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| Health officials continue mantra of asking people to stay home |
Today another three digit number -- 106 new cases -- and the latest restrictions will kick in at midnight, Wednesday morning. Two more deaths today, elderly patients, more restaurant clusters, the July 12 junk cruise, more from the July 9 handover party, elderly homes, and now a construction site with 13 cases.
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| Dr Chuang reported 106 new cases today |
It is found that 290,000 people were exempted from quarantine thanks to the government's list of 33 exemptions, though there are now two more people from the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse who are infected, along with seamen.
Because so many people were exempted, it is more and more evident the government has inadvertently allowed infections to occur in the community and now it has gotten to the point where it could be uncontrollable.
What does the government do?
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor mulled the possibility of holding the September Legislative Council Elections next year, citing the current health situation.
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| Lam wants to postpone Legco elections for a year |
Singapore was able to successfully hold its elections, why can't we?
The government probably wants to postpone the elections because the pro-establishment are doing so badly in the polls, that it hopes a year later, all will be forgotten.
NOT.
A friend who recently became a permanent resident wondered on social media if the elections were postponed could he register to vote then? And what about all those young people who will turn 18 in the next year?
Does the government really think it will do better in a year's time?
Meanwhile more politics is at play with the sacking of Benny Tai Yiu-ting, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong earlier today.
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| HKU governing council sacked Benny Tai today |
The university's governing council voted 18 to two to fire the legal academic for his convictions in his role in the 2014 Occupy Movement and served 16 months in prison. He has been out on bail since last August, pending an appeal.
In reaction to his dismissal Tai said academic institutions in Hong Kong "cannot protect their members from internal and outside interferences", adding that the university council's decision "marked the end of academic freedom in Hong Kong".
In full he wrote:
The decision to terminate my appointment was made not by the University of Hong Kong but by an authority beyond the University through its agents.
It marks the end of academic freedom in Hong Kong.
Academic staff in education institutions in Hong Kong are no longer free to make controversial statements to the general public about politically or socially controversial matters. Academic institutions in Hong Kong cannot protect their members from internal and external interferences.
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| Tai says this is end of academic freedom in HK |
If there is still any doubt of the advancement of 'One Country, One System' in the territory, my case should be able to remove it.
I am grateful to the University of Hong Kong for nurturing me as a law student, a law teacher, a legal researcher and a guardian of rule of law. I am heart-broken to witness the demise of my beloved university.
Yet, I will continue my research and teaching on the rule of law in another capacity. My fight for Hong Kong's rule of law also will not stop.
I have the confidence to see the rebirth of a free HKU in the future.
Meanwhile HKU President Zhang Xiang said: "The University values diversity of views and vigorous debate, embracing discourse and robust engagement. All of these qualities represent the quintessence of a university and the spirit of our scholarly community."
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| HKU President Zhang Xiang |
This is definitely not the end of the 56-year-old Tai's career, but his reputation may have been too much for the university to bear.
And for many academics, Tai's firing is a signal of what's to come when it comes to towing the party line in universities, which are supposed to be safe spaces to debate and discuss.
In the meantime, everyone mask up and keep Hong Kong's coronavirus cases down so we can vote in September!
