Mourning Loss of a Beijing Bookstore

The Bookworm was a wonderful place to learn more about China in English

Today came sad news from Beijing -- The Bookworm is closing next Monday, November 11. For many expats in the Chinese capital go there to not only find books, but also meet people, have a drink, have lunch, hang out, and write their memoirs (I know at least one journalist did!).

For me it was a great place to listen to all kinds of speakers talk about China, and they were all pretty frank about the politics, the economy, social and environmental issues. But they were also very excited about what they were discovering.

Paleontologist Xu Xing talked about his field work

I remember paleontologist Xu Xing talking about discovering dinosaurs in Liaoning province and how there are so many dinosaurs yet to be unearthed and what they can tell us about prehistoric life in what is geographically China now.

One year I interviewed Howard Goldblatt, who through his winding career that started off in the US Army led to him studying Chinese in Taiwan and had a knack for learning the language so much so that he became a translator.

And listening to him talk about what it's like to translate a novel, and in particular Chinese -- you have to really understand what the author meant to say in the passage to be able to convey that in a similar writing style but in English.

He translated Wolf Totem, a semi-autobiographical novel by Jiang Rong, that talks about young people being sent down to remote Inner Mongolia and learning the ways of the nomadic people there and how wolves are critical to the ecosystem.

Academic Howard Goldblatt on the intricacies of translation

The Bookworm held the Literary Festival every year and there were always interesting authors coming through, or people who live in Beijing but I didn't know about. I always tried to catch as many of these as I could to get different perspectives on things.

Sadly the bookstore and unofficial community centre is closing down because it is an "illegal structure".

General manager David Cantaloupo explained The Bookworm was originally started on Sanlitun Beilu in 2002 and then moved to Courtyard 4 in Sanlitun, diagonally opposite Sanlitun Village.

"[When] they started to privatize state-run enterprises 20 years ago, regulations were looser then," he says. "[The bookshop was built] on a pump room. It doesn't have an address. It's [built on] a structure that was never [transformed] into things that they can rent out. [It is an illegal structure]. We've been paying rent here for a long time.

Many authors came to the Literary Festival every year

"[The government] are trying to clean up Beijing. City planners are trying to get things in order. Whether there's anything else behind it, it is unclear to us," Cantalupo said.

In a statement that was disseminated this afternoon, the bookstore thanked everyone for their support and hoped to keep The Bookworm going.

"While we attempt to reorganize and find a new location, we wish to say what an honor and a pleasure it has been to have played a small part in fostering cultural exchange, promoting literature and an appreciation of the arts during an incredibly exciting era in Beijing, and indeed for China as a whole."

I hope the owners do find a new location and keep The Bookworm going. It's doing a massive public service to bridge the gap between East and West, creating greater understanding of China, and at the same time making us expats feel like we're not alone in Beijing.

Gov't Seeks to Stop Democratically Elected Lawmakers

Sixtus Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching are in court this evening

BREAKING -- Just before midnight Tuesday, the court rejected the injunction application to stop Youngspiration's Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hung from retaking their oaths, but the judicial review of Legco President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen's decision to allow the pair to retake their oaths has been allowed.

Right now a High Court judge is deciding whether to stop two lawmakers from taking their oaths again tomorrow after the Hong Kong government filed a last-minute court order.

The action was filed against Youngspiration's Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang as defendants and interestingly controversially newly minted Legislative Council President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen was named co-defendant.

The young lawmakers arrived at court at 8.30pm and slammed the government for not giving them enough time to get proper legal advice.

Andrew Leung is also named as a co-defendant in the case

"They have not even supplied us with the documents [before the hearing]... This goes to show the government is willing to strip us of our qualifications at any cost," said Yau.

Sixtus Leung said they would do their best to defend themselves as well as the city's dignity and interest.

Meanwhile Legco president Leung instructed his lawyer to object to the government's application for a judicial review of his decision to allow Yau and Leung to re-take their oaths on Wednesday.

This is the first time the government has sought to invalidate the status of democratically elected lawmakers.

What is going on?

Yau and Sixtus Leung had already announced they would not create anymore antics and retake the oath properly after getting a landslide of criticism for saying "the People's Republic of Chee-na" instead of "China", and Leung claiming the pronunciation was due to his "Ap Lei Chau" accent.

The court decides if the lawmakers should retake the oath

While there are questions of Andrew Leung's exact citizenship situation, what has he done wrong? Where does it say that lawmakers are not allowed to retake their oaths? Is the government claiming the pro-Beijing president is not doing his job?

Our political system is showing cracks with things that could have been resolved through discussion and compromise, now are being resolved through the courts.

Judges should not have to decide on every single matter.

How can the government decide to invalidate the votes of Hong Kong people who voted for Yau and Sixtus Leung?

This will only further galvanize the already fractious situation, creating more tension in the city and its residents wonder if anything will ever get done politically.

Can we all please move on? We've only just started this new session of the legislature and already it's a mess.

Olympic Pride of Crisis Management?

 Wu Minxia may show off her gold medal and diving skills in Hong Kong

After every Olympics, the Chinese gold medallists get to visit Hong Kong to boost the national pride, but this time they will come a week before the upcoming Legislative Council elections.

There are concerns the athletes competing in Rio could face backlash due to rising "pro-independence sentiment".

Swimmer Sun Yang will probably come too

Typically the gold medallists give sports demonstrations and meet fans during their three-day stay. Athletes that will likely come are Zhang Mengxue, winner of the women's 10-metre air pistol event; (controversial) swimming star Sun Yang, and Wu Minxia, the five-time diving gold medallist.

Hong Kong chef de mission Kenneth Fok Kai-kong said he would try to invite bronze medallist and social media sensation Fu Yuanhui to come, after the swimmer's post race interviews made her endearing all over the world. She expressed complete delight at finding out from a reporter that she had won bronze, and made funny faces on the podium.

However, Fok says it is up to the Chinese national team who will come to Hong Kong August 26-28.

While he is not worried about backlash during the athletes' visit, Fok was concerned about the event being politicized and that it's about the medallists and sports.

There are hopes to get bronze medallist Fu Yuanhui to come

However, political analyst Dr Chung Kim-wah of Polytechnic University warned the upcoming visit could backfire in the wake of the rise of pro-independence sentiment in Hong Kong.

"The visit, like those in the past, is supposed to promote social harmony and drum up social support for Beijing and the Hong Kong government. But the government should be prepared for some embarrassing moments when the medallists are confronted with anti-China protests," Chung said.

This Friday night could be the start with localists planning to broadcast a badminton match between Hong Kong and China on the street.

Don't say you weren't warned...

Party Calls for HK's Independence

Chan Ho-tin announces the establishment of the Hong Kong National Party

Hong Kong may have another political party, though there are questions if it can legally exist.

In a one-man press conference in Tuen Mun on Sunday, former Occupy activist Chan Ho-tin announced the formation of the Hong Kong National Party.

He said the group would not recognize the Basic Law, the city's mini constitution, and that it would use "whatever means" available to push for independence, including fielding candidates in the Legislative Council elections in September and coordinate with other pro-independence localist groups.

"Staging marches or shouting slogans is obviously useless now. Regarding using violence, we would support it if it is effective to make us heard," he said. Chan claimed the party was entirely funded by donations from its 50-plus members, mostly university students and young activists.

However, the Department of Justice weighed in on the Hong Kong National Party, citing the Basic Law and that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China.

Ho says wanting Hong Kong to be independent is not illegal

"Any suggestion that Hong Kong should be independent or any movement to advocate such independence would not be consistent with the legal status of Hong Kong... or the Basic Law. Nor would such suggestion or movement be conducive to the overall interests of [Hong Kong]."

But barrister and former lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah said talking about independence without taking any action was protected by freedom of speech.

Democratic Party lawmaker and solicitor Albert Ho Chun-yan added that merely advocating for independence was not a criminal offense.

"Seditious intention has to include a tendency to incite violence or an intention to create public disorder," Ho said.

Chan has said that he is not afraid of the consequences, but also said calling for independence was not illegal. "It is not that we advocate independence, it is Hong Kong people who want to break from China."

It's very curious that yet another political party as formed, and if it is made official, it will further splinter the vote in September. What is the point of that? While it is understandable the party could appeal to a group of people, most know the wish for Hong Kong to be independent is just that -- a wish.

The Occupy protests in 2014 failed to get democracy in HK

Legally Hong Kong is a part of China -- there is not much more ordinary people can do about this. It is how we work around these parameters is what matters.

Despite the failure of the Occupy Movement in 2014, they are still looking for other avenues to raise their voices which is admirable. Many of us are jaded and don't think there is much more we can do.

However these young people are very idealistic without taking into account the reality of the situation. No one has a perfect answer, but calling for outright independence is not the solution.

In the meantime we will have to see if the Hong Kong National Party does get formal approval to register, and if so, how many votes can it realistically get? That's how to make their voices heard, not by being radical to the point of possibly being illegal...

Joshua Wong's Political Evolution

Joshua Wong announced the suspension of Scholarism on Sunday

Joshua Wong Chi-fung has suspended Scholarism for now to form a new political party next month ahead of the Legislative Council elections in September.

The yet to be named party will have at least two candidates run for the elections, and it also plans to hold a referendum in 10 years' time for Hong Kong people to decide their own future beyond 2047, when the "one country, two systems" formula expires.

The new group will have candidates in the Legco elections

Wong explained the group he formed five years ago had become too politicized following the 79-day Occupy movement, making it hard for them to reach students in schools.

"I managed to conduct seminars in some 30 schools after I finished the public exams, but after the umbrella movement, I was invited by only one or two schools, with one being beseiged by pro-Beijing protesters, the other cancelled the session after the incident," he said.

He said it was a tough decision to break up Scholarism, but it was a way to reposition the group with a new student body to be formed in six months, focusing on student issues and civic education, while the party concentrated more on elections and greater democracy.

Scholarism was formed in 2012, forcing the government to shelve its national education curriculum. The group then later focused on political reform.

Wong set up Scholarism to protest against national education

While it sounds like a smart move to set up a new group, whatever Wong does will have some kind of political slant to it, which still perpetuates his divisive image of appealing to the youth, and repelling elders.

In the meantime, watching Wong come of age in the political arena is fascinating, as before then, no one had ever seen anyone in Hong Kong so young passionate about local issues and be able to mobilize so many people through social media.

That is power that cannot be laughed at.

Is CY Leung Extending an Olive Branch?

Leung Chun-ying with his wife Regina on election day last Sunday

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying struck a conciliatory tone by inviting those newly-elected young democrats to join advisory bodies that help shape government policies.

He said the government was willing to listen "regardless of political stance", as long as these people were in the business of serving the public.

Some welcomed the announcement, while others were skeptical. After all Leung is known as "the wolf"...

Clarisse Yeung, who won the Tai Hang consitituency

Was Leung sincere in wanting to address the problem of disenchantment among young people which led to the Occupy protests last year?

"I am glad that many young people ran in the election. Whether they won or not, my colleagues will contact them to know about their interest in serving the community," he said.

"Some advisory bodies and organizations would have vacancies from time to time. If they're interested, I'll invite them to join these bodies and represent the new generation... The government is willing to listen to them regardless of their political stance."

About 50 candidates who were inspired by the Umbrella Movement stood in this past weekend's district council elections. In total they received more than 70,000 votes, while 16 NeoDemocrats got more than 42,000 votes. NeoDemocrats are active in localism, for example protesting against parallel trading.

Francis Yam Kai-bong of the NeoDemocrats in Tai Po

Chinese University political scientist Ma Ngok is skeptical about Leung's sincerity.

"The district council poll showed that the people are very unhappy about the status quo and the lack of change in the political landscape... but based on CY's way of appointment in the past, I am not sure whether he will give a fair chance to people with different political backgrounds."

How genuine is Leung? We're tired of words and want some real action.

Hong Kong people have spoken. It's time to serve their interests!

Pathetic Appreciation of Hong Kong

The campaign sounds like the government is giving itself a pat on the back

Yay! It's time to "Appreciate Hong Kong"!

The Hong Kong government has decided to spend our taxpayer dollars to try to rebuild relationships with the public after the 79-day Occupy protests last year.

The "Appreciate Hong Kong" campaign is also backed by the business sector and others to basically allow low-income families to go to amusement parks and visit museums free of charge, or attend new events or enjoy discounts.

The promotion officially starts December 1 and runs until the end of April. This is the third city-wide campaign the Leung Chun-ying administration has organized since 2013, following "Hong Kong: My Home", and "Bless Hong Kong".

"The political reform I worked on for the past 20 months has triggered huge disputes in society," said Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. "Many people think society has seemingly been radicalized and divided, with some worried that Hong Kong will stagnate."

Free tickets for the poor! Come and get them!

Rather than be pessimistic, she said Hong Kong people should take the opportunity to appreciate and "do something for" the city.

Some of the initiatives: 10,000 free tickets to Ocean Park for low-income families; Hong Kong Disneyland Resort donates 13,000 tickets for students with special needs to visit the park; all public museums are free to the public in January; and the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association will organize a marathon carnival three times in January.

As expected, lawmakers were not impressed by the campaign. 

"The deep-rooted conflicts in Hong Kong cannot be resolved simply by offering free visits to Ocean Park and asking conglomerates to donate millions," said Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok.

He said the government should do more substantial things like offer more job opportunities for young people, reform the political system and uphold the rule of law.

Chinese University political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung agreed the campaign would not do much, but hinted the government was under pressure from Beijing to ease tensions.

Other families can visit Disneyland on Lantau Island...

With the district council elections coming up this weekend, DAB lawmaker Ip Kwok-him denied the campaign was meant to give a boost to pro-Beijing candidates.

The campaign "Appreciate Hong Kong" sounds like an ill-conceived idea that was executed in a rush and the result is pathetic.

So 10,000 families get to visit Ocean Park, but that's not going to help them put food on the table in the long run. And giving them what are promoted as discounts for products sounds like a chance for companies to get rid of their stock and still make a profit.

This just demonstrates yet again how the Hong Kong government is in denial about the real cause of last year's protests -- that it affected a whole range of people, not just low-income families.

Young people are concerned about the yawning wealth gap and not being able to afford a flat, not enough job opportunities, and the mainland encroaching on Hong Kong and its unique culture and language.

And the poor -- how about building low-income housing, or regulating these subdivided flats, or forcing developers who build luxury housing to build low-income ones as well?

How difficult is that to figure out?

And yet our taxpayer dollars are being spent on these frivolous activities that are token gestures that are borderline condescending.

The government really doesn't understand what's going on in the city, or it is denial about actually tackling the real issues that affect us.

First Historic Step

Ma Ying-jeou and Xi Jinping give each other firm handshakes today

The highly anticipated meeting in Singapore between Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping has come and gone.

What came out of it? The media scrutinized every single aspect of the event, from the 80-second handshake between the two leaders and that at the dinner table, their name cards were written in simplified Chinese for Xi, traditional for Ma.

How diplomatic.

The actual meeting lasted about an hour, though they had dinner for about another hour after two separate press conferences.

It was also noted that during the photo call just before the meeting, Ma's speech was censored by the mainland's CCTV. Was it when he said, "Both sides should respect each other's values and way of life"?

The two leaders talked in a closed door session, touching on issues such as Xi's "One Belt, One Road" campaign, threats to cross-straits relations (for China it's Taiwan's independence streak, and for Taiwan it's China's missiles aimed at the island), and the possibility of setting up a cross-strait hotline to clear up misunderstandings economic integration.

How much can you discuss in an hour anyway?

It was a good start, though we're guessing not too much was accomplished because both sides still have their fundamental differences.

Still, makes great fodder for political pundits who are curious to see how this meeting unfolded.

It's doubtful this event will help Ma politically, because for the most part, people in Taiwan don't want to be closer to the mainland. Taiwanese people want to retain their independence, their ability to vote, and their way of life.

They are already disturbed by how mainlanders behave when visiting the island state and the thought of further economic integration worries them.

For Xi, this was an excellent political opportunity to reach out to the "renegade province" and quietly reel it closer to the mainland.

At least that's the plan...

Not Transparent on Advert Spending

How much money did the government spend on this?

The political reform package on how the next chief executive would be chosen in 2017 flopped badly last month, and at the time I wondered how much the government spent on all the TV, radio, print advertising, billboards and even renting open-top double-decker buses to promote the chance for some 5 million Hong Kong residents to vote, though the candidates would be vetted by 1,200 committee members who are pro-Beijing.

And of course the media did ask, and ask... and ask how much taxpayer money was used, but the government has stonewalled.

Carrie Lam in one of many television adverts on the package

Should we be surprised?

Its main reason is that the question will go under a judicial review launched by retired photojournalist Cheung Tak-wing, and so nothing can be revealed at this time.

However, lawmakers on both sides disagree, saying this information is factual, and that it is in the public's interest to know.

Pro-Beijing legislative councillor Paul Tse Wai-chun says, "The centre of discussion in court will be whether the adverts can stand legally, not what the government has done... Facts are facts." He hinted perhaps politics was behind the government not being forthcoming with information.

Cheung's argument is that the adverts are political in nature and not "announcements in the public interest" or APIs. He launched the judicial review back on May 8, hoping to stop the government from further broadcasting the ads, but while the campaign has come and gone, his review will be coming up soon.

Buses were also rented to promote the package around town

When one media outlet asked the government last month how much it had spent on publicity work overall, it declined to comment, "as the court case relating to the API on political reform is still going on".

The government also declined to reveal just part of the expenses, excluding resources spent on API, and did not give an explanation of how such information would affect the court case.

Eric Cheung Tat-ming, a principal law lecturer at the University of Hong Kong said the amount spent was factual information and would not affect the court case at all, while Sham Yee-lan, chairwoman of the Journalists Association said the government's attitude showed the need for an information act to ensure the public's right to know.

Last year the government had said it would set aside at least HK$7.3 million to promote public consultation on reform, but lawmakers said it was too much money.

Tsk tsk. The Hong Kong government was desperately hoping no one would ask how much was spent, but we have a right to know. And to stonewall makes the situation even worse.

Is there a seasoned communications expert in the Leung administration? Either the person there doesn't know what he or she is doing, or has lost out in the political fight in the inner sanctum.

Either way the optics are bad.

Losers on Both Sides

The pro-establishment parties are still facing the heat after bungling the vote

The fallout from last Thursday's vote in the Legislative Council on the political reform package that saw it voted down 28-8 continues with the pro-Beijing side bickering amongst themselves today.

The new excuse is that there was not one leader to ensure everyone was in line, when really what happened was that the pro-establishment legislators had a herd mentality and followed their colleagues as they filed out minutes before the crucial vote.

It also shows how diverse the pro-Beijing types are and that they cannot be united under one leader... it would only emphasize how monolithic that side is.

Meanwhile on the pan-democrat side, Ronny Tong Ka-wah resigned today as legislator hours after he told the Civic Party he was leaving the party after he co-founded it nine years ago.

He was tearful at a press conference announcing his departure. "I would like to take this opportunity to say sorry to the people who have supported me. I have barely achieved anything though I have made my greatest efforts in the legislature in the past 11 years," he said.

Ronny Tong got emotional at his press conference today

Tong is considered a moderate pan-democrat. In the past year, especially during the Occupy protests, the political climate became markedly divisive -- you were either pro-Beijing (blue ribbon) or pro-democracy (yellow ribbon).

He didn't agree with what the protesters did for 79 days, saying occupying the streets would not amount to anything. He also felt the pan-democrats were not trying to help the situation by only refusing whatever proposal Beijing put in front of them.

What Tong suggested was that the pan-democrats should make a counter proposal to Beijing, to reach out and initiate some dialogue with China. But some pan-democrats dismissed him as being pro-establishment which made him feel slighted by not only them but also his own party.

He believes that only through engaging Beijing with dialogue can there be some break in the impasse, or at least create some kind of understanding between the two sides. And he still believes it.

"I hope there is a political party in Hong Kong which represents the views of the middle-of-the-road people. Taking the middle ground approach doesn't mean you give up the fight for democracy or are being subservient to the central government," Tong said.

While his resignation comes into effect October 1, Tong will focus his energies on his own think tank -- how many more do we need in this city? -- that he founded two weeks ago.

Called Path of Democracy, the think tank is made up of academics in politics and economics as well as professionals, and the goal is to improve strained relations with the mainland, and possibly train young people into politics.

Hong Kong needs more people like Tong in the Legislative Council to offer a moderate voice, but he is being drowned out and feels he cannot do much politically. This is a sad state of affairs in the city, as the atmosphere has become so divisive that nothing can be achieved because both sides are so far apart and not willing to compromise or at least find some kind of middle ground that Tong was aiming for.

Now with him resigning from Legco, who will speak up for those moderates?

Taking a Free Ride

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce celebrates its birthday

Today marks the 154th anniversary of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. And to celebrate every May 29, it sponsors all rides on trams and the Star Ferry.

They expect some 300,000 people to take advantage of it and I managed to do that.

Many riders had no idea today was "HKGCC Free Ride Day" and were shocked to see the fare collection box and Octopus card reader both covered with cloth bags.

Free rides on trams and Star Ferries today

"We don't have to pay today?" they asked incredulously as they got off the tram. Obviously the HKGCC isn't doing enough promotion of this free ride day, even though a few trams have the chamber's Lego-like design plastered on the outside of the trams, and was covered in the media today.

Chamber chairman YK Pang gave a statement at a press conference this morning:

"For the past 154 years, the Chamber has gone through various ups and downs with members and the community, and we have all worked hard to build a prosperous future for Hong Kong," he said. "Our birthday wish this year is for all business sectors to thrive and for everyone to have a happy and prosperous year."

Then he added a subtle political hint.

"We also hope that society can come together to make sure constitutional development moves ahead."

Should the chamber be making such comments?

Or should we just ignore it and appreciate the free (non air conditioned) ride, even though it was bloody hot today at 33 degrees?