China's Further Opaqueness

Last year was the last time the Premier would speak to media

The liang hui or Two Sessions has kicked off in Beijing and already there is a big bombshell of an announcement -- the Premier will no longer host a press conference at the end of the National People's Congress.

It used to be at the closing of the NPC that the Premier would field questions from both domestic and foreign journalists once a year. Even though the questions would be vetted ahead of time, it was still an opportunity to not only ask but also hear what he had to say about a wide range of topics that wasn't too scripted.

For 30 years premiers answered questions

But alas, this press conference is no more and Premier Li Qiang will not be taking any questions.

It was a tradition that was held since 1993, but apparently now there will be more briefings by other government ministers on the economy, diplomacy and people's livelihoods. 

Some China watchers see this as a further erosion of the role of the country's number 2 leader and shifting more to leader Xi Jinping. 

Many remember then premier Wen Jiabao in 2012 talking about the Cultural Revolution in a veiled reference to Bo Xilai, the charismatic party boss of Chongqing who tried to demonstrate how "red" he was in his devotion to patriotism by reviving Mao-era songs and promoting "red culture". 

In 2012 Wen gave Bo a dressing down

At the time Wen said that Bo "should learn from his experience in Chongqing", which was an unusual reprimand. Soon after the NPC Bo was removed from his position in Chongqing and was later removed from the Central Committee and Politburo. He was put on trial for corruption, bribery and abuse of power, and was convicted. He is currently languishing in jail. 

In other news, remember Zhang Xiaoming? He used to head the liaison office in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office for several years, including during the 2019 protests. But in February 2020 he was demoted. Then two days before the start of the Two Sessions, it was announced he would be leaving the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office; the move was described as a "normal leadership reshuffle".

Lots of changes with not much explanations... 

Record Low Turnout for "Patriots-Only" District Council Election

Voter turnout at 27.5 percent, with a computer glitch near end

The day after the District Council elections, the government and the liaison office insisted the "patriots-only" election was "a success in improving governance structure", and that it was a "real, functioning democracy", even though there was a record low turnout.

Of the 4.33 million registered voters, only 1,193,193 or 27.5 percent came out. However, of those who voted, 22,045 residents cast blank votes which were invalid, representing 1.85 percent of the overall figure. This compares to 0.56 percent invalid votes four years ago, when 71. 2 percent of voters came out during the height of the 2019 protests.

Most of the voters this year were the elderly who were bussed in, as well as public servants who had to cast ballots.

Ip says "extending hours was completely useless"

Despite the low participating figures, Beijing claimed the election implemented the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong".

"The district councils have restored their proper nature and functions, freeing the election from politicisation, populism, and pragmatically focusing on solving real problems in the community," the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said in a statement.

"Residents can deeply feel that the elections are related to their interests and that this is real, functioning democracy."

How about a "functioning democracy" with Chinese characteristics? Pro-democracy candidates were barred from running, even centrist pro-establishment parties could not get enough nominations.

Nevertheless, some pro-Beijng lawmakers were not pleased with the turnout, like Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, founder and chairperson of the New People's Party.

There was a computer system glitch two hours before voting was supposed to finish, so in a bid to get more voters in, the time was extended by another 90 minutes past midnight.

Ip said afterwards "extending hours was completely useless", the extra one and a half did not yield a significant uptick in voters.

But Tam Yiu-chung, vice president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau said the election turnout was in line with expectations.

He claimed residents cared more about the Legislative Council elections than District Council ones, and that people were out of town so they couldn't cast ballots.

However, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu hailed it as a "high-quality" election, but surely there are questions as to why so much money was spent on getting people to vote but the end result was so few.

Was the turnout really in line with expectations? The spinning will continue for days to come...

Beijing Demands More Info of Locals Working in Consulates

Beijing asks for more information from consulates in Hong Kong

Beijing is stepping up its reach in Hong Kong, this time asking for detailed information of all local staff who work in consulates in the city.

They must provide names, job titles, residential addresses, ID or passport numbers, as well as a copy of all identification documents. The consulates, including the office of the European Union have until October 18 to provide all this information, and if a new employee is hired, they have 15 days to prepare the paperwork for Beijing.

The US consulate in Central

According to the Basic Law, Beijing is responsible for Hong Kong's foreign affairs, which explains the ability to request this information.

Twice last year, the Commissioner's Office had another curious request -- asking consulates about the properties they used in the city -- including the floor plans, according to the Financial Times.

In addition in July, Beijing warned that consular staff could not visit detainees who had dual citizenship, while in 2018, China asked consulates general in Hong Kong and Macau that were based in Hong Kong not to use "Macau" in their names and vice-versa. And if they were setting up election ballot boxes for their expatriate citizens, the consulates had to make a "formal note of application" beforehand.

Ironically, last July Liu Guangyuan, Beijing's deputy director of the liaison office in Hong Kong, urged consulates to "present the vibrant and promising Hong Kong to the world in a more objective way."

Liu asked consulates to present a vibrant HK

Hard to do when you're asked to jump through numerous bureaucratic hoops that seem more for surveillance than for building good will...

James Tien Quits Liberal Party he Founded

Tien says there is no future for political parties in Hong Kong

The political space for moderates has closed shut with James Tien Pei-chun, resigning from the pro-establishment Liberal Party he founded more than 30 years ago.

He along with two others, Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee and Miriam Lau Kin-yee resigned from the party as honorary chairs after learning on August 10 that the party leadership, led by Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, planned to abolish the position.

The honorary chair position was created to honour past leaders for their contributions.

Chow, Tien and Lau resigned from the party

But now they are not wanted and pre-empted being kicked out by showing themselves out the door.

Tien said pro-Beijing politicians are trying to prove their loyalty to Beijing even though it's not even asked, by distancing themselves from anyone deemed controversial.

"This is something they think they must do to please Beijing, a way they work in the hope of retaining their jobs in public office," he said.

With Beijing completely overhauling Hong Kong's electoral system, Tien says the space for political discussion has also shrunk.

"There is no future in all political parties. Beijing's electoral overhaul is diminishing the role of parties and eliminating differences in opinion," he said.

The Liberal Party met on August 10 and members voted unanimously to abolish the position. Cheung later issued a statement regretting that the trio had resigned and said the leadership was "trying to persuade them to stay".

Cheung is the chairman of the Liberal Party

An honorary chair for 12 years, Tien said this was yet another example of how pro-Beijing politicians are trying to please Beijing, even though they probably did not receive any directives from the liaison office.

"I don't think it was an instruction by the liaison office to get rid of iconic politicians who had been outspoken," he said.

However, not that he has no political affiliation, Tien feels more free to speak out.

He believes the riff between him, Chow and Lau and Cheung began during the 2019 extradition protests. 

They had urged then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to set up an independent investigative committee to create "genuine dialogue with peaceful protesters". But their suggestion was criticised by some party members who believed they were siding with "black-clad protesters who damaged the rule of law".

Tien seems to be a man who speaks his mind and stands by his decisions.

He was a member of the Executive Council for then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa. When half a million people came out to protest against Article 23, Tien quit Exco. 

In 2014, he faced expulsion from Beijing's top advisory body, the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, after calling on then leader Leung Chun-ying to step down over an impasse on political reform.

In 2014 Tien called on Leung to resign

Two years later he claimed Beijing's liaison office had instructed him to discourage party colleague Ken Chow Wing-kan from running in the Legislative Council election.

Then in 2017, the Liberal Party was divided between supporting two candidates in the chief executive race. Tien and others supported former financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, while Cheung and his cohorts rallied behind the eventual winner, Lam.

In addition, unlike many pro-Beijing politicians, Tien objected to the national security law in 2020, saying the legislation should only be used sparingly.

Hong Kong is going to miss people like Tien, giving the voice of reason among the crowd of pro-Beijing patriots.

From now on opinions are going to be more extreme and irrational... is this what Beijing wants for the city? Hardly seems like the best way to govern Hong Kong...

Yuen Long Attacks Changed HK

Men with sticks attacked MTR passengers in Yuen Long MTR

In Hong Kong it is the third anniversary of July 21, 2019.

Two incidents happened -- protesters went to the liaison office in Western district and splashed black paint on the Chinese emblem. That led to Beijing stepping up its management of the protests; it denounced the vandalism of its property, particularly the emblem, and state media began reporting on the protests, calling the people actively involved as "rioters". 

Chinese emblem at liaison office was defaced

Up until that point all the protests had been censored on the mainland.

Then the other event that happened that shocked the city and beyond -- was the attack of innocent people at the Yuen Long MTR station by men in white shirts with sticks ranging from bamboo sticks to metal rods.

These people purposely wore masks and indiscriminately beat people, from young and old, even a pregnant woman. There are horrific images of people bloodied in the face, welts on their backs, screaming for mercy and traumatised for life.

It was a planned attack, orchestrated by whom is unclear, though pro-Beijing legislator Junius Ho Kwan-yiu seems to have been involved, seen shaking the hands of men dressed in white.

And the police were no where to be found, leaving people to fend for themselves.

One reporter was on the scene, Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, who was with Stand News at the time, filming not only on the chaos, but herself being beaten by a middle aged man in a pink shirt. Is he in jail? Strangely Ho is.

A chef whose back was covered in welts

Other journalists have tried to get to the bottom of the incident. RTHK produced a documentary on Hong Kong Connection called "7.21: Who Owns the Truth." It analyses and identifies individuals suspected to have participated in the Yuen Long attacks based on surveillance footage that day from nearby businesses.

It also questions the slow police response to the incident, why it took them 39 minutes to finally arrive at the scene.

After the documentary was broadcast on July 13, 2020, the government began dismantling the publicly-funded broadcaster, cancelling hard-hitting current affairs shows, resulting in journalists either being let go or fired. 

That was not all -- the government prosecuted one of the producers of the documentary, Bao Choy, for misrepresenting herself when she filled out a Transport Department form, requesting information on the owners of cars that were caught on camera leaving the scene in Yuen Long based on license plate numbers. 

Choy was convicted for finding info on attackers

Apparently on the form there was no option to choose requesting information for media purposes, and she was convicted of misstating her intentions and fined HK$6,000 (US$764). She had pleaded not guilty.

After that the Transport Department made it harder for people to request information based on license plates, terminating one of the ways journalists can do investigative reporting.

Choy did not let go of the 7-21 incident.

A few days ago she and a few colleagues produced another documentary, talking to three witnesses that night. One couple even took 4K pictures of the assailants that clearly identify their faces. They gave these images to the police but to no avail; only a handful of the over 200 attackers have been charged and convicted.

Choy is now doing a fellowship at Harvard University. But the chances of her coming back to Hong Kong are even slimmer after this latest documentary.

Lam was grilled by reporters the next day

Remember the day after the incident? Then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her senior ministers held a press conference on the afternoon of July 22 and she was unprepared for the reporters grilling her, in particular RTHK's Nabela Qoser.

She asked questions in Cantonese like: "Did you learn about it only this morning? Were you able to sleep well last night?"

Lam looked like a deer in headlights and cut short the press conference. Embarrassing really for a woman who is known for micromanaging and always wanting to be the best. 

And it was a sign that Lam was no longer in control of the government response to the protests -- Beijing was.

We are all still processing what happened, frustrated there has hardly been any justice for the victims. Another documentary interviewed an elderly woman who injured her knee in the Yuen Long station and had to get surgery. Previously fit and taught dancing to elderly people, she cannot do this anymore, and her mobility is severely restricted by this injury. Thinking back to the event traumatises her, still shocked at what happened.

Looks like collusion between police and attackers

Meanwhile the government has been trying to change the narrative of this incident, now saying both sides were evenly matched which one would like to laugh at, but the injuries were so graphic that one can only have even further resentment at the authorities for not taking witnesses seriously.

They were also caught on camera communicating with men in white shirts, not even investigating or interrogating them.

As a result the Yuen Long attacks also abruptly ended any respect Hongkongers had for the police, from then onwards calling them "black police", not trusting them. Some are traumatised at the sight of these people in uniform even three years later.

So much happened as a direct result of July 21, 2019.

Which is is why we will never forget it.