Hong Kong's Budget Hopes to Jumpstart Economy

Paul Chan delivered his budget today with a green tie

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivered a sobering budget today with only a few sweeteners in a bid to jump start Hong Kong's economy after a year of recession because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The city fell into a record deficit of HK$257.6 billion (US$33.14 billion), and Chan warned Hong Kong would continue to have deficits in the following years. Nevertheless he forecasts 5.5 percent economic growth in the coming year.

Permanent residents get HK$5K in vouchers

There are a few main highlights from the budget:

While last year the government handed out HK$10,000 to each Hong Kong permanent resident and low income non-permanent residents, this year Chan said only HK$5,000 that would be given out to every adult permanent resident and new immigrant from China -- but in the form of electronic vouchers, and incrementally, to be used by a certain date each time. There were no further details on how that would work and what that could be spent on, but some speculate it will be for food, which makes supermarkets, or rather the conglomerates that own them -- even richer.

For those who have been unemployed, with proof of paperwork, they can take a one-off low interest loan of up to HK$80,000 and borrowers would only have to repay the interest in the first year, and the balance within a maximum of four years. Those who pay back the loan on schedule will be reimbursed the interest.

As the unemployment rate is now at a 17-year high at 7 percent, Chan has earmarked HK$6.6 billion to create 30,000 jobs for the next 12 months. 

The government will create 30,000 new jobs

Seeing as Hongkongers are stuck in the city because of the pandemic and many have turned to hiking, the financial secretary has pledged HK$500 million to spruce up country parks, installing new washrooms, barbecue pits and picnic sites, including HK$55 million improve 10 hiking trails with the potential of promoting for tourism.

Speaking of tourism, Chan has allocated HK$934 million into that sector, perhaps in a bid to get the city ready when the pandemic calms down and people can start traveling again. The Hong Kong Tourism Board is probably salivating over that money it gets to play with.

Those playing the stock market were shocked to hear the government will raise the stamp duty to 0.13 percent from 0.10 percent on stock trading, the first hike since 1993 that could help the public coffers grow to HK$92 billion.

The response was immediate on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with the Hang Seng Index plunged as far as 9.3 percent before finishing the day down 3 percent to 29,718.24. Investors didn't see that announcement coming and many feel this hike on the stamp duty is bad for the financial sector. 

Money will be used to upgrade hiking trails

But perhaps the most eyebrow-raising news that Chan did not announce in his speech is that a whopping HK$8 billion will be spent "to safeguard national security".

In a press conference with the media following his budget speech, Chan said he did not include this figure because it has already been accounted for, and that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had already approved the amount.

Also suspicious was that Chan did not explain where the money came from and how it would be spent. 

In a separate budget document, it says the HK$8 billion is a "non-recurrent appropriation to a special fund to meet the expenditure for safeguarding national security". During the press conference, Chan only said that the money would be used over the coming several years and did not clarify how the money would be spent and on what.

One reporter on Twitter has pointed out this amount is almost three times the budget in 2018-2019 on "internal security", just before the anti-extradition bill protests erupted. 

A whopping HK$8 billion on national security

There is also HK$3.5 billion that will be spent on prison management, up from HK$3 billion last year, while "constitutional and mainland affairs" will receive a budget of HK$200 million, twice as much as it got five years ago.

Jeremy Tam Man-ho, former lawmaker and vice-chairman of the opposition Civic Party, said the funding allocation for national security was equal to "dumping money into a dark hole", and called on the government to explain. 

"It is a large amount of money," he said. "But there is no transparency at all. The people have no idea how the money is to be used. I think the government owes Hong Kong people an explanation."

Indeed. 

A Disappearance on the Bridge

A Hongkonger disappeared Friday while at a checkpoint on the bridge

Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Macau on Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover of the the city from Portugal back to China. And as with all state visits, security has been stepped up. Way up.

Friday marks the 20th anniversary of Macau's handover

So much so that a middle-aged Hong Kong man has been reported to have disappeared when he was traveling by coach on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge when he was stopped at a security check point manned by mainland officials on Friday afternoon.

The checkpoint is on an artificial island on the bridge, which is the world's longest sea crossing.

The man's son received a text message from him saying he had been arrested at a new checkpoint set up by the Zhuhai Public Security Bureau. His family lost contact with him after he sent this message.

His son went to Macau to look for his father, but was told by local police there was no record of him entering the city. As a result the son returned to Hong Kong and reported his father's disappearance to the police.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Macau this week

The Hong Kong Immigration Department has confirmed it had been contacted by the family and is offering support.

"The Immigration Department is following up the case through the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong," a spokeswoman said. "We're also offering advice and assistance in line with the family's wishes."

The Zhuhai public security bureau revealed the temporary new security arrangements earlier this month to "maintain the order of the bridge and create a good social environment" for the 20th anniversary celebrations.

"From December 10-22, 2019, the public security bureau will set up a security checkpoint at the eastern artificial island to undertake security checks on people and vehicles from Hong Kong to Macau and Zhuhai via the bridge," the notice said.

The Immigration Department is following the case closely

Needless to say this yet another reason for Hongkongers to not take the bridge.

We hope this man will be returned to his family soon... another disappearance is another reason why people are protesting against China's encroachment onto Hong Kong freedoms...

What is the Way Forward?

Protesters stormed into the Legislative Council on Monday evening

It has been reported that Beijing sent a task force down to Shenzhen on June 9 when 1 million people came out to protest on the streets. Chinese ministries, including the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Ministry of Public Security and the United Front works Department, sent officials to Shenzhen to collect intelligence.

How they can observe Hong Kong from across the border is beyond me.

Why did Carrie Lam speak to the media at 4am?

Or do they depend on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to give them a report of what's going on, when she met with Vice-Premier Han Zheng, the state leader in charge of Hong Kong affairs before June 15, the day she suspended the extradition bill. Surely he should see what is going on with his own eyes?

"The bottom line for Beijing is to keep Hong Kong stable and to avoid bloodshed. The strategy is to avoid escalation of violent confrontation and remain calm but firm over the principle issues," a source said. The source also praised the Hong Kong police for the way they handled the protests and the clearing of the Legislative Council.

So does "remain calm but firm over the principle issues" mean no compromise whatsoever? Do these senior officials understand that the violence is going to escalate and that there is a greater risk of bloodshed?

While there hasn't been death by bloodshed, three people have committed suicide so far in relation to the extradition bill. How does Beijing feel about that?

Vice-Premier Han Zheng met Lam in Shenzhen before June 15

The source added: "As of Tuesday, they were still in Shenzhen assessing the situation, reviewing the strategy and discussing the way forward."

What is the way forward?

As usual very cryptic.

This evening I talked to a public relations professional with about 20 years' experience who said Lam holding a press conference at 4am was very bizarre. This person said the government has not received the best advice on how to handle the crisis either...
 One would have thought the economic fall out from passing the extradition bill would give Lam second thoughts. Several chambers of commerce and diplomats have warned the chief executive that companies would pull out of Hong Kong if the contentious bill was passed, but their concerns fell on deaf ears.

Apparently this is not new -- it also happens to town planning projects on a community level too. Public consultations allow residents to give feedback of how they want their neighbourhood to be developed or improved upon, and apparently some have very good ideas, but these too are completely ignored and the government just executes its original plan, much to the chagrin of citizens who want to have a better living environment.

How is Hong Kong supposed to become a better city if it is ruled by an arrogant government that assumes it knows better than its residents? This paternalistic attitude really has to stop. The city was not built on arrogance, but on flexibility, negotiation, and hard work.

Or have Hong Kong officials forgotten their roots?

Hong Kong Security Chief Shows No Remorse

Security Chief John Lee would not resign over handling the June 12 protests

While Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor apologized yesterday but would not resign, Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu also apologized for the government's mishandling of the extradition bill, and also refused to step down.

Members of the public were so angry at the police in how they fired 150 rounds of tear gas, twice as  much as was fired in the 2014 Occupy protests, and also used rubber bullets and beanbag rounds which shot at close range can result in serious injuries.

There were many cases of excessive police brutality

The antagonism towards the police has gotten so bad that some officers were identified online, their names and pictures circulated on the internet and on forums there were suggestions of finding out their family members and putting pressure on them.

Lee, who was a high-ranking police officer before joining the cabinet, acknowledged the public backlash and anxiety, but said any discontent with the government should not be directed at the police force.

"They were also treated violently [by protesters]... officers' lives were threatened," Lee said. He added police defense barriers were rushed by protesters, some of whom threw bricks and metal bars at officers after 3pm on Wednesday.

He says as a result the police had no choice but to use tear gas and rubber bullets to defend themselves.

The police force has also come under fire because officers from the Special Tactical Squad did not have their numbers displayed on their uniforms, making it difficult for anyone to lodge a complaint.

Lee claims the police officers had to defend themselves

At the Legislative Council, Lee explained the reason why these officers did not have numerical identification because there was not enough room on their uniforms.

Excuse me? Seriously?

What kind of an excuse is this?

It's just another indication of how out of touch the Lam administration and by extension the police force are and they seem to show no intention of trying to heal the rifts between them and the public.

Looks like plans for protests on Friday will probably go ahead...

Security, Everywhere

Beyond these gates is Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the CPC

It was nice to be back in Beijing, a city I had lived in for three years.

However the growing anxiety over safety is growing more paranoid. Before the Olympics 10 years ago, it was mandated that everyone had to have their bags scanned in machines before entering the subway system.

We assumed it would just be for the Olympics, but no, the practice continued. At the time the roped off area was large enough so that some people with bags could slip through, but this later tightened up and everyone had to have their bags checked.

Intense security checks just before entering Tiananmen Square

During rush hour, those not carrying anything could go into a faster line. Kind of discriminates against women...

Then this year security was stepped up even more with metal detectors at every subway entrance -- and if that's not enough, some even have staff with metal detector paddles just in case the metal detectors weren't enough.

Many of the people manning these security check points are young people, which makes me think this is a make-work project for kids who couldn't find a job or aren't university graduates.

Twice this week my friend had to open up his bag to be checked because the person manning the screening machine saw a bottle in his bag. He had to demonstrate it was cologne and not some kind of Molotov cocktail in a black flask.

The young people are just doing their job, but it is a hassle. Not even New York or Paris have these kinds of security checks.

The square wasn't packed, but there was lots of surveillance

Security was extreme near Tiananmen Square when we visited on Tuesday. Our plan was to walk east from Xidan along Chang'An Avenue, make a pit stop at Tiananmen Square and then head to Wangfujing.

Before we were even close to Tiananmen Square, we encountered one of many check points. Everyone was corralled into a single file metal maze so that there was no getting out of the line. Citizens had to have their ID cards scanned into a machine, while foreigners like us had our passports checked.

After that check point we passed by a brightly coloured building with the Communist Party of China round logo at the top and the Chinese sign below "Xinhuamen (新华门)" or "New China Gate" which is actually the entrance to Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the CPC and where Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party works. Too bad we weren't allowed in.

The biggest check point just before Tiananmen Square had its own stand, complete with digital messages on a ticker tape screen, saying people had to go through checks for safety reasons, complete with screening our bags.

Food trucks like these sell snacks, drinks and souvenirs

Finally we made it into Tiananmen Square, where parts of it were covered with floral designs for Mid-Autumn and/or National Day. These decorations give a lively atmosphere, but gone were the residents who flew kites in the large open space. We only saw one person attempting to fly a kite.

Swept off the street were the migrant workers selling Chinese flags and snacks like water and popsicles. They were replaced with mini food trucks on the square selling the flags, Pocky sticks, cookies and a variety of drinks.

For some reason Mao Zedong's mausoleum wasn't open -- it was barricaded off and looked dark inside. Maybe he was getting a touch-up.

Who knows how many undercover policemen were in the square, but definitely lots of cameras at every lamp post...
 

Picture of the Day: Robots Watching You

One of the "robot police" hanging out in Xidan

Security has been stepped up in the whole of Beijing. When you go into the subway station, you don't just have your bag scanned in a machine, but sometimes you may even be wanded or go through a metal detector.

I'm staying in Xidan, the west side of Beijing and it's a commercial area with several shopping malls. Near one of them, Joy City, are several policemen, complete with long stick weapons and German Shepherd are standing by as well as a giant police jeep in dark blue parked nearby.

If that wasn't enough of a deterrent, there are two "robot police" hanging out on the giant pavement. They just stand there immobile, not saying anything, though there are some curious onlookers who stare right into the robots' "eyes".

What a great way for it to get a better scan of your face!

In any event, this need for greater security seems overboard...

China on the Defensive on Xinjiang

China claims people's rights and freedoms in Xinjiang are respected...

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva put some tough questions to the Chinese delegation led by Hu Lianhe of China's United Front Work Department.

As expected, his written statement were answers with Chinese characteristics.

He started off by saying: "The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region always respects and guarantees the human rights of people of all ethnic groups, and protects the freedoms and rights of citizens of all ethnic groups in accordance with the law and on an equal footing."

An excerpt from Hu Lianhe's statement to the UN

Has Hu ever been to Xinjiang, more specifically Kashgar, the westernmost city in China?

OK never mind.

He goes on to say: "People of all ethnic groups live and work in peace and contentment, and their freedom of religious belief are fully guaranteed. There is no arbitrary detention or lack of freedom of religious belief. The view that Xinjiang is a 'no rights zone' is completely against the fact."

Again, he is counting on the fact that the vast majority of people on the planet have never been to Xinjiang.

"There are no such things as 're-education centers' or 'counter-terrorism training centers' in Xinjiang," Hu continues in his lengthy statement. He points out it is China who is the victim of terrorism and so to safeguard residents, Xinjiang has executed a number of "special campaigns to crack down on violent terrorist activities according to the law" and imprisoned a number of criminals accused of terrorism.

He says those who have committed minor offenses are sent to "vocational education and employment training centers to acquire employment skills and legal knowledge, with a view to assisting in their rehabilitation and reintegration".

Security is tight all over Xinjiang, with numerous checkpoints

Singing patriotic songs and denouncing Islam are considered vocational training?

Hu also denied the UN estimate that 1 million Muslims of various ethnicities, including Uighurs and Kazakhs were being held in these centres.

Meanwhile the tabloid Global Times published editorials in English and Chinese, saying increased security was necessary to avoid the region from becoming another Syria, adding criticism of the rights record in Xinjiang was aimed at stirring trouble there and destroying hard-earned stability.

"The turnaround in Xinjiang's security situation has avoided a great tragedy and saved countless lives, thanks to powerful Chinese law and the strong ruling power of the Communist Party of China," the paper wrote.

China says it is a victim of terrorism, hence the security

"There is no doubt that the current peace and stability in Xinjiang is partly due to the high intensity of regulations. Police and security posts can be seen everywhere in Xinjiang."

Xinjiang has, "no room for destructive Western public opinions" that have destroyed numerous countries and regions," the Global Times said. "When the same evil influence was spreading in Xinjiang, it was decisively curbed."

Hu's response is classic CPC. Perhaps he will be promoted for standing up to those "western devils".

But the most important thing is the spotlight is shining on this area in China that has up until recently gone without much attention for years. 

However, will this make things worse for Uighurs in China? We can only hope not...

Silk Road: Unsettling Security Measures

People walking by a security truck in the hospital compound days before Oct 1

 Being in Kashgar is unsettling.

The first thing you notice are the sirens that are constantly going off. That's because there are police vans with riot screens driving up and down the main streets at around 20km an hour. As we drove by one, I could see the driver so bored that he was looking at his phone placed on the steering wheel while he was driving -- he was that slow.

And then everywhere you go, from hotels to restaurants and even grocery stores and pharmacies have metal detectors you have to walk through, and some have X-ray machines for your bags, or they wand you before you can go in.

Even at the hospital we had to first show our passports, and most of the time they just waved us through. But then there was one time where the staff at the gate were difficult and told us to go to the next door police station.

We went over and explained to the young officer that we just wanted to go to the hospital to see my dad and showed him our passports. He couldn't read English and barked, "What is your name?"

My mom asked, "Do you mean my husband's name or my name?"

Police checking under the hood of a car for explosives

Your name! Don't play games with me? he barked again.

I was so taken aback I couldn't help stopping myself from saying, "Are you serious?"

Luckily he didn't take me too seriously, and we each gave him our Chinese names (which are not on our passports) and radioed to the hospital gate our names. We were then let through.

Oh yes and we had to put our bags through X-ray machines again -- in every hospital building we went into. Those who drove into the hospital compound had their cars checked -- even under the hood by men in bullet-proof vests and helmets. Security is a serious business.

The Chinese government has spent over 30 billion yuan in security last year, a jump of almost 20 percent from 2016. That's from the creation of these neighbourhood police stations and extra police hires as well as equipment.

The other curious thing is that in restaurants, diners aren't given knives, though in our hotel we were, but they were very dull. One time my dad wanted to eat a peeled apple and we asked the Uyghur teenager who was helping us to bring a knife from home.

Security checks in our hotel lobby

He apologized that he could not carry one at all. We were very surprised and expressed our incredulity. He politely said with a smile, "It's different."

We did find a plastic knife and smuggled it in, but it was challenging to peel the apple with it and I gave up after completing half of it. We stuck to grapes after that.

Uyghurs who have either a lot of interaction with foreigners or have a passport and traveled abroad are under a lot of scrutiny.

They can either be disappeared for days or weeks, or they are sent to "school", a room full of men and women from teens to people in their 60s, and they are forced to listen to lectures, learn Chinese, learn more about Chinese law, or propaganda for about two hours everyday.

It is mandatory -- they cannot skip "school" even though they have to work at that time or were planning to be out of town. If not, the consequences could be harsh.

This repression against Uyghurs is tough. Mosques are not allowed to broadcast prayers, while men cannot have very long beards, and women cannot be completely covered.

And as National Day approached, there were more police on the streets, probably part-time police officers who carried riot weapon gear like shields and batons and forks that were more of a deterrent than were actually used. The hospital was even under lock down from 11pm until morning. Is that really necessary?

There were also more check-points on the roads; taxi drivers sometimes preferred to pick up Han Chinese customers because that meant they could easily pass the check-points than be scrutinized by the police.

And by the way, the Uyghur taxi drivers would sometimes take an extra passenger if they were going the same direction as the first customer. Why not if they can make a bit more extra money? We only had one Han Chinese drive the whole time we were there.

Meanwhile, the Uyghurs we met tried to carry on with life the best they could. Women dressed up to go to the hospital, as if they were going out for dinner to a nice restaurant, while some older men wore traditional woven caps.

The Uyghurs we talked to were trying to deal with the situation with as much grace as they could under pressure. To me this was amazing, considering they know there is no way out -- it is near impossible to get a passport nowadays, let alone immigrate.

Many people outside of Kashgar have no idea what is going on here because it's so remote. However, people need to know the situation here. If Hong Kong continues to irritate Beijing, the powers that be could easily punish Hong Kong and turn it into a police state like Kashgar.

It is already happening in many major cities in China, with facial recognition software, security cameras everywhere and bags having to be scanned in every subway station. We can push back, but for how long and how much?

Picture of the Day: Beijing Subway Map

So many subway lines make Beijing more accessible to more commuters

When I arrived in Beijing in 2007, there were maybe three subway lines -- Line 1, Line 2 and Line 13.

By the time I left three years later, there were perhaps seven lines.

Now there are some 15 lines.

This is the most updated map that's found in the city's subway stations.

When you go in, you still have to put your bag through an X-ray machine and they make sure everyone does this. However, those not carrying bags can bypass checks completely in some stations, so if someone did have a bomb or weapon on their person, they would not be discovered...

But I digress...

I met a friend for lunch whose office is near Beijing West Railway Station on the new Line 7. She asked me to meet her at Wanzi station, the stop before the railway station.

So from Dongsishitiao, I went south on Line 2 until I reached Chongwenmen, then transferred to Line 5 down one stop to Ciqikou, then transferred again to Line 7 going west.

Transferring from one line to another can entail a pretty big trek that could be over five minutes long, going down a long tunnel then up some stairs and then down to the platform.

Examining the subway map further, you can see many of the lines are actually a few stops just so that a commuter can transfer to another line. Imagine having to transfer from one end of town to the other -- the maze of passageways to go through everyday must entail a lot of exercise to say the least!

After lunch with my friend I went back down to Wanzi station and was surprised to find that not only did my bag go through the X-ray machine, but I was also being checked over with an electronic paddle!

Guess this is the next step in subway security...

Tweeting Sensitive Chinese Info

Some tweets revealed personal information of Chinese officials and tycoons

An interesting story has come out today, saying that a Twitter account has released the personal information of many Chinese Communist Party officials and tycoons.

With the handle "shenfenzheng", meaning "personal ID", the account exposed everything from the ID card numbers to residential addresses of prominent people in government, business, banking and technology.

They included people such as Alibaba chairman Jack Ma Yun to China's richest man Wang Jianlin of Wanda, and Tencent co-founder Ma Huateng, as well as Chinese officials, one of whom is the governor of a major province. At least two of the ID numbers were verified.

Alibaba chairman Jack Ma may have had his data exposed

The tweets were meant to demonstrate how easy it is to get access to this information through black-market channels and that such sensitive information was not properly safeguarded.

"It's easy to figure out anybody's information, whether you're a government official or a celebrity," shenfengzhen tweeted. "Getting the common people's data is like buying cabbage."

Ouch.

This is a good wake up call for China's public security officials to put more effort into internet security and develop better policies on how personal information is stored and treated.

Needless to say, after the information was released, the account was suspended yesterday afternoon and the tweets deleted.

China's richest man Wang Jianlin was also named in tweets

Whoever is behind shenfengzheng could also be in big trouble -- anyone leaking such information could be fined and spend up to three years in jail if convicted of the offense.

It will be interesting to find out who was behind this and how they managed to dredge up so much data.

"Are you surprised at all this information? I hope this encourages the nation's scrutiny, and shows how worthless individual data is in China," shenfengzhen tweeted.

Stay tuned.