Hong Kong Book Fair's Red Lines

Customers eager to snap up books at the Book Fair

It was announced that the annual Hong Kong Book Fair will be held for a week starting on July 19 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, and that exhibitors could show books as long as they weren't banned.

The Hong Kong Trade and Development Council would not pre-screen books, "as long as the titles didn't breach the law, including the national security law.

Pick your books carefully, no breaking the law

Sophia Chong, deputy executive director at HKTDC said there was no list of "banned titles", and that all exhibitors were familiar with the "house rules".

So she is basically saying there are no banned books, but if you sell anything the government deems illegal then you'll be arrested. The authorities don't have a list of the books, but surely you know what they are...

It's like the chicken and the egg -- which came first?

But clues can be found of what may probably not be displayed. In May some 200 books were taken off the shelves of Hong Kong libraries, many of them written by pro-democracy activists.

Most people would rather err on the side of caution than walk a fine line.

This is what Hong Kong has become, a place full of invisible red lines that are a minefield to navigate. 

How would the government react to these titles?

Books are knowledge, and knowledge is truth, something the government is terrified of Hongkongers of having.

Lam's New Bling Digs

Lam's office will be at Pacific Place One in Admiralty

There was a lot of excitement and confusion when former TVB anchor Chris Wong posted on social media that former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was spotted in Heathrow Airport in London, appearing to be transferring to go somewhere else.

Ex-TVB anchor misreported Lam being in the UK

But it turned out to be a lot of baloney when she was photographed at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai the day before the Hong Kong Book Fair opened.

She was there having breakfast alone before attending a seminar held by a pro-Beijing think tank.

There was a flurry of comments wondering why Lam would be in the UK when she has been sanctioned there.

Nevertheless, there is definitely brouhaha over the news that she has an office -- she has retired, why does she need an office? -- in Pacific Place -- and that it will cost a whopping HK$22 million (US$2.8 million) over three years.

She is still in HK, spotted here at HKCEC

And yes, taxpayers must foot the bill.

The 2,874 sq ft space above the shopping mall in Admiralty will cost HK$377,000 per month in rent for a three-year contract.

The space is being renovated at the tune of HK$8.7 million.

Since the time of Tung Chee-hwa as the first chief executive, each successive leader has had an office set up for them by the government so that they can perform such activities as "receiving visiting dignitaries and delegations, giving local and overseas media interviews, and taking part in speaking engagements."

The offices of previous leaders have been situated in a historic building in Mid-Levels, and so Lam's office will be the first one located on commercial property.

It doesn't seem like there was any discussion about how much rent taxpayers should be shelling out for an office for arguably the most hated chief executive (so far). Nor does there seem to be any discussion of a tender...

And as a former chief executive her perks include having a chauffeur, a senior personal assistant and an assistant clerical officer.

Lam's office is the first on commercial property

It seem the cost of her office is way more than the previous three chief executives combined at only HK$11.4 million for 2020-21.

Dominic Lee Tsz-king of the New People's Party seems to be the only one grumbling about Lam's office, describing it as "too expensive and unnecessary."

"I don't understand why a separate office needs to be rented in such a premium location... so much taxpayers' money will be spent," he said.

Indeed, many are wondering the same thing.

Defiance Punished with No Mercy

Koo is a well-known pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong

Hong Kong demonstrates it has practically zero tolerance for dissent with the convictions of two elderly protesters on two consecutive days. 

On Tuesday 75-year-old Koo Sze-yiu was sentenced to nine months in prison for planning a protest against the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. He was arrested before he could even carry out his plan. 

Koo is a well known pro-democracy activist, and before 2019 his protest would have garnered some attention, perhaps arrested and then released after a few hours in jail. But now he is in jail for endangering national security because he wrote slogans like, "democracy and human rights are above the Winter Olympics" and end one-party dictatorship". 

Koo planned to protest the Beijing Olympics

Not only is Koo getting on in age, he is also suffering from terminal cancer.

Then yesterday, another pro-democracy activist known as "Grandma Wong" was jailed for unlawful assembly. Prosecutors accused Alexandra Wong, 66, of participating in two unlawful assemblies on August 11, 2019, shouting "offensive words", and her waving the British Union Jack flag encouraged illegal gathering.

Wong was sentenced to eight months.

More than three years ago she would probably have been detained for a few hours and then let go, paid a fine or a few days in jail.

These two are defiant in their criticism of the government, and it wouldn't be surprising if the Department of Justice found more evidence to charge them with other crimes before they got out of jail.

Grandma Wong jailed for illegal assembly

Meanwhile freedom of expression and free access to information are being further challenged.

The famous or infamous Hong Kong Book Fair begins on July 19 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.

Run by the government, it has become even more strenuous on how it vets the exhibitors. Before it allowed "lang mo" or pseudo models who have no experience walking fashion catwalks to have booths to hawk books filled with soft porn pictures of themselves.

But now independent publishers who publish books deemed to be politically sensitive are banned.

What did those publishers do?

They rented a space elsewhere to hold the "Hongkongers' Book Fair", but it was cancelled the day before the launch after the landlord was worried about the attention it was getting on social media.

Yeung's alternative book fair suddenly shut down

"Even though the authorities have been saying Hong Kong people still have the freedom to publish, the reality is that people do have certain fears and pressure, leading to these irrational decisions," Raymond Yeung, a former teacher and organiser of the book fair said.

He said the venue had held small market events before, and when they signed the lease, the landlord was aware of what they were planning to do. "I have no idea why their attitude changed so rapidly," Yeung said.

Some people cannot withstand the pressure, whereas others are willing to walk into the fire for the greater good.

Lee Sworn in as New Chief Executive

Lee and Xi stand together at the HK Convention Centre

Chinese President Xi Jinping came and went, and left behind a newly anointed John Lee Ka-chiu as the next chief executive of Hong Kong.

The entire swearing-in ceremony was conducted in Mandarin -- not Lee's strong suit -- but with the world watching, or rather the domestic Chinese audience watching, he had to oblige.

So many local Hong Kong and international media were barred from attending the event, and had to reply on pool feeds for pictures and video. This ensured the narrative did not veer from the script.

Lee's swearing-in was in Mandarin

After Lee was sworn in, he gave his first speech as Chief Executive. 

He said he took on the role of Hong Kong's leader with "humility", and thanked the central government for its support, and citizens for their trust, saying he would lead his team to do their best in building an "inclusive and energetic" Hong Kong.

Optimistic words, but hardly reflect the reality. Firstly, he does not have the mandate of Hongkongers, as they cannot directly vote for their leader, and how can he be "inclusive" when he helped former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor shut down any kind of dissent from media outlets to civil society groups and political activists?

Lee added the implementation of the national security law allowed Hong Kong to return from chaos to order, and that the electoral overhaul of the Legislative Council enabled "patriots ruling Hong Kong".

Meanwhile Xi, Lee's boss, said in his speech that the "one country, two systems" framework had proven successful so there was no reason to change it.

He described it as "a great initiative with no precedent to follow", and that it is to uphold the nation's sovereignty, security and development interests, and to maintain long-term prosperity and stability in both Hong Kong and Macau.

Lee's new cabinet is hardly social-distanced...

How are Hong Kong and nearby Macau going to achieve prosperity when China refuses to open the border with Hong Kong and Macau, and that Beijing is cracking down on gambling, the dominant source of income for the former Portuguese enclave?

"Today I wish to highlight once more that the policy of 'one country, two systems' having been tested and proved time and again, meets the fundamental interests of the country and the Chinese nation and those of Hong Kong and Macau," Xi said.

"It enjoys the full support of the more than 1.4 billion people of the motherland, it has the unanimous endorsement of Hong Kong and Macau residents, and it is widely recognised by the international community. There is no reason to change such a good system, and it must be adhered to over the long run."

Ah yes, the support of more than 1.4 billion people! They had no say on how Hong Kong is governed -- they are only told how the city is governed.

But the reasoning goes if it's been endorsed by 1.4 billion people, then "one country, two systems" must be be right, right? 

It's a pity that the British side and the Chinese side have two completely different definitions of "one country, two systems", or perhaps Beijing kept its cards really close to its chest until now?

Either way it's Hongkongers who lose. Those who want to cut their losses are taking a leap of faith to leave Hong Kong and start new lives again. Those who refuse to leave feel that departing would be a sign of giving up. 

Waving the Patriotic Flag

Flag fanatics decorated Kam Shek House in red flags

In the run up to the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover, someone in two housing estates in Kwun Tong decided to be very patriotic and decorated the entire Lam Shek House and Kam Shek House with alternating Chinese and Hong Kong flags hanging on every level of above the courtyard.

Some flags were found to be desecrated

Of course the Bauhinia flag is markedly smaller than the Chinese one...

Pictures of it went viral on social media and yesterday the police received a report that 12 of the national flags at Lam Shek House were desecrated, some with black stains on the big stars, while one flag at the housing estate and another at Kam Shek House were stolen.

Some uniformed police collected the desecrated flags, putting them in plastic bags for investigation and no one has been arrested yet.

Eventually all the flags were taken down probably as a precaution.

This exercise in extreme patriotism in Hong Kong is a touchy subject to say the least. While residents accept that the city is a part of China, it isn't quite ready for the show of nationalism that mainlanders expect. 

The push for patriotism is overwhelmingly red

And the government's efforts in trying to shove patriotism down residents' throats isn't helpful either, fuelling further frustration. The 2019 protests are still raw in people's minds, and they are still trying to process what has happened in the last three years, particularly after the implementation of the national security law.

Forcing people to celebrate an anniversary that seems bleaker by the day is hardly something worth rejoicing about. And the red flags seem to inflame people even more.

At least all the flags were removed and maybe the mastermind will have learned his/her lesson.

But wait -- the Hong Kong police are adopting the "goose-step" used in China from July 1.

"To promote patriotism and enhance the awareness of national identity, the Hong Kong Police Force will fully adopt Chinese foot drills from July 1," the HKPF said in a statement.

HKPF will debut its goose-stepping style July 1

Last year the People's Liberation Army trained Hong Kong police cadets the goose-step style where soldiers march without bending their knees.

Sounds painful... on the knees!

In the meantime it's been reported the two senior government officials who caught Covid-19 a few days ago have now tested negative.

Eric Chan Kwok-ki and Erick Tsang Kwok-wai have started to test negative, and if they have two more negative tests, then they could possibly attend Friday's ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

The government will have the final say if Chan and Tsang can attend in person. 

And still no word on Xi Jinping coming or not... 

Is He or Isn't He?

Xi has yet to announce if he's attending in person or not

Hong Kong has had over 1,000 Covid-19 cases a day, today there are over 1,700. The Centre for Health Protection has warned it could go over the 2,000 mark soon.

It seemed the chances of Chinese President Xi Jinping coming to Hong Kong would be slimmer by the day.

So it was very surprising to the territory that a few hours ago Xinhua announced that Xi will attend the 25th anniversary of the handover celebrations and swear in John Lee Ka-chiu as the next chief executive.

Chan (left) and Tsang have tested positive

The key word is "attend", as it was not clear if he would come in person, or participate virtually. Zoom, perhaps?

Originally guests attending the event would have to quarantine in the hotels near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for seven days, but that has been cut to one day, but not the battery of PCR tests.

It was also reported yesterday that incoming chief secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki and constitutional and mainland affairs minister Erick Tsang Kwok-wai both tested positive for Covid-19. 

There were concerns that Chan may have infected Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor as he spoke to her on Monday, but the media was told that both were wearing masks and at a distance from each other so she was not considered a close contact.

No Penny's Bay for her...

Leung advises swearing-in ceremony kept simple

Infectious disease expert Leung Chi-chiu of Chinese University says it's hard to tell how quickly Chan and Tsang will recover and if they can attend the July 1 ceremony.

"Because most of our senior officials have been undergoing Covid-19 testing regularly, their recent positive tests might indicate that they have just developed the disease. For that, because of the new onset disease, it's difficult to tell at this moment whether their disease course will be short enough to have completed recovery by July 1," Leung said.

He suggested that the ceremony next week be kept as simple as possible, and everyone have their masks on and avoid mingling too much. 

But back to Xi... what are the chances of him actually coming in person next Friday? 

New HK Leader a Forgone Conclusion

Newly anointed Chief Executive-elect Lee with wife Janet

Well what do you know -- John Lee Ka-chiu is going to be the next Chief Executive of Hong Kong!

What a surprise.

Of the 1,428 votes cast, he received 1,416 of them -- 99.15 percent of the votes. It's not hard if you are the only candidate.

How can this even be called an election, despite the charade of having people voting for him. He even greeted voters before they cast their ballot which in a real election would have been a no-no.

Lee earlier greeted voters as they arrived

Nevertheless this is the result Beijing wants -- Hong Kong style democracy with Chinese characteristics, where you have a one-horse race where only 0.0002 percent of the population are eligible to vote.

For the record it only took 23 minutes to count all the votes.

"Lee was nominated by 796 Election Committee members and won 1,416 votes. this showed that he was supported by the majority of the committee members, and faces the expectations of the vast majority of Hong Kong residents," said Xinhua of the result. 

While Lee was showered with praise in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the rest of the people not allowed to cast a ballot were resigned, angry or shrugged.

Just before the vote, three activists from the League of Social Democrats staged a mini protest. "Power to the people, universal suffrage now" they chanted as they marched towards the voting venue, though they were stopped by police.

Three lone protesters before the election

When asked by a reporter for his response that his performance will face challenges because of the lack of an electoral mandate, Lee replied:

"My election has been run according to the laws of Hong Kong. The election was conducted in a very transparent and fair manner. Anybody who is legally qualified can take part and run for election. I received a total of 1,416 votes and with that number of support, of course, it encourages me and gives me the strong confidence that my direction is agreed upon and shared by lots of Election Committee members."

He also said that the chief executive is accountable to both Hong Kong and Beijing, and that the two are connected. Lee added what Beijing wants to see in the city and what Hong Kong people want to see should be similar.

If only it were that simple...

A joke going around Twitter: 689 (Leung Chun-ying) + 777 (Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor) - 50 Years of no change = 1,416.