Big Lychee, Various Sectors

Anna Kwok’s father imprisoned for cancelling an insurance policy he took out for her when she was an infant…

His daughter lives in the US and has been wanted by national security police for suspected foreign collusion since 2023.

Handing down the jail term, Acting Principal Magistrate Andy Cheng said the offence – under the city’s homegrown security law – was serious and that Kwok had showed no remorse.

He acknowledged that Kwok did not do anything that directly endangered national security, and that the funds – if successfully withdrawn – would only be used by the defendant.

So how was it serious? 

As Brian Kern points out, the prison sentence will cause anguish not only for 69-year-old Kwok Yin-sang himself, but to his daughter…

In fact, at least 51 relatives in Hong Kong are known to have been detained for interrogation in relation to the arrest warrants and bounties. They were brought into police stations and interrogated usually for several hours before being released. But taking the next step and imprisoning one of them represents a significant escalation.

…Now the regime was threatening to make their loved ones pay for their “transgressions.” And a form of hostage-taking commenced. But the problem was, if all it was doing was taking their family members in for questioning, overseas Hong Kongers would get used to that and not be terribly frightened. So it had to go a step farther. Thus, Anna’s father’s case.

…First of all it’s because family members are not doing anything that the regime can frame as crimes. And secondly, to show just how arbitrary the regime can be: it’s saying, we can get your relatives for anything at any time, so you had better be quiet or your loved one will pay. 

From CNN…

“There is no such thing as … collective punishment, and it has absolutely nothing to do with whether the defendant and the fugitive are family,” [Magistrate] Cheng said.

Anna Kwok talks about the verdict on a YouTube vid.

Story also being covered by Reuters, BBC, NYT, etc, etc.

One of the aims of US-based exiled activists like Anna Kwok is the barring of Hong Kong’s Economics and Trade Offices. An op-ed in The Diplomat explains…

…the HKETOs in Washington, D.C., New York, and San Francisco are engaging in activities that strengthen the Chinese government’s influence in the United States. They promote Beijing’s narratives and propaganda, counter-lobby against human rights legislation, and court federal, state, and local officials as well as business leaders and others. Don’t be fooled; the HKETOs are not neutral trade bureaucracies. They have a benign-sounding label that obscures their political function, allowing them to gain unique access and influence with U.S. corporations and in our states and cities.    

From Niao Collective, a collection of threads on Hong Kong protest art. And New Lines magazine on the emergence of Japanese anime in protest-related memes worldwide. 

Hong Kong ’returns to black’. But the operating surplus includes income raised by issuing bonds, which of course are loans that have to be repaid with interest. Net that out, and they’re HK$100 billion in the red. But they’re still chucking it around anyway.

On to the details… What two things does Hong Kong need most? If you answer a) a new light show and b) more tourists – well done! (Should tourism promotion really belong in an annual government budget? If it’s going to cost the taxpayer money – the HK Tourism Board is getting HK$1.6 billion – then I guess so.)

The 2026-27 budget speech is all here. Here are around half the subject headings, selectively edited to highlight the buzzwords, BS, hype and (a dozen) hubs…

Proactively (no less) aligning with the PRC’s Five-Year Plan This is there to remind everyone that we are a part of China, in case you hadn’t noticed….

Being an international financial centre, Hong Kong will drive “Finance+”, capitalising on our financial sector to better serve the real economy and industries with competitive edge, and pressing ahead towards mutual empowerment of finance and I&T.  In so doing, we can leverage our strengths to serve the country’s needs…

Not sure what that means. But rest assured that the purpose of Hong Kong’s international financial centre will continue to be to make money. For itself.

AI Obviously. 

Synergising with Market Forces to Accelerate Innovation and Technology Development Remember the Lok Ma Chau Loop? Now called the Hetao Hong Kong Park, plus San Tin Technopole – trendy-buzzword industrial parks. The ‘synergising’ is about urging landowners to rent space to trendy buzzword industries elsewhere in Northern Metropolis-Land. (My spell-check is OK with ‘synergising’, so it must be a word.)

Patient Capital is a thing – basically long-term investment in nice things that won’t make much money… 

In addition to seeking medium- to long-term investment returns for our fiscal reserves, the HKIC aims to bring in more frontier technology enterprises and patient capital to Hong Kong, as well as promote in‑depth collaboration among the Government, industry, academia, research institutes and investors.  It also aims to accelerate the establishment of Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem and the development of strategic industry chains.  All these will enhance our competitiveness and contribute to the diversified development of our economy.

Are the civil servants who write this paid by the word?

Regional Intellectual Property Trading Centre  Desperately trying to think of something we can be a hub for, and something that isn’t tourism.

International Hub for High calibre Talents  Would ‘cluster’ be a better word? Or ‘magnet’ – at least ideally? On top of a classic East Asian collapse in the birth rate, Hong Kong has seen a significant outflow of young skilled people. Solution: replace them with Mainlanders. Problem: many of the Mainlanders plan to move on to other parts of the world.

Integrated Development of Culture, Sports and Tourism  But not necessarily in that order…

To support “tourism is everywhere” and promote “urban-rural integration”, we propose allocating $200 million for launching the “NM Urban-rural Integration Fund” as a pilot scheme. The scheme aims to encourage non-governmental organisations and relevant bodies to take forward rural tourism projects and bring economic vitality to rural villages.

The tourism bureaucrats who really hate beaches obviously hate those villages too. Have you tried ‘tourism is nowhere’? 

Green Finance, Green Tech, Green Blah Blah Whatever happened to Islamic banking? 

Some friendly advice from Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency…

The ICAC reminds parents that when making school admission applications for their children, they should never offer bribes to staff members in exchange for school placements…

Does entry to an ESF kindergarten really guarantee children a fast-track to Harvard and a career as a dazzlingly accomplished doctor or lawyer? Or are these parents planning to leave Hong Kong in the coming years (several have Pinyin names)? Or – are they just insecure and desperate social climbers?

A long open letter to Xi Jinping from Taiwanese tycoon Robert Tsao, founder of chipmaker United Microelectronics. As well as saying the PRC has no right to Taiwan, he shreds much of the CCP’s official version of Chinese history… 

Taiwan was occupied by the Qing Empire in 1683 and was ceded by the Qing to Japan in 1895, a period of 212 years. That can hardly be called “since ancient times.” Much of Ukraine was ruled by the Mongols from 1240 to 1362, more than 120 years. If one claimed that Ukraine has “since ancient times been the territory of today’s Mongolia,” that would obviously be a joke.

In 1928, Mao Zedong explicitly advocated that Taiwan should be independent and establish a “Taiwan Republic.” In 1936, Mao told American journalist Edgar Snow in Yan’an that if the Korean people wished to break free of Japanese imperialism, “we enthusiastically support their struggle for independence,” and that “the same applies to Taiwan.” In other words, in 1936 your Party did not even consider Taiwan to be Chinese territory, yet later it changed its tune and claimed “Taiwan has since ancient times been Chinese territory.” This shows the Party’s habit of rewriting history to suit political needs.

…A contract [the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong] formally signed by the Chinese and British governments in 1984 was declared non-binding as a mere “historical document” thirty years before its term expired. Yet the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, more than eighty years ago, are absolutely “historical documents,” but your state insists they remain legally binding today. Is this not blatant double standards?

…your Party insists on unifying Taiwan because Taiwan has already realized popular sovereignty. Therefore you must silence the Taiwanese people, so that the Chinese people do not take Taiwan as an example and demand that your Party return power to the people, is that not so?

Twelve pro-democrats’ appeals are rejected in the HK47 case. HKFP story …

In May 2024, the court found 45 of the defendants guilty over their roles in an unofficial primary election in July 2020. The primary aimed to maximise the pro-democracy camp’s chance at winning a legislative majority, enabling them to threaten a veto of the government budget to press for political demands like universal suffrage. Legal scholar Benny Tai received the heaviest jail sentence of 10 years.

…“The scheme was conceived, advocated and pursued by [Tai] as a ‘constitutional mass destruction weapon’ for the purpose of toppling the constitutional order in” Hong Kong, Judge Jeremy Poon said during Monday’s hearing.

“A LegCo [Legislative Council] member could not act in contravention of the overarching constitutional duty of upholding the constitutional order” in Hong Kong, the judge also said. “If a LegCo member joined the scheme… he must have necessarily acted in breach of such constitutional duty.”

Benny Tai’s plan to – potentially/ultimately – force the government to stand down by vetoing a budget always seemed fanciful and unnecessary; it would have been simpler just to declare that the aim of the pan-dem primaries was to win an election in order to increase popular political power. The National Security Law criminalizes attempts to overthrow or undermine the government, and the court’s 2024 guilty verdict rested on the notion that such a veto would be ‘indiscriminate’ (the Basic Law makes no mention of the purpose behind any budget veto) and would cause constitutional ‘mass destruction’ (actually, a new Chief Executive election). 

The bottom line is that Beijing cannot tolerate a system in which an elected legislature can meaningfully pressure the executive. The Basic Law provision on budget votes clearly allows for LegCo to force a government to stand down, regardless of any ‘crisis’ or other repercussions. So the NatSec Law overrides Hong Kong’s constitution.

AP report. Amnesty statement…

None of these 12 defendants committed an internationally recognized crime; they have been serving lengthy sentences simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association & participation in public affairs

The HK47 case also gave the authorities an opportunity to imprison most of Hong Kong’s most popular politicians. Which leads us to…

HKFP story on how residents of Wang Fuk Court tried to warn the government of hazardous renovation work before the deadly fire last November… 

In the string of emails seen by HKFP, the [Housing Dept] got back to Chris on October 31. “The safety of residents and workers has always been our group’s top priority,” the email read. “The inspection found that some of the external wall protective facilities still have deficiencies… Regarding the aforementioned issues, our group has instructed the contractor to complete the repairs as soon as possible.”

The response did not put Chris at ease, as the ICU did not mention whether it had inspected the quality of the scaffolding nets. “And if there were deficiencies, why did they not order the contractor to cease the operation until everything was fixed?” he told HKFP.

…“I think the government should bear the greatest responsibility. However, I dare not speak up,” Chris told HKFP in Cantonese, pointing out the sentencing of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai and prominent democrats in landmark national security trials in recent years. 

He refused to use his real name, citing Hong Kong’s current political climate. 

Are you ‘inciting hatred of the government’ – thus liable for imprisonment under sedition laws – if you complain about official shortcomings? Some Wang Fuk residents clearly think so. Pre-2020, LegCo had democratically elected representatives who would have given the residents a voice, and possibly convinced officials to monitor the renovation work more effectively. Now, those lawmakers are barred from LegCo or are even in prison (see HK47 case), and their replacements are picked for loyalty to the government. Who can the public turn to? How can the rulers know what their subjects really feel (see bus seat belts mess)? It looks like a recipe for increasingly bad governance.

Just spent Spring Festival in a Pearl River Bay Area Hub-Zone two-floor apartment that cost a tenth (at most) what it would cost in Hong Kong. One weird feature: the bathroom has two toilets – one next to the shower, and the other inside it. Don’t ask. Will dig up photos, if I remember. Even by the standards of a city whose population of predominantly migrant workers has gone home for the holidays, Foshan is a soulless urban desert with architecturally bold but empty office blocks everywhere. If it weren’t for delivery drivers on mopeds, the roads would have been empty.

Some things from while I was away…

RazvenHK on Jimmy Lai…

…Lai was neither the mastermind nor perpetrator … the idea that a single media outlet could have the influence to whip the people into a frenzy without there being very legitimate causes for concern is a laughable one. China thinks the people of Hong Kong are stupid while they are the only ones ignorant of the realities on the ground, desperately trying to rewrite history to try suit their political narrative. 

Joel Chan on Hong Kong’s demographics…

Since mid-2017, the age 70-79 population in Hong Kong has increased by nearly 80%, while the age 20-29 population has decreased by 31%

Check out the graph. 

From LA Review of Books, A good summary and comparison of the 2010s protest movements in Taiwan and Hong Kong. 

Developed a weird curiosity with curling while being forced to watch the Winter Olympics, but I couldn’t avoid the mania over US skater Alysa Liu, whose father escaped China via Operation Yellowbird after the 1989 Tiananmen upheaval. Even more impressive than her swirling-around on the ice is (in my humble opinion) the way she carries off what should be an atrocious hair-dye job, which reminds me of the puppies painted to look like tigers I saw people selling in Shanghai in the mid-90s. Anyway: a substack piece on MAGA’s creepiness about her…

Before obsessing over Liu, reactionaries dominating Elon Musk’s X spent much of the Olympics attacking Team USA athletes who criticized Trump and his administration. That all changed after Liu skated her way into overnight celebrity status. Some posters tried to claim her as MAGA, while others were less subtle in turning her into fodder for depraved fantasies.

…Turning Point USA hypeman Jack Posobiec, who the female-centered dating app Bumble banned in 2018, has been posting about her for the last several days. Posobiec even meme’d Liu’s face into a story about Trump’s response to the Supreme Court’s tariff decision in what looks like an attempt to positively associate her with the president.

Probably shouldn’t be on YouTube, so watch it while you can if you are of a certain age/demographic: Urgh! A Music War – a (good quality audio/video) 1982 film of live performances by the Dead Kennedys, Gary Numan, Klaus Nomi, Steel Pulse, Devo, UB40, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Police and more. 

For the first time in six or seven years. Gung hei etc to all in advance.

A slightly surreal photo taken in Macau a few days ago…

And an amusing little tale from Futurism…

…as NBC News reports, users on online prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are making big bucks off of Musk’s astonishing track record for being wrong about the future. Case in point, Polymarket user David Bensoussan made a ten percent return after betting $10,000 that Musk wouldn’t follow through on his threat of forming a new political party following his falling out with president Donald Trump.

He also successfully bet against Musk’s prediction that Tesla would launch an “unsupervised” version of its erroneously-named “Full Self-Driving” software by the end of 2025.

To Bensoussan, it’s a matter of principle.

“He does have a solid fan base, and so if I can help separate them from some of their money, I’m always happy to do that,” he told NBC. “He has a habit of exaggerating timelines, and of saying he’s going to do these amazing things and attaching more immediacy than what his intent may necessarily be.”

…In total, Bensoussan’s ploy to bet against Musk’s wildly optimistic predictions has paid off, garnering him over $36,000.

From HKFP…

The father of Hong Kong democrat Anna Kwok has been found guilty of handling funds linked to an “absconder” – the first family member of a wanted activist to be convicted of a national security offence.

Kwok Yin-sang, 69, appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday morning, wearing a dark green suit jacket and a respirator mask.

He was accused of attempting to obtain funds from an AIA International life and personal accident insurance policy that belonged to his daughter, Anna Kwok, who lives in the US. In 2023, Hong Kong’s national security police issued her and seven other self-exiled activists an arrest warrant for suspected foreign collusion.

Handling an absconder’s funds is an offence under the city’s homegrown security law, also known as Article 23.

Reuters report…

His daughter, Anna Kwok, helps lead the Washington-based advocacy group Hong Kong Democracy Council, and is one of 34 overseas activists wanted by Hong Kong national security police. She is accused of colluding with foreign forces and police have offered a bounty of HK$1 million ($127,400) for her arrest.

On her Facebook page, Anna Kwok said she is not and has never been the owner of the insurance policy, nor has she exchanged, received, or sought any “funds or other financial assets or economic resources” from her father, her family, or any individual or entity in Hong Kong.

“Today, my father was convicted and remanded in custody simply for being my father,” Anna Kwok said. “This is how the Hong Kong government retaliates against me and my community for our advocacy.”

…During the closing submission, defence lawyer Kwan argued that section 89 and 90 of Article 23 should not apply in a case where a person was simply handling an insurance policy he had purchased a long time ago for his children.

“This … is a form of prosecution based on family ties,” Kwan said.

From the NYT…

“Punishing a 68-year-old father for his daughter’s peaceful activism is an alarming act of collective punishment that has no place under international human rights law,” said Elaine Pearson, the Asia director for Human Rights Watch. She called the conviction “cruel and vindictive.”

…Mr. Kwok’s case is a first for Hong Kong, unlike in mainland China, where family members of political dissidents are routinely punished for their relatives’ perceived crimes. Since China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, the city has seemingly applied mainland-style norms to political cases, activists and scholars say.

…In Mr. Kwok’s case, the authorities have focused on his attempt last year to terminate a life insurance policy he had bought for Ms. Kwok when she was 2.

Mr. Kwok’s lawyers argued that he did not violate the law because the insurance policy technically did not belong to Anna Kwok. They say she had not signed any forms to take over ownership of the policy from her father. The prosecution argued that the policy had been transferred to Ms. Kwok automatically when she turned 18. The policy is worth less than $12,000.

Was he supposed to not cancel the policy? Courts must impose custodial sentences in NatSec cases, so the only question is whether Mr Kwok gets a few days in prison or a year or more (or a more finely calibrated length in between). 

Security Secretary Chris Tang takes issue with the Washington Post…

…denouncing the newspaper’s recent editorial piece as “blatant lies” and “anti-China propaganda.”

The letter, sent February 11, responds to the Post’s February 9 editorial titled “A de facto death sentence for publishing a newspaper,” which criticized the sentencing of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.

Tang accused the Editorial Board of ignoring evidence presented in Lai’s trial and attempting to “undermine the reputation of Hong Kong and our country.”

The security chief defended Lai’s 20-year prison sentence, asserting that Lai and eight defendants were prosecuted not for “publishing a newspaper” but for “serious offence related to endangering national security.”

…“Your claim of a ‘kangaroo court’ is wildly inaccurate and offensive,” Tang wrote in the letter to the Editorial Board of The Washington Post. “Again, I resort to the plain facts: 156 days of fair and impartial public hearings in open court attended by the public, media and observers from around the world; up to 2,220 exhibits as evidence; over 80,000 pages of documents and statements of evidence from 14 prosecution witnesses.”

From Bloomberg…

China signaled greater efforts ahead to protect national security in Hong Kong after the sentencing of Jimmy Lai renewed foreign governments’ calls for the former media mogul’s release.

Beijing’s State Council on Tuesday outlined a vision to strengthen security in key economic pillars of the semi-autonomous Chinese city, naming finance and shipping among areas of focus as it called for a “holistic approach to development and security.”

“Greater attention should be given to security in unconventional areas such as finance, shipping, trade, and the protection of overseas interests,” according to a 2026 white paper published by the information office of China’s cabinet.

…The white paper also called on authorities to improve systems for countering foreign sanctions, intervention and long-arm jurisdiction, without naming any country. “Risk monitoring and early warning systems should be improved to effectively defuse major risks,” it added.

…Beijing has also accused the US of coercing Panama into voiding CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s contract to operate two ports near the Panama Canal, which the Hong Kong company has run since 1997. US President Donald Trump has previously vowed to take the strategic waterway “back” 

…Following the sentencing, the British government opened the door for thousands more Hong Kongers to settle in the UK and apply for British citizenship — an expansion it says honors the UK’s “historic commitment” to people in the former British colony.

The Chinese embassy in London has slammed the expansion as “despicable,” urging the UK to cease its “political manipulation” and stop intervening in Hong Kong affairs — or face “bitter consequences.”

Is this a Leninist thing? The more you control, the more paranoid you get about having insufficient control?

CK Hutchison had few problems until it decided to sell off its ports around the world, at which point Beijing insisted that it sell the Panama assets only to a Chinese-linked company. So much for One Country, Two Systems. That confirmed – to Washington at least – suspicions that Beijing wanted influence over those ports, triggering US/Panama moves to override CK’s contract to operate the facilities.

As for the UK’s decision to allow more Hongkongers the right to move to the UK: that is surely a sovereign right of the British government and nothing to do with any other country. If China wants to grant residency to the entire British population, that is its right. The government in London would have no say in the matter. If (say) Botswana offers residency to all Paraguayan teenagers – so what? Where is the ‘despicable political manipulation and intervening in internal affairs’? Unless you believe your citizens are the property of the emperor.

A good AP story on how the Tai Po fire survivors are faring.

Jimmy Lai, age 78, gets 20 years for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and printing seditious materials. He had been held without bail since end-2020, denied access to his choice of legal counsel, and tried by handpicked national security judges with no jury.

Beijing has detested Lai since at least 1994, when he called Li Peng a ‘son of a turtle’s egg’.

The Collective on the scene outside the court beforehand…

For days, observers had been sleeping in the open while waiting in line. Around 4 a.m., most of those queuing were still asleep. Police tightened restrictions on their movement; anyone needing to leave to use the restroom was searched. A woman who had been queuing outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts last Thursday evening was told by officers that she had an Apple Daily keychain on her person … About ten officers then removed the barricades, escorted her into the queuing area, confiscated all her bedding and belongings, and took her to Cheung Sha Wan Police Station for investigation.

HKFP report…

Publisher Cheung Kim-hung received six years and nine months behind bars, associate publisher Chan Pui-man got seven years, and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee was sentenced to seven years and three months. Meanwhile, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, and editorial writer Fung Wai-kong all received 10-year jail terms.

Kevin Yam says…

By way of comparison, China sentenced leading dissidents Liu Xiaobo to 11 years and Xu Zhiyong to 14 years.

NYT compares Lai’s sentence to those of academic Ilham Tohti, property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang, human rights lawyers and the HK 47…

Jimmy Lai’s 20-year prison sentence, the heaviest penalty handed down for a national security offense in Hong Kong so far, aligns with how the Chinese Communist Party has punished wealthy entrepreneurs and influential academics in the mainland for challenging the state.

Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader in decades, has waged a far-reaching crackdown on any vestiges of dissent. He has targeted not only human rights activists but also business tycoons, intellectuals and members of the party elite, some of whom have been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.

From Luke de Pulford…

Effectively a life sentence for Jimmy Lai. 

For peacefully criticising the Chinese government. 

Samuel Bickett…

A sentence carefully selected to ensure Jimmy dies in prison and is made an example of locally while avoiding international headlines of a life sentence. Petty, insecure dictatorships have to have their bogeyman.

It also gives the authorities ample time – subject to Jimmy Lai’s health – to use his release as a bargaining chip with other countries if the need arises.

RTHK quotes Chief Executive John Lee…

Lee said the 156 days of open trial hearings – during which large amounts of evidence were offered – showed that Lai was a despicable and shameless anti-China mastermind.

The CE said in a statement Lai “has committed numerous heinous crimes, and his evil deeds were beyond measure.”

“The severe sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment imposed on him manifests that the rule of law is upheld and justice is done, and also brings great relief to all,” he added.

Via HKFP, responses from the DAB, NGOs and others, including Regina Ip…

“[His] acts caused significant harm to the country and to Hong Kong, endangering national security. The court noted that around 2019, Jimmy Lai held activities… locally and abroad. Because he is so influential, the damage was grave. I agree with the court’s decision. Jimmy Lai’s crimes were serious, and his sentence should be no less than 10 years.”

The government issues a statement ‘condemning external forces for slandering and smearing court’s sentencing’…

…the western countries, anti-China media, organisations and politicians have used this as a pretext to slander, smear, and attack the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). They have even maliciously disparaged the court’s independent judgement and sentence handed down in accordance with the law. The HKSAR Government firmly opposed and strongly condemned such despicable conduct.

…The HKSAR spokesperson stressed, “In Lai Chee-ying’s case, after 156 days of fair and impartial public hearings, the court has considered the irrefutable evidence of up to 2 220 exhibits, over 80 000 pages of documents and statements of evidence from 14 prosecution witnesses. The court pointed out clearly that Lai Chee-ying was the mastermind of the case. He had manipulated and exploited Apple Daily to poison the society, and repeatedly colluded with external forces to beg for sanctions and hostile activities against the Central Authorities and the HKSAR Government. Even after the enactment of the HKNSL, all the defendants continued with their agreement for some time until after they were arrested by the Police. The court clearly pointed out that Lai Chee-ying’s only intent was to seek the downfall of the Communist Party of China even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the people of China and the HKSAR. Lai Chee-ying has brought harm to our country and Hong Kong; his evil deeds were beyond measure, and he for sure deserves his punishment after all the harm he has done.”

An SCMP editorial says the trial ‘shows Hong Kong’s rule of law remains robust’…

Lai was found to have led plots to instigate sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland China and to have incited public hatred towards the authorities. This was no ordinary case. He was working to bring chaos in a bid to topple China’s government, posing a threat to national security. What he did to Hong Kong was extremely damaging. Deterrent sentences were required.

(Would a reputable newspaper’s fact-checkers be OK with, say, that third sentence?)

The head of Hong Kong Police national security department raises the possibility of an appeal for an increased sentence.

From Reuters…

Lai’s sentence was enhanced by the fact that he was the “mastermind” and driving force behind “persistent” foreign collusion conspiracies, the judges said.

They cited prosecution evidence that the conspiracies had sought sanctions, blockades and other hostile acts from the U.S. and other countries while involving a web of individuals including Apple Daily staff, activists and foreigners.

…”The harsh 20-year sentence against 78-year-old Jimmy Lai is effectively a death sentence,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust.”

Hong Kong police swiftly played down concerns about Lai’s health. Chief Superintendent Steve Li of the force’s national security department said Lai’s health concerns had been “exaggerated” and added that the tycoon deserved his sentence.

The judges said they were not inclined to give Lai any deduction for his medical condition, age and solitary confinement but acknowledged he would face a “more burdensome” time than other inmates. They cut a month off the sedition sentence and one year each for the collusion charges.

The Guardian…

Jimmy Lai, the media mogul and prominent pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong for national security offences, a punishment his daughter said could mean “he will die a martyr behind bars”.

Claire Lai said the sentence was “heartbreakingly cruel” given her 78-year-old father’s declining health, while her brother Sebastien Lai called the sentence “draconian” and “devastating”.

The sentencing is the culmination of a years-long saga that critics say represents Hong Kong’s transformation from a mostly free city to one where dissent is fiercely suppressed by the Chinese Communist party-controlled authorities.

…Human Rights Watch said the length of jail time given to Lai was “effectively a death sentence”.

“A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust. Lai’s years of persecution show the Chinese government’s determination to crush independent journalism and silence anyone who dares to criticise the Communist party,” the statement said.

Amnesty International called the case “another grim milestone in Hong Kong’s transformation from a city governed by the rule of law to one ruled by fear”.

Background and report from AP…

Urania Chiu, lecturer in law at Oxford Brookes University, said the case is significant for its broad construction of seditious intent and application of the term “collusion with foreign forces” to certain activities by the media. The implication is particularly alarming for journalists and those working in academia, she said.

“Offering and publishing legitimate critiques of the state, which often involves engagement with international platforms and audiences, may now easily be construed as ‘collusion,’” Chiu said.

The UN Commissioner for Human Rights calls for Lai’s release…

Mr. Türk’s office, OHCHR, said it had reviewed the verdict and was concerned that it criminalised the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, media freedom and association.

It noted that the ruling relied extensively on conduct that occurred before the NSL came into force, reiterating concerns it had previously raised about the broad scope of the offence of “collusion with external forces” under the NSL.

“Jimmy Lai is a publisher sentenced to 20 years in prison for exercising rights protected under international law,” Mr. Türk said.

“This outcome highlights how the vague and overly broad provisions of Hong Kong’s national security legislation can lead to being interpreted and enforced in violation of Hong Kong’s international human rights obligations. This verdict needs to be promptly quashed as incompatible with international law.”

The BBC’s full account of Jimmy Lai’s rise to success and emergence as a critic of the CCP.

China Digital Times on the idea that Lai asked the US to nuke China…

…the misrepresentation of Lai’s remarks is an unremarkable piece of viral political misinformation. It bears a marked resemblance, though, to the campaign to discredit the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, based on a comment from an interview with Emancipation Monthly editor Jin Zhong on November 27, 1988. Liu is often said to have “advocated” or “prescribed” three centuries under foreign colonization to transform China along the same lines as Hong Kong. In both cases, a punchy quote is taken out of context and used to paint the target as a national traitor willing to see his countrymen enslaved or vaporized by the hostile West.

One last official response: the HK Fires Services Dept uses its Facebook account to express support for the sentence – on grounds of public safety.

Jimmy Lai et al will be sentenced today. Statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists…

“Jimmy Lai’s trial has been nothing but a charade from the start and shows total contempt for Hong Kong laws that are supposed to protect press freedom,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “Monday’s sentencing will go down in history as Hong Kong’s most shameful act of persecution of journalists and leave an indelible black mark on a city that was once the bastion of press freedom in Asia.”

Lester Shum’s first statement after being released from prison two weeks ago,

An HKFP explainer on Hong Kong’s bus seat-belt law mess. It seems the draft law gazetted in September specified that it would apply only to newly registered buses, and Transport Dept officials mentioned this to lawmakers. Yet in the following months, the department issued several statements saying it – and the HK$5,000 fine – would apply on all buses. No-one in the department or legislature seemed to notice this obvious inconsistency, until a lawyer and former legislator pointed it out. As the article puts it…

The reason for the authorities’ discrepancy was unclear.

I can think of two possible reasons. One is that there are actually two Transport Departments: one that knows what is in new legislation and one that doesn’t. The other is that the top officials in the department knew what the new law said, but wanted to scare everyone into putting on (allegedly unwieldy/uncomfortable) bus seat-belts anyway. 

We can be fairly sure that none of the officials and representatives concerned regularly use buses themselves. Some recent all-patriots’ thoughts and deeds on such matters… New People’s Party lawmaker Judy Chan Ka-pui driving the wrong way on Jaffe Road in Wanchai. District council member Agnes Chau illegally parking (in fact blocking a fire lane) at Shek Lei Estate in Kwai Chung. Liberal Party legislator Peter Shiu suggesting that authorities issue fewer parking tickets at night to encourage people with cars to contribute to the ‘night economy’. Ex-lawmaker Chan Yuen-han proposing the banning of double-decker buses (because they’re ‘colonial’, no less) and of passengers standing on any buses.

Hong Kong’s latest transport strategy prioritizes the expansion of car-parking spaces. Cities like Paris and Madrid are finding that banning cars from downtown areas increases retail sales.