Paris - Montmartre's Colourful Past

Sacre Coeur is the famous landmark in Montmartre

From a tourist point of view Montmartre is a neighbourhood known for Sacre Coeur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on top of the hill. Visitors congregate on the white front steps to take in the panoramic view of the city.

But historically Montmartre has much more significance, as it became the place where artists thrived and for locals, where protest, rebellion and anarchy is respected.

Le Moulin de la Galette where Renoir painted

We did a walking tour of Montmartre and our guide was very informative. We started across the street from Moulin Rouge, famous for dancers who did the can-can, lifting up their skirts to give men some titillating entertainment.

In 1831 the population of Paris was 759,000 and by 1846 grew to more than 1 million, and it was overcrowded, dirty and lots of disease spreading. Emperor Napoleon III was disgusted by what he saw and called for the city to be revamped, with gardens, tree-lined avenues and a modern sewage system.

That's when Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann, an ambitious civil servant, took on the task and revamped most of Paris with his Haussmann limestone apartment buildings that ubiquitous in the city.

Van Gogh lived on the left, top floor

By gentrifying Paris, those who could not afford it had to move to Montmartre, just outside the city limits, and this was where many artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Vincent Van Gogh lived for a time. It also became one of the seedier areas, hence the Moulin Rouge, where Toulouse-Lautrec sketched and painted the famous dancer Louise Weber, known as La Goulue.

Originally Montmartre was where vineyards, and orchards growing peaches and cherries were. Later 13 windmills were built here to grind wheat, barley and rye; only two windmills survive today. One is at Le Moulin de la Galette, where Renoir painted Dance at the Moulin de la Galette.

Gypsum was mined here, and the windmills were also used to grind it up into powder to make plaster. 

We also saw the apartment building where Vincent Van Gogh lived for two years with his brother Theo; this was before Van Gogh found city life too much for him and retreated to Arles in the south of France in a mental hospital.

Michel and the anarchy symbol

Our guide took us to see a bust of a beautiful woman called Dalida, who was an Egyptian singer famous in the 1950s and 60s. People touch the statue's breasts in the hopes of good luck in romance, which is ironic, considering one of her lovers committed suicide in 1967 and two decades later she did too.

She was also known as French president Francois Mitterrand's mistress, and it was he who had architect I.M. Pei design the pyramid structure at the Louvre -- some say as a nod to Dalida's Egyptian roots. 

On walls in Montmartre you will see the letter "A" with a heart. It is the symbol of anarchy, relating back to Louise Michel, who was a teacher, a poet, writer, philosopher, feminist and anarchist.

In 1871 she actively participated in the Paris Commune, where a revolutionary government seized power in Paris and controlled parts of the city for two and a half months. The Commune promoted policies that were progressive and anti-religious, including the separation of church and state, self-policing, abolishing child labour and the rights of employees to take over the business if the owner deserted it.

A mini vineyard in Montmartre

Michel was punished for her role, deported to New Caledonia, and later returned to mainland France in 1880, where she continued to promote anarchist thought. She also promoted the concept of animal welfare and denounced animal cruelty.

Montmartre is literally translated as "martyr's hill." It refers to Denis, Bishop of Paris who was executed by the Romans in the 3rd century. He and two others were decapitated, and the legend goes that soon afterwards, Denis picked up his head, went to wash it, and then walked several miles while preaching about repentance.

There are statues of him holding his decapitated head. 

Towards the end of our tour, our guide showed us a tiny plot of land that is being used to grow grapes. Apparently that area was supposed to be redeveloped into a tall building, but the people in the neighbourhood protested and won; they decided to grow grapes and make wine with it. The wine produced is apparently the most expensive plonk because it is sold at auction every year, but it's not the taste, but the tradition of standing up for themselves. 

Approaching the basilica from behind

That made me think how Montmartre resonated with Hongkongers, defending their neighbourhoods, protesting against oppression, and Michel leading the way.

We finally made it to the top of the hill to see the Sacre Coeur from the back. The guide told us the back of the basilica was very quiet, and we concurred, seeing locals lazing on the grass, reading or having a rest. It was a big contrast to the front, where all the tourists were.

Maria Ressa Warns Democracy is Fragile

Ressa (left) shared the stage with CBC anchor Arsenault

Last night I had to opportunity to listen to journalist and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa speak at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Held at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts, the almost sold-out audience gave her a standing ovation as she walked on stage, and she was so excited by the warm reception.

It's not easy to have Ressa come half way around the world, when she still has charges in court to fight; Ressa explained to CBC host Adrienne Arsenault that every time she wants to travel, she has to ask the courts for permission.

The talk was held at UBC in Vancouver

She didn't explain whether all her travel requests are granted or not, but we were thrilled to have the democracy activist and tech geek on stage.

The first time I heard Ressa speak was in 2018 at the SOPA or The Society of Publishers in Asia, where I received an Honourable Mention for my story. As the keynote speaker, she talked about her media company Rappler and how they use Facebook to disseminate their stories.

However, they found there were opposition voices on the social media site, proxies that would spread disinformation about their stories on Facebook, and those posts got more attention, thanks to algorithms. This created distrust in Rappler, and media in general. It was frightening to hear.

While Ressa and her Rappler team have been able to systematically analyse how this all happened, things have gotten substantially worse in the virtual world, as she outlined in last night's lecture.

Through her powerpoint presentation, Ressa showed how the opposition created horrible memes of her -- putting her face on top of a scrotum -- and showed us the image -- though she joked that her skin wasn't that dry.

The intensity of the personal attacks have gotten worse, and her team has found that it is particularly bad for female journalists, and even worse for female journalists of colour.

Ressa's 2022 book

She also talked about how seeds of disinformation are planted years in advance in social media, and then constantly repeated; once a real event happens, those bogus seeds quickly sprout and spread online like wildfire and it's near impossible to rectify the situation.

Why is this all important? Ressa believes facts, truth and justice are crucial in a democracy. When you have the facts you have the truth, and when you have the truth, you can pursue justice.

However, why is it that over 70 percent of countries today have authoritarian governments? And just south of us, Ressa noted that Donald Trump has turned the United States into a dictatorship within his first 100 days in office. She said former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte did it in six months.

Sounds chillingly familiar to Hong Kong after the national security law was enacted in 2020.

In the case of Trump, he has managed to sideline the media, senate and judiciary, and use social media to promote his policies without any checks and balances. He signed 142 executive orders in 100 days; in his first term he signed 220 EOs.

Already in the first term Trump discredited the media, saying they were fake news. Now he just disseminates his thoughts on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

Ressa asks why Canada has not built its own social media platform! Why rely on tech bros like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to spread journalistic stories online? They had prime time seats during the inauguration! 

Zuckerberg removed fact checkers from Facebook too, and refuses to allow people to post legitimate media stories online. What we are left with are opinions of people that are without integrity.

More people joining No Kings protests

But there is some optimism. Ressa says the No Kings protests are getting bigger each time. she cited Harvard political scientist Erica Chenoweth's research that it takes around 3.5 percent of the population actively participating in protests to ensure serious political change.

Last week some 8 million Americans took part in the latest No Kings protests in all 50 states; perhaps the next one will galvanise 12 million people, or 3.5 percent of the US population...

Ressa says we are lucky in Canada to still have democracy... do we? She warns us to be vigilant and to stand up to things we believe are wrong, otherwise it will be normalised.

Many in the audience bought a copy of her 2022 book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, and they quickly lined up after the talk, waiting for her to sign their copies.

National Pushback Against Musk

Great car, terrible association, Tesla owners regret buying

Word on the street is that Tesla drivers are regretting their purchase following CEO Elon Musk's carte blanche to dismantle several government departments in the name of efficiency.

Some are trying to get rid of their Teslas, or embarrassed to drive it, while others who bought their cars before Musk supported Donald Trump for president will continue driving the car, though they find it awkward being associated with the South African though their vehicle.

Meanwhile in Europe it's quite evident how they feel about Musk:

Trump gives Musk carte blanche to revamp US govt

According to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, car sales are down in France by 6 percent, but when it comes to Teslas, sales are down by a whopping 63 percent. France is the second-biggest electric vehicle market in Europe, behind Germany, where sales of Teslas is down 59 percent.

It keeps going.

In Sweden it's down 44 percent, 38 percent in Norway, and 42 percent in the Netherlands. 

"Weird right? I wonder why that is?" Maddow muses to her audience.

She adds in the United States, polling has been done to gauge how Americans feel about Musk being involved in the government. YouGov took two polls, one right after the US election and another this week, two weeks after Trump took office.

In November,  47 percent of Republican voters want Musk to have "a lot" of influence in government; since the election it has plunged 21 points to only 26 percent of Republican voters wanting Musk to have "a lot" of influence in government.  

Protesters ready to stop Musk at Dept of Labor

"That has dropped like a stone in a very quick period of time," she quips.

When it comes to Democrats, only 6 percent want Musk to have "a lot" of influence, and the same percentage of independent voters. 

"He's polling at like tooth decay levels," Maddow says with a big smile. "That's like funny bone bumped into something sharp levels."

Meanwhile protests in all 50 states have erupted, protesting against Musk. One was in Maine where people occupied a Tesla charging station with signs that read: "Musk is a national security threat". 

At the Department of Labor in Washington DC, a hastily arranged protest drew lots of people to come and prevent Musk and his band of young hackers from entering the building. The protesters succeeded -- for now...

Wear Dog Collar, Can Protest in HK

Police stipulate no masks and wear numbered tags to protest

To hold a protest in Hong Kong in a post-national security law environment is getting harder and more outrageous.

A group of homeowners in Tseung Kwan O want to hold a rally protesting the proposed reclamation for building "obnoxious facilities", such as garbage collection stations.

While the group did get the green light from the police to hold the protest, they need to meet some requirements -- not to wear masks, but wear tags around their necks to "prevent criminals from mixing".

The days of mass protests are over in Hong Kong

Bad elements are going to hijacks a protest about refuse collection stations?

First the authorities think this protest is going to get out of hand and wants to be able to identify everyone for filming purposes;

Not only that, the protesters need to wear number tags around their necks like animals to certify they are legitimate rabble rousers. 

Oh and don't violate the national security law -- even though it's not clearly spelled out.

If the protest goes ahead on Sunday it will be the first since the government lifted all Covid-19 restrictions including social distancing and the mask mandate.

About 100 people are expected at the upcoming protest, with the stipulation that no one can join half way through. The unusual restrictions are particularly stringent for organiser Cyrus Chan Chin-chun.

"If you ask me whether or not I like those terms, the answer must be negative," Chan said. "There is nothing else I can do but fulfil such requests."

Police claim bad elements will join protests...

Earlier this month the Hong Kong Women Workers' Association had permission to hold a march to mark International Women's Day, but it was suddenly cancelled and the rights group didn't explain why.

After the march was called off, the police said they had intelligence that many people, including violent gangs would attend the march.

In addition, League of Social Democrats said four of its members who were going to join the rally were warned by national security police not to go, a day before the organisers cancelled the protest march.

If Sunday's protest does go ahead it could become the template for future marches... where the brave willing to stick out their necks with dog collars will shout a few slogans, hoping they don't violate national security and then go home hoping for the best.

Imagine trying to enforce these protest rules on people in France or Israel, the United Kingdom or the United States?

But this is sadly Hong Kong's new reality. 

Women's March Cancelled at Last Minute

The association had planned to hold a march on Sunday

One of the first approved protest marches in Hong Kong in three years since the pandemic was supposed to take place on Sunday at 11am but was cancelled at the last minute.

The Hong Kong Women Workers' Association was planning to hold a march to promote labour rights, women's rights and gender equality ahead of International Women's Day on March 8.

The group fights for women's rights and equality

The group was able to get approval from the police after they conducted a risk assessment, that included asking the association to comply with the national security law, and that the march "would not be contrary to the interests of national security."

However, the association decided to cancel the protest "after balancing the interests of all parties," said Cheng Wai-kin, acting senior superintendent of the police on Saturday.

He claimed the police found "many people, including violent groups" would take part in the march. 

When the media pressed Cheng for more information he replied: "We won't have any further comments on any participants or any further factors about tomorrow's event."

And so because the association had cancelled the march, then the "letter of no objection" issued by the police was voided, so that meant any gathering there today would be considered an unauthorised assembly.

Cheng claimed "violent groups" would join in

How thoughtful of the authorities to make things so clear.

Was the march cancelled because it is held during the "Two Sessions" or the meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing right now? 

The police won't say.

Perhaps the optics of women protesting in Hong Kong when they should be holding up half the sky didn't look good...

Protests Spread in China

Protesters calling for freedom following the Urumqi deaths

Protests have erupted in several cities in China following the deaths of at least 10 people in a fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Video footage shows firefighters unable to get close to the fire because of Covid lockdowns, the water hose missing the fire by a metre or two.

The news hit people hard -- the tragedy may have put them over the edge with the accumulation of the endless lockdowns, being sealed in their homes, not enough food to eat, no access to medicine, the endless testing and mask-wearing.

People mourn at least 10 people died in Urumqi

So people spilled out onto the streets in Urumqi, Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai to mourn the dead, and the protests became more political, some people daring to call for President Xi Jinping to step down, and for democracy and human rights.

In a move reminiscent to the Hong Kong protests after the national security law was implemented, some protesters held up blank sheets of paper as having slogans on them would have been deemed illegal, people in China followed, also holding up blank pieces of paper.

Instead they shouted slogans like this:

"Give me liberty, or give me death!"

"We want to mourn our people, we want to mourn our citizens"

"Tear down the Great Firewall!"

"We want freedom, we want human rights!"

Protesters hold up blank paper like in HK

"Down with the Party! Down with Xi Jinping! Free Xinjiang!"

One young woman said: "If my fear of being blackened makes me fear the act of speaking out, I think of how much a disappointment I am. As a student of Tsinghua University, I will regret the cowardice for the rest of my life."

In a bid to prevent being shut down by the police, protesters would sing the Chinese national anthem. But there were protests shut down by the police, with some protesters arrested. 

In Shanghai, BBC journalist Edward Lawrence was filmed being beaten and arrested by the police. He was later released, but the reason for the initial arrest? The authorities said it was for his own good in case he caught Covid-19 from the crowd of protesters. 

BBC said: "We do not consider this a credible explanation."

Indeed.

Pro-Beijing supporters claimed Lawrence was proof that foreign forces were involved in the protests... 

How will Xi resolve these domestic protests?

Nevertheless, what is happening in China is extraordinary in terms of the scale and the demands people have.

But sadly nothing will come out of it -- there may be further lockdowns or the government may turn protesters' health codes red to prevent them from going out and gathering, or creating new laws. In some ways the protests echo what was happening in Hong Kong over three years ago, and one may expect the Chinese authoritarian response to be very similar.

However, today's young Chinese are savvy and may not be forced into submission so easily. They are going to find ways to circumvent control.

Xi has painted himself into a corner as China experts have predicted -- the economy is faltering, people are mentally exhausted and depressed, they are tired of zero-Covid and seeing the rest of the world open up and questioning why not them?

State media have even gone to great lengths not to show World Cup footage of maskless fans in the stands -- instead they focus on the players and the coach, otherwise very far views of the stadium. But it's too late. Everyone knows what's really happening outside of China.

How long will the frustration boil over and will it escalate? So far it has been relatively peaceful, but for how much longer...

Zero-Covid Protests Erupt in China

Police in hazmat suits beat protesting workers in Zhengzhou

There are tremors that are becoming more agitated in the Middle Kingdom thanks to Xi Jinping's insistence on zero-Covid.

In the last two days videos have been posted on Twitter showing workers at a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, Henan province. There are scenes of them armed with metal sticks clashing with "dabai" or police in white hazmat suits with riot shields, and the workers are for the most part holding the line.

The workers are protesting the working conditions and pay in the biggest factory that makes iPhones.

Foxconn workers protesting pay and conditions

Last month there was the threat of a lockdown in the factory because of a Covid-19 infection and many workers fled with suitcases, literally walking hundreds of kilometres to get home. They could not take public transport because their phones would have a warning of a possible infection.

The Taiwanese factory then tried to hire more workers, but apparently the new ones found their pay was changed when they got there. One worker, Li Sanshan said he was lured by 25,000 yuan (US$3,500) for two months' of work. But when he got to the factory, he found out they would have to work an additional two months to get the 25,000 yuan.

"Foxconn released very tempting recruiting offers, and workers from all parts of the country came, only to find they were made fools of," Li said.

The company claimed it was a "technical error" and offered an apology. But Foxconn is now struggling to fill iPhone14 orders.

Chinese shocked to see maskless football fans

Meanwhile the World Cup has kicked off in Qatar, and despite its reprehensible treatment of migrant workers, banning homosexual acts and sexist treatment of women, it has allowed the thousands of football fans in the stadiums to watch the matches without masks.

When the Chinese turned on their televisions or phones to watch the matches, they were shocked -- shocked -- to see no one masked up.

"Some people are watching World Cup matches in person with no masks, some have been locked at home for a month, locked on campus for two months without even being able to step out the door," a Guangdong-based user on Weibo wrote on Wednesday.

"Who has stolen my life? I won't say."

Another Weibo user from Shaanxi province said they were "disappointed" in their country.

Chinese wonder if China on same planet as Qatar

"The World Cup has allowed most Chinese people to see the real situation abroad, and worry about the economy of the motherland, and their own youth," the user wrote.

Another questioned China's zero-Covid policy and if China was "on the same planet" as Qatar on the Weibo platform before it was censored. 

The World Cup matches are broadcast on state broadcaster CCTV, which also gives a lot of negative information about the rest of the world, claiming they are struggling with the virus. 

Now the Chinese feel like they are made fools of too...

Chinese Consul Staff Rough up HK Protesters

Ambassador pulls a protester's hair as officer drags him out

The UK has a diplomatic row on its hands after a scuffle between protesters and staff at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester on Sunday afternoon.

Pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters were holding a peaceful protest of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China outside of the consulate, when an older man with salt and pepper hair under a beret and wearing a scarf, knocked down a protest poster and pushed people away as he passed through the gates of the consulate.

Chinese staff beat up protester with Zheng nearby

It is believed he is the Consul-General of Manchester, Zheng Xiyuan.

Meanwhile a Hongkonger was pulled into the consulate grounds where a group of people were punching him.

The Manchester police roughly grabbed people out of the way to avoid being pulled in as well, and then managed to grab the protester who was being beaten and threw him out of the consulate grounds.

Other officers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the gate to prevent others from coming in, as the consulate staff walked back into the building.

The consulate was not pleased with the posters placed outside the consulate, with cartoon depictions of President Xi Jinping looking like an emperor looking in the mirror, another of him with a noose around his neck. Other signs called for the end of the dictator, while flags called for Hong Kong independence, which China vehemently opposes.

Consulate did not like images like this

The Hongkonger who was roughed up says he and other protesters came to the UK where they supposed to be free to express themselves, and that they were peacefully protesting. 

The Chinese consulate in Manchester said the protesters were "a small batch of Hong Kong independence advocates" and that it was unacceptable, for any diplomatic mission, for protesters to hang an image insulting the head of state.

MP Andrew Gwynne shared the footage on Sunday night, and called on the British Government to investigate the incident. He wrote: "This would be unacceptable on the streets of Hong Kong and against the provisions of the Joint Declaration to uphold democratic rights and freedoms. BUT this is Manchester."

Students Perpetuate Protester's Words

Protest posters, Central Saint Martins, London

The fallout from Thursday's one-man protest has led to censorship in China as expected, while others outside the country carry on the mantle.

A man dressed in construction worker uniform lit a fire on Sitong Bridge in Haidian district in northwest Beijing, and unfurled white banners with red Chinese characters denouncing Xi Jinping as a dictator, expressing frustrations with the zero-Covid policy, and explicitly not calling for revolution but reforms. 

Pic of Thursday's protest

He did this just days before the twice-in-a-decade National Congress of the Communist Party of China, where Xi is expected to extend his rule for at least another five years, if not more.

Many in the middle class worry this means more of the same as the past 10 years and it's not the direction they want to go.

But this one-man protest was quickly snuffed out, with police arriving soon after to take down the banners and put the alleged protester into a car, where no one knows what has happened to him since.

However, his words live on.

Chinese students in various universities overseas have taken those protester's words and created posters they have put all over their respective campuses.

The tertiary institutions include: Stanford, The George Washington University, University of Glasgow, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Notre Dame, Amherst College, and McGill University.

These students on the outside have either experienced the extreme zero-Covid measures, or haven't been able to go home because of them, and have seen family and friends suffering from severe lockdowns and worry about them not only having enough to eat, but also their well-being from being isolated for so long.

Protest inspired posters like these

So it's no wonder they were inspired by this one-man protest and are continuing it outside China.

What has happened to to Sitong bridge man? No one knows but hopefully he will somehow find out his words have spread like weeds, organically sprouting everywhere. He has definitely helped openly sow the seeds of discontent. And for Xi to be deaf to these calls could be the end of him...

 

One-Man Protest in Beijing

Smoke could be seen with protest banners on Sitong Bridge

Days before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and a brazen protest was held on a bridge on the fourth ring road near Haidian in northwest Beijing.

Around 1pm on Thursday a white banner with red Chinese characters had the words:

The protester and his banners were taken down

"Depose the Traitorous Dictator Xi Jinping"

"We don't want nucleic acid tests, we want food"

"We want freedom, not lockdowns"

"We want votes, not leaders"

"We want dignity, not lies"

"We are citizens, not slaves"

There was something burning on the bridge with black smoke, apparently a bid to attract attention.

Soon after the banners were unfurled, the police arrived and someone -- a man? -- was put into a vehicle and taken away.

That person had the guts to say what a lot of people have been thinking since the pandemic, if not longer. He also does not want Xi to continue his rule for a third term -- or even longer.

Banner calls for "dictator" Xi to be deposed

Now on social media people are asking "Is Sitong man safe?" with a reference to the intersection where the incident happened. 

What will happen to this person is anyone's guess, and managing to pull off this stunt in Beijing just before a big political event is impressive to say the least. But the punishment may be tough. He knew the consequences but did it anyway, to great effect.

Did Xi get the message?

We will find out in a few days' time.