Protesters Not Giving Up

Thousands of people crammed in and around Chater Garden for tonight's rally

Tonight the protesters were back in numbers in Chater Garden in Central. This time they were angry about police abuse, particularly the sexual harassment of some female protesters who were arrested.

While the dress code for this rally was purple, most people showed up in black and wore purple ribbons that were pinned to their T-shirts. Others wore purple ribbons around their wrists. There were also people with lipsticks on hand to write #ProtestToo on people's arms, a riff off of #MeToo.

"Investigate police sexual violence!" The rally organizer said. "We believe everyone has the right to participate in political activities and take part in rallies, but the police are using sexual violence as a means to humiliate people of different gender."

Others were waiting for friends outside the MTR station

Some protesters were shining laser pens onto buildings to create an impromptu laser show, others put purple filters on their phone lights to create a pastel purple glow.

Some women came to the stage to talk about their experiences of being sexually harassed by the police, including one who says she was strip searched. She said she felt violated as a woman and is now seeking psychological help.

When I was leaving Chater Garden around 8.20pm, the crowd had spilled out onto Des Voeux Road, and they made way when trams were passing through. All the other vehicles had to go along Queens Road Central, causing a traffic jam.

There were a few police officers on hand, just making sure there were no serious accidents or that the crowd was under control.

As I walked towards the Central MTR station, people were shouting, "Reclaim Hong Kong! Revolution of our times!" or "Hongkongers add oil!". The shouts got louder as people streaming out of the MTR station on the escalator already began chanting.

And as I came into the station, more people were coming out, attaching purple ribbons on their shirts or carrying signs. It was heartening to see so many people all with the same goals with the same fighting spirit.

What else happened today?

The editor-in-chief of Global Times, Hu Xijin rolled into town today. His Twitter post said: "Just arrived in Hong Kong to attend media dialogue. I will also report what I see and hear. Current situation in Hong Kong is a bit special for mainland journalists, but I hope I can have an open trip. Looking forward to having a candid exchange of views."

Global Times' chief editor Hu Xijin has arrived in Hong Kong

Welcome to the city where we have freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, Mr Hu.

See how special Hong Kong is and why protesters are defending it to the death.

They have five demands, but the most crucial is to withdraw the extradition bill. It's really simple to do, but our Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor says it cannot be done.

Perhaps you can persuade her to help us have peace in Hong Kong again?

If not, you will see scores of people out on the streets this weekend to show the government protesters are still asking for their demands to be met. They are not giving up anytime soon.

#MeToo 20 Years Later

Gao Yan was a top student at Peking University before she committed suicide

The fledgling #MeToo movement in China got a big boost recently when a literature professor at Nanjing University was suspended for allegedly sexually harassing and raping a student 20 years ago.

At the time 21-year-old Gao Yan, who was a start student, told her friends that professor Shen Yang, who was teaching at Peking University had forced her to have sex. He also apparently spread rumours that Gao was mentally ill.

Shen, 62, has denied the accusations.

Professor Shen Yang allegedly sexually harassed Gao

Her classmates have been pressing for justice ever since she died. During Qing Ming last week when Chinese families sweep graves to remember their relatives and ancestors, one of Gao's friends, Li Youyou posted an essay online, chastising Shen for not apologizing.

"Twenty years have passed. Your constant lies and crimes should be put to an end," she wrote.

In an interview with The Beijing News on Friday, Shen described the accusations as "malicious defamation".

The essay spread quickly online and some Chinese media wrote stories about it, which may have led to to him being fired.

Even Gao's parents complained to the university in 1998 about the alleged sexual assault, and while the tertiary institution did conduct an investigation that found Shen did have sex with Gao, it only issued him a demerit and did not terminate his employment contract.

Shen is the second prominent professor to be sacked due to allegations of sexual misconduct after Chen Xiaowu of Beihang University.

The movement is slowly growing in China (with other names)

Universities in China need to address the power imbalance between students and professors, but also the same patriarchal hierarchy in companies too.

Nevertheless, getting more people to talk about #MeToo or #MiTu or #woyeshi (the Chinese version) is important. And as some say, eventually truth prevails.

Rice + Bunny = #MeToo

A Chinese way to be part of the #metoo movement with a bunny and rice

The Chinese are pragmatic -- if they find something blocking their way, they'll think of another way to get around it.

Like the #MeToo campaign that's gathering momentum in the West. The latest casualties are two men who worked closely with US President Donald Trump -- staff secretary Rob Porter and speechwriter David Sorensen.

Chen Xiaowu was sacked after sexual harassment claims

In China there is greater awareness of the #MeToo movement, with many women posting their experiences, though the only big victory so far was the sacking of a Beijing university professor, Chen Xiaowu, after Luo Xixi revealed she had been sexually harassed by him 12 years earlier.

The #MeToo movement in China knows eventually there will be attempts by the censors to wipe out allegations of sexual harassment and rape in Chinese cyberspace so there is already a homonym created -- Mi Tu or 米兔, which literally means "rice bunny".

It's cute, easy to remember and emojis can be used too.

The Chinese government doesn't want the #MeToo or #mitu movement to gather too much momentum -- its patriarchal society is rife with allegations of sexual harassment and assault and it could lead to the top ranks of the leadership.

More women are speaking out in China

That would just shake the Communist Party to its core -- other than corruption.

Nevertheless it's wonderful to see women finding the courage to speak out about what happened to them as a way to process their emotions and also know they are not alone.

#我也是

#MeToo中国

Steve Wynn's Luck Turns South

Steve Wynn in Macau before allegations of sexual harassment surfaced

Tycoon Steve Wynn's luck might be running out. Even though he denied allegations of sexual misconduct, Wynn, 76, resigned as the Republican National Committee finance chairman late last month and the other day resigned as CEO of and chairman of Wynn Resorts.

He claimed the allegations were "preposterous" and blamed "an avalanche of negative publicity" driven by a non-fact-based "rush to judgment" for his decision to step down as head of the eponymous casino empire.

Allan Zeman is now non-executive chairman of Wynn Macau

At first he blamed his ex-wife Elaine for the allegations, claiming they were still going through a nasty divorce, but now he has been silent.

Meanwhile shares in Wynn Macau plunged at the end of January when the allegations first came to light, but yesterday after his resignation, his right-hand man Matthew Maddox replaced him as CEO of Wynn Macau and Wynn Resorts, while Allan Zeman was named non-executive chairman of Wynn Macau.

Shares of Wynn Macau closed at HK$27 today and analysts believe Wynn's resignation will stabilize things. However, there are questions as to how much longer Wynn Macau will be allowed to keep its casino concession. It is set to expire in 2022, and on January 22, days before the bomb was dropped, Wynn was confident the concession would be renewed.

Two pairs of rare porcelain vases Wynn bought at auction

Nevertheless, with this recent news, the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau which regulates casinos, has declined to comment.

In the meantime, Wynn's abrupt departure will be difficult -- he was the face of the casinos, who put his own personal touches in everything from operations to decor. In Macau he knew how to kowtow to Beijing and Macau.

He shelled out US$12.7 million for four large porcelain vases from the Jiaqing period (1796-1821) at a Christie's London auction in July 2011.

"We are delighted to be able to return these extraordinary examples of Chinese culture to the People's Republic of China, and place them on display in the city of Macau, which we are so fortunate to be a part of," Wynn said at the time.

The future of Wynn Macau may be in in the balance

The vases aren't the only treasures he has brought back to the mainland,but also a Ming dynasty vase that Wynn donated to the Macao Special Administrative Region.

So is his guanxi good enough to keep him out of trouble in Macau? We shall see...

Will #MeToo Take Off in China?

A handful of women in China who have spoken out about their experiences

The #metoo movement may be gaining momentum in North America with women speaking out about experiences of being sexually harassed by men, but in China it's barely on the radar.

However, journalist Huang Xueqin wants to do something about that.

She was working for a state-owned news agency when her boss tried to force himself on her in a hotel room. She quit and last year went public with the story, making her one of the first in China to speak out about her unwanted encounter.

Huang is now conducting an online survey of women journalists on the mainland to find out the extent of sexual harassment in the country. Of the more than 250 women polled, 80 percent reported being sexually harassed.

Huang Xueqin is trying to document cases in the media field

Most of the victims suffered in silence, 3.3 percent resigned and less than 1 percent filed a complaint with the police.

"I know I've opened a floodgate," Huang said. "Journalists are supposed to be more resourceful and skilful advocates than others. If they don't know how to speak out for themselves, what about the rest of the women in this country?"

She has set up a social media platform called Anti Sexual Harassment, to show women how to protect themselves, gather evidence and confront perpetrators.

I really hope she is able to help other women in the future. I immediately thought of my friend in Beijing who committed suicide three years ago because she was sexually harassed by her boss, also in state media.

If only she knew this movement existed now and that women are now trying to say Stop!

Cultural attitudes need to change around sexual harassment

She would probably be pleased to know that Huang was trying to get more information from other journalists and probably would have participated in the survey.

It will be interesting to find out how many cases Huang is able to collect so that we know the extent of the situation. I'm sure the number is very high.

But attitudes need to change -- there is still a lot of blaming the victim, claiming they were asking for it because of their clothes or attitude, or the woman is too embarrassed to come forward, or there are no laws to convict perpetrators so victims suffer in silence.

The central government needs to know this is happening not just to female journalists, but to women in all kinds of work. And the authorities need to take these cases seriously.

This horrific treatment of women is unacceptable in any society and the more these incidents are reported, the strong their voices will be.

Finally Free -- For Now

The five women activists who were released on bail Monday evening

After months of lobbying internationally, including by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden, as well as Chinese rights campaigners, five women activists were finally released on bail yesterday evening.

They were detained on the weekend of March 8, International Women's Day, when they were planning to demonstrate against sexual harassment on public transport. They were picked up on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".

The campaign to get them released that featured the tag #FreeTheFive included strong words from American presidential candidate Hilary Clinton and Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations.

The quintet were released because prosecutors did not immediately decide to press criminal charges, and instead police asked that the five be charged with organizing a crowd to disturb public order.

Wei Tingting, 26, Wang Man, 32, Zheng Churan, 25, Li Tingting, 25 and Wu Rongrong, 30 have been released on bail, but would be monitored by the police for one year, and could not travel without informing the authorities. They could be detained by police at anytime and interrogated further.

On Friday, Kerry made a statement saying China should "immediately and unconditionally" free the five women.

"Each and every one of us has the right to speak out against sexual harassment and the many other injustices that millions of women and girls suffer around the world each and every day," he said. "We strongly support the efforts of these activists to make progress on these challenging issues, and we believe that Chinese authorities should also support them, not silence them."

On Monday afternoon, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China "lodged representations" with the US over those comments and that "the Chinese legal authorities are handling this case in accordance with the law."

The actual campaign that they were organizing through We Chat was supposed to have people handing out leaflets and stickers on buses and subway carriages to call attention to sexual harassment on public transportation.

This crackdown on activists who weren't doing anything political, and instead trying to promote a civil society, is quite harsh, and perhaps is meant to scare other rights campaigners from continuing their activities. Or does the government consider them a threat because they are pointing out the truth?

These five women are not new to activism -- in 2012 they campaigned for more public toilets for women, and in 2013-14, campaigned against domestic violence.

They are only doing what they believe is right and just, though they are sticking their necks out to do so.

We are relieved they are released, though not unconditionally is worrying. These women are pushing for civil society, and they are trying to do this through non-violent means. So why detain them? What they are doing is for the good of everyone, and doesn't the Chinese government want its society to look just and equal?

Beijing is only creating more embarrassment for itself domestically and on the international stage...