Democracy with Chinese Characteristics

The results of the Legco election came out this morning

Yesterday's Legislative Council election was a foregone conclusion. As expected, the pro-Beijing camp swept all the seats except one in a "patriots only" overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system.

Only 30.2 percent of people cast votes, or 1.35 million, a record low since 1997. The last Legco election saw 58.3 percent of eligible residents head to the polls in 2016. 

Rowse was genuinely disappointed

There were some high-profile candidates in the race, including Allan Zeman, best known for developing Lan Kwai Fong into an entertainment district decades ago, and Mike Rowse, a former government official. The latter seemed really disappointed that he did not win a seat, saying that the Liaison Office had picked him and Zeman to win.

"My impression is that the central government was genuinely pleased with the diversity of candidates. It may share my disappointment that none were successful," he said.

Perhaps Rowse should have known the two of them represented the "diversity" part of the election, and that with most of the voters being elderly, there would be a very slim chance an English speaker would get more votes than he did.

In any event, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is the biggest pro-Beijing party in the city, and it naturally won big, with a seat in each of the 10 geographical constituencies. 

One of its winners is Edward Leung-hei in Hong Kong Island East, who had campaigned to have an MTR station at Sai Wan Ho where there is already one since 1985, the same year he was born.

Leung won in Hong Kong Island East

Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming, who is best known for shielding the young man who killed his girlfriend in Taiwan that sparked the extradition bill and the protests that followed, has won a seat as a member of the election committee constituency. He is the first religious leader to join the legislature.

The only non pro-establishment candidate was Tik Chi-yuen, who founded the self-declared centrist party called Third Side. He won in the social welfare functional constituency.

Tik said he was surprised supporters of the pan-democratic camp had refused to vote this time, but vowed to keep his chin up despite the prospect of facing 89 opponents in the legislature alone.

"The pan-democratic bloc has always been the minority in Legco and they have never won when it comes to voting [on bills]," the 63-year-old said. "But I am sure I can still exert my influence and get the government to listen to me."

Tik is the only non pro-establishment to win seat

We wish him luck.

Just as the results were trickling in today, Beijing released its white paper titled: "Hong Kong: Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems."

The report said the Communist Party of China "has championed whole process people's democracy in China, and this has laid the groundwork for developing democracy in Hong Kong under the framework of One Country, Two Systems."

"Over the past century, the CPC has led the Chinese people on a long and arduous journey to establish a model of democracy with Chinese characteristics", enabling them "to run their own country with extensive and substantive democratic rights," it states.

To put an end to the months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, Xinhua news agency quoted the white paper as saying the CPC and Beijing took measures to restore order, returning the city's democratic process to a sound footing.

"With their political vision, the CPC and the Chinese government are certain of the long-term success of the socialist system on the mainland," the white paper said.

Beijing's white paper on HK's democracy overhaul

"They are equally certain of the long-term success of both the capitalist system in Hong Kong and a form of democracy suited to its realities."

With "improvements to the electoral system", the paper concludes, "governance by patriots will be further strengthened, rule of law and the business environment will continue to improve, and Hong Kong will become a more harmonious society".

It definitely sounds like democracy with Chinese characteristics.

It's pretty certain Beijing has been eager to present to the world its own version of democracy through this election and the ones to come, to prove that it brings peace and stability to the city.

With almost all the pro-democratic activists and lawmakers in jail or waiting trial or in exile, it's no doubt China's version of democracy will prevail.

But will it bring about a harmonious society? Perhaps the increasing emigration numbers are a sign...

China Limits Kids' Gaming to Three Hours a Week

Chinese kids under 18 can only play three days a week

 

Children under the age of 18 in China must be either fuming or trying to figure out a way to continue playing games on their smartphones after Beijing came down with a decree that they can only play it three days a week -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8pm to 9pm.

The rule came down from the National Press and Publication Administration (NAAP), China's top watchdog for gaming and other forms of online media, in a bid to stop gaming addiction among teenagers, according to state media outlet Xinhua.

Government wants to prevent gaming addiction

It had previously issued rules in 2019 that limited play time for minors to no more than 90 minutes each day, and three hours on statutory holidays.

While kids must be throwing tantrums, gaming companies may not take a big hit on the stock exchange as children don't make up a big part of their revenues, but it could result in a bigger impact in terms of the player bases, now that they can only play an hour a day for three days.

Imagine on a Friday night at 8pm, everyone in China will know what kids under 18 are doing -- furiously playing games on their phones.

There isn't much anyone can do about it because all players have to register with their real name and ID. It might inspire some children to start downloading VPNs to get around the system, but would that work? Or how about playing games developed by outside of China?

Gaming companies will be anxious to comply to the new rules because if they are caught having minors playing outside of the specified times, the government could easily shut them down. No one wants that.

Children don't spend much money on gaming

"Many parents have said that the gaming addiction problem among teens and children has gravely affected their ability to learn and study as well as their physical and mental health, even causing a series of societal problems," a spokesman for NAAP told Xinhua.

NAAP said gaming companies are responsible for stopping children from becoming addicted to gaming, and it seems this policy is yet another spanner in the wheel for gaming giants like Tencent, NetEase and Bilibili.

However, minors are only a small percentage of gaming receipts for these companies. For example for Tencent, players under 16 constitute just 2.6 percent of its gross gaming revenues in China, and those under 12 accounting for just 0.3 percent. Bilibili said minors only contributed 1 percent of the company's gaming revenue.

Nevertheless, it seems China is determined to curb young people's addiction to gaming and possibly insist on more national education instead? Either way it will make young people resent the government even more, unless state media comes up with stories of kids who realize how much time they have wasted playing games and that studying Xi Jinping thought is the only way to enhance their lives...

Karaoke Songs Could Breach National Security

Karaoke singers will have to be mindful of their song choices

 

Perhaps it was going to happen eventually, but the Chinese government has come down on karaoke songs, banning those that are perceived to "endanger national security".

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will establish a blacklist of banned songs deemed to have "illegal content", such as endangering national security and unity, inciting ethnic hatred, or promoting cults, gambling and vice.

Venues need to delete songs with "illegal content"

This is not new -- apparently China regularly removes songs deemed to be "politically incorrect" from domestic music streaming services, but now karaoke fans can't belt them out in the privacy of their own party rooms.

In its announcement published on Tuesday, the ministry did not explain how a song could land in the blacklist or reveal which songs endangered national security.

The national security law implemented in Hong Kong last June effectively criminalized public performances of songs sung during the anti-government protests in 2019.

That same year, Chinese music streaming sites also removed unofficial protest anthems, such as Les Miserables' Do You Hear The People Sing, as well as some songs by Chinese rock musician Li Zhi that reference the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

The new regulations come into effect October 1, which means before then karaoke content providers must audit their catalogues of these blacklisted songs, adding the ministry may establish a central expert review group for songs.

Some songs by rocker Li Zhi may be blacklisted

"Since there are almost 50,000 karaoke and entertainment venues nationwide, law enforcement and supervision is particularly difficult," said an unnamed ministry source quoted by Xinhua news agency.

"The basic song library of karaoke venues' systems can have over 100,000 songs, and it can be difficult for venue operators to identify illegal tracks."

It's made even harder when there is no official list of banned songs and so karaoke operators will have to guess.

Chinese bureaucracy at its finest, and a way to suddenly create employment to enforce the banned songs...

Professional Teachers' Union Under Attack

Teachers protested against the extradition bill in August 2019

 

This morning Chinese state media like Xinhua and People's Daily launched a blistering attack on the Professional Teachers' Union, describing the pro-democracy group as a tumour that must be rooted out.

They blamed the union for events during the 2019 anti-government protests, saying some teachers and students participated in violent and illegal activities, and that it didn't play its part to educate and stop them.

The PTU advocates for better quality education

Xinhua also said in its commentary that the union had participated in filibustering in the Legislative Council, encouraged class boycotts and supported what they called rioters and teachers who are poisoning students' minds.

The articles were published after the PTU dropped its association with the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which used to organize the annual June 4 candlelight vigils, and has been accused by pro-Beijing figures of violating the national security law.

However, Xinhua said union's exit was merely a "trick to evade accountability" and added the PTU was "long-hidden dirt in the education system", having engaged in anti-China and anti-Hong Kong activities.

Xinhua said the Hong Kong government "should get rid of the union", calling the task "an unshirkable responsibility".

People's Daily added the PTU had nothing to do with education or professionalism and that it was a malignant tumour that needed to be eradicated.

PTU was founded by Szeto Wah in 1973

The union was founded in 1973 by the late pro-democracy politician Szeto Wah. Its mission is to be politically liberal, socially activist, and defend the legal rights of teachers. It focuses on improving education quality by promoting teachers' professionalism and advocating education policies.

Soon after, the PTU issued a statement to respond to the state media attacks, saying it had always opposed Hong Kong independence and had cared about the country's development ever since the union's establishment. It also refused the outlets' accusations that it was "inciting kids to break the law", during the 2019 protests, saying it cared about students' safety and never invited them to participate in any demonstration.

The union added it would continue to listen and communicate with different sectors, and keep up its education work.

But that defense argument wasn't enough and the Hong Kong Education Bureau severed its ties with the union, and stripped it of its status as a professional group. 

The PTU, which has 95,000 members, expressed disappointment and regret over the decision on Saturday, saying it would be a loss to the whole education sector.

Days ago PTU withdrew from the alliance

A government source hinted the move to cut ties with the union was in the works and believed the PTU withdrawing from the alliance was a bid to relieve some pressure, but it was obviously not enough.

As a result of cutting its ties with the PTU, the bureau will no longer regard the union as a professional body, and will neither engage in any formal or informal meetings with it, nor take its opinions on matters pertaining to the sector. 

In addition, the bureau will temporarily stop looking into any cases referred by the union, and will review its advisory bodies and other groups with an eye to removing members who represented the PTU.

The union said it handled over 3,000 complaints and inquiries from members every year, and that the bureau's decision failed to take into account teachers' interests and welfare.

"The union has a positive impact on safeguarding workers' rights and bettering policies. Even though we have different views, if the bureau decides to cut ties with the union, it will be a loss to the whole industry," it said.

Education Bureau cut ties with the union today

Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole delegate to China's National People's Congress, said the central government had disliked the union for some time for its participation in political affairs. 

"Instead of serving as an educational professional body, it's been more like a political group throughout the years," Tam said. "It does not matter whether the union is historical, it's more of whether it's an opposition force."

This should be a warning to other professional bodies in Hong Kong -- dissenting voices will not be tolerated.

Will Chinese Families Have Three Kids?

China now allows families to have three kids, but will they?

 

China is now encouraging families to have not just two children but three in an announcement made today due to a significant drop in the birth rate in the world's most populous country.

Xinhua reported the change was approved by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a politburo meeting. 

"To further optimize the birth policy, [China] will implement a one-married-couple-can-have-three-children policy," Xinhua said.

The cost of raising children is very expensive

Five years ago China finally scrapped its one-child policy that dates back to 1978, and allowed couples to have two children, but that didn't lead to a significant baby boom thanks to the rising costs of having children, as well as housing and education.

The announcement today was short on specifics in how it would give support and incentives to families to have more children.

Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank (China), said the government would have to offer subsidies, and maybe even set up a new tax system for companies to have the incentive to hire women of childbearing age.

"The high costs of housing and education, as well as a lack of job protection for women, are strong economic constraints on having children," she said, adding the cost of having a third child would be too high for most middle-class families.

This decision comes soon after the release of a summary of census data that pointed to a decline in births in China, and Yi Fuxian, a specialist in China's demographics, said the timing of the announcement so soon after the census summary suggested the detailed data to come would be extremely worrying.

Women's job prospects are low after childbirth

"Maybe it's because the real population data is too scary. Even if they have not published it, it probably frightened the decision makers," Yi said.

The once-in-a-decade census showed the population grew at its slowest rate during the last decade since the 1950s to 1.41 billion.

But the reality of the situation is that young, educated and ambitious women do not want to be baby-making machines. Many are happy to be single let alone married, and prefer having a successful career than the thankless task of looking after a husband and children.

While the government has tried to scorn these women online, that is not going to help the situation, as the ratio of women to men is much smaller, so the pool of women willing to have children is even smaller.

Company policies and attitudes are sexist and need to change -- during job interviews young men are usually chosen over young women because it is assumed the latter will get married soon and have children and then may quit the job. 

Maybe Peng can tell Xi what women go through?

If the government wants to boost the population, it must force employers to find ways to accommodate women before, during and after having children, to keep a job for them or at least give them the opportunity to come back from maternity leave, otherwise how are they going to afford their mortgage, childcare, and pay for education? 

It would be beneficial for companies to retain these workers too; many mothers just want a steady pay cheque, though it is less than what a man would earn in the same position.

So it's all very well and good for the government to tell families to have more children to increase the country's population, but there needs to be specific incentives, services and tax breaks to give couples the financial confidence to have children. 

Grandpa Xi really needs to step up on this issue and look at it from the women's perspective before deciding what carrots he will dangle in front of them.

Perhaps his wife Peng Liyuan, or his daughter Xi Mingze can give him suggestions...

Xi Wants People to Waste Less Food

People tucking into their meals, but make sure you can finish everything

Chinese President Xi Jinping wants people to cut down on food waste, describing it as "shocking and distressing".

"Waste is shameful and thriftiness is honourable," he said on Tuesday. The president quoted a poem: "Who knows that of our meal in the dish, every grain comes after hard toil?"

Xi wants people to be more thrifty when it comes to food

The country could be set to introduce legislation to formulate regulations to prevent food waste through various means.

"[We would] advocate a reasonable and healthy dining culture and establish a long-term mechanism to stop food waste," explained Zhang Guilong, an official with the Legislative Affairs Commission, under the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Zheng Fengtian, a professor of agricultural economics at Remin University in Beijing, said China's food wastage was startling and could only be changed through legislation.

"It would be very hard to curb food wastage through people's consciousness or NGO campaigns," he said. "Awareness and behaviour can be changed by law, just like waste sorting in many cities."

A 2018 investigation by the Institute of Geographic and National Resources Research, and the World Wide Fund for Nature estimated Chinese consumers in four large cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Lhasa) had wasted 17 to 18 million tonnes of food served in 2015 -- enough to feed 30 to 50 million people for a year.

A law could be in place to end food wastage like this

Interesting that Lhasa was lumped in as a major city... is it a hint that Tibetans are wasteful?

"We should always have a sense of crisis over food security, especially amid the fallout of the Covid-19 epidemic, despite China having consecutive bumper harvests in recent years," Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Earlier this year he called on China's local officials to tighten their belts and live thrifty lives.

But will people be willing to change their habits and order one less dish while dining out? It's the Chinese custom for the host to order more food to show they aren't stingy, so trying to get them to order one less dish may be hard to adopt.

Responses from some internet users were hardly enthusiastic.

Doggy-bagging a lot of food here

"Can you first limit the dining of officials? Don't always take away from the people," one said, referring to formal banquets and lavish meals officials ate at.

"This seems aimed at us bottom class, but we are already thrifty. This means nothing to the rich," moaned another. "I especially hate this kind of political action that means on ordinary people to act."

This commenter took the proverbial cake: "This level of control. Even the number of dishes people order has to be regulated?"

China Already Knows How the Story Ends

The book about the coronavirus in China is out

Yesterday I wrote a blog post about China's propaganda machine going into overdrive with its tales of heroism and self-sacrifice of healthcare workers and ordinary people in their efforts to fight the coronavirus.

Today China reported 327 new cases compared to 433 the day before, and 44 deaths, which is less than the number of cases around the world, but this epidemic, which infectious disease experts fear could develop into a pandemic, is far from over.

The book talks about China's valiant efforts to battle the virus

However the Chinese have already published a book about the country's valiant efforts in overcoming the coronavirus called A Battle Against Epidemic: China Combating Covid-19 in 2020. It seems China already knows the ending to the story when the coronavirus hasn't even peaked yet.

A news release issued by the Xinhua News Agency says the book "collectively reflects General Secretary Xi Jinping's commitment to the people, his sense of mission, his far-reaching strategic vision and outstanding leadership as the leader of a major power."

Talk about a breathless sentence, perhaps because it was such a rushed project to finish.

There are articles extolling Xi Jinping's leadership in the crisis

The book features articles from Chinese state media that reiterate over and over how the Communist Party of China in its great wisdom knows how to battle the coronavirus, and has done so effectively.

The press release also claims the book will focus on "key moments, individuals and events during China's ongoing fight against the epidemic". 

Will it pay tribute to ophthalmologist Dr Li Wenliang and how he sounded the alarm about the coronavirus in late December but was accused by the police of spreading rumours? Li was infected with the coronavirus and died on February 7 and considered a hero by many Chinese who were angered by how the police, and by extension the local government treated him, and demanded free speech.

Will Dr Li Wenliang be memorialized in the book?

In any event, the book -- should you wish to read it -- will be available in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.

Isn't it a bit too premature to come out with a book like this? But perhaps the Chinese are trying to be optimistic?

Xi Supports Lam, but How to End the Crisis?

Lam looks relieved, Xi gives an awkward smile... what does it mean?

A few days ago the media were led up the wrong tree, that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor would not meet Chinese President Xi Jinping until Wednesday, but in fact she already saw him on Monday evening in Shanghai on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo.

There's a picture of Lam (with coiffed hair and Ferragamo heels) looking relieved perhaps because she would not be axed from her job yet, though it's interesting Xi bared his teeth while smiling, as he hardly ever shows his pearly whites.

What does that smile mean?

Lam met with Xi at 10pm following a dinner

This was the first meeting between the two since the anti-government protests broke out in early June.

"Xi expressed his hope that people from all walks of life in Hong Kong fully and faithfully implement the principle of 'one country, two systems', Xinhua reported.

While he demanded "unswerving efforts to stop and punish violent activities" in accordance with the law, the Chinese president also called for more dialogue with different sectors of society.

Lam said it was natural for Xi to be concerned about what is happening in Hong Kong. "I can feel his support over the work that the government has done to curb violence," she said.

The authorities' way of dealing with the protests doesn't work

What does "I can feel his support" mean? Did he not explicitly say he supported her? It sounds very vague... which makes you wonder what did they talk about then?

Another intriguing aspect of this meeting is that it was "spontaneous". Lam said the meeting was not originally on her schedule, and a source said it wasn't on Xi's itinerary either. She was only notified about it just before the expo's dinner banquet that he would meet her later at 10pm.

Wonder if she managed to eat anything during the dinner...

In any event now that Beijing has supposedly quashed rumours that Lam will be fired anytime soon, she still has to clean up the mess she created. But how? Following Beijing's approach of stopping the violence first before dialogue can begin hasn't been effective at all.

The protests are still going on into their fifth month

Pan-democrats worry Xi's vote of confidence will bolster Lam's belief that she is doing the right thing and give the police even more leeway in being tougher with the protesters. While over 3,000 people have been arrested, only a tiny fraction have been convicted, which shows the heavy handedness of the authorities in arresting people -- protesting or not -- willy nilly.

They are only wasting administrative time and effort, which we, the taxpayers are paying for, along with the tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, pepper spray...

More Shooting Outrage in Hong Kong

Tsang Chi-kin lies on the ground right after he was shot yesterday

Tsang Chi-kin, the 18-year-old student who was shot in the chest yesterday by a police officer will pull through thankfully, and thousands of people demonstrated their anger about the shooting with an impromptu march through Central at lunchtime.

Office workers in the area took over the streets to march from Chater Garden to Sheung Wan, raising their hands with fingers outstretched to show they want all five demands met, and chanted slogans. They literally stopped traffic as they marched, giving a very good indication of how much outrage there is towards the police.

Thousands marched around Central protesting the shooting

Meanwhile, Chinese state media claimed what the police officer did was completely legal, that he was within his rights to defend himself.

"Rioters attacked police officers on a great scale at Tsuen Wan," Xinhua said in a commentary early Wednesday morning. "The life of the officer at the scene was under serious threat and he was forced to shoot at the assailant to protect his own life as well as his colleagues. [His] action was totally legal, legitimate and appropriate," it said.

However, critics have said the officer should have de-escalated the situation rather than use live rounds. In fact yesterday six live rounds were fired around the city. Why so many yesterday? Were they given instructions to use live rounds? They were only further escalating the already tense situation.

And to further aggravate the frustration, former chief executive Leung Chun-ying wrote a letter to the the Tsuen Wan school Tsang attends, and told the principal to expel the 18-year-old and that the principal should resign immediately.

This evening in Tsuen Wan more people protested

What kind of nonsense is that? How is it the principal's fault his student was out protesting, and how does expelling the boy do any good? Elitists are revealing their true colours...

As if this afternoon's march was not enough support for the student, thousands more gathered tonight in Tsuen Wan. People held signs that read, "Don't shoot our kids". It looks like more and more people are angry at the police and want justice for Tsang...

Speaking of shootings, there was an Indonesian reporter, Veby Indah, who was shot in the eye on Sunday in Wan Chai, and it has now been reported she has permanently lost sight in that eye.

Indonesian journalist Veby Idah right after she was shot

Her legal representative, Michael Vidler wrote in a statement: "the injury she received as a result of being shot by the police, will result in permanent blindness in her right eye. She was informed that the pupil of her eye was ruptured by the force of the impact. The exact percentage of permanent impairment can only be assessed after surgery.

"We can also confirm that we have received evidence from a third party, which indicates that the projectile that blinded Ms Veby was a rubber bullet and not a beanbag round as originally thought."

With lawyers already on the case, Indah will most probably sue the police, while Tsang's family can also exercise that legal option.

On Sunday Indah, like other reporters, was wearing a bright yellow vest and standing on the overpass that links the Wan Chai MTR station with Immigration Tower. She said heard other journalists saying to the police, "Don't shoot, we are journalists." But Indah said the police shot and the next thing she knew, she was down on the ground. 

Doctors say she has permanently lost sight in her right eye

An 18-year-old shot in the chest and is lucky to be alive, and a reporter has become blind in one eye because of the police. Is this the kind of image the Hong Kong police want to project? Or their integrity is already evaporated so it doesn't matter anymore?

Meanwhile the rest of us are wondering when and how this will all end...

The Butcher of Beijing is Dead

"The butcher of Beijing" is dead -- Li Peng died on Monday in Beijing

This evening came the news that former Chinese premier Li Peng -- the man who advocated the violent crackdown in Tiananmen Square in June 30 years ago -- passed away on Monday at the age of 90.

For many critics of China, Li will is remembered as "The butcher of Beijing", while the Communist Party of China revere him as a great communist leader and statesman.

Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Deng Xiaoping

The official obituary in Xinhua says Li played an "important role" in the 1989 crackdown.

"Under the resolute support of veteran revolutionary leaders represented by comrade Deng Xiaoping, comrade Li Peng unequivocally stood with most of the comrades of the Politburo, taking decisive measures to stop the turmoil, cracking down on the counter-revolutionary riot and stabilizing the domestic situation. He made an important contribution in this fundamental struggle, which was critical to the future and fate of the Communist Party and the state."

It was at this critical juncture that Li helped the CPC take a more hard line path; they had seen East Germany crumble as well as the Soviet Union, and the Chinese leaders were not going to let the People's Republic of China to follow the same fate.

The PLA move in to clear out Tiananmen Square in 1989

Alas, was this the right decision?

The CPC would like to think so and is proving it is right by showing off its economic muscle that is way stronger than everyone else's. But morally it plays by its own rules that the rest of the world is still grappling with.

Li, a hydraulic engineer by training, was also responsible for the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. It was considered a massive engineering feat, despite forcing villagers to move and causing massive environmental damage.

The dam was supposed to control floods, but it hardly solved the issue, and so much silt from the Yangtze River accumulates in the dam that it caused a lot of problems, even triggering minor earthquakes! And no, the massive hydroelectric dam didn't solve electrical supply issues either.

The Three Gorges Dam is an environmental disaster

But Li did well for his family. He has three children, two of whom ran two of China's electrical monopolies. One of them, Li Xiaopeng entered politics in Shanxi province and became its governor in 2012, and four years later he became Minister of Transport. Li Xiaolin was chief executive of China Power International Development before being transferred out to another power company.

The more the Chinese know about what happened on June 4, the more they will change their opinions about Li Peng. They have a right to know about this bloody stain on their country's history and Li's part in it.

One Location, Two Divergent Activities

Protesters ramming a makeshift trolley into the Legislative Council on July 1

So much has happened since the July 1 rampage through the Legislative Council, and today the police have begun arresting people who trashed the government building, identifying them through their fingerprints.

It's a tedious process, but it seems the government is determined to punish anyone who was involved in some way.

On the same day was a pro-China festival in Victoria Park

Reporters asked people on the street how they felt about the protesters who stormed Legco and they sympathize with them. These are people of various ages and ethnicities. Some middle-aged people said 1 million and then 2 million people came out on the streets to protest the extradition bill, and yet Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said nothing -- at first.

And then she did apologize, but she seemed to do so unwillingly said one man, which didn't look sincere at all. He pointed out that when former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen apologized, at least he bowed -- she did not.

As a result, the man said, the young protesters' patience had run out and they felt they had to resort to violence to make their grievances heard.

Others also pointed out how Lam didn't even reach out to the protesters and only talked to people in her inner circle, thus handling the crisis all wrong.

I talked to another communications professional today who said Lam did everything 110 percent wrong, adding she should fire the communications people who advised her.

However, not a soul was to be seen at this event

This person also thought the 4am press conference was unheard of and not how one would handle the situation at all, adding Lam was digging herself into a bigger grave.

We are all waiting to see what will happen next.

In the meantime I'd like to point out that at the July 1 march that started in Victoria Park, we were unable to convene at the six football pitches because they were completely taken up by an event called the "Greater Bay Festival".

It was organized by the pro-Beijing group, the Hong Kong Celebrations Association. Its mission?

"By planning and organizing celebrations programmes for festivals in Hong Kong, HKCA aims at enhancing social participation, promoting and increasing national consciousness of the home country, propelling the building up of a harmonious society," it says on its website. Many of the co-organizers have China links.

Lots of booths were set up, but it hardly looked festive because NO ONE was there. Xinhua reported that organizers were expecting 100,000 people to attend the festival that focused on innovative technology.

What would Queen Victoria (centre) think of her subjects now?

But who would be caught dead walking into this festival even though admission was free? On top of that were groups of police officers standing at each possible entrance to the festival, making it daunting to check out the event.

And anyway, what was the point of this event, other than to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Greater Bay Festival seemed like an opportunity for brown nosing, held on the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China. Whoohoo.

When we finally got to march out of Victoria Park, we looked over at the stalls all set up, but it was literally a ghost town in the cordoned off area. What a complete waste of money and time, or perhaps the HKCA has lots of money to burn?

Two Sessions in Gobbledygook

The Two Sessions, the annual political meeting is on now in Beijing

China's big political event, 两会 or "the Two Sessions" annual meeting is on, and I can't keep track of all the new legislation that's coming down, but a relative told me on a recent trip to Guangzhou that online monitoring was so tight that the couldn't even use WeChat to communicate with their relatives to arrange when to meet up.

They had to resort to either calling their phone number, or SMS... Seems like an aim to inconvenience over a billion people for a few days...

But perhaps the biggest irony is a propaganda rap song about the Two Sessions released by Xinhua news agency. The song that runs 4:48 was composed by rapper Su Han who became famous from being on the reality show Sing! China.



His song, called "Two Sessions", is a total cringe fest because the lyrics are utterly grammatically incorrect and Su seems to have looked up a lot of words in the thesaurus and tried to use bigger words to sound more sophisticated. However it has the opposite effect in showing he does not know exactly what the word means.

For example one line says: "Eject all the rapaciousness like shaking of nephrolithiasis".

Rapper Su Han singing his heart out in unintelligible English

What?

The chorus is also mind-boggling: "We've got two sessions, we've got two sessions/ For the fragrance we're blessing, to the world we show our affection."

Yeah, OK...

Or how about: "See the Larch rolling miles upon miles/ when we meet satisfied Popeye".

What does Popeye have to do with China?

And the song keeps going for over four minutes without making any kind of sense.

Who put Su up to this? And what was his time line? Did they ask him to write it in a day?

Perhaps the most ironic thing is that the Chinese government is wary of hip hop, and while there is no full ban in place, since last year it has been considered not to be politically correct to be associated with that genre of music.

How does this hip hop song make China cool?

Why then, has the government released this atrocious song in the style of hip hop?

It probably thought co-opting hip hop it would make the authorities sound cool to the younger generation, but it's kind of like once your parents like what you like, you move onto something else...

Christmas Banned in a Chinese Town

The grinch has arrived in Langfang, Hebei province in northern China

The local government in Langfang, a Chinese town in Hebei province, is the Christmas grinch this year.

Officials have ordered the removal of all festive decorations and banned shops from holding sales to "maintain stability".

The statement from the city management office of Langfang also appealed to the public to report anyone "spreading religion" in parks and squares, though it didn't specify which religion.

All Christmas decorations are banned from the city

Christmas isn't a recognized holiday in China, though for many particularly young people it's an excuse to hang out with friends at restaurants and bars, or buying gifts.

Langfang isn't the first place to ban Christmas -- in December last year, members of the Communist Party's Youth League at the University of South China in Hunan province were asked to sign a code of conduct that they would not participate in Christmas-related celebrations.

In the case of Langfang, local officials said anyone caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figurines in the city would be published, while shops are prohibited from holding Christmas performances or promotional sales.

This ban comes after the government has been cracking down on people practicing Christianity. On Saturday morning, more than 60 police officers and officials stormed a children's Bible class in Guangzhou.

Langfang may be trying to please Beijing through the ban

The authorities also shut down the 1,500-member Zion Church in Beijing in September, and Chengdu's 500-member Early Rain Covenant Church last week. In the latter case, about 100 worshippers were snatched from their homes or from the streets in coordinated raids.

Amnesty International China researcher Patrick Poon the recent raids on churches reflected the government's attitude towards Christianity, and the move by Langfang officials in Hebei may have been intended to impress Beijing.

"The authorities in Langfang might want to show how much they are ready to please the central government by banning Christmas decorations and sales.

"However, it also shows their ignorance about what Christmas really means for Christians, which is not about shopping or party celebrations, but it's the time to manifest their faith."

It's also interesting to keep in mind China manufactured and exported 60 percent of the world's artificial Christmas trees in 2017, according to Xinhua.

Why isn't that banned?