Big Lychee, Various Sectors

Chow Hang-tung – already in jail – and five others, including her mother, become the first people to be arrested under the Article 23 NatSec Law passed in March…

…police said five men and one woman had been detained on suspicion of acting with seditious intention. One of them, a woman already in custody, was alleged to have continuously published anonymous “seditious” posts on a social media page with the help of the other five.

The posts were said to have made use of an “upcoming sensitive date” to incite hatred against the central and Hong Kong governments, as well as the Judiciary. Police also alleged that the posts intended to incite netizens to organise or participate in illegal activities at a later time.

Standard report here. Extracts from the Facebook page in question here, including a request ‘not to play along with the game of rewriting history’.

A quick Google search shows the story has been picked up by Radio Free Asia, the BBC, Reuters, Amnesty International. ABC, and the Guardian.

Looks like the South Lantau Eco-Recreation Hub-Zone ‘proposal’ from yesterday is a done deal, The Civil Engineering and Development Dept has published a paper for LegCo in which the phrase ‘awareness of conservation’ appears three times. A public engagement exercise has started…

…to seek views on the recommendations from the relevant stakeholders, including the Islands District Council and the South Lantao Rural Committee. We will set up street booths at the Tung Chung Bus Terminus and various locations in South Lantau to collect feedback from residents and visitors of South Lantau.

All you non-relevant stakeholders can, um, take a hike.

After abandoning the ill-fated waste-charging plan, the government moves on to propose development of South Lantau as an ‘Eco-Recreation Corridor’…

…establishing a landmark visitor center with dining, retail, and viewing facilities. The center will also host a variety of year-round activities and events, such as markets. Diverse water sports and recreation facilities, including activity centers, adventure water sports zones, leisure piers, and camping sites, will be added along the Cheung Sha beach. Rope adventure facilities, hiking chairlifts and high-quality resort accommodations could also be introduced at Cheung Sha’s hillside. 

As for Shek Pik, the authorities intend to leverage the reservoirs and sea views to create facilities catering to those seeking tranquility, as well as cultural and historical enthusiasts. The concept of an “open-air museum” will be applied, with a heritage trail developed alongside the reservoirs. 

In Shui Hau, the rich natural resources will be used to establish an education center promoting conservations, highlighting the area’s valuable sand dunes and horseshoe crabs, as well as traditional village culture. 

In Pui O, a hiking trail will be constructed along the western side of Pui O Wan, enabling visitors to explore the forest ecology and admire the scenic views of the bays. Additionally, a high-quality campsite will be developed on the hillside, offering experiential learning opportunities about the local ecology.

Enjoy the area before they start to ‘leverage’ it.

I like the Standard’s headline. In the UK political sit-com Yes, Minister, the senior civil servant would use the word ‘bold’ when the minister came up with a reckless idea. It could also describe the Hong Kong government’s plan to ease better-off tenants out of public housing.

This is no doubt overdue. But it’s also hard to pull off – or even perhaps justify – when private-sector housing is so artificially expensive that any rational person will get a subsidized apartment (or live in illegally converted industrial buildings, or add unauthorized structures) if they can, to access affordable living space.

Still, officials want to encourage estate managements and other tenants to snitch on people who sublet or mis-use public housing units, own other property, or who have a luxury car. So why not go one step further and ban anyone at a public housing estate address from hiring an overseas domestic helper? It might concentrate rich residents’ minds if they have to wash their own Mercedes.

The Hong Kong government inches towards admitting that the ‘green bags’ waste disposal plan is pretty much dead…

The Hong Kong government said its waste-charging scheme had become a “public disturbance” over the course of a two-month trial run.

In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Friday, the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the Environmental Protection Department said residents found the waste tax to be a hassle and the designated rubbish bags to be overpriced.

Frontline cleaners reported an “significant increase” in their workloads and raised concerns that they may inadvertently break the law by handling rubbish incorrectly. Some even said they would quit their jobs upon the official launch, the government said.

The Standard quotes sources as saying the scheme is ‘postponed indefinitely’.

The waste-charging plan has been years in the making and in principle makes good sense. But the people responsible for policymaking and implementation have little connection with the lives most people lead. With spacious housing, cars (even chauffeurs), house servants, maybe subsidized overseas schooling for kids, priority access to public hospitals, etc, they probably never take a bag of trash out. 

With elected and critical lawmakers now debarred, jailed or in exile, the legislature is mostly composed of appointed loyalists who repeat official talking points and vote for whatever the executive branch wants. Opposition media have been closed. There was no-one to point out possible public opposition.

Transport bureaucrats similarly show little interest in conditions for pedestrians. An illustrated thread from Transit Jam on the last few days’ carnage on one road in Kowloon…

[May 23] Last night, Mong Kok, Alphard driver loses control, shovels the sidewalk, six injured including two passersby. 628 Nathan Road. Driver said a taxi cut him up and he had no choice. The instigating taxi disappeared into the night…

[May 24] It happened again last night … a few hundred metres further south, 380 Nathan Road. BMW driver lost control, smashed onto the pavement at around 3:15am and fled…

[May 25] And AGAIN, this time onto a pedestrian island at the southern end of Nathan Road (Salisbury Road junction/Peninsula). 6:40pm tonight, six injured and taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, including one aux policewoman on pedestrian marshall duty.

This island is usually VERY packed with tourists. The crash happened at 6:40pm, just before the drone show.

DRIVERS PLEASE STOP SMASHING INTO PEOPLE ON THE PAVEMENT!

[May 26] This is turning into the thread of death and destruction on Nathan Road.

4am. 27-year-old taxi driver smashed into a motorbike at Nathan/Argyle. 22-year-old rider and his 24-year-old female passenger both killed. Taxi driver and his passenger injured, a 67-yr-old pedestrian also badly injured by collision debris.

[May 26] HOLY FUCK YET ANOTHER NATHAN PED CRASH, AT THE EXACT SAME JUNCTION AS THIS MORNING’S DEADLY CRASH: A pedestrian crushed against a railing by KMB bus. Trapped for 20 minutes, taken to hospital conscious but struggling.

As per HK01 the exact same thing happened here in 2017, a mainland woman lost her foot in that crash: the driver got a suspended sentence.

It’s Sunday today, since Thursday the Nathan Road pedestrian injury tally stands at 12, out of 15 injured (and 2 killed) in total.

Some other things…

HKFP reports the resignation of the local weightlifters’ association after she was criticized for saying ‘countries’ without adding ‘territories’. Who would be involved in sports admin when the government blasts your casual phrasing as…

 …“absolutely unacceptable” and “grossly inconsistent with the fact that delegations from Hong Kong, China and Chinese Taipei participated as regional teams.”

An HKFP op-ed asks why suspects in Hong Kong are waiting years for trial…

Trials relating to the storming of the Legislative Council and disorders at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, both in 2019, came up last year. A man charged with posting subversive Facebook messages in 2020 was tried only last week. The famous 47 democrats, after first hearings at which most of them were refused bail in March 2021, are still awaiting a verdict, as are the former editors of Stand News – a case which began with their arrests, also in 2021.

Probably the current record-holder is Benny Tai, who was charged in July 2021 with election offences committed in 2016. But the competition is lively. The latest prosecution arising from the Yuen Long incident was brought only this year. Of the more than 10,000 people arrested at one time or another in 2019, there are still around 8,000 who have not yet appeared in court.

In the SCMP, Regina Ip paints a romantic picture of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices overseas, especially the London one’s noble role during colonial times facilitating textiles exports and helping Hongkongers in a quasi-consular capacity. She says that ‘strengthening security protection and monitoring hostile activities targeting Hong Kong’ is justified as the office has been the focus of protests, but largely glosses over the UK’s recent arrests of an office manager and two people apparently hired by him. In an accompanying Tweet, she laments…

It would be a shame to write off [the HKETO’s] contributions, and overplay the “spying” allegations. Collecting “soft intelligence” is a standard part of consulates’ “country” reports, right ?

Maybe, but it looks like the ETO was involved in some sort of surveillance/enforcement operation – completely outside its supposed responsibilities.

(By ‘slight’, we mean ‘sub-atomic particle-like’.) Michael Tien – a pro-establishment tycoon-scion with a slight dash of original-thinking maverick – comes up with an idea on how to control the costs of former Chief Executives’ secretariats. He suggests that only the previous three should qualify for the pricy perk – so the government need pay only for the old house on Kennedy Road. In practice, that would mean ejecting Tung Chee-hwa’s office and moving Carrie Lam’s in from Pacific Place. 

A fairly simple (elegant?) solution, if hardly radical. Another option would be to merge concierge services so all ex-CE’s share the same facility. Or just scrap the whole pretentious thing (what do former mayors of London or New York get?). But a C-plus for effort.

I have a ‘mega-event’ tomorrow morning – namely a root canal. So some early weekend reading…

From Bloomberg (possibly paywalled) – Xi Jinping faces the challenge of governing a post-boom China…

Almost a third of office workers saw their salaries fall last year according to recruitment platform Zhaopin. From property to technology and finance, white-collar Chinese have taken a hit from the government’s campaign to rein in excesses.

Business surveys show factories and offices more focused on redundancies than recruitment, and numbers from the People’s Bank of China show the public is pessimistic about future earnings.

On household wealth the picture is even bleaker. The bulk of it is held in real estate, and property markets have been in a slow-motion collapse, with apartments in some cities losing half of their value since the 2021 peak. Chinese stocks are down more than a third over the same period.

“Xi is constrained by the context that he inherited,” said Yuen Yuen Ang, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University.

A real estate bubble, overcapacity in industries, high debt and a low fertility rate are all major imbalances that China’s current leadership didn’t cause but are now forced to confront.

National Interest on how China is extending gray-zone tactics into the US…

The U.S. Director of National Intelligence notes “growing [PRC] efforts to actively exploit perceived U.S. societal divisions,” by which “The PRC aims to sow doubts about U.S. leadership [and] undermine democracy.”

According to Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center, “More recently, [PRC government] efforts have shifted to exploiting existing partisan divides in the U.S.,” including “the Chinese actually going into U.S. audience spaces, masquerading as Americans, and posting inflammatory content around current events or social issues or political issues.”

A report by Microsoft published in April 2024 found efforts by the PRC to “spread conspiratorial narratives on multiple social media platforms.” As an example, these posts said the deadly August 2023 wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, resulted from the U.S. military testing a “weather weapon.” Chinese-linked accounts also published speculation that the U.S. government caused the derailment of a train in Kentucky in November 2023 and was “hiding something” in the aftermath. Microsoft concluded that the apparent objective of such posts is “encouraging mistrust of and disillusionment with the U.S. government.”

In the FT, a graphics-heavy survey of the balance of military power in a potential China vs US/Taiwan/Japan/Philippines war.

China Media Project describes how China’s state media are ‘spitting fire’ over the new President of Taiwan…

In a commentary on Lai’s speech posted online shortly after midnight today, China’s official Xinhua News Agency painted a portrait of Lai as a vocal proponent of what it called “the separatist fallacy of ‘Taiwan independence.’” In typical fashion, the headline — which included the fiery reference above — referred to Lai only as “the regional leader of Taiwan” (台湾地区领导人), emphasizing China’s claims to sovereignty over the islands.

Line by line, the Xinhua commentary dissected Lai’s speech, exposing what it claimed to be deceitful and separatist undertones, and responded with emotive and polemical attacks. Lai, it said, was a “worker for Taiwan independence” (台独工作者); a “troublemaker” (麻烦制造者). According to the news agency, his speech was “a naked confession of Taiwan independence.”

Lai’s message of peace and mutual prosperity was brushed aside. “The hope for cross-strait dialogue, exchanges, and cooperation is false,” said the Xinhua commentary, “and the continued deterioration of cross-strait relations is true.”  The article urged the Taiwanese to oppose independence and support unification.

With even harsher language, the Cross-Straits Voices channel of the CCP’s official China Media Group (CMG) adopted an adversarial tone. In the face of efforts toward Taiwan’s independence, it said, “peace in the Taiwan Strait is like fire and water” (台海和平水火不容).

This is relatively mild. While we’re at it, the SCMP’s ever-moronic Alex Lo writes…

Now in office, Lai is not even hiding his secessionism, which necessarily requires the American militarisation of the island, with all its terrible implications for the Taiwanese, as well as threatening a wider regional conflict. The DPP risks turning the island into an existential military threat to the mainland on behalf of the US. In doing so, it’s painting a big target on itself.

They are exchanging relative autonomy for vassal status under Uncle Sam. In this grand US design of China containment, a cross-strait conflict will only be a piece of the puzzle for Washington, but it will be the “be all and end all” for Chinese people. Of course the Americans are cheering on Taiwan.

(None of these commentaries ever mention the preferences of the Taiwan people, as if they are somehow irrelevant or non-existent.)

The SCMP reports on an AI system that creates text based on Xi Jinping’s political philosophy.

By coincidence (presumably), the Hong Kong government issues one of its outraged and indignant press releases on negative comments from an overseas organization…

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government on May 20 strongly condemned the “briefing” published by anti-China organisation “Hong Kong Watch”, which made untruthful, slandering and smearing remarks against the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law

A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said, “The so-called ‘sanctions’ mentioned in the ‘briefing’ smack of despicable political manipulation to intimidate the HKSAR officials safeguarding national security. These grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs and Hong Kong affairs, and violate the international law and the basic norms governing international relations. The HKSAR despises such so-called ‘sanctions’ and is not intimidated by such a despicable behaviour. The HKSAR will resolutely continue to discharge the duty of safeguarding national security.”

 “Following the successful enactment of the Ordinance, the shortcomings in the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security are addressed. We must once again emphasise that the Ordinance is a piece of legislation to defend against external forces that endanger our national security, acting like a sturdier door and a more effective door lock to defend our home. The HKSAR Government strongly urges these organisations with ulterior motives to stop smearing and interfering in Hong Kong affairs which are internal affairs of China. It is incumbent upon these organisations to ensure that their remarks concerning the NSL and the Ordinance are fair and just, and stop making scaremongering remarks.

… “Not only is ‘Hong Kong Watch’ an anti-China organisation, many of its members are also anti-China and destabilising forces in the front line, who have called for so-called ‘sanctions’ by foreign countries against officials of the Central People’s Government and the HKSAR Government repeatedly. Members of the public in Hong Kong and the international community should see the organisation in its true colours and not to be misled by its skewed remarks with ulterior motives.

Is this generated by a Large Mouth-froth Model? And would anyone having read this official statement – previously unaware of the HK Watch briefing – feel more inclined to check it out, or less?

From HKFP, more on the report on special-needs and other schools’ encouragement of patriotism…

The bureau singled out Tsuen Wan Government Primary School as one of the schools that needed to step up its efforts to develop national security education.

…some students in the upper classes sang the national anthem “weakly” during the school’s flag raising ceremonies.

…It said Caritas Resurrection School, a special needs school for children with moderate intellectual disabilities, was “lagging behind” in implementing national security education.

…Po Leung Kuk Law’s Foundation School, a school for children with severe intellectual disabilities in Yuen Long, only had a small number of subjects linked to national security, the bureau said.

“The school must fully implement national security education as soon as possible to help students comprehensively learn national security education content,” the report said.

…Po Leung Kuk Law Foundation School students lined up neatly and courteously during flag-raising ceremonies, demonstrating their respect.

…Some of the bureau’s remarks on the need for specific schools to step up national security education were left out of the documents uploaded to the government’s website, and were only available in the full reports on the schools’ own website.

Good to see severly intellectually disabled kids demonstrating their respect.

And in case you haven’t heard – the British ex-Marine security consultant accused of helping the London HKETO hound Hong Kong exiles has been found dead in a park. Be grateful that we don’t do conspiracy theories around here.

Covid isolation facilities that could provide housing for thousands of people are sitting idle, and the government seems at a loss about what to do with them. The DAB suggests that the one at Kai Tak, with 3,000 units, should be a ‘cultural and creative hub for international exchanges’. It was previously supposed to be a park. Quoted in the Standard op-ed, Sing Tao notes that it is an eyesore for cruise passengers and residents in nearby luxury apartments – so there is that, at least.

Two possibilities: civil servants are too idle to make transport and other arrangements to enable these sites to be used by people who need affordable homes; or someone somewhere doesn’t want additional housing supply that would weaken private-sector rents. Or both, of course.

(Is there any location in Hong Kong that looks less like it could be a ‘cultural and creative hub for international exchanges’?)

From HKFP – Deputy Security Secretary Appollonia Liu will take over the Government Information Services Department…

Liu does not have a background in media, communications or PR. She has been serving as a deputy security chief since 2018, following a seven-year stint as the deputy director of administration and development at the Department of Justice.

She joined the Administrative Service in August 1990, rising through the ranks and becoming an Administrative Officer in April 1990 [sic], according to a government press release on Friday.

On the face of it, this transfer to a far smaller department looks like a demotion. But some might wonder whether, as a current Chris Tang deputy, her new job might involve moving GIS closer to the Security Bureau. 

Connoisseurs of government press releases’ style and content will eagerly await to see whether and how official PR activities become (yet) more overtly NatSec-oriented.

A message from David Webb, looking for volunteers to help maintain his corporate database – specifically concerning directors’ pay – in the long term.

Some other things…

SCMP op-ed on Xi Jinping’s friendship with Europe’s nastier leaders…

To most European leaders, being endorsed by Orban is not a badge of honour. Indeed, it is seen as something to be avoided as much as possible. By associating closely with Orban, Xi runs the risk of the Hungarian leader’s very poor reputation negatively affecting China’s image in the rest of Europe.

…As for Belgrade, the leverage it has with other European capitals will remain extraordinarily limited until Serbia is allowed to join the EU. And that is very unlikely to happen as long as Vucic remains in power.

…by becoming so friendly with the two leaders with possibly the worst reputations in Europe, China risks tarnishing its image in the eyes of the rest of Europe, while reaping economic and political gains that are merely superficial and for the short term.

In Asian Review of Books – an introduction by author Andreas von Buddenbrock to The Ink Trail: Hong Kong, a book of pen-and-ink pictures of Hong Kong.

China Books Review on how China’s ‘New Left’ socialist purists accepted state capitalism…

The root of the problem, by his analysis, was China’s success in surviving the 2008 financial crisis, which led many on the left to believe that Chinese socialism had moved from a “primitive” to an “advanced” stage — terms commonly used internally by the regime. These New Leftists, who had previously been critical of inequality in China’s society and economy, gradually became out-and-out statists, and their position was increasingly mainstream as China itself pivoted left under Xi Jinping. Convinced that China had become the true incarnation of socialism, many of them felt that their task was to explain the superiority of the Chinese system to the world, and to those who doubted it inside China.

Yet whatever “stage of socialism” China might be in, according to Party theorists, much of life in China is devoted to making money, and workers have little power against bosses and platforms. For all of the lip service paid to them, “the People” have few real champions on either China’s left or its right, and are a largely forgotten theme in its intellectual discourse, which has moved on from proletarian rights to state power. At some point over the last decade or two, their previous engagement on behalf of the people became part of Great Power politics and a critique of American hegemony.

Answer (if you need it) here …

According to the report, the Caritas Resurrection School in Sha Tin, which caters to children with moderate intellectual disability, failed to fully cover the country’s constitution and the city’s Basic Law mini-constitution in its general studies subject and was “slow” in adding national security education into all others.

…The report on Po Leung Kuk Law’s Foundation School, an institution in Yuen Long for severely intellectually disabled children, said the institution only had a small number of its subjects combined with learning elements of national security education.

Congrats to SCMP copy editor for putting quotes around the word ‘slow’.

A restaurant reviewer returns to Hong Kong for the first time in a few years and finds the scene slow. Her scene includes up-market Michelin-starred places, which have suffered from the middle-class/expat flight and the dearth of better-heeled tourists. One was Amber (remember it well from 11 years ago – spot the typo). She also checks out the trendy bakery/coffee places that Mainland tourists like…

Bakehouse, Arabica, Winstons and other cool spots … are recommended on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese Instagram platform, but it is hard to tell if they really get a bump in business from such visitors when some of them have been spotted fishing out empty cups from rubbish bins to use as photo props.

SCMP looks at newly arrived Honkongers running in (and winning) elections for town councils in the UK…

…one major difference was the statutory powers held by the UK councils to make decisions in areas such as council tax collection and spending, [Andy Ng] said, which differed from the advisory functions of the Hong Kong bodies.

He added his background as a former district councillor in the city was an asset.

“Many residents know what’s going on in Hong Kong and they are supportive of [newcomers],” he said.

As a new President takes over, HKFP interviews various Taiwan figures, including outgoing Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

The BBC gets to sit down with Tsai Ing-wen…

…the president seems keener to ask about me than talk about herself. She is certainly more comfortable showing us her cats and dogs than answering questions in front of a rolling camera.

“That’s Xiang Xiang,” she says, pointing to the large, grey tabby eyeing me suspiciously through the open doorway. “Would you like to meet her?”

…While Tsai shied away from the spotlight in Taiwan’s boisterous politics, Xiang Xiang became a celebrity. She played a starring role in Tsai’s 2020 re-election campaign, along with the president’s other cat, a ginger tom called Ah Tsai.

HKFP op-ed asks why (or how) we are supposed to maintain that press freedom is intact in Hong Kong…

When the News of the World was caught in criminal mischief its owner, Rupert Murdoch, was summoned to a hearing in the House of Commons. He was not paraded through his newsroom in chains.

…there is a clear consensus in the profession that times have changed. Indeed, a common topic of conversation at journalists’ gatherings these days is who will be next for closure, jail or exile.

Transit Jam post on a small private gathering of Hong Kong cyclists for a ‘ride of silence’ to remember bicycle-users who died on the road. The police seem to have treated the event as a major threat to public order, with a dash of ‘evil foreign forces’ thrown in. The government, he says…

…tries desperately to hide any tragedy or unwanted behaviour from view.

But, while cyclists keep getting killed, a small memorial is the least we can do for the victims. So we will continue, every year, as part of that global day of respect.

Shame on the Hong Kong government and @hkpoliceforce for repressing even this tiny apolitical civil voice.

(Previous live Tweets with pix here.)

In another sign of general intolerance and nanny-state authoritarianism, the Security Bureau-heavy administration wants to fine and/or imprison people who go hiking or ‘chasing the wind’ during extreme weather…

For citizens who refuse to listen to warnings, [Chief Secretary for Administration and ex-Immigration Dept head Eric] Chan said the government will take strict enforcement actions and charge them to reach a deterrent effect.

…He added that the government would shut down beaches and the country parks during extreme weather, and those breaking the ban will be fined HK$2,000 and jailed for 14 days.

You could make a case for sending people who recklessly endanger themselves a bill after being rescued by emergency services (an opportunity for the insurance industry?). But jailing folk for strolling on a beach during a typhoon is hyper-Singaporean.

Standard editorial bemoans the fact that banks don’t want to offer hefty mortgages to people buying overpriced apartments. Uses the word ‘undervaluation’.

From Artnet – a review of the Leeds City Museum exhibition of Hong Kong diaspora artwork and other material (see the painting Moon We Share)…

…the exhibition also drew criticism from pro-China students studying in Leeds, noted Cheung. Some left derogatory remarks, ranging from anti-democracy comments such as “Hong Kong should not be free,” to others claiming that Hong Kongers were “kneeling to their U.K. colonial masters.” The comments were written in simplified Chinese on Post-It notes and put on the exhibition’s version of Lennon Wall, which echoes one of the key elements of the 2019 protests that allowed people to leave their remarks and wishes on sticky-notes.

From Atlantic – an surprisingly decent analysis of the trade war that China’s unsustainable mercantilist policies have made inevitable…

China’s leaders have no one to blame but themselves. They joined a global trading system and then gamed that system. 

…“It’s the whole financial system, the whole economic system that is leveraged for industrial policy, which is very different than what’s been happening in market economies,” Camille Boullenois, an analyst of Chinese industry at the research firm Rhodium Group, told me. Where electric vehicles are concerned, “it’s very hard to imagine the industry growing as fast without government support.”

…Rather than encouraging spending on goods, all of the economic incentives are to make capital investment in manufacturing. China’s economic model favors producers over consumers, which holds down household incomes and limits their spending. Lacking customers at home, Chinese industry is forced to seek them abroad.

…Xi Jinping seems set on making matters worse. His principal economic goal of achieving “self-sufficiency” aims to reduce what China purchases from other countries and substitute goods made by foreign companies with Chinese alternatives—especially in industries, such as green energy, that other governments find strategic. In doing so, Xi is practically inviting more intense trade disputes.

China’s government tolerates free enterprise and free markets only up to the point that they serve the ruling party’s political interests. The logic in Beijing (and Germany, Japan, etc) is that people exist to produce, rather than enjoy, things – and workers in other countries lose jobs as a result. At some point, trade-deficit countries are going to lose patience with a country that accounts for 30% of global manufacturing but only 13% of consumption. That moment has been a long time coming.

From 9 Dash Line – China is losing its grip on the South China Sea…

China continues to expand its claims with the recently released 10-dash line “standard map” that it wrongly believes would tighten its claims. However, the tide is turning. The neighbouring nations are growing weary of Beijing’s coercive tactics, drawing their lines against the revisionist power, demanding respect for national sovereignty, and uniting around a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Really? The Philippines is clearly hitting back. Malaysia, on the other hand, seems spineless, while Vietnam’s communist rulers can’t bring themselves to square the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ equation.

On YouTube, US Naval War College professor Sarah Paine on the prospect of a Chinese attack on Taiwan…

‘I can’t imagine the Chinese being less brutal (than Russia in Ukraine)’

And Chinafile looks at how Beijing is trying to make Uighurs eat congee and cut out the lamb and carrots…

The CCP views many facets of Uyghur life as “backward,” so it seeks to refashion Uyghur cultural expression in a way it finds both intelligible and non-threatening, promoting a set of officially sanctioned “Han” tastes and habits as the standard for hygiene, modernity, and normalcy. In the case of food, Beijing often works to impose this standard through direct interventions with local women. Even when authorities extol the virtues of the cuisine of the region, they often speak not specifically of “Uyghur food” but of “Xinjiang food,” as though the dishes so many Han tourists enjoy have their origins in geography rather than the practices and culture of the Uyghur people. At the same time, officials consider ethno-cultural diets of Uyghurs—especially if they are shaped by Islamic law—as obstacles to ethnic unity at best and a gateway to extremism at worst.

…the introduction of “Chinese cuisine” into Uyghur communities is a key part of the Party-state’s comprehensive “stability work.”

…For some work, changes in diet must start with breakfast. Villages in Yeken (Ch. Shache) and Khotan hosted household school trainings that provided instruction on preparing morning meals. Dishes included scallion pancakes, fried dough sticks, cold cucumber, fried eggs, congee, porridge, and milk tea. The goal: transform the monotonous “traditional” (i.e., Uyghur) breakfast of nan and tea.

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.

An Amnesty International report accuses Beijing of intimidating Chinese citizens, such as students and activists – overseas.

And police in the UK arrest three people suspected of working for ‘Hong Kong intelligence’. Two are ex-military security consultants, while the third is a manager at the HK Economic and Trade Office in London – who is an ex-cop and college classmate of CE John Lee. They are on bail.

Prosecutors allege that the two security guys engaged in ‘hostile surveillance and forcible entry of a residential address’, targeting members of the ‘Hong Kong diaspora’ (including Nathan Law and Christopher Mung), and were paid by the London HKETO.  (More further down thread, eg here.)

The PRC embassy in London issues a statement of righteous indignation…

A spokesman said Beijing “firmly opposes and strongly condemns” the fabrication of the so-called espionage case and its “unjustified accusation” against the Hong Kong government.

“Britain has also arbitrarily harassed, arrested and detained Chinese nationals under the disguise of justice and national security, which is a serious provocation to the Chinese side and a serious violation of the basic norms of international relations,” he said.”We urge the UK to immediately rectify its mistakes, as any political maneuvers to slander China are doomed to failure. We advise Britain to stop going further down the wrong road to undermine Sino-British relations.”

The HK government offers a milder press release.

Comment from Michael Mo…

People at HKETO might feel embarrassed by the event. It’s like having an own goal while they were trying to “normalise” relations with Westminster Village. Hence, the HK authorities did not respond to the prosecution in a warrior-wolf tone. In contrast, the usual aggressive response by the PRC Embassy shows that they didn’t even read the prosecution bundle before responding.

This will be interesting. It will be an example of a Western democracy’s NatSec laws in action (eg, you can get bail). It concerns dissidents in exile with widely publicized bounties on their heads. The prosecution’s initial evidence looks like the result of a thorough investigation. And it allegedly has the HKETO’s fingerprints all over it (activists overseas have demanded that host nations shut the offices.)

Transit Jam visits the ‘Old Unlucky Building’ – site of a fire that claimed five lives a month ago – and finds conditions are the same as ever…

Aside from fire damage and problems of dirt, garbage and rodents, a tour of the building today revealed hundreds of unaddressed fire safety and fire escape issues.

More than half of the building’s fire doors were propped open or broken beyond function. Corridors and staircases still smell strongly of soot, with significant fire damage and soot on the lower six floors, where fire hoses are burned and melted. Emergency lights do not work, electrical cabling hangs down over fire escapes, a scenario one expert called the “widow maker” for its danger to fire crews. Garbage and construction waste block the fire escape stairwells.

Tourists seemed unconcerned for now. One Russian family of four ending their stay at Hang Fung Hostel told Transit Jam they did not know there had been a fire in the building and said the guest house was “fine”.

Some viewing for Buddha’s birthday – a good little video on the history of Macau’s gambling business.