The New Normal on July 1

At noon the police shut down Victoria Park, occupying it

 

Today is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

Well it's really July 23, 1921, but we like to keep things simple so it's July 1 from now on.

Officers check ID and film people's faces

And it's the first anniversary of the national security law implemented in Hong Kong!

To ensure there's no problems today, 10,000 police officers were out on the streets, particularly in Causeway Bay, setting up temporary tents as frisking stations taking up the places where grass roots organizations would have set up street booths to promote their causes.

Not only did the police check people's ID cards, but also asked them to remove their masks in order to video recorded their faces. This is the new reality along with Hong Kong without Apple Daily.

And to make sure no one gathered in nearby Victoria Park, the police shut it down, shooing everyone away, from young footballers to domestic helpers. This is the second time the force has closed the park down, since June 4. In other years people would have filled the pitches for the annual July 1 protest march, but it seems there will be no more peaceful demonstrations of any kind.

Grandma Wong carrying UK flag was arrested

Even Alexandra Wong Fung-yiu or "Grandma Wong" waving the British flag was surrounded by cops and arrested. 

One boy was chased down in a shopping mall by police and was terrified, the media pack following behind, reminiscent of the 2019 protests to ensure they documented everything. Thank goodness the boy was let go and led away by concerned bystanders.

What is Hong Kong turning into?

By the way Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip Tak-yuen said it would be an "overstatement" that the city has turned into a police state, with John Lee Ka-chiu moving from the security portfolio to Chief Secretary, while police chief Chris Tang Ping-keung becomes the new Secretary for Security.

"It is an overstatement. We have a team of political appointees in different bureaus. we have clerical staff and officers in the disciplinary forces in the civil service. We have different backgrounds and experiences. So comments like this are basically incorrect," he said.

Wong says he's speaking out before going to jail

So how does he explain the 10,000 cops on the streets then?

Meanwhile the League of Social Democrats managed to setup a booth under a flyover in Causeway Bay, though the police were standing by. Raphael Wong told the media: "I can't say what will happen tomorrow, and I will be in jail next month... but as long as there is an available platform, the League of Social Democrats will continue to speak out."

Brave man.

Hong Kong has changed so much in the last two years and now everyday seems to be a "new normal"...

10K Officers on Patrol July 1

A previous July 1 flag-raising ceremony in Wan Chai

 

July 1 is going to be very quiet this year.

And the whole city is going to be crawling with blue uniforms.

The Hong Kong police have announced that 10,000 officers -- up from 7,000 earlier -- will be patrolling the street to ensure the city is secure and there are no signs of dissent.

Police may shut down Victoria Park like June 4

The force has even mulled shutting down Victoria Park, the usual site of where marches start from. 

"It depends on if there are online appeals for people to turn up at the Causeway Bay park to kick off the march despite the ban," a senior police source told one news outlet.

Speaking of marches, as expected the three groups that appealed to the police to re-consider their application for a protest march on July 1 was rejected.

Eddie Tse Sai-kit, a spokesperson for the League of Social Democrats, Tin Shui Wai Connection, and Save Lantau Alliance, was disappointed by the outcome.

"The government has not done well enough to contain Covid-19 and now it is making use of it as an excuse to suppress our civil rights," he said. 

The groups said they would urge people to wear black on July 1 to show their discontent with political oppression.

Some 10K officers will be working on July 1

Meanwhile another police source said the unprecedented number of officers was needed from daybreak to late at night, and would include road closures near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for the flag-raising ceremony in the morning.

"We have to prepare for the worst regardless of whether any intelligence has been received."

John Lee Ka-chiu who will be acting Chief Executive, does not want any trouble on his watch that day. No expenses or man power spared.

July 1 March Cancelled for Second Year

The July 1, 2019 march is the last of the annual marches in HK

The annual July 1 march will be cancelled for a second year, with the police force citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the reason.

Up until last year it was the Civil Human Rights Front that had organized the marches since 2003, but this year announced it had disbanded as several of its prominent members, including its convenor, Figo Chan Ho-wun were in jail, and the police investigating the legality of its existence.

As a result, three civic groups decided to carry on the mantle and apply for police approval for the march that was scheduled for Thursday.

The League of Social Democrats, Tin Shui Wai Connection, and Save Lantau Alliance applied to hold the march that would coincide with the 24th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China. As expected their application was not approved.

The national security law is one year old in HK

"The police have reasons to believe that holding the activities would not just increase the risk of participants and other citizens getting infected, it would also pose grave threats to the lives and health of all citizens, endangering public safety and affecting the rights of others," the force said in its rejection letter.

The police added that officers had discussed the proposed arrangements for the march with the organizers, but believe that adding certain restrictions "would not help to ensure public order, public safety and protecting other people's rights and freedoms".

Perhaps what the force is alluding to is that Beijing doesn't want any kind of dissent on display that day.

That's because July 1 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. It's actually on July 23, 1921, but it's the same month...

And it will also mark the first anniversary of the implementation of the national security law, so lots to celebrate this year.

The Communist Party celebrates 100 years

However Eddie Tse Sai-kit of Save Lantau Alliance is not convinced of the force's explanation.

"The government has already relaxed the number of people allowed to gather indoors. Why not outdoors?"

He also noted the promotions of John Lee Ka-chiu to Chief Secretary and Chris Tang Ping-keung to Secretary of Security as being hardliners.

"Why is the government so scared of letting people voice their concerns on the streets?"

While these are good points, security trumps all in times of big anniversaries for China. 

Even though the three groups plan to appeal the ban on Tuesday evening, they are probably going to be rejected again.

These groups deserve kudos for trying to do their bit for civil society, but it seems this year was not to be...

First Time in 19 Years, No July 1 March

Half a million people participated in the July 1, 2003 march

 

Every year since 2003, there had been a July 1 march to demonstrate against the government. It started that year to vehemently protest against legislating Article 23 -- the national security bill. Some 500,000 people came out to march peacefully in the streets.

It resulted in the bill being withdrawn and shelved indefinitely, as well as the resignation of the then security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, and later then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa stepped down for "health reasons".

The 2015 march after the Umbrella Movement

It was that march that showed if people came out to protest peacefully, the government was listening, and spurred subsequent marches every July 1 after that.

These marches were meant as a counterpoint to the pro-government celebrations marking Hong Kong's return to the motherland. It also reinforced people's passion for the city, their pride in being Hongkongers.

Marching on July 1 is not easy -- the high temperatures combined with high humidity and tens of thousands of people makes it a big communal sweaty affair. But everyone is usually in good spirits and patient enough to deal with the police making it at times difficult to continue walking.

On the streets were people of all ages, elderly people, young parents carrying babies, children, teenagers and professionals, all united together.

The 2019 march against the extradition bill

However, the organizer of this march, the Civil Human Rights Front, will not do it this year for the first time in 19 years.

It was revealed the group that used to organize the marches to demonstrate against the government every year since 2003 has disbanded since its convenor Figo Chan Ho-wun was jailed in May for his role in the unauthorized protest on October 1, 2019.

The news was revealed by Raphael Wong Ho-ming, chairman of the League of Social Democrats, a member group of the Front.

On Sunday Wong said some civil groups will discuss holding their own protests on July 1, though conceding any applications to the police to march will likely be rejected.

The front dissolved after Figo Chan was jailed

Last year the front had applied for permission from the police to march, but it was rejected citing the coronavirus pandemic, though some people still went out onto the streets that day to protest against the newly enacted national security law.

Wong said the league and other groups will set up street booths that day for people to be able to voice their opinions, while complying to social-distancing rules.

How things change so quickly within a year...

Opposition Parties Struggling Financially to Stay Alive

Political parties used to raise lots of money from stalls like this

 

With the implementation of the national security law last June that led to the arrest of 47 pan-democratic lawmakers and activists, and now the overhaul of the electoral system, the opposition in the Legislative Council has been decimated literally and also financially.

Opposition parties are losing their main sources of fundraising from participating in rallies, Chinese New Year flower market stalls, and holding annual dinners because of the coronavirus pandemic. And now there is the added pressure that crowdfunding online has led to people involved being arrested for money laundering, thus scaring donors away.

Leong says Civic Party can only last a few months

And now with so many pan-democrats charged with crimes including violating the national security law, much of the money is now being spent on legal fee to defend them.

"The problem is, if you're donating to a party which is accused of subversion, would you not think twice before digging into your purse?" Civic Party chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit said.

Several members of the party are being detained for alleged national security offences and have also recently quit the party, which is the second-biggest in the opposition camp.

Leong revealed the Civic Party now has just enough money to continue for another four or five months unless it received more funding.

Meanwhile the Democratic Party has launched its fundraising campaign by selling raffle tickets for HK$20 each with prizes ranging from an Apple iPad, Dyson purifier and Apple watch.

Democratic Party now holding raffle ticket sales

The party's fundraising chairman, Ramon Yuen Hoi-man said he expected to spend at least HK$10 million this year, much of it used to defend members in court.

To raise other funds, the Democratic Party sold property in Lai Chi Kok but still needs an additional HK$4 million hopefully from raffle ticket sales to stay afloat.

"When I look at the balance sheets, this is the worst of the worst I have seen since I joined the party [10 years ago]," he said.

Yuen added the mass resignation of the lawmakers in Legco also hit the Democratic Party financially, as they would usually contribute 10 percent of their salary, which made up 10 percent of the annual income. In 2019 the members donated HK$1.3 million.

Leong of the Civic Party can't even consider thinking about running for the Legco elections in December when the party may not financially survive until then.

Ng says street booths have fewer donations now

The League of Social Democrats is also facing money problems, as fundraising through street booths has resulted in much lower donations than during the protests.

"We could collect up to HK$400,000 to HK$500,000 on those occasions," said Avery Ng Man-yuen, vice-chairman of the League of Social Democrats.

It's a sad state of affairs to see the opposition in such financial straits. This may be the beginning of the end of them being crushed financially and their donors either not having enough money themselves to donate or are concerned about getting into trouble making contributions.

Beijing must be pleased to see this happening, easily crushing the opposition by financially strangling them...

Raking in the Donations

Tens of thousands came out to march and support their political parties

In yesterday's post I complained about how the July 1 protest march was a constant barrage of speeches angling for donations.

But it's interesting to find out today who garnered the most money -- Demosisto.

With Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Agnes Chow Ting waving to the crowd, cheering on the marchers and shaking hands, the political party received HK$530,000 (US$67,950). This is a 23 percent increase from last year's donations totaling HK$430,000.

Agnes Chow encourages the marchers in the heat

The party has gone through a lot of upheaval in the past year, with Nathan Law Kwun-chun stepping down from Demosisto after he, the party's sole representative in the Legislative Council, was kicked out for not reading the oath of office properly.

Ivan Lam Long-yin, the new chairman of Demosisto says despite having lost their sole lawmaker in Legco, the public still supports them.

Lam says the donations will be used to continue Demosisto's campaign called "Decoding Hong Kong's History", an archival research project that looks into declassified documents related to Hong Kong's handover in 1997.

He also said the money would be used to attend international conferences and fund the group's work on producing material related to issues like the proposed national anthem law.

Lee Cheuk-yan's Labour Party saw a drop in donations

Another big winner yesterday was Democracy Groundwork, led by disgraced lawmaker Lau Siu-lai, who had a 45 percent jump in donations to HK$276,000. She said she was buoyed by the support they received and is considering running in the upcoming Legco by-election in November.

Meanwhile traditional pan-democratic parties saw a drop in their donation takings. The League of Social Democrats which had several members embroiled in court cases, saw a 9 percent drop in donations to HK$460,000, while the Civic Party, Democratic Party and Labour Party saw a decline as well.

So Hong Kong people vote with their feet literally and their wallets it seems...

Strength in Numbers

Thousands of people at Johnston and Luard roads waiting for march to start

It turns out there weren't only a few people outraged about the jailing of the three Occupy leaders, Joshua Wong Chi-fung Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang -- there were tens of thousands of them.

Police estimated there were about 22,000 people who started the march at Southern Playground in Wan Chai -- which probably means there were many, many more people willing to be outside in the hot sun, pouring with sweat.

We were stuck on Luard Road for an hour --  in the shade!

I took the MTR from Admiralty to Wan Chai and there were so many people getting on the train that I knew already that lots of protesters would show up. That was the biggest concern of my friend YTSL who worried that only a few people would show up like on July 1.

One would think the 20th anniversary of the handover would be enough to spur people to get out into the streets, but it was this hot button issue of jailing what the foreign media are calling "Hong Kong's first prisoners of conscience" that got people out.

YTSL and I managed to find each other and then headed out the to the Johnston Road exit where it seemed everyone else was heading, but after we got out of Southern Playground, we barely moved for an hour.

Some confused tram riders refused to get off...

We speculate the police underestimated how many people would show up and so the march was halted from starting in order to get enough manpower to close the streets and stand along the march path.

Or they were trying to make protesters annoyed enough that they would leave before it began. A few elderly people did -- it really was quite hot -- but other than that the rest of us stayed put and shouted "hoi lo!" or "let us march!"

At around 4.15pm we finally made our way up Luard Road and then turned left onto Hennessy Road. A few people tried to pump up the crowd with slogans, but for the most part we just wanted to show our presence.

Many yellow umbrellas reminiscent of the Occupy protests

One elderly protester seemed keen to pick fights with anyone, police officers in particular with verbal slurs, but his friends dragged him away or told him to calm down. We're just here to march, mister! No need to start a fight!

From Hennessy Road onwards to the Court of Final Appeal in Central, it was pretty smooth sailing and we could walk at a decent pace. Tons of buses going west were stopped in their tracks, along with trams going in each direction. We wondered why people would stay in the trams because they wouldn't be moving for quite a while...

It was kind of bizarre how we had to wait for an hour at the starting point, but it took less than an hour to march to Central. When we got to the end, volunteers were soliciting donations for the three pro-democracy groups that organized the march: League of Social Democrats, Demosisto and Civil Human Rights Front.

Afterwards people rallied at the Court of Final Appeal

They asked for a minimum of HK$10 but I saw several people put HK$100 and even HK$500 bills in the boxes.

We didn't stay behind for the rally, as there were thousands of people behind us who had yet to arrive, but we were just pleased to voice our opinion with our feet!

Black Protest of 1997

Bright and early local activists drape the Golden Bauhinia sculpture in black

Yesterday just days ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong back to China, three local activist groups covered the Golden Bauhinia sculpture next to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre where celebrations will be held with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Protesters included Demosisto secretary-general Joshua Wong Chi-fung, People Power's Tam Tak-chi and representatives from the League of Social Democrats.

The black cloth represents the authoritarianism of China

At around 6am, the activists, dressed in black, covered the golden statue -- a gift from the central government to mark the 1997 handover -- in black fabric.

Security guards tried to stop them but failed.

"The black-cloaked statue symbolizes the hard-line rule of the authoritarian regime over the past 20 years, meaning that the Chinese government failed to honour the promises made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, depriving Hong Kong people of civil and political rights to free elections and democracy," the groups said in a statement.

They said their move was meant to express anger and disappointment at the administration for political blunders since 1997.

"The grip on civil society has been tightened since the 'umbrella movement'. China also interferes with the internal affairs of Hong Kong through various means. Our confidence in 'one country, two systems' has waned and has been replaced by the fear of it becoming 'one country, one system'." the statement said.

Police were called in to remove the black cloth afterwards

Police were called after 6pm and they removed the cloth from the sculpture. The authorities classified the incident as a "nuisance complaint".

Pro-establishment lawmakers condemned the protest. Luk Chung-hung of the Federation of Trade Unions said it was not an appropriate way to express discontent.

"It did not respect 'one country, two systems' and national sovereignty," Luk said.

The activist groups probably did the stunt now fearing their chances of trying to get anywhere near the venue on July 1 would be impossible.

They really know how to rile up pro-Beijing groups!

Arrests in Fight for Democracy

Last November's stand off with police in front of the Liaison Office

This morning nine activists were rounded up on suspected charges of unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct following a rally outside the central government's liaison office last November over the Legislative Council's oath-taking controversy.

The nine included those from Demosisto (Derek Lam Shun-hin and Ivan Lam Long-yin), the League of Social Democrats (Avery Ng Man-yuen and Dickson Chau Ka-faat), and Students Fight for Democracy (Lo Tak-cheung and Sammy Ip Chi-hin).

Avery Ng is dismayed by more arrests of activists like himself

"This is the third time doorstep arrests have been made this year. The political suppression is not over yet!" Ng wrote in a Facebook post. He claimed he had been arrested on two charges of "inciting others to cause disorder in a public place".

This follows the arrest of Youngspiration duo Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, who were charged with unlawful assembly when they tried to force their way into Legco in order to try to retake their oaths on November 2.

It looks like in the last few months of his leadership, Leung Chun-ying doesn't want to show that he's weak, only being able to rule for one term. Or maybe he's promised Beijing to snuff out any kind of pro-independence movement by using the law to shut them up.

By trying to scare people with jail, others may think twice about continuing the fight for democracy in Hong Kong.

Youngspiration's Sixtus Leung & Yau Wai-ching were charged

It's something Amnesty International has pointed out, commenting after the nine arrests this morning.

"The repeated use of vague charges against prominent figures in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement reeks of an orchestrated and retaliatory campaign by the authorities to punish those that advocate for democracy in Hong Kong," said Mabel Au, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong.

"The Hong Kong government should be protecting freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, but instead appears intent on intimidating people who are challenging the authorities," she added.

The first test will be on July 1, the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be in town for the festivities. Maybe Leung is tasked with getting rid of dissent during Xi's visit, but whatever happened to "one country, two systems"?

Deng Xiaoping himself coined the phrase so why can't the central leadership accept it?

Chinese New Year Countdown

Many people checking out the New Year market in Victoria Park today

Many people in Hong Kong are anxiously preparing for Chinese New Year on Saturday. The wet market near where I live was extra busy, with people buying up all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and meats to prepare for upcoming reunion dinners this week, though officially it's on Friday.

And today was the start of the Chinese New Year markets around town, the biggest of which is in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. I checked it out this afternoon and luckily it wasn't packed, though still lots of people.

Vibrant-coloured orchids for sale as well as other plants

I didn't have time to go through all the stalls, but the orchids were gorgeous, and this one pictured here is a kind that I've never seen before.

There were of course many rooster-related items, particularly stuffed toys, phone covers, cushions and trinkets.

And what's a Hong Kong fair without some politics, particularly in an election year?

The Democratic Party had a modified game called "fish prawn crab", a kind of gambling game, with caricatures of the four candidates -- Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, John Tsang Chun-wah, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, and Woo Kwok-hing. Even possible candidate Jasper Tsang Yok-sing was in the mix too.

Another stall manned by the League of Social Democrats sold cushions shaped like luncheon meat tins. It was a reference to former pro-Beijing lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing's condemnation of legislative filibusters, that he once said wasted enough taxpayer dollars to buy thousands of cans of luncheon meat for the poor.

We saw some young people roaming around with a basket of stickers and it turns out they had political satire. One of them was a take on Shanghai calendar girls of the 1920s, featuring two women, and the heads were of Regina Ip and John Tsang...

I intend to go back again to check all the stalls out, and maybe pick up some flowers too!

Beijing Dangles an Olive Branch

How did Robert Chow score meetings with officials like Wang Guangya?

It's all relative isn't it.

Now that the Hong Kong pan-democrats seem completely tame next to the localists, the Chinese government has decided to grant the pan-dems mainland travel documents from now on.

But the pan-democrats aren't buying it. Leung Yiu-chung of the Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre says it is a two-pronged strategy by Beijing to break the ice with opposition lawmakers, while cracking down hard on independence advocacy.

Leung Yiu-chung isn't convinced by Beijing's olive branch

"If officials would like to talk about relaunching the city's political reform process, I would go anytime, even this afternoon, but there is no need for another sightseeing trip," To said.

What was also bizarre about the announcement was that it came not from Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, but from the pan-democrats' fiercest critic, Robert Chow Yung, who runs the pro-establishment group Silent Majority for Hong Kong.

He has managed to score meetings with Wang Guangya, director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress, and Chen Zuoer, chairman of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies.

The fact that Chow got these meetings -- one purportedly lasting as long as two hours -- shows that even Leung Chun-ying doesn't quite have the guanxi touch anymore.

Nevertheless, at least three pan-democrats who have been unable to renew their mainland travel documents for more than a decade -- Democrat James To Kun-sun, "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung from the League of Social Democrats, and Leung Yiu-chung -- have said they will not apply for permits.

Leung Kwok-hung isn't applying for a permit anytime soon

"I also found it very strange that Chow was informed before the local government. It seems Beijing has downgraded the local government," Leung Yiu-chung said.

When asked if he knew about the announcement from Beijing, Leung Chun-ying declined to confirm, only saying he had been "working hard to advocate that the central government promptly allow our pan-democrat friends [to visit the mainland]".

Hmmm... since when were the pan-democrats his "friends"?

Even Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Hong Kong's sole representative on the National People's Congress Standing Committee didn't know about the latest development. She saw it as a gesture to the pan-democrats that "if you are not [advocating independence] there is no reason why there should be no communication [between us]".

Very interesting development, but also good on the pan-democrats for sticking to their guns. Democracy is worth much more than a travel permit to the mainland...

Two Years On from Occupy

A large yellow reminder of two years ago for the fight for universal suffrage

Today marks the second anniversary of the Occupy protests that spontaneously broke out at Admiralty, when people were trying to get the activists released who were surrounded by police in Civic Square.

The milestone was marked by a six-metre long yellow banner "I want true universal suffrage" placed on Devil's Peak in Lei Yue Mun by the League of Social Democrats, that was taken down about 90 minutes later.

People gathered at Admiralty tonight to mark the anniversary

And then in the evening at 5.58pm people gathered at Tim Mei Avenue in Admiralty and observed three minutes of silence, the time when the police began spraying tear gas into the crowd.

I was there that afternoon, and told YTSL to come with me. She had just gotten off the plane from Japan and didn't understand what all the fuss was about.

But after we got a snack and I checked my Twitter feed to find out tear gas had been unleashed and we rushed back to see what was going on. We saw a surreal sight of people occupying the Connaught Road overpass and Queensway and refusing to leave. And there were people getting giant barrels of water ready in case the police would fire more tear gas.

We knew the roads would be blocked for a while at least and I remember getting to my great aunt's place in Tokwawan via the Star Ferry and then a bus.

Two years ago this was the initial surreal scene in Admiralty

On the news later that night we saw that Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay had also been occupied. It was simultaneously shocking and thrilling to hear that ordinary people had taken control of the area -- when was the last time something like this had happened?

They were brave but also determined to stand their ground which made me so proud of them. They were tired of being pushed around by Beijing and the Hong Kong government wasn't representing their interests.

The last straw was the white paper released in August that reiterated there would be no direct elections of the chief executive in 2017. So when would we ever get universal suffrage that was promised to us? They had to stand up for themselves and they did -- for 79 days.

I miss being able to walk along Connaught Road Central and there was such a community spirit there, people were very friendly and eco-conscious, everyone had the same mindset. It was a calm, but also passionate place, especially when there were gatherings to hear speeches.

Eventually evenings would look like this, crowded but friendly

The sad thing is that Occupy will probably never happen again.

But it has spawned a new generation of politically active kids, a few of them even elected into the Legislative Council! Who would have thought that would be possible! Pretty amazing.

So there is hope, but how do we proceed from here? What is the legacy of Occupy and what does it mean to us?

Thanks for the memories that are still vivid two years later. We will never forget that day.

Colourful Start to Zhang's Visit

Zhang Dejiang all smiles as well as Leung Chun-ying at the airport

The big moment came just before noon today -- the highly-anticipated arrival of Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress and head of the party's leading group on Hong Kong and Macau affairs.

Police have been on high alert for anything suspicious, and even camped out on top of Lion Rock to prevent protesters from displaying banners from there.

Yellow banner on Beacon Hill demanding universal suffrage

However, the authorities were unable to stop those from the League of Social Democrats from unfurling a large yellow banner on Beacon Hill, in Lion Rock Country Park that read, "I want genuine universal suffrage", echoing the Umbrella Movement of 2014.

The police were ordered to take down the banner as soon as possible.

This shows the authorities don't have enough intelligence on activists who are planning these attention-getting incidents. How difficult can it be? They are not spies...

The LSD also hung another banner on a highway overpass along North Lantau Highway near the airport that read: "End Chinese Communist Party dictatorship".

Another calls for the end of the Communist Party dictatorship

Wonder if Zhang got to see that on his way into town...

Security is so tight around Wan Chai that it's best to avoid that area in the next few days -- ie take the MTR to bypass it.

Protests are going to be very passionate because Zhang was the top legislator in charge of the NPC's decision on Hong Kong's political reform two years ago. That was when it was decided Hong Kong voters could only choose between two to three candidates running for chief executive who had been vetted by a 1,200-strong Beijing loyalist committee.

And we all know that led to the 79-day Umbrella protests around Hong Kong...

Around 6pm this evening on Garden Road, several people holding yellow umbrellas were escorted by police. They had walked up from the HSBC headquarters to get to the former Central Government Offices. Some minor scuffles broke out, but in general the protest was peaceful.

Barriers make it near impossible to try to get near Zhang

A more sombre protest was held at Tamar, joined by half a dozen Neo Democrats, lawmaker Gary Fan Kwok-wai placed 100 paper graves in Tamar Park to remember those who died from SARS in 2003.

The group accuses Zhang, who was governor of Guangdong at the time, of deliberately withholding information about the SARS outbreak, thus not giving Hong Kong enough time to prepare and prevent the severe acute respiratory syndrome from spreading; 299 lives were lost.

We don't know if Zhang managed to see all these protests, as he claims his visit here is to "see, listen, speak". He will probably be doing a lot of the last one, and not many of the first two...

In the meantime, we look forward to seeing the cat-and-mouse game between the police and protesters continue...

Pictures of the Day: Politics at the Fair

A parody on police banners used during the protests

Tonight after a big hotpot dinner, YTSL and I decided to walk it off by going to Victoria Park again.

Victoria Park was packed with people tonight

She'd seen some people posting pictures of new things she didn't see the first time around on Saturday afternoon and wanted to check them out in person. I had missed a few things myself so we headed over there.

However, after we got out of the MTR station at Causeway Bay, the sidewalks were packed with people and it took us a while to get to Victoria Park. And once we entered the first lane on the far left, we were stuck in there inching along.

It was mostly the political parties that caught our eye. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions unfurled a red banner similar to those the Hong Kong Police did during the protests that read: "Keep Charging or No Discount", while the Civic Party had a picture of Lion Rock and the words "I want true universal suffrage" above.

Xi Jinping holding a yellow umbrella...

Below on the ground was a cardboard cutout of an orange garbage can where people could pose for pictures to be like Lau Kong-wah, the undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs who was lampooned for being silent during the debate between the student protest leaders and government officials.

They also had a cardboard cutout of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was mechanically holding up his right hand with a yellow umbrella and around his neck wearing D7689, in a satirical reference to Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

At the booth for the League of Social Democrats, Leung Kwok-hung who doesn't have long hair anymore, was selling all kinds of protest items like T-shirts, and above him was a caricature of CY being put into what looked like a spittoon by a yellow umbrella.

Leung Chun-ying told to step down (into a spittoon!)

A lot of people took pictures or had a good laugh looking at the caricatures, but did many people buy anything related to the Umbrella Movement? We only saw some people buy some yellow umbrella stickers, but other than that, it sadly seems the momentum of that moment in time has evaporated -- or is it because they feel none of these political parties represent them?