cracks...