Remembering Fu Ts'ong and Other News

Fou Ts'ong was a well known expert in playing Chopin

An update on what happened today before getting to my main post today: 

Student activist Tony Chung Hon-lam was sentenced to four months in jail for defiling the Chinese national flag;

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has resigned as chairman of parent company Next Digital to focus more on personal affairs;

The 12 Hong Kong activists who were detained at sea for allegedly trying to escape to Taiwan by speedboat will hear their fate on Wednesday morning;

Citizen journalist and lawyer Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" for her fearless reporting in Wuhan during the height of the pandemic. She refused to cooperate with the so-called "investigation" and went on a hunger strike, and the authorities tied her hands and forced a feeding tube down her  nose;

And Hong Kong recorded 53 new cases today, but still 14 of them have unknown sources which is worrying.

Fou made London his home since 1958

This afternoon came the sad news that renowned Chinese pianist Fou Ts'ong passed away of Covid-19 in London. He was 86 years old.

I feel so privileged to see him perform in Beijing in December 2007 and my account of the concert is here.

He was very passionate about Chopin, and is considered a master in interpreting the Polish composer. In this nine-minute video you can see his enthusiasm for Chopin, and he elucidates his reason for loving his music so much.

"And I always said it always takes a genius to understand genius. Ordinary people always try to pull the genius down to their level, they don't understand the composer. There are a lot of imitators but nobody is Chopin. He is unique," he says in the video.

Zhu Meifu, Fou Lei

However, one has to think of the life Fou has been through for him to be able to interpret Chopin so beautifully. Fou's life has been full of success and praise, but also tragedy and pain.

He was born in 1934 in Shanghai and studied piano at a young age under Western pianists before winning a scholarship to the Warsaw Conservatory after taking third prize in the 5th International Chopin Competition in 1955.

Fou was the son of Fou Lei, a well-known French translator of Honore de Balzac, Romain Rollard, Voltaire, and Andre Gide. 

While the younger Fou made London his base in 1958, his father was concerned about him being so far from home and began writing letters to him -- almost 200 of them -- which were later compiled into a book called Home Letters by Fu Lei and published in 1981. 

However in 1958 Fou Lei and his wife Zhu Meifu were labelled rightists in the Anti-Rightist movement, and by 1966 when the Cultural Revolution began in full swing, both parents committed suicide.

It wasn't until 1979 after the end of the Cultural Revolution could Fou Ts'ong return to China to mourn them, and a year later gave his first concert there in over 20 years.

Fou Lei's letters to his son

Fou's personal life is interesting. In 1960 he married Zamira Menuhin, the daughter of Yehudi Menuhin, and they had one son; they divorced in 1969. Later he married Hijong Hyun, a daughter of South Korea's ambassador to Morocco that later ended in divorce.

Then he married London-based, Chinese-born pianist Patsy Toh. Sadly she was hospitalized with the coronavirus as well and tragically could not be with Fou before he died.

Watching his videos now, I wish I had an opportunity to speak with him. Musicians and artists are so passionate about their craft, and they are so keen on sharing their love of it with others. 

Fou's energy talking about Chopin five years ago shows his admiration for the composer has hardly waned;  he was still trying to understand what Chopin wrote, after decades of playing those pieces over and over again.

He is so lucky to pursue his love of music to the utmost and make it his mission to disseminate what he knows to others.

Judging from the social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram today, many are sad to hear of Fou's passing. We will all miss him dearly.

Jimmy Lai Granted Bail

Jimmy Lai waves to an Apple Daily reporter at his home

The breaking news today that Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was granted bail was surprising considering he is being charged under the national security law. Most thought Lai's chances of ever stepping out of prison again were next to nil.

This development gives hope to three others charged under the national security law -- Tang Ying-kit, Tony Chung Hon-lam and Adam Ma -- to try to get bail too as now there is a precedent.

Lai walks out of the Court of Final Appeal...

Lai's lawyers were able to get a temporary release just in time for Christmas, but there are some serious strings attached to his home arrest.

He is not allowed to publish anything on social media, or publish any articles, not to meet any foreign government officials, take any media interviews, or host interviews. The newspaper tycoon also had to post HK$10 million (US$1.29 million) in bail, and three guarantors had to pony up HK$100,000 each. 

In addition Lai also had to give up his passport and has to report to the police three times a week and can only leave his home to attend court hearings.

Lai was remanded in custody since December 3 when he and two others were charged with fraud for allegedly breaching land lease terms on the use of Next Digital's office space in Tseung Kwan O. He was later charged with collusion under the national security law.

The Department of Justice immediately applied for a certificate from the court to appeal against the bail decision at the Court of Final Appeal, but this was later rejected by the High Court which said it did not have the jurisdiction.

... and into his waiting car to take him home

There was a lot of media attention around Lai's release, as reporters and photographers waited for hours for Lai to be released from the Court of Final Appeal in Admiralty. After 9pm a woman wearing police identification tags told reporters he wouldn't be released until 11pm so everyone disappeared for their washroom/food break.

But at 10.52pm Lai finally walked out with two plastic bags holding his personal belongings and was escorted by two men into his Mercedes Benz. About 20 minutes later cameras were pointed at the road coming up to his home in Homantin. Lai looked busy on his phone and wore headphones in the front passenger seat.

Afterwards he thanked the media for coming but said he had to leave and went into his house.

It turns out some of these conditions conditions of house arrested were suggested by Lai's lawyers, perhaps in a bid to get home home to his family for as long as possible.

 

 

Friday's News Onslaught

Lam warns people to stay home for Christmas this year

Today, Friday, ended the week with many events that made it hard to not only follow, but also absorb.

Just minutes after the founder of the defunct separatist Studentlocalism Tony Chung Hon-lam, 19, was convicted of defiling the Chinese national flag and illegal assembly, there was news that tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was charged under the national security law for colluding with foreign forces and he would make an appearance in court tomorrow.

This was why the Apple Daily founder was denied bail when he was detained on fraud charges stemming from an alleged illegal leasing of space in Next Digital in Tseung Kwan O; the authorities were giving him a preview of prison while they looked on how to nail him on breaching the national security law, though they didn't have to look far.

Chung convicted for defiling flag, illegal assembly

Lai will be charged with colluding with foreign forces as he has previously campaigned American politicians to impose economic sanctions on senior Hong Kong government officials, which led to the passing of the Magnitsky Act. That resulted in Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor claiming in an interview last week that she cannot open a bank account and therefore her salary is paid to her in cash, with piles of money all over her residence at Government House.

However, Lai made these solicitations to the United States before the national security law was enacted on July 1 and it was stated that the law would not be retroactive. 

Nevertheless, many believe it was only a matter of time until Lai would be charged, but is he prepared for the possibility of being tried in a mainland court, and spending the rest of his life in jail?

Fellow activist Chan Kin-man, who was one of the leaders of the 2014 Occupy Central movement, visited Lai in jail today. According to Chan's Facebook post he wrote: "I shared some prison experiences. I told him not to count down the days, but live in the moment, to live each day well, he took (the advice) gladly... but when we spoke of family, he was gripped by guilt and wept."

Lai faces national security charge tomorrow

Meanwhile, one gets the sense Hong Kong's leader is perhaps miffed at the growing public discontent at how the government has been handling the fourth wave of the pandemic and held a show-stopping press conference to reiterate once again how serious the spread of the virus has been and that people should stop going out and socializing.

Flanked by her various senior officials, Lam reported Hong Kong has secured vaccines from two manufacturers, Sinovac and Pfizer, and with two injections per person that means 15 million doses have been secured.

She claimed the vaccines were not mandatory, almost sarcastically saying how can she force people to take it -- who wouldn't? -- though she refused to be drawn into the concern that the vaccines by Chinese company Sinovac may not be effective or have serious side effects.

"Don't get involved in politics," said Lam, replying to a reporter. "Look at it in a totally depoliticized perspective. This is about science... evidence. The experts will look at it."

Lam also announced from December 22, there will be 36 designated hotels that will take in travelers returning to the city and under go mandatory quarantine for two weeks. 

Want to spend your hotel quarantine in this suite?

The list of hotels is a very large range in terms of room rates. They range from HK$400 a night in the Ramada Hong Kong Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui all the way to a whopping HK$51,150 a night in the entertainment suite in the Landmark Mandarin in Central. 

For that price the almost 1,800 square-feet room includes a marble bathtub, 85-inch LED TV screen, Gaggenau kitchen, and Playstation equipment to keep you occupied for two weeks.

How many people are going to book this room for quarantine? That works out to HK$716,100 not including service charge...

In any event, during the press conference a reporter asked why it took so long (almost a year) for the government to come up with the plan to use hotels to quarantine travelers, whereas places like Singapore implemented the idea early on.

"If you look back at the early stage of the epidemic, I think the hotel sector was pretty hesitant, or even reluctant, to use the hotels for quarantine purposes for understandable reasons. And then as things develop, we witness that more and more hotels are accepting quarantine guests," Patrick Nip Tak-kuen , Secretary for the Civil Service explained.

Nip says 12,000 rooms ready for December 22

There were also concerns 12,000 hotel rooms would not be enough to cover the upcoming holiday season with about 1,000 people coming back daily, but the government had a wait-and-see attitude that was hardly reassuring.

Meanwhile, Lam claimed hotels were at first reluctant to take part in the quarantine scheme due to perceptions.

"The hotel owners were very worried about supporting the government in anything, because then they would be harassed and intimidated, and doxxed and so on," she said.

She seems to insinuate now that the economy has been battered that hotel owners are on their knees desperate for any business they can get now, and being a designated quarantine hotel would guarantee a flow of guests, though there are immense health risks to the staff in handling potential coronavirus cases.

In the meantime everyone will be watching what happens tomorrow with Lai because it will affect everyone else in Hong Kong...

Shock and Ridicule in One Day

Three national security police with Chung (second left) today

 

Today the National Security Police nabbed three young people related to a pro-independence group called Studentlocalism, one just metres away from the United States Consulate in Central.

The Hong Kong police said the trio, aged 17 to 21, were arrested for breaching the national security law with social media posts allegedly inciting others to split the country.

Chung allegedly violated the national security law

At 8am this morning the former leader of the group, Tony Chung Hon-lam, 19, was taken by national security police as he was at a coffee shop just across the street from the consulate. He was planning to go to the consulate to seek asylum.

However, the US does not grant asylum to people at its diplomatic postings -- asylum seekers need to be on US soil to apply. 

When the media contacted the local police to ask how to get in touch with the national security police about Chung's arrest, the force replied there were no contact details.

Huh? Perhaps this is the new normal?

Meanwhile later in the day two others, Yannis Ho and William Chan, were arrested by the national security police when they reported to the local police station for their previous arrest on July 29 along with Chung also related to violating the national security law. 

Chung was 50 metres from the US Consulate

At the time Chung's passport was taken, preventing him from leaving, and facing the charges makes it hard for him to enroll in post secondary studies.

He reportedly wanted to seek asylum because he was told on Monday to report to the police station today and Chung feared he would face further charges and his bail conditions revoked.

So far it is reported the trio have access to legal assistance, but will their situation continue to be relatively transparent?

Apart from this shocking news, there was farcical news coming from the Hong Kong government.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee announced there would be a further loosening of social-distancing measures. Starting Friday restaurants can have six people per table, up from two, and bars another two people per group to four. These businesses can also remain open until 2am, whereas currently they have to close at midnight.

However, public social distancing needs to remain at four people.

From Friday restaurants can have six to a table

That means theoretically that six people could go out for dinner at a restaurant, but as soon as all of them walk out of the restaurant, they could be arrested for not social distancing.

How does that make any sense?

When asked to explain this, Chan replied:

"Generally speaking, we must appeal to the public not to gather... even though we're exempting [the public gathering ban for certain activities], those social-distancing measures have conditions... and their risks can be managed," she said.

"Of course, any relaxation [of social-distancing measures] will carry risks, but most importantly we're not relaxing all the rules at the same time... and will continue to do so step by step. We will continue to monitor the epidemic and make adjustments when necessary."

Huh.

Oh and after over three months (basically the summer), beaches will finally reopen on November 3. 

Beaches will finally open November 3

Either the government is getting a lot of heat from the catering sector, or it isn't too worried about the fourth wave coming.

But yes if there are six of you dining, make sure the police aren't milling outside the restaurant ready to pounce...

 

 

 

Student Activists Reboot Independence Campaign

Last year students handed out fliers suggesting independence after 2047

Some Hong Kong students are showing their Lion Rock spirit by reviving a drive in 18 schools and universities to promote separatism from China.

The campaign was launched today, where the young activists distributed separatism-themed fliers and stickers at school entrances, and put them on message billboards known as "democracy walls" on university campuses. They also set up street booths in Wan Chai, Kwun Tong and Yuen Long.

This time the fliers say that independence for Hong Kong is the only option to protect its people, which is a more direct stance compared to last year's that encouraged students to think about the city's future after 2047 by proposing independence.

Tony Chung of Studentlocalism is stepping up activism efforts

The student leaders are also vowing the groups will be more vigorous in their activism, one year after their initial campaign fizzled out.

Studentlocalism convenor Tony Chung Hon-lam, a Form Five student at Buddhist Mau Fung Memorial College, said they would hand out 2,000 leaflets and 10,000 stickers. Meanwhile the 20-year-old convenor of the Hong Kong National Front, who wanted to remain anonymous, said 12 groups were expecting to hand out fliers at schools before classes and all would man street booths after classes.

Last September, a campaign to discuss independence emerged at several schools when localist groups handed out fliers on the first day of school. Members of at least two groups were summoned by school authorities to stop.

The government left it to school managers to handle such activities and monitor independence talk. And this time the Education Bureau reiterated that advocating independence went against the Basic Law.

Lau Siu-kai doesn't think the kids will go far again this time

Lau Siu-kai, deputy director of a top Beijing think tank on Hong Kong affairs, did not expect the campaign to go far, and warned advocates they would likely find themselves further isolated from mainstream society.

"From what I see, the independence movement has become something of a small circle within the student community that is unlikely to affect society on the whole," he said.

We agree with Lau that it is a very small group of students who believe in independence. What's interesting is their determination to start their campaign again with more organization and greater resolution.

They won't get far, but why not let them do their thing? They deserve to have their voices heard too. What they are advocating is illegal, but let them figure that out for themselves instead of telling them over and over. Give them room to explore and debate.

The more you clamp down, the more resolved they become... just saying...