Google is blocking 32 Glory to Hong Kong YouTube vids listed in the recent injunction, in Hong Kong only…
Speaking on Commercial Radio on Sunday, justice chief [Paul] Lam said that even though the court had issued a ban on certain acts linked to the song, it should not be regarded as a “forbidden song.”
“We should not use the term ‘forbidden song.’ The ban targets acts which utilise the song to fight for Hong Kong independence… as a weapon praise of violence and the pursual of Hong Kong independence,” Lam claimed.
He added that the media can still report news of the song and scholars can research it, “such as how it promoted Hong Kong independence.”
Whilst pro-independence protesters were spotted during the 2019 demonstrations, neither the song’s lyrics – nor the movement’s official demands – mention independence for the city.
The Standard adds…
Lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pei-fan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong urged authorities to ask all online platforms to remove the song globally in accordance with the court’s injunction, as it “advocates Hong Kong independence and violent protests.”
The company is considering an appeal of the injunction. The authorities could welcome this as a victory and move on. Alternatively, it will express dissatisfaction because the song is still available in the rest of the world (or in Hong Kong with a VPN). Meanwhile, there are loads of other copies, probably on YouTube and certainly on other platforms, and no doubt more people around the world checking them to see what the fuss is about.
Other sites blocked locally (by ISPs) include Hong Kong Watch, HKChronicles, Taiwan’s Transitional Justice Commission, and HK Charter 2021.
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong calls on overseas judges to resign, saying they ‘lend prestige to persecution’…
The report describes how the Court of Final Appeal (“CFA”) has supported the regime’s crackdown on dissent and endorsed moves to strip away defendants’ rights. In several cases highlighted in the report, the foreign judges have even voted directly to imprison political dissidents.
…In addition, with respect to the British judges who are members of the House of Lords, the report highlights how their dual allegiances to the Crown and the Hong Kong government have created irreconcilable conflicts. This has become an increasingly problematic issue as political tension between the two countries have grown, with the House of Lords now regularly called on to consider bills at odds with the interests of the Chinese and Hong Kong governments. Moreover, these British judges have managed to avoid disclosing their compensation from the Hong Kong government, either by taking leaves of absences from the Lords or simply failing to declare their financial renumeration as required by the House of Lords Code of Conduct.
Angry press release coming up?
Samuel Bickett comment…
Some foreign judges have actually voted to imprison dissidents. Australia’s Judge Gleeson upheld sentence of Nobel Peace Prize nominee [Hang Tung Chow] for her role in Tiananmen Square vigils. UK’s Lord Hoffmann voted to imprison a man for merely filming police during a protest.
And the government will tighten control over who sits on social workers’ licensing body…
The proposed amendment would retain the eight seats of social workers who are elected into the board by their peers. The number of government-appointed seats will increase from six to 17, and similar to the current rules, those appointed by the government do not have to be registered social workers themselves.
…“Registered social workers (RSW) shoulder great responsibilities and have far-reaching impacts. As social workers have the trust of their clients and exert on them significant influence, they are more obliged to honour the rule of law, and consciously safeguard national security, social order and public interest, while performing their duties in a fair and impartial manner,” a spokesperson for the Labour and Welfare Bureau said in a statement on Tuesday.
More comment on Twitter…
Basically, GovHK considers some social workers to be national security threats because they either supported the 2019 protests (now retroactively relabeled by the govt as a terrorist insurrection) or offered services to protesters who were stressed and in some cases suicidal.
Also, the one appointed social worker that [Labour and Welfare Secretary] Chris Sun claims is a criminal was acquitted of rioting. The govt is appealing, but the fact is she hasn’t yet been convicted of anything. That normally matters when you have rule of law that applies to everyone, not just “patriots”.
Who would want to be a social worker?
Must see video of the day: Tsai Ing Wen spends her last day as Taiwan’s president hosting a performance by award-winning drag queens, with Sun Yat-sen looking on fondly.
Oh God, you GOTTA LOVE the inclusive, democratic and fun Nation of Taiwan!!!
I can still access The Song on YouTube in multiple versions. I don’t have a VPN and live in Hong Kong. I keep checking and it’s still there.
You have to feel sorry for the Taiwanese. Apart from having foisted up them near-obsolete bits of Doodle-Dandy weaponry at only marginally knocked-down prices, they’ll have to sign up to having their society turned into a Western-style, alphabet-soup woke fest. There is, though, an upside. Give it a couple of election cycles, and the KMT will garner more than 80% of the vote, that will soon lead to One Country-Three Systems.
“We should not use the term ‘forbidden song.’ The ban targets acts which utilise the song to fight for Hong Kong independence… as a weapon praise of violence and the pursual of Hong Kong independence,” Lam claimed.
If that’s so, why go through the expensive, pointless farce of getting it removed from YouTube (in HKG; other territories are available)? Never mind the further erosion of whatever reputation HKG has left in the international community.
@ Retard #4
Been hearing this for about 15 years, yet the KMT continues to be as popular as Regina Ip at a swingers’ party, losing vote share every time. Almost like its supporters are dying off (see also: DAB)
Has Reactor #4 not heard of Thailand’s krathoeys? This is not a “Western” import; the history of the karathoey goes back centuries. And it is the tolerance of Buddhism – to spell it out for you, an “Eastern” religion – that is partially responsible for their acceptance in Thai society (the dentist in my small town is a krathoey, for example).
So Chris Sun finally took some time off from grooming his already gleaming wig – Grecian is so passee – to emasculate the Social Workers Reg Board via the simple expedient of greatly increasing the number of government appointees. Not only does this move stifle any diverse views, as with many other appointments it rewards those with aspirations to add a further title to their business cards and ensures a bloated and ultimately ineffective committee. This is in line with the expansions to Leggers and the various district committees. Divide and rule.
No bets that the first motion to be passed by the expanded board will be a vote to oust the current liberal chair.
“Speaking on Commercial Radio on Sunday, justice chief [Paul] Lam said that even though the court had issued a ban on certain acts linked to the song, it should not be regarded as a “forbidden song.”
“We should not use the term ‘forbidden song.’ The ban targets acts which utilise the song to fight for Hong Kong independence… as a weapon praise of violence and the pursual of Hong Kong independence,” Lam claimed.”
The *banned* song then, perhaps??
@ rectum – Cryptic CCP-ers and other dross were saying that about the KMT years upon years ago, now its members are moving on through age or fading away; as you ought to do.