‘Things are bad – but will probably get worse’

Hong Kong’s top security official is sorely vexed after the Wall Street Journal’s recent editorial on the Stand News trial…

In an open letter to the Journal on Tuesday, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung … vowed that Hong Kong would not be intimidated and would resolutely continue to safeguard national security.

Tang was responding to a commentary by the outlet’s editorial board titled “Hong Kong convicts two editors”, which was published on Monday, days after Hong Kong’s District Court convicted two Stand News editors of conspiracy to publish seditious articles.

The editorial argued that practising journalism could now count as a crime in Hong Kong due to the recent conviction, and a Western due-diligence firm or consultancy that ran afoul of the government’s censorious attitude might be the next target.

It also criticised the “benighted” leaders of Hong Kong, saying they deserved the world’s scorn and sanctions.

…“We are not intimidated by the so-called sanctions mentioned in your piece, which are despicable political manipulation. We will resolutely continue to safeguard national security,” the security minister wrote.

LinguaSinica (better written than any WSJ editorial) does the Stand News story…

Another newsletter, another dark day for the press in Hong Kong. Last time, it was a new low for the city’s press freedom score. The time before that, it was the Wall Street Journal becoming party to the government’s press crackdown by firing a reporter elected to lead the local journalists’ union.

This time, it’s a court verdict that sets a troubling new precedent. Last Thursday, two former senior editors at Stand News (立場新聞) were found guilty of sedition over opinion pieces the pro-democracy online outlet ran over several years. Stand’s former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen (鍾沛權) and ex-acting editor Patrick Lam Shiu-tung (林紹桐) were both charged under a colonial-era law that hadn’t seen the light of day for decades.

The trial was described as “a litmus test for press freedom in the city.” If that’s apt, the results couldn’t be clearer — or more damning. Even more than ever before, journalists in the city will be watching every word they and their columnists say. It’s important, though, that we don’t simply write off Hong Kong and declare once and for all that journalism in the city is dead. Things are bad but they can — and likely will — get worse. Our capacity to still be shocked when that happens matters. Keeping it alive means taking stock of what is and is not possible there, and supporting the individuals and organizations who continue to report on and from Hong Kong.

Chinese U apparently drops a former Stand News contributor from his teaching position.

NHK video report on the movie Love in the Time of Revolution, with clips and an interview with director Twinkle Ngan, now living in exile. The film – banned in Hong Kong – is now being shown in Japan. 

SCMP throws caution to the wind, and potentially commits some form of ‘intention to incite hatred of the authorities’ sedition, with an op-ed mocking the government’s classification of obscure gatherings and trivial exhibitions as ‘mega events’…

They released a list in January of more than 80 “mega events” to be held in the first half of the year, and they added about 100 more in March to be held between July and December. The roster was so stacked, that Hong Kong would have “one mega event every two days”.

A government spokesman told the Post that 1.7 million tourists would “participate” in the more than 210 events, with spending estimated at HK$7.2 billion, adding about HK$4.3 billion to the economy.

But a look of the list shows some of its star attractions, such as the New Year fireworks, the Hong Kong Marathon, Art Basel and the Wine and Dine Festival, are held annually, regardless of the government’s new pivot. Another 21 per cent are considered trade shows, some of which are unlikely to attract anyone beyond niche audiences. December’s 11th Asian Congress of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the Asian Insurance Forum, for example, strain the definition of “mega”.

…How did the city get to this point, where a handful of balloons could be officially promoted as a world-class event?

Yuen blamed, in part, the government’s focus on bureaucrats meeting key performance indicators, or KPIs, which encouraged a practice of chasing “output” rather than “outcome”.

…When asked whether the mega events so far had been successful in pushing Hong Kong forward, Zeman said: “I’ll put it this way – I think if there has been a huge [economic] benefit, the government would be blowing their horns very loudly.”

Some weekend reading…

A fetching 1989 pic of Cally Kwong, Cantopop singer, NPC deputy and star of recent patriotic song Our Home video.

From HKFP…

China’s state security agency on Wednesday warned students with access to sensitive information against falling for “handsome men” or “beautiful women” that might entice them to spy for foreign powers.

Beijing’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has promoted claims that foreign spies are working to lure loyal Chinese to betray their country — often in lurid and unusual ways — since opening a WeChat account last year.

It has warned that foreign spies “have countless disguises, and can even change their gender” and called on citizens to “build 1.4 billion lines of defence” against threats to the country.

…Under Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful and authoritarian leader in decades, Beijing has stepped up dark warnings that foreign powers are seeking to clip the country’s rise.

(Compare and contrast with Linda Sun, formerly of NY State governor’s office.)

This sounds like fun: An Attempt to Discuss the Nature of Taiwan’s High Degree of Autonomy After Peaceful Reunification: Based on the Practical Experience of Hong Kong.

If you’re into fantasizing about how you would run a territory after you invade and subdue it, this is worth half an hour or so of your time. Features the pros and cons (ideological rather than practical, needless to say) of different degrees of autonomy/control, with plentiful, perhaps delusional, reference to Hong Kong. Not paywalled or anything, so just dive in.