Government Crackdown on District Councillors

Lam claims district councillors pose "immense challenges"

 

Last Thursday I received a text message from my district councillor, announcing she was resigning because of health issues.

I was disappointed to get the news, but also not surprised.

The Hong Kong government is making it harder and harder for district councillors, particular the pro-democracy ones to continue doing their jobs, as some have been arrested for taking part in the pan-democratic primaries last July, and the rest are being forced to take the oath, by swearing allegiance to the city and to uphold the Basic Law.

District Councillor Cherry Wong has quit

But really these district councillors are trying to do what their constituents want, which is to make their neighbourhoods safer and cleaner, encourage recycling, or voice opinions on unwanted development.

So it's outrageous for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to claim these district councillors present "immense challenges" for the Home Affairs Department because they're behaving in a way that has "never been seen before".

It turns out HAD had issued warning letters to over 30 district councillors who had handed out candles to people on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The warning letters said the councillors may have breached local laws by distributing candles to people and encouraging them to take part in an unauthorized assembly, adding their activities were "unrelated to the District Council's work" and "undermine district harmony," the department said.

The HAD is responsible for managing local administration and district councillors' salaries and funding, and Lam said the HAD will "respond appropriately" if councillors are found to have improperly used public funds or violated regulations.

Some district councillors handed out candles

Maybe it was someone's birthday that day and they needed candles. Why all this fuss? But obviously the government does not want its money -- which is technically the people's money -- used to mark this politically-charged tragic event, which up until recently was legal.

Last week three district councillors, including Yau Tsim Mong District Councillor Suzanne Wu set up street booths to talk about Tiananmen Square. They were warned along with six other district councillors from the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile Sha Tin District Councillor Vienna Luk was warned after citing lyrics from the Cantopop song, The Great Wall, by rock band Beyond in a Facebook message. The 1992 song describes China has a country where facts and truth were shut up behind walls.

Luk asked why the HAD had a problem with her appreciating music.

Then two other Sha Tin district councillors, Raymond Li and Thomas Cheung, were warned for displaying a banner that read, "Candlelights will not be out."

Some wanted to mark the Tiananmen anniversary

And then on Saturday, Tsuen Wan District Councillor Lam Sek-tim called off an energy-saving event after the department sent him a warning letter. In an earlier Facebook post, Lam had urged residents to turn off their lights for an hour and he would give away a few electric-powered candles. He did not mention the 1989 crackdown at all.

So I'm not surprised my district councillors has "resigned"; I don't know the circumstances, but I'm guessing it is very similar to what her colleagues have experienced.

Up until last week she sent out regular updates of what she had been up to, encouraged people to donate gently used sweaters and thermos to distribute to the elderly in poverty, gave out calendars and turnip cake in the new year, as well as lots of masks and hand sanitizers during the pandemic. 

If anything it's the government making it hard for district councillors to do their jobs. It was their constituents who democratically voted them in. 

The electoral system can't change fast enough for the government so it's doing its utmost to make the district councillors all leave their positions either through convictions, forcing them to take the oath, or quit under duress.

RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong Abruptly Axed

This RTHK opinion show was suddenly axed on Sunday

 

The dismemberment of Radio Television Hong Kong continues to gather pace with the axing of a short weekly program called "Letter to Hong Kong".

It gives airtime to politicians and public figures to talk about a specific issue they want to address and it's on average eight to 10 minutes long.

The letter is written and recorded in English, so the speaker's oral skills may not be as good as a radio host, but many do have interesting things they want to say, or make a rebuttal to an issue in the news, or promote a cause that is worthy of the public's attention.

Mo's letter supported those in jail and was yanked

There was a balance of guests, some pro-establishment, some pan-democrats, or well-known figures. The last person to read his "Letter to Hong Kong" this past Sunday was businessman Allan Zeman, chairperson of the Lan Kwai Fong Group, who talked about the pandemic.

However the new head of RTHK Patrick Li Pak-chuen has canceled episodes at the last minute, leaving the station's staff scrambling for replacement items. 

In April, the "Letter to Hong Kong" featuring Tuen Mun district councillor Michael Mo Kwan-tai was yanked, possibly because he sent Easter greetings to those in detention and thanked them for their spirit of sacrifice.

"We may lose a battle, but we must not lose our determination to resist," he said.

The episode was suspended three days before it was to air and was replaced with Eugene Chan, President of the pro-Beijing Association of Hong Kong Professionals and a former chairperson of RTHK's board of advisors.

Also Chris Yeung Kin-hing, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association was told his appearance would be postponed in April. Looks like never.

Zeman read the last Letter to HK

"Letter to Hong Kong" will now be replaced by a show called "#Hashtag Hong Kong", where music will be played and NGOs will be invited to discuss livelihood issues. The first episode features Patrick Cheung Chi-hung, chairperson of the children's rights group Against Child Abuse, who called for mandatory reporting of child abuse.

Sounds pretty intense. But one presumes eventually there will be groups on the show talking about beach clean-ups, food waste, and recycling clothes...

 

Alliance Member Blasts Banning of June 4 Vigil

 

Chow speaks to the media blasting those who banned the vigil

In a follow-up to the Friday morning arrest of Chow Hang-tung, vice-chair of democracy group that organizes the annual June 4 candlelight vigil, she was released the day after the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

She was detained by police for allegedly publicizing the banned candlelight vigil that has been held in Victoria Park for 30 years until 2019. The event was banned last year and this year, citing the pandemic as the reason for people not to gather.

Chow was arrested by plain clothes policemen

"I reject all the allegations," said Chow, of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. 

"The arrest yesterday [June 4] is obviously an unjust preventive arrest with a blatant purpose of stopping myself from physically being in Victoria Park and to frighten other people from doing the same."

Chow was released on HK$10,000 (US$1,300) bail and must report back to the police on July 5. 

On May 29 the 37-year-old barrister wrote on her Facebook page that "lighting a candle is not a crime", and said she would do so on June 4.

When she was released from the police station, she had strong words for those who were complicit in her arrest.

"I want to tell everyone who participated in all this, don't hind behind the technical provision of the public order ordinance anymore. Open your eyes and see what you are actually doing. What you're actually doing is to cover up the crime of the killers in 1989," she said to a group of reporters.

7,000 police were out in force on Friday in HK

"You are deepening the wounds of all those families, victims, who have been suffering for 32 years without justice. You are helping in consolidating this unjust one-party dictatorship."

She also said she would continue to speak out.

"They want to threaten the media by saying if you are doing more interviews on this sensitive topic, your interviewees will get arrested," Chow said.

While she was detained by the police, Chow fasted to remember the victims from 32 years ago, demonstrating her unwavering conscience and values.

 

Walking on the Colourful Side

Colourful ribbons shimmering in the wind

My walk along the harbourfront has become more interesting.

Today we saw a lot of new additions, some of which make us question where our taxpayer dollars are going.

Near the PLA dock in Central is a cordoned off space called Design District HK and there is a giant undulating net tied with 18,000 colourful ribbons. It looks like a rainbow-coloured rectangular carpet waving in the breeze.

Swings anchored to the ground

It happened to be the first day today of the event, and we had to use our LeaveHomeSafe app and take our temperature before going into the space free of charge. Inside there are a number of large green (fake grass) circles on the ground, presumably for social distancing.

It was nice to lie under this art installation called River of Light by artist Patrick Shearn, but after a few minutes of admiring it and taking pictures, then what? We walked back to the entrance nearby and they politely told us we had to walk to the far end of the grounds to exit. 

With no signage saying so it was annoying to have to walk all the way to the end.

Nevertheless we continued on our way eastward and saw the water barriers were removed just past the Wan Chai Star Ferry pier. The area near the pier is covered in fake pink roses, and it's pathetic to see this cheesy floral theme is still used and now with some seating in pink complete with flamingos, or decorated with more fake flowers.

In the distance we saw some rubber tire swings (with fake pink grass) seating and thought we could have some fun on it. But when we sat on them, they didn't move! The rubber tire swings were anchored at the bottom with chains.

Why? WHY?

The letters "V" and "H" for Victoria Harbour

Why can't we swing on these swings?! The authorities are probably terrified someone is going to get hurt.

That was really infuriating.

And to complete the area, there was a "V" and "H" to denote "Victoria Harbour" that people could pose with. Whoohoo.

When we finally arrived at the Wan Chai Harbourfront Promenade, there were what looked like giant bendy straws at the end. When we went around them, they made different percussion sounds like synthesizer bells or xylophone which was interesting. 

It's called Sky Castle designed by Australian multimedia design studio Eness in collaboration with Hattrick Creative.  

So we ran around and around these giant archways where senors triggered them to release sounds and would probably make more "music" if more people went around them.

Giant tubes that make sounds! Great for kids

Perhaps the Hong Kong government realizes people need some things to keep them occupied, and this public art will get them out and about discovering the harbourfront. It also helps that there are giant green arrows on the ground pointing to where people should go...

However at the same time each of the sections have wildly different design elements that aren't very consistent or cohesive. It seems no thought was put to having a consistent theme and each section was determined by a singular group or individual. 

This does not work well. The High Line in New York works so well because the overall look is very consistent, even though the plantings may be different. The benches are quite similar or site specific, but still keep with the same kind of minimalist design. 

Instead on the Hong Kong waterfront it's a hodgepodge of different things for different people, which is understandable to a degree, but they vary so much in terms of their overall look that it's hard to believe they are all connected by one path.

But really, can something be done about those swings?