Challenging Year of the Rat Ahead

Medical staff in Wuhan in protective gear... that they are running out of

Again the Hong Kong government is being caught flat footed in dealing with the Wuhan coronavirus that is baffling health experts because many of the first few people who died did not have elevated temperatures.

While many cities in China have gone into lock down in a bid to slow the spread of the virulent virus, Shanghai Disneyland is closed, cinemas shut, and temple fairs have been cancelled. Even Macau has made some prudent decisions, including the possibility of shutting down casinos, and keeping schools shut an extra two weeks.

Carrie Lam seems more interested in wooing elites in Davos

This would have been an excellent opportunity for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to show some leadership, but instead she's been busy in Davos, Switzerland, serving dim sum to world political and business leaders to tell them Hong Kong is open for business.

Local media are questioning whether Lam should be hobnobbing with business and political elites when people back home are panicking because they can't get a hold of any masks, and if they do the price is several times what they are usually sold at.

There are no definitive decisions being made by the government. It is only when the public and media complain are the authorities pressured to do something... or wait. But in a medical crisis like this, time is of the essence.

Hongkongers desperate to buy masks, a repeat of 2003

Did the Hong Kong government not learn anything from when SARS hit Hong Kong in 2003?

Borders need to be shut down, not allowing cars to go on the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhu Hai bridge free of charge for a week, and making everyone traveling into the city write down their contact details, while setting aside more than just holiday campsites for quarantine.

How about shutting down Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park? Lam and her administration seem to have no idea what to do.

The timing of this coronavirus is particularly bad now with Chinese New Year and millions of people in China are traveling around the country.

Shanghai Disneyland is shut... what about Hong Kong's?

Meanwhile it is painful to hear the stories coming out of Wuhan. Medical staff are desperate for fresh supplies of gowns, masks, and eyewear to protect themselves. There's video footage going viral of a medical personnel breaking down in hysterics in the staff room as others try to relax on their break.

There are stories of people in Wuhan trying to get into hospitals because they know they are ill and yet they are not being admitted and forced to go back home because it's already crowded. This is not a good way of managing the crisis either.

Lam will definitely face a barrage of questions from the media when she gets back, and also how will President Xi Jinping quell people's anger and frustration at the spread of this coronavirus?

The latest news is that 40 medical personnel from the People's Liberation Army have been dispatched to Wuhan tonight and more to follow. Hopefully they are bringing in more supplies too.

Wuhan is building a makeshift hospital in six days

But perhaps even more crazier is that Wuhan is trying to build a makeshift hospital in six days to house 1,000 patients. However, this is exactly what was done 17 years ago outside of Beijing for the PLA to treat almost 15 percent of SARS patients in China for two months.

We have now started the Year of the Rat with a coronavirus that has at least 918 cases worldwide and 26 deaths. Not exactly a good start, but we can only hope things can get better?

Univited Help Arrives

PLA soldiers removing bricks from the road in Kowloon Tong today

This afternoon some residents who live around Pok Fu Lam Road and the University of Hong Kong began clearing the road that had been blocked for the past few days. There were some scuffles with protesters, but for the most part the volunteer clean-up crew were left alone.

Another clean-effort was underway around the Baptist University campus, but Hong Kong residents had some help from an unexpected group -- the People's Liberation Army.

A fellow soldier (right) filmed the soldiers cleaning up

From video clips it looks like several dozen soldiers from the PLA came out of their Kowloon Tong barracks around 4pm dressed in khaki T-shirts and black shorts, or in what look like colourful basketball singlets. Armed with bamboo brooms and red buckets, the soldiers started clearing broken bricks that were strewn all over Renfrew Road that the protesters had left behind.

The last time the soldiers came out was after the devastation of super typhoon Manghkut last October, when they helped to remove felled trees from Hong Kong's country parks. Their help wasn't requested that time either and today they just showed up unannounced.

Oh and yes they had a film crew document their good deed of the day.

According to Article 14 in the Basic Law:

The Central People's Government shall be responsible for the defence of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 
 
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be responsible for the maintenance of public order in the Region. 

Last year the PLA helped clean up the country parks

 
Military forces stationed by the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for defence shall not interfere in the local affairs of the Region. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may, when necessary, ask the Central People's Government for assistance from the garrison in the maintenance of public order and in disaster relief. 
 
In addition to abiding by national laws, members of the garrison shall abide by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 
 
Expenditure for the garrison shall be borne by the Central People's Government.

In this case the PLA is cleaning up roads... a spokesman for the garrison said the police force did not ask them to volunteer. "Stopping violence is everyone's duty," a man giving commands to the soldiers said to reporters.

But in the Basic Law, what the PLA were doing was illegal

Later when pressed by the media, the Hong Kong government replied: "The Hong Kong Garrison’s assistance... is purely a voluntary community activity initiated by themselves. The HKSAR Government has not requested the Garrison’s assistance.” 

Which means the PLA voluntary cleaning-up exercise this afternoon was illegal. 





What is this? It's a test, a trial balloon to see what the public's reaction is to the soldiers, not in uniform, but "volunteering" their time and effort in helping Hong Kong get back on its feet. Some people who watched the PLA soldiers clapped in approval, while the pan-democrats are ringing the alarm bells over this.

Security veteran and Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun believed the move by the PLA was not ordered by the chairman of the Central Military Commission.

"This time, it doesn't look like voluntary service," he said, referring to the soldiers' previous participation in tree planting. "It's more like assisting the maintenance of public order."

A lot of obstacles that need to be cleaned up in Hong Kong

He said if the operation was not based on the Garrison Law, then the soldiers should not come out to clear bricks. "It could be dangerous," To added, referring to potential clashes between them and the protesters.

"They may say PLA soldiers have been attacked... then they can use heavy weapons. This is the most worrying thing."

But the protesters did not confront the soldiers... hopefully knowing there was no point in trying to even fight them.

But having the PLA come out unannounced is rather concerning, especially since protesters are fighting to prevent further interference from Beijing...
 

Zhao Ziyang in his Final Resting Place

Zhao Ziyang's and Liang Boqi's family by their grave plot outside Beijing

Back in April 2015, I wrote a blog post that Zhao Ziyang, former premier and general secretary of the People's Republic of China, would finally be laid to rest, as the senior leadership agreed he could be buried together with his wife. But it took another four years to decide where.

In a very low-key ceremony outside Beijing today, his children buried the cremated remains of Zhao, who died in 2005 and his wife, Liang Boqi, who passed away in 2013. It has taken this long for them to be buried because the senior leadership didn't make a decision for years until now, a day after what would have been Zhao's 100th birthday.

Zhao tried to tell the students to leave Tiananmen Square

"We feel relieved that our parents can finally rest in peace," said Zhao's daughter Wang Yannan. "But we also feel regret that it took such a long time and back and forth discussion with the authorities. It still feels surreal that this day has finally come.

"We feel guilty about not being able to inform everybody about today's [burial] in advance," she added. "Please understand we did not have much choice."

The family had been negotiating with the senior leadership about Zhao's final resting place since their mother passed away six years ago, and in all this time the children kept their parents' cremated remains at their old Beijing home.

Originally the government wanted to keep Zhao's remains in a cemetery for officials, but the Zhao family wanted more control and access. So it was a victory for Zhao's family to be able to finally choose where to he and their mother would be buried.

This book features Zhao's memoirs

Zhao will be forever remembered as a liberal reformer who felt as China was opening up with economic reforms, of which he was a leading proponent, political reforms were the next logical step.

When the students occupied Tiananmen Square in 1989 demanding democracy, he tried to warn them on May 19 that year, telling them to leave the square. After that he was stripped of his position, expelled from the Communist Party and was under house arrest for the rest of his life.

On the evening of June 4, he recalled in his memoirs, recorded on cassette tapes that were then smuggled out of his home and published in Hong Kong, that he heard pop-pop sounds and realized it was the PLA soldiers opening fire on the students in Tiananmen Square. He was resigned to the fact he could not do more to save them.

"Zhao is a ghost that haunts the Chinese Communist Party," says Julian Gewirtz, a China historian at Harvard University. "He represents a different path for China's rise -- one profoundly different from Xi Jinping today.

"To some he is a martyr who sought to stop the violent crackdown of 1989, and to others -- in the official line -- he's an enemy who sought to bring down socialism in China," he added.

Imagine what would have happened if the senior leadership had agreed with Zhao and talked to the students to negotiate some kind of compromise. China would be vastly different from what it is today, and even Hong Kong would be in a very different situation it is in now.

Zhao lived under house arrest until his death in 2005

Deng Xiaoping's hard line approach, encouraged by the likes of Li Peng, has shaped the CCP to what it is today. Zhao lost that ideological and political battle and that fallout forever changed China.

Which is why there are still many people, former officials, intellectuals and dissidents, who paid tribute to Zhao on the anniversaries of his birth and death at his old Beijing home. Now they can visit the burial plot, 60km from the capital city.

In a letter published in Ming Pao newspaper on Monday in Hong Kong, Zhao's children wrote that their father's time as premier and Communist Party general secretary in the 1980s was an era of bold change and intellectual ferment that is in striking contrast to China today.

"That truly was an exciting time that caused people's hearts to jump. The whole country was prospering, officialdom and the public, in power and out, worked in tandem," they wrote.

Many people would pay respects to Zhao at his old home

"These days we're confronted with ideological regression and doctrinal shortcomings. There is a spiritual malaise the likes of which hasn't been seen for a century."

In a conversation Zhao had with his friend Zong Fengming, that was later published in 2010, the former general secretary said: "China's failure to transform toward democracy runs against the global tide. Sooner or later we must take that path."

Zhao is probably still waiting, patiently.

Hong Kong Continues to Burn

Tens of thousands out to defy the anti-mask law for a second day in a row

Looks like Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's plan of enacting the anti-mask law had the opposite effect she hoped of de-escalating the violence -- or maybe that's what she wanted all along?

While the protesters are out on the streets this weekend, demonstrating their anger against the anti-mask law that was in place at midnight on October 5, their violent acts are giving the Hong Kong government more ammunition to possibly enforce more emergency laws.

Two creative masks featuring Winnie the Pooh...

There is so much evidence, from MTR stations like Causeway Bay and Mongkok that were trashed, set fire or flooded with water. It looks like tomorrow will be another challenging day for people to get around the city again despite yesterday's complete shutdown.

Meanwhile Chinese businesses were also the target of protesters' ire, banks like ICBC and China Construction Bank, as well as Xiaomi and China Travel Service. And bricks were pulled up from sidewalks, while traffic lights were also smashed.

And a first ever -- People's Liberation soldiers in fatigues were on the rooftop of their barracks in Kowloon Tong and shouted warnings at the protesters who shouted back, "Vindicate June 4!"

Very testy on both sides. 

A RTHK reporter (right) suffered burns on his face

But more seriously, reporters suffered burns from a petrol bomb thrown in Causeway Bay tonight, while another was dragged by riot police and detained. It's not easy to report on what is going on without getting into some kind of trouble.

Meanwhile in Sham Shui Po, a taxi driver drove into a group of protesters, the motivation unclear at this stage. A group of angry protesters dragged him out and beat him while his vehicle was trashed. He was later rescued by firefighters, but no police stepped in. It was sheer lawlessness.

These scenes are completely the opposite of what happened earlier in the afternoon at 2pm, when two peaceful protest marches happened simultaneously, one in Causeway Bay to Central, the other from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mongkok.

Tens of thousands gathered in both Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui, many of them wearing masks to defy the anti-mask law and perhaps it was a good thing that it was raining so the protesters covered their heads with umbrellas.

A taxi driver who was beaten was treated by firefighters

One of the protesters on Hong Kong island surnamed Chan was 61-years-old and said this summer was his first time joining the protests, and that the mask ban made the situation more urgent.

"With the mask ban, the government is testing the waters, if no one reacts to this, then they can use the emergency ordinance to do anything, including interfering with the coming district elections. If the government can do anything, then Hong Kong is finished," he says.

However, the government would beg to differ. Just before 11pm, the government released a statement describing the protesters as "rioters" and accusing them of "lawlessness and violent acts", which include blocking roads, vandalizing public facilities, banks and stores, hurling petrol bombs at police officers and assaulting other citizens.

Mongkok MTR station was completely flooded tonight

The spokesman says the violence over the past few days have plunged Hong Kong into fear and chaos, affecting public services and made citizens reluctant to go out.

That may be true, but many residents still believe the government is to blame for starting this chaotic mess.

The government may be using the law as a weapon, but in reality people still quietly support the protesters even though they don't condone the violence.

So where is the way out, Carrie? You have escalated the violence. Protesters are only reacting to your anti-mask law. How are you going to de-escalate the situation? With more emergency laws?

The stalemate continues.

Leaks on Carrie Lam's Frustrations

A recording reveals Lam's inability to resolve the crisis in Hong Kong

Another explosive report by Reuters reveals a taped recording of one of Chief Executive Carrie Lam's recent meetings with business people where she admits she is between a rock and a hard place.

In a speech in English, Lam says she made a serious mistake in putting forward the extradition bill, but now the crisis has become a national security and sovereignty issue, and so it is beyond her ability to control the situation.

She says, "... the room, the political room for the chief executive who, unfortunately, has to serve two masters by constitution, that is the central people's government and the people of Hong Kong, that political room for maneuvering is very, very, very limited". 

She claims the PLA will not come into Hong Kong

Wait a second -- when has she served the people of Hong Kong? She can also show some integrity and quit even if Beijing does not accept her resignation, but no she is still very much at Government House.

Interestingly she lets the business sector know in a closed-door meeting that while the National Day celebrations are less than a month away, there is "absolutely no plan" to deploy the People's Liberation Army on Hong Kong streets, as Beijing knows this is bad optics.

While we might be able to breathe a sigh of relief on this one -- might is the operative word -- Lam says Beijing is willing to play the long game in quelling the protests, even if it meant a drop in tourism, loses in capital outflows and IPO cancellations.

In other words this probably means even more arrests and prosecutions, not to mention more violent altercations with the police.

She also told her audience of her frustration at not being able "to reduce the pressure on my frontline police officers" or to provide a political solution to "pacify the large number of peaceful protesters who are so angry with the government, with me in particular".

Thousands of students protest at Chinese University campus

Her inability "to offer a political situation in order to relieve the tension," she said, was the source of her "biggest sadness".
 "For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc is unforgivable," Lam said.

In her speech she added how this crisis has impacted her personally. "Nowadays it is extremely difficult for me to go out. I have not been on the streets, not in the shopping malls, can't go to a hair salon. I can't do anything because my whereabouts will be spread around social media."

If she were to appear in public, she said, "you could expect a big crowd of black T-shirts and black-masked young people waiting for me."

Has she even tried? The claim that she can't go to a salon these days doesn't have any sympathy from anyone.

And as if it wasn't obvious by now, Lam is now the least popular of all the chief executives since 1997. Veteran pollster Robert Chung of the Public Opinion Research Institute says her success in pushing through several controversial proposals bolstered her belief in believing she could ram through the extradition bill.

"All these things made her feel so confident, and when we had the first demonstration, she still thought, 'Don't worry, I'll get through in two days and things will be over,'" Chung said. "But she was totally wrong."

Dr Sun Yat-sen prepared for battle!

Lam again reiterated to her audience of business people that the extradition bill was of her doing, and that it was not instructed or coerced by the central government.

She admits it would be naive to paint a rosy picture for the near future, and said the government originally projected arresting 1,000 to 2,000 people.

"Hong Kong is not dead yet. Maybe she is very, very sick, but she is not dead yet," she said.

And who's fault is that?

She will have more to answer to tomorrow in her regular weekly news conference.

Earlier today several university campuses and secondary schools held protests on the first day of school.

It was very thoughtful of the students to prepare the father of the revolution, Dr Sun Yat-sen with a helmet, gas mask and gloves...

The People are Angry

About 5,000 people showed up at the airport to protest this weekend's violence

CARRIE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CITY!

In the past weekend we have seen even more shocking images of violence and repression from your police force -- they are not ours. Our police force would not shoot people in the eye to make them blind, shoot rubber bullets at point blank range, beat people descending on a moving escalator, and crush them on the ground to break their jaw.

Your police force has fired many more rounds of tear gas in the past weekend than the past few months. Is it because you need to use up the expired canisters before buying new ones? Or you just want to cause Hongkongers to have long-term health problems from the effects tear gas because there has been indiscriminate use of it all over the city, particularly in Kwai Fong MTR station, in the shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui and the bar area in Wan Chai this weekend.

WHAT KIND OF MOTHER ARE YOU?

Children are Hong Kong's future, but Carrie doesn't think so

Back on June 12 in an interview with TVB you said: "... if the young people have walked, and acted, and you still don't give them what they want. Then what? The metaphor that I use is that I'm a mother who has two sons. If every time my son tells me he wants something and I acquiesce to his wishes, for a short time our relationship between mother and son will be very good, but once this child is grown, he will have regrets. He will ask, 'Mother, why didn't you remind me then?'"

Is beating up people, shooting tear gas at them, and worst of all, telling them they have no stake in society what a mother does to her children? Or are you disowning your children who you have a responsibility to look after? They are the future of Hong Kong and you have completely disregarded them.

As a friend told me the other day, there's saying: "The hated child fears nothing". You have unleashed tens of thousands of these "hated children" in Hong Kong.

YOUR MESS IS OUT OF CONTROL

Protesters are creative in dealing with each situation

We are all angry at what you did to Hong Kong this weekend. Some 5,000 of us swarmed Hong Kong International Airport this afternoon. The airport authority shut down the airport without warning -- or was it your intention to blame the protesters? Then the police claimed they were coming with tear gas to clear the protesters and then nothing happened. So more protests are expected at the airport tomorrow.

Also today the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office is making more threats.

"In recent days, Hong Kong's radical protesters have repeatedly attacked police with highly dangerous tools, which constitute serious violent crimes and have started to show signs of terrorism," HKMAO spokesman Yang Guang said today.  "This type of violent criminal activity must be resolutely combated according to the law with no hesitation or mercy."

He ominously said the city had come to a "critical moment" and vowed to clamp down on violent crime with an "iron fist".

THERE IS NOT "BLACK HAND" BEHIND THE PROTESTERS

Shooting at point blank range in the MTR is shocking

These young people on the front lines are very smart, agile and creative. They are highly organized and know what they are doing. They use encrypted smartphone apps to communicate and on the streets they are assigned specific tasks.

Some are experts in uprooting sidewalk railings in seconds, others tying them up into barricades, others tasked with defusing tear gas canisters, or are good at throwing them back at police. No one taught them how to do it -- they learned quickly on their own.

How can you underestimate this talented group of people? Imagine if you were able to channel their energy and creativity towards building Hong Kong's economy?!

But instead your police force is the one that is sinister in its tactics, dressing up like protesters and beating them up and arresting them. That is downright dirty. How would God feel about that?

YOU ARE BEING MAINLANDIZED

Lam tells the young to fight together to build a better HK

Carrie where were you yesterday? Oh at closing ceremony of a People's Liberation Army training camp for university students. And how did you address them? In Mandarin!

"My colleagues and I will be more patient to get in touch with youth from different classes to listen to their voices. We hope that we can fight together to build a better Hong Kong," is what you said.

Fight? Really? How about build, or create, establish, assemble, or forge? Fight seems such a combative choice of words.

And yes words do mean a lot, especially when you said the extradition bill was "dead", but it's not "dead" when the bill appeared in the Gazette Index of Bills on Friday... that means the bill is still very much alive.

STAND UP FOR HONG KONG

Many people could not sleep last night. There are reports of people of all ages who cried watching the news last night, shocked and terrified their city had devolved to this mess. We need a leader to bridge the gap, but you are hardly anywhere to be found except hiding in Government House.

You've effectively handed over control of the city to other people representing Beijing, like liaison office director Wang Zhimin and Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy director of the Basic Law Committee under the National People's Congress Standing Committee. It's hardly reassuring.

If you can't lead us, go away. We want a leader who fights for Hong Kong.

AGAIN -- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CITY, CARRIE?

CARRIE?

Beijing Warns Protesters

HKMAO spokesman Yang Guang gave a press conference today

Yesterday Chief Executive Carrie Lam spoke to the media, but basically said the same thing, and today it was Beijing's turn.

The spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office under the State Council held a press conference this afternoon. And guess what? He said the same thing too in a choreographed performance.

Carrie Lam repeated her stance yesterday of not budging

Yang Guang reiterated the central government's support of Lam and the police, and then condemned the protesters as "anti-China" groups who advocate civil disobedience and beautify the use of violence, saying they "fuel the tension within the city".

"What is the next step forward? We are calling on Hong Kong people to take a united stand against the violence," Yang says.

"It is imperative to end the violence. I call on Hong Kong citizens to stand up and protect your beautiful homeland, just like that elderly citizen in the airport and like the hardworking class who strive to go to work everyday."

The HKMAO spokesman is referring to the elderly man who was jostled in the airport after lashing out at a protest sign, and people who vented their anger at protesters who tried to stop MTR trains from running on time yesterday, the day of the general strike.

Testy fights broke out in the MTR during the general strike

So it seems Yang is advocating non protesters pick fights with people in black. How is this productive? How about letting Lam resign and withdraw the bill? That would definitely ease tensions in Hong Kong.

He warns that those who play with fire will pay the price... eventually.  "All parties will be held legally accountable. This is a message to all criminals: do not mistake our restraint as being soft, do not underestimate the central government's determination in maintaining stability."

Yang also says that those who defaced China's national emblem and seized the national flag from a pole and flung it into the sea are posing a serious challenge to Chinese sovereignty, calling them "radical elements". "They will have to face justice in the future," he says.

Then Yang refers to jailed independence leader Edward Leung's slogan, "Reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times" which is the latest battle cry of the protesters. The HKMAO spokesman latches onto this slogan as a sign that the protesters are seeking independence and asks, "What do you want to liberate Hong Kong from?"

The HKMAO held an unprecedented second press conference

However, protesters have said that this slogan can be interpreted many ways, but independence is not one of them. They all understand that Hong Kong is under China, but that the political system is broken and want to be able to directly vote for the city's leader.

Yang repeats what former leader Tung Chee-hwa has said before, that the United States and Taiwan have been orchestrating things behind the scenes, influencing the protesters. This is the most ridiculous accusation, but China hopes with enough repetition that it will be believed. This could not be farther from the truth.

Beijing and Lam seem to have no respect for Hongkongers' intelligence, thinking they are too weak or don't understand what's really going on, when these 7 million people have some of the sharpest minds around.

So many people are against the extradition bill and supporting the protests (the peaceful ones), including many people from various sectors as well as the civil service, which is unheard of.

People strongly opposed national education in 2012

But another HKMAO spokeswoman, Xu Luying insists that the protesters don't have enough patriotism, that they have not any national education.

"Passionately loving our nation should be a fundamental value. When national education is lacking, is it any wonder why our young people are acting like this? I feel that a firm national education should be a priority to put our young people back on the right path.

"Hong Kong's young people are also China's young people. Their future is China's future. The central government cares a lot for the issues they are facing but the problems cannot be resolved with violence," she says.

Young Hongkongers already don't like the idea of having national education rammed down their throats. Joshua Wong Chi-fung led the movement back in 2012 when they besieged government offices for 10 consecutive days.

Protesters working quickly to contain the tear gas with water

This idea will only inspire students to further protest the further mainlandization of their education...

But alas...

Finally on the issue of the possibility of the People's Liberation Army marching into Hong Kong, Yang reiterates Beijing's support of Lam and the police to be able to bring stability back to the city. When pressed again on the issue he says:

"My answers have been laid out before but what I would like to emphasize again is that the central government supports Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. We will not let any acts attacking the principle of 'one country, two systems' go unpunished."

Cryptic...

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?

Carrie Lam, Where Are You?

Hong Kong police fired numerous rounds of tear gas on protesters today

CARRIE LAM -- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CITY!

Hong Kong has turned into a war zone every week. For eight straight weeks people come out to protest peacefully because of what happened the week before and then afterwards clashes erupt between protesters and police.

Tear gas and pepper spray are now a common occurrence, and every week the violence escalates to result in blood letting and injuries. Is this really necessary?

WHY CARRIE, WHY?

Confusion in the Sheung Wan MTR on where people can go

Tonight I had a work assignment in Kowloon but then at 8pm the MTR made an announcement that trains would not be running from Sheung Wan to Kennedy Town. I tried to get a taxi and no one would go to Kennedy Town.

I took the MTR to Sheung Wan. As soon as the doors opened, we could smell the lingering smell of tear gas in the station and I covered my mouth and nose with my cardigan. At the turnstile to get out, there were lots of protesters in helmets advising passengers of which exit was safe to leave out of. Some even offered wet tissues to protect their mouths and nose.

TAXPAYER MONEY IS USED TO FIGHT TAXPAYERS

Walking along Queen's Road West in Sheung Wan there was garbage strewn on the streets but on the whole everyone was orderly. When I got to Sai Ying Pun things got tense. I walked down to Connaught Road West to where the Western Police Station is. It just happened that some officers in helmets and batons came out -- they were making sure the coast was clear for a police vehicle. And a colleague filmed the whole process too. Guess they had to "submit their homework" as the Cantonese slang goes.

Numerous police vehicles at Western Police Station

When I got to Connaught Road West, two police officers in full riot gear asked me where I was going. I said Kennedy Town. "Could you not take pictures here? We're conducting an operation," one said. I put the phone away, but not without snapping this picture after. So many police vehicles out in force to protect their own station when all the action is really in Sheung Wan and Central...

CARRIE MAKES US STRONGER

It took me about 35 minutes to walk home. I was able to burn off some calories from my dinner and get more exercise in, on top of the swim this morning. Ironically these protests have made residents get out more and move their feet. Last week the protest march from Victoria Park to Central was about 7.4km which was completed in 3 hours and 48 minutes. Then a few days later I ran the same distance on the treadmill in 55 minutes. 

But also every week because of what happens, people get so angry that they come out the following week to demonstrate their feelings. These protests have also made the community more cohesive with the policy of "let's go together". Seeing elderly people challenging the police is heartening, especially when they berate the police as being crazy for what they are doing.

PROTESTERS FIGHTING FOR HONG KONG

Protesters use umbrellas to protect themselves from tear gas

Since the government is no where to be seen, the protesters have no choice but to defend Hong Kong themselves -- from the police, who are becoming a lawless force unto themselves. Many don't wear their ID badges, hit or attack people who haven't provoked them, and like tonight, fire a lot of tear gas that should be shot in the air, not at people.

The protesters adapt very quickly and despite being leaderless, as a group they are fast, efficient and everyone works together for the same goal. Young people have nothing to lose in this battle for their home. They deserve security and opportunity and yet the government doesn't even give them hope, even though the next generation are our future.

CARRIE WHERE ARE YOU? STOP THIS INSANITY AT ONCE!

Police in riot gear close down Sai Ying Pun tonight

Only this chaos will end with Carrie Lam, as she is the one who started it. Everyone is breaking ranks with her and her government, and demanding she resolve the issue now. And yet she remains silent and out of sight. Oh wait I should correct that. She was spotted (unannounced) at a PLA barracks for the graduation ceremony of the Military Summer Camp for Hong Kong Youth. She even said: "Young people are the driving force of the development of Hong Kong."

The scenes we see playing out every weekend are absolutely surreal and apocalyptic. What is happening now could not have been imagined for a film plot.

AGAIN -- CARRIE LAM! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CITY!

Will the PLA Bring Order to HK?

Men in white shirts (top) attack Hong Kong residents in Yuen Long station

So much has been happening in the last two days since the attack in Yuen Long that it's hard to keep track of all the news, even on Twitter.

But the big announcement today was the Chinese military weighing in, saying it can be deployed to Hong Kong to maintain social order at the request of the city's government, adding that Sunday's siege of the liaison office in Western district was intolerable.

Wu Qian spoke at a briefing today to introduce China's new defense white paper.

China defense military spokesman Wu Qian spoke today

"We are closely following the developments in Hong Kong, especially the violent attack against the central liaison office by radicals on July 21. Some behaviour of the radical protesters is challenging the authority of the central government and the bottom line of one country, two systems. This is intolerable."

When asked how the defense ministry would handle events in Hong Kong, Wu only said "Article 14 of the Garrison Law has clear stipulations", without elaborating.

Article 14 says that the Hong Kong government can ask the central government for help from the People's Liberation Army's Hong Kong garrison for the maintenance of public order and disaster relief.

If that request is approved, then the garrison would send troops to carry out the task and then immediately return to their station.

So far the Hong Kong government spokesman said today the city was fully capable of dealing with its own affairs and maintaining law and order.

One innocent victim who was beaten severely on Sunday night

Is it? Following the accusations the police didn't do enough to protect citizens from a violent mob, Hongkongers are having second thoughts about their safety and security.

Or is this the scenario the Chinese government is looking for to justify having PLA soldiers in the streets to keep the peace, but really to take over Hong Kong?

The police have arrested 11 people connected to the savage attacks in the Yuen Long MTR station that led to 45 people being injured, but that handful doesn't even compare to witnesses saying about 100 of these hot-blooded white-shirted men who were rampaging through the station.

Some China experts with knowledge of triads say these unsavoury gangs have done dirty deeds for the Chinese government before. On the mainland, they have intimidated or physically attacked people to get them to move off their land for the government to redevelop, or prevent people from submitting petitions to Beijing, or from getting the justice they believe they deserve.

In 2014 in Mongkok, there were men with heavy mainland accents who stirred up a riot that led to a policeman shooting his pistol in the air. And now it's triad members apparently from Yuen long and Tuen Mun who attacked people with metal and wooden sticks.

So far 11 people have been arrested in the Yuen Long attacks

A middle school student from Yuen Long said yesterday, sobbing that he couldn't fathom that Hong Kong people would be beating Hong Kong people. And after witnessing what happened on Sunday, he can't erase it from his mind and now is terrified for his safety.

China experts say the government tacitly allowing triads to do their dirty work for them shows the authorities have lost their ability to govern and are desperate for the protests to end. But will it?

Every time something happens, people come out to support Hong Kong. Like on June 9, 1 million people came out to protest against the extradition bill, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam didn't withdraw, 2 million people came out the following weekend.

After July 1, Lam said the bill was "dead", but in legislative terms, there is no such thing as a bill being "dead" -- it has to be withdrawn.

The Chinese emblem was covered in black paint on Sunday

It's interesting Wu is more fixated on the graffiti and eggs pelted at the liaison office than the almost four dozen people who were physically injured in shockingly violent attacks in Yuen Long. They see it as a massive affront to China without truly understanding the root causes of the protests and the attacks on government buildings.

Twenty-two years later the Chinese still don't get it. And having the PLA on the streets of Hong Kong won't make it better.