Dark Corner One Year On

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Ken Tsang was arrested as the man suspected of throwing an unknown liquid at police. A TVB camera crew filmed seven policemen carry Tsang to a dark corner and beat him. Despite the clear irrefutable video evidence, a year later the police involved have still not been charged.
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Nevermind Facebook Likes, 12 Ways the HK Police Force Could Improve Their Image.

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Nevermind Facebook likes… Richard Scotford, a Hongkonger, offers twelve ways the HK Police Force (HKPF) could improve their image. I’m sure you can add more

1) The HKPF needs to come out and officially admit that using CS gas at 17:58 on 28/09/2014 was a mistake and they’re sorry to the public.

2) The Seven Black Police videoed beating Ken Tsang need to go on trial.

3) Franklin Chu needs to go on trial.

4) Wilson Yeung who needlessly pepper-sprayed me directly in the eyes for no reason and without warning needs to go on trial.

5) The Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) needs to be completely shaken up. They should get rid of the attitude of, how do we find a way to exonerate this officer, and instead work off the basis that in any organization, there are people who need to be disciplined. Some need severe discipline. Some need to go to jail. In a force of 30,000 people there are going to be some bad eggs. This is actually good for morale and maintains integrity and respect for the other officers. What we have now is a feeling in the police force of, these democracy protesters are our enemies and we can not let them win at anything. We lost face to them during Occupy and that will never happen again. Therefore we will bend the law and pervert justice in order to protect our own and the ‘face’ of the police force whenever it comes to dealing with democracy protesters.

6) No more putting people in taxis. Either they’re arrested or they’re left to find their own way home. Escorting violent people and putting them in a taxi is NOT keeping the peace. It’s collusion with dark forces. If people break the law, arrest them or leave them to their own devices. No more police home-escorts for people who have clearly broken the law.

7) No more mobilising 100s of PTU to protect aunties or CCP protesters. CCP supporters or aunties should be told that there is no longer police protection for their activities. People who break the law on Sai Yeung Choi Street or at protests will be arrested according to the law, but no more huge protection squads guarding people who are favoured by the Liaison Office.

8) No more pepper spraying peaceful protesters without warning. Pepper spray is a chemical weapon designed to subdue people who are clearly acting violently and will not desist in their activities. Pepper spray is NOT a means of passive crowd control.

9) No more threatening and hitting peaceful protesters with batons. Batons are an extreme weapon that should be used on people who are acting extremely violently or have weapons. Batons are not a form of passive crowd control.

REMEMBER – as a citizen I have a right to choose what actions I wish to carry out. If those actions do not physically threaten or harm anybody, then it is not a given that police can use extreme violence to prevent me from carrying them out. Law is a function of justice. The ultimate aim of a civil society, like Hong Kong is to create a society based on JUSTICE. Not on a society that only obeys laws. If I break the law, then I shall be put in front of a judge and given justice in accordance with what laws I have broken. Just because I break the law, it doesn’t then absolve me of my most basic humans rights of freedom from harm and physical violence. Meaning,

10) The police need to stop extra-judicial, street justice immediately.

11) Stop beating people up in the police vans or police stations.

12) When the police arrest someone, tell them IMMEDIATELY why they’re being arrested. Read them their rights before they are removed from the scene according to the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, Article 5(2) Stop Hog-tying protesters like they’re armed psychopaths. Protesters arrested need to be given basic human dignity when they’re detained and not hauled off like pieces of meat with no rights.

Oh, one last point…. CLEAN THEIR SCRUFFY BOOTS and SHOES. Their boots are still a shabby mess, which is a direct reflection of the senior officers who command them.
Time to lean, time to clean! The commanding officers have no standards and it shows in the scruffy shoes of their subordinates.

Man Ho Chuen Sentenced to 7 Days Jail

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Man Ho Chuen, the man who stuck his fist in the throat of a pro-Democracy supporter while verbally abusing him was sentenced to 7 days imprisonment for assault. The magistrates comments that “Man initiated attack, showed no remorse, made false accusation against the victim, and could very likely commit the same offence again” make the sentence seems nothing more than a slap on the wrist of the pro-Beijing agitator.

During sentencing a supporter of Man caused a disturbance in Court by screaming and turning on a radio in full volume. The un-identified person was evicted from Court without charge.

Photo courtesy of Apple Daily

Why More Independence for Hong Kong Makes Sense

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The Chinese economy is now facing its strongest challenges for a generation and Xi JinPing’s best efforts to create a nationalistic, shareholder, last stand for the stock market seem to have largely failed. What the fall out from this will be we can only speculate, but the enormous economic disaster that is the Chinese economy is not of Hong Kong’s making. Back in the colonial days, if the British economy collapsed, Hong Kong would not be expected to fall on its sword in sympathy.  Likewise, given the stormy times ahead for China, Hong Kongers should not be looking at going down with the sinking ship, but instead working on preserving what makes the city different, or the Two Systems part of the Basic Law. Given this, the idea of a Hong Kong City State becomes increasingly more viable and appealing.

The impracticalities of a Hong Kong City State are often premised on the geopolitics of Asia remaining similar to what it has been for the last 30 years. But once you accept the premise that the geopolitics of Asia are heading into turbulent seas, then the question of how best Hong Kong can survive the storm becomes much more pertinent and pressing. More independence and autonomy, and not less, suddenly become compelling.

When you live in the shadow, of the overly jealous and malign CCP, even uttering the word independence under your breath is high treason against The Party. Certainly, there are significant amounts of people who believe the independence debate in Hong Kong was created by the CCP to create social division within the democratic movement and brand everyone who opposes the government as splitists.  In China, there can be no worse a traitor than a splitist. However, most of the anti-independence arguments are actually ill-thought out if we work back from 2047. For, when we look at the pros and cons of more independence based on 2047 as a starting point, it starts to make a lot of sense and a much smarter path to follow than blithely accepting whatever bones the CCP wishes to throw Hong Kong erstwhile its own economy and political system rips itself apart.

It’s not too early to ask the question, what will happen come 2047? Does Hong Kong law become superseded by Mainland law? Because if that’s going to be the case, the day this is officially announced, whether it be tomorrow or in ten years time, will be like pulling a plug on the city. Money, resources and people will stampede to safer havens. Those that faithfully pledge their full allegiance to The Party, will be left in a hollow shell of a city as anything that creates real, global value will be gone.

If your argument against greater Hong Kong independence is that HK’s unchangeable destiny is to eventually be  fully assimilated into CCP’s China and become a carbon copy of any other CCP city then you must first be clear what these other cities will look like in five years time, or even five months time! Simply pointing out that we need to be more like ‘them’, but having no clue what ‘them’ will look like and having zero control of how ‘they’ are created is no plan at all. Hong Kong certainly has all the tools to make a positive contribution to the place known as China for many years to come. The same can’t be said of the multitude of cites we’re supposed to be more like, and that includes Shanghai. The most likely future for these cities are astronomically high, local debts, huge environmental clean-up bills, violent, social unrest and rampant corruption. None of which Hong Kong suffers from yet. Hong Kong has everything it needs to protect itself from such a bleak future, but unfortunately the current government seems intent on throwing away all the city’s global advantages in a lame attempt to show loyalty to a broken political part that pretends its a country.

No one who advocates greater independence is dreaming that Hong Kong isn’t part of China in a physical sense, but being geographically part of a continent and being ruined by the politically oppressive CCP are not one-in-the-same. The CCP is not China, it is not the country, neither is it the people. It is a shadowy, political organisation with a horrific track record for wreaking havoc upon the peoples of China throughout its very short and violent tenure. There will come a time when the CCP no longer holds power, but there will still be a China and also city in its south called Hong Kong. This is what the independence debate is based on, a practical approach to preservation, and there’s a lot to be protected here in this quasi-City State. This is the true pragmatic path for Hong Kongers now, or how does Hong Kong negotiate the impending disaster that is the CCP’s complete loss of trust in China and not be destroyed with it?

Currently the CCP tirelessly tries to bewitch pragmatists in Hong Kong with the narrative that the only future lies with them, a transient and decaying political entity, motivated by self-preservation and quick gain. However this lie becomes increasingly less convincing with every passing week.  Hong Kongers are no stranger in handling inept northern governments. They have played this game for almost two centuries and they know when the winds of change howl, and China looks like a shaky pile of eggs (危如累卵 – Wei Ru Lei Luan), their future lies in protecting their own autonomy and not integrating more into turmoil.

The opinions in this article are of those of the writer, if you agree or disagree feel free to leave a comment here or on our facebook page. The wonders of a free press allow for a discussion and debate of ideas – unlike north of the border.

cartoon: www.anntelnaes.com

Happy 18th Birthday Hong Kong SAR

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As the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region turns 18 never has it been so obvious and open how the pro-China sycophants are looking to destroy and undermine Hong Kong for their own self interests.

The lack of respect and disdain Chief Executive CY Leung has for Hongkongers (as opposed to Mainland Hong Kong residents) is obvious every time he opens his mouth and either insults HongKongers or sticks his tongue further up the Mainlands arse.

689’s latest show of pettiness and vindictiveness is to not invite the Legco members who voted against the fake universal suffrage bill last month to the Hong Kong 18th Anniversary flag raising ceremony.

Beijing what you fail to understand is that you have created the discontent and anti-China feeling here in Hong Kong by imposing on us completely incompetent Chief Executives who couldn’t run an orgy in a brothel.

What I fail to understand is why you want to turn Hong Kong into just another mainland city when so many members of the NPC have invested their personal money in Hong Kong purely because it’s not a Chinese city…

I know it goes against the basic CCP’s dictate of line your own pockets first and let everyone else fight over the scraps – but if you want to ease tensions here and in cities on the mainland you need to start looking after the people you claim to be representing. Pitting penniless peasants against each other so the CCP could stay in power worked well in the past. But HongKongers and many Mainlanders are educated and aware and not happy to suffer so corrupt government officials can enrich themselves.

In less than a year you’ve allowed CY to destroy the reputation of the Hong Kong Police and it’s relationship with HongKongers. Camera phones and the internet expose the lies the police tell. One video can be edited/cut to support your lies, but hundreds shot from different angles expose the truth – and that genie can never be forced back into it’s bottle.

So Xi Jinping, as an 18th Birthday present to HongKongers why not give 689 the boot and impose a leader with a brain and an understanding of how to return Hong Kong to its status as the World’s Greatest City. Why should you do that? Pure self interest – a thriving dynamic Hong Kong, drives Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other mainland cities to improve and become great. A neutered Hong Kong removes that incentive. There’s enough people and money around in China to have several great and unique megalopolis.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONG KONG Special Administrative Region!

Graphic: credit to the original artist

Farcical Miscarriage of Justice

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Ng Lai-ying the woman in this video has just been found guilty of assaulting a Police Officer after being held down by a male officer with both of his legs on her chest/waist. I can’t help feeling this kind of decision does little to create trust in our police and courts.

Chief Inspector Chan Ka-po claimed Ng used her breasts to bump against his right arm of during the chaotic protest in Yuen Long on 1 March. He also claimed that her breasts caused an injury to his chest – a medical examination revealed no injuries to Chan.

Although the Magistrate said there are doubtful points in the statement the police witness gave (e.g. it was very difficult for the defendant to assault an officer given the limited space where the incident took place), these doubtful points are insignificant, hence the defendant was found guilty and is remanded in custody until 10 July.

As this video, which captures the whole incident, shows the only person assaulted was Ng during her arrest. She was thrown to the ground and jumped on by several policemen leaving her with a bloody nose and other injuries

Translation: Real Hong Kong News

Vetoed 28 – 8!

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The Beijing dictated ‘Motion Concerning the Amendment to the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’ a method of faux Universal Suffrage has been vetoed by the Hong Kong Legislature by 28 Votes to 8

The vote took place at 12:33 today far earlier than many expected after all the Legco members who wished to speak had done so and a vote was called for.

In a strategy based on the rule that at least 35 members have to present before a bill can be put to a vote, the Pro-Beijing Legco members walked out of the Chamber. If not enough members are present, the Chairman will ring the bell to ask for members to return to the hall. If there still is not enough people present after 15 minutes, the meeting will be adjourned.

However, not enough Pro Beijing members walked out and 36 Legco members remained, and the vote proceeded.

There’s long faces all around on the Pro-Beijing lawmakers, ironic really that they failed to vote on the reform measure because they didn’t understand the Democratic processes of the Legislature.

There was joyous celebrations inside and outside after the vote.

The reality is that the veto is but one step on the long road to where the people of Hong Kong can hold their Chief Executive accountable for his job performance. CY Leung has shown shown complete and utter contempt for anyone who can’t do something for him. This is not the attitude for a Chief Executive.