No More Double Tenth?

Dr Sun Yat-sen's portrait in Tiananmen Square

 

If there is one thing Taiwan and China can agree on, it is that Dr Sun Yat-sen is the father of modern China.

They both respect him deeply, and Sun's portrait is placed in Tiananmen Square during national holidays, like the National Day holiday that just ended.

"Red House" in Tuen Mun

However being able to pay respects to him in Hong Kong was made impossible today, October 10, Taiwanese National Day, also known as "Double Tenth".

The Double Tenth anniversary commemorates the start of the Wuchang Uprising in Hubei province on October 10, 1911, which ultimately led to the overthrow of the Qing dynasty and resulted in the establishment of the Republic of China, which was led by Sun.

For Kuomintang compatriots in Hong Kong, today they would hold a raising ceremony and sing nationalistic songs and then pay their respects at Hung Lau, or "Red House" in Sun Yat-sen Garden in Tuen Mun. This was one of Sun's former revolutionary bases, and every year until today, over a hundred people would gather.

But this year was completely different.

Apparently the dilapidated home is owned by a mainlander and today it was guarded by black-suited security guards in bright orange vests. The garden was also crawling with police officers, something Mak Ip-sing had never seen before. He has been a longtime organizer of the events and the vice-chairman of the Yuen Long District Council. He studied at a Taiwanese University and his father was a KMT soldier.

Scuffle between a KMT patriot and security guard

Many KMT fled to Hong Kong after the Communists took over China in 1949, so Double Tenth is very important to them and their children.

One or two people tried to approach the over century-old building in Sun Yat-sen Garden and were roughly handled by the sharply-dressed security guards. 

In the end people gave up approaching the building and instead stood in groups of four nearby to sing nationalistic songs to avoid violating the social-distancing regulations.

Mak called off all events involving Taiwanese flags over fears of violating the new national security law.

"Our legal advice suggested that we should not risk falling afoul of the law, which is extremely vague and broad," he said, adding a lunch and dinner banquet had been organized, but the restaurant cancelled the booking at the last minute citing social-distancing measures. Mak believes the restaurant was pressured to cancel the event because it involved displaying Taiwanese flags.

No one was allowed near Hung Lau today

A man surnamed Chen, who wore a blue T-shirt printed with KMT characters, said he was deeply disappointed over being denied access and the lack of Taiwanese flags. Previously there would be many Taiwanese flags flying in the area for the day.

"Do the authorities fear the display of flags will endanger the security of China?" he said. "We are here to honour Sun Yat-sen for his role in ending 2,000 years of imperial rule in China." 

Indeed. Seems the desire to pay their respects to China's founding father has been kiboshed thanks to the more assertive control of Beijing over Hong Kong. 

Perhaps last year was the last year they could do that freely, and the same goes with the candlelight vigil to mark June 4 in Victoria Park, mass peaceful rallies on July 1 and October 1... the list will continue to grow...

Alternative Swimming

The stands in the pool make you feel like you're a competitive swimmer!

Last night I went to the Kennedy Town Swimming Pool looking forward to doing a few laps when a woman at the door explained the pool was closed.

There was a note that said "an unidentified object" was found in the pool in the afternoon and they had to disinfect it so it was closed until further notice.

I asked if the pool would be open tomorrow and she said it would.

So I came back this morning just before lunchtime and there was a large line of families waiting to get in. This time a man told me the pool was still closed and I asked what time it would open and he said for sure in the afternoon.

Located in Sai Ying Pun, the pool here is only indoors

He suggested if I wanted to swim I should go to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool. Sounded like a good idea. I hadn't been to the pool in Sai Ying Pun for a long time, but worried there would be an overflow of people from Kennedy Town.

However, when I got there, I was surprised to see there wasn't just one, but two swimming lanes. It didn't say which one was the fast or slow lane, but I seemed to pick the right one as the men -- yes the men! were slow enough that I passed them when I reached the other side or they stopped for a break so that I could pass them.

That and also the fact that I only had 40 minutes to finish my target of 30 laps motivated me to keep going, which also helped train my endurance in the 50-metre pool. In the end I managed to get 32 laps done before a lifeguard instructed me to get out of the pool for the 12pm break.

What unidentified object was found in the Kennedy Town pool? Or maybe it's best I don't know...

Quote of the Day: Orville Schell

Long-time China watcher Orville Schell and his latest book

When I have the time I like to listen to a weekly podcast called Sinica hosted by two Beijing-based expats/China experts, Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn.

Kuo is American Chinese, studied Putonghua in China and founded the rock band Tang Dynasty as well as Spring and Autumn. He now is director of communications for Baidu.

South African Goldkorn is also fluent in Chinese, and is the founder and editor of Danwei.com, a blog that translates headlines in state media, making these stories more accessible to the outside world.

The two are quite funny on Sinica trading barbs with each other and like to show off how much they know about the mainland. But they also invite guests on the show from journalists to writers and academics to discuss various timely topics.

This past Friday the guest is a leading China watcher, Orville Schell, who has written a number of books on the country, and the latest one co-written with John Delury is called Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-First Century.

Interestingly the book is actually about 11 influential officials, writers, activists and leaders who contributed (or not) to the development of modern China. Some include Empress Dowager Cixi, Liang Qichao, Dr Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, as well as Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Zhu Rongji.

The authors end with imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo who was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2009 for inciting subversion of state power for his work on Charter 08, which calls for political reform and the end to one-party rule.

His wife Liu Xia was admitted into hospital in Beijing last month, against her wishes of wanting to be treated overseas. She has been under virtual house arrest since 2010 and because of this isolation has admitted being depressed and physically ill.

This background gives us context to the Sinica podcast, as Goldkorn asked Schell towards the end of the show (around 41:20): What else aside from being rich and powerful, is that what China has to offer the world?

Schell replied:

I think the question that he [Liu Xiaobo] poses for China and for indeed all of us is what is the real goal? And for him the real goal is not simply to be wealthy and powerful and to look good. He's much more of a humanist. And I think also lurking in the back of his critique is something that the leaders now sort of see but are quite surprised by, namely that getting wealthy and powerful doesn't get what people thought for all these 170 years create ipso facto respect.

And that is what is really wanted -- is respect. That's why there's such an incredible fixation on soft power. And I think Liu Xiaobo is sort of trying to feel his way to some kind of answer of respect and basically what he is saying if I read him correctly is, if you want to be respected, you first of all have to earn the respect of your own people.

And I think this is where China is still incomplete. And so in a certain sense his answer is justice does create a kind of respect of your own people and that can be brought home the most yearned for aspect of the whole 20th century sort of struggle which is to be respected by the world is still elusive. And I think it is very galling for these leaders to find it can't be had by control.

After Schell said this, there was a few seconds of silence as everyone in the room digested this well thought out observation.

Which makes one wonder, does China realize what it is doing will never gain it the respect it craves, and will it do anything about it?