Focus on Making Money, says Beijing Official

Xia visited Hong Kong and advised focusing on the economy

A senior Chinese official advised Hongkongers to stop dwelling on politics and focus on the economy. 

Xia Baolong, director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office paid a visit on the weekend on his "fact-finding mission".

His visit coincided with National Security Education Day, though he didn't talk much about it -- as it is vague anyway, and instead urged the city to focus on making money.

Deng Xiaoping

"I hope that Hong Kong will hold conventions and exhibitions every day, engage in innovation and technology, and fight for the economy," he said on Saturday, adding residents should also enjoy "horse racing, dancing, speculating on stocks and making big money."

If that sounds familiar, it is -- late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping said "horse racing will continue, dancing parties will go on", vowing Hong Kong would remain unchanged after it returned to Chinese rule after 1997.

But while Xia advises people to focus on making money and enjoying themselves, others have interpreted this to mean that "demonstrations" were not to be pursued.

He said they were not the only way to express different groups' interests, and even going so far as to suggest people's intentions could be manipulated. 

Hours after Xia made this remark, the pro-Beijing Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions had applied to the police to hold a rally on April 29 before the May 1 Labour Day holiday, and now was considering retracting its application and scaling down their event, even though they insisted it was not related to Xia's words.

The federation used to hold marches like these

"Over the past two weeks, some workers have said they will not attend the rally as they do not want to be in the limelight," federation chairman Lam Chun-sing said.

If even a pro-establishment group is concerned about holding a rally, there is no hope for anyone else who wants to express an opposing opinion.

But back to reviving the economy -- how can that be done? The only mainland tourists coming to Hong Kong are ones from third and fourth-tier cities who have never visited before and can only afford cheap tour packages. 

Anecdotally there are reports from luxury brand stores that business is slow as mainlanders are going elsewhere like Korea and Japan to satisfy their shopping fix. 

What technologically innovation does Hong Kong have? Since the development of the Octopus card, the Leave Home Safe app was a disaster and waste of money... is there nothing else that has been developed in the city?

How to attract high quality tourists to HK?

Meanwhile the tourism board promotes local eats, but mom-and-pop shops that have been around for 30, 40 years are closing as the owners are retiring and their children are not taking over the businesses. 

So what's left is real estate, stocks and horse racing. 

It's all a gamble, isn't it.

Covid-19 Inquiry Welcome, but with Caveats

Many agree to an inquiry, but after the pandemic is over

After infectious diseases expert Yuen Kwok-yung pitched the idea of an independent inquiry into the Hong Kong government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, others are putting in their two bits as well.

Fellow experts David Hui Shu-cheong and Leung Chi-chiu agreed, but said the inquiry should start later.

Meanwhile professor Lau Yu-lung in the University of Hong Kong Paediatrics agrees in principle, and adds the inquiry should be headed by a judge and that it should start after the World Health Organisation declares the pandemic over.

Hui says inquiry should start later, not now

However, Executive Council convenor and chairperson of the New People's Party Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee threw in her opinion and as expected, she had many caveats. 

She did not like the idea of independent judges heading the inquiry because they are not policy experts, but isn't that the point?

Ip also said the inquiry should be held after the WHO declares the pandemic over, as there are still new variants. But as they are not as life-threatening as the original Covid-19, there is an argument to have it sooner rather than later.

Nevertheless, she did acknowledge there was a lack of support for infected patients at the peak of the crisis last year, saying the review should look into how to better mobilise social resources and how to maintain medical services when handling a large number of infected residents.

In addition Ip suggested looking into ways to make good use of technology and mobilise civil servants in handling major crises -- isn't that what they did in the latter half, when there was not enough manpower for essential services? 

Ip says officials should not be targeted

But perhaps most importantly, she stressed the inquiry should not target government officials who she says worked hard over the past three years.

"Everyone was handling it hand learning along the way, as well as optimising measures. We should not hold anyone accountable for everything, but should instead look for shortcomings and optimise procedures," she said.

While a blame game is not productive, an inquiry needs to uncover what happened and why, and how to make things better in the future.

But in some cases, there were things the health experts suggested and the government did not take the advice, or processes were completely mismanaged or incompetent. The design of the LeaveHomeSafe app comes to mind... 

Most would agree the community vaccination clinics were well organised, but did the government do enough to encourage people, particularly the elderly to get jabbed? Why did the authorities not clamp down on mis- and disinformation on vaccines and how many vials of vaccines were wasted? 

Taxpayers deserve to know what happened, and an inquiry -- if it ever happens -- is a good place to start. But caveats aren't very helpful when the government lacks integrity and transparency...

Visitors Trickle into Hong Kong

Hong Kong Tourism Board is promoting the city again

While people are happy to see "0+0" or no restrictions when coming into Hong Kong -- provided you test negative upon arrival -- many are still leery of traveling to the city because of the other tests they need to do in the following days.

Even though the Hong Kong Tourism Board will be heavily promoting the city with its "Hello! Hong Kong" campaign, travel agencies are reporting prospective visitors are concerned about having to do the testing requirements.

Arrival numbers are still sluggish

"As long as there is the PCR and antigen [tests], it is kind of disheartening because [tourists] will always be afraid that if they have a positive result, they'll just be staying in the hotel" said Dolly Santos, president of Manila-based Golden Sky Travel and Tours.

Nevertheless, the tourism board is targeting Southeast Asian visitors. These short-haul flights account for 14,368 of the 80,524 travellers who visited Hong Kong in October, while 47,607 came from the mainland.

In November the number of visitors was 113,763, a 41 percent increase from the month previous. In 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number was 55.91 million.

But even if the tourism board tries to entice prospective travellers with incentives, there aren't necessarily enough planes to carry all these visitors, which is why ticket prices are high at the moment.

Ricky Tse Kam-ting, vice-chairman of the Travel Industry Council expects a growing number of the visitors will be business travellers, as for them the current situation is far better than what was in place before, and could only loosen further eventually.

Lo wants people to keep using the LHS app

He estimates that of the 80,000 travellers who came last month, about half were in Hong Kong for business, and the number could double to 80,000 by January.

So have people gleefully deleted the Leave Home Safe app from their phones in the last few days?

Secretary for Health Dr Lo Chung-mau is begging people not to.

He said people still need to show their vaccination record which is stored in the app, though they could also use the eHealth and iAM Smart app, though they sound just as pathetic as the Leave Home Safe app...

Good News and Bad News

Victor Chen perfectly encapsulates Leave Home Safe app

I was going to write that Hong Kong was the last place on earth to mandate using a Covid-19 tracking app, but just a few hours ago the government has decided residents don't need to scan the dreaded QR codes everywhere they go, but must show their vaccination records at restaurants.

Not only that -- when people arrive in the city and test negative, they are free to go anywhere they wish -- no more getting takeaway food and staying at home for three days. 

The Hang Seng Index immediately shot up to over 19,000 points upon news of the announcement.

Lo looks silly for defending the unnecessary app

Secretary for Health Dr Lo Chung-mau will have to explain himself on why he was so insistent that the Leave Home Safe app was here to stay forever when the winds across the mainland were about to change. Did he not get the memo or was he trying to keep up the appearance that Hong Kong was on a different track than China?

Christmas and New Years is going to be bustling business for Hong Kong, but restaurants and retail have been badly battered by the last three years, some barely surviving, others going gangbusters.

Now the next question is when the border between the mainland and Hong Kong will reopen, and at this rate one may assume before Chinese New Year (January 22). 

Another person desperately trying to show his faithfulness to Beijing is Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung. He accused Google of "double standards" when the tech giant refused to ensure the Chinese national anthem is at the top of the search result following several blunders in international rugby matches where they played the 2019 protest song Glory to Hong Kong instead of the Chinese anthem, March of the Volunteers.

Tang insists that Google obey HK government

"Google claimed it could not accede to our request because [the search results are determined by] algorithm and it cannot do anything with it," he said. "But it has been widely known that anyone who wants their information to be seen by more people could spend money on adverts to get their posts promoted. The claim by Google that its hands are tied is incomprehensible and I am sure Hongkongers would find it unacceptable."

Why not spend money on buying adverts on Google then? The Hong Kong Tourism Board has been desperately throwing money around to promote the city as being back in business...

Or as activist investor David Webb has suggested, as Hong Kong has its own flag and currency, why not give the city its own anthem? 

Tang's flogging a dead horse -- time to move on. No one is listening.

Meanwhile it is heartening to hear the former editor-in-chief of the now defunct Stand News is out on bail after being remanded in custody for almost a year on sedition charges.

Ex-Stand News chief editor now out on bail

Chung Pui-kuen, 53, paid HK$100,000 cash bail with a surety from his brother of HK$50,000 after the judge assessed Chung would not be a national security threat.

However his travel documents were suspended and he is not allowed to give media interviews. 

His lawyer, Senior Counsel Audrey Eu Yuet-mee said in court that Chung would not be a flight risk as his wife, Chan Pui-man was also remanded in custody regarding the now defunct Apple Daily on charges of collusion with foreign forces.

Chung's colleague, former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam Shiu-tung, 35, and Stand News' holding company Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited are accused of conspiracy to publish seditious publications. Lam was granted bail last month.

But things are getting worse for Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of the defunct Apple Daily.

Lai's NSL trial not until September 2023

He was sentenced to 69 months (five years and nine months) and a HK$2 million fine for breaching a commercial lease contract that somehow has morphed into criminal fraud. 

Not only that, he has received word that his national security trial won't be heard until September next year, as the Hong Kong government is waiting on Beijing for an interpretation of legislation on whether Lai is allowed to have foreign representation in court.

Meanwhile his son Sebastien, who is based in Taiwan, is calling on the UK government to take action, as his father is a UK national.

"My dad is a British citizen who has done nothing wrong. I call on the UK Government to take urgent action to protect my dad immediately and secure his freedom. The UK must do all it can to stop this, and do it now," he wrote in a statement.

Unfortunately Lai is at the bottom of the UK government's to-do list but will Lai make it through mentally and physically? Not everyone has his patience and determination.

Quote of the Day: Lo Chung-mau

The QR code scanning will continue, according to Dr Lo

Hong Kong's Secretary for Health Dr Lo Chung-mau insists that the Leave Home Safe app is still useful in the Covid-19 pandemic, even though Undersecretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun admitted the government rarely used the app to track contacts of Covid-19 patients.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has asked the Health Department to conduct a full review of the app, but Lo seems to think it's still effective, as he told reporters today:

"The Leave Home Safe" has a very important function as our anti-epidemic measures. It serves as a measure for our Centre for Health Protection [of the Department of Health] in contact tracing and also serves a function for individual citizens of Hong Kong to record places they have visited, so that they can take measures to protect themselves.

Lo says Leave Home Safe app is good

"With the evolution of the pandemic, there are changes in various ways: the virus has mutated, our vaccination rate has increased, our immunity barrier has strengthened, so we may have to adjust some of the functions of the "Leave Home Safe" app. 

"But I must emphasise that emerging infectious diseases are something we have to bear in mind: we had SARS before, we have various infectious diseases and now we have Covid-19 which is still evolving. So I would say that we may adjust the functions of the "Leave Home Safe" app, but I think the "Leave Home Safe" app is a very good app which has helped Hong Kong in the fight against the pandemic. 

"Perhaps in the future we may still need to rely on the "Leave Home Safe" to fight against the other emerging infectious diseases. It is still a very good app."

Lo seems hell bent on Hong Kong residents using the Leave Home Safe app forever, because there will be yet another infectious disease to track.

Henry not strongly recommending masking up

Meanwhile across the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia, parents are angry and terrified with the news that at least six children have died of complications of the flu this fall. In previous years the number was two to three.

In these recent cases, one child was under five years old, three between the ages of five and nine, and two teens who contracted secondary bacterial infections which complicated their flu symptoms.

The province's health officer Dr Bonnie Henry is not calling for a mask mandate, nor is she highly recommending that people wear masks especially in indoor settings. She has only advised that everyone get not only the flu shot but the Covid-19 booster as well.

One health official so lax, the other so stern.

Why can't we have a happy medium?

Hong Kong, China Still Hanging Onto Zero-Covid

Use of the Leave Home Safe app may not last much longer

Hong Kong may soon take another step forward to becoming "normal" when it ends the use of the Leave Home Safe app, which contained the user's vaccination record as well as every place they went to provided they scanned QR codes at each location.

The announcement was made by Undersecretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun on Friday, a day after the government announced infected residents and close contacts would be quarantined for five days instead of seven.

"Hong Kong is on the path to normality. We don't want to roll back measures. Residents will not need to use the 'Leave Home Safe' app and vaccine pass eventually. It is just a matter of time."

Lee admits the app isn't used to track infections

She even admitted the government rarely used the app to track contacts of Covid-19 patients as infections surged. But Lee also stressed social-distancing measures could not be relaxed yet with the increased number of infected cases.

However, her superior, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said the app would not be cancelled anytime soon even though Beijing began easing restrictions, including not needing a negative test to use public transport.

"The health code system on the mainland is nothing like our 'Leave Home Safe' app and vaccine pass scheme," he said. "We won't simply cancel these measures because the mainland did so.

"These measures have played an important role in controlling the pandemic, especially the vaccine pass scheme. It's the reason why we have a high vaccination rate."

Perhaps it's because people need to eat and shop so they have no choice but to use the app?

Lo says app won't be given up just yet

While Beijing has probably eased restrictions in Hong Kong to use it as a guinea pig to see what would happen, China has started to loosen up -- just a tiny bit -- but it has a long way to go.

The country still can't afford to open up right away, which is why there are projections China may open up as early as late 2023 or even early 2024. More people need to be vaccinated -- but with mRNA vaccines that Beijing still hasn't admitted to be used to inoculate its citizens.

In the meantime articles in state media are starting to talk about how being infected with the Covid-19 virus is nothing to be scared about, that one could be cured in hospital quite easily or even just several days rest at home.

But it's been drilled into Chinese people's heads that the virus and its variants are deadly and it will take some time before everyone is less paranoid about the coronavirus.

The Hong Kong and Chinese governments have used the Covid social-distancing measures and forced use of the Leave Home Safe app as a form of control, which they have effectively used for almost three years, but they aren't quite ready to completely relinquish it.

Zero-Covid is still the goal, and both authorities will drag things out as long as possible to justify the means to an end...

Frustration Boils Over HK Govt's Covid-19 Restrictions

Everyone wearing a mask while crossing the street in Central

After seeing the rest of the world open up and resume their lives post-Covid-19, Hongkongers are agitating for some semblance of normalcy too.

A recent survey has found 70 percent of Hong Kong residents believe the government should further relax Covid-19 curbs, while about half are against having a vaccine pass for children aged five to 11.

Interest in getting vaccinated has dropped off

The survey was conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong between September 29 and October 14, interviewing 705 residents above the age of 18.

While it's a tiny data set, it does give a good indication of how people feel about Hong Kong being in a state of limbo. People must wear masks once they walk out of their homes, scan the dreaded LeaveHomeSafe app anywhere they go, and are constantly told to get vaccinated.

Here are the highlights of the survey:

38.5 percent of respondents were infected with Covid-19 this year;

52 percent said they had never contracted the virus;

62 percent said they were not worried about being infected;

68.9 percent believe the government should relax anti-pandemic curbs, while 10 percent prefer the measures to stay;

Less than 5 percent support further tightening the rules;

Respondents tired of scanning QR codes 

49 percent do not support the government's move to extend coverage of the vaccine pass to children aged five to 11;

56 percent are against forced mandatory vaccination on elderly people in care homes.

Many people complain about the effectiveness of the LeaveHomeSafe app, while others have said they traveled abroad without wearing a mask and didn't get infected -- so they are frustrated having to mask up when they are back in Hong Kong. 

Here in Vancouver there is a slight increase in people wearing masks, not quite half, but they are young and elderly, concerned about the Omicron variant that is spreading here now. They are wearing masks mostly on public transit and in enclosed areas like libraries and shops.

It's an informed choice people can make rather than it being forced on them -- British Columbia health officials feel they can only strongly advise people to wear masks in indoor spaces because a mask mandate will only cause more resistance to comply.

However across the Pacific in Hong Kong, everyone is forced to be compliant which only makes them grumble even more -- behind their masks!

HK's Contradictory Covid Messaging

Lee (middle) says masks must still be worn outdoors

While Hong Kong has gone down to "0+3" in terms of quarantine, and 12 to a table and people can meet in groups of 12 in public, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu still insists that the mask mandate must continue outdoors.

In an RTHK phone-in show, Lee claimed the reason was to protect the vulnerable, in other words the elderly and children.

A bar is raided by police, checking Covid-19 app

Hello... it's OUTSIDE.

He added when the vaccination rate for children goes up then perhaps they would revisit the mask mandate, but until then, everyone needs to mask up.

"One thing that has been agreed by all the experts that I have come across, whether they are subscribing to their own school of thought... then there is a very general agreement that mask-wearing should continue," Lee said.

Meanwhile the Hong Kong police continue to raid bars with live performers, shutting down acts by forcing everyone to produce their LeaveHomeSafe app and their HKID. 

Talk about killing the mood -- no one dares say a word in case the police decide to fine someone for not being cooperative.

And Lee thinks people want to come back to Hong Kong to visit, or even move back there?

If test positive, bankers can flee by jet or yacht

Meanwhile bankers who attend next month's finance summit in Hong Kong are exempt from being restricted from going to bars and restaurants for three days in order to attend conferences and meet clients, though the visiting bankers must still conduct the battery of RAT and PCR tests.

However, if they do test positive, they won't be forced to isolate until they get better, but instead can leave the city via private jet or yacht -- if they did not fly into Hong Kong on commercial flights.

It has now become one city, two systems.

How is this fair to residents? Is this finance summit really going to jump start the economy?

And these finance types are complicit in presenting the image that Hong Kong is open for business.

But the reality could not be further from the truth...

Hotel Quarantines Cut... Sort Of

Lee announced shorter quarantine times for travellers to HK

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has announced this morning Hong Kong time that hotel quarantines have been cut to three days and four days home monitoring from August 12. 

Local residents were thrilled to see the length of time stuck in a hotel room for no good reason will be shortened, but moaned that this would not entice visitors to come back anytime soon.

Those returning to Hong Kong from Friday will need to use the new health code, where if they test negative, they will be placed under a yellow code. This means they cannot visit places such as restaurants, bars, concerts and elderly care homes, but that if their rapid antigen test is negative, they can go about taking public transport, even go back to work(!) and shop for food or go to the shopping mall.

If person tests negative at airport, get yellow code

Once people have successfully completed this 3+4 arrangement, then their health code will turn blue. Strange that it's not green... And of course those who are infected with Covid-19 are red.

The several days of PCR tests will also continue...

The long-awaited coloured health code is going to be implemented, somewhat following what has already been implemented in China since near the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

There are fears that this health code will replace the dreaded LeaveHomeSafe app for the rest of Hong Kong's population and is yet another step in having Hong Kong further conform to the mainland. 

As soon as the shortened quarantine was announced, many were rejoicing, making it even more possible for them to travel again for the first time in over two years, but others still questioned the need to be stuck in a hotel room and paying out of pocket when the rest of the world does not have this regulation (except China and Macau).

Hong Kong health experts like Ben Cowling have said many times that the numbers of infected people coming into the city are so low that hospitals would be able to handle the case loads, and so there isn't a need to have hotel quarantines.

Quarantine hotels made money in pandemic

Perhaps three days was chosen as apparently for every 1,000 travellers coming into Hong Kong, 40 test positive for Covid within three days. And also the day you arrive is counted as Day zero, not Day 1.

Lee explained the government recommendations were based on scientific data, which showed travellers' risk level after three days "is no more than the risk level of transmission in society".

"Based on this analysis, we consider that the risk is under control, and balance it against the needs for other activities to take place. This new measure of '3+4' will be in the best interests of Hong Kong," he said.

"I must emphasise that during the fourth day of medical surveillance, there are also PCR checks, so we will know if there are any changes in risks."

In other words, if there are more infections found on the fourth day, hotel quarantines may be extended, but Lee said he would try his best not to roll back on measures.

Nevertheless, his ultimate goal is to reopen to the mainland, and Lee says he is trying to find ways to make it less inconvenient for people. China's current quarantine measures are 7+3.

In the meantime Hong Kong hoteliers must be annoyed at this new announcement, as those who converted their hotels for quarantine ones have raked in a lot of money these past two years. But surely they would want things to go back to normal too...

China Health Codes Come to HK

The dreaded LeaveHomeSafe app now includes health codes

People in Hong Kong hate the LeaveHomeSafe app. 

Users have to upload their vaccination records on it -- and those who still haven't been vaccinated aren't able to enter any restaurant to dine in, cut their hair, go to the pub and so on. They can only order takeout. And there are a lot of people in this category.

When the app first came out there were concerns it would be modelled similar to the Chinese health code, where when it shows a green colour, the person has not been infected and allowed to move around the city as they please; yellow means a person may be asked to stay home for seven days; and red is a two-week quarantine.

Only yellow and red health codes will be used

In China people have no choice but to use this app if they want to get around the city and do the most basic things like buy groceries, banking and work.

There were concerns the government could abuse this health code and that happened recently in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan province in central China.

Protesters occupied the front of a state-owned bank as they were unable to access their accounts since mid April. In a bid to try to control these people, the authorities turned the protesters' health codes red so they were unable to gather at the bank and instead were sent off to quarantine.

A few days later Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau announced Hong Kong was mulling the possibility of adopting the mainland's health code system, and now Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has given a few more details.

Apparently the health code in Hong Kong will only feature yellow and red, yellow for all incoming passengers, while red means the person is infected and must stay home or go to the hospital for treatment. 

Lo announced the possible move a few days ago

When the media asked about the Henan situation where the health code was abused, Lee replied the government will tackle "misinformation".

"We will make sure that we'll well-explain the scope and the method so that people understand why we do it, what benefits they gain, and what are the concerns they do not have to really bother, because there may be some misinformation, which we need to address very quickly so that everybody knows what we are doing," he said.

Better yet he said the health code would only affect a small number of people...

Where have we heard that before?

But it will affect a lot of people because over half the Hong Kong population is believed to have had Covid-19 at some point, and/or they know people who were infected with the virus.

In addition, those who are infected with Covid-19 will have to wear an electronic bracelet when they undergo home quarantine to ensure they don't leave to go out during the isolation period.

"We have to make sure that home isolation is more precise while being humane," Lo said, announcing the new requirement would begin on Monday.

If someone breaches the mandatory home isolation order, the perpetrator could pay a fine of up to HK$25,000 (US$3,200) and up to six months in jail.

Not even two weeks into Lee's new position and already the mainlandisation of Hong Kong is happening even faster under the guise of the pandemic...

Hong Kong in the Hot Seat

The HK delegation answered UNHRC questions via video link

Finally some kind of accountability is taking place -- the United Nations Human Rights Committee began its review of Hong Kong's rights record for the first time since Beijing implemented the national security law in July 2020.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai and other senior officials weren't in Geneva but attended the meeting via a video link.

Bulkan asking for reassurance for CSOs

He gave a speech that was just under 20 minutes long, stating the government had done much to protect people's rights in Hong Kong.

"Safeguarding human rights and freedoms is a constitutional duty of the HKSAR government. The government attaches the utmost importance and it is firmly committed to the protection of human rights, which has been upheld firmly and across the board by all our government bureaux and departments," Tsang said.

He even added that Chinese President Xi Jinping said the "one country, two systems" principle is working well and is recognised by 1.4 billion Chinese people and the international community.

The implementation of the national security law and the overhaul of the electoral system, Tsang said, was necessary in the wake of the 2019 protests.

However this reasoning did not go down well with UN committee members.

Chow says no protesters killed

"I note, honourable secretary, your comment about the events that precipitated this law, but I must observe that it was done overnight, without consultation, and bypassing the local legislature," noted Guyanese lawyer and the committee's vice chair Christopher Arif Bulkan.

He asked the Hong Kong officials if civil society organisations (CSO) taking part in this review would be violating the national security law.

"Can you provide assurances that the CSOs who participate here today, and over the next three days, are not in danger of prosecution or victimisation under the NSL, for such engagement?" Bulkan asked.

While the Hong Kong authorities sought to assuage concerns that CSOs would not be targeted under NSL, the committee was not convinced, and again asked for assurances.

Apollonia Liu of the security bureau replied that the NSL does not target "normal interactions" such as participation in this review.

Another vice chair from Japan, Shuichi Furuya, also expressed concerns about the overreaching nature of the law and its broad scope.

He said the committee had received reports from organisations overseas who said they received requests from Hong Kong authorities to remove content that may violate NSL.

Other committee members said the police consistently violated international standards in excessive, indiscriminate response to the protests, to which deputy commissioner of police Joe Chow described them as "riots", and that "certain media" falsely accused the police "to purposely divide society, incite hatred and compromise national security."

"We are extremely restrained in the use of force," he said. "Not a single protester was killed... even under the serious situation. This showed the professionalism of my staff."

Chow added no protesters were killed during the social unrest, and that the police seized Molotov cocktails, and that protesters killed a cleaner with bricks.

Meanwhile questions about NSL cases regarding Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Chow Hang-tung and Tong Ying-kit were not answered.

Probably the usual excuse of not commenting on individual cases...

But the committee pressed on, reiterating its previous recommendation that Hong Kong should have an independent mechanism to conduct an investigation into police abuses. However, Shirley Yung said the current complaints mechanisms like Complaints Against Police Office and the Independent Police Complaints Council are fair and adequate.

Gaslighting at its finest.

The UNHRC also pointed out how NSL judges threaten judicial independence, but Liu replied that the chief executive does not assign the judge to a particular case so judicial independence is not undermined.

But the chief executive can choose which judges can oversee NSL cases, which pre-determines the result of the case! 

There were also questions about the LeaveHomeSafe app and if it really did collect people's information.

And then, what do you know -- the Hong Kong delegation is having technical difficulties with their video link!

 

Apparently the Hong Kong group was not attending in person because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but perhaps Tsang did not want to risk US sanctions? Or pulling the plug was one of the strategies all along?

In any event, the discussion or rather the grilling continues on Tuesday -- with extra time tacked on because it was suddenly cut short on Thursday.

We'll be watching...