Then and now

A Timothy McLaughlin Tweet on the Hong Kong government’s response to the two million-strong protest march of June 16, 2019…

5 years ago today, Hong Kong CE says that the massive street protests,“embodied the spirit of Hong Kong as a civilised, free, open and pluralistic society that values mutual respect, harmony and diversity.” 

Today, a violent color revolution, black clad violence, separatism.

Organized and paid for by the CIA, etc.

More on contrasts with the past in a Tim Hamlett article about the differences between the 1967 riots (over 50 people killed) and the 2019 protests. The subversion laws in 1967 allowed for a maximum sentence of two years; the colonial government mounted a major inquiry, followed by significant reforms in the 1970s; and…

Another aspect of the 1967 outbreak which sheds an interesting light on current affairs is that by a little over two years later all those convicted had been tried, sentenced, collected the usual discounts and been released.

From the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China: what Hong Kong doesn’t want you to know on the courts’ refusal to hear testimony from Jimmy Lai’s foreign contacts…

It is clear that Mr. Lai’s alleged involvement with us, members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, is key to the case against him.Yet nobody in Hong Kong has approached any of us for a statement or evidence. Not once.

In any normal rule of law system, this would represent a serious failure in both the investigative and judicial processes. Mr. Lai is alleged to have committed serious offences. The failure to approach us – who the prosecution alleges to be witnesses and accomplices in Mr. Lai’s so called crimes – is an appalling omission that in ordinary circumstances would precipitate a mis-trial.

We wrote to you not once, but twice to make clear that we would be willing to provide evidence. Despite there being no legal reason for doing so, you have refused this opportunity.

All of which brings us to an SCMP op-ed politely suggesting that Lord Sumption’s recent comments ‘cannot be easily dismissed’…

This is not an attack from a British politician with an anti-China agenda. The distinguished judge served on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal for five years. He has also, in the past, been a staunch defender of the city’s legal system and the role of foreign judges on the top court, saying they should not be abandoned. Clearly, he has changed his mind.

…Sumption described the atmosphere in Hong Kong as oppressive, referring to sensitivity about anything deemed to concern national security, from protest songs to Tiananmen memorials. He said it takes “unusual courage” for a judge to swim against the strong political tide.

He did not mention the very high conviction rate of almost 100 per cent in national security cases. That has played a part in shaping such perceptions. So has the fiery rhetoric from officials which has sometimes accompanied arrests, prosecutions and verdicts.

As have the charges that led to many of the nearly-100% convictions, whether it’s trying to win seats in an election or wearing a T-shirt.

Speaking of which, HKFP reports that…

A Hong Kong man was denied bail under the city’s new domestic security law after he allegedly wore a t-shirt with a banned protest slogan and a yellow mask.

The Global Times story on the HKMAO’s Sumption commentary has a different take, portraying the former judge as both victim and villain…

The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council slammed the latest remarks made by Jonathan Sumption, a British judge who recently resigned from Hong Kong’s highest court, saying he has willingly become a tool of British political manipulation, making people not only shocked but also feel ashamed and disgraced for him. 

…It is clear to the world that forcing judges to resign is a despicable political maneuver by the British government and politicians targeting Hong Kong, and one can imagine and sympathize with the pressure Sumption may have faced, the office said. 

However, as a former NPJ of the Hong Kong’s CFA and a judge of the UK’s Supreme Court, with a certain reputation internationally, Sumption has completely abandoned his professional spirit and ethics, and utterly betrayed the dignity of the rule of law and his judicial peers, the office added. 

…Sumption … willingly collaborates with malevolent forces, acting as a pawn and vanguard in the destruction of Hong Kong’s judicial system.

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7 Responses to Then and now

  1. Joe Blow says:

    Over the weekend I noticed lots and lots of PTU retards in the streets and inside the MTR (it was raining, of course), harassing and intimidating peaceful citizens enjoying Father’s Day in their own neighborhoods. Then it dawned on me that we have two ex-popo running the government and uniformed randos controlling our very own streets and when we sit in a coffeeshop we have to speak in hushed tones because somebody at the next table may call a snitchline and rat on us. So this is what it must be like to live in a police state. Our once dynamic, colorful, anything-goes Hong Kong has been reduced to this. Sad.

  2. Chinese Netizen says:

    “A Hong Kong man was denied bail under the city’s new domestic security law after he allegedly wore a t-shirt with a banned protest slogan and a yellow mask.”

    Because the truly dangerous ones are the ones that advertise their intent…are open about their convictions and beliefs…have the integrity and courage that zero “leaders” and “heavyweights” could muster even if their wealth depended on it.

  3. Mjrelje says:

    Proving what a load of bollocks the so-called government spouts, the North Runway was closed due to burst tyre leaving only one runway operational. So much for the “3rd runway”. HKIA hasn’t had 3 runways since the new one was completed and the the so-called second runway simultaneously closed and bulldozed.

  4. Pot kettle Ip says:

    Re Timothy McLaughlin tweet

    Love the Regina tweet reply on Carrie:
    “That’s why she had to go. Selfish flipflop who still tried hard for a second term.”

    Game recognize game, yo.

  5. Clucks Defiance says:

    While the rhetoric surrounding Sumption’s departure has not yet reached the levels of Fei Pang’s ‘sinner for a thousand epochs’ (often mistranslated as a mere ‘thousand years’), the HKMAO is clearly building up to a crescendo by firing a warning shot across the benches of the remaining NPJs and the verbal miasma that awaits their inevitable resignations. Here’s some more of the official translation:

    “One can only conclude that the person who has lost judicial independence is none other than himself. Such irony, such self-contradiction and self-degradation, is truly lamentable.

    “Sumption has trampled on the dignity of the rule of law and insulted his fellow judges, which is a disgrace to the judiciary.

    “Sumption’s lack of truthfulness, integrity, and morality clearly demonstrates that he has willingly allowed himself to be ‘politically hijacked’.

    “By destroying his own reputation and choosing to stand on the wrong side of history, he is destined to face endless regret.”

    And that’s only the English version. According to Kevin Yam on X (https://x.com/kevinkfyam/status/1801490953179677140) the Chinese original is longer, contains random references to Chinese classics, and contains an additional line accusing Sumption of “succumbing to evil and selling his soul”.

    Wonder how much further they can stretch the English language when the next one falls?

  6. wmjp says:

    Wonder how much further they can stretch the English language when the next one falls?

    They must be using an AI program that has been groomed with all the negative categories in Roget. I don’t think even Pinkstone or Grovelling Cross could reach the level of invective. One clue that it’s AI-generated are occasional glaring grammatical fuck-ups.

  7. Mary Melville says:

    Note no imput from Litton, presumabley old age has dimmed his fervour.

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