RTHK Becomes Mainlandized, as Lam Promises Rosy Future

RTHK staff must abide by the one-China policy on Taiwan

 

Radio Television Hong Kong is becoming like Chinese state media with rules imposed on how it will report on Taiwan.

In a circular distributed today to staff at the government broadcaster, they are not allowed to use "inappropriate" terms such as "Taiwan's president" or "Taiwan's government" in all radio, television and online content, to comply with the one-China principle.

Taiwan cannot be described as a country

"Inappropriate terminology such as 'country', 'Republic of China', 'ROC'... must not be used when referring to Taiwan. Under no circumstances should Taiwan be referred to as a sovereign state or perceived as one," it said.

The circular instructed staff to refer to "the most senior leader of Taiwan" as 'Taiwan leader' rather than 'Taiwan president', and 'Taiwan authorities' should be used rather than 'Taiwan government'.

An RTHK spokesman reiterated that as a public broadcaster and a government department, its programmes and content it releases must all abide by the one-China principle.

This circular may have come about after Federation of Trade Union lawmaker Luk Chung-hung inquired in the Legislative Council last week why RTHK used the word "president" to refer to the island's leader. Luk submitted a written question to Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah in Legco, suggesting the broadcaster may have breached the one-China principle.

Tsai now "Taiwan leader" not "Taiwan president"

Yau did not indicate that any policy change was in the works, but only said that all along the government has handled Taiwan-related matters in accordance with the Basic Law, the one-China principle, and the central government's policies towards the island. 

He added that RTHK would "continue to abide by the charter, duly meet its obligations as a public broadcaster, and uphold the highest professional standards of journalism."

When will RTHK describe Taiwan as a "renegade province", and will other media outlets will get this memo as well?

Meanwhile the reports of tens of thousands of people leaving Hong Kong for the UK has unfazed Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

In today's media briefing, Lam said the government did not hold an official position on the matter, but said: "Every now and then in the history of Hong Kong, there are such emigration trends.

Lam pitching Greater Bay Area back in 2018

"But if you really ask me to say something to those who are seeking to emigrate or have already emigrated, I would tell them Hong Kong has a prosperous future."

She pointed out Hong Kong's role in the Greater Bay Area, which will link the city along with Macau and nine cities in Guangdong together in a bid to become an economic and business powerhouse.

"For those who feel a sense of belonging to Hong Kong and are willing to toil away here, this is the best time. But if they choose to leave, this is a personal decision."

"Toil" is an interesting choice of word...

 

Tsai's Re-election Poses Challenge to Beijing

Tsai's winning smile after solidifying her re-election for the next four years

As expected, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was relected by a huge margin with over 8 million votes, while her challenger, Han Kuo-yu the Kuomintang Kaohsiung mayor only mustered 3 million ballots.

"I also hope that the Beijing authorities understand that democratic Taiwan, and our democratically elected government, will not concede to threats and intimidation," Tsai said. She added cross-strait relations should be based in "peace, equality, democracy and dialogue".

Han ran on platform of closer times to China for prosperity

This was not the result Beijing was expecting -- it had pinned its hopes on Han, but the seeing how the Hong Kong protests were handled and the reports on how Uighurs are treated in Xinjiang resulted in a big blow for the motherland hoping to move one step closer towards reunification.

While Xinhua only reported on the result of the elections, Beijing quickly spun the result as seeing Tsai's win as a setback and not a crisis. Therefore Beijing will continue to put pressure on Taiwan, but at the same time will adopt a wait-it-out strategy.

Although China has banned mainland tourists from visiting Taiwan as individual travelers and must join a tour group instead, the election results show the Taiwanese don't seem to mind how this has had a knock-on effect on their economy. In fact the island has had its lowest unemployment in decades and has strong export growth.

The election was a referendum on for or against China

The election was basically a referendum on if people were anti- or pro-China. The former won by a landslide.

So let's see... Hong Kong's district council elections were predominantly yellow and now Taiwan's is a strong green for the Democratic Progressive Party, how does Beijing plan to turn both of them red at this rate?

Pathetic Excuses for Government Failures

Grandpa Tung claiming the US and Taiwan are behind the protests

China insists that the "black hand" of the United States has been involved in eight weeks of protests, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Yi leading the charge.

"Everyone wants to ask: exactly what role has the US played in the recent series of events in Hong Kong?" asked foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. "On this question, I think the US owes the world an explanation."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that's "ludicrous"

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately dismissed the claim as "ludicrous".

"I think the protests are solely the responsibility of the people of Hong Kong, and I think they are the ones that are demanding that their government listen to them and hear their voices," Pompeo said on Tuesday. "It's -- I saw these remarks as well. It's ludicrous on its face."

But China refused to back down on its theory without any evidence, by trotting out former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa to parrot the claim again.

Tung, who is vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, gave a speech today, accusing the US and Taiwan of orchestrating the "well organized" recent protests against the Hong Kong government.

This is strange coming from Tung, who supposedly has strong links with the US government. Or maybe that was with the Obama administration. Nevertheless, he did not give any evidence to support his bizarre claim.

Protesters are using make-shift equipment against police

He went on to say: "Some young people have vented their anxiety and helplessness through street politics. Yet, with Beijing's backing and various sectors' support behind the government, we are capable of breaking the social deadlock."

Uh huh.

In his speech at a lunch organized by Our Hong Kong Foundation, a think tank he founded and chairs, he called on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to listen to public opinion and solve long-standing problems, such as housing, health care, education and pensions.

Hello Mr Tung? She hasn't done that... can you remind her to do that, starting tomorrow? The longer she procrastinates, the more this situation is going to escalate.

Or perhaps you the elites don't want to deal with these hard-to-solve-issues because they are beyond your problem-solving capabilities so it's easier to put the blame for these now violent protests on "foreign forces" like the US and Taiwan.

And by the way lumping Taiwan into blame department is very strange because it's actually Lam who is increasing the chances of President Tsai Ing-wen to be re-elected.

Now who are the "dark hands"?

Protesters use latest phone app to organize themselves

But Tung goes on to add: "This storm escalated quickly and it was well organized. We have reasons to believe there were masterminds behind the storm. There could be interference from external forces, and various signs are pointing towards Taiwan and the US."

He doesn't realize or want to accept that young people have used the latest technology -- an encrypted messaging app called Telegram -- to discuss and assemble people as quickly as possible, and that they have learned their lesson from five years ago to be prepared with supplies.

Apparently some protesters are running out of cash, and then today there was a picture posted on Twitter showing stacks of coupons for food and other things for them to use.

Doesn't Tung see that people are willing to fight to the death for this cause and are as Hongkongers they are resourceful people who are creative in fighting the police who have much better equipment than them?

But alas no, he refuses to come out of his ivory tower and see the reality of the situation, just like Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, Leung Chun-ying, and now Lam. 

This is a fundamental problem that can only be solved by them engaging with young people and trying to understand what they want -- affordable homes and decent job opportunities, not just be stuck in dead-end jobs like retail and hospitality. And they want to live and work in Hong Kong because this is their home. It's actually really simple.

Claiming "black hands" have meddled in Hong Kong affairs is not only predictable but really pathetic.

Continuing the Fight

Agnes Chow surrounded by media and supporters tonight at Tamar

Tonight a few thousand people came out in support of Agnes Chow Ting who was told by an electoral officer yesterday that she was disqualified to run in the March 11 by-election.

The police say 2,000 showed up, but from the pictures it looks like more than that, as they gathered at government headquarters in Tamar, at one point spilling out onto Tim Mei Avenue.

Some were disappointed by the low turnout, but organizers downplayed it and instead focused on channeling the anger and frustration towards the government.

"If we cannot enter Legco, it is to force us to be forever dissidents," said Demosisto secretary general Joshua Wong Chi-fung, accusing the government of blocking young people from being heard in the legislature.

Will Edward Yui be able to run in the by-election?

Meanwhile, legal experts say the government has no grounds for banning other candidates from running in the by-election. Tomorrow is the deadline for candidates to be nominated, and attention is now focused on Edward Yiu Chung-yim, running for Kowloon West, and Au Nok-hin, who is replacing Chow for the Hong Kong Island seat.

University of Hong Kong principal law lecturer Eric Cheung Tat-ming cautioned that the city's electoral system would become "arbitrary" if Yiu and Au were not allowed to run in the by-election because of what they had done in the past.

Yiu had met with Taiwan's pro-independence New Power Party, while Au had written an article calling for pro-democratic groups to band together to defend Hong Kong as it "goes through a long period of darkness".

"If that can be done, we don't know where the line would be drawn... You can even question pro-establishment politicians over their meeting with Tsai Ing-wen," Cheung said.

Au Nok-hin replaces Chow for the Hong Kong Island seat

He was referring to the city's biggest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong that led a delegation to Taiwan to meet with pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party chairwoman Tsai, who later became the island's president.

Why is the Hong Kong government politicizing the electoral process? It just makes it even more obvious that someone in the background wants to manipulate things, while wanting to destroy our faith in the city's institutions that we hold dear.

But it looks like "the invisible hand" doesn't seem to care about appearances. It just wants things to go its way and shut out the next generation.

Trump's China Lesson

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen with two advisers on the call with Trump

Beijing surely when into fits of volcanic rage when US President-elect Donald Trump talked to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday evening Hong Kong time.

It later emerged that it was Taiwan that initiated the call that lasted 10 minutes in which included issues of economy and defense, according to Taiwan's Presidential Office.

"During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political and security ties between Taiwan and the United States," the office said in a statement on Saturday.

US President Jimmy Carter recognized the one-China policy

The conversation broke protocol that previous US presidents have followed of no direct contact with Taiwanese leaders since 1979, when then US President Jimmy Carter recognized the "one China" policy, shifting its support from Taiwan to mainland China, though it still has unofficial ties with the island.

Beijing's official response was cool -- it lodged an official representation to Washington on Saturday, urging it to uphold its commitment to the one-China policy.

However, Trump isn't yet president, so technically the phone call was not official. But it does seriously question the brash businessman's knowledge of the geopolitics in Asia, and if his advisers know they are provoking the dragon by pulling on its tail for no good reason as evidenced by his tweet:

Does Donald Trump understand the geopolitics in Asia?

"Interesting how the US sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call."

Sounds like a sly move on Taiwan's part to get Trump embroiled in a mess with China even before he becomes president.

How Trump handles China -- or the rest of the world for that matter -- will reveal what kind of president he is. Many within the US and around the world are terrified of what he will do after he is inaugurated domestically and globally.

It's so bizarre to see a reality TV show personality become the leader of the most powerful country in the world.

But does he understand this reality is not a TV show?

Ma Ying-jeou's Not Coming to HK

Ma Ying-jeou will give his speech to Hong Kong via video link on Wednesday

There was a bit of buzz about former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou coming to Hong Kong for the upcoming Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) as the keynote speaker on Wednesday. He was going to talk about cross-strait relations during his time as president.

Ma's staff were at pains to stress the visit would only be for a day, he would only attend this awards event, and that he wouldn't even visit his daughter who lives here with her husband.

However, Ma's request to travel was at the mercy of the new Tsai administration. According to Taiwan's Classified National Security Information Protection Act passed in 2003, former government officials with access to classified information are subject to travel restrictions for three years after leaving office.

And in this case, the Taiwanese government forbade Ma from coming to Hong Kong.

The annual SOPA awards recognize excellence in journalism

The government cited many reasons, including that he only recently left office on May 20, the request was made at short notice, the "sensitivity" of Hong Kong, and the lack of security cooperation in the city.

If Ma's trip had been approved, he would have been the first former leader of Taiwan to visit Hong Kong since 1949.

His office voiced regret at the decision, saying that it not only showed disrespect to the former leader, but also damages Taiwan's democratic image in the world.

The official opposition criticized the Tsai administration for showing "a lack of confidence and goodwill".

As Ma had planned to talk about the touchy subject of cross-strait relations, perhaps it's not surprising Tsai may have been concerned that others may misconstrue his ideas as those of the new president's platform.

Or perhaps she didn't want to give him a stage on which to present his ideas, particularly on rejuvenating the 1992 consensus, where both sides agreed on "one China", but they were each open to their own interpretation of what "China" was.

In any event, the law making visits by former government officials subject to travel restrictions is very interesting, and also reveals how Taiwan is concerned about how it is perceived outside.

So instead SOPA will have to accept that Ma will still give his speech via video link, upsetting his many fans in Hong Kong who had hoped to meet him in the flesh.

Tsai Bashing Backfires

Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen (centre) on inauguration day last Friday

The mainland really has problems accepting Tsai Ing-wen as the new president of Taiwan.

Less than a week after she took office, Wang Weixing, a member of the Association of Relations across the Taiwan Straits (Arats), were published in the International Herald Leader, a paper under Xinhua news agency.

"From the human point of view, as a single woman politician, [Tsai] does not have the emotional burden of love, of 'family', of children, [so her] political style and executive strategy tends to be emotional, personal and extreme," Wang said, who is also a senior military officer and director of foreign studies with the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Sciences.

He also added her "erratic behaviour" influenced her political style.

Tsai's office had no comment on the article.

The new Taiwanese president has a penchant for felines

The opinion is so baseless that one wonders how Wang could even be qualified to write something as sexist and misogynist as this.

She won a clear victory at the polls, so there must be a reason why the Taiwanese chose her over other candidates.

And having a leader who is single is a good thing.

That shows he or she is focused on his or her job, that family issues will not be getting in the way or a distraction from leading Taiwan.

Wouldn't you want a leader who was mostly focused on the best interests of your country/state/city/province?

If anything, Wang's opinion is so inane and ridiculous that his own countrymen bashed him on social media for his ignorance.

One Weibo user in Beijing wrote: "This was the stupidest and most offensive thing I have read in ages. Many women abroad admire Ms Tsai's tenacity and drive, especially the fact she is strong and independent and does not need a man to rule."

"If the tables were turned and Ms Tsai was a man, she would be celebrated for being single," said another. "This is typical discriminatory behaviour but it still disgusts me."

Perhaps the best response was from Su Mei Cho, a teacher from Shanghai: "If Xinhua wanted to criticize Tsai Ing-wen, do it on fair grounds and look at her ability to lead Taiwan and revitalize areas like defense and the economy.

"What does her private life have to do with the way she governs Taiwan? Taiwanese celebrate her and her strong achievements and I doubt they will care as much about who she decides to date, such trivial writing and opinions expressed in this report."

We expect Wang to metaphorically have egg on his face and he should better rethink his strategy on how to better bash Tsai on more weightier issues than her sex.

It is, after all, 2016.

Taiwan has Spoken!

Tsai Ing-wen will help Taiwan become a more a more independent state

Taiwan has gone one better than the United States by electing its first female president.

Tsai Ing-wen, opposition leader of the Democratic Progressive Party won a landslide victory against the incumbent Kuomintang, with a clear indication that Taiwanese are tired of President Ma Ying-jeou kowtowing to Beijing and want a more independent island state.

In her victory speech tonight, Tsai said the election outcome clearly indicated how ingrained democracy had become in Taiwan, adding: "The people of Taiwan have elected a government that will defend Taiwan's sovereignty."

The election was contentious, but the DPP won decisively

She also warned China that "suppression" would harm cross-strait ties. "Our democratic system, national identity and international space must be respected. Any forms of suppression will harm the stability of cross-strait relations," she said.

The ball is now in Beijing's corner and it will be interesting to see how it reacts to this definitive election result.

One wonders if this is seen as a slap in the face to the mainland after the historic meeting between the two leaders, Xi Jinping and Ma in November in Singapore.

With Tsai in charge, it looks like Beijing will have to cool things for a while and perhaps secretly hope she self destructs... or will the mainland engineer a political hot potato that will destroy her political career?

She comes from an academic background, which is apparently why she appealed to a lot of young voters, and perhaps the Sunflower movement -- made up of students -- had something to do with sweeping Tsai to power.

How will China react to the Kuomintang loss?

While the political pundits crunch the numbers to see how voters voted, it will be fascinating to watch this new dynamic with Tsai's presidency. Will she be strong enough to stand up to Xi and his growing influence regionally and globally? How will the male-dominated Zhongnanhai deal with a leader who is a woman?

We're excited to watch from the sidelines...