(Ta Kung Pao) April 8, 2015.

The disciples of Hong Kong independence instigator Wan Chin were accused of registering the Hong Kong Independence Party in the United Kingdom. In light of the strong reactions, Wan Chin is trying to separate himself from the HKIP.

According to the United Kingdom Election Committee registration data, the Hong Kong Independence Party was officially approved for registration at the end of February this year. The party chief is Kin Chung Wong; the secretary is Daniel Ma; the trustee is Tat Hang Lau. The registered address is 4th floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE United Kingdom.


Daniel Ma

According to our investigation, Wong Kin-Chung and Lau Tat-hang are Hongkongers who went to study and work in the United Kingdom. These two are not the driving force of the HKIP. Instead, the core member is the officer/secretary Daniel Ma.

22-year-old Daniel Ma dropped out of school last year during Occupy Central in order to devote himself completely to politics. He is a member of Civic Passion, which is actively pushing Hong Kong independence. Daniel Ma is closely connected to Wan Chin, who calls Ma his "beloved disciple." They are like father-and-son. Wan Chin has given Ma the title of "Prince Ching Yuan."

During Occupy Central, Wan Chin authorized Daniel Ma to instigate the farce known as Occupy British Consulate to demand the United Kingdom to re-take Hong Kong and sanction China. Daniel Ma's actions drew attention in the United Kingdom. The UK Parliament's House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee issued a formal invitation to Daniel Ma to testify before them. Ma was unable to attend because his passport had just expired. In the end, Wan Chin sent two other disciples to the United Kingdom, and those two made absurd assertions such as "England should reinstate the Treaty of Nanking."

According to those informed about matters within the Hong Kong City-State circle, Daniel Ma was instructed by Wan Chin after Occupy Central was over to go secretly to England to solicit donations. During that period, Daniel Ma applied to register the Hong Kong Independence Party at the United Kingdom Election Committee. The application was approved in February this year. Daniel Ma has told others that the next step according to Wan Chin is to issue a petition to the European Parliament to get concerned about Hong Kong and apply pressure on China. Daniel Ma met with United Kingdom Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Sir Richard Ottoway in England. Afterwards, Daniel Ma claimed that the British told him: "You should be squatting outside the British embassy in China. It is useless to squat outside the British Consulate in Hong Kong."

Wan Chin has heaped praises upon the efforts of Daniel Ma. He said, "Hong Kong-United Kingdom-United States-China. All four parties are linked. The young people of Hong Kong are learning how to enter international politicking. My disciple 'Prince Ching Yuan' Daniel Ma is leading these actions with the composure of a general."

Ironically, as soon as the Hong Kong Independence Party became known, everyone involved in the party stopped taking phone calls. Outsiders cannot contact them anymore. Daniel Ma has deleted all the contents on his Facebook, leaving not a single word behind. Wan Chin is issuing denials of any connections to the Hong Kong Independence Party. Yet, the facts prove that the core party members such as Daniel Ma are all closely connected to Wan Chin. Our reporter has called Wan Chin many times at his Lingnan University office, but nobody picked up the phone.

Yesterday the Hong Kong Independence Party posted publicly the criteria for membership: they are only receiving persons who carry the British National (Overseas) passports) or are citizens of the European Union countries, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom or Switzerland. They demand that each applicant must send in photocopies of their passports to them. After the party has thoroughly checked the applicant, the applicant can pay the £25 annual fee in order to become a member.

(Oriental Daily) April 9, 2015.

There is no explanation as to what the £25 annual fee will be used for ...

The Hong Kong Independence Party said that only those applicants who are approved for membership will receive an email reply. Those who are not approved will not receive any acknowledgement. Furthermore, the application information provided by those are not approved will be destroyed automatically without further notice.

Internet comments:

- I know what the annual fee is being used for.

(Oriental Daily) April 4, 2015.

Citizen Mr. Mak got on the New World First City Route 694 bus with serial number 3039 traveling from Siu Sai Wan to Tiu Keng Leng at 9am this morning, and found a sticker on the bus. The sticker says: "Leave China: oust the People's Liberation Army; detoxification, purge the Communist spies; return to Britain first and then detoxification, then Hong Kong independence. UK RECLAIMS HK." Mr. Mak first thought that the sticker was an advertisement on the body of the bus. Upon carefully reading the message, he realized that these were words that advocate Hong Kong independence. He suspected that someone was causing trouble. "This is going too far."

£25 would buy hundreds of these stickers that can be posted everywhere in Hong Kong on everything (including subways, ferries, buses and trams, trucks, taxis, cars, police vehicles, fire engines, airplanes, public restroom toilet seats, etc).

- They are trying to replicate Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China. Sun was terrible at making the revolution happen, but he was really good at raising money from the overseas Chinese business community (see Dr. Sun Yat-sen Hawaii Foundation). Sun Yat-sen was given the nickname "Big Cannon Sun" because he was all talk and no action. So the Hong Kong Independence Party now has an overseas fundraising operation in place. But who is going to make the revolution happen? Where is Hong Kong's equivalent of the New Army of Wuchang?

- This is getting strange. Membership requirements for the Hong Kong Independence Party: holders of BN(O) passports or European Union/USA/Switzerland/Japan citizens only.
- Even stranger -- passport information must be submitted first and no response will be given if the applicant is not approved for membership. Are you sure that this isn't a data collection program run by the Chinese Communists? That is, if you send in your passport information, you will never be allowed inside China again.

- The bad news is that if the Hong Kong Independence Party revolutionaries succeed, Hong Kong will be run by a bunch of Americans, Europeans, Japanese and Swiss. The good news is that there won't be any Aussies or Kiwis.

(Ming Pao) No fear of decreased mainland visitors, Sun Hung Kay malls did more than $400 million in business. April 7, 2015.

Although the Hong Kong government data showed that the number of visitors in March fell by 8.7% year-to-year and the Tourism Bureau said that the number of registered mainland tour groups fell to a daily average of 320 in March, compared to the daily average of 470 in March last year. As a result, the retail industry was going to be affected.

But Sun Hung Kai Properties rentals agency general manager Chung Sau-lin said that their shopping malls were turning to attracting local customers in order to increase traffic. For their nine shopping malls (including Mikiki in San Po Kong; WTC More in Causeway Bay; Landmark North in Sheung Shui North; East Point City in Tseung Kwan O; Chelsea Heights Plaza in Tuen Mun) as illustration for the five-day Easter/Ching Ming holiday on April 3-7, there were 6.9 million visits (15% more than the same period last year) and the turnover was $402 million (21% more than the same period last year).

Comment:

This news report seems straightforward enough since it depends on the data provided by Sun Hung Kay Properties. But it contains many problems.

First of all, let's us look at the spatial dimension. According to the Sun Hung Kai Properties website, they have 20 shopping malls:

The Ming Pao report refers to data from 9 of those 20 shopping malls. There is no explanation of why 9 were selected but not the other 11. Of the 9 that were selected, only five were named :

Mikiki in San Po Kong
WTC More in Causeway Bay
Landmark North in Sheung Shui
East Point City in Tseung Kwan O
Chelsea Heights Plaza in Tuen Mun

There is no explanation why the other 4 were not named.

If we look at the list of 20 Sun Hung Kai shopping malls, which are the best known ones?

- IFC Mall (Hong Kong Island)
- APM (Kwun Tong)
- Moko (Mong Kok)
- New Town Plaza (Sha Tin)
- Tai Po Mega Mall (Tai Po)
- Tsuen Wan Plaza (Tsuen Wan)

None are on the list of 5 named by Ming Pao.

Another angle is to look at the towns that had anti-parallel trader demonstrations. These were presumably the ones that had the most parallel traders and/or mainland tourists and therefore most likely affected by any repercussions.

- Sha Tin: The list of 5 has neither New Town Plaza nor HomeSquare.

- Tai Po: The list of 5 has neither Tai Po Mega Mall nor Uptown Plaza.

- Tsuen Wan: The list of 5 does not have Tsuen Wan Plaza.

- Yuen Long: The list of 5 has neither Sun Yuen Long Centre nor Yuen Long Plaza.

- Tuen Mun: The list of 5 has Chelsea Heights Plaza which is on the other side of the Tuen Mun River from the Tuen Mun town center and therefore visited neither by mainland parallel traders nor tourists nor demonstrators. The list of 5 did not name V City which was invaded by demonstrators because it is frequented by mainland tourists/day shoppers.

- Sheung Shui: The list of 5 has Landmark North. But Sheung Shui is not a tourist town. The perceived problem there is with the parallel traders who work from the distribution centers based inside industrial buildings.

In summary, out of 20 Sun Hung Kai Properties malls, 10 are located in towns in which anti-parallel traders/mainland tourists demonstrations took place. The list of five did not have 8 of those malls. Of the two named, one was a fringe mall in Tuen Mun and another one was irrelevant in Sheung Shui.

In the list of 5 named malls, Mikiki from San Po Kong is out of the way for mainland visitors (and even Hongkongers), as the district is a former industrial zone now being slowly converted into a mixed commercial/residential zone. Nobody goes there to visit because there is nothing unavailable elsewhere. East Point City in Tseung Kwan O is a second-tier mall compared to Park Central in Tseung Kwan O, which is not on the list of 5 named. It is also far away from the beaten path for parallel traders/tourists. Why would anyone travel to the end of the MTR line to visit a mall that looks exactly the same as elsewhere but smaller?

In summary, the choice of the five out of the nine and the choice of nine out of the twenty are both highly problematic. A better approach to this story would be to look at the data for those malls in the affected areas, or for all twenty malls together. As it stands, the choice is just fishy.

Next we want to look at the problem in the time dimension.

The "current reference period" is the five-day Easter/Ching Ming Festival holiday in 2015.

In 2015, we have a five-day holiday in Hong Kong (see Gov.hk):

Friday April 3: Good Friday
Saturday April 4: The day following Good Friday
Sunday April 5: Regular holiday
Monday April 6: The day following Ching Ming Festival (to make up for the April 5th Ching Ming Festival falling on a Sunday)
Tuesday April 7: The day following Easter Monday (to to make up for the Monday lost to the Ching Ming Festival lost to Sunday)

In mainland China, the official Qing Ming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) holidays run from April 5-6 (see China Briefing). They do not celebrate Easter.

In 2014, we have these corresponding holidays in Hong Kong (see Gov.hk):

Saturday April 5 (Ching Ming Festival)

Friday April 18: Good Friday
Saturday April 19: The day following Good Friday
Sunday April 20: Regular holiday
Monday April 21: Easter Monday (to make up for Easter Sunday lost to Sunday)

In mainland China, the official Qing Ming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) holidays run from April 5-7 (see China Briefing). They do not celebrate Easter.

When that Ming Pao report referred to "the same period last year", what could they possibly mean? The most likely choice is by matching Easter as well as Friday-Tuesday:

April 3-7 (Friday-Tuesday) 2015 versus April 18-22 (Friday-Tuesday) 2014

Just remember that mainlanders celebrate Ching Ming Festival (Qing Ming Festival) but not Easter. The number of mainland visitors on April 3 and April 7 2015 should clearly be much higher than April 18 and April 22, 2014 which are Friday and Tuesday in an ordinary work week.

They could have done some other things, such as April 3-7 (Friday-Tuesday) 2015 versus [April 5 2014 plus April 18-21 2014]. But that would be most odd.

In summary, the difference in when Ching Ming Festival and Easter fall each year confounds any comparison. We don't know how/why Ming Pao and/or Sun Hung Kai Properties chose the data points to be reported.

Of course, this is the not the first time that calendar differences have confounded comparisons. For example, it was reported (see Censtad) that retail sales decreased by 14.5% in January 2015 compared to January 2014. Horror! Shock! Then it was reported that retail sales increased by 14.9% in February 2015 compared to February 2014. Why? Spending normally attains a high immediately before the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year fell on January 31 in 2014 but February 19 in 2015. That's why it is better to look at the first two months taken together. When taken together, retail sales for the first two months in 2015 decreased by 2% compared to the first two months in 2014.

Apart from the space and time problems with the Ming Pao report, you may also be interested in how the numbers are collected.

When Sun Hung Kai Properties report on the number of visitors per day, they do not actually have sensors installed at all entrances for recording purposes. They use human counters to work a small number of hours a day per entrance and multiply up to estimate the total. For example, they count 400 persons in one hour (3pm-4pm) coming through a certain entrance. Since the mall is opened from 5am to 12m, they estimate that 400 x 19 = 7,600 persons came through that entrance over the course of the day. If there are 10 entrances, they estimate that 7,600 x 10 = 76,000 persons came into the mall that day.

This methodology is unbiased if the supervisor is arranging the schedule with suitable randomization and spending enough to cover different hours and entrances. But if the supervisor arranges the schedule according to convenience (e.g. all counting takes place between 9am and 5pm), then the sample results cannot be extrapolated accurately (e.g. to 5am-12m).

When Sun Hung Kai Properties reports on the total turnover in their malls, they are not receiving detailed electronic reports from their renters. Instead each night, a Sun Hung Kai employee goes around the mall asking the individual store managers what their proceeds were for the day. The number is imprecise. That is, the Sun Hung Kai worker has to cover every store before they close. So she may start with some stores earlier long before they close. Or the store manager will give rounded numbers ("Oh, around $50,000") because they don't know what the actual amount will ultimately be (for example, the bill for a wedding banquet cannot be determined until the number of bottles of liquor consumed is counted after all the guests have left).

Sun Hung Kai Properties said that their 9 malls had 6.9 million visitor times during April 3-7 2015. On the average, the daily number of visitors per mall is 6,900,000 / (9 x 5) = 153,333. This number is a lot bigger than most pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. But if the mall is opened 6am-12m, this is 153,333 / 18 = 8,518 per hour on the average, or 8,518 / 60 = 142 per minute on the average. That's not a lot when there are many entrances to the mall.

Besides, the number of visitors is misleading. For example, in the Moko mall, most of the 'visitors' come through the pedestrian overpass in Mong Kok to take the East Rail MTR. That is, they enter the mall from Mong Kok or Prince Edward Road, they walk through the lobby and they enter the MTR without doing a thing inside the mall. But they are counted all the same as mall traffic all the same.

Sun Hung Kai Properties said their tenants grossed HK$402 million during April 3-7 2015. On the average, the daily gross sales per mall is $402,000,000 / (9 x 5) = $8,933,333. If the mall has 300 tenants, then they grossed $8,933,333 / 300 = $29,779 on the average. That's great for a boutique but an unmitigated disaster for a wedding caterer with 100 employees. So you really need to look at what is happening at the shop level. But Sun Hung Kai Properties is not going to tell you what has happened with the pharmacies/dispensaries in the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin district.

P.S. Oh, with reports like this one, there was a reason why Ming Pao lost its claim to Number One In Public Trust that it held for so many years that the claim became a part of its logo but which has to be removed now. What reporter can write such rubbish, and what gate-keeping editor could let this pass through?

Addendum:


Apple Daily has this chart:
CY Leung says that anti-parallel trader protests have caused the number of visitors to Hong Kong to fall
Immigration Department: Number of tourists rise 9.5% during the Ching Ming Festival holidays
Data:
2015 (April 4-6) 1.56 million total visitors, 359,000 mainland visitors
2014 (April 5-7) 1.43 million total visitors, 418,000 mainland visitors
Therefore, total visitors were up by 9.5%, mainland visitors were down by 14%

(Apple Daily) After Apple Daily published the chart, the Immigration Department clarified. The 1.56 million total visitors are actually all those who crossed the border into Hong Kong, including Hong Kong residents who were away and are returning home, plus outside visitors from the mainland and elsewhere. The data that Apple Daily wanted to talk about was:

2015 (April 4-6) 468,000 total visitors, which is 12.4% lower than the 534,300 during April 5-7 2014.

Within total visitors, mainland visitors went from 418,100 to 359,500 for a 14% loss, while non-mainland visitors went from 116,200 to 108,500 for a 6.6% loss.

Unfortunately, these data would not fit the theme of the story: Chief Executive CY Leung is a fucking liar.

Apple Daily should have known that they got their interpretation wrong. It is well-known that mainland visitors account for about 70%-80% of all visitors to Hong Kong. So how can there be 418,000 mainland visitors out of 1.43 million visitors in 2014? That's only 29%. If those 418,000 mainland visitors were allegedly enough to seriously disrupt the lives of Hong Kong citizens, then how much more trouble would those 1,012,000 non-mainland visitors cause? Where would they stay? There are only 71,998 hotel rooms in all of Hong Kong!  This would have been a bigger news story with the headline "American, European and Japanese tourists forced to sleep in the subway!" or "Foreign tourists get a taste of Occupy Central-style sleeping in the streets."

(Wikipedia) A fractal is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern that displays at every scale. If the replication is exactly the same at every scale, it is called a self-similar pattern.

(Wikipedia) Cheung Chau is a small island 10 km southwest of Hong Kong Island. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in the territory of Hong Kong, with a  population of about 23,000. New World Ferry operates ferry serves between Central pier and Cheung Chau approximately every 30 minutes.

(Oriental Daily) April 6, 2015.

New World First Ferry announced that as of 9pm this evening, 50,000 passenger-trips were made between Cheung Chau Island and Central pier on Hong Kong Island. Half of these trips were from Central pier to Cheung Chau, and the other half went the other way. Yesterday, 60,000 passenger trips were made. By noon yesterday, the line at Central Pier was about 2,000 persons long. The police came to set up barricades and traffic cones to control the human flow. In the evening, almost 1,000 citizens lined up at the Cheung Chau to make the return trip. Certain Cheung Chau residents set up a booth to collect signatures in support of the "Reclaim Cheung Chau, give us back our ferry" campaign. These citizens want the Transport Department and New World Ferry to deal with the problem.


Cheung Chau ferry at Central Pier

(Oriental Daily) April 7, 2015.

By around noon yesterday, about 2,000 people were waiting at the Central Pier to go to the outer islands. At Pier Number 5 (destination Cheung Chau), the line stretched from Pier 5 to Pier 6 and then wrapped back around in a U-shape back to Pier 5. By 3pm, there were already 20,000 passenger trips to Cheung Chau. In the evening, another line appeared for the ferry service from Cheung Chau to Central, with as many as 1,000 persons in line. Near the Cheung Chau pier, all the garbage cans were filled with nobody emptying them.

According to Cheung Chau resident Mr. Chan, he wanted to go to Central for work around noon. But he did not expect to run into so many citizens who had spent the night in Cheung Chau and are now heading back home. The ferry service told him that the waiting line was 3 hours. As a result, Mr. Chan lost about $1,000 in wages today. He criticized the ferry service for poor arrangements.

(Apple Daily video) April 7, 2015.

Internet comments:

- The people of Cheung Chau can't live anymore! The ferry seats are occupied by tourists (from Hong Kong Island/Kowloon), their homes are being used by tourists as vacation homes, food prices are soaring (because most food is imported), there are no jobs (unless as waiters/waitresses/cooks/hotel receptionists/janitors) and they are always at risk of being run over by reckless tourists on bicycles.

- My family lives in Kowloon, and it has been years since we visited Cheung Chau. I read in the news that the lives of the Cheung Chau people were disrupted yesterday by the horde of visitors from the mainland (=Hong Kong/Kowloon/New Territories), leading to a lot of grumbling. I apologize here. I want to remind those whining Cheung Chau residents that you shouldn't do unto others what you wouldn't want others to do to you. Therefore, Cheung Chau residents, please don't ever come to Hong Kong/Kowloon/New Territories and use up our resources. Thanks! May you have a happy holiday!

- We the people of Hong Kong/Kowloon have sometimes deemed to patronize Cheung Chau. We don't have to do it. If they give us lip, we'll fucking boycott them. Their economy will be destroyed and they will beg us to come back. We'll think about it then. And then we'll give them a big Fuck U!

- I live in Kowloon, and the neighborhood ramen noodle shop always has a long line of people outside. These diners are not local residents for they come from all over Hong Kong. As a result, my street is always crowded, it is always noisy and the prices of noodles are kept high at $144 per bowl (because they can). As a local resident, I should be able to buy a bowl of roast pork ramen noodle soup for HK$10. These people from other districts are seriously disrupting the lifestyle that I want to lead. I want them to go away.

- Why do the people of Cheung Chau think that their island belongs to them? We are not invading their private homes. We are just walking/bicycling around public streets, sitting in public spaces and dining in commercial establishments. Yes, sometimes we have to defecate/urinate in street but that is because Cheung Chau does not have enough public restrooms. Those people who want to monopolize the resources of Cheung Chau are just so selfish!

- If people from other districts are not allowed to come here, everything will be cheaper (housing, food, etc). Life would be so idyllic. But that won't happen immediately. It will happen if and only if we get civil nomination for the Chief Executive election.

- Everything is relative. Just take a look at the photos coming from the scenic sites in China during the May 1st or October 1st Golden Week holidays. Now that is truly living hell. So my advice to the people of Cheung Chau is: Suck on it! You ain't seen nothing yet!

Great Wall, Beijing


Qing Dao (Shandong province) beach

- Question: "Hey, boss, why are you blocking the entrance to your restaurant?"
- Answer: "We give priority to Cheung Chau indigenous people."

- Just think about the physics. How do you squeeze 20,000 people into that tiny Cheung Po Tsai cave? We the people of Cheung Chau don't necessarily object to the mainlanders (that is, residents of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories). Some of our best friends are mainlanders. We have even been known to inter-marry. But there is just too many of those people coming in right now. Our place is overrun by Hong Kong/Kowloon tourists on holidays and weekends. This has to stop NOW, or else we'll be forced to find ways to defend our homeland. And if the signature campaign does not worke, we'll be forced to find more powerful and forceful ways. So if you're smart, don't come to Cheung Chau! We don't want you here! We don't want you to run into an accident and hurt yourselves if you come here!

- There was a time when nobody wanted to go the Cheung Chau due to the spate of stories about people renting vacation homes in order to commit suicide by carbon-monoxide poisoning from indoor charcoal stoves. The Cheung Chau economy was in dead water. Now that business is booming through the efforts of the government and the local community, they want to revert to the old days?

- 25,000 persons crammed into an island with a total population of 23,000 residents! This has to be compared to several tens of thousands of mainland tourists each day in Hong Kong with a total population of 7 million. Which is worse?

- This is the replication of the so-called China-Hong Kong conflict. This time, it is Hongkongers against Hongkongers. The people of Cheung Chau are starting a Reclaim movement. Will they be valiant enough to kick, push and curse out the 'mainlanders' (from Hong Kong/Kowloon/New Territories)?

- I have a friend who is a new immigrant from a rural village in Zhaoqing (Guangdong province). Her father grew bananas for a living to make several thousand yuan a year. His children helped with the farming chores. I was telling her about the best sightseeing sites in Hong Kong (Victoria Peak, Stanley, Repulse Bay, etc). I also mentioned Cheung Chau which I described in some detail. Did she want to go there? She said: "No way. This sounds exactly like the rural village where I came from. I hated that place. There is nothing there. Why would I go there after I get to Hong Kong?" Well, what is for sure is that the 25,000 people who went to Cheung Chau are not from mainland China, because they would have already seen it all otherwise. It's only the city hicks from Hong Kong Island/Kowloon who want to have a little bit of that rural feel.

- How many of the Cheung Chau visitors are mainland parallel traders? Well, it costs HK$44.50 to take the MTR from Lo Wu station to Central station. It costs another $25.80 to take the New World Ferry from Central to Cheung Chau. Total round trip cost = ($44.50 + $25.80) x 2 = $140.60). This compares to the $44.8 roundtrip between Lo Wu and Sheung Shui. That's another $100 and many hours that the parallel trader could have kept for himself.

- This is just poor planning by New World Ferry. Based upon historical data, they should have assigned more ferries on this day. Instead of one ferry every 30 minutes, they should have been assigning three times as many ferries at one every 10 minutes.

- Eh, do you think New World Ferry would have three times that many ferries sitting in the dock and three times that many qualified captains/sailors hired through the year just for these special days?  Who is going to pay for the over-capacity?

- New World Ferry could just hire part-time captains and sailors. If the ferry capsizes, then they will just blame the passengers. Or something.

- Stupid! New World Ferry can charge three times the current prices in order to keep three times the capacity. That's all. This is simple ECON 101.

- Is $25.80 x 3 = $77.40 too much for a 30-minute ferry ride?  Well, it costs $100 for the 20-minute Ferris Wheel ride in Central. And it costs $100 for the elevator ride to the observation deck Sky 100 in the International Commerce Centre. So $77.40 is cheap!

- What have the Cheung Chau people got to complain about? I live in Chai Wan, far away from any tourist sightseeing sites. But there was a long line of people trying to get into the Chai Wan MTR station today! Those were the people just back from sweeping their ancestors' tombs in Chai Wan cemetery. I wish I could tell those people to never come here again. Of course, I can't. But I think that it is time for the government to respond to the Chai Wan residents' complaints and impose limits on the number of visits (for example, you can only go to the Chai Wan cemetery every other year based upon whether the last digit of your Hong Kong ID is odd or even). We, the people of Chai Wan, can't take this anymore! Our human rights are being violated. This is worse than being raped!

- The effective way to control traffic is to open the ferry for everyone on the weekday, and then restrict it to only residents during the weekends and holidays. Any exceptions can be requested by written application to some local committee which meets on an irregular basis. When they do meet, they don't have quorum. This is the only way to preserve the Cheung Chau way of living.

- Oh, wait, those news photos show a lot of Caucasians whom we can't afford to ostracize because they may complain to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. That would be a terrible loss of face. A compromise would be to hang out a sign that says: "No Chinamen or dogs allowed" at the ferry ticket office. A mainlander is Chinese, of course, but so is a Hongkonger. Are the Cheung Chau residents Chinese? Of course not. They have completely different genes, histories, cultures, economies, etc from the mainland Chinamen and the Hong Kong Island/Kowloon pigs.

- You ask: What happens if a Cheung Chau resident marries an outsider? Of course, he/she loses Cheung Chau citizenship automatically! And the children too!

- By marrying a Hong Kong pig, this person showed the poor judgment of a pig. QED.

- Alternately, there is a way to make money off this (there always is, if you put your mind to it). New World First Ferry will offer free rides to registered Cheung Chau permanent residents (that is, those who ancestors have been living there for three or more generations). During the work week, New World First Ferry will charge $40 for all others (compared to $13.20 that they charge everyone right now for the ordinary service). On weekends and holidays, New World First Ferry will charge $100 per trip for all others (compared to the $19.40 that they charge everyone right now for the ordinary service). This is a highly effective way of screening out all the cheapskates to make sure that there is maximum spending by a minimum number of suckers, and it will buy off the local protestors with free rides too.

- Even if New World First Ferry won't impose differential rates (which they already do because they offer lower prices to students, seniors and physically handicapped persons), the Cheung Chau District Council can impose an entry fee upon landing (free for local residents upon producing a locally issued Cheung Chau ID).

- Well, during the Easter/Ching Ming holidays, I have been to the Elements (West Kowloon), K11 (TST), International Square (TST) and Moko (Mong Kok) malls. Traffic and sales were pathetic, because all the Hongkongers with the fat wallets have gone to South Korea, Japan etc to take advantage of the falling foreign currency exchange rates and the mainlanders are not coming to Hong Kong anymore because they feel unwelcome. That is to say, certain dislocations will occur during unusual times. The only question is whether the Cheung Chau residents are willing to put up with these periodic dislocations.
How do we know what the Cheung Chau people think? It is time to commission the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme to conduct yet another referendum! Like their previous efforts, the results will not be binding but will stimulate further conversations that will result in ... yet another referendum!

- Here is what is destroying Cheung Chau life today -- a 759 store! I don't care if you say that 759 is a pro-democracy convenience store because their big boss supports Occupy Central. The fact is that it has no place in Cheung Chau.

- Thanks to the logic that is preached by the Reclaim XXX people, the people of Hong Kong are divided by district. Soon, you won't be allowed to even cross the street because that you are invading someone's else turf. Thanks a lot to the valiant Hong Kong independence warriors for showing the path to salvation!

- Many Cheung Chau establishments cater to outside visitors. They include the daily-rate vacation home rentals, the Warwick Hotel, bicycle rental shops, souvenir shops and rip-off seafood restaurants. Keeping the visitors out will devastate the local economy. They can't all convert to selling curry fish balls, can they?

- Where are Ray Wong and the rest of the Hong Kong Indigenous people when they are needed most? Cheung Chau is one of the indigenous settlements, and therefore its residents are more authentically indigenous than most other Hongkongers. We are not talking about those pro-Hong Kong independence students who tried to go to the mainland to sweep their ancestors' tombs. We are talking about people who have lived in Cheung Chau for many generations. Why won't Hong Kong Indigenous come out to defend their indigenous homeland?

- Look what happened during the Easter/Ching Ming holidays -- the number of mainland visitors has dropped precipitously. This shows the actions taken by Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous/North District Parallel Imports Concern Group have worked to perfect effect. They went out and randomly beat up a few parallel traders, tourists, visitors, children and senior citizens, and have struck fear in the rest of the mainland population. All it takes to stop the invasion of Cheung Chau is for Civic Passion to randomly beat up a few individuals (and they don't even have to be non-indigenous persons) and everybody will stop coming. Then Cheung Chau can go back to being a peaceful fishing village.

- ... and all their able-bodied men will have to leave Cheung Chau to find work elsewhere.

- The demographic problem with Cheung Chau goes far beyond weekend/holiday locusts from Hong Kong. The fact is that non-residents are allowed to purchase/rent homes in Cheung Chau, thus diluting the native bloodline. That has got to be stopped immediately. All the vermin from the outside must be cleansed.

- There is plenty of unoccupied space in Siberia. Why don't we all move there and get along?

- Cheung Chau is not ready for independence. It does not have the food/water supply, it does not have a self-sufficient economic base, it has no cars (repeat: privately owned cars are not allowed but they do have some ambulances and fire engines), it does not have any public housing estates, it does not have an army, it does not have international acceptance (because most of the world has never heard of it). But it has one hospital, it has a crematorium, it has a cemetery, it has many non-Cantonese speakers (Hakka, Chiu Chau and Yue Ca), it has four primary schools and two secondary schools, it has plenty of bicycles and tricycles.

- Next up is the Cheung Chau Bun Festival on the eighth day of the fourth month of the year. "The annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival is a festival which includes a parade of floats, most famously including young children dressed as famous characters doing impossible balancing acts. It last three to four days and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the island." Will it take a sea disaster with an overloaded ferry to finally get the public's attention?

- The Cheung Chau people's Declaration of Independence (spoof):

Cheung Chau Localism, Self-Determination of Destiny

Establish the following organizations:
- Cheung Chau Indigenous
- Cheung Chau Concern Group
- Cheung Chau Priority
- Cheung Chau Passion
- Cheung Chau League of Social Democrats
- Green Cheung Chau
- Cheung Chau Parents Concern Group.

We are not kidding! All these people coming to Cheung Chau means that there is no space for the locals to sit, stand, walk or sleep. They eat up all the mango glutinous rice dumplings, large fish balls, red bean cakes and seafood, such that the locals have nothing to eat! They bought up all the dried shrimp, conch and fish maw too. The Cheung Chau real estate crooks also converted residential buildings into vacation hostels and drove housing prices sky-high, so that young Cheung Chau locals can't afford to buy their own homes. These tourists are noisy and they litter everywhere. They compete for ferry seats. Well, you tell me whether we Cheung Chau locals ought to be upset of not.

Our action plan.
- Occupy Cheung Chau Pier and hold regular demonstration marches.
- We will kick and curse out anyone who carries a backpack.
- We will demand that they open up their backpacks for inspection for dried seafood.
- There will be a limit on the number of mango glutinous rice dumplings that can be purchased per outsider. Other food items may be limited as well.
- There will be a limit on the amount of seafood allowed per outsider to consume on Cheung Chau.
- Form a Cheung Chau city centre shopping revolutionary group to demonstrate at shops that sell Cheung Chau products and tell the Hong Kong locusts to eat Hong Kong crabs at Aberdeen instead.
- If our demands are not met, we will escalate and valiantly fight tyranny with force. We won't quit until we see blood.
- If we don't get our way, we will have Cheung Chau independence -- we will desalinate sea water and generate electricity by solar power. Cheung Chau will grow its own food (for its 23,000 population in an area of 0.95 square miles).

- (Hong Kong Free Press) March 29, 2016.

Localism banners calling for “Cheung Chau people first” appeared over Monday night, as residents and tourists had to endure long wait times for the only ferry between Cheung Chau island and the city during the long weekend from Friday to Monday.

More than ten banners with the words “We strongly demand that Cheung Chau people be considered first to board the only ferry between the city and Cheung Chau island” were hung up around Cheung Chau.

It is unclear who hung up the banners as no organisation or name was written along with the message.

Apple Daily reported that about 66,000 people travelled to Cheung Chau over the long weekend. Cheung Chau has been a popular destination for locals and tourists alike in recent years, leading to long wait times during the holidays.

- Civic Passion has decided to assume the mantle!

"Four-eyed Brother" Cheng Kam-mun (Civic Passion) demands a special ferry passage for Cheung Chau residents.

- A small step for Civic Passion, a giant step for the people of Cheung Chau!

- Today Cheung Chau, tomorrow the world.

Hong Kong Basic Law Article 45

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be selected by election or through consultations held locally and be appointed by the Central People's Government.

The method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.

The specific method for selecting the Chief Executive is prescribed in Annex I: "Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region".

(Alliance for True Democracy) January 8, 2014.

ATD’s Election Plan includes three channels for nomination: civil nomination, political party nomination, and nomination by the nominating committee. Civil nomination demands a candidate to secure the signed endorsement of 1% of the registered voters; political party nomination requires a political party receiving 5% or more of the total valid votes in the last Legislative Council direct election. The nominating committee shall not refuse to endorse any civil and political party nominees who meet the legal requirements, such as not less than 40 years old, has no right of abode in any foreign country; political conditions such as “love China, love Hong Kong” and “no confrontations with Beijing” are not acceptable. ATD also demands the abolition of the existing stipulation which disallows the Chief Executive belonging to a political party membership.

ATD believes that civil nomination and political party nomination are within the scope of “democratic procedures”. It believes that its proposed plan satisfies the provisions of Article 45 of the Basic Law, and demands the SAR Government to place this election plan in its next round of consultation.

Put aside whether you think ATD's proposals are within the scope of Article 45 of the Basic Law.

(Post852) April 4, 2015.

Executive Council member and Stanford University masters degree holder Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said today that civil nomination is not an international standard. Of the five proposals advanced during the discussions about the Chief Executive election in the Basic Law, none advocated civil nomination. She also said that the many nations in the world do not have civil nomination. Therefore civil nomination is a false issue.

Ip Lau's assertion is nothing new. Last July, DAB vice-chairwoman Chiang Lai-wan had said at the City Forum that only five nations in the world uses civil nomination to determine the candidates for their leaders, while advanced nations such as the United Kingdom do not have civil nomination. Even National People's Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang has said something similar.

The question is, Are there really so few nations in the world with civil nomination? Of course not!

Chinese University of Hong Kong Political and Administrative Sciences associate professor Ma Ngok has compiled a list of the nations in the world that have civil nomination. The detailed information is listed on Pages 68-69 of the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme's Occupy Central with Love and Peace Deliberation page.

According to Ma Ngok's tabulations, at least 32 nations which have either presidential or quasi-presidential systems use civil nomination for their presidential candidates. Many of these are developed countries. For example, South Korea, Iceland, Portual and Taiwan have civil nomination. Some of these countries have fairly low thresholds, as low as 0.2% of the population. We want to ask Ip Lau, who has the masters degree, whether 32 nations is a small number?

Internet comments:

- According to the infoplease, there are 196 countries in the world today (unless you don't count Taiwan). 192 countries are UN members. Should we let 32 out of 196 countries dictate what the rest must do? Please look carefully the list and see if you can find: the United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, Brazil, South Africa, etc. You won't be able to find them.

- What kind of 'international' and 'universal' standards are followed by 32 out of 196 countries and not by the remaining (196-32) = 164 countries? Enquiring minds want to know!

- I don't have a problem with Hong Kong following the 'international standards' of civil nomination of its leader. But I would like to see the whole international community (especially the hypocrites such as United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada) do likewise. These 164 countries wouldn't want to be excluded from the international community or be accused of failing to abide by universal standards, would they?

- According to Ma Ngok's document, there are 9 countries using civil nomination for their presidents, with his annotated notes:

--- Guinea-Bissau (5,000 voter signatures with at least 50 votes per province out of a population of 1.7 million)
--- South Korea (at least 5,000 voter signatures but not more than 7,000 voters, from at least 5 provinces with not less than 500 signatures per province, out of a population of 49 million)
--- Chile (at least 0.5% of the number of registered voters)
--- Malawi (at least 10 voters each from 28 districts, out of a population of 16.4 million)
--- Sierra Leone (political party nomination) (in other words, not civil nomination!)
--- Ghana (at least 2 voters each from 216 districts, out of a population of 24.2 million)
--- Angola (at least 5,000 but not more than 10,000 nominations out of a population of 18.5 million)
--- Tajikistan (nominated by political parties and then submitted for civil nomination by at least 5% of the citizens) in other words, not civil nomination)
--- Zambia (at least 200 voter signatures out of a population of 14.3 million)

There are 23 more countries which have quasi-presidential systems:

--- Austria (at least 6,000 nominations out of a population of 8.2 million)
--- Bulgaria (at least 15,000 nominations out of a population of 7 million)
--- Cape Verde (at least 1,000 voter signatures but not more than 4,000 out of a population of 500,000.
--- Croatia (at least 10,000 voter signatures out of a population of 4.5 million)
--- Finland (at least 20,000 voter signatures out of a population of 5.3 million)
--- France (at least 500 signatures from 30 departments from members of the French Parliament/European Parliament) (not more than 50 from any single department) (in other words, not civil nomination of President/Prime Minister)
--- Georgia (50,000 voter signatures out of a population of 4.6 million)
--- Iceland (at least 1,500 voter signatures but not more than 3,000 out of a population of 300,000)
--- Ireland (at least 30 parliamentarians) (in other words, not civil nomination)
--- Lithuania (20,000 voter signatures out of a population of 3.5 million)
--- Macedonia (10,000 voter signatures out of a population of 2 million)
--- Mali (10 national parliamentarians or 5 local parliamentarians from each local district) (in other words, not civil nomination)
--- Mongolia (nomination by political parties holding parliamentary seats) (in other words, not civil nomination)
--- Montenegro (signatures from 1.5% of the voters)
--- Namibia (300 voters from at least 10 different provinces out of a population of 2.2 million)
--- Peru (nomination by political parties registered with the national election committee)
--- Poland (100,000 voter signatures out of a population of 38.4 million)
--- Portugal (at least 7,500 and at most 15,000 voter signatures out of a population of 10.8 million)
--- Romania (at least 200,000 voter signatures out of a population of 21.8 million)
--- Senegal (at least 10,000 voter signatures from at least 6 provinces with at least 500 per province out of a population of 7.2 million)
--- Slovakia (at least 15,000 voter signatures)
--- Slovenia (at least 5,000 voter signatures out of a population of 2 million)
--- Taiwan (signatures from at least 1.5% of the voters)
--- East Timor (5,000 voter signatures out of a population of 1.2 million)
--- Turkey (nomination by political parties with at least 10% of the votes in the prior parliamentary election) (in other words, not civil nomination)
--- Russia (at least 2,000,000 voter signatures out of a population of 425 million)
--- Czech Republic (at least 50,000 voter signatures out of a population of 10.2 millino)
--- Kazakhstan (1% of voters even spread across at least 2/3 of the provinces)
--- Kyrgyzstan (10,000 voters out of a population of 24 million)

So who are you going to go with?

On one side, you have Chile, Angola, Zambia, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Iceland, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan, East Timor, Russia, Czech Republic, Kazahkstan and Kyrgyzstan.

On the other side, you have the rest of the world with the likes of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Japan, Indonesia, India, South Africa, etc.

My point is less so about who has the greater clout. The point I want to make is that the system adopted by each nation necessarily reflects local conditions (history, internal/international politics, demographics, economics, etc). It is wrong to pull out a dataset from somewhere without considering local conditions and say "32 countries in the world do it, so we must follow them."

Additional homework exercise: Why do (196 - 32) = 164 nations not have civil nomination for their leaders? Start with the United Kingdom, the former colonial masters of Hong Kong.

- This meme should have been dead a long time ago. But zombies never die. They won't even fade away.

(Wikipedia) The Qingming Festival is Tomb-Sweeping Day in China, and falls on April 4 or 5. On this day, Chinese people visit the graves of their ancestors to remember and honor them. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, joss paper accessories, and/or libations to the ancestors.

(InMediaHK)

1. What happened this morning

During the Umbrella Movement, Eason Chung, Alex Chow and other Federation of Students members attempted to go to Beijing. They were unsuccessful and had their Home Return Permits canceled. I did not imagine that this could happen to be. I didn't think that I did much during the Umbrella Movement, I did not receive much attention and therefore I should not have been noted by the authorities. People tell me that other members of the university student union and the Federation of Students could return to China. So I thought I would be okay too ...

So I agreed to go with my family to the mainland hometown to sweep the graves. I have not gone back to the mainland for a while. I miss my hometown relatives. I arranged to meet my family at Luohu around 11am on April 4 2015 to go together. I exited the Hong Kong side easily. At the mainland entry point, I was "randomly selected" for inspection and brought into a room.

I had arranged with my family that they should go ahead if I get held up. But they waited outside the whole time until I was told that I couldn't enter the mainland. I am grateful to my family, even though we have had heated quarrels over the Umbrella Movement.

I sat in the room for almost one hour. I asked to place my phone, my Octopus card and other things into my backpack. That is, I could not have anything in my pockets. When I entered the room, they took my Home Return Permit and my Hong Kong ID. They opened my backpack and inspected it. Then I waited. Four other individuals were also "randomly selected" and brought into the room. They were allowed to leave after a quick inspection of their documents. I did not bring anything with me. I thought that the reason why I was kept waiting was obvious, even though nobody stated it.

I was surprised by the reception. I am just a frail young man. One or two public security officers were posted near the door (which probably scared the other people who were brought into the room). They kept a watch on me. The public security officers carefully examined my documents. Other officials walked by, looked at me with curiosity and whispered to exchange information. I felt bad, not because of the treatment but because there was an unbridgeable chasm between me and them: we are incapable of understanding each other.

I was taken out of the room to have photos taken. Then I was brought back into the room to wait. My family was anxious, but there was nothing that I could do. Finally the officials came back in with my documents and announced: I was involved in law-breaking activities in Hong Kong which may endanger national security. Therefore I was not allowed to enter mainland China. I would be sent back immediately to Hong Kong. It was around noon. I told my family not to worry. I was then taken back to Hong Kong.

2. What I did before

I am really curious about just what I did to deserve such grand treatment. Let me recall what I did. I was an obedient child. I attended a "patriotic" elementary school in Macau. After I came to Hong Kong, I have a clean record. The so-called "law-breaking activities" could only be those protest activities.

I wondered about myself. To my mind, I am just a small potato that did not deserve so much attention from them. At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, I am a vice-president of the Student Union. I was not bold, I did attend the activities, but I don't even dare to speak to the media. The other executive members are much bolder than I am. Indeed, the president and the two vice-president of the CUHK Student Union are also Federation of Students standing committee members. I was not a dutiful committee member. I have only attended the standing committee meetings once or twice. In today's standards, I should have been dismissed because of dereliction of duty.

I was even more scared during the Umbrella Movement. I could face up to this experience. During the run-up to Occupy Central, I attended the first two days of the deliberation as a representative of the CUHK SU. That was all. During the June 22 referendum and the July 25 meeting, I was in Taiwan and couldn't do anything. During the student strike, I kept guard at the Federation of Students tents.

Between the September 26 charge into Civic Plaza and September 28, I did even less. On September 28, I witnessed the tear gas near the School of Performance Art and I saw the riot police charged into Locke Road. At the time, I went back to CUHK to attend the student strike meeting. I was too scared to do anything. I began to show up more regularly in the Occupy area in mid-October.

I cursed myself for being cowardly, but I am more surprised by the Communist regime's fear of the cowardice of students. I was an unknown student far away from the limelight. I have never even had my Hong Kong ID recorded for any reason (therefore, I don't think the black list was provided by the Hong Kong Police to the mainland authorities). I never imagined that the state apparatus would handle the matter in such a manner. At a time when the authorities kept saying that Hong Kong will have to depend on China, this is very risible.

(Ming Pao) April 5, 2015.

Two former members of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Student Union executive committee were refused entry into mainland China when they went back with their families for the Qingming Festival. The reason was that the two engaged in law-breaking activities which may endanger national security ... Kwan said: "I can't imagine why the rising Grand Nation would be scared to death of a lightly regarded student." He thought that he is unlikely to be allowed to go to mainland China for at least the next two to three years. He is about to graduate soon, but he does not think that he can take on any job that involves going to mainland China.

Yesterday afternoon, another CUHK member Fung Sai-kit went back with his family to his Guangdong ancestral home. Fung said that he was taken into a room where the officials interrogated him about his occupation and background. Fung responded with factual information. After waiting for half an hour, the official said that he was not allowed to enter. Fung said that the mainland officials were reasonably cordial. One of them told him: "Sorry, but I don't even know what the people up there are up to."

Fung said that, to a certain degree, he thinks that Hongkongers are Chinese too. But this rejection of entry has weakened his national identity. He is angry that he was not allowed to return to his hometown to sweep the graves and visit relatives. He wants to try again in the summer.

(Ming Pao) September 27, 2015.

Former Chinese University of Hong Kong Student Union executive committee member Fung Sai-kit went to the Sha Tau Kok border crossing yesterday morning to go home to attend his cousin's wedding in mainland China. The public security checked his Home Return Permit and took him into a room to search his person and bag. They asked him whether he had engaged in unlawful activities. After learning that he participated in Occupy Central, they pilloried him for "obstructing the people of Hong Kong" and sent him back to Hong Kong. This was the second time that Fung was refused entry into the mainland. Previous around Qingming Festival this year, Fung was also turned back. Fung is in his third year studying Quantitative Finance. His inability to travel to the mainland may affect his chances of getting an internship or job. He is sorry that he cannot visit his many relatives in mainland China. But Fung said that he is not sorry to have participated in the Umbrella Movement. He think that he must say something when society is so unfair. Although he may be paying a price, he still did the right thing.

Internet comments:

- As Stephen Chow said to Andy Lau in a movie: "What more can I say except 'Congratulations'?"

- This is nothing new, but on a slow news day, this story is gathering hundreds of comments. Compared to the previous experiences of Alex Chow, Eason Chung, Tiffany Chin, etc, this story carries more emotion due to the anti-parallel trader protests. Those protests were originally directed against parallel traders, but they ended up being directed against all mainlanders (be they parallel traders, tourists, businessmen or new immigrants). That is why a lot of the comments were along the line of: Hey, you localists think that Hongkongers are a race of non-Chinese people, then how come your ancestors are buried in some Guangdong rural village? Why are they not buried in Happy Valley, Aberdeen, Cheung Sha Wan, Fan Ling or Tseung Kwan O?

- What does Fung have in mind when he said: "To a certain degree, Hongkongers are Chinese too." What is that certain degree? According to standard Yellow Ribbon logic, it means whenever it suits you. So if you are demonstrating in Tuen Mun, you say that you are a Hongkonger and not Chinese. But if you want to go to mainland, you suddenly become a Chinese Hongkonger with unalienable right of entry. That's very convenient, isn't it?

- The Yellow Ribbons want unlimited access by Hongkongers to mainland China, and they want zero access by mainlanders (parallel traders, tourists and immigrants) to Hong Kong. That's very convenient, isn't it?

- The fairness or reciprocity principle says that either (A) Hongkongers and mainlanders have unlimited access to each other; (B) Hongkongers and mainlanders have zero access to each other; or (C) Hongkongers and mainlanders have the identical limits on access to each other. If the Democratic Party wants the number of visits by mainlanders to Hong Kong to be capped at 8 times a year, then the number of visits by Hongkongers to mainland should be capped at 8 times a year too. I don't have a problem with that, but many Hongkongers who travel regularly to the mainland will have a huge problem with that. Of course, they are being selfish here ... tsk tsk ...

- You don't have to be a People's Republic of China citizen in order to go back to your ancestral home to sweep the tombs of your ancestors. For example, Thaksin Shinawatra is Thai, and he has gone back to Chaozhou to trace his origins. Thaksin can do that, because he did not engage in any law-breaking activities that may endanger Chinese national security.

- It means that Kwan and Fung are locusts PERIOD END OF DISCUSSION
- Some locusts are demonstrating against other locusts. Why do they hate themselves?
- You do not choose your parents. But you can choose to severe relationships with your reactionary parents, as Cheng Chung-tai (Civic Passion) advocates. If your parents do not support the Umbrella Revolution, you just don't see or talk to them again. EVER.  P.S. No SMS!
- As for the Hong Kong Independence Party people who wave the British colonial flag, they should go to England to sweep their ancestors' tombs.

- Kwan and Fung probably want to go to China to get their share of their ancestors' land possessions. It looks as if they might lose out because they can't be present to contest the claims of their cousins.

- At the anti-parallel trader demonstrations, they want the 150-a-day One Way Permits for new mainland immigrants to stop immediately. Well, those people are coming to Hong Kong for family reunification. If not for that, Kwan would still be studying in a "patriotic" university in Macau.

- Kwan said that he had heated quarrels with other family members about the Umbrella Movement (which he does not dare to call the Umbrella Revolution). If they throw him out into the streets, there is always a tent on Tim Mei Road in Admiralty for him. They desperately need bodies to sleep in the otherwise unoccupied tents.

- (Oriental Daily) October 7, 2014. About a dozen Chinese University of Hong Kong students gathered outside the University Station MTR exit. They knelt down in a row with the banner: "We are forced to disrupt people's livelihood because the people can't make a living anyway."


Is Kwan or Fung one of these people here?

 - You guys demonstrated in Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Sha Tin, Sheung Shui and Tai Po to stop all mainlanders from coming to Hong Kong, whether as parallel traders, tourists or immigrants. So what is wrong with mainland China stopping Hongkongers from entering?
- P.S. Besides, Hongkongers don't want to go to mainland China. Those rude mainlanders may kick your suitcases around and curse you out, you know.

- So what if these two CUHK students can't sweep their ancestors' tombs? In mainland China, everything is possible. There are professional grave-sweepers that they can hire over the Internet to provide weed-cleaning services, cater food/beverage offerings ( such as BBQ baby pig, soy sauce chicken, Chinese white wine) and so on. There are even professional mourners who can wail loud and long. You can watch the live Internet broadcasts in Hong Kong.

-  Kwan says that he is concerned about his economic prospects. When he was Occupying Hong Kong, did he give a rat's ass about the economic prospects of those affected businesses and workers? What comes around come around.

- Kwan and Fung can seek political asylum at the Canadian consulate. They are being politically persecuted, aren't they?

- Here is a conundrum: The Chinese Communists are the biggest obstacle to Hong Kong independence. Therefore, the valiant Localist warriors say that the Chinese Communist regime must be overthrown first. However, these two Yellow Ribbons could not even cross the border to enter mainland China. How are they going to overthrow the Chinese Communist regime? Oh, yes, they are valiant keyboard warriors, every one of them! So they will open weibo accounts and pound away until the Chinese Communists are overthrown.

- Kwan tried to soft-pedal by saying that he was involved in the Umbrella Movement, not the Umbrella Revolution. Now that the Umbrella Revolution is over, the Yellow Ribbons are beginning to revise history to say that it was a Movement and not a Revolution. Well, why don't you click on the link to http://umbrella.appledaily.com/? They should still have this logo there:

Did you ever protest against the designation before? If you didn't and you still don't, then you deserve what is coming to you.

- The courageous students of the Umbrella Revolution were not afraid of dying for their cause. So why would they be afraid of not being allowed to enter mainland China?
- If the students don't even think they are Chinese, why would they be afraid of not being allowed to enter mainland China?
- The loss is not to the students. The loss is to China.
- No. The loss is not to China. Why would China give a fuck? The loss is to the students.

- When Kwan went ahead and did those things, he knew that he was going to have to pay for it. Oh, I don't mean whatever he did during the Umbrella Revolution. I mean his student loan.

- There are lots of Singaporeans whose ancestors come from China. They say that they are Singaporeans and not Chinese. In like manner, there are lots of Hongkongers who say that they are not Chinese. What's wrong with that?
- Ahem, have you ever heard a Singaporean say that they want to overthrow the Chinese Communist government?
- That's only because the Chinese Communists haven't started oppressing the Singaporeans like they are oppressing the Hongkongers now.

- No big loss really. Just ask pan-democrats Albert Ho, Emily Lau, Martin Lee, Lee Cheuk-yan, etc. They haven't been to mainland China for a long time (if ever), but they are still media experts on everything that happens in China. All the Hong Kong television stations, radio stations and newspapers continue to ask them for opinions about when the Chinese Communist regime will collapse.

- Where do these two students get the idea that this suspension will last only two to three years (or maybe even just as far as the summer)? That's just wishful thinking.
- Were they asked by the mainland officials: "Do you know that you did something bad?" Whether they were asked or not, I still want to know how they answer this question.

- Some jobs do not require mainland travel.
--- Welfare recipient (pays as much as university graduates)
--- Dishwasher (pays higher than university graduates)
--- Security guard (but no convictions from Occupy Central activities)
--- Sales clerk (but some day if you get promoted to Hong Kong district manager, you may have to travel to mainland China to attend regional meetings held at Greater China headquarters in Beijing/Shanghai)
--- Computer repair technician (ordering the computer spare parts via Taobao and delivered by courier service S.F. Expess from China to Hong Kong)
--- Interior decorator (order your materials through Hong Kong agents after paying a premium)
--- Pan-democrat Legislator Councilor assistant (full-time Occupy occupation until your boss loses the election or is caught in a scandal)

- The important thing during the job application/interview is to be forthright about your support of the Umbrella Revolution and all associated activities (such as Reclaim Tuen Mun/Yuen Long/Sheung Shui/Sha Tin/Tai Po, the Shopping Revolution, etc). You speak honestly so that the employer can make a decision based upon full information. It only gets worse if you try to hide information from them (such as deleting your Facebook).

- (Headline News weibo) We ran an online poll on the question: "Two pro-Occupy Central students from Hong Kong were refused entry into mainland China to sweep their ancestors' tombs. What do you think?" Within one hour, there were 13,689 voters, of which 81.99% supported the decision to refuse entry; 12.47% did not support; 5.53% can't decide.
(As of 5:32pm on April 6, 2015, there were 98,234 votes with 84.1% in support, 12.3% ooposing and 3.6% undecided.)

- Supporting comments:

--- Prevention is good. Detect the danger before it happens. All those who pose a threat to the nation are enemies. Citizens in every country would think the same way.
--- They may not be pro-independence elements but their actions had disrupted the order of the daily lives of the people of Hong Kong. They also started some other irrational protests (such as the Shopping Revolution and the Reclaim actions). Therefore, I think that these Occupy people have to be punished some way! Otherwise, people will think that they can start these disruptive actions again without any punishment. The world would be in chaos.
--- They are paying for their stupid acts.

- Opposing comments:

--- Magnifying a trivial matter. The Chinese have no class.
--- They should be magnanimously allowed to go home. Hongkongers are Chinese too. "Dangerous elements" can be monitored by the Public Security Bureau. Not being allowed to enter mainland will antagonize these young people even further. Do not allow a fleeting moment of glee to destroy the long-range goals.

(SCMP) 'I'd have joined Occupy if it could work', says Exco member Arthur Li. September 11, 2014.

Executive Council member and former education minister Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung said he would have joined the Occupy Central campaign if it could actually force Beijing to allow open elections in the 2017 chief executive race. Although he urged young people not to boycott classes in protest against the strict new election framework, and called on Hongkongers to accept Beijing's decisions, his remarks yesterday contrasted with the government's position that Occupy's plan to block streets was illegal. "If the protests, Occupy Central movement or class boycotts could change Beijing's view and its stance, I would have joined it," he said. "However … we have to think whether we can achieve what we want by participating."

(SCMP) 'Quit school if you really want to make a sacrifice for democracy', Arthur Li tells students. September 15, 2015.

Students should quit their studies - rather than boycotting classes for a week - if they want to demonstrate the spirit of sacrifice in their quest for democracy, an Executive Council member says. In an RTHK interview yesterday, Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung cast doubts on students' determination to achieve genuine universal suffrage.

University students plan a one-week class boycott from September 22 to oppose Beijing's restrictive framework for Hong Kong's 2017 chief executive election. Secondary-school pupils will stage a one-day boycott on September 26.

Li, a former education minister, said: "Is it such a big sacrifice for students not to attend classes for a week? If they really want to demonstrate the spirit of sacrifice, they should just withdraw from school. If they do so, at least they can spare some vacancies for others and benefit those studying for associate degrees. If they're not willing to quit school, then the class boycotts are all just for show."

Li said last week that he would have taken part in protests if he thought they could force a rethink, and he reiterated yesterday that Beijing would not bow to pressure. Drastic actions elsewhere had failed to sway Beijing, Li added. "The self-immolation by some Tibetans did not force Beijing to change its Tibetan policy."

He expressed concern that students could be manipulated like those at the vanguard of one of the nation's most notorious periods of upheaval. "I don't want to see any political fighting in secondary schools. It would be like generating a new batch of Red Guards as seen in the Cultural Revolution," he said. "If students want to stage a revolution, please go to Shenzhen or Beijing. Please don't do that in Hong Kong."

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX_IzlwvlAQ

(SCMP) Student boycott - who cares? Arthur Li fires another salvo at Occupy Central movement. September 18, 2014.

Executive Council member Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung followed up his call for prodemocracy students to quit their studies by accusing a co-founder of Occupy Central of "crazy" and "paradoxical" behaviour. The former education minister caused anger on Monday by urging students planning a week-long class boycott to make a bigger "sacrifice" - by giving up their education altogether. He also compared them to the Cultural Revolution's Red Guards.

Li yesterday said boycotts were not a constructive way to fight for democracy, and questioned the motives behind the Occupy plan to block roads in the heart of the city in opposition to Beijing's restrictive framework for elections in Hong Kong.

"You say the rule of law in Hong Kong is important, but you are now, as a professor of law, advocating that people break the law," Li said, without naming anyone. "It is completely paradoxical. It is crazy." His comments were taken as a reference to Benny Tai Yiu-ting, an Occupy co-founder and associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. Had he still been teaching, Li said, he would be "very happy to get a day off" for a student boycott, adding: "Basically you [students] are saying 'I am not going to class.' But who cares?"

The student union at Chinese University issued an open letter earlier this week, telling Li: "We are fortunate that you are not our vice chancellor now." He led the institution for six years before becoming education chief in 2002. Li dubbed the letter an emotional reaction and, despite saying he would not "argue with kids", he pointed out what he said were several errors in the letter. The students should not address him as "Mr", Li said, because he was an emeritus professor. They were also wrong to criticise him over Exco's decision to deny a free-to-air licence to Hong Kong Television Network last year as he was not involved.

(The Standard) HKU law faculty falls short in research field. January 27, 2015.

The University of Hong Kong's prestigious law faculty's academic research department has performed poorly compared with Chinese University, according to leaked information from a University Grants Committee report to be released today.

A report said the Research Assessment Exercise was conducted by a panel of experts who found that only 37 percent of the academic research by HKU's law faculty widely regarded as the best in Hong Kong had achieved a three-star rating, or "internationally excellent" by international standards. This compared with 49 percent at Chinese University's law faculty.

Former HKU law dean Johannes Chan Man-mun, who is a core member of political think- tank Hong Kong 2020, was criticized for the faculty's poor performance. The local report said it was due to Chan being actively engaged in politics and neglecting research.

(The Standard) Rumbles on King Arthur's campus. March 23, 2015.

Executive Council member Arthur Li Kwok-cheung was appointed to the University of Hong Kong council on Friday, succeeding member Lester Garson Huang with immediate effect. The news caused a stir within local academic circles as well as without.

For Li, nicknamed "King Arthur," has been a controversial figure due to his strong, if not abrasive, character. It is believed Li will replace Leong Che-hung as council chairman after his term expires in November.

It's normal for one to step down after serving in a public position for six years. However, it isn't unprecedented as well for one to stay beyond the limit, if so wished by the chief executive.

In the present case, it's hard to imagine Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying agreeing to keep Leong at the helm after seeing so many students take part in protests against then vice premier Li Keqiang during his visit to the university in 2011 as well as in the Occupy Central sit-ins last year.

Vice chancellor Peter Mathieson may have jumped the gun in saying King Arthur will be a suitable successor as his appointment has yet to be formally announced. But even Mathieson admits Li is a man of "strong opinions." To be more accurate, Li is like a heavy machine gun.

It's apparent Leung is striving to "restore order" in universities where students are increasingly forming the backbone of an opposition that is trying to make his administration a lame-duck one. Earlier this month, Leung broke a long-standing tradition at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology by "parachuting" Exco member Andrew Liao Cheung-sing to become its council chairman, ignoring the standing practice of promoting the vice chairman instead.

Furthermore despite government denials, there are persistent rumors Exco member Cheung Chi-kong, Leung's most trusted follower, will be appointed to the council of the Chinese University. However, it's also said Cheung, currently a member of the University Grants Committee, will be given the more important task of leading the UGC, which is pivotal in its role of overseeing funding for universities.

Nonetheless, the appointment of King Arthur surely catches the eye more than the rest. Although HKU has dropped in international rankings, it is still Hong Kong's top university.

The immediate effect of Li's appointment is that the strongman will be able to attend the HKU council's meetings this week to review an audit report on donations received by pro- democracy law academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who was central to the Occupy Central protests. It is probable the report may also make reference to Tai's former supervisor Johannes Chan Man-mun, a top contender for the post of pro-vice chancellor at HKU who has been the target of fierce attacks by the local pro-Beijing media.

Will Li go into the meeting all guns blazing? It is unlikely he will be so gung ho. For it won't be long before November comes, when he will officially ascend to be council chairman.

(Apple Daily) March 31, 2015.

The HKU University Affairs Committee held a meeting today. The HKU Student Union issued an open letter to "King Arthur" that he must immediately withdraw his comments about how some HKU teachers not concentrating on their specialties to the point that HKU's international standing is dropping. They also demanded Li's immediate resignation. When Arthur Li arrived at the meeting, he said "Thank you", took the letter and entered the conference room.

HKUSU president Fung Jing-en said that Arthur had just taken the letter and then entered the conference room without further exchange. "To a certain degree, this was disrespectful." "We waited so long because he hoped that he would listen to our demands."

After the meeting, Arthur Li was asked about the HKUSU accusation about being disrespectful. Arthur Li repolied: "Really. Oh." When asked about whether he would resign, Arthur Li said as the elevator door closed: "What did I do wrong?"

(Ming Pao) April 3, 2015.

Hong Kong University Professional Teachers Union chairman Cheung Sing-wai sent an email on March 26 to the recently appointed Hong Kong University University Affairs Committee member Arthur Li Kwok-cheung to demand the latter retract his statement about "Hong Kong University failing to dedicate themselves to their specialty and thus causing the standing of the university to drop" as well as apologize to the Hong Kong University professors. Arthur Li declined to do so. Yesterday during an interview, Cheung said that he wants to sue Li for defamation if the union members agree.

Cheung said that Li was obviously insulting the reputations of the university and its professional teachers. He said that he worked until midnight every day, but now Li says that he is not dedicating himself. He says that he is conducting a poll of union members, and many people say that they have no confidence in Arthur Li as a University Affairs Committee member.

Internet comments:

- (SCMP) According to the latest QS World University Rankings, HKU fell two places to 28th this year.
- (SCMP) University of Hong Kong falls out of world's top 50 list in reputation survey
- Research Assessment Exercise 2014 (rating the quality of published research papers)

- Law
--- CUHK: 15% 4 stars and 49% 3 stars (founded in 2004)
--- HKU: 9% 4 stars and 37% 3 stars (founded in 1960)

- Electrical engineering (where Cheung Sing-wai serves as a professor)
--- PolyU: 4% 4 stars and 27% 3 stars
--- HKU: no submissions for assessment

- Health sciences
--- CUHK: 10% 4 stars and 35% 3 stars
--- HKU: 13% 4 stars and 34% 3 stars

- The students think that if they don't like someone, that person needs to disappear. If that person doesn't cooperate, then that is disrespectful.
- That should work well when the students graduate and get a job. If they don't like a certain manager, they can tell the guy to resign. If the guy won't resign, that is being disrespectful.
- The students forgot to bring yellow umbrellas and wear yellow t-shirts when they handed over their letter of demand. They should be docked half-pay for the error. Don't they know that there are hundreds of media reporters there?

- R.E.S.P.E.C.T.? What if Arthur Li told the student demonstrators to quit school? If they demur, they would be disrespectful?

- Most professors are now scared of the students because they want to avoid trouble. Only Arthur Li takes pleasure in seeing them hopping up and down in frustration. In his position today, Arthur Li no longer fears denial of tenure, loss of income, etc.

- That dickhead HKUSU president Fung Jing-en:

He is the one who waffled on the withdrawal of HKU from the Federation of Students. His position is this: He respects his fellow students for voting to withdraw from the Federation, but he does not think that withdrawal means severance of relationship. FUCK ME DEAD! Please explain what the referendum on withdrawal means. If he can't give a satisfactory explanation, then he doesn't know what the demand for Arthur Li to resign is either.
- His name "Fung Jin-en" is weird enough. Fung is Cantonese for Feng, but Jing-en is pinyin. Please make up your mind, huh!
- He said that he waited a long time just to get Arthur Li to listen to a little bit of their demands. Does it mean that they have to commit harakiri if they want Arthur Li to listen to a lot of their demands?
- Fung's toolkit consists of just the usual ones:
一哭二鬧三上屌四絕食... [(1) cry (2) tantrum (3) pretend to commit suicide (4) hunger strike]. Nothing innovative.

- Retracting your words?
Here are the facts: Arthur Li exercised his freedom of speech and spoke what was on his mind. The students didn't like to hear that and demand his resignation. That is wrong. Freedom of expression is a core value in Hong Kong. Arthur Li should be allowed to say whatever he wants.
Now, are you going to retract your demand for Arthur Li to resign? Or do you want to suppress freedom of expression?
- Eh, that's a waste of time to make this sort of logical argument, because the Yellow Ribbon Zombies will move the goal posts around. They will surely say: Freedom of expression exists only for ordinary citizens; those in positions of power are not entitled to this freedom. And they get to decide who is in a position of power and therefore not entitled to freedom of expression. In short, you should STFU! All because of FREEDOM LIBERTY FREEDOM DEMOCRACY HUMAN-RIGHT RULE-OF-LAW.

- This is hilarious. When Cheng Yiu-chung served as HKU vice-chancellor once upon a time, the students thought that he was awful and wished that they could have the CUHK vice-chancellor instead. Well, that other man's name is Arthur Li Kwok-cheung. With no institutional memory, the HKU students of this generation now want Arthur Li gone.

- This is hilarious in another way, as it goes straight to the quality of Hong Kong University professors.
First of all, is it factual that the standing of Hong Kong University has dropped in several global university evaluations studies? Let us stipulate that this is true.
Secondly, is Arthur Li referring to all Hong Kong University professors, or just some of the Hong Kong University professors? He was talking about 'some'. If one or more of them was sidetracked into other areas, or if one or more of them failed to meet certain teaching/research standards, then is this defamation?
Notice that Cheung also stated that many university colleagues toiled silently, but did not say all Hong Kong University professors work very hard on their specialties all the time. Li and Cheung are consistent with each other, semantically speaking.

- Arthur Li is not the only university leader in the news. Recently, Baptist University vice-chancellor Chan Sun-chi told NOW TV that the National People's Congress Standing Committee is unlikely to rescind its August 31st decision, and so the students' struggle will not achieve anything. Therefore, the students should recognize what they are up against. The Baptist University Student Union demanded that Chan retract his words and apologize to the Hong Kong citizens. On April 2nd, they demanded that Chan accept their open letter. But Chan declined. Chan only said through the Student Affairs Office that he felt disrespected and therefore he refused to accept the letter because he felt that the students lacked manners. The Baptist University Student Union thought that Chan's response was regrettable. Therefore they planned to send a letter of condemnation to be posted outside the vice-chancellor's office. They deplored him for negating the students and evading their demands.

- When Electrical Engineering professor Cheung Sing-wai wants to file a defamation lawsuit against another scholar for exercising freedom of speech, this becomes the perfect example of a Hong Kong University professor meddling outside of their specialty.
- May his whole family die if Cheung does not file the defamation lawsuit.

- As the chairman of the professional teachers union, Cheung should be investigating why HKU is losing its standing and not quarreling with Arthur Li over the airwaves.

- Methinks that Arthur Li was talking about this Hong Kong University law professor Benny Tai as an example of a professor running politics as his full-time work. In https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZykVytneBg, Benny Tai is ecstatically declaring the official commencement of Occupy Central. He was so happy that everything was working to his grand scheme as described in his newspaper articles (which were not research-quality papers in refereed journals). Of course, he has not published any post-mortem analyses (either in newspapers or refereed journals) on why nothing worked according to his grand scheme.

- Elsewhere Cheung also challenged Li on the number of published articles. He said that he has published more than 200 articles, but does Li have four times as many (based upon his age and positions)? The reason why HKU is dropping in standing is not the number of published articles by its professors, it is the drop in the number of world-class or exceptional quality (4 stars/3 stars) articles. Ask Benny Tai how many world-class or exceptional quality articles he has written. Cheung also said that Arthur Li would be outmatched by former HKU vice-chancellor Tsui Lap-chee in terms of the number of published articles. If Tsui Lap-chee was so awesome, why did the students chase him out of HKU?
By the way, this is not a useful tactic to attack the messenger instead of dissecting the message.

- There are twenty-four positions on the HKU University Affairs Committee. How come nobody gives a damn about the other twenty-three individuals? But when Arthur Li shows up, the pro-democracy activists among the students, teachers and staff suddenly freak out? Arthur Li holds only 1 out of 24 votes.

- Prominent on the University Affairs Committee meeting agenda was the matter of the "black gold" donations made to Benny Tai. Everybody suspects that CY Leung appointed Arthur Li to the University Affairs Committee to crack down. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Arthur Li did not utter a single word on this matter during the meeting, on the grounds that he was newly appointed and therefore not familiar with all the details that have gone on before. But already the students want his head on a stick. What gives? The only answer is that the students are afraid what he might do. Let's hope that he does it.

- I remember that legend about Mark Twain. Supposedly he once said  at a banquet, "There is a Congressman -- I mean a son of a bitch -- But why do I repeat myself?" When a congressman threatened to sue for defamation, Mark Twain issued an immediate apology: "I am sorry that I said that some congressmen are sons of bitches. That is wrong. I meant to say that some congressmen are not sons of bitches. My bad." Something like that.
So Arthur Li should not say that some of the HKU professors are not doing their work. He should say that some of the HKU professors are doing their work. Professor Cheung should be happy to hear that Li agrees with him.

- The current Hong Kong University vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson comes from the School of Medicine at University of Bristol in England. Arthur Li founded a School of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which has reached the same level as the formerly illustrious HKU School of Medicine (now renamed Li Ka-shing School of Medicine). Think about that.

- I completely support the right of the HKU students to speak their minds. But I completely object to them saying that they represent the people of Hong Kong. You are you, and I am me. Please allow me to have my own voice.

- When I read in the news report: "After the meeting, Arthur Li was asked about the HKUSU accusation about being disrespectful. Arthur Li replied: "Really. Oh." When asked about whether he would resign, Arthur Li said as the elevator door closed: "What did I do wrong?"
I was totally overwhelmed by laughter. That is what I would like to see and hear from government officials.

- Of course, the next step is to call for a criticism/struggle session in which Arthur Li will be made to confess his crimes in front of the masses.

(Ta Kung Pao) April 2, 2015.

According to Bauhinia magazine, disciples of Lingnan University assistant professor Wan Chin have registered the Hong Kong Independence Party in England on February 27, 2015. This will enable them to collect donations and send the money back to Hong Kong.

According to the information, the party chief of the Hong Kong Independence Party is Kin Chung Wong; the secretary is Daniel Ma; the trustee is Tat Hang Lau." The registered address is 4th floor, 86-90 Paul Street, Londdon, EC2A 4NE UK.

This is similar to the way in which the Tibet Independence works When Dalai Lama first promoted Tibet independence, nobody cared. So Dalai Lama established European and American branch offices which collected political donations and increased their influence. The next step for the Hong Kong Independence Party is to register in America later this year. Any political party that is legally registered is allowed to legally solicit and receive political donations, and hence to transfer money back to the relevant organizations or companies in Hong Kong (note: there is no political party regulations in Hong Kong, so political parties usually register as limited companies).

(Oriental Daily) April 2, 2015.

On April 2, Wan Chin forwarded the relevant news reports about the Hong Kong Independence Party. He did not disavow the contents of those reports. Our reporter called him up for confirmation. When he learned the identity of our reporter, he immediately disconnected the call. He did not pick up the phone when called again.

Internet comments:

- (SCMP) Flag-wavers have right to be ridiculous. By Alex Lo. November 2, 2012.

What should be done with people who tried to provoke the government and Beijing by waving the British colonial flag during protests? Absolutely nothing. Lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung has a closet full of Che Guevara T-shirts. No one would waste time trying to tell him to wear something else. At least the British are for free trade and an open economy, not murderous Marxists like the revolutionary.

People do all sorts of idiotic and offensive things and the worst you can do is to provoke them further by making them feel important instead of ridiculous.

But Lu Ping, a former mainland official in charge of Hong Kong and Macau affairs, took the bait and denounced the young protesters. He said they should leave the city if they disliked it so much. Now Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has appealed to people not to wave the colonial flag. Perhaps officials have a bigger concern. The flag-waving is part of a nascent movement that is either calling for independence or full autonomy for Hong Kong - its members can't seem to make up their minds what they really want.

"These guys who advocate for Hong Kong independence are sheer morons," Lu said. "Deprived of support from the mainland, Hong Kong would be a dead city." His former deputy, Chen Zuoer, earlier called for firm action from the authorities. "The rise of a pro-independence force in Hong Kong is spreading like a virus," he said. Didn't Confucius say silence is golden? If there were ever such a time for retired old men to be silent, this is it. There is no sign the movement is anything but the asinine rumblings of a few malcontents and juveniles.

As a Chinese citizen, I too find the flag-waving absurd, offensive and stupid. Those who think tiny Hong Kong could lead the rest of China into the land of milk and honey understand neither its own insignificance nor the nation's millennial history and civilisation.

But let me do a Voltaire routine here, not that I am comparing my puny intellect to this great man of letters. Let us defend their right to be ridiculous. Most sensible people in Hong Kong realise their absurdity and treat them as a joke. But as the saying goes, "it takes a whole village" to convince them of their idiocy, not complaints from a few retired officials.

- (SCMP) Colonial flags a symbol of resentment, not a call for Hong Kong independence. November 19, 2015.

The display of colonial-era flags in recent protests is more about an anti-mainland feeling than a substantial movement for independence, most of this week’s SCMP Debate participants say.

The question arose when Global Times, a mainland newspaper run by the Communist Party, joined two former mainland officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs to warn of growing “pro-independence” voices in the former British colony.

Lu Ping, former director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said in a letter to the South China Morning Post last month that advocates for Hong Kong independence were “sheer morons”.

Lu’s former deputy, Chen Zuoer, said the pro-independence force – which was “spreading like a virus” – should be handled firmly.

But Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, a Hong Kong delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and a director of the China Law Society, said much fuss was being made of “people using freedom of demonstration to vent ‘nostalgic’ sentiment.”

Ray Yep Kin-man, a politics professor at the City University, says it would be “an exaggeration” to equate flying the flags with the rise of a pro-independence movement.

Alan Hoo SC, chairman of the Basic Law Institute, said protesters should instead be brandishing copies of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which set out the terms under which Hong Kong would be governed after its return to Chinese sovereignty.

Dr Horace Chin Wan-kan – whose keynote publication last year advocating Hong Kong becoming a city-state has inspired thousands of online followers – says his campaign focused on local identity, “just like those states, city-states and dependencies that keep their historical coat of arms after joining a republic”.

A group calling itself “We’re Hongkongians, not Chinese” on social network site Facebook says that the colonial flag carries global recognition and legitimacy.

The group’s founder, Dickson Cheung, said there was a spirit of “social-contract” upheld by many locals in which all kinds of interference by Beijing in local affairs was regarded as inappropriate. He says all exchanges with the mainland “should be cut off”.

Allison Wang, from Anhui province and now a City University student, said exchanges between mainlanders and locals were necessary despite the latter’s resentment against mainlanders like herself.

- How did the three individuals fill out their identity information? With the ID/passport issued by the People's Republic of China's Hong Kong Special Administration Region government? Or with their British National (Overseas) second-class citizen passports? Or have they as the founding fathers of the Hong Kong City-State issued new passports to themselves?

- The people who found the Hong Kong Independence Party now are about as brain-dead as those who joined the Kuomintang Party in 1949. That is to say, they are completely oblivious to where the wheel of history is rolling towards.

- I don't know if these guys are Communist moles whose true purpose is to enable the enactment of National Security Law Article 23 in Hong Kong. They have registered their presence so far. Next thing they need is a few strategically placed bombs around Hong Kong to strike terror in the population. For example, setting the Hong Kong Legislative Council building on fire just like the 1933 Reichstag fire. Then the people will rush to support Article 23.

- On the Facebook of the Hong Kong Independence Party:

The independence of Hong Kong and its return to the fold of the British Commonwealth and to chase all Communist bandits and Hong Kong traitors back to the north of the Shenzhen River should be the joint enterprise of all genuine Hongkongers, not the sole purview of the HKIP.
As to whether HKIP is the "students" or "disciples" of the so-called celebrity professor Wan Chin, I see that I have been blocked by Wan Chin a long time ago. I have no interest in his theories. You can decided whether I am his "student"/"disciple".
HKIP welcomes all authentic Hongkongers who support or are prepared to fight for Hong Kong independence. Hong Kong independence is your only way out.
Hong Kong independence does not require lots of actions. It is simply historical inevitability. It is where the trend is heading. Chasing away the Chinamen colonizers is the basic duty of every person who is a member of the Hong Kong race.
Finally, if you even believe in 10% of what shows up in Communist bandit newspapers, you will go blind in both eyes.

- I agree that we must have Hong Kong independence. But I don't agree that we should go back into the British Commonwealth. We should be joining the European Union. Of course, an even better deal is to become the 52nd of the United States of America.

- I just checked the map. Hong Kong is located in South East Asia and the European Union is located in ... eh ... Europe. However, Hong Kong was part of the British Commonwealth, wherein some members (such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Falkland Islands) are located in far-flung places away from the British Isles. Hong Kong can easily re-acquire a status similar to the Falkland Islands. The sovereignty of Hong Kong will be militarily guaranteed by the new HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carriers.  The British will cave in to our demands if we Occupy the British consulate in Hong Kong.

- Why Hong Kong independence? Here is an incomplete list of reasons

Oh, it would be so wonderful! We're going to grow cabbages in northeast New Territories again!

- The geographical location of Hong Kong is going to be a big problem, because it is right next to Communist China. But the Communists have a fatal flaw in that they are on an unsustainable path of development. They will collapse under their own weight within ten years or less. The Hong Kong University scholars/students have said so. When that moment arrives, Hong Kong will seize the opportunity to become an independent City-State. In the interregnum, we will prepare ourselves for that moment by hot pot/karaoke parties at the Tim Mei Road tent city.

- Actually, I think that it will be a lot easier if we overthrow the Communists. If we focus only on independence, we will be finished if the Communists imposes an embargo on Hong Kong. No food, no water, no electricity. Besides we can't just sit around to wait for them to die.
How do we overthrow the Communists? We know that they are corrupt and weak. We'll just send our valiant warriors of Tuen Mun/Sha Tin/Yuen Long/Sheung Shui/Tai Po and they will defeat the People's Liberation Army in the field.

- A big step towards Hong Kong independence is to get the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to set up its headquarters in Hong Kong. Of course, the Chinese Communists want Beijing. But with so many European countries enlisting, they could exert pressure on the Chinese Communists. If the AIIB is based in Hong Kong, it will be an affirmation of Hong Kong independence.  Then full independence will be just moments away.

- Look, the whole point of the exercise is to raise money from fools. For many years, "Vindicate June 4th 1989" has been the cause. With the rise of Localism, "I want genuine universal suffrage" is the latest craze to get people to part with their money. The "Hong Kong Independence Party" will be the standard-bearer of the Hong Kong City-State. Please make sure that you protect your wallet.

- What does the Hong Kong Independence Party need money for? The short answer is that you need money in order to raise even more money. So it never stops. This is categorically true as witnessed by all pyramid schemes as well as political party solicitations in all western countries. The long answer is that the Hong Kong City-State will need to have an army to fend off the hostile forces (especially the ones who appeared at 6:44 into the video because these are the only ones who make our valiant Localist warriors weak in the knees).

- (Ming Pao Canada) When Global Times reporters visited the London address of the Hong Kong Independence Party, they were told that this was a virtual company. That is, the company there deals with the business affairs of other organizations, such as providing a registered address and forwarding mail. Otherwise the company knows nothing about the Hong Kong Independence Party.

This is a great start for the Revolution for Hong Kong Independence, because the Commies don't know where to find them.

- The secretary of the Hong Kong Independence Party is Daniel Ma, who is the leader of the now defunct Occupy British Consulate movement. Occupy British Consulate lasted 178 days compared to Occupy Central's 79 days. Therefore, Daniel Ma already has a track record of great success. It is time for you to send him some money to help him build the Hong Kong Independence Party.
- What are you talking about? One group of people worked for 79 days and ended up with nothing. Another group worked for 179 days and ended up with nothing. Both are abject/abysmal failures.

(AFP) Hong Kong protestors plan to occupy British consulate. November 12, 2014.

Hong Kong students plan to occupy roads surrounding the city's British consulate in anger at a lack of support from London for their pro-democracy movement, as authorities ramp up pressure on protesters to go home.

Activists say they want to show their anger at Britain for not standing up to China over "breaches" of the agreement the two countries made before Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997, designed to protect Hong Kong's social systems and way of life.

"We are angry at the way that the British government has for many years denied that China has actually breached the declaration by interfering with Hong Kong politics," Anna-Kate Choi, the coordinator for the Occupy British Consulate group told AFP. "They have the responsibility to make sure that the joint declaration has been implemented properly and that democracy and the high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong has been protected," Choi said. She said she hopes for a turnout of hundreds and "maybe even thousands".

The group is a new offshoot of the protest movement, Choi added, with around 10 organisers from all walks of life including a secondary school student.  Protesters in Hong Kong are demanding fully free leadership elections for the semi-autonomous city in 2017. But Beijing has refused to back down on its insistence that candidates must be vetted by a loyalist committee. Bailiffs are expected to start a clearout operation in the next few days, with thousands of officers put on standby over the weekend, according to local media.

But seemingly undaunted, activists have put up large posters around the protest areas announcing the consulate occupation on November 21 and a Facebook page for the event has more than 700 likes.

The British consulate said they had no comment.

(Local Press) Occupy British Consulate-General's Statement to the British MPs. December 3, 2014.

We appeal to the United Kingdom to honour its commitment to Hongkongers under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. China’s current ban on the British Parliamentary Members’ visit to Hong Kong to look into the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in Hong Kong has wantonly violated the Joint Declaration.

Ever since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, China has repeatedly and extensively violated the Sino-British Joint Declaration. For instance, in the last 17 years, China has time and again intervened into District Council elections, Legislative Council elections and Chief Executive elections in Hong Kong. And China’s recent White Paper on implementation of “One Country, Two systems” Policy in Hong Kong states that the autonomous power of the HKSAR solely comes from the Central Government’s authorisation, that “residual power” is out of the question.

Moreover, in March this year, Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of Standing Committee, National People’s Congress urged Hong Kong to practice democracy with China characteristics. In addition, many anti-Occupy Central forces, like the Blue Ribbon and the Green Ribbon, are sent by the State Council of China (according to Mingpao Daily).

The Joint Declaration is a constitutional document that guarantees Hong Kong’s autonomy and de facto sovereignty. Under this document, the UK has moral, constitutional and administrative responsibilities to Hongkongers. The UK is supposed to make sure that the 3.5 millions holders of British National (Overseas) Passport enjoy basic human rights and universal and equal suffrage.

In a word, we urge the UK to fulfill its responsibilities to Hongkongers, to defend the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and to denounce China for violating it. We support British MPs’ visit to Hong Kong.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxPolfcALUU

(Facebook) March 29, 2015.

At this time, I, Daniel Ma, as the founder of the Occupy British Consulate movement, announce that the action will terminate on March 29, 2015. We shall remove all tents and other miscellaneous items in the Occupy area.

When I first started the action on October 3, 2014, my principal goals were these: to draw international attention to the Umbrella Revolution that broke out on September 28; to let the international community know that the Chinese Communists did not adhere to the Joint Declaration and let Hong Kong have One Country Two Systems and a high degree of autonomy. Since Great Britain is the other signer of the Joint Declaration, it has the constitutional duty to supervise China in implementing the Joint Declaration. More concretely, we wanted to visit the British Parliament to present our petition in front of the Cenotaph.

In reviewing the 178 days of Occupy British Consulate, we obtained bountiful results. First of all, we were invited by the British Parliament to address testify in front of the British Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee about the status of the implementation of the Joint Declaration. Although I could not go due to problems with my personal travel documents, two representatives went to testify on December 17 and spoke on behalf of the Hong Kong people living under the tyranny of the Chinese Communists! Secondly, the British Parliament heard our testimony and issued a white paper on March 5 2015 to condemn the Chinese Communists for not keeping the promise to provide a high degree of autonomy to Hong Kong. Specifically, the August 31st decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee did not provide a "genuine choice" for the people of Hong Kong! They recommended that the UK government apply diplomatic pressure on the Beijing government to implement the Joint Declaration.

In comparative terms, the British government has responded to the democratic demands of the people of Hong Kong whereas the Chinese/Hong Kong governments have totally ignored the strong demands expressed by the Umbrella Revolution! It is very clear that the Umbrella Revolution has totally failed with nothing having been achieved. The continuing Occupy movement on Tim Mei Road only gives the thug CY Leung the appearance of being tolerant! We cannot tolerate any more of these meaningless occupy movements that are designed only to capture the limelight!

After March 5, the British parliamentary folks are turning to their own May 7 elections. During this period, our international supporters will continue to inform us about the political situation in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately for us, as the politicking picks up there, they become less concerned about Hong Kong. After careful observation and consideration, we believe that the present Occupy British Consulate movement can on longer apply pressure on the United Kingdom. Therefore, I have decided to stop the movement for the moment ...

(Coconuts Hong Kong) April 2, 2015.

As Occupy Central descended upon Hong Kong and was dismantled 79 days later, a less visible protest held on for dear life while the city resumed normal activity. Pro-democracy protesters have been camping outside the British Consulate in Admiralty for almost six months, but finally decided to end their campaign on March 29.

The organiser, Daniel Ma, announced that he no longer believes the occupation serves a purpose, since protesters have already spoken to the British Parliament and British MPs are currently busy with their upcoming elections. Ma added that he also wants to concentrate on studying for his exams, which of course, are also very important.

Internet comments:


- "We are panic - China is invading." Well, don't worry. Panic is over now and China hasn't invaded.


- Occupy British Consulate was not the most exciting of events. During the 178 days, there was nobody there most of the time.

- Here is how the British Consulate staff treated Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrators:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i-tSOVCuGQ. If the Hong Kong Police did that, Civil Human Rights Front/Hong Kong Journalist Association would be screaming.
- Also at Local Press is a conversation between British consul-general Caroline Elizabeth Wilson and Occupy British Consulate founder Daniel Ma:
Wilson: Daniel, why are you still here?! You ought to leave!
Ma: Our aim is not to have a coffee with Wilson.
Wilson: The coffee is a meeting!
Ma: Non-open conversation can't achieve anything.
Wilson: Ok, off the deal.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30dOwOvnW44  
Here is a Hong Kong policeman reading out instructions to the demonstrators: "The British Consulate has issued a statement. The area with the grey bricks is British territory. The British Consulate does not welcome you people to petition in the area with the grey bricks. If you wish to continue to petition, you should obey police orders and return to the area with the red bricks." Demonstrators: "We are British citizens!" "We are British citizens!" ...

- What was the purpose of the movement? The instigator Daniel Ma was cited by Local Press as saying: "Occupy British Consulate is a battle for sovereignty and de-colonization." The United Kingdom is not claiming sovereignty over Hong Kong, so why are you fighting them over sovereignty? The United Kingdom does not have Hong Kong as a colony, so why are you fighting them over de-colonization? If you oppose Chinese sovereignty and colonization, please take it up with the Chinese government. Their address is Zhongnanhai, Beijing.

- Nobody cares about these nut jobs. At Hong Kong Golden Forum, the most pertinent post is titled: "How come nobody here talks about Occupy British Consulate? Are you guys afraid of the Brits?"
There were just a few responses:

- Occupy the British Consulate, and they will grant you political asylum at the Castle Peak Psychiatric Hospital.

- They want to make the Brits pay a price and generate international attention for the Umbrella Revolution to show how stupid those umbrella-toting revolutionaries are.

- Someone is going to say soon at this discussion forum that the United Kingdom will be the first to sell out on Hong Kong, and that Hongkongers must count on themselves to fight for anything.

- The effect of Occupy British Consulate is about the same as Occupy High Island Reservoir (do you even know where that is?). That is to say, nobody will care.

- This movement is obviously an attempt to embarrass the Localists. They want self-determination, but Occupy British Consulate wants British intervention. What if Occupy British Consulate succeeds where the valiant Localist warriors fail?

- Why do Hongkongers want to listen to westerners?  That's because Hongkongers like to wallow in self-pity and inferiority.

Consider the following table:

When a westerner man grows a beard, he is manly. When a Hongkonger man grows a beard, he is uncouth.

When a westerner man shaves all his hair, he is tidy. When a Hongkonger man shaves all his hair, he is perverted.

When a westerner man grows long hair, he looks cool. When a Hongkonger man grows long hair, he is a beggar.

In summary, a westerner can do no wrong no matter what. But if a Hongkonger does the exact same thing, it is always wrong.

- For example, when a westerner says "I want genuine universal suffrage," he is George Washington. When a Hongkonger says "I want genuine universal suffrage," he is a Yellow Ribbon zombie.

- Really? Here is the 2015 Lunar New Year Message from the British Consul General Caroline Elizabeth Wilson to Hong Kong. In her Cantonese message, she expressed optimism about universal suffrage in Hong Kong. Take that, Hongkongers (who are not Chinese)!

- What is so good about the Brits? The way their police manhandled their own student protestors (see Phoenix TV).

- Occupy British Consulate? The Brits are more concerned about Occupy Britain, in which their homeland is being invaded by hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists who buy up everything in their stores (see YouTube).

- What do you expect the Brits to do while under the pressure of one or two persons sitting in a tent outside the British Consulate in Hong Kong? Do you expect them to send in the gun ships? The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to be commissioned in 2017, after the Chief Executive election in Hong Kong. In the meantime, the Royal Navy can't even fly helicopters for rescue missions.

- (Eastweek, volume 607, April 15 2015)

According to City-State insiders, Daniel Ma comes from a single parent family. When he was in Primary 5, his mother took him back to their hometown of Xian. He lived and attended school there until he returned to Hong King in Secondary 5. Then he joined the Passion Youth group.

In March 2014, former governor Chris Patten was in Hong Kong to attend the opening of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum. Daniel Ma showed up early to queue up in order to get a photo taken with Chris Patten while draped in a British colonial flag and holding a banning. The very savvy Chris Patten thought that this would to too sensitive and told him to remove the flag/banner first. This became an embarrassing scene. Later Daniel Ma told Chris Patten: "I really miss you. I admire you and your three daughters. Chris Patten responded coolly to Daniel Ma: "How old are you, kid? Did you know me? How old were you? Haha ... you recognized me? You were a little baby when I left."

Internet comments:

- Daniel Ma, yet another locust who hates himself.

- The handover of Hong Kong from Great Britain to China took place on June 30, 1997. That is 18 years ago. Daniel Ma is 22-year-old years now. So he was 4 years old in 1997, but he remembers every second of that sad moment when Hong Kong lost its freedom and even the heavens opened the flood gates to rain down tears of sorrow.

Leticia Lee leads the Justice Alliance, Hong Kong Parents Association and Hong Kong Youth Alliance. She is continuing to go after the Civic Passion political party. On this morning, she went with about 20 persons down to the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration to continue to denounce the publications <Passion Teens> and <Party Girls> published by Civic Passion.

Leticia Lee said that she has read all of these publications. She believes that the target audience of <Passion Teens> is teenagers. "They are deliberately showing off ... they don't necessarily show the nipples but they exaggerate the chests. Every single woman in the publication is revealing her underpants and ... to put it not so nicely ... thrusting up her buttocks. Also they use foul language." She also said that the publications smears all women involved in politics for being ruthless. She said that the publications smear the police as being "evil" every one of them.

In response, Wong Yeung-tat of Civic Passion said that the Justice Alliance is applying pressure on their publishing activities. He insists that they will continue to publish. He said that <Party Girls> uses the same style as Japanese manga. They merely turn the political parties into girls and therefore they are even making the characters prettier than in real life.

(Wen Wei Po) March 31, 2015.

Recently our reporter visited a number of newsstands in Hong Kong. <Passion Teens> has practically zero circulation. One vendor said: "If you didn't ask me, I wouldn't know that I am selling this" and "Less than one copy sold per week." He asked the reporter what was in the publication. When told, he said: "That's not acceptable. It will corrupt young people."

Previously, Wong Yeung-tat of Civic Passion had said that the publication had a print run of 3,000 to 4,000 copies per issue. Since the circulation was obviously poor, he said: "It will be closed down after five issues if sales doesn't improve."

Leticia Lee is suspicious about the funding of the magazines. To print and distribute 3,000 to 4,000 copies per week would probably cost "six figures." So how could the publication keep being printed and distributed in spite of lousy sales?

(The Standard) ATV sold to Ricky Wong. March 31, 2014.

Asian Television shareholder Wong Ben-koon and major investor Wong Ching have told the free-to-air broadcaster that they will sell their stake in the station to Hong Kong Television chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay, ATV reported.
Most of the ATV's debt will be exempted from the deal, it said.

The transaction must be approved by the court, Deloitte, which was earlier appointed by the court as the agent for the free-to-air TV broadcaster, and the Communication Authority.

(SCMP) Shock as HKTV boss Ricky Wong ‘agrees to buy beleaguered rival ATV’. March 31, 2015.

Struggling free-to-air broadcaster ATV dropped a bombshell yesterday, announcing that major investor and de facto boss Wong Ching had agreed to sell his controlling stake to HKTVs maverick chief, Ricky Wong Wai-kay. The stunning announcement came during ATV's Chinese-language newscast at 6pm, and was repeated after the commercial break for added impact. HKTV offered no comment and made no announcement to the stock market yesterday.

According to the report, Wong Ching and his relative, Wong Ben-koon, who holds the 52.4 per cent stake on paper, had accepted Ricky Wong's offer for the stake. HKTV would take over the broadcaster while the outgoing owners would take care of its debts. The station was waiting for approval by the High Court and accounting firm Deloitte, which was appointed to sell a 10.75 per cent stake to a "white knight". The Communications Authority would also have to approve.

ATV's announcement stunned industry insiders, especially after Ricky Wong repeatedly and categorically denied he would do any such deal with the station he once ran for 12 days. They described it as a slap in the face for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who was evasive when asked about ATV yesterday morning, Leung would only say ATV's licence was being handled according to established procedures and the law.

They noted that the Executive Council had already delayed a decision on renewing ATV's licence for four months while waiting for a white knight. That was despite the fact the Communications Authority's predecessor, the Broadcasting Authority, recommend not renewing the licence, which expires late this year. Exco today holds a special meeting on ATV, arranged before yesterday's news.

Analysts and political commentators said Wong Ching had put the chief executive between a rock and a hard place. It's widely understood that the government does not want to let Ricky Wong run a free-to-air station, especially after controversially rejecting the outspoken telecoms veteran's application for a licence in 2013. But rejecting the deal would deny ATV a lifeline.

"[The government] would rather renew ATV's licence than let it die," said James Sung Lap-kung, a political scientist at City University. He said the government had no grounds to reject it. Ricky Wong could not be reached for comment. He was understood to be out of town.

After making his name by building City Telecom, Ricky Wong spent 12 days as CEO of ATV in 2009. A year later, he applied for a licence for HKTV and began filming dramas at HK$1 million per episode. The government instead granted licences to two pay-television players. HKTV's books show HK$819 million in cash on hand and assets of more than HK$3 billion, despite losses of HK$237 million.

ATV is running out of cash and has been taken to court for failing to pay staff. Wong Ching said last week that the station had no hope without a "miracle" by the end of March - yesterday.

(The Standard) Exco to seal ATV license fate. April 1, 2015.

The Executive Council will hold a special meeting this afternoon to discuss troubled ATV's license renewal after a surprise announcement yesterday that its "white knight" is media-savvy Hong Kong Television Network chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay.

ATV announced that its majority shareholders Wong Ching and Wong Ben-koon have agreed to sell their 52 percent stake to HKTV's Wong, whose company was refused a free-to-air TV license in 2013. The deal has not been confirmed by Ricky Wong.

Sources said the Exco meeting will begin at 3pm.

Despite the ATV announcement, up until last night Wong Ching had not submitted to the government any restructuring plan for the cash-strapped broadcaster.

The government had given ATV an ultimatum by yesterday that it had to submit a proposal on restructuring the station for license renewal.

But it is understood neither Wong Ching nor ATV had given any concrete proposal on the deal announced last night.

The Exco meeting will decide what the government will do when the ATV license comes up for renewal or, indeed, whether to withdraw its license, sources said.

The sale of ATV shares gives Ricky Wong the license that he has desperately sought as the development means ATV will hand control of the television channel to him.

The two shareholders have notified ATV's management that they accepted an offer from Ricky Wong to buy the controlling stake in the broadcaster, according to an evening news bulletin on ATV.

Under the deal, Wong Ben-koon and Wong Ching will take "haircuts" on most of the debts they are owed by ATV, the report suggested.

The report did not disclose details of the deal ,which will require approval from the courts, the firm's trustees DeLoitte and the Communications Authority .

ATV last night released a statement, saying it was informed by the two shareholders that they had decided to accept Ricky Wong's condition to transact ATV's shares to HKTV and to waive most of the debts the broadcaster had accumulated.

Referring to former executive director James Shing Pan-yu, the report said: "ATV expressed understanding of the decision, and also thanks Shing's family's unconditional contribution to ATV for five years and six months."

A spokesman for the Communications Authority said it did not receive any application from ATV regarding the transaction.

A spokesman for Deloitte said it had no comment on the issue.

The announcement came hours after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said before yesterday's regular Exco meeting that procedural fairness must be used to handle licensing issues for ATV.

(Bastille Post) April 1, 2015.

HKTV has issued a statement through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its chairman Ricky Wong has not reached any agreement with ATV, either as an individual or through his company. In its evening news report, ATV unilaterally announced that the major shareholders had decided to sell controlling interests to HKTV chairman Ricky Wong while accepting his conditions.

(SCMP) HKTV denies agreement to take over rival ATV hours after shock announcement. April 1, 2015.

Hong Kong Television Network has not reached any agreement with the beleaguered free-to-air broadcaster Asia Television on buying its shares, the company said on Wednesday morning, in another twist to events. In an announcement made on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s website, HKTV admitted its chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay met ATV major investor Wong Ching on March 26.

It said however: "No agreement or agreement in principle has been reached by Mr Ricky Wong, whether or not on behalf of the company with anyone with regard to the possible transaction. The company has not entered into any discussions with the joint and several managers of ATV appointed by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," the statement from HKTV added.

The denial came just hours after an announcement was made during ATV’s Chinese-language newscast that de facto boss Wong Ching had agreed to sell his controlling stake to HKTV’s maverick chief Ricky Wong. According to the report, Wong Ching and Wong Ben-koon, who holds a total 52.4 per cent stake in ATV on paper, had accepted Ricky Wong’s offer for the stake.

ATV vice-president Lau Lan-cheong said on Wednesday that the announcement on Tuesday was "accurate" in that it reflected the station’s own decision. "Our news yesterday accurately reported on our company’s decision. This is because ATV decided to sell shares to Ricky Wong – but whether Wong will accept the offer was another news item to be followed," Lau said at the station’s headquarters in Tai Po. He said that ATV made the decision on Tuesday and the shareholders hoped to announce the news in time. He said he was not worried that the image and credibility of ATV news would be tarnished.

Accountants from Deloitte were earlier appointed by the court as ATV managers to sell a 10.75 per cent stake from major shareholder Wong Ben-koon, a relative of mainland investor Wong Ching. 

HKTV said in the notice that the March 26 meeting was to exchange and discuss preliminary ideas on how assistance may be provided to assist in ATV’s operations and a renewal of its domestic free television programme service licence.

Former secretary for commerce and economic development Frederick Ma Si-hang said ATV could have possibly breached laws by issuing false information relating to sale of its shares. Ma said he believed the Securities and Futures Commission, the market watchdog, would launch an insider trading probe over the matter. Ma said ATV’s announcement on Tuesday – which he described as shocking – led HKTV’s stock prices to rise. "So should anyone have benefited from the information ... I think the SFC would take the initiative to investigate," he told Commercial Radio.

(SCMP)  Curtains for ATV as Exco pulls the plug on ailing broadcaster. April 1, 2015.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his cabinet finally pulled the plug on struggling broadcaster ATV yesterday, deciding not to renew its free-to-air licence which expires in November.

On an April Fool's Day filled with real-life drama that created a bigger sensation than any programme the cash-strapped station has produced in recent years, the Executive Council spent four hours to decide that ATV did not deserve the lifeline it's been desperately seeking.

Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Gregory So Kam-leung, the minister in charge of broadcasting, held a full-scale press conference to explain that ATV had been given ample time to submit a sustainable business plan to carry on, but had failed to deliver. "It's the first time in Hong Kong's history that the government has refused a television licence," he said.

The station will be allowed to operate until April 1, 2016, as the government is required to give it a full year's notice. If ATV continues to breach broadcasting laws in the interim, its licence could be revoked altogether.

In a significant move, the government is formally giving a free-to-air licence to Hong Kong Television Entertainment, run by Richard Li's PCCW, which already operates Now TV. The new station, whose licence was approved in principle in 2013, could begin operating a Chinese-language channel within a year, followed by an English channel a year later.

Yesterday's Executive Council decision followed a surprise announcement in the morning by Deloitte, the accounting firm tasked by the High Court to find a "white knight" to save the station.

Derek Lai, Deloitte's court-appointed manager for ATV, confirmed that the broadcaster's de facto boss, Wong Ching, had agreed to sell his 52.4 per cent controlling stake, officially held by his relative Wong Ben-koon, to an unnamed buyer, believed to be AID Partners Capital, the firm that saved HMV from liquidation in Hong Kong last year.

That was just after HKTV's maverick boss, Ricky Wong Wai-kay, categorically denied Wong Ching's stunning claim the previous day that the telecom veteran would be the white knight. The non-existent deal was reported in the station's evening news broadcast, sparking a surge in HKTV shares.

Reflecting public concerns that ATV had misled the markets with false information, former commerce minister Frederick Ma called it an "irresponsible" move and suggested the Securities and Futures Commission would launch an insider-trading investigation over the matter.

The broadcaster is already being prosecuted by the government for repeatedly failing to pay staff wages on time.

But even before the government announced ATV's fate yesterday, the station issued an angry statement promising to fight on and suggesting it might take the case to court.

There were tears in ATV's newsroom in Tai Po yesterday as long-serving staff received the devastating news. Many blamed Wong Ching for all their troubles, accusing him of single-handedly destroying the company. "Why should 700 be damned for one man's sin?" asked veteran actor Frankie Choi Kwok-wai.

As for the man at the centre of the storm, Wong Ching, it was time to wax eloquent yesterday. "Today is the darkest day for Hong Kong, but I am not surprised by this outcome," he said. "This is an inevitable outcome of a series of scheming and conspiracy circulating around the sale of ATV over the past two years ... this is the price [we have to] pay as a media of conscience."


ATV expresses its surprise and anger at the Chief Executive and the Executive Council refusing to renew the license for ATV after an investor had made a confirmation. ATV will continue to fight and does not exclude the possibility of taking legal action. Asia Television Limited, April 1 2015.

Videos:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CBtfy0W1gA (INT News Channel)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNscNqcrMvA (Speakout HK)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jSQ-js9_I (ATV)

If this is the second coming, then there must have been a first coming. Here are some fond memories:

(South China Morning Post)  Ricky Wong denies resigning ATV post.  Ng Kang-chung.  December 16, 2008.

At his inaugural press conference after becoming chief executive, Mr Wong said that as a Hong Kong person he only knew how to run ATV as a local station, and he would not run it like the mainland's state-run China Central Television (CCTV). This reportedly prompted some mainland advertisers to pull their commercials.

At a staff meeting last week, a video-recording of which was posted on YouTube, Mr Cheung said ATV's news treatment should not be like that of Beijing-backed newspapers such as Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao.

Mr Wong also reportedly planned to reform the way the station would handle news, making it more colourful and sensational, a move some news staff at the station described as being "demoralising".

A senior source from ATV said last night Mr Cheung's remarks about the Beijing-friendly newspapers' credibility drew an angry response from the mainland authorities, who demanded an apology. The source said this had sparked a row between the two men. ATV's board would deal with the situation in the next few days. During separate internal meetings, Mr Wong was also said to have told staff that ATV's digital platform should drop CCTV's international Chinese channel.

(Ming Pao) December 15, 2008.

Linus Cheung's public statement was that there were big differences in opinion with Ricky Wong.  Since Cheung did not elaborate on what the differences were, many speculations arose.  A top broadcasting figure said that Cheung ousted Wong for saying on his first day at work that he does not want ATV to become a CCTV.  Those words offended the mainland powers, which applied political and economic pressures.  The other reason was that Wong took a look at the account books and felt discouraged at the terrible shape ATV is in.

But persons familiar with Beijing politics denied the theory about "pressure."  This informed source said that the pro-China camp was unhappy about Wong's public call for "the people of Hong Kong to oppose the mainland."  But so far they are still at the observation stage and there was no move to apply pressure immediately to get ATV shareholder Payson Cha to do anything.

A Hong Kong government official said privately that he received no clue beforehand and only learned about the storm from watching television.  He said that everybody was astonished by what happened.  The gossip was that the officials are most concerned whether the story will be presented as the powers being unhappy with Wong's CCTV statement and therefore had him purged.

Actually, there is another version going around yesterday, and it involves a case of sexual harassment.  Last Friday, Ricky Wong met with the Miss Asia winners.  It was reported that Wong asked the fourth place finisher Bonnie Yuen if her tits were real or fake 「你個波真定假」?  As a result, he was criticized inside and outside the company for sexual harassment.  Since sexual harassment is a crime in Hong Kong, there may be further consequences.

(East Week) December 16, 2008.

In 12 days at ATV, Ricky Wong committed four misdeeds.

(1) Ricky Wong went around the Human Resources Department and sent email notices to the employees for three "Table for Ten" meetings to hold direct dialogues.  He wrote in the email: "I sincerely want to use a direct approach to understand the problems at ATV  I encourage ATV employees to speak directly to me.  Please register with my assistant Jelly.  According to one ATV employee, "He said that he wanted to break bureaucratic practice and hold direct dialogue with the employees.  But he clearly wants people from different departments to stab each other in the back.  How many people will tell him what they really think?  Everybody is scared that they won't be able to destroy others but instead they will destroy themselves!"

The meetings with the workers were later posted on the Internet.  According to an ATV source, "Ricky Wong said that he wanted to make sure that those who did not attend can watch the meetings too.  So he ordered the video of the second meeting be posted on the Internet.  Someone reminded him that this was an internal meeting and that Linus Cheung might have said something that borders on libel.  As such, this could have been released on the company intranet.  However, Ricky Wong was adamant."

In the video, Linus Cheung began by saying that ATV is losing HKD 1 million a day, or more than HKD 300 million per year.  Therefore ATV must reform.

"If we don't reform, we will lose our jobs.  We cannot depend on the Chinese government, or else we become Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po.  They lack public trust in Hong Kong."  Linus Cheung said.

Ricky Wong followed next with a tirade on ATV: "I have never seen an organization that operates so poorly and has neither culture, goals nor communication.  It is so bad.  I can fix this with just 10% or 20% of my several decades of experience."

He emphasized that ATV does not want to become a red CCTV.  "It is a dead end to work for the mainland blokes.  This is not the strength of ATV.  We cannot be compared with mainland television stations on resources and cultural backgrounds."  He wanted to target a middle-class audience:  "There is no way to compete with TVB, unless I buy them out!  We don't have the resources to produce serial drama, so we will not go after that audience."

An informed source said: "The next day, the newspaper reported that he showed contempt about the 'mainland blokes.'  As soon as the word got out, certain Chinese-capital companies got upset.  Someone quickly yanked the video, excised the sensitive portions and reloaded it."

Ricky Wong paid each worker who spoke up HKD 200.  When one of them asked what the new management expected them to do, Ricky Wong upped the reward to HKD 500.  "Do you think money buys everything?  His behavior was repulsive."  One worker said.

(2) The most disturbing thing to the ATV workers was that Ricky Wong brought in five women who knew nothing about television operations.  Maggie, Amanda, Elsa, Jelly and Jessica all came over from City Telecom where they worked in marketing, purchasing overseas programs, buying equipment and cost control.  In the new organization chart at ATV, they rank just below Linus Cheung and Ricky Wong and higher than even the Operations President.  "At the first meeting with the management team, Ricky Wong lined them up in a row and introduced them.  He said: 'These five people represent me.  Whatever they say is what I say.  If they want you to do something, then it is my wish.  You must do it!'"  The five people have no specific job functions, but any one of t hem can order anyone to do anything.

Since the five knew nothing about television operations, they caused chaos.  The workers there have nicked them the "Five Fuwas."  Whenever Ricky Wong holds a meeting, the five are always present.  "They will jot down notes and they will question the managers on behalf of Ricky.  They were like five Ricky's challenging the managers.  At each meeting, Ricky will praised how the five have worked hard to help him and how they understand what he wants.  Everybody is appalled."

Among the five women, Elsa is considered the bitchiest.  "She was like a housekeeper who wants to meddle in everything.  If you tell her something is impossible, she will say: 'Then I will tell Mr. Wong that you said that you can't do it.'  The paychecks require her signature.  She said that all the previous articles in the contracts are going to be voided.  The Human Resources Department told her that all 900 plus employees won't be paid in that case.  Then she signed.  And she goes to the production department to tell them that their work is poor."

(3)  After Linus Cheung and Ricky Wong took charge, they said that they won't produce any more serial drama.  They also called a stop to all new productions after December 4 in order to save money.  By next year, there may be no programs left to snow.  When ATV has no good programs, there is nothing the sales people can sell.

According to an informed source, Ricky Wong also ordered the sales people to refuse mainland advertising.  "He told the sales people to get Hong Kong advertisements.  The sales manager told asked me whether to accept a mainland advertisement worth several dozen million.  Ricky said, 'Not unless that client changes the name of the brand!'"

In order to avoid head-on competition against TVB, Ricky Wong said during the press conference that he wanted to go after niche audiences.  But television veterans did not think that this was feasible.  "First, there are already so many pay cable/satellite television channels showing all sorts of programs.  If you want to be cheap and buy some lousy programs, why should I watch you?  Secondly, the government gives you a license to operate an over-the-air television channel for the masses.  Why are you running niche programs?  Is that acceptable to the government?"

(4) The image of Ricky Wong suffered even more when he met with several Miss Asia winners.  He flippantly asked Bonnie Yuen: "Are your tits fake?" (「你個波真定假」? ). Then he flippantt made fun of Miss Asia runner-up Belinda Yan for having "tiny tits."  Those present were stunned.

Videos:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYbqod69Gh0 (inmediahk) Gangnam-style dancing by ATV's Wong Ching and other employees to oppose issuing more free over-the-air television licenses.

(Bastille Post) March 26, 2015.

ATV's largest shareholder Wong Ching said on Saturday (March 21) that ATV is doomed because the last white knight has formally refused to invest. It is not surprising that Wong Ching is unable to sell ATV, but this interview is taken to be a threat to the government that he is going to shut ATV down.

This is a poker game. During the negotiations, one party complained that the asking price was too high, while the other party said that the offering price was so low that they would rather go bankrupt. More than a year ago, I already reported that someone offered HK$ 500 million but the counter-offer was HK$ 1 billion instead. As time drags on, ATV is worth less and less.

In the interview, Wong Ching said that two white knights offered HK$200 million to HK$300 million to obtain a controlling interest in ATV plus debt obligations. Wong Ching considered the offer to be too low. Perhaps he hopes to squeeze the government to find him a buyer willing to make a better offer. However, it is also possible that the government thinks that ATV is hopelessly dysfunctional with piles of debt and obligations, and therefore they would rather retract the license and open the bidding again.

On this day, HKTV share values rose by 14.7%. It is rumored that Ricky Wong (HKTV) has reached an agreement with Wong Ching, whereupon Ricky Wong purchases 50.1% controlling shares in ATV and then he will seek an extension of the license. If successful, he will pay HK$500 million to HK$600 million to Wong China. If unsuccessful, ATV will be declared bankrupt.

(SCMP) Turn off ATV and turn on HKTV. By Alex Lo. March 28, 2015.

Asia Television does not deserve to live. It's been airing re-runs; its news service staff are badly demoralised and many have left; it has had troubles paying employees and licence fees; and an unnamed white knight has baulked at the absurd HK$700 million price tag major shareholder Wong Ching is demanding.

Any regulators in their right mind would have let it die a richly deserved death long ago. Yet, the Executive Council is still struggling to come up with the semblance of an excuse to renew its licence. Frankly, it's just too bizarre.

If it's because of ATV's pro-Beijing stance, I suggest officials change existing broadcasting ownership laws so China's CCTV can take over. The state-owned station may be a mouthpiece for Beijing, but at least it has the resources to produce some decent news documentaries and historical soap operas.

In two rounds of licensing decisions, local regulators made complete fools of themselves. First, they allowed a financially and intellectually bankrupt TV station to continue. Then they granted new licences to two subsidiaries of i-Cable Communications and PCCW without ascertaining when they would start to provide free-to-air services. So far, both have little or nothing to show for it.

Meanwhile, the one station, Hong Kong Television Network, that actually committed investment, hired hundreds of people - subsequently forced into redundancies - and produced actual new programmes was rejected. HKTV had even promised not to provide any news service that might be politically sensitive.

The sorry excuse officials gave for rejecting HKTV was that it could not demonstrate financial stability and that it did not have the experience of i-Cable and PCCW. Well, financially, see where ATV is now. And in terms of programmes, when will the newly licensed stations start regular broadcasts? As soon as possible, they say.

Well, HKTV has been broadcasting on the internet and smartphones. It has just announced a HK$240 million loss, mostly because it could not charge mainstream advertising rates as a normal TV station. No doubt some officials would cite that as evidence of a lack of financial stability. But they let ATV live!

Kill ATV now and give the licence to HKTV.

And how was HKTV doing? You can see the weekly ratings data for HKTV at OccupyCentral_1.htm#096 plus other commentary. At this time, its average prime time audience is around 0.4%, which is a whole lot less than TVB's 20% to 30% and even less than ATV's 1.0%.

Internet comments:

- (SpeakOutHK) According to a source, the Office of Communications Authority informed ATV about a month ago that their license will not be renewed. At the time, ATV pleaded to give them a chance to come up with a re-structuring plan for re-consideration. The government consulted with its lawyers and allowed ATV until March 30 to do so. However, the government has not received the proposal. On March 31, the Executive Council was scheduled to hold a meeting about the ATV license renewal. On the evening of March 30, Wong Ching failed to procure an agreement with another party. Therefore he decided to assert that he has turned over ATV to Ricky Wong, so as to create pressure on the government to allow more time. According to the HKTV spokesperson, Ricky Wong is away from Hong Kong and out of reach. Therefore, HKTV (as a listed company) has no information on such a deal. According to the source, the government bases its decision on license renewal upon performance history, and ownership is not part of the consideration. Therefore, this was a fake news story all the way.

- Pity the ATV workers. If the deal collapses, ATV goes bankrupt and all 700 of them will become unemployed. If the deal goes through, many of them will be fired (see what happened when Ricky Wong was hired as ATV CEO for 12 days in 2008) and those who are unlucky enough to keep their jobs will have to deal with the Five Bitches of Ricky Wong (Maggie, Amanda, Elsa, Jelly and Jessica).

- If ATV becomes an anti-communist propaganda television station in the manner of Apple Daily/RTHK, they will quickly find that they won't get re-transmitted in Guangdong province. That means they lose the mainland advertising revenues, which currently accounts for 30% to 40% of their total advertising income.

- By the way, just before the deal was announced, ATV sold off all its rights to prior productions in their archive. So this deal is solely to buy a company with a license to operate terrestrial television (pending renewal). Oh, yes, there is some outdated equipment plus what remains of the news staff.

- Ricky Wong has lost HK$240 million on HKTV so far. Now he needs to come up with another HK$ 600 million to pay for ATV. He has a war chest of HKD$2 billion after selling City Telecom. How much will that last if he can't generate significant revenues?

- Ricky Wong's HKTV had opening ratings of about 200,000 viewers. After 17 weeks, the ratings are now more like 50,000 viewers. The initial programs are supposed to be the best of the lot. Acquiring ATV means that HKTV programs can be seen on terrestrial broadcast, but the programs still need to be good enough to attract viewers. That does not seem to be the case now.

- There are ways for the new ATV to attract the audience. Example: At their Miss Asia pageant, they can start asking questions are: "Are you tits fake?" or "Why are your tits so tiny?"


Once upon a time, people demonstrated for Ricky Wong to get a license to operate HKTV. Then they wanted ATV's license not to renewed. Now they want ATV's license to be renewed because Ricky Wong will be its owner.

- After HKTV failed to obtain a license, people have been suggesting that Ricky Wong acquire ATV instead. This finally took place on the last day before the Executive Council decides on the ATV license renewal, because Ricky Wong wanted to maximize his leverage and push the asking price down. Of course, ATV was bleeding to death during the waiting.
- At the time, Ricky Wong said that he preferred to buy a new house than an old one. An old house probably requires lots of repair and maintenance, but less so for a new house. He has just purchased an old house.
- I wonder who was pressuring whom. Could it be instead that Wong Ching knew that Ricky Wong desperately wanted ATV to save HKTV and therefore waited until the last minute to push the offering price up?
- No wonder Ricky Wong has been going anti-Occupy Central in his recent newspaper column articles.

- According to Ming Pao on March 12, 2015, Ricky Wong wrote yesterday that he hated Chief Executive CY Leung once upon a time, but not anymore. He said that if he had been able to obtain the television license, he would have drawn a great response with higher ratings than TVB. But his failure led him to be even more presumptuous and self-important. Since then he has matured and changed his personal image after self-reflection. He no longer thinks money is everything and he can put up with injustice. In closing, he wrote: "If I didn't do this, must I use force like the anti-parallel trader demonstrators in Tuen Mun?"

- East Week came out in the morning on Tuesday (March 31, 2015) with this cover:

HKTV burned through HK$ 1 billion in three years
Ricky Wong in deep hot water
Audience ratings fallen by 75%
Stock price fallen by 40%
Cool response to Internet shopping
Production centre lot unused

- Interestingly, the Executive Council had previously scheduled Tuesday (April 1) morning to discuss the renewal of the ATV license. What would they say? Very simply put, based upon existing information (such as failure to invest HK$2.3 billion as they promised in 2010, to broadcast more programs in HDTV format, to pay the license fees, suppliers and workers) provided to them previously, the ATV license should not be renewed. ATV can probably appeal based upon a change of corporate structure while making sure that all past transgressions are rectified.

- In Hong Kong Economic Times on March 30, 2015, Ricky Wong wrote an analysis of what might happen if ATV closes down.
(1) The government won't give the license to anyone else.
(2) The government will open the license up for application, but the process will take two to three years to complete
(3) The government will give the frequency channels to NOW and Cable TV which has received licenses already.
Of course, this article was a feint. If you believe Ricky Wong 10%, your eyes will go blind.

- According to the Broadcasting Services Act, the government needs to notify the television station 12 months ahead of time that the license will not be renewed. That relevant date for ATV is November 30, 2014. The government has issued no such notice. However, the delay was at the request of ATV, which requested the government not to make any decision until after March 2015 due to possible changes in corporate structure.

- When Ricky Wong could not get a license for HKTV, he hinted obliquely that "a certain man" was the obstacle. People believe that he was referring to Chief Executive CY Leung. Now will "a certain man" obstruct Ricky Wong's quest for ATV?

- In 2008, new ATV CEO Ricky Wong said that he did not want ATV to become the CCTV Channel 10 of Hong Kong. In 2015, if new ATV CEO majority owner Ricky Wong says the same, he will be interfering with editorial independence and freedom of press.

- According what veteran media person Stephen Siu said to Memehk.com, the negotiations between ATV and the potential buyer hinged around whether the Executive Council would renew the license for ATV. Siu said that Ricky Wong will probably pay around HK$500 million, which is HK$100 million higher than what a second bidder was offering. The key to Ricky's successful bid was an agreement with the China Liaison Office. "For example, the China Liaison Office will purchase a small symbolic number of shares and retain the right to veto the appointment of senior managers."

- Actually, Ricky Wong is probably more acceptable to the China Liaison Office than Wong Ching at the helm of ATV. Both are Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference members and therefore part of the 'establishment'.

- Remember the Death of Jiang Zemin? Wong Ching was believed to be behind that dud. With friends like Wong Ching, the China Liaison Office does not need enemies.

- It is extreme egotism for any Hongkonger to think that the Beijing authorities are obsessed with the destiny of ATV. All such speculations are unfounded. Just think: Do you think the Beijing authorities give a rat's ass about Apple Daily? Next Magazine? Boxun? Epoch Times? RTHK? RFA? VOA? So why would ATV be different?

- When this news broke, the first reaction was: Another April fool's joke, like the death of Jiang Zemin? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

- Spoof CCTV Channel 10 news report on April 1: Jiang Zemin announces the death of ATV even as Wong Ching said this was the darkest day of Hong Kong.

This type of dark humor is being threatened by the so-called Internet Article 23 law for Hong Kong. Under that law, this use of the ATV logo and Jiang Zemin's photo would be violation of intellectual property rights.

- Read your history. All of the previous owners of ATV have lost money. Ricky Wong won't be an exception either.

- This is the funniest plot twist of the day. (Bastille Post) In order to raise money to pay salaries, ATV had been selling its assets. It is well-known that ATV sold off the rights to 700 black-and-white movies as well as several thousand hours of serial drama. In addition, they sold off a lot of equipment. This allowed them to raise several tens of million dollars to cover some of the operating expenses. But less known is that ATV sold off the HDTV transmission equipment at the top of the mountains to rival TVB. This means that if and when Ricky Wong takes over, TVB will want to re-negotiate the terms under which ATV is allowed to use the TVB equipment, just as they did when Ricky Wong bought a mobile license from China Mobile (see SCMP). Without those towers, there would be no ATV signals.

- ATV reported on its 6pm news program that ATV major shareholder Wong Ben-koon and principal investor Wong Ching have sold controlling shares to Ricky Wong's HKTV while forgiving most of the debts. By midnight HKTV still hadn't responded. Because HKTV is listed on NASDAQ, trading there was active. By 11:33 EST, HKTV share prices stood at US$ 9.88 compared to the closing price of US$ 7.60 the day before. That is a 30% rise.

So far there has only been the unilateral announcement from ATV. Before the deadline yesterday, the government had not received any information from ATV about any corporate re-structuring proposal. Therefore, the Executive Council meeting at 3pm today may result in termination of the ATV license. Those NASDAQ speculators may be running a huge risk. It is also likely that both NASDAQ and the Hong Kong stock exchanges will be looking to investigate possible insider trading.

- A careful reading of the HKTV statement showed that Wong Ching and Ricky Wong met on March 26, whereupon Ricky Wong offered some conditions for taking over ATV. However, the two sides did not reach an agreement. The ATV announcement states that Wong Ching and others decided to accept the main conditions offered by Ricky Wong. This means that Wong Ching and others unilaterally decided to accept the proposal by Ricky Wong. Literally speaking, ATV is not reporting false news. They were only reporting on the unilateral decision made by Wong Ching and others. This decision is real. But the two sides never signed anything, and that is why HKTV could announce today that there was no signed agreement.
Yesterday was the deadline for ATV to provide the government with a corporate re-organization proposal. The deadline has passed. ATV does not know who (if anyone) will take over, and they don't have any agreements to show. Therefore, they don't have a convincing proposal for the Executive Council. HKTV's denial is the last nail on the coffin for ATV. The Executive Council meeting may result in a termination of ATV's license.

- According to Ming Pao, it happened this way. At 5:50pm, ATV News and Public Affairs vice-president Chan Hing-cheong was informed by Executive Director Yip Ka-po about the exclusive breaking story. Yip used Whatsapp to forward the text of the ATV announcement. Chan got on air personally to deliver the news. There was no reaction from HKTV.
The sequence of events was similar to the 2011 ATV report on the death of Jiang Zemin. During the 6pm live news broadcast, then News Department Executive Vice-president Tam Wai-yee sent the news bulletin to the newscaster.

- At 14:08 on April 1st, 2015, Derek Lai Kar-yan of Deloitte who was appointed by the court to supervise ATV held a press conference to declare that Wong Ben-koon and Wong Ching have signed an agreement (including price and future operations) with an investor. He emphasized that the situation is different from whatever was previously reported. Lai said that the agreement will take effect only if ATV succeeds in getting its license renewed. Lai did not disclose the identity of this investor.
During the press conference, Lai said that he couldn't name the investor but waved a copy of the signed agreement. Reporters spotted the name AID Partners. This is Kelvin Wu's company which recently purchased HMV's operations in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Lai was asked about ATV's announcement yesterday. He said that he was informed one or two hours beforehand. He said that the transaction was not approved by Deloitte. He referred all questions to ATV. However, he says that he does not think that it was a deliberate lie.

The agreement was signed between the two Wongs and AID Partners at around 11am. The Deloitte press conference was held at around 2pm. But look at the stock price for AID partners. It began rising just after noon, reaching as much as 22% higher. So someone was trading on inside information.
What kind of company is AID partners? Its 2014 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is HK$ -92.2 million. So it is made just for ATV -- one loser marries another loser.

- Derek Lai of Deloitte was very unprofessional. He said that he does not have permission to disclose the identity of the "white knight." Then he waves a document in which the name AID Partners was clearly visible to all those present.

- (Bastille Post) When Derek Lai held the press conference, the Executive Council was already meeting. One of the items on the agenda is the AID Partners letter of agreement. According to information, the deal with Kelvin Wu (AID Partners) was worth HK$550 million to be paid in three steps. The buyer was entitled to take back the initial payment of HK$50 million. The second payment of HK$ 350 million was due one month later, contingent upon the government renewing the license. The third payment of HK$150 million was due one year later when no other problems arise. Three years later, if ATV is worth HK$500 million in market value, an extra HK$150 million would be paid. However, this list of conditions were vague. For example, was the initial payment already paid? If not, when will it be paid? Such basic information was missing. The buyer could take back the initial payment anytime? This document is at most some statement of intention, and is not a done deal. Furthermore, the document was dated March 31. At the press conference, Derek Lai said that it was signed at 11am on April 1st. In the end, the Executive Council decided not to renew the license for ATV.

- As for the "white knight" AID Partners, they are a venture capital company that is making a cost-free bet that the ATV license will be renewed. On one hand, if license is renewed, the asset will be worth something and they will look for a buyer to sell at a profit. On the other hand, if the license is now renewed, then they walk away freely because the agreement would be voided. The corporate history of AID Partners showed no experience in running a television station.

- ATV threatens to take the government to court over the denial of license renewal. Which law firm is willing to take up the case? Any company with a conscience would pay its workers before its lawyers. So that law firm will be performing pro bono work for a lost cause. If ATV can't pay its workers, they will seek employment elsewhere. What is the point of a ghost company winning the court case many years later? The more immediate problem is paying the workers for the month of March.

- Formally speaking, the government has issued a notice of non-renewal of license to ATV. ATV has to continue operations for 12 months before stopping. If ATV stops earlier than that, its license may be revoked immediately. What are Wong Ching's options?
Option 1: Continue operations for 12 months in accordance with the law, spend a lot more money on salaries (@HK$ 14 million a month) and other expenses even as revenues dwindle down to nothing.
Option 2: Stop operations as soon as possible and sell of everything (intellectual property rights, equipment, land).
That second option looks better every day.

- (The Stand) The Journalist Association issued a statement on Facebook. They point out that the ATV 6pm news broadcast reported that ATV majority shareholder Wong Ben-koon and principal investor Wong China have transferred their controlling shares to HKTV chairman Ricky Wong. The next morning, HKTV said that Ricky Wong has made no such agreement. The Journalist Association expressed its strong dissatisfaction that the ATV investors would use the ATV news department as a personal tool to release unconfirmed information as trustworthy news reporting.

- The Executive Council meeting took 3-1/2 hours (from 1pm to 430pm) on a single topic, because they had to make sure that every step that the Communications Authority took was in accordance with the law. This is what CY Leung referred to as "procedural justice". They also reviewed the plans to cover various contingencies. For example, if ATV ceases operations immediately, the 700 or so workers will have to be looked after.

- ATV expresses surprise and anger at the Exco decision not to renew its license? Hmmm. Please refer to the Five Stages of Loss and Grief:

1. Denial and isolation
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

- ATV Executive VP Lau Lan-cheong said that if the license bidding were to restart, ATV would stand a good chance because they already own terrestrial signal transmission equipment. Sorry, that is wrong. Because as soon as the license expires, the government can re-purchase the said equipment at a fair market price determined by arbitration.

- (Speakout HK)

Less than one hour after ATV announced the news at 6pm on March 31, Legislative Councilor Claudia Mo Man-ching (Civic Party) reacted: "Now that Ricky Wong has invested in ATV and dedicate himself to running the television station, there should be no problem with ATV getting its license renewed."
Now that HKTV has denied that Ricky Wong is investing in ATV on April 1, the same Claudia Mo said: "I regret that it took so many hours before Ricky Wong and HKTV made the clarification."

Wow wow wow. As the Internet saying goes, you should not follow the preceding car too closely. When a piece of weird 'news' appears, you should spend some time thinking about whether it is plausible first before staking out a position. When you make a rash blunder, it is your fault. Don't blame others for not pointing it out to you.

- (Speakout HK) Did the government rush to judgment too soon?

... Last November, the Communications Authority recommended the government not to renew the ATV license. But at the time, the High Court had just appointed a new manager to re-organize ATV and seek new investors. Therefore, the Executive Council delayed its decision.

This January, ATV wrote to ask the government and the Communications Authority to postpone the deadline. At the time, the government consulted legal advice and was told that the government should give ATV reasonable time to re-organize. That was why the deadline became March 31 this year instead of November last year.

Why is ATV in such dire straits today? Does it lack money to operate? No. The problem is that the shareholders are squabbling with each other. As a result, ATV sometimes has the money on hand but refuses to pay its salaries in order to generate public pressure in order to influence the negotiations among shareholders. On March 31, the principal shareholder even used the ATV news department to release a false news story about Ricky Wong becoming an investor. Of course, the victims are the ATV workers who did not get paid regularly and will now lose their jobs (if not immediately, then certainly within a year).

- (Sing Tao) April 3, 2015.

On the evening of March 31, ATV reported an exclusive story that the majority shareholders Wong Ben-koon and Wong Ching have decided to accept HKTV chairman Ricky Wong's offer and sold their shares. This became the last straw that sealed the Executive Council's decision not to renew ATV's license.

Why did Wong Ching released this self-destructive piece of news? According to informed source, this was the action of a spoiled brat. On the day before, Deloitte had already reached a deal with AID Partners managing director Kelvin Wu. But that agreement contained a clause in which AID Partners have to pay HK$50 million to the major shareholders but which has to refunded if the license is not renewed. Wong did not want to refund anything under any circumstances.

The two sides were in a stalemate. Wong Ching decided to play his trump card and released information to the effect that he was selling to Ricky Wong. The next day, HKTV denied that such an agreement exists. Wong Ching met with AID Partners and finally reached their deal. But the whole affair had already stirred the whole city up, to the point where the Executive Council could only deny the license renewal.

According to this informed source, the Executive Council meeting could have been held after the Easter vacation. If a white knight emerges and ATV can submit a new plan, the Executive Council could have asked the Communications Authority to re-evaluate. Actually, the Executive Council was undecided about how to proceed. There was even a proposal to give ATV a provisionary extension of three years to straighten itself out. But with Wong Ching's rash actions of the day, it was over.

According to former ATV Executive Director James Shing (who happens to be Wong Ching's cousin), Wong Ching got overly confident and made the wrong bet. He said that Wong Ching was funding ATV for the past five years to the tune of HK$ 14 million a month. This is equivalent to throwing a HK$ 500,000 Mercedes-Benz down into the ocean every day. "No matter how successful this entrepreneur is, he must be going nuts."

Addendum: (SCMP) Hong Kong advertisers fear loss of competition with demise of ATV. April 11, 2015.

Advertising industry veterans in Hong Kong are urging the government to decide as soon as possible on the reallocation of the free-to-air spectrum to ensure fair and open competition in the television market.

They say that with ATV out of the picture and its analogue spectrum to be taken over by public broadcaster RTHK - which does not take advertising - TVB will be the only option for high-penetration television ads.

They estimated that more advertising money will go to digital online platforms - which have already increased 50 per cent, from HK$1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2014 to HK$2.7 billion, in the first quarter of this year.

Estimates of industry advertising spending obtained by the South China Morning Post - based on the pre-discount price tag listed on rate cards - show that TVB's Chinese Jade channel, available via analogue spectrum, is the dominant player among all television stations.

However, estimated advertising spending on TVB Jade in the first quarter this year dropped by nearly 4 per cent from the first quarter of last year.

ATV, which had been urging advertisers to place ads with the beleaguered station to pay staff, saw a nearly 79 per cent jump in the estimated ad spend in the first quarter of 2015 to HK$350.86 million - from HK$196.32 million in the first quarter of 2014. But the increase is still small compared with TVB Jade's HK$3.98 billion.

Melanie Lo Ka-wai, chairwoman of the media committee of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong, said TVB's dominance had been a long-time issue, but she expected it would be worse in the future, after ATV's licence expired in November.

"If RTHK is going to take over ATV's analogue spectrum, advertisers are left with no option, because RTHK doesn't take ads. It is confusing," Lo said. She added that despite the government awarding a 12-year free-TV licence to PCCW's Hong Kong Television Entertainment Company, it would have limited access because it would be transmitted via a fixed network covering 65 per cent of the households in its first year. Analogue, however, can reach 99 per cent of the city's population. Some 480,000 households can receive analogue signals only.

Ray Wong, CEO of media agency PHD, said advertisers would soon have to come up with their media buying plan for 2016. He said the government must introduce a player that could be an effective competitor to TVB as soon as possible. "If there is no competition [in the TV industry], there is no talking point to draw the audience back to watching television," Wong said.

"If RTHK has no resources and keeps repeating its programmes from decades ago, it will be no different from ATV. "The significant increase in internet advertising shows that the traditional terrestrial TV market is shrinking," Wong said.

(Oriental Daily) March 28, 2015.

At 5:58pm on September 28, 2014, the Hong Kong police fired the first tear gas canister in Admiralty. This led to a large number of citizens rushing into the street, and Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay became Occupy zones. Today is the half-year anniversary of the eent. About 200 persons gathered in the remaining tent area in Admiralty. At 5:58pm this afternoon, they raised their yellow umbrellas for the countdown. When the count went down to zero, they chanted the "I want genuine universal suffrage" slogan.

According to a member of the 2047 Hong Kong Monitor group, there are still more than 100 tents along Tim Mei Road. But he admitted that most Occupy persons have to earn a living and therefore they do not stay in the tents for long periods of time. Fewer than 25 persons stay there for the long term.

(Oriental Daily) March 28, 2015.

At around 8pm, a group called Umbrella University held a discussion forum in the Legislative Council demonstration area. Legislative Councilor Cheung Chiu-hung and several other guests showed up to discuss the roles played by different persons during the Umbrella Movement. About 30 to 40 demonstrators stayed until 10pm. They talked and folded yellow ribbons.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MpH5P59U7U (dbc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzKVHAsiY5U (dbc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ17idWcWTo (dbc)

Internet comments:

- A half-year anniversary? Wikipedia on "Anniversary": An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same date of the year as the initial event. Only Yellow Ribbons can come up with the idea of a half-year anniversary, just as they came up with the idea of a hunger strike with glucose and Pocari served on the side.
- On April 28th, we will be holding the 7/12-th anniversary, etc.
- "You need to check into the Castle Peak Psychiatric Hospital"

- Fond memories of the Yellow Ribbon zombies:

- The Ching Ming Festival is approaching, and Hongkongers are out early to sweep the graves of the deceased Umbrella Revolution/Umbrella Movement/Occupy Central.

- According to SCMP (March 25, 2015), the Umbrella Movement Tents Population Census showed that there are 147 tents. The total number of persons present today was less than 200. Are the attendees also tent dwellers? Are the tents mostly unoccupied? Or are they outsiders who came in to take photos to post on Facebook for the sake of Likes? Whatever. This is truly pathetic.

- Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme reported that 1.2 million persons participated in Occupy Central. But fewer than 200 showed up for the half-year anniversary?

- When I read "200", I thought a "000" must be missing behind it. Oh, Apple Daily will probably cite the organizer's claim of 200,000 anyway.

- There were 200 people on Tim Mei Road, and another 198,000 shoppers at the Times Square (Causeway Bay) mall.

- If 37 votes can represent all Hong Kong university students in the recent Hong Kong Federation of Students election, then 147 can surely represent 7 million Hongkongers.

- (The Guardian, December 11, 2014)  There was no danger of missing the parting message from Hong Kong’s protesters on Thursday. It was chanted as they awaited arrest, spelt out in gold balloons, chalked on to the road and formed in giant letters made from their discarded tents: “We’ll be back.”

On this day, they did come back. All two hundred strong, hoisting yellow umbrellas tall and proud. Where are the rest? They are home, hoisting white flags.

- The attendees raised yellow umbrellas. The District Council elections will be held this November. I wonder how many candidates will be holding up yellow umbrellas in order to grovel for votes.

- It's been raining in the morning this week, and the umbrellas are out. How many of them were yellow ones?

- Pan-democrats are already passing out pamphlets and flyers at the train stations. However, I notice that they scrupulously avoid any political party logo or identification, and hence anything about the Umbrella Revolution. They are running stealth campaigns. They hope that they can run under the radar. We will not forget, and we will not let them forget. We will ask each candidate: Are you for or against Occupy Central? An evasive response ("Occupy Central has nothing to do with District Council affairs") will be taken as "for". We will not vote for anyone who says "for".

- WE WILL NOT FORGET ... the 79 days in which these Yellow Ribbon zombies took over parts of our city.
- WE WILL NOT FORGET ... the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union telling students not to go to school, but most students showed up anyway.
- WE WILL NOT FORGET ... Lee Cheuk-yan calling for a citywide workers and business strike, but almost all workers and business showed up for work anyway.

- How come nobody hung a banner down from Lion Rock today? Did the money guys cut off the funding?

- A very strange lot. They decry tear gas as violent suppression. They prefer to get clobbered in their heads by police batons.

- Occupy Central is far from dead. I went to Asia Society today, and I passed the Occupy British Consulate General Group site on the way. These Occupy British Consulate demonstrators are made of much sterner stuff than the Occupy Central demonstrators. Let's hope they persist until the United Kingdom reclaims sovereignty over Hong Kong.

- Addendum: Sorry, buddy, they left the next day. You were among the last few people to have seen them.

(Wen Wei Po) March 27, 2015.

Even though the illegal Occupy Central is over, the fallout continues. This includes the so-called anti-parallel traders campaigns run by the radical elements in the opposition camp. DAB legislator Elizabeth Quat said yesterday that one of the reasons for these violent demonstrations filled with lawbreaking and hatred is that people believe that the courts will deal leniently with the troublemakers. She said: "Some Hong Kong citizens tell me that they think during and after Occupy Central, the police would arrest people and then the judges would release them. This encouraged the extremists to act."

(Ming Pao) March 28, 2015.

Yesterday, 30-year-old Billy Chiu of the Self-Determination Party of Tibet and Hong Kong appeared in court on the charge of assaulting a police officer on November 27 last year at the intersection of Soy Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street South (Mong Kok district). Chiu asked for more time to collect evidence, including video segments taken by the police and the media. The magistrate questioned whether it was necessary to collect more unnecessary evidence. Chiu's lawyer said that the police have shown over-reaction or even abuse towards the demonstrators. As an example, a defendant in a similar case was able to produce a video taken by a citizen to establish his innocence. This means that a video is essential because it is left to the assertion of the police otherwise.

The magistrate asked the defendant's lawyer: "When I consider a case, do I have to consider the doubts from the public? There was a news report yesterday that a political party said: "The police arrest someone and the judges release him." Do I need to consider that? Every case has its unique circumstances. When the court has to decide whether a defendant is guilty or not, it will be based on the evidence produced in court." The magistrate thought that the defendant's request would make the case more complicated, besides being a waste of time. Nevertheless, in fairness to the defendant, the magistrate approved the application and postponed the trial until April 24.

But sometimes the police make an arrest and the magistrate does come out expeditiously with a guilty verdict. Here is an incident as recorded by multiple cameras on October 4, 2014:

- (RTHK) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBLq0CHT1wI
- (NOW TV) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R8aCyDA0jc
- (Apple Daily) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCQtFUsjnvE
- (Ming Pao) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCKJcDcs7lg
- (ATV) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E31s4iq6KnQ Interview with the victim

(Apple Daily) March 26, 2015.

The man who hit the RTHK reporter will have to serve four weeks in jail. Yesterday morning, the 56-year-old defendant So Sze-kit looked grim. He had earlier pleaded guilty to assault, and he was probably more displeased after hearing the sentence.

Last year in Occupy Mong Kok, the defendant swung his fist against the reporter Mak Ka-wai. The reporter wanted to know why Mak was hitting him. The defendant threw another punch, causing the eyeglasses of the reporter to fly off. Mak was injured in the face, and required three stitches over his left eyebrow.

Yesterday the defendant's lawyer asked the magistrate to review the media videos. The lawyer said that the defendant hit Mak only once and did not leave any permanent damage. The magistrate said that the defendant was upset that the reporter's camera hit him and wanted to push the camera away. However, the defendant has low education level and ultimately hit the reporter in the forehead once. Even though the defendant had 12 prior records, those were mild cases that took place more than 15 years ago and therefore had no bearing on this case. However, someone was injured in this case and therefore a punishment must be imposed. Therefore, the magistrate imposed a jail sentence of 4 weeks. In addition, the defendant has to pay Mak Ka-wai and RTHK more than $3,000 to compensate for property damages (eyeglasses and camera). As for Mak's personal injury, that would have to go through the civil courts.

Mak Ka-wai said that based on the severity of the case, the penalty could have been harsher. But compared to previous cases in which those persons who assault reporters were simply released, this sentence is relatively heavy already and should have a cautionary message that Hong Kong is not some place where you can beat up other people at will.

Internet comments:

- This is selective judgment. When those anti-parallel trade demonstrators beat up the music-playing grandpa, nobody went to jail. When Captain America pushed two different grandpas onto the ground on two different occasions, he only had to sign a good-behavior bond. When the Polytechnic University student attacked the government website, he was give a suspended sentence.

- This is a very light sentence. Meanwhile the guy who stole some chocolates was sentenced to two months in jail. His lawyer pleaded that his client was the sole care provider for his infirmed parents, but nothing could dissuade the stone-cold heart of the magistrate.

- It is wrong to hit people. That is a truism like saying your mother is a woman. Nevertheless the series of court verdicts has caused the rift between different camps in society to widen. The courts have their explanations for individual cases, but those professional presentations do not affect common perceptions. It is like as if the judges want us to trust them and not our own lying eyes.

- I watched all of the videos. The reporter was harassing the retired uncle. He deserves to be punched. That's all there is to it.

- Nowadays there are usually more reporters than demonstrators plus police at Hong Kong demonstrators. It seems that everybody with a smart phone is automatically a civilian journalist for some Facebook group or the other. In the previous case, a female spectator came forth with her video to clear the defendant against an assault charge against a police officer. But it is telling that there are plenty of videos on Yellow-on-Blue assaults in which the video owners refuse to testify (thus nullifying the videos as court evidence). See, for example, Shopping Revolutionaries versus Reactionaries.

- Earlier three arrestees appeared in court: A 16-year-old Form Four student named Lam Chun-kit, a 16-year-Form Three student named Kwok Ho-pun and 1 21-year-old third-year university student named Chan Ming-fung. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNWG_e_GQjY Lam said that the police beat him up in the van, and then made him let them search his home, thus scaring his younger sister into tears. Kwok said that the police used foul language and put their feet on his head. Down at the station, he was punched to the ground by a police officer. "Don't take too many pictures of me. I suspect that some Blue Ribbon want to assault me now. I am somewhat afraid. Therefore, I am very careful when I go out. Are there any Blue Ribbons around here?" The magistrate Lee Ya-chi said: "Anyone who passes through should be treated as a guest. Many Hongkongers travel overseas, and they surely don't want to be treated the same way." He also added that "anti-parallel trader demonstrations are getting more vigorous, and the actions of the demonstrators are disappointing." The three individuals were allowed out on $3,000 bonds. They will re-appear in court on May 5th.
What do you think they will get? A $500 fine for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer is my bet.

(Fortune) Fortune's World's Greatest Leaders: 50 intrepid guides for a messy world. By Geoff Colvin. March 25, 2015.

Leung Chun-ying is the leader of Hong Kong. As chief executive, he signs bills into law, issues executive orders, appoints and removes judges and other public officials, and pardons convicted criminals. He’s the leader—except that last fall well over 100,000 Hong Kongers chose dramatically not to follow him. When they learned that the 2017 election for Leung’s position would not be free and democratic, as authorities had previously suggested, they poured into the streets and followed Joshua Wong, then 17, who had started a pro-democracy student group. Leung, 60, commanded a vast city administration, including police wielding pepper spray and truncheons. Wong had a cellphone. Yet the protesters paralyzed Hong Kong for three months, Leung’s already low approval ratings plunged to their lowest ever, and Wong landed on the cover of Time’s Asia edition, which called him the “Voice of a Generation.”

So who’s the real leader? The answer is obvious: Leung has the leader’s job, but he doesn’t have leadership. Wong is the one who demonstrated that—which is why he’s the one on our 2015 roster of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.

...

Most deeply, people still want to be led. They understand instinctively that no group achieves anything worthwhile without someone in charge. That’s why, especially in crises, people inevitably rally around a leader. What’s strikingly new is that in a radically more open, more connected world, that leader could be the designated authority—or it could be a 17-year-old kid with a cellphone.

(Fortune) World's Greatest Leaders

#10. Joshua Wong. Activist, Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Movement

Slight, and with a bowl cut and black-framed eyeglasses, the 18-year-old Wong doesn’t look like Hollywood’s idea of a charismatic rebel leader. But Wong, a co-founder of the student-activist group Scholarism, was one of the most compelling figures in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy “Umbrella Revolution” last year. His nonviolent protest message and energetic idealism galvanized crowds that, over months, numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

Internet comments:

- Fortune magazine? Remember these articles?

The Death of Hong Kong. By Louis Kraar and Joe McGowan. June 26, 1995. ["The naked truth about Hong Kong's future can be summed up in two words: It's over."]

Oops! Hong Kong is hardly dead. By Sheridan Prasso. June 28, 2007. ["Back in 1995, Fortune predicted the downfall of Hong Kong once it was handed over to China. But in 2007, the city is thriving more than ever, says Fortune's Sheridan Prasso."]

- Scholarism is an undemocratic group involving less than 100 'students' in Hong Kong. Joshua Wong is the 'convener'/'founder' and Supreme Leader. All their official spokespersons have resigned since, because whatever they say can be superseded by their Supreme Leader at will. So there is nothing for the spokepersons to speak of. If the Hong Kong government is run in the same manner as Scholarism, we're all fucking screwed.

- He is such a great leader that the United States should make him the governor of Guam (or something).

- Joshua Wong as a global leader? Why is this coming out now? It isn't April 1st yet.

- Let it be noted that the Fortune list of leaders also included: #3 Xi Jinping; #4 Pope Francis; #6 Taylor Swift; #18 Bill and Melinda Gates; #25 Mark Zuckerberg; #26 Yao Ming; #27 Jeff Bezos; #29 Lei Jun; #31 Lebron James; #48 Richard Liu.
Some notable omissions: Jesus Christ (deceased but also immortal); Buddha (deceased but also immortal); Barack Obama; Vladamir Putin; Bibi Netanyahu; Shinzo Abe; Jack Ma (Alibaba); Pony Ma (Tencent); Malala Yousafzai; Dalai Lama; Rebiya Kadeer; Ma Ying-jeou.
- Never mind Joshua Wong, but in what way is ex-NBA basketball pro Yao Ming a greater leader than Barack Obama? This is truly unfathomable.
- If Joshua Wong is in tenth place, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (ISIS) should be in first place because he has led many more people to follow his cause.
- When did they vote on this list? Was it one-person-one-vote with civil nomination?

- Fortune magazine ranked Joshua Wong as a global leader. On March 25, 2015, Protest Times (Hong Kong) reported that the referendum at Hong Kong's top forum Golden Forum found that almost 90% of voters considered Joshua Wong to be a political hack, who is chased around like a rat in the street.

- Joshua Wong was facing off a police force whose maximum force so far was tear gas on one occasion. Fortune magazine comes from the United States of America, where tear gas is a matter of routine (for example, Ferguson). They routinely shoot and kill black people there.

- If Barack Obama can get a Nobel Peace Prize, then anything is possible.

- "His nonviolent message?" On December 1st, Joshua Wong instructed students/activists to lay siege to Government Headquarters. Here is what happened:

(SpeakOut HK) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gisNixIsJZk Regimentized quality of the demonstrations. At the bottom of the stairwell from Tamar Park to Lung Wo Road, shields were passed from the back to the front.
0:03 (Public announcement system): Friends, this is the appeal from Scholarism. Our action tonight has non-violence as the principle. Non-violence as the principle.
0:14 (slogan chanting) Surround Government Headquarters. Surround Government Headquarters. Surround Government Headquarters. Surround Government Headquarters. Escalate action. Escalate action. Surround Government Headquarters. Escalate action.
0:31 (female voice): Everybody continue ahead. Tonight we will surround Government Headquarters and the Chief Executive's Office. Right now, we are crossing Tamar Park towards Lung Wo Road.
0:42 (Police): To avoid causing physical harm to people, please do not push forward.
0:51 [shield being passed from the rear towards the front line people]
0:52 (Demonstrator): Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop!
1:00 (Demonstrators) Chu King-lun! Keeps a mistress. Chu King-lun! Keeps a mistress. Chu King-lun! Keeps a mistress. Chu King-lun! Keeps a mistress.
1:10 (Demonstrators) Open the road! Open the road! Open the road! Open the road! Open the road! Open the road! Open the road! Open the road!
1:26 (Police): Will the people up front not charge at the police defensive line? There are many people on the stairway. Do not push forward. Because it may affect the safety of everybody."
1:38 (Demonstrator using megaphone): If you continue to suppress our right to proceed to the front of the Chief Executive's Office to lay siege for a little bit, we will use our own method to get out.
1:45 (Demonstrator): Will the police show some restraint and retreat!?
1:46 (Police): Please do not charge at the police defensive line. Thank you for your cooperation.
1:55 (Demonstrator using megaphone): Friends up front! Friends up front! Our fellow warriors! Do we want to get out there!?
1:58 (Crowd): We do!
2:00 (Demonstrator using megaphone): Do you want to get out there!?
2:01 (Crowd):  YES!
2:02 (Demonstrator using megaphone): Are you determined?
2:02 (Crowd): YES!
2:04 (Demonstrator using megaphone): One! Two! Three!
[Crowd surges forward.]
2:11 (Crowd): Open the road! ...
[Subtitle: So much for the Federation of Students' plea "to stick to the principle of non-violence and not to provoke or charge at the police."]

Throughout the violent clashes that evening, Joshua Wong was very nonviolent because he was comfortably housed in the Legislative Council building, watching the live television coverage while eating instant noodles/

P.S. Joshua Wong also let students on a hunger strike during which he sneaked in some Pocari and glucose. By his personal example, he has given a new meaning to the term "hunger strike."

- This will drive the the Federation of Students leaders Alex Chow and Lester Shum, the Occupy Central trio and pan-democratic legislative councilors crazy, because a dyslexic teenager is a global leader and they are not.

(Apple Daily with video) Four new makeover looks per Hong Kong fashion designer Makin Ma and his MJM brand. March 26, 2015.

Internet comments:

- I like the older version much better. (see (TVB) News report on the occupation of Civic Plaza on September 26, 2014).

- Apple Daily called this process "detoxification." Well, he is still toxic afterwards. As the saying goes, a dickhead will always be a dickhead. By the way, was he having a hard time pooping in the second photo? And he looks retarded in the wrong-sized clothes in the third photo.

- A dickhead by any other name is still a dickhead.

- Actually it doesn't matter what the designer can do, because Joshua Wong will always be the River Child poster child in my mind.

- Excuse me, was this a man pretending to be a monkey? Or a monkey pretending to be a man?

- Well, he should go back to the standard Yellow Ribbon dress code: black ninja hoodie, black jeans, black boots, black socks, black gloves and black surgical mask to avoid identification by the police.

- This new look is only going to misdirect the focus. Are you fighting for democracy/human rights/freedom/liberty/universal suffrage? Or are you doing a photo shoot or making a music video? Which is it?

- Why so much publicity about Joshua Wong in the last few days after going MIA for months? Is he really launching his campaign to run for District Council and/or Legislative Council?

(New Left Review 92) March-April 2015. Scholarism on the March. Joshua Wong.

Can you tell us something about your family background?

My parents come from Hong Kong’s lower class, who mostly live in public-housing estates or villages. But they studied hard, did well in their exams, and got into Hong Kong University. With their degrees they were able to find jobs in middle-class occupations—my father with an it company, my mother in family counselling. So I was brought up in a typical Hong Kong middle-class family, on a private housing estate. I was born in 1996, the year before Hong Kong’s handover. My family is Christian, and I went to a Christian school. The culture of the city was very conservative, built around the idea of individual success. Once when I asked a teacher how we could contribute to society, she told the class: ‘You can join a multi-national corporation and when you are wealthy you can give donations to the poor.’ That was a typical outlook.

How important has the Christian background of your family been for your outlook? What church does the family belong to?

My family belongs to the Christian Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong. The denomination of the church is not important, because Hong Kong people do not choose church membership for theological reasons. My parents went to this church because it was close to home, and because I went to the kindergarten affiliated to it. I started going to church when I was three years old. Christianity teaches me that the most powerful being is God. No human being can have supreme power over other human beings, and no one is perfect because all of us have original sin. There are many high officials and legislators who are also Christians, so religion does not have the same effect on everyone. For me, the teaching of Christianity has laid a good foundation to be concerned about elderly people who live alone, and many other social justice issues. In addition, I saw the film Jesus Christ in China. From the time I was in primary school, I realized that it was very difficult to have religious freedom under a Communist regime, and that quantifiable material things should not be the goal of our lives. Rather, we should be prepared to make sacrifices for values and beliefs. The church has also had a big impact on my organizational capacity. Every Christmas and Easter there are large-scale activities, parties, shows and cell groups. When I was a senior high student, I had to lead junior high students in Bible classes. I learned how to lead small group meetings and games, as well as public speaking. I got these skills by being involved in the church. It so happens that there are about two or three hundred high-school and college students at my church, out of about a thousand members in all, because it’s located in the Central and Western District, with a high density of the so-called ‘famous schools’.

When and how did you become politicized?

When I was fourteen, there was a campaign in Hong Kong against building a high-speed rail link to China. That was in 2009–10, and caught my attention. I read the news about it, and followed the arguments on the internet but as an observer, not a participant. The turning point for me was the announcement in the spring of 2011 that a compulsory course in ‘Moral and National Education’ would be introduced into the school curriculum over the next two years. In May, I founded an organization with a few friends that we were soon calling Scholarism, to fight against this. We began in a very amateur way, handing out leaflets against it at train stations. But quite soon there was a response, and opposition built up. This was the first time in Hong Kong’s history that secondary-school pupils had become actively involved in politics. We opposed the new curriculum because it was a blatant attempt at indoctrination: the draft course hailed the Communist Party of China as a ‘progressive, selfless and united organization’. Secondary-school students didn’t want this kind of brainwashing. But they also didn’t want an additional subject of any kind, on top of their already heavy course loads, so even those who didn’t care much about the content of Moral and National Education were against it, and came out in large numbers on the demonstrations we organized.

Were you surprised by the speed and scale of the response?

Yes. Three months after Scholarism started, we organized a petition to the government demanding the withdrawal of the programme. A team of 200 volunteers stood outside train stations in ten districts, six to eight hours a day in 30-degree heat, collecting signatures. In ten days, 100,000 people signed the petition. Initially, there had been no media interest in Scholarism, and even the teachers’ union paid little attention to us. But this soon changed, especially after I was interviewed on television with lots of microphones in front of me, and showed I could handle that. All this attracted some of the political parties to our cause, and drew growing support among Hong Kong people generally.

Scholarism was born in May 2011, between the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt at the beginning of the year and the occupation of Wall Street that autumn. Did either of those movements have any significance for you?

No, these events had no impact on us. I was aware of them, but their demands and methods were so different from the anti-National Education movement that they were not part of our political imagination. In 2011, the general public in Hong Kong did not understand the meaning of ‘civil disobedience’, and we had no interest in the Arab Spring or Occupy Wall Street. When Scholarism was first established, we were just thinking of distributing flyers on the street.

In March 2012 came the election of C. Y. Leung as the new Chief Executive of the territory. Did it have any impact on the movement?

Yes, it dramatized the undemocratic system of rule in Hong Kong. The two leading candidates for the post were both multi-millionaires, and the choice between them was made by just 1,200 people. Leung had been picked at the last minute by Beijing, and was widely regarded as the worse of the two—more cunning and ruthless, and a secret member of the ccp itself. His election undoubtedly aroused a lot of anxiety and anger, which his performance in office has only confirmed. It helped radicalize the popular mood. In July 2012, a big march uniting a wide range of political and civic organizations drove home our demand for the withdrawal of National Education. The government turned a deaf ear. So in September, with all other avenues of protest exhausted, we turned to direct action, mobilizing 120,000 people for a demonstration at the Hong Kong Government Offices, with three of our members starting a hunger strike in the park opposite. Elections to the Legislative Assembly were due in mid-September: twenty-four hours before they were held, the government capitulated, putting the programme on hold.

You were still just fifteen at the time, leading this huge mass movement. Was that experience your only political education, or did some of it come from reading books or pamphlets?

Four years ago, I read no books at all. Like any other Hong Kong teenager, I just played computer games. I learnt about politics online, following arguments among social activists on the internet and looking at how the different parties among the Pan-Democrats were failing to organize any effective opposition in the city. You could say Facebook was my library. I like reading Wang Dan’s work; I met him when I visited Taiwan.

To what extent is the Chinese student uprising of 1989 a background influence for popular consciousness in Hong Kong—a quarter of a century later, there are still mass commemorations of June Fourth every year?

That’s true. The memory of June Fourth is very much alive. But you shouldn’t overestimate its political meaning. The candle-lit vigils have become a kind of ritual. They are moved more by emotional pity for the victims of 1989 than by solidarity with their actions. You could see the same kind of reaction for our three-person hunger strike in the park by the Government Offices. The same cry went up: ‘Protect the students!’ The belief is that adults should protect young people. Actually, it was we who were protecting them, not the other way around.

What was the next step for Scholarism, after your victory in forcing the government to abandon Moral and National Education?

The curriculum was withdrawn, but it was clear that the project behind it—spreading the influence of the ccp in Hong Kong through business, media, education—hadn’t been. If we didn’t take action, it would come back. To stop that, we needed direct elections to the Legislative Council and the right of all citizens to nominate candidates for the post of Chief Executive. So we organized around these two demands.

How did you view your chances of success in launching this campaign—crossing traditional red lines for Beijing?

Well, of course we couldn’t calculate the odds in advance, and we knew that the Pan-Democrats set the bar very low. Basically, their demand was just the minimum requirement for a democratic election, that everyone should have an equal vote in choosing the Chief Executive. They had lost every time they tried to put up a struggle, and were quite pessimistic. They had very limited hopes. Based on my experience, I was optimistic. We felt we had just won a big victory, and should be aiming for another: not merely the right to vote directly for the Chief Executive, but also to choose who would be the candidates. The Pan-Democrats regarded that as impossible. In early 2013, Benny Tai, a professor of law at Hong Kong University, initiated a movement to Occupy Central with Love and Peace. He invited me to a restaurant for a meal, and told me over lunch that I was too idealistic—there was no sense in demanding civic nomination of the Chief Executive, the people of Hong Kong wouldn’t accept it.

How did this difference play out in what became the Umbrella Movement?

Tai and his two colleagues called for a peaceful demonstration in the Central Business District on October 1 to ‘send a message’ to the government. We didn’t think that was either meaningful or adequate. The cbd is very unfavourable terrain for a mass occupation, difficult to access from overhead walkways and deserted at weekends. So four days earlier, on September 26, Scholarism led a breakthrough past the security barriers surrounding Civic Square in the middle of the Government Offices complex, occupying the space, which was quickly cordoned off by police with the students inside. It was this action of ours that triggered the whole subsequent movement. I was arrested for the breakthrough on September 27, along with others. Most of us were released soon afterwards, but I was held for 46 hours, longer than the rest, and while I was locked up, police attacked the students in Admiralty with tear gas. This was unprecedented in Hong Kong, and transformed popular attitudes to the protesters. There was a huge outpouring of solidarity, and soon students were even outnumbered by young professionals and office workers taking part in the movement, which covered areas in three separate parts of Hong Kong and lasted eighty days in all.

University students took a more prominent part in these events, in which the Hong Kong Student Federation was a leading actor. How would you describe this organization?

The Federation supported the Pan-Democratic parties for many years, going back to the eighties, and showed solidarity with the student uprising in China in 1989, when its then Secretary-General Andrew To went to Beijing, and was one of the last students to leave Tiananmen Square on the night of the crackdown. But there has never been much continuity in its actions, as the Chairman and Secretary change every year. Today only three out of the city’s eight universities, which number no more than 80,000 students out of a population of seven million, can really be regarded as politicized: the old colonial Hong Kong University on the island, the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shatin, founded in 1963, and Lingnan University, a liberal arts college created in 1999. They have different profiles; the hku student newspaper has called for the independence of Hong Kong, a right-wing idea. The cuhk is on the left, with a campus culture like Berkeley’s. Lingnan is a fortress of Cultural Studies, where nearly every professor is progressive—it’s the most radical of the three. The others are apolitical. During the Umbrella Movement, some five or six hundred professors signed a statement in support of student struggles. But in general, it’s only teachers of politics and social science who take an interest in public affairs. The majority of professors are in no way progressive: they just want to write research papers and pursue their academic careers. This is a big contrast with Taiwan, where they are more socially conscious.

Would it be correct to see the different forces taking part in the Umbrella Movement as composing a spectrum from moderate to radical positions, with the main Pan-Democratic parties at the most moderate pole, Occupy Central a bit less so, the Federation of Hong Kong Students more radical, and Scholarism as the most militant and uncompromising? Where would Civic Passion, on one side, and the League of Social Democrats, on the other, fit into such a classification?

I think the Pan-Democrats and the Occupy Central leadership are equally moderate in terms of ideas and action. Similarly, Scholarism and the Federation of Students are quite similar in terms of radical action and ideas. The difference I would say is in their respective analyses of the situation. Scholarism proposed and successfully convinced the Federation of Students to take control of Civic Square; otherwise there would have been no subsequent movement. Going to Beijing was their idea and only half the members of Scholarism agreed to pursue this line of action. Also, the core leaders of Scholarism tend to be more willing to be in the front line, facing the police, and more receptive and prepared for radical action than our counterparts in the Federation of Students. The League of Social Democrats has always stood with these two student organizations in ideas and actions. Civic Passion talks about radical action, such as rewriting the Basic Law, but it is not practical; they clamour for Hong Kong independence without saying how. They are not always consistent in their slogans: they promoted the idea of fighting back against police violence yet they set the action goal of no injuries and no arrests. So I don’t really know how to place Civic Passion in the political spectrum.

How strong is sentiment in favour of independence for Hong Kong now?

It’s increasing. But it’s not a serious prospect. There is no international support for it. The demand poses as being very radical, but it’s superficial and will fade.

What kind of support did the movement get from the trade unions in Hong Kong?

Very little. De-industrialization has weakened them a lot. Leung Kwok-hung—‘Long Hair’—called on them to come out in solidarity with the movement, but only the Free Union responded positively.

What kind of balance-sheet would you make of the Umbrella Movement?

It greatly increased political awareness in Hong Kong society, as more and more people joined the movement. The city had no prior experience of large-scale civil disobedience. In 2012, the campaign against National Education involved no civil disobedience—at that time I myself was against it. The Umbrella Movement made it much more widely accepted as an instrument of change—in my view, as the only route to change in the political system, after twenty years of futile agitation of a conventional sort. Of course, this time we gained nothing by way of political reform. The government refused to give way, and the movement eventually came to an end without achieving any of its aims. But we didn’t lose the war, because we’ll start the next round stronger than we did this one.

But will you just be reiterating the same demands as last year? They ran into a blank wall then. Won’t people say, what’s the point of repeating demands that have already been flatly refused? Don’t you risk disillusioning them?

The last time we got 10,000 students on strike. If we keep pressing for political reform, the next time we can get 50,000. The fight for direct elections has been going on for ten years in Hong Kong, and there’s no sign of support for it declining. It’s a popular demand, and Hong Kong people are persistent. In June or July, we’ll be calling for an unofficial referendum, larger and more militant than the one Occupy Central set up in 2014 calling for universal suffrage, in which 800,000 citizens participated.

What’s the strength of Scholarism today?

We have three hundred members, 30 per cent at university and 70 per cent in high schools. The gender balance is 60 per cent men and 40 per cent women. The numbers sound very small. But you have to remember that all the Pan-Democratic parties put together have only 700 members, and proportionately fewer of these are active. Our job is to increase our organizational strength—to extend the structure of resistance and the networks around it, just as the ccp tries to do. For us the priority target remains the city’s high schools. That’s where we should concentrate our efforts, because if you can win over youth, you’ll be winning the future. The task isn’t at all easy, because there are intense pressures on students in Hong Kong, which is a very exam-oriented society, with narrow access to higher education. Less than 20 per cent of high-school students get entrance into universities. To succeed requires very long hours of study, leaving little time or energy for other activities. Then there is political repression. When we started, there was no personal price to pay for civic activism, apart from deduction from study. But since the Umbrella Movement, activists know they are likely to be arrested, and obviously parents put pressure on them not to risk that. It’s crucial we find a successor for my role in the high schools, but it hasn’t been easy to find one. Still, time is on our side.

How about your own studies, then?

Obviously, they’ve suffered. I hated maths anyway, but during the two big mobilizations, I was working in the movement round the clock, with very little sleep. There was no way I could lock myself up in a study from nine in the morning till midnight. When the Sunflower student movement broke out in Taiwan, occupying the parliament and forcing a review of the trade deal with China, I was trapped in exams—very frustrating. So my results were poor, I didn’t get into either hku or cuhk, but only into the Open University, the worst of the eight, where a lot of the teaching is just skimpy PowerPoints online.

Since you’ve been blocked on the political front, wouldn’t it make sense to increase demands on the social front, given the enormous inequalities in Hong Kong society, and the wretched conditions in which the poor and the weak live in the city, while billionaires flaunt their wealth at the top? Could the government afford to be equally unyielding in the face of mobilization around issues like working hours, housing, pensions?

Hong Kong society is deeply conservative—even lower-class attitudes are right-wing. There’s no support among the poor for pensions. Anything ‘left’ is associated with the ccp: even such an elementary demand as a normal eight-hour working day, which is not particularly left-wing at all. The popular conviction is that if you just work hard, you will be a success and can become rich too. If you’re not rich, that’s because you didn’t get better results in school or in your job. Poverty is treated as an individual failure, not as a structural problem. High-school students, especially, take no interest in social issues. They just want more democracy. Their mindset is that society should become more liberal, not more equal. In general, the most popular subject for study is economics, where courses drill in the mantra that the free market is always best, and social change amounts to no more than a shift in a demand curve. It’s another kind of brainwashing, if a less drastic one than the ccp’s, but it’s not perceived as such. The only way to build Scholarism is to concentrate on political demands.

If Hong Kong society is so conservative that it’s very difficult to get popular support for even modest social demands, doesn’t this create a paradox for the dynamic of Scholarism itself? For the question then would be: what actual difference would democratic election of the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive make, if you achieved it? After all, Hong Kong already enjoys freedom of expression and association, habeas corpus, an independent judiciary, and what is generally meant by the rule of law. Political democracy would no doubt prevent these being eroded, but apart from this negative gain, what positive benefits could it deliver, if the population is perfectly satisfied with the social and economic status quo?

The social mood in Hong Kong is conservative—on socio-economic issues, parents’ attitudes towards their children’s education and private property ownership—but Hong Kong changes quickly and people also adapt quickly to new momentum. This conservative social mood can be changed if we influence our student base and help progressive politicians to win seats in the legislature. If the progressives can win more seats, have access to more resources (hk$100,000 a month for every seat won) then they can at least invigorate policy advocacy discourses for things such as standard working hours, universal retirement schemes or annual review of the minimum wage level. Under the current system, they are a permanent minority and people give up debating policies because they think these debates are futile, given the structural composition of the Legislature. If the Pan-Democrats can advocate policy change, then at least gradually the social mood may change. Our aim is to make society more equal, after we have made it more liberal.

Internet comments:

- (VJ Media) March 26, 2015.

Joshua Wong was interviewed by <New Left Revew> and he talked about the sentiment in favor of Hong Kong independence. He said: "It’s increasing. But it’s not a serious prospect. There is no international support for it. The demand poses as being very radical, but it’s superficial and will fade."

These comments were roundly criticized. As always, Wong came out to explain. He said that "superficial" does not mean "shallow." Instead, he wanted to say that the discussion about Hong Kong independence has been very shallow and is limited to "the racism of resisting mainlanders."

There have definitely been discussions about Hong Kong independence that go beyond purely hating mainlanders. "The narrative of the Hong Kong people" and <Undergrad> were not sufficiently deep, but they have said plenty. The City-State people are another school. Various kinds of discussions are rising like bamboo shoots after the rains. Maybe some of them offended Joshua Wong's patriotism. But such actions show that the whole matter is not reducible to just hating mainlanders. This is just commonsense.

The original quote says that Hong Kong independence "will fade." This is an absolute statement without any doubt. It says that Hong Kong independence is unpopular, has no international support and THEREFORE WILL DEFINITELY FADE."

For a pan-democrat, such a statement is normal. Ten out of ten pan-democrats would have said the same thing.

The critics of Joshua Wong tend to follow Internet and current affairs closely. They may not understand why Joshua Wong felt the need to come out and clarify his statement.

To say that Hong Kong independence is shallow and will fade is just the sort of thing that Albert Ho (Democratic Party) or Joshua Wong will say, because of their patriotism per June 4th 1989. I consider that to be very much expected. "Most people" think that way. However, Joshua Wong will not give up any position. He will never go "all in" for one position or the other. He wants to place his bets on all the positions at the same time.

A couple of years ago, Joshua Wong was interviewed by <iSunAffairs>. Wong showed that he was no less patriotic than Szeto Wah. I regard that as his creed. Therefore, it is expected that he looks unfavorably upon Hong Kong independence. That is his honest view which does not require either revision or compromise.

Unless, of course, that individual needs to appease all sides and therefore his positions bounce around like rubber balls ... Joshua Wong is unwilling to lose support from anyone. This is a sustainable model. That's what you need to succeed in this world.

- (RTHK) Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, chairman of the Sing Tao News Group and a National Committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, called on Joshua Wong not be too elated about the Fortune leadership and to study harder. Ho pointed out that students contribute nothing to society, because they count on others to provide for them.

Joshua Wong said that Charles Ho has no right to speak because Ho was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and lived off the fortune of his father. Thus, Ho is only living off his entitlement. Once the messenger is discredited, there is no need to address the message. Wong also said that society owes it to the students, so providing for them is only natural because that is their entitlement.

- Chinese University of Hong Kong Student union president Tommy Cheung Sau-yin jumped into the fray by saying that the student loan default rate of 13% is comparable to what happens in the USA. Therefore, there is nothing there to talk about. Well, Cheung was off by a factor of 10.

If Cheung even knows a little bit about the loan industry, he would know that 13% is unsustainable. Here is what happens. You save money, you deposit it in the bank and the bank pays you 0.1% interest now. The bank turns around and makes a loan to a creditworthy person at 5% interest. The difference 5.0% - 0.1% = 4.9% will cover the bank's administrative costs (rent, salary, office expenses, telecommunications), profits as well as a reserve against defaults. But if the default rate is 13% on loans, the bank would have to charge an 18% interest rate in order to stay in business. Who can afford to borrow?

- Joshua Wong attacked Civic Passion: "Civic Passion talks about radical action, such as rewriting the Basic Law, but it is not practical; they clamor for Hong Kong independence without saying how. They are not always consistent in their slogans: they promoted the idea of fighting back against police violence yet they set the action goal of no injuries and no arrests. So I don’t really know how to place Civic Passion in the political spectrum." But Joshua Wong is always consistent in what he does, because everybody knows that he is perfectly described by the phrase: "叫人衝、自己鬆、你流血、我領功." (He tells other people to charge and he leaves the scene; you shed your blood and I get the credit.)

- However much Joshua Wong dislikes Civic Passion, he is not going to challenge Wong Yeung-tat in a mano a mano MMA fight. Why? Joshua Wong is a 98-pound weakling, and Wong Yeung-tat would have to lose about 70 pounds to get into the same weight class. Alternately Joshua Wong will have to eat a lot more instant noodles to reach the 170-pound weight class, having to discard his newly acquired MJM wardrobe on the way.

- (Chan Ming-ya's Facebook)

I have just finished reading Joshua Wong's views on Hong Kong independence. Once again, it shows that his thinking is very shallow. His views on the subject is influential, but not because of their depth but because of his fame. If the Hong Kong democracy movement is to be led by him, he will basically become another Albert Ho.

Joshua Wong said: "Hong Kong independence has no international support. The demand poses as being very radical, but it’s superficial and will fade." In the January 2015 issue of Undergrad (Hong Kong University Student Union publication), I wrote that with the end of One Country Two Systems and the complete blockage of genuine universal suffrage, the idea of Hong Kong independence will become stronger as people move further away from Beijing, and that is true irregardless of any likelihood of success.

Therefore I am willing to make a bet with Joshua Wong on whose views are more accurate. I am willing to bet anything. Let this be stated here.

(Wikipedia) Parallel trading in Hong Kong

Parallel trading in Hong Kong refers to the phenomenon of mainland parallel traders taking advantage of multiple entry visa policy to import goods from Hong Kong to Mainland China, causing shortage of household goods in various locations starting in the North District and expanding to Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tai Po and Shatin.

The Import and Export (General)(Amendment) Regulation 2013 prohibits the unlicensed export of powdered formula, including milk and soya milk powder for infants and children under 36 months. The Regulation 'does not apply to powdered formula that is exported in the accompanied personal baggage of a person aged 16 or above leaving Hong Kong if the person did not leave Hong Kong in the last 24 hours and the formula does not exceed 1.8 kg in total net weight.'

(Wikipedia) Individual Visit Scheme (see also IVS Research Brief)

The Individual Visit Scheme began on 28 July 2003. It allowed travellers from Mainland China to visit Hong Kong and Macau on an individual basis. Prior to the Scheme, Mainland residents could only visit to Hong Kong and Macau on business visas or in group tours.

(Dictionary.com) Tourist

A person who is traveling, especially for pleasure.

(Tourism Commission) Hong Kong's Tourism Performance in 2013

Total visitor arrivals = 54,298,804
- Overnight arrivals = 25,661,072
- Same-day arrivals = 28,637,732

Total mainland Chinese arrivals = 40,700,000 (75% of totals)
- Same-day mainland Chinese arrivals = 23,700,000 (43% of totals)
- Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) mainland Chinese arrivals = 27,500,000 (51% of totals)

Average length of stay of overnight visitors = 3.4 nights
Overnight visitor per capita spending = HK$8,123

Total tourism expenditure associated to inbound tourism = HK$343.1 billion

(Hong Kong Tourist Board PartnerNet; PartnerNet)

January 2015 visitor arrivals by source
- Grand total: 5,609,698
---- Grand total overnight visitors: 2,291,479
---- Grand total same night visitors: 3,318,219
-- The Americas: 136,906
-- Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 177,335
-- Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific: 66,155
-- North Asia: 229,594
-- South & Southeast Asia: 273,160
-- Taiwan: 155,775
-- Mainland China: 4,490,420
---- Overnight Mainland China visitors: 1,572,084
---- Same night Mainland China visitors: 2,918,336

(Apple Daily) November 11, 2004.

Almost 40 parallel traders showed up at Government Headquarters to petition against the closure of the special passageway for parallel traders at the Luohu border crossing. Led by "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, they chanted slogans such as "We don't want to receive welfare payments, we want to earn our own livelihoods." They demanded East Rail to re-open the special passageway or otherwise issue special passes for parallel traders.

According to a parallel trader named Lau, he was introduced to transport goods after being unemployed a few years ago. At first, he was worried that he may be carrying contrabands. Then he saw that he was only carrying daily necessities or documents. Therefore, he took this as a job which was enough to provide for his family. Lau said: "If East Rail blocks the passageway, I may have to go back to taking social welfare."

(SCMP) Multi-entry permits help thousands of parallel traders cross into HK daily. September 17, 2012.

More than 3,000 parallel traders are crossing the border every day and over half of them are Shenzhen residents with multi-entry visit permits, according to government sources. The figures were revealed by a mainland official during a recent meeting of a newly formed working group between Shenzhen and Hong Kong customs authorities to combat illegal cross-border exports.

The disclosure comes at a time when emotions are running high among North District residents annoyed at the increasing numbers of parallel traders who they blame for pushing up prices of goods in the neighbourhood, blocking streets and littering. Hundreds of people protested at Sheung Shui MTR station over the weekend, resulting in ugly scenes and scuffles with parallel traders.

"At least 3,000 to 4,000 parallel traders are in operation every day. More than half are mainlanders who carry multiple-entry permits," the source said. "They make at least two return trips a day, but some can make four to five."

Based on these numbers, the parallel traders, who make a profit by evading import taxes charged by the mainland authorities, account for at least 2.2 million cross-border trips a year. Although they are not conventional tourists, the numbers are included when the city calculates its tourist arrivals.

In 2011, Shenzhen residents with multi-entry permits accounted for 6.17 million arrivals in Hong Kong, while a total of 28.1 million mainland tourists visited the city last year.

Following Saturday's confrontations, there seemed to be far fewer traders at Sheung Shui station, prompting hundreds of protesters to march to a nearby warehouse building, which they said suppled many of the goods. However, its gates were closed and some of the marchers returned to the station where they hurled insults at anyone calling heavy boxes or pushing a trolley.

Sociology Professor Chan Kin-man, of Chinese University, feared the demonstrations could evolve into yet another wave of widespread discrimination against mainlanders. "There are signs the residents' anger is going beyond hatred of parallel goods carriers … some of the traders are Hongkongers, but the protesters still chant slogans like 'Go back to the mainland'," Chan said.

(Ta Kung Pao) February 17, 2015.

Over the past four years, the Customs and Excise Department has penalized more than 33,000 travelers suspected of being parallel traders at the Shenzhen border crossings. Of these, almost 20,000 are Hong Kong residents and the rest are mainlanders. At the busy Luohu border crossing, 163 "professional" parallel traders were arrested for three or more times of which 134 (82%) were Hong Kong residents.

According to the Customs Department, the parallel traders have operated long before the Individual Visit Scheme came into being. Because it was a lot easier for Hong Kong residents to go back and forth back then, the earlier parallel traders were predominantly Hong Kong residents. Today, the mainland parallel traders are taking over because they are willing to work harder for less pay. This has caused the Hong Kong parallel traders to be unhappy.

Of the 163 cases at Luohu, 50 (or 31%) were bailed out, most of whom for medical reasons. According to information from multiple sources, the parallel traders are mostly grassroots people, many of whom are poor in wealth and health. Many of the Hong Kong parallel traders are elderly people with no children or labor capacity. Therefore, they are trying to earn a little bit more than the social welfare payments from the government. Upon arrest, they are found to be infirmed and must be released from the detention centers.

Those 163 cases resulted in smuggled goods worth less than HK$2 million and the total amount of evaded taxes was less than HK$400,000. Compared to other smuggling cases where the jail time is assessed only from HK$100,000 and up, this is nothing. Therefore, these cases were being assessed not on the total value but on "three strikes or more."

(Ming Pao) March 5, 2015.

According to our tabulation of the distribution of pharmacies across the 18 districts of Hong Kong, Yao Tsim Mong has the highest density of one pharmacy per 638 residents for a total of 494 pharmacies. Wan Chai is next with one pharmacy per 837 residents. Sai Kung and Southern District (Hong Kong Island) are lowest at about one pharmacy per 4,000 residents.

Northern District, which is supposed to have been plagued by parallel traders, was ranked number four at one pharmacy per 1,603 residents for a total of 192 pharmacies for its 308,000 residents.

... According to one scholar, once multiple-entry permits are subjected to greater restrictions, the parallel traders will be forced to hire Hongkongers to do their work and thus increase the operational costs. This will cause some of the pharmacies to go out of business, rents will fall and the retail market will go back on its path of healthy growth.

According to another scholar, if parallel trading continues to be profitable, Hongkongers will be hired to carry the goods. Therefore, restricting multiple-entry permits is meaningless with respect to the profitability of the pharmacies.

(Sina.com.hk) March 5, 2015.

In Tsuen Wan, some residents think that there are too many jewelry stores and pharmacies. On Chung On Street, there are 13 jewelry stores and 5 pharmacies. On Chuen Lung Street, there are 6 jewelry stores and 11 pharmacies.

Businesses say that the influx of jewelry stores and pharmacies, especially the chain stores, have caused rents to soar through a vicious cycle. According to information, the rent on Chung On Street is 7 times higher than it was a decade ago.

But the reality was that back in 2003 during the SARS period, the Tsuen Wan District Council and the Civil Affairs Bureau jointly established Tsuen Wan Jewelry Street in the area of Chung On Street/Chuen Lung Street, including spending more than HKD$200,000 to erect a landmark in the form of a gold ingot. In 2007, the Urban Renewal Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Authority spend HK$6 million to beautify those streets under the theme of "gold."

[Note: In Hong Kong, there are many specialty street markets/shopping streets (see Discover Hong Kong), such as Goldfish Market, Bird Garden, Flower Market, Sneakers Street, etc). The residents at the Flower Market can claim that they find it undesirable to have only flower stores on their street block, just like these Tsuen Wan residents who don't want jewelry stores on Jewelry Street.]

(Ming Pao) March 7, 2015. By Lui Tai-lok.

Here is what we know:

Based upon these figures, many people would think that the same day visitors must be mostly parallel traders. Yet, according to Ming Pao's information, about 20,000 mainlanders came 52 to 99 times during the year and about 10,000 mainlanders came 100 times or more during the year. Many people think that this is a big number.

Let me suppose that the 20,000 who came 52 to 99 times came 75 times on the average. That would make 20,000 x 75 = 1.5 million trips in total. Let me suppose the 10,000 who came 100 or more times came 150 times on the average. That would make 10,000 x 150 = 1.5 million trips in total. Together these people made 1.5 + 1.5 = 3 million trips during the year. This is just 20% of all mainlander trips using the multiple-entry permits, and also just 10% of all same day travelers.

We would be making a mistake to assume that those who travel frequently under the multiple-entry permits are parallel traders. They are clearly not the main factors. The parallel traders problem is easy to solve, because the activities (picking up and delivering the products) must take place close to the border for economic reasons. So this is different from regular shopping activities which can take place anywhere.

At the same time, we need to understand that parallel trading is a commercial activity based upon demand/supply. Even if we ban mainlanders from carrying anything across the border, as long as the market demand exists and mainlanders are willing to pay for those products, parallel trading will continue to exist. The difference is that only Hongkongers can act as parallel traders.

According to Ming Pao, about 1.5 million Shenzhen residents came to Hong Kong last year under the multiple-entry permit at an average of 9 times per year. Of these 1.5 million, about 1.2 million came fewer than 10 times. If you assume that they come once every two months for an average of 6 times per year, they account for 1.2 million x 6 = 7.2 million trips, or about half of the 14,840,000 multiple-entry permits visits for the year. Setting the maximum number of trips allowable to 8 times per year is not going to affect these people at all.

Of the 28,170,000 same night arrivals, multiple-entry permit holders account for only 14,840,000 which is about half. This means the rest are dispersed in the Pearl River Delta outside Shenzhen. This is still a formidable number with lots of growth potential.

... Let me make a simple summary.

(Oriental Daily) March 18, 2015

According to Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok, between March 2014 and February 2015, there were 4,986 cases of unlicensed export of powdered infant formula. A total of 61,200 kilograms of powdered formula were found and 5,000 persons were arrested. Of the arrestees, 1,758 were Hongkongers, 3,235 were mainlanders and 17 were foreign nationals. Most of those arrestees were fined, but 157 were sentenced to jail time ranging from 1 day to 140 days with another 668 being given suspended sentences.

Lai said that the Immigration Department has a watch list for parallel traders. As of February 2015, the list contained 13,500 mainlanders who have been rejected entry 58,000 times.

Lai said that it is not feasible to impose an entry/exit tax on all travelers across the border. Every day, 180,000 Hongkongers cross the border and it is impossible to make mainlanders pay an entry/exit tax while insisting that the mainland authorities must not impose the same tax on Hongkongers. Furthermore, such a tax would affect the local tourism, retail and restaurant sectors negatively.

(Wen Wei Po) March 19, 2015

Lai Tung-kwok explained that mainland laws are different from Hong Kong laws. The mainland Customs Department have restrictions on the types and quantities of material being brought in. According to his understanding, the cases that were caught on the mainland side are mostly Hongkongers who are breaking the mainland laws.

Between December 2014 and February 2015, MTR East Rail has monthly rejections of 8540, 15149 and 8155 cases in which the luggage exceeded the maximum dimensions or weights allowable.

(SCMP) Guangdong to limit cross-border visits to curb Hong Kong parallel goods trade. March 19, 2015.

Mainland authorities plan to limit the number of visits travellers can make to Hong Kong in a bid to combat cross-border trading, with a source close to the Guangdong government suggesting a cap of two visits per person, per day.

The plans come amid rising tension in Hong Kong over the impact of tourism and so-called parallel trading - the bulk buying of goods in the city for resale over the border. Pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported, citing an unnamed Guangdong government source, that mainland authorities had put forward several proposals to limit the number of visits Shenzhen residents could make.

The potential changes would affect the individual visit scheme, introduced in 2003 and since expanded to allow residents of 49 mainland cities to travel to Hong Kong without joining tour groups. In 2009, Beijing extended the arrangement to allow people with household registration in Shenzhen to apply for multiple-entry permits.

The scheme is opposed by Hong Kong protesters who say it encourages cross-border trading; critics say the influx creates a nuisance due to overcrowding and that their activities push up prices in the city. A series of recent protests have turned violent. The unnamed source quoted by Ta Kung Pao did not say how many visits were being proposed under the plan.

Professor Zheng Tianxiang, of the Pearl River Delta Research Institute at Guangzhou's Sun Yat-sen University, said he had proposed to Guangdong authorities liming the number of visits by a holder of a multiple-entry permit to two a day. "For visitors travelling to Hong Kong for academic exchanges and business trips, two visits to Hong Kong per day are already enough. My proposal should be able to resolve the problem arising from the influx of parallel traders," Zheng said.

A person familiar with the Hong Kong government's position said the Hong Kong and central governments were working towards setting a cap on the number of visits multiple-entry permit holders could make. "But the mainland authorities are juggling with the number of visits a multiple-entry permit holder is entitled to," the person said.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung said the central government would take into account different factors in its deliberations on how to refine the individual visit scheme and the multiple-entry arrangement. But he said Beijing had yet to make a decision

Zhou Bo, deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said last week the individual visit scheme and multiple-entry arrangement for Shenzhen residents would be refined to "better suit the situation in Hong Kong".

Ip Kwok-him, a lawmaker from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said pupils who live in Shenzhen and study in Hong Kong and their parents should be exempted from the restriction. He urged authorities to gather figures on this group before deciding on a cap.

Another lawmaker, tourism representative Yiu Si-wing, said in the short term, the authorities should not consider raising the number of visits for mainland tourists or extending the multiple-entry scheme to other cities. "If parallel trading worsens after implementing these measures, it would create more problems and grievances," he said.

(Post852) March 21, 2015

According to published information, 14,850,000 trips were made by mainlanders coming to Hong Kong from Shenzhen using multiple-entry permits. According to <Ming Pao> on March 1st, about 1.5 million individuals came to Hong Kong holding multiple-entry permits. Of these, 80% came to Hong Kong 10 times or fewer during the year, and 2% (or 30,000) came 52 times (=once a week) or more often. More than 10,000 came to Hong Kong 100 or more times during the year.

Therefore, if you impose a maximum of two trips allowable per day, it will achieve absolutely nothing towards reducing professional parallel traders.

Before you analyze any data, you should state your goals first. At this point, it is unclear just what the goals are, as different people have different goals and people are frequently moving their goalposts around during their discussions. Here are some frequently stated goals:

I. Eliminate congestion in the streets (sometimes facetiously stated as the fear of sustaining mortal injury when someone towing a luggage case rolls it over your toes).

II. Stem the tide of rising housing costs, which is reflected in purchase prices and also commercial/residential rents.

III. Stop the proliferation of jewelry stores and pharmacies/dispensaries and bring back the good old days of small bookstores and eateries.

IV. Stop parallel goods trading

V. Stop the infiltration/pollution of Hong Kong by mainland Chinese culture/ideology.

and so on ...

After you have selected your goal(s), you can assess your method(s) which are based upon choosing whom you allow to enter Hong Kong and the relevant conditions.

Currently, the major visa types are:

Mainland Chinese have more variations to the above:

For each method, you can assess whether it helps you to accomplish your goal(s).

Example 1: Get rid of all tourists to reduce street congestion.

There are 54 million tourists per year. 25.7 million of them stayed overnight for 3.4 nights on the average. Therefore they were in Hong Kong for 25.7 million x 3.4 = 87.4 million days. Another 28.6 million came and went the same day. Therefore the grand total number of tourist-days is (87.4 + 28.6) million = 116 million per year, which works out to 318,000 per day. If there are 318,000 fewer people around per day in a population of 7 million, the streets will definitely be less congested.

However, getting rid all tourists would affect the business at 236 hotels with their 71,998 rooms, Ocean Park/Disneyland, retailers, restaurants, etc. In 2013, the tourism sector had employed 269,700 workers for total revenues of HK$343.1 billion. Hundreds of thousands more are employed in the retail sector.

Example 2: Stop parallel trading by imposing a cap of 8 trips per year for Shenzhen residents with multiple-entry permits.

(RTHK) The Democratic Party has called for the number of visits multiple-entry permit holders can make to Hong Kong to be capped at eight a year. This is in response to recent protests against the growing number of parallel goods traders who are accused of driving up the prices of daily necessities and causing a nuisance to local residents.

1.5 million Shenzhen residents came to Hong Kong 14.84 million times last year, for an average of 10 times per year. About 1 million of them make 8 or fewer trips per year, so they won't be affected by this cap of 8 times per year. Assume that these 1 million people come 5.5 times per year, this makes 5.5 million in total trips. Of the other 500,000 who make more than 8 times per year, let us assume now that they will only make the maximum of 8 trips per year. So this makes 500,000 x 8 = 4 million in total trips. The grand total is (5.5 + 4) = 9.5 million per year. Therefore the net savings is (14.84 - 9.5) = 5.35 million trips per year, or 5.35 million / 365 days = 14,600 per day. In the best assumption, these saved trips were all parallel traders who only do business in the five districts (Sheung Shui, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun), that would mean 14,600 / 5 = 2,900 persons per district. On a typical day, 200,000 persons pass through New Town Plaza in Sha Tin. 2,900 persons is 1.5% of that total. This is not going to change anything.

By the way, do you know what kind of person would make two trips a day for 180 days out of the year? From the news report above: "Ip Kwok-him, a lawmaker from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said pupils who live in Shenzhen and study in Hong Kong and their parents should be exempted from the restriction. He urged authorities to gather figures on this group before deciding on a cap."

As long as the market demand exists, the parallel traders will simply hire more Hongkongers to take up the slack left behind by the departing mainlanders. Labor costs will go up, but it means nothing if mainland customers continue to want these products. The streets will still be congested and the queues at the border crossings will still be just as long.

(Bastille Post)

During the Occupy Central period, Chief Executive CY Leung has pointed out that there were outside influences. However, he has declined to disclose the details. Yesterday while meeting with more than 100 guests at Government House, he described four different levels of outside influences.

Firstly, there are the foreign governments. Secondly, there are the foreign services departments of various foreign governments, wherein the senior foreign government leaders may not be fully aware of everything that these departments are up to. Thirdly, there are the non-government organizations. Fourthly, there are the individual foreigners.

CY Leung also said that Occupy Central trio member Benny Tai predicted beforehand that ten thousand people would turn themselves in to crash the court system. This never happened. This proved that most citizens are still law-abiding and that the whole Occupy Central idea was a failure.

An attendee noted that CY Leung referred to "outside influences" and not "foreign influences." The difference is that "outside" includes Taiwan, whereas "foreign" would not because Taiwan is not a sovereign nation.

(Oriental Daily)


Legislators Gary Fan Kwok-wai and Claudia Mo Man-ching hauling suitcases around in Tsim Sha Tsui to demand an end to multiple-entry permits and restrictions on Individual Visit Permit.

CY Leung pointed out that after the Lunar New Year, the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong fell whereas those visiting Macau grew. Since there is no issue of government interference or changes in mainland economic conditions, the cause must surely be the series of anti-mainlander activities in Hong Kong which made mainlanders reluctant now to come here.

Specifically, CY Leung pointed to Civic Party legislator Claudia Mo Man-ching for hauling a luggage case around to make fun of mainlanders. He said such actions affect the amity between Hongkongers and mainlanders.

When our reporter contacted Claudia Mo, she initially denied ever "leading to oppose parallel traders." She questioned CY Leung to name when and where she called whom to do what. She condemned Leung for fabrication and misdirection. However, our reporter found out from Claudia Mo's Facebook that she collaborated with the Hong Kong First group and legislator Gary Fan Kwok-wai to haul suitcases in Tsim Sha Tsui to oppose multiple-visit permits. Claudia Mo immediately changed her tune and admitted that she did demand restrictions on Individual Visit Permits. But she denied any involvement in the recent anti-parallel trading demonstrators. Later she said that her suitcase act was merely performance art and she does not oppose mainland tourists, just that there are too many of them.


Oriental Daily March 23, 2015 front page story

(Oriental Daily) Initially, some media outlet misquoted CY Leung as accusing Claudia Mo of opposing parallel traders. This allowed Claudia Mo to demand that CY Leung to produce evidence to that effect. The correct quote is that CY Leung accused Claudia Mo of opposing mainland tourists, as evidenced by her suitcase-lugging performance art.

(The Standard) March 23, 2015.

Irate Civic Party lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching has challenged Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to produce evidence to show she is one of the instigators behind anti-parallel trading protests.

Federation of Trade Unions member Pan Pey-chyou claimed Mo was singled out by Leung during a meeting with pro- establishment district council members after he had accused the pan-democrats of causing a decline in mainland visitors. But Mo denied any involvement. "When did I? Ask him to provide evidence: on which day, what time, on what occasion did I gather people to do what? This is entirely irresponsible. Such accusations are false."

She later added: "The livelihood of New Territories citizens has been greatly disturbed. I was there pointing out the problem - that he [Leung], as a chief executive, has to provide solutions. But not only does he not provide solutions, he shifts the blame onto others." Mo was pictured last year pulling a suitcase in a protest against multiple visas for mainland visitors.

Leung was also quoted as having criticized Civic Party lawmaker Kenneth Chan Ka-lok for writing, "Have you ever thought that, when you wake up one morning, the red five- starred flag cannot be hoisted?"

The chief executive also allegedly criticized Occupy Central co-founder Chan Kin-man for writing that China would experience a great change in a decade if its current development model remains unchanged. Leung reportedly said the intentions of the pair were obvious and warned that such dangerous thoughts called for a cautious response. For his part, Kenneth Chan responded that Leung's comments were groundless attempts to attack freedom of speech and thought when he does not like what he hears.

Chan Kin-man said Leung had "over-interpreted" his words as he was merely pointing out that China is at a crossroads in its anti-corruption political movement - a topic entirely unrelated to overthrowing China with foreign forces.

Both criticized Leung for exaggerating the comments in order to make Hong Kong seem like it was under a dangerous threat from foreign and localist forces thereby winning the central government's support and securing his power.

There was a peaceful standoff outside Sheung Shui MTR station yesterday between the North District Parallel Imports Concern Group and the pro- government Defend Hong Kong.

(Bastille Post)

On January 18, Civic Party legislator/Baptist University Politics and International Relations Department associate professor Chan Ka-lok said that he wants his students to have a sense of calling: "I often challenge my students in class. I ask them if they ever imagine that one day when they wake up in the morning, the five-star red flag (=national flag of the People's Republic of China) would not longer be rising. Have they ever imagined that one day the burden of history will rest on their shoulders." When the five-star red flag no longer rises, it means that the government has fallen.

Occupy Central founder and Chinese University of Hong Kong Sociology Department professor Chan Kin-man wrote in <Ming Pao> on March 4th that Hong Kong does not have the conditions for a revolution. Nevertheless, Chan is firm on not accepting the political reform package based upon the August 31st resolution of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. His underlying reason was that the Chinese Communist government may collapse at any moment. He wrote: "The current model of development in China is unsustainable. There will be drastic changes within ten years. When that time comes, Hong Kong will have the opportunity for constitutional reform." Therefore Chan thinks: "Unless I give up all hope, I won't pocket the current proposal first."

Central Policy Unit consultant and Chinese University of Hong Kong Social Work Department professor Wong Chack-kie criticized these scholars in <Ming Pao>. He said that the Collapse of China theory is weakly grounded, even though it manages to mislead people in certain circles. To count of hoping that the "five-star red flag won't rise" as the basis of deciding the path to democracy is unwise in terms of culture and history.

This debate is bound to continue. However, I suspect that the pan-democratic political parties won't publicly advocate this line. When a political party embraces the Collapse of China theory as one of its main tenets, it fails to meet the "I love Hong Kong, I love China" test. In which case, they had better forget about ever electing one of their own as Chief Executive. In the past, the Democratic Party and the Civic Party have both been very careful in articulating their views on such matters. Let's see what they say now about the Coming Collapse of China.

(Ming Pao) Wong Chack-kie: Basing Democracy on Some Vague Hopes. March 16, 2015.

Previously, one of the Occupy Central founders Chan Kin-man acknowledged that the conditions for a revolution are not present in Hong Kong. However, he insisted that he won't accept the constitutional reform based upon the August 31st resolution of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. However, he seemed to have based his argument on the vague assumption that the Chinese Communist government will collapse at any time. He wrote thus: "The current model of development in China is unsustainable. There will be drastic changes within ten years. When that time comes, Hong Kong will have the opportunity for constitutional reform." Based upon this assumption, he said that: "Unless I give up all hope, I won't pocket the current proposal first."

Chan Kin-man is not alone. Another pan-democratic scholar and Civic Party legislator Chan Ka-lok said on January 18, 2015 about demanding his students to have a sense of calling: "I often challenge my students in class. I ask them if they ever imagine that one day when they wake up in the morning, the five-star red flag (=national flag of the People's Republic of China) would not longer be rising. Have they ever imagined that one day the burden of history will rest on their shoulders."

On the same day, RTHK's City Forum featured former Hong Kong University Student Union's Undergrad deputy editor-in-chief Keyvin Wong who made the bold assumption that Hong Kong independence is possible given that the Chinese Communist government may fall at any time ...

The two scholars named Chan are stalwarts in the pro-democracy camp. Chan Kin-man is fairly moderate, but his political judgment is based upon a vague hope. The sense of helplessness is tremendous, even if it is not moderate at all. His position is very passive: Hong Kong does not have the conditions required for a revolution, but mainland China has. Therefore, I will wait until the mainland government collapses, and then I shall have a democracy that meets western standards!

This type of passive resistance is not restricted only to the so-called "moderate" scholars or pro-independence Hong Kong university students. Otherwise, you cannot explain how the entire pro-democracy camp want to stand on the moral high ground and reject the practical political needs of the moment. The most recent example is the joint letter signed by 27 pan-democratic legislators that they will veto any constitutional reform not meeting "international standards." Do they believe that China will collapse at any minute? Do they think that the Chinese Communists are deep in structural crises with no political credibility left? Are they just waiting to see how China finishes?

American economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz thinks that based upon GDP Purchasing Parity estimates, we are moving into the Chinese century just as the 19th century was the British century and the 20th century was the American century. Using Purchasing Parity would be over-estimating the national power of China, because the GDP per capita of China is far lower than that of America. Thus, the Chinese authorities do not accept the Chinese century appellation. Nevertheless, in terms of national power, China and America are becoming two nations on opposite poles. On one hand, the gap between China and America is shrinking. On the other hand, the gap between China and other nations is growing. Under such circumstances, very few people dare to invoke the Collapse of China theory. If they do, they run the risk of being Gordon Chang, who wrote a book on the Coming Collapse of China in 2001 where his many predictions failed to materialize. We will wait and see if Chan Kin-man's "collapse within ten years" will become another joke ...

(Oriental Daily)

CY Leung said that many things have happened over the past two to three months, and people should pay attention to the views expressed by three types of persons. The first type are university students who speak their minds directly. He expects to see more from them.

The second type are more subtle about Hong Kong independence. These people talk about "the flag doesn't rise anymore" or "big changes within the next ten years." Although they don't spell it out, their message is clear. CY Leung is referring to Chan Ka-lok and Chan Kin-man.

CY Leung said that the third type of persons will emerge sooner or later, even though he does not describe their speeches or actions directly. Leung would like the social/district opinion leaders to make sure that citizens do not get misled by these people.

(Oriental Daily) 13:52 March 15, 2015.

About one hundred persons participated in the "Anti Civic Passion, Anti Violence Demonstration." The middle-aged participant Man Shek said that the Civic Passion "hot dogs" are in hiding. He challenged Civic Passion founder Wong Yueng-tat to a mano a mano fight to determine the winner. He gave Wong one month to prepare. Since the theme today is "anti-violence," wouldn't it be contrary to the original intention by fighting? Ah Man said that this will be a legally sanctioned boxing match.

(Oriental Daily) March 22, 2015

Loyalist Militia member Man Shek (aka Ah Man) handed a formal letter of challenge to Civic Passion founder Wong Yeung-tat for a one-on-one duel in the boxing ring. The two sides have signed a letter of intent for a match due to take place before September. This match will be based upon the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) format. The challenger Man Shek will pay a HK$200,000 deposit towards the match. The two sides agreed that the weight limit shall be 169 lbs (with a range between 167 and 172 lbs). At this moment, Wong Yeung-tat weighs in at 166.8 lbs while Man Shek weighs in at 177.6 lbs. After deducting expenses, the remaining proceeds will go to charitable purposes agreed upon by both sides.

(Sina.com.hk) March 22, 2015

Loyalist Militia's Facebook post
Why not turn the whole thing into a sprint race instead? When I challenge the Hot Dog, he can accept or refuse. Who has ever seen so many demands? A fight match is a man's business. Don't act like a bitch!
"Occupy Central does not represent me"
I just listened to Wong Yeung-tat's radio program. Tomorrow he will accept the challenge from Ah Man! He has set up the following conditions for the match:
1. He will be responsible for organizing the match
2. He wants to discuss the deposit money
3. I need to reduce my weight by 10 to 15 pounds (after weighing in tomorrow)
4. We will each bear responsibility for selling a certain number of tickets at agreed upon prices
5. Get three to four more fighters to particpate.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emKHvU70hNA (ontv) The challenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPA6Q0qgeNM (dbc) The acceptance of challenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bi0oarI8XY (dbc) All 47 minutes 20 seconds of the meeting

Internet comments:

- WTF! Is this how the Revolution that led to the founding of the Hong Kong City-States is going to take place? On one side, you have the Civic Passion founder who is facing 59 counts of unlawful assembly during Occupy Central, and is therefore hiding away from the physical actions in the anti-parallel trading demonstrators so far this year. (Oh, he said that he slept in late and could not make it in time to Tuen Mun by 4pm). On the other side, you have the Green Harmony guy who threatened to jump off a building because he was depressed during Occupy Mong Kok (see Apple Daily). And right now, this guy only gives his name as "Man Shek" in English with no full Chinese name. Just two losers who want to make some money off idiots who have cash to spare.

- Why does Man Shek have to pay HK$200,000 deposit? Why doesn't Wong Yeung-tat have to pay? It seems that the person with the prior record of hiding away like a turtle in its shell should be the one to pay down a deposit.

- They are going to accept ticket bookings and then they will say that the government will step in to stop the match-of-the-century because this is illegal underground prize fighting. Of course, they get to keep the non-refundable (please read the fine print on your ticket about what happens if the event should be canceled due to circumstances beyond control) money for "charitable purposes."

- Man Shek claimed that the Fu Tak Gym (Wan Chai) has offered two dates for the match: April 25 and October 14. A reporter contacted Fu Tak Gym and was told that April 25 was already reserved for the Second Annual Fu Tak Gym Gold Belt World Professional Championships KF1 Round 19, for which these two individuals have not been entered.

- The reality is this: The Hong Kong authorities will not allow a fight between two unlicensed individuals to take place. Since Wong Yeung-tat cannot travel to Macau or mainland China (because he has no 'return home card'), this match will never take place. If I were you, I would pocket my money safely.

- Just because illegal fighting is allowed doesn't mean that this match won't take place. Over the 79 days of Occupy Central, all sorts of illegal activities have taken place. So will this match. On matters of great right/wrong, the law comes in second place. That is the most famous saying coming out of Occupy Central.

- They need to sign the standard waiver: "I hereby waive, release, and discharge any and all claims for damage for personal injury, death or property damage which I may have, or which may hereafter accrue to me, as a result of participation in this activity."  And I hope these two lumps of dog turd both drop dead in the ring PERIOD.

- How much would I pay to see this Man Shek guy fight?

And against Wong Yeung-tak who ranges anywhere from 6ft to 6ft3inches tall?

(Oriental Daily with video) 15:42 March 22, 2015


North District Parallel Imports Concern Group demonstrators

North District Parallel Imports Concern Group convener Leung Kam-shing and about twenty demonstrators protested against parallel traders outside the Sheung Shui MTR station. They chanted slogans such as "Parallel traders are disturbing citizens, they cannot be tolerated", "Smuggling is legalized, the government has the wrong policies." Leung said that the government is asking the people to tolerate the parallel traders, but the people can't tolerate this anymore. He said that the construction of shopping centers near the border will simply turn parallel trading into an industry. This will merely increase cross-border traffic and not help to resolve the problems. He said that while parallel trading is not illegal in Hong Kong, it is illegal in mainland China because it is considered the same as smuggling.  He also said that imposing a maximum of two trips of day will merely encourage mainlanders to make two trips a day for parallel trading.


Defend Hong Kong Campaign demonstrators

Meanwhile Defend Hong Kong campaign founder Po Chun-chung and about ten demonstrators set up a street booth. But due to the strong presence of the media and the police, the booth became surrounded by metal barricades. The group chanted slogans such as "It is disgraceful to bully women and children" in reference to the behavior of the anti-parallel trader demonstrators. They demanded that judges impose heavy penalties to deter the violent behaviors of those hooligans. They promised to act peacefully but if they are provoked, they said that they will sing the birthday song in response.

More than one hundred police offices separated the two sides.

(Oriental Daily with video) 16:52 March 22, 2015


"Cold-blooded cameraman/demonstrator" Figo Chan


14-year-old Lam Ka-wai of Immaculate Heart of Mary College wearing school uniform to the demonstrate.

The North District Parallel Imports Concern Group and the Defend Hong Kong Campaign held demonstration/counter-demonstration outside the Sheung Shui MTR Station this afternoon. The first group wanted to oppose parallel goods traders, while the second group wanted to condemn the violent anti-parallel traders demonstrators. The police set up barricades to separate the two groups. Order was maintained and the two groups dispersed peacefully after 4pm.

Towards the end of the assemblies, a number of regular anti-parallel traders demonstrators were searched by the police and had their ID's checked. They were surrounded by a large number of media reporters who caused chaos in the passageways. According to regular demonstrator Figo Chan, he was searched a total of three times today. The police found only a surgical mask. He believed that the police was harassing him.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6n2r2JzipQ (Apple Daily) 2 hours 26 minutes 10 seconds of non-action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yypNj9kc9nk (Epoch Times) Defend Hong Kong Campaign demonstrators sing birthday song and chant slogans

Internet comments:

- DLLM! Why is this news? It's ten people on one side yelling at twenty people on the other side. There were one hundred police officers and even more media reporters. This is just making a mountain out of a molehill.

- The anti-parallel trader protestors are congratulating themselves because they see fewer parallel traders today. Well, less than 100 of them come out in one (and only one) district 3pm-5pm every Sunday. What happens the rest of the time? The parallel traders start working Monday through Saturday at 7am, and then they rest on Sunday. How can you possibly affect their behavior with your Sunday excursions into the countryside?

- There are fewer people in the streets because there are always fewer people in the streets every year between March and July (the "slow" months for all businesses). In any case, attacking senior citizens, women and children won't scare the parallel traders away, because they make their living off those activities. You do scare away regular tourists who have the option to travel elsewhere. Through your activities, Hong Kong is now known as the "we kick the tourists' suitcases" capital of the world.

- The news report said that "the groups dispersed peacefully." In Hong Kong terms, this means that the actions today were failures.

(Ming Pao) BY Yeung Yee. March 15, 2015.

Over the past couple of weeks, the anti-parallel traders actions took place in various districts. The mean-looking particpants "made children cry" and "kicked musician grandpas." Their actions were condemned all around. I found such behaviors obnoxious, but I can't help but want to ask: Who are those guys? So I carefully read up the background on these arrestees in the news reports.


Yuen Long (4 out of 32 arrestees lived or worked in Yuen Long area)
- 30-year-old female; office clerk; assaulting a police officer
- 16-year-old male; form 6 secondary school student; illegal possession of wireless communication equipment
- 25-year-old male; security guard; possession of weapons of assault
- 19-year-old male; student; disruption of public order
- 28-year-old male; pharmacy employee; assaulting a police officer
- 31-year-old male; construction worker; assaulting a police officer
- 13-year-old male; student; assaulting a police officer
- 16-year-old male; student; assaulting a police officer
Tuen Mun and elsewhere
- 18-year-old male; Chinese University of Hong Kong student; disorderly conduct in public
- 24-year-old male; construction worker; common assault (against musician grandpa)
- 47-year-old male; computer technician; common assault (against mother-daughter)
- 27-year-old male; surveyor; common assault (kicking suitcases and handcarts)
- 26-year-old male; salesman; disorderly conduct in public
- 16-year-old male; student; assaulting a police officer
- 13-year-old male; student; assaulting a police officer
- 14-year-old male; student; assaulting a police officer
- 21-year-old female; Polytechnic University student; obstructing/resisting police officer

The first thing that I noted was that very few of them were local residents. Among the 32 arrested on the first week, only four of them are Yuen Long/Tuen Mun residents. One of the four is a pharmacy worker who was arrested for counter-attacking the demonstrators and therefore he is not an anti-parallel trader demonstrator.

Secondly, most of the arrestees are students or grassroots workers (such as security guards, construction workers, etc).

Thirdly, most of the arrestees are males.

Fourthly, many of them claimed to be beaten by the police during their period of detention.

Fifthly, most of them have no prior criminal records, so this was their first encounter with the law.

Sixthly, all of them are quite young, including 13- and 14-year-olds. The others are in the 20's, with only one 47-year-old.

Seventhly, most of them are dimly aware of the rights of the police and their owns rights upon being arrested. One of them helped the police to access his telephone, whereupon the police found out that he was a Facebook administrator and hence located a number of others. Some of the other arrestees gave up their right of refusal and allowed the police to search their homes.

Young people, students, grassroots workers. From the viewpoint of the ultra-rightist elites, these are thoroughly losers who have no social status, no financial independence and no ability to compete. They don't even live in Yuen Long so they aren't affected by the parallel trading there. Instead, they attribute their own failures to others. They don't have the courage to face up to the authorities, so they pick on the parallel traders instead.

Even the leftists disavow these actions. They think that it is wrong to "misidentify people and refuse to acknowledge their mistakes afterwards." These people (and their organizing leaders) usually heap scorn on the leftist for ineffectiveness, but when they take action themselves, they are a loose bunch who caved in to the police immediately. Therefore, the leftists don't think that they deserve help and they should be allowed to rot in jail.

But if you ignore the organizing group of Civic Passion for the moment, aren't the participants exactly the type that the leftists want on their side? Overall, these are people who are not hardened criminals; they are grassroots who live away from the city centers; they don't know their rights with respect to the police and they are often abused by the police (with many claiming to be assaulted down at the police station); in an emergency, they don't have the money to hire lawyers; they have no plan of action, and they merely improvise.

But even a motley crowd can be formidable. As individuals, they are weak and vulnerable. For example, the 24-year-old construction worker suspected of kicking the musician grandpa begged the magistrate to let him attend the funeral services for his father who passed away last month. They are the masses that the leftists have been looking for. These arrestees were valiant in their efforts to curse out and kick people. Imagine if they can be turned to address the housing issue by showing up at the various government office entrances, or staking out the tycoons' homes, or chasing real estate agents away. CY Leung and Paul Chan will be uneasy, and the People's Daily commentary would turn to the housing problem in Hong Kong.

But because the leftists are impotent, these people have drifted to the rightist camp to become supporters of populism. If they are losers, then their loss goes to the leftists. These arrestees may not represent all the participants (because the smart ones know to avoid the cameras, leave quickly after making assaults and never use your Octopus cards on the MTR). Nevertheless, it is easy to see that the marauders on Sundays are mostly students and grassroots workers.

I hope the leftists can understand these people better, putting aside their contempt and anger in order to face the issues.

Q1.  How do you assess the impact of the Occupy Movement on overall social development in Hong Kong?
9.5%: Very positively
21.6%: Somewhat positively
26.4%: So-so
19.5%: Somewhat negatively
20.2%: Very negatively
2.9%: No opinion/refused to answer

Q2. Do you agree that the fight for political system progress in Hong Kong must abide the principles of peace and non-violence?
55.1%: Very much agree
25.4%: Somewhat agree
12.1%: So-so
3.1%: Somewhat disagree
3.0%: Very much disagree
1.3%: No opinion/refused to answer

Q3. Do you think that the Legislative Council should pass the 2017 Chief Executive election proposal?
40.2%: Pass
46.9%: Veto
12.9%: No opinion/refused to answer

Q4. If the election committee eliminates the corporate votes and the directors' votes, do you think the Legislative Council should pass the 2017 Chief Executive election proposal?
44.4%: Pass
38.1%: Veto
17.5%: No opinion/refused to answer

Q5. If the government makes a public promise to continue to improve the Chief Executive election method after 2017, do you think the Legislative Council should pass the 2017 Chief Executive election proposal?
57.7%: Pass
33.5%: No
8.8%: No opinion/refused to answer

Distribution of political preferences:
4.0%: Radical democrats
30.6%: Moderate democrats
30.3%: Middle-of-the-roaders
5.5%: Pro-establishment
1.1%: Industry/business sector
2.2%: Pro-China
21.0%: No political preferences
5.1%: Don't know/hard to say/refused to answer

[Note: This distribution of political preferences is problematic, because there are too few pro-establishment people.  The distribution here is 34.6% pan-democrats; 8.8% pro-establishment and 51% middle-of-the-roaders/no political preferences  For example, Lingnan University says: 25% pro-establishment, 35% pan-democrats and 40% with middle-of-the-roaders/no political preference.]

(Oriental Daily) March 14, 2015.

Over the past few weeks, the anti-parallel traders demonstrations caused chaos in various districts. On this coming Sunday, violent clashes may break out in at least seven districts (Central, Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Sheung Shui, Sha Tin and Mong Kok). The police are on high alert, with more than 1,000 Police Tactical Unit officers assigned. At the main battleground of Government House, there will be 300 police officers. In each of the six other designated areas, at least 250 police officers are available.

This Sunday, the focus is one annual open house day at Government House. Internet users have called to "view the flowers, distribute the merchandise." The People's Power party has promised that 30 members will be there with yellow umbrellas to view the flowers. They will also bring Chinese New Year couplets saying "I want genuine universal suffrage" to make the Chief Executive's home look more like Chinese New Year. If they are refused entry, they promised to take off their clothes.

Meanwhile on Facebook, a user has established multiple pages for anti-parallel traders action, including the titles "Restore Yuen Long," "Big sale in Tsuen Wan," "the Battle of Tuen Mun redux," "Reclaim Sheung Shui," "Renew battle to reclaim Sha Tin" and "One day tour of Mong Kok." At Golden Forum, there is a post "Many people are showing up in Hung Hom on Sunday."

[However, the latter is suspected to be a hoax. After all, the initial call was for the masses to assemble at 03:00am at the six locations. It was corrected later to 15:00pm.]

(Oriental Daily) 09:26 March 15, 2015

Tam Tak-chi of People's Power showed up in a yellow windblazer at Government House. He showed the media that he had a "D7689" (for "Fuck CY Leung") sticker pasted on his belly in protest.

Meanwhile, Mr. Zhang from Beijing is on his visit to Government House. He thinks that Hong Kong is a society that abides by the rule of law. If he comes across an incident, he will address the demonstrators politely. If things should turn for the worse, he will immediately flee the scene and report to the police.

(Oriental Daily with video) 10:45 March 15, 2015

About 20 People's Power members tried to enter Government House today. One female member started yelling "I want genuine universal suffrage" and was carried away by female police officers. Later this female demonstrator claimed to feel uncomfortable, so the police summoned an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

People's Power member Tam Tak-chi was told by the police to leave. Tam protested because he was not carrying any banners. Finally Tam place the "I want genuine universal suffrage" couplet on the outside wall of Government House. At least five persons were forced to leave, including the regular protestor  "Female Long Hair" Lui Yuk-lin.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-zeFx8HnI (dbc) Female Shopping Revolutionary auntie carted away.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVGK-5Pg9Wk (dbc) Tam Tak-chi refused entry into Government House
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVrC0sua4sM (Epoch Times)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSdaoErHjXg (Speakout HK) Female demonstrator throws a fit, rolled on the ground and demanded an ambulance be called.

(Oriental Daily) 11:41 March 15, 2015

People's Power chairwoman Erica Yuen Mi-ming successfully gained entrance into Government House. She was asked to leave because she attracted too much media attention so as to block the passageway. As she was leaving, a counter-demonstrator hollered: "The prostitute of the Civic Party, Ms. Yuen."

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMlQxnjejS8 (dbc)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4728ENKycik (SocREC)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ggdvEvmxDI (SocREC)

(Oriental Daily) 12:54 March 15, 2015

Members of the Treasure Group and architectural sector drove around slowly in 20 days from the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower  to Yue Man Square in Kwun Tong. They protested against those troublemakers who roam around harassing travelers and businesses, thus damaging the Hong Kong economy. According to Treasure Group convener Lee Pik-yi who is a Yuen Long resident, Hong Kong is a shopping paradise and the parallel traders do not have a discernible impact on the lives of most citizens. According to the representative of architectural sector, more pharmacies in Sheung Shui means greater competition and convenience for citizens who have more choices than ever before. He deplored the anti-parallel traders demonstrators as morally degenerate.

(Oriental Daily) 13:00 March 15, 2015

There was an "Anti-Civic Passion Anti-Violence Demonstration" today. The demonstrators began from Chater Garden and ended in Tamar Park. Before setting off, the organizers handed out hotdogs for people to eat, symbolizing the eating of Civic Passion (nicknamed Hot Dogs). According to Democracy Construction Action convener Ms. Lau, Civic Passion has organized several anti-parallel traders that vexed the local residents greatly, including assaulting people and kicking their suitcases and shopping bags. Such acts have angered the people, who should recognize that these demonstrators are trying to promote Hong Kong independence using parallel traders as the pretext.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu32Jv0BnsI (dbc)

Before they set off, several People's Power members dressed in yellow walked by, including Tam Tak-shi. The demonstrators thought that these people were Civic Passion members and went to intercept them. The police interceded quickly, but without stopping them from cursing each other out.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YqwVGW5qQk (SocREC)

(Oriental Daily) 13:52 March 15, 2015.

About one hundred persons participated in the "Anti Civic Passion, Anti Violence Demonstration." The middle-aged participant Man Shek said that the Civic Passion "hot dogs" are in hiding. He challenged Civic Passion founder Wong Yueng-tat to a mano a mano fight to determine the winner. He gave Wong one month to prepare. Since the theme today is "anti-violence," wouldn't it be contrary to the original intention by fighting? Ah Man said that this will be a legally sanctioned boxing match.

(Apple Daily) 14:39 March 15, 2015

Captain America Andy Yung was walking on the overpass from Sheung Shui Plaza to the MTR station when he was intercepted by police officers and searched. He said: "I knew that they want to deliberately harass me, because more than a dozen uniformed police officers came to search me." He said that he expected to be searched and therefore he won't bring any dangerous materials on him.

Internet comment: When you dress up like a robber, it is a wonder if the police didn't stop and search you.

(Oriental Daily) 14:49 March 15, 2015

Seven organizations including Voice of Loving Hong Kong, Bauhinia Action, Occupy Central Does Not Represent Me, Love Hong Kong gathered at the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Clock Tower to express their opposition to Hong Kong independence. At this time, there are already 50 to 60 persons gathered. Caring Hong Kong Power convener Anna Chan passed out national flags. The demonstrators said that a small number of individuals are using anti-parallel traders as pretext to block roads, be a nuisance to businesses, harass and attack travelers to the shame of all Hongkongers. In addition, certain political parties are using localism to divide society and promote Hong Kong independence. They want the police to rigorously enforce the law.

Voice of Loving Hong Kong convener Ko Tat-bun said that he was concerned that mainland may refrain from coming to Hong Kong because they are under the impression that Hongkongers don't welcome them. He rejected the assertion that mainland travelers' spending here is causing prices to rice. He said that if mainlander don't come, the Hong Kong economy will be hurt. In January, retail sales were 15% lower than in 2014. He said that most parallel traders are Hongkongers, and eliminating multiple-visits permit won't help much.

(Oriental Daily) 15:30 March 15, 2015

A child about 2 to 3 years ago managed to successfully raise a yellow umbrella without police interference.

(Oriental Daily) 15:32 March 15, 2015

About twenty members of Caring Hong Kong Power demonstrated outside the High Court this afternoon. They protested against the thugs who are causing chaos in Hong Kong and the judges who have not imposes severe penalties against those thugs. They chanted: "The police arrest the perpetrators but the judges let them go."  Spokesperson Lee Ka-ka said that the anti-parallel traders used violent methods to express their demands, and this has caused many other citizens who oppose the parallel traders to keep quiet for fear of being classified as violent thugs too.

(Oriental Daily) 15:47 March 15, 2015

Mr. Chan had participated in anti-parallel traders demonstrators the past few weeks showed up at Government House today. He said that a friend raised an umbrella but he himself did nothing. Nevertheless he was held down by two to three men and punched twice in his stomach. His hand was also injured. He said that he did not say anything, not even "I want genuine universal suffrage." He said that the police also searched his backpack for weapons of assault.

Billy Chiu of the Self-Determination Party of Tibet and Hong Kong showed up. But he saw the queue was too long, so he merely stood outside and displayed the British Lion/Dragon flag of Hong Kong independence for the press to take photos.

Internet comment:

- Guess what? The guy who got hit in the belly is Figo Chan, the cold-blooded demonstrator who kept filming away at the mother-daughter in Tuen Mun.

http://cablenews.i-cable.com/webapps/news_video/index.php?news_id=453699

(Oriental Daily) 15:55  March 15, 2015

By observation, it was relatively calm in Tuen Mun, Sha Tin and Yue Long.

In Sheung Shui, regular demonstrator "Captain America" Andy Yung  got close to the Justice Alliance's booth and waved the British Lion/Dragon flag for Hong Kong independence. He got into a shoving match with a masked man who had just signed at the booth. Other passersby also cursed Captain America, who left for Canton Road (Tsim Sha Tsui). The Justice Alliance was there to gather signatures from peace-loving Hongkongers to petition the Hong Kong government to criminalize insults directed at the police force.

(Oriental Daily) 16:37 March 15, 2015.

Billy Chiu snucked in the British Dragon/Lion flag up his sleeve, and entered Government House after inspection. But his every move was monitored by the security personnel. As soon as he took out his flag, he was subdued in less than two seconds and removed from Government House. On his way out, he shouted "Build the Hong Kong nation" and "the foreign power leave."

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FRA_vomYl8 (dbc)

(Oriental Daily) 17:11 March 15, 2015.

At the Sha Tin MTR East Rail station, a large number of Police Tactical Unit were present. There was no large-scale gathering, but the police continued to intercept suspicious-looking individuals for questioning. 14-year-old Lam Ka-wai was arrested for blocking the road last week in Tuen Mun was stopped after she was spotted loitering around the ticket sales area. The police found two banners in her backpack, but they did not detain her. She left soon.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59VDPhAuUGM (dbc)

(Oriental Daily) 17:17 March 15, 2015

About 200 people from seven pro-establishment organizations set off from the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower to nearby Canton Road. They shouted slogans such as "Oppose Hong Kong independence", "Oppose separatism" and "Compatriots, Hong Kong welcome you." A number of mainland travelers stopped to take photos.

Cheung Chun-ho (Student Awakening) and several young persons came to challenge these demonstrators. Cheung got into an argument with an old man, who told Cheung that he was ignorant of Chinese history. Cheung countered that he became aware of the corruption in China because he has read too many books on Chinese history.

(Oriental Daily) 17:43 March 15, 2015

Open day at Government House ended at 5pm. 14,900 persons came today, which was 1,100+ more than last year.

(Cable News) March 15, 2015

Tonight CY Leung said that the demonstrators disturbed the citizens who were viewing the flora, even intimidating them from entering Government House. Many citizens are upset, and wonder if the demonstrators really want to express their opinions or just seeking media exposure or have other political agenda. He said that these kinds of harassment are similar to the assault of tourists in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long.

(Apple Daily with video) 18:15 March 15, 2015

"Baby cried after being surrounded by the police!"

A man wearing a "I use a yellow umbrella to support Hong Kong" t-shirt tried to open a yellow umbrella in Government House. He was surrounded immediately by the police and security staff. A foreign woman and young baby with him were also surrounded by the police. The baby was suspected of being scared into crying. The umbrella man immediately stopped the plainclothes police from approaching the mother and child, yelling: "Go away!" He pushed the baby carriage and left with the mother and baby. The police surrounded them and watched them leave Government House.

Internet comments:

- Correction needed: The mother and baby were not surrounded by the police. They were surrounded by the photojournalists, especially that one white guy in the brown t-shirt. The police tried to help the mother and baby to leave.

- The umbrella man screamed at the police to "Go away!" That was what scared the baby into crying.

- The father brought his wife and baby to Government House and opened an umbrella. He knew full well that they will be in the middle of a media storm. Who is to blame for intentionally making the baby cry?

- To paraphrase what Wong Yeung-tat (Civic Passion), it is the fault of the mother-child to get themselves in that situation. Or to quote Lam Yat-hei on the Tuen Mun mother-daughter: "It is very natural for small children to cry. In restaurants, I have heard small children cry. On buses, I have heard small children cry. Even during movies, I have heard small children cry. What is so extraordinary about a small child crying?"

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeXJ42927u0 (dbc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APT95umjDYA (dbc) Parallel display with Tuen Mun mother-daughter per Figo Chan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54HJ67AwnnM (Epoch Times)

(Oriental Daily) March 13, 2015.

Recently, the Kurbrick bookstore in Yaumati was going to hold a photography exhibition entitled "Images of the Police" March 1-31. Today Kubrick announced that because the bookstore has received a large number of anonymous phone calls threatening its staff, it has obtained the concurrence of the photographer Chan Wai-kwong to terminate this exhibition effective immediately. The photos have been removed, and the exhibition space will remain empty for the duration.

Kubrick said that the photos in the "Images of the Police" were taken during the July 1st demonstration march, and the photos do not take any position. The original intent was to use the various photos to let the spectators contemplate the police anew. Difference audience members had different reactions. Some asked: "Is this Exhibit supporting the police?" Others said: "The police have their difficulties" and "The police are people too." Still others think that the exhibit was smearing the police. Kubrick said that people should contemplate and reflect on the different meanings that they derive from the exhibit.

Internet comments:

- Facebook ("Burn your accounting ledger" which reads out aloud just like "Fuck your mother" in Cantonese)

[Everybody stop spending money there! Also block the smearer's company!
Yau Ma Tei district Prosperous Garden Broadway Cinematheque cafe
The bastard who took the photos is Chan Wai-kwong, Yellow Ribbon evil police photography exhibit!]

- Black-and-white photos are most often used for the dearly departed ones at funeral ceremonies.

- If someone took photos of you without your permission and then run a highly publicized photography exhibit, how would you feel? If someone followed this photographer Chan Wai-kwong around for a month and took photos of him to run an exhibit, how would he feel? If someone followed the owner of Kubrick around for a month and took photos of him to run an exhibit, how would he feel?

- "Re-think the police?" I would really like to "re-think the July 1st demonstrators."

- "Different audience members had different reactions." You must think people are idiots to believe your story. My belief is that all the people who came to the cafe realized that you were using these photos to insult the police and complained to you. In the end, your business was being affected. Therefore, you came up with a fictional excuse to halt the exhibit. But what's the difference anyway? You have never been profitable and you won't be even after this political marketing ploy.

- Very ambiguous statement from Kubrick about these threatening phone calls. What were the predominant positions of those calls? On one hand, it could be to protest the insults to the police, or exposing them and their families to threats from pro-democracy activists. On the other hand, it could be to protest the glorification of the police. But Kubrick won't say for fear of making the battle lines clear.

- When you receive many threatening phone calls, you should call the police. [The telephone number is 999, in case you don't know.] Instead you fold up the photo exhibit. This is not a convincing story.

- Hong Kong is a polarized society. If the exhibitors state that they support the police, the Yellow Ribbons will scream. If the exhibitors state that they want to document police ruthlessness, the Blue Ribbons will scream. If the exhibitors say that they are neutral, both Yellow and Blue Ribbons will scream based upon their own readings. There is plenty of freedom of speech as evidenced by the screaming, but is there any freedom of thought left?

(SCMP) Hong Kong book giant in censorship row after returning titles to ‘pro-democracy’ publisher. March 8, 2015.

A small independent publishing firm, with a pro-democracy background, has accused the biggest publishing conglomerate in the city of "indirectly murdering the whole publishing industry" by returning hundreds of books after the Occupy protests. Up Publications had hundreds of books returned by Beijing-friendly Sino United Publishing through its subsidiaries Joint Publishing, Chung Hwa Book and Commercial Press, which operate 51 stores across the city.

"Twenty books - even new publications - which amount to hundreds of copies have been returned by Sino United over the past few months," Up Publications' editor-in-chief, Carmen Kwong Wing-suen, told the Post. "Our distributer told us that some bookstore staff said we should not have stood at the front line of Occupy Central."

Kwong questioned the reason for the "unprecedented" return of the books by Sino United. She said many of the returned books were about pets and food and were far from being political. "[The move by Sino United] is no different from indirectly murdering the whole publishing industry … by making the books they dislike simply disappear from the market," she said.

She added that it was exceptional for bookstores to return books in less than half a year as they were normally displayed for a whole year, starting from July, when the annual book fair starts.

It is the second time in three months that Sino United has faced censorship allegations. Earlier this year, the giant was accused of halting sales of the Chinese-language book Hong Kong Nationalism at its three subsidiary book chains after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying hit out at the University of Hong Kong's student union for "advocating independence". Up Publications, set up in 2006 and helmed by outspoken cultural critic Leung Man-tao, has published books relating to leisure, culture and politics over the years, including the book OC (2013) in which a group of writers explained why they decided to back Occupy Central.

Kwong added that another publication, Love and Justice, co-written by her on Occupy, also received an "abnormal" lukewarm response from the conglomerate as it only ordered 28 copies for all of its 51 retail outlets instead of the normal practice of 200 copies. Occupy's core volunteer, Shiu Ka-chun, also said his new book, That's All I Know about OCLP, was not picked up by the three book chains.

Staff from the three book chains all told the Post that Shiu's book was not available at any of their branches. Both books, however, turned out to be among the bestsellers in bookstores located above street level, such as the Hong Kong Reader in Mong Kok. A spokesman for Sino United refused to comment on individual cases, but said the bookstores made their own decisions on what books to stock and the duration of display according to the publications' quality and the authors' reputation.

Kwong said they had no alternative but to hold a clearance sale to get rid of the returned books to clear their warehouse ahead of the annual book fair in July.

(Sky Post) A marketing technique known as 'oppression. K. K. Tsang. March 13, 2015.

Recently a certain publisher criticized the Sino United Publishing for returning as many as 90% of their books from three bookstores.

I asked my publishing friend whether there was no political oppression involved. She said coldly that this was likely to be a case that the books weren't selling well and the publisher played the "oppression" card to market the books. In Hong Kong, books are usually sold by consignment. If the books don't sell, it is normal to return them to the publisher. It is true that bookstores are sometimes less than enthusiastic to promote books of the opposite political viewpoints. That is common knowledge. After all, anti-establishment media are not expected to praise the Chinese Communists, right? She does not think that Hong Kong has reached the stage of book burning yet.

I went down to the relevant bookstore to see for myself. I found some pro-Occupy Central books, anti-establishment books and City-State theory books still on sale, some of them even displayed prominently. I did not see the books from Up Publications. Later I checked the website of this bookstore. I found that Up Publications books are still on sale, including those politically sensitive ones. If the bookstores really want to squash the books as the publisher asserts, they wouldn't leave the door open through their online bookstore.

In recent year, there is a bad tendency in the media cultural industry. Whenever your business is stalled, you don't sit down and assess your own competitiveness or look for room to improve. Instead you scream "political oppression" in order to sell more.

(Apple Daily) March 13, 2015.

Over the past few weeks, the ratings for HKTV has been tumbling. According to the latest ratings data released just yesterday, the finale of <Second Life> and the premiere of <The Menu> were not able to rescue the ratings. The average video-on-demand audience was 40,000 while the average live broadcast audience was 90,000. [When HKTV debuted last November, the respective numbers were 205,000 and 358,000.]

[Note: An average live broadcast audience of 90,000 at 45 minutes per day is equivalent to an 0.4% rating (rounded down to zero). The dominant broadcaster typically averages a 20+ rating.]

For more on HKTV and the relevant political issues, see previous post.

(The Sun) March 13, 2015.

Singer Candy Lo was going back to her hometown Zhongshan for a special <Candy Lo Kolor Life Zhongshan concert:. After the news was released, some Internet users mistook her for singer Denise Ho who participated in the Occupy Central activities and called for a boycott. Radical elements even announced that they will be waiting with rotten eggs.

On her microblog, Candy Lo professes incomprehension. She said told our reporter: "I am aware of this matter. I clarified immediately on my microblog. My company and the organizers have clarified too. As a singer, I can only do my part in preparing for the concert and take part in the promotional activities. Everything else will be taken care of by my company.

Her company and the organizers issued an emergency statement, saying that they had vetted the backgrounds of their artistes completely. They said that Candy Lo has never participated in any Occupy Central activity or otherwise oppose "national opinions." "Zhongshan is Candy Lo's hometown. She is the pride and joy of Zhongshan. She wants to return to her home and have a concert to meet with her hometown friends."

(The Sun) March 13, 2015.

This morning, about 30 members of the Loyalist Civil Regiment showed up in Polytechnic University to protest against Civic Passion member Cheng Chung-tai, who is a lecturer there. They raised placards outside the Vice-Chancellor's office and chanted slogans calling for the immediate dismissal of Cheng.

The leader of this group is Ah Man, who became famous when he tried to remove the barricades set up by Occupy people. Ah Man said that the group was formed three days ago, and named after the civil self-defense organizations in old Guangdong province. He said that Cheng is a teacher who teaches his students to break the law.

During the demonstration through the school campus, passersby cursed this group as Boxers. Ah Man suggested that these people should read up on history about the Boxers carefully first. In addition, their press release stated the wrong location. When the reporters could not find the demonstrators, they called up the contact number and were rudely told: "If you want to come, come. If you don't want to come, don't come." Because of their bad attitude, some of the reporters vowed to boycott coverage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u4lSvz3AA8 (dbc) News report
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkqfO6GXIDs (dbs) News footage juxtaposed with Boxer-themed movie clips

(Oriental Daily) March 13, 2015.

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examinations are going to be held later this month. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority announced that anyone who opens an umbrella or shouts slogans in an exam hall will be penalized by partial or complete points deduction.

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority has a number of rules related to disruptive behavior during examinations. Students have filed complaints against disruptions during examinations. Examples are: the sound of a lawnmower outside; a female monitor wearing high-heeled shoes that made loud noises as she walked around; a monitor not picking up a ruler dropped by a student; etc.

There are about 1,800 students each year with special needs who ask for assistance. However, the Authority turns down about 100 of them for lack of reasonable ground. For example, one student wanted more time on ground of low IQ. Psychological testing did not indicate this student to be mentally impaired. Therefore, the request was turned down.

Internet comments:

- If you shout "I want genuine universal suffrage", you will be thrown out. If you shout "I support the police to enforce the law", you will be thrown out as well. If you open a yellow umbrella, you will be thrown out. If you open a blue umbrella, you will be thrown out. However, it appears that you can wear a yellow ribbon attached to your clothes. The criterion is whether an action is disruptive to the monitors and other students.

Candidates who misbehave or act maliciously in such a way that they upset the conduct of the examination will risk disqualification from the subject examination. Other types of misbehavior (e.g. being excessively rude to centre staff or examiners, repeatedly disobeying centre staff's reasonable language, using foul language or obscene wording on answer scripts) may lead to subject downgrading.

...

You must maintain absolute silence once you have entered an examination room. You must not disturb, speak or give signals to other candidates during an examination. Otherwise, you will receive a mark penalty.

- Don't count on this announcement to deter anyone. When a Yellow Ribbon knows that he will fail anyway, he might as well as go out in a blaze of glory and blame his zero score on political persecution. (Reference: Zhang Tiesheng)

- Actually, it is not only disruptive. Shouting slogans may be a signal for cheaters. If the answer is A, I shout "I want genuine universal suffrage." If the answer is B, I shout "689 must resign." If the answer is C, I shout "Long live democracy." If the answer is D, I shout "Build the Hong Kong City-State."
Similarly you can conceal a crib sheet in your yellow umbrella. If the monitor wants to check your umbrella, it would be a violation of your inalienable right against unreasonable searches.

- A section of the examination is the testing of English-speaking skills. Irrespective of the question, you can just say: "I want genuine universal suffrage."


- "Without universal suffrage, all exam results are just floating clouds."

- If they complain about the sound of lawnmowers outside, what would they say about the people who shouted slogans outside the window for 79 days?

- Anyone who is 19 years or older can just pay the fee to take the Diploma of Secondary Education examinations. So let's start a massive registration campaign. When the moment comes, let everybody stand up and chant "I want genuine universal suffrage." If the supervisor orders you to leave, you Occupy the exam hall in the name of the People. The Apple Daily reporter must register too and use a hidden camera to record.

- This is a serious abridgement of the freedom of expression. The Examinations and Assessment Authority is willing to tend to the special needs (such as physical handicaps) of more than 1,000 students. Therefore, they should oblige those who need to raise umbrellas and chant slogans during examinations by setting up three special examination sites in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories where those actions will be allowed.

- What other situation is in inappropriate to raise a yellow umbrella and chant slogans? Please check:
[ ] Graduation ceremony
[ ] Wedding
[ ] Funeral service
[ ] Catholic mass
[ ] Passport inspection at border entry point
[ ] In the middle of a full-house cinema
[ ] Ballet dance when the dancers are going maximum to the music
[ ] Golf tournament just when the golfer is concentrating on putting for an eagle
[ ] In the shower
[ ] Isolde's Liebestod scene from the Wagner opera Trisan und Isolde
[ ] In a jam-packed subway car
[ ] The quiet room in the library
[ ] A music concert at Hung Hom Coliseum
[ ] Festival Walk shopping mall in Kowloon Tong
[ ] The Chief Executive's annual policy speech at the Legislative Council
[ ] ...

(Sina.com.hk) March 14, 2015.

Recently Internet users uncovered that the employee named Woo of the Cake's Secrets bakery in Sai Wan is a Blue Ribbon activist. In particular, he is suspected of assaulting Captain America at the Yuen Long West Rail station. A number of these Internet users posted to the bakery's Facebook to say that they have asked all their friends and relatives to boycott the place. Yesterday, the bakery's Facebook announced that "Our employee Woo Chi-kwong has resigned from this company effective March 13. Therefore, anything that he does outside is not connected to this company." There was no explanation about why Woo left the company. Many Yellow Ribbons applauded, with some willing to stop the boycott. However, others wondered if Woo is actually the owner of the company. The company registration record showed two other names as owners, and Woo is not a director either. But one of the owners is a DAB district councilor. Therefore some Internet users said that the boycott must continue.

Internet comments:

- If this Woo guy has to resign from the bakery, then Cheng Chung-tai (Civic Passion) must also resign from Polytechnic University.

- Boycott? Black-listed? Does anyone still remember the list of pro-establishment establishments to be boycotted? Does anyone still follow that list?

- It was wrong for Woo to beat up Captain America. Captain America deserves to be beaten, but the beating should be administered by the police and not by vigilantes.

- If the bakery fired this Woo guy, then they now face boycotts from two sides. On one hand, Yellow Ribbons will continue to boycott because one of their owners is a DAB district councilor. On the other hand, Blue Ribbons will begin a boycott because the bakery fired a valiant fighter for justice.

(Sina.com.hk) March 11, 2015.

Justice Alliance/Alliance in Support of Our Police Force convener Leticia Lee went with about 20 others to the Kowloon Bay office of the Internet media Passion Times to demonstrate. They opposed the political party Civic Passion for bullying the weak and vulnerable citizens in recent anti-parallel trader demonstrations. Lee demanded that Civic Passion founder Wong Yeung-tat personally accept her letter of protest. Passion Times staff locked their office door to block her group out.

When Wong Yeung-tat was contacted and asked if he was scared of Leticia Lee, he responded: "Fuck your mother! What the fuck is there anything worthwhile to respond to Leticia Lee about!" He instructed the reporter to use the full quote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSK3hseXbJA (Apple Daily video taken from the outside)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD9tLxDVFj4 (Passion Times video taken from the inside)

(Apple Daily with video) March 11, 2015.

Justice Alliance/Alliance in Support of Our Police Force convener Leticia Lee went from the Civic Passion office to the James Restaurant on Nam Shing Road in Tai Po district. She said that the DLLM Orchids' chairman Ma Kin-yin is a shareholder in this restaurant. The chef Mr. Ho came out and said that there are three female shareholders but none of them has the family name of Ma. Mr. Ho also told the press that the restaurant has been receiving anonymous threatening phone calls over the past couple of days.

The police set up a demonstration area for Leticia Lee and her people. They refused to obey police instruction, and they went up to block the restaurant entrance and curse out the workers. They proclaimed that the restaurant food was poisonous. She promised that she will tell mainland tourists to make sure to pay a "visit" to this restaurant whenever they are in town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmLksyII15U (Ming Pao video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxFpdHBbIg (Apple Daily video)

(HKG  Pao) August 10, 2015.

Barry Ma announced that he plans to withdraw from the James Restaurant in Tai Po. He expressed fondness for this restaurant. However, our reporter observed that this restaurant is doing poorly business-wise, possibly because of the negative image of its owner. Meanwhile the DLLM Orchid's internet program has also ceased production.

Internet comments:

- Everything that Leticia Lee is doing mirrors exactly what Civic Passion has been doing over the past few Sundays. If Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous stood outside the pharmacy of Stephen Siu (of the rival People Power party), chanted slogans and stopped business, so can Leticia Lee and her people do the same to Passion Times. Actually, Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous charged into jewelry store Chow Sang Sang to curse out a Hongkonger customer. Leticia Lee hasn't charged into the James Restaurant and cursed out their customers yet. And if the James Restaurant was a case of mistaken identity, then so was that Chow Sang Sang customer. Therefore, if Civic Passion wants to rationalize their actions, they must also accept that Leticia Lee is justified in what she is doing. Now at least they can understand why the stores lower their gates upon their approach. For many Hongkongers, Leticia Lee did something that they all wanted to see.

- Wong Yeung-tat responded: "Fuck your mother! What the fuck is there anything worthwhile to respond to Leticia Lee about!" Someday I would like to see the Hong Kong government respond in like manner to some Wong Yeung-tat action: "Fuck your mother! What the fuck is there anything worthwhile to respond to Wong Yeung-tat about!"

- When Chief Executive CY Leung declined to meet with Scholarism representatives, Wong Yeung-tat jumped out and said that Leung must meet with them. Now Leticia Lee wants to meet with Wong Yeung-tat, Wong says "Fuck your mother!"

- Apple Daily is complaining that the police played favorites in not stopping Leticia Lee. If she was a Yellow Ribbon, they would be protecting her freedoms of expression and assembly.

- The symmetry is not perfectly mirrored. Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous have wrongfully harassed and assaulted dozens of people over the past several weeks. This time, they got two visits from Leticia Lee and her people. Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous should be proud that they are still way ahead in the game (especially when it comes to the number of suitcases kicked).

- Another broken symmetry is that Leticia Lee and her team had no problems showing their faces in public. By contrast, Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous hid behind hoodies and surgical masks because they are afraid of being identified.

- In Chinese, there is a saying: A rich man is afraid of dealing with a hooligan, but the hooligan is afraid of dealing with a shrew(爛佬怕潑婦). Each works according to some set of rules which the other won't abide by. Wong Yeung-tat and Leticia Lee -- made for each other!

- Wong Yeung-tat is like the turtle refusing to stick his head out. How is he going to lead Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous to found the new Hong Kong City-State? How would his valiant warriors regard his cowardice? It is time for Wong to emerge and beat up more senior citizens and small children, and thus re-establish his manhood.

- The language of deception -- the chef Mr. Ho said "there are three female shareholders none of them with the family name of Ma." He did not say anything about male shareholders. He could have just said your named Mr. Ma is not a shareholder of this restaurant, and maybe add: No male or female shareholder has the family name Ma.

- Even funnier was the news report that the Civic Passion staff announced that they were considering to call the police. When you don't want the police around, you call them "Police canines." When you want the police to help you, you call them "Police uncles." This is as hilarious as a triad gang calls the police to save them from another triad gang. How can you face the world afterwards?

- As Wong Yeung-tat explained the mother-daughter incident, each demonstration site is a battleground where things happen (such as little girls crying). So the Civic Passion office was a battleground this morning, and things happened. If only the staff opened the office door, then more things would happen. If only Wong Yeung-tat would come down to the office, even more things would happen ...

- Wong Yeung-tat is not scared of Leticia Lee. He is concerned about his own political future. If he gets into a fight, gets arrested and is convicted of a fighting in public, he may lose the chance to run for Legislative Council in 2016. No way will he chance that.

However, Wong Yeung-tat can look forward to a 2016 Legco campaign in which he will meet Leticia Lee at every campaign stop. There will be plenty of shouting, shoving and object-throwing.

- In Episode 302 of the Internet radio program Passion Politics, the subject was Civic Passion building its own army. Where the fuck was that army today when the propaganda department was surrounded by hostile forces?

And where was the gun-toting Civic Youth Army?

- On March 9, Chapter 339 of <Passion Politics>, Wong Yeung-tat said: "When you engage in radical action, you are fucking useless if you can't even scare a small child into crying! Fuck your mother!"

On March 11, Chapter 277 of <Good morning, Greater Hong Kong>, Raymond Wong Yuk-man said: "If there continues to be people who kick suitcases and scare small children, then these must surely be agents provocateurs! Drop dead!"

So whom should the faithful listen to?

(Oriental Daily) March 10, 2015 front page


Thugs bully the old and the vulnerable
Anti-parallel trader demonstration completely lawless
Condemned by all of Hong Kong

Several dozen thugs used opposition of parallel trading as pretext to roam around Sheng Shui, Tuen Mun and Tsim Sha Tsui to surround people, curse them out and beat them up. Apart from some actual parallel traders, they also abused and assault mainland women and children who are not parallel traders, as well as Hong Kong-born senior citziens.


One of the extremist thugs


Same thug, from the Occupy Mong Kok days


Respecting their elders

(Oriental Daily) March 9, 2015.


Mr. Chu has lived in Tuen Mun for several decades. Last month during Reclaim Tuen Mun, he avoided the demonstration site. But yesterday, the demonstrators made an unannounced attack on Tuen Mun. Mr. and Mrs. Chu were caught by surprise in the Chow Sang Sang jewelry store. When the group of masked demonstrators charged into the store, his wife was terrified and took refuge in the resting area for store employees. Mr. Chu confronted the demonstrators: "I am a Hongkonger. It is legal and reasonable for me to go shopping on a Sunday. These demonstrators charged into the store yelling and one of them challenged me close up. They are mad dogs who bite anyone they see." Mr. Chu observed: "So what if the multiple-entry permit is canceled? These people will find another excuse to cause trouble. Do you think they will ever stop?"

[Note: Internet users pointed out that the demonstrators charged in with the so-called photojournalists in tow. But as soon as Mr. Chu identified himself as a Hongkonger, the photojournalists immediately stopped filming, because they don't want the incident recorded.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee6URAF4KRY (Bastille Post) The Chow Sang Sang incident.

(Oriental Daily) March 9, 2015.


73-year-old Lee Wai-kuen passed by the demonstration site with a handcart. He was surrounded and kicked to the ground by the young demonstrators. Yesterday he was interviewed by our reporter in Tuen Mun City Park.

Lee said that he lives in Tuen Mun. He spends several days a week playing music with fellow hobbyists in Tuen Mun City Park. Last night, he encountered the demonstrators on his way home. "I had to go past that section in order to go home. I don't know why they would kick me? What didn't the police enforce the law?" He said that demonstrators demanded to know if he was a parallel trader. He did not think that it was necessary to reply. He said with reason: "They are not the police. They don't have the authority to interrogate me."

(Wen Wei Po) March 10, 2015.

73-year-old Lee Wai-kuen has lived in Tuen Mun for 40 years. He had just finished playing music in Tuen Mun Park and he was pushing the handcart with the audio-visual equipment to go home. He said that he was surrounded by a bunch of masked demonstrators. They asked if he was carrying parallel goods. He said: "So what if it is? So what if isn't?" In the chaos, he picked up a stick to protect himself but he did not wield it. He was then cursed out with foul language by the demonstrators and shoved to the ground. He said: "Somebody pushed me. It was 100% deliberate." His handcart was toppled and the plastic box was damaged. Lee said that he can always replace his equipment, but he can never mend the mental hurt. "They insulted my heart." He has no idea to whom he can complain to.

Lee criticized those demonstrators: "Even if I was a parallel-trader, they don't have the authority to beat me or enforce the law on behalf of the police." He decried the actions of the demonstrators as "hooligans." He said that public safety has always been good in Tuen Mun until these masked demonstrators showed up. He felt distressed. "Since when has society turn into not following the law and not enforcing it?"

He said that the demonstrators are "brainless and blind." They do whatever they are told. He thinks that they must be taking money to demonstrate. "The braver they are, they more they get paid." Therefore, the demonstrators won't let any chance slip by and he became their victim.

As for parallel trading, Lee said that a decade ago, Hongkongers traveled north of the border to shop. Today, mainlanders come to Hong Kong to shop. This is just a reversal of roles. He thinks that it is unfair to oppose parallel traders. He asked: "If a Hongkonger goes to shop in mainland and gets cursed out by mainlanders, what then?"

(Oriental Daily) March 9, 2015.

A 24-year-old construction worker has been arrested for kicking a bald-headed grandpa from behind with great force such that the victim fell to the ground.

(The Stand) March 9, 2015.

According to the Facebook which started the Tuen Mun tour, "I am willing to ... I am willing to represent everyone ... the other people who went out there were not wrong. I acknowledge that I apologize to the young girl and her family. Because there were many people, everybody is talking about fighting for democracy on an international scope, but if people got so excited that they hurt this young girl, then I sincerely apologize to her. Because she won't understand or appreciate, therefore I apologize to her sincerely. Really, we can be a little bit gentler than yesterday, so that we don't have clashes every time."

[Note: This translated message is incoherent because the original message in Chinese is incoherent.]

(The Stand) March 9, 2015. Figo Chan.

I am an ordinary Hongkonger. I have not joined any organization. Parallel goods traders have been a huge problem recently. I personally don't think the District Council or the Legislative Council have reflected the problem.  Therefore, I came out to use other means to attract social attention and increase the pressure on the government, such as directly monitoring the B3X bus workers.

In terms of effects, CY Leung has reflected to Beijing that there is a problem with the multiple-entry permits and also society has been discussing the parallel goods traders. This shows that social concern can create pressure on the government. But the movement needs some reflection at this point ...

Today, I took the video of the mother-daughter who were accused of being parallel traders. This shows the bad things that the demonstrators do. First of all, it is hard to tell who is a parallel trader and who isn't, thus causing misunderstandings. Also, when some demonstrators attacked the belongings of others, they are intimidating and provoking. I feel uneasy as a demonstrator. If you don't have compassion, you are not human. As I took the video, I saw the little girl crying and the mother condemning the demonstrators heatedly. I felt very confused. Afterwards, I saw people leaving comments like "Who cares how kids feel?" and "It was the mother's choice," I want to pose two questions to these people:

1. Every human has compassion. If that was your daughter out there and she was crying out of fear, how would you feel?

2. If more than a dozen persons mistook you and kept accusing you, would you reason with them or support them? We should think about whether the action ought to be re-directed against the government given that we now have their attention.

People are disappointed in me. I have to apologize. I should not just be taking the video and telling the little girl not to afraid from behind the camera. I am truly sorry! But I hope that this video can show the facts for people to reflect upon. Perhaps some people don't think the video should be taken. I don't agree. Photojournalists should be ethical and fair, and let the public be aware of the facts no matter if the outcome is good or bad for certain people.

This action on this day was very confusing First Tsuen Wan, then Sheung Shui, then Tuen Mun. The information kept flowing, making it hard for the demonstrators to keep up with. This reduced our influence. I also observed that the people in front did not know their way around in Tuen Mun. Letting those who don't know the way lead is sure to cause more people to be arrested. Some demonstrators went out to Tsim Sha Tsui for further night action. One or two Hong Kong Indigenous and Civic Passion members kept inviting people to go to Tsim Sha Tsui. I want to say to these organizations: If you support the anti-parallel trader movement, you should go into Tuen Mun to support the arrestees and not invite others to go elsewhere to do meaningless things. And when you want to start an action, can you please set up a special page? Do not use invitations, because not everybody is in Hong Kong Indigenous or Civic Passion.

(Wen Wei Po) March 9, 2015.

For the Sheung Shui Tour, the usual radical organizations Civic Passion, Hong Kong Indigenous and Hong Kong City-State did not made an open call to participate. Instead, the "big brothers" directed the action through the Internet.

At 3pm outside Sheung Shui East Rail station, there were more police and press than demonstrators, and the stores were shuttered already. There were no parallel traders to be found. The "big brothers" notified people to proceed to Tuen Mun. One demonstrator said: "Big Brother told us to go Tuen Mun instead. Several dozen of us took taxis to Tuen Mun. We used the flash mob technique. We split before the police arrive." He said that many demonstrators received instruction to assemble in Tuen Mun, but they did not know what the targets were. "For example, I took the taxi from Tuen Mun to the Tsim Sha Tsui clock tower after 9pm without knowing what we would be doing there. I found out after we got there."

Meanwhile Hong Kong City-State's grandmaster Wan Chin was propounding the sure way to victory on his Facebook, to wit: "No leaders, no flags, no claims, no credits."

(The Stand) March 9, 2015. Field observations.

Whenever the demonstrators encounter someone carrying a large bag, they would surround the person and curse. Many demonstrators kicked the suitcases and yelled "Go back to China!" During the course, there were many cases of mistaken identities. When the Hongkongers yell back, it does not good -- once you are considered a parallel trader, you have no chance to appeal. Even if the demonstrators in the front row are convinced, more demonstrators and reporters will come up from the rear. After cursing for a while, a demonstrator will say: "That's enough" and "Let's go, because it is no use to go on." Then the group moves on, and the victim gets to leave.

In the evening near Exit A of the West Rail station, the demonstrators surrounded an old pan pushing a cart with a number of plastic cartons. The demonstrators immediately around him recognized him as the old man who usually goes to sing in the park. They told the other demonstrators to leave him alone. But more and more demonstrators rushed in. The old man refused to take the abuse in and talked back. Finally, the old man was pushed to the ground along with his handcart, from which cables fell out. Finally someone who recognized him helped him to get up. The old man was very angry. He wanted to fight one-on-one with the young man who pulled him down on the ground. He showed the media that one of the plastic cartons carried a dove.

Another old man who looked older than 60 was hauling a cart with a cardboard box. He was surrounded by demonstrators. But very quickly other demonstrators said to leave him alone. However, the original demonstrators said that all those engaged in parallel trading must be condemned irrespective of age. Finally, the reporters showed up to interview the old man and the demonstrators dispersed.

The demonstrators chanted "Oppose parallel trading/smuggling, Cancel multiple-entry permits", "I am a Hongkonger, not a Chinaman", "Love the motherland, buy Chinese products" and so on. At the front of the queue, some older person chanted "Build the Hong Kong nation." A younger person objected, because the goal today was to oppose parallel traders and therefore the focus should not be lost. A number of demonstrators wore Civic Passion or Hong Kong Indigenous t-shirts, but nobody was giving orders.

During the process, the police went ahead in front and raised the yellow warning flag. The demonstrators had no intention to clash with the police, so they veered aside and continued. Inside Trend Plaza, the demonstrators appeared to be lost. Finally the demonstrator up front yelled: "Are there any Tuen Mun dickheads here! Tuen Mun dickheads lead the way! Tuen Mun dickheads come up front!" Demonstrators kept asking where the pharmacies are located.

The demonstrators went twice to PrizeMart, causing them to lower their gates. The demonstrators who couldn't get inside PrizeMart began a discussion on where the group should be going. Someone proposed the B3X station, but someone else said that nobody was there now and therefore they should continue to roam the shopping malls. The discussion ended when the police showed up and the demonstrators dispersed.

Six months ago, it was unthinkable for citizens to imagine that people can dash out into the road and block traffic. But today, this is a low threshold activity.

At around 6pm, the demonstrators proceeded to the B3X station. Some demonstrators were cursing out the passengers who carried luggage cases. Two masked young girls (most likely Form 3 or Form 4 students) picked up plastic barricades and placed them in the middle of the road. A large corps of reporters rushed over to take photos of the barricades. The reporters asked the two young girls about the purpose, but the two returned to the sidewalk without replying. The two young girls and other demonstrators took one step into the road and a large group of reporters rushed out. So the road was easily blocked to vehicular traffic. A few barricades were placed in front of the B3X bus. The reporters stood on the road to take photos. But by this time, the demonstrators have already left for V city. So only the reporters stood on the road.

(Oriental Daily) March 9, 2015.

6 men and 1 female were arrested, including a 16-year-old Form 2 student; a 16-year-old Form 3 student; 18-year-old Chinese University of Hong Kong student; 26-year-old salesman; 24-year-old construction worker.

The CUHK mathematics student named Chung has "Hong Kong City-State" for his Facebook and the Phoenix/Dragon/Lion flag as the background. He advocates: "Defend local culture, resist Chinese Communist united front." During the action yesterday, he posted on his Facebook: "Yuen Long is heavily defended, Tuen Mun is undefended, better create a diversion" to call Internet users to go to Tuen Mun. After he was released, he uploaded a selfie photo showing an injury on the corner of his right eye. With respect to the popular outcry over the bullying of the mother-child, Chung said: "The blood that we shed was not worth a single tear from a locust."

(Oriental Daily) March 12, 2015.

The 25-year-old man named Woo Kar-chun appeared in Tuen Mun court yesterday. He reported his occupation as construction worker. He was suspected of attacking a man named Leung Bing-nam under the Tuen Mun Light Rail station bridge this past Sunday. The charge is common assault.

In court, the defense disclosed the defendant has been unemployed for a week. His father passed away in early February, and funeral services will be held tomorrow. Therefore, the defense applied for bail. The magistrate allowed the defendant out on $3,000 bail along with an order not to step foot in Tuen Mun.

(The Standard) March 11, 2015.

All visitors to Hong Kong should be treated as guests, a magistrate said yesterday as he barred three students from setting foot in Tuen Mun, following their arrests during the violent anti-parallel trading protests.

Those who appeared at Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts included two 16-year-old secondary school students Kwok Hor-ban and Lam Chun-kit plus Chan Ming-fung, 21, a Year Three student at Polytechnic University. All three have no previous convictions. A 13-year-old who was also arrested on Sunday appeared in court. He was released on bail and told to report to police next month.

The two secondary school students were charged with assaulting police under the overpass of the Pui To light rail station. Chan is accused of resisting police officers at the same location. None were required to enter a plea.

Several parallel trading protests broke out on Sunday, spreading from Sheung Shui to Tuen Mun before heading south to Tsim Sha Tsui. Protesters were seen kicking and humiliating anyone suspected of being parallel traders from the mainland. Their actions were roundly condemned by various sectors. A police officer and a civilian were injured and seven were arrested in relation to the violent protests.

(SCMP) Hooligans not the solution to parallel trading problem. Alex Lo. March 10, 2015.

Local media continue to call them protesters or demonstrators. But sorry, let's call a spade a spade. There is a word for people like that: hooligans. These are the people, mostly youngsters, who have been organising weekly rallies in Yuen Long, Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin against parallel-goods traders from across the border, but end up fighting with police, and picking on and sometimes even attacking any passers-by who carry bulky baggage or pull trolleys.

For all they know, their targets might not even be from the mainland. Police and immigration figures show more than half of parallel traders aren't even mainlanders, but local people. If they had their wishes, conditions might not improve that much. If mainland traders were completely banned, that would just mean a monopoly by parallel traders from the Hong Kong side.

The ironic thing is that most of those hooligans don't even live in the northern districts of the New Territories that are most affected. They respond via social media run by quasi-fascist groups like Hong Kong Indigenous and Civic Passion. The real local residents who actually experience the inconvenience and frustration may be willing to rally and complain to the government, but they offer nowhere near the level of confrontation and violence of those mobs we have repeatedly seen over many weekends and Sundays now. Given their deliberate and repeated provocation, police would be justified in taking harsh measures.

(SCMP) ‘Blame the government, not us’: Hong Kong anti-parallel trade protesters hit back at ‘riot’ claims  March 10, 2015.

Anti-parallel trading protesters hit back this morning after they were accused of behaving like rioters in rallies that turned violent on Sunday.

Civic Passion member Cheng Chung-tai, whose group took part in the protests, said the demonstrators were residents who were defending their interests against an influx of mainland tourists. “The origin of the protests is the government policy [on mainland tourists]. The public can’t tolerate it anymore,” Cheng told an RTHK radio show.

On Sunday, protesters gathered in Sheung Shui first, then Tuen Mun and Tsim Sha Tsui.

Video posted online showed them insulting a mother and her young daughter who were carrying luggage in Tuen Mun. The mother, speaking in Cantonese, opened her luggage to show that she was only carrying children’s books. The mother accused the protesters of bullying, as her apparently frightened daughter began to cry loudly. However, Cheng said the media had “magnified” those scenes.

"What is shown in the video is the girl crying. But the girl was actually crying to ask her mother to stop quarrelling," Cheng said "What I want to say is that don’t let the video of her crying make you feel that the protesters must be wrong and [the mother and daughter] must be the old and weak."

In another video, an elderly man who said he was a Hongkonger was seen being pushed to the ground as he wheeled a trolley through a crowd of protesters after playing music with friends in a Tuen Mun Park.

"I was on my usual way home. I have no idea why I was kicked.," the man, who identified himself as Uncle Kuen, told local media today. "[They were] completely lawless people," he said. He said he was a Hong Kong-born resident who had been playing erhu and saxophone in the Tuen Mun Park for more than 10 years.

Cheng alleged that the elderly man had actually "taken the initiative to provoke protesters" beforehand.

After a second radio show today, Cheng stressed his group did not advocate violence. But he said it would not restrict any member from taking action they had thought through. He said the protesters were only ordinary residents that had been frustrated by problems caused by mainland tourists.

"The residents' concern is that every day they are hit by suitcases ... I think we have to be fair. Do not measure ordinary residents on the moral standards for sages," he said. "The reason I say this is [the protesters] are not the government. They do not have power," said Cheng, who is a teaching fellow at Polytechnic University's applied social science department. Cheng said the city was "sick" and that protesting, though it might cause chaos, was a way to put it back on the right track.

(SCMP) Hong Kong protesters admit some went too far at rally against mainland Chinese traders. March 11, 2015.

Some of those who joined Sunday's protest against cross-border traders lost their cool and went too far, other participants in the demonstration admit. But they put the blame not only on their fellow protesters but also on the government, for failing to tackle problems brought by so-called parallel traders, who buy goods in Hong Kong for resale across the border.

Ugly scenes caught on camera - including protesters yelling at and hectoring a mother even after her young daughter started crying - sparked a chorus of criticism from politicians of different camps and the security minister, who condemned them "in the strongest terms".

"Some protesters were very irrational, scolding passers-by who were not even parallel traders," said 18-year-old Figo Chan Ho-wun, whose film of the clash with the mother went viral online.

Sunday's protest began in Sheung Shui before moving on to Tuen Mun and Tsim Sha Tsui. It was the latest in a series of protests that have seen police use pepper spray and make multiple arrests.

In Chan's video, several protesters are seen shouting abuse at the mother, who was carrying a suitcase through Tuen Mun. The mother, speaking Cantonese, is seen opening her case to show that she is carrying only children's books. She accuses the protesters of bullying, but they continue to hector her as her daughter cries loudly. The video has been shared some 3,200 times on Facebook.

"Sometimes I am also on the front line of protests. I had also scolded the police when they tried to take away protesters at previous rallies. But what was the purpose of insulting people who were not even parallel traders?" Chan asked. "But the government should also be partly responsible for not solving the problems brought by the trade."

The North District Parallel Imports Concern Group has been protesting against traders - who are accused of clogging up streets and public transport, and changing the retail landscape by edging out stores that cater for local needs - since 2012. Spokesman Leung Kam-shing acknowledged that the recent protests had taken a more radical turn.

"But I think that some confrontations, initiated by just a small group of people, have been magnified by the public," he said.

(Oriental Daily) March 10, 2015.


Mr. Chan was one of the demonstrators who surrounded the mother-daughter and harassed them. At the time, he thought that had come from the mainland to Hong Kong to "steal the resources and benefits of Hongkongers." That was why he made those accusations against them. Later, he read the relevant reports and found out that he was mistaken. "I misunderstood them. I want to formally apologize to the mother-daughter." He hopes that this will quell public opinion.

(see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n02bbn_7aKw. Mr Chan shows up at 3:00; note that he spitted twice into the suitcase)

Internet comments:

- In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZhtXi2sm98, Chan told the woman: "Did you pay any taxes? If you paid taxes, I will immediately apologize to you. You are stealing all our resources. If you paid taxes, I will immediately apologize to you." How many of those arrested ("16-year-old Form 2 student; 16-year-old Form 3 student; 18-year-old Chinese University of Hong Kong student; 26-year-old salesman; 24-year-old construction worker") pay taxes anyway?

- Mr. Chan made this statement after his place of business (an electronics equipment repair shop in the Kingswood Richly Plaza, Tin Shui Wai) was discovered and publicized by irate Internet users. They pointed out out that there is an overhead American flag plus a British colonial insignia on the front door.  This a cash-based business (with no VISA/MC sign), so what are the chances of him reporting his income (and therefore paying taxes) in full?

As you see, the shop has been closed on Tuesday and Wednesday because the owner is stressed out due to the relentless public pressure.

- Internet users also dredged out past consumer complaints against this repair shop. To wit, a customer brought in a computer for repair, left it there for work, came back later and was told that it was beyond repair. Later, the customer opened the computer and found out that the name-brand hard disk had been swapped out with a low-price no-name one. The store denied any knowledge.

- Chan had the nerve to claim that he was merely passing by that day. Internet users found videos of him shouting at mainlanders before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n02bbn_7aKw. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

- Internet users proposed to go down to Mr. Chan's shop whenever they can to ask if Mr. Chan pays any taxes. Is that cruel and unusual? It is cruel but usual, because that was what happened to the Hee Kee Crab General owner. Besides nobody is suggesting to charge into his shop in numbers, ask to check his ID, open his drawers, kick his merchandise around, shout obscenities, tell him to "Go back to Yuen Long", chant "I want fake universal suffrage" and kick him from behind his back. And then apologize, insincerely of course.

- A computer repairman? Let me guess -- he buys the computer spare parts in Huaqiangbei (Shenzhen) and brings them back to Hong Kong. That makes him a parallel goods trader/smuggler.

- Somebody has posted his shop information and travel directions on the B2P bus from Shenzhen Bay on mainland discussion forums, and recommend mainlanders to bring their computers over for repair.

 - (Wen Wei Po) March 12, 2015.

Yesterday, the middle-aged man named Chan was arrested by the police. He was suspected of joining in the harassment of the mother-daughter in Tuen Mun. When the video first surfaced, the whole world saw what Chan did. Like the other demonstrators, he was "rooted out" by Internet users. They found out that he ran an electronics repair shop in the Kingswood Richly Plaza (Tin Shui Wai). On Monday, many citizens showed up at his shop and cursed him out harassing innocent passerby. Chan got very worried about meeting a bad end. Therefore, he made a public apology in Oriental Daily in the hope that passions would be quelled. In his apology, he said that he was merely passing by the scene and made a mistake. However, more videos showed that he participated in bullying other passersby prior to this incident. On Tuesday, the Internet boiled over with information about him.

On Wednesday afternoon, the police arrested Chan on suspicion of disorderly conduct in public. In the evening, Chan was taken back to his home wearing a black hood and handcuffs. The police took certain evidence, including shoes, backpack and computer.

Chan is a fervent disciple of Wan Chin, the self-appointed Grandmaster of the Hong Kong City-State. He is a regular participant in demonstrations. In the February 1st march organized by the Civil Human Rights Front, he waved the Lion/Dragon flag of Hong Kong independence along with his fellow believers. He also participated in Reclaim Sha Tin on February 15 and Reclaim Yuen Long on March 1.

Last night after news of Chan's arrest was reported, Lingnan University Chinese Department assistant professor Wan Chin used foul language on his Facebook to curse mainland tourists and the Hong Kong police. He said that the the Hong Kong police are protecting the "Nazis" and "Japanese Imperial Army" from mainland China.

- Other wanted persons (especially the photographers!) from the video:

(Oriental Daily) March 11, 2015.

Yesterday, the police arrested a 27-year-old surveyor named Tsang on suspicion of disorderly conduct in publicly. Specifically, he is suspected of being involved in kicking the luggage cases of passersby.

At around 8pm, the police took Tsang back to his Tai Hing Estate (Tuen Mun) apartment. The police took away a computer and the clothes that he was wearing on the day of the incident.

(Oriental Daily) March 10, 2015.

An Internet user advocated that the Reclaim movement should expand its scope next Sunday (March 16) from opposing parallel goods trader to opposing all Chinese people. All mainland travelers will be "chased away" regardless of what they are doing here!

This Internet user pointed out that nobody cares about peaceful demonstrations. During demonstrations, "you get beaten up and arrested but Hongkongers don't even notice." "No matter what you do, they will call you hooligans." As of next Sunday, "we are going to oust every Chinese person, irrespective of whether they are smugglers, tourists, newly arrived immigrants, adults, children. We will begin a total cleansing of the Chinese people. We remind the mainland tourists in Hong Kong on March 16 to pay total attention." The comments were almost one-sided in approval. One commentator said: "I'll curse out every one of them. If they talk back, I'll beat them up."

A mainland Chinese telephone message:


That year, Hong Kong brothers, you competed with us for the Dongguan sisters, you caused prices to soar, and we didn't say anything!
Nowadays, Hong Kong brothers, you competed with us for the Shenzhen water spa girls, you caused prices to soar, and we didn't say anything!
That year, you bought and rented the houses in Futian district (Luohu), you caused housing prices to soar, and we didn't say anything!
Nowadays, your 'girlfriends' live there with your children, you caused restaurant prices to soar, and we didn't say anything!
That year, Hong Kong wanted a large airport but didn't have any construction workers. The Shenzhen veteran soldiers-engineers went over to build it for you. Did you ever say thanks?
That year, there was a financial crisis and you ran to mommie to cry for money. Your mommie gave you a bundle. At that time, it was our tax money. Did we say anything?
So what are you doing now? Are you not going to be satisfied unless all the border crossings are sealed?

(Oriental Daily) March 11, 2015.

On Sunday, about 600 persons held a part at the Chung Hom Kok Beach on the south side of Hong Kong Island. These individuals did not have an event permit. The organizers charged $150 per head, they catered lunch, they had a DJ playing music, they sold beer and liquor without license, they smoked in the no-smoking area, they left lot of debris (bottles, cigarette butts, paper plates, plastic utensils, etc.)

Internet comments:

- Once again, this is the failure of the government to enforce existing laws related to public laws. If the government won't act, then Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous need to rise up to the occasion, draw public attention through valiant resistance, protect the interests of the Hong Kong aborigines and establish the new Hong Kong City-State in which freedom and democracy rule. Oh, wait, but those party-goers are westerners and not mainlanders. Never mind. Go away. Nothing to see here.

- Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous can normally turn out 100 or so valiant warriors. They won't challenge a crowd of 600. They only bully solo grandpas, pregnant women and small children.

- Indeed, if these 600 persons were mainlanders, there would be a riot already and condemnations of police brutality afterwards.

- 300,000 Filipina/Indonesian domestic helpers hold unlicensed parties in Central, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan every Sunday, blocking the streets. I don't see Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous worried either.

(SpeakOutHK) March 11, 2015.

Ray Wong is the leader of the Hong Kong Indigenous group.

0:15 Cursing out the wrong person has happened before. I know. I have done it before myself. I found out that I cursed out the wrong person. I said sorry. And then it actually ...

0:26 If we regard the mistake as a single incident, you make the wrong identification, you did the wrong thing and you are wrong. But for the overall action, if you ask whether the demonstrators were wrong with these acts, then I don't think that they were wrong.

(InMediaHK) The shamelessness of Wong Yueng-tat, the disaster of the Localists. By Angelo Cheung. March 10, 2015.

When you're wrong, you should acknowledge your mistake. Recently, the Localists' Reclaim actions have led to assaults on innocent civilians and intentionally causing bodily harm. This is going beyond all conceivable boundaries for demonstrations. A public apology is in order. But some people refused to apologize. Instead, they call their critics "Hong Kong pigs" and "leftards." They rationalize their own vicious acts.

On the crying girl incident, I got very angry as I listened to Wong Yeung-tat's explanation! He said the demonstration site is a battleground, and therefore it is normal for small girls to cry under those circumstances. When the mother saw that situation, she should have walked away with her daughter instead of arguing with the demonstrators. I never imagined that Wong Yeung-tat could utter such shameless rot. He was fanning fires everywhere, and he declared every fire spot to be a battleground. When he found that it was a case of mistaken identity, he moved the goalposts: "Even if you are not a smuggler, your compatriots are smugglers". Faced with such barbaric accusations, what mother wouldn't argue back? Yet Wong condemned her for not leaving, as if the demonstration site was his empire in which he could do as he please. Isn't he just the despot?

Wong Yeung-tat comforted himself that everybody is now paying attention to the issue of parallel goods traders. This proves that the actions were highly effective and successful. But he does not recognize that precisely because of their actions, everybody is no longer paying attention to the issue of parallel goods traders. Instead, everybody is talking about the detestable actions of the Localists ...

On the day after, the Localist mouthpiece Passion Times railed against the critics: "What do the pan-democrats know to do apart from disavowing the Resistance?" "Do you know how many Hongkongers cry for mainlanders?" "Why are you sympathizing with a crying mainland girl? Why are you so indifferent towards an arrested Hong Kong girl?" Please spare me! It is the choice of other people whether to oppose parallel goods traders or support the arrested girl. But if you attacked innocent civilians, then you must apologize! Right now, you were wrong and you kept blaming other people. How do you expect people to support your actions?

Why do I criticize the Localists even harder than the parallel traders? Because the damage being caused by the Localists to Hong Kong society is greater than that of the parallel traders. The mainland parallel traders are only hurting Hong Kong resources. The Localists are hurting Hong Kong civilization and core values. When they curse and assault people randomly, they are much worse than that locusts that they talk about. They want to achieve their ends by any means, which makes the same as their much detested Communist Party. Therefore, they are even more deplorable than those parallel traders.

(Oriental Daily) March 15, 2015.

Hong Kong Indigenous' Ray Wong said today at the City Forum that the demonstrators were wrong in the incident in which the mother-daughter were misidentified as parallel traders. In reviewing the Reclaim actions over the past few weeks, Wong said that the movement was successful because the Central Government and the Hong Kong Government are now willing to deal with the parallel traders and multiple-visit permit problems. In the short term, Wong said Hong Kong Indigenous has no plans to start more Reclaim actions. They only wanted the citizens to reclaim spontaneously as opposed to being led by certain organizations.

(Oriental Daily) 234 Hong Kong adults were interviewed by street intercepts and telephone interviewers between last Thursday and Saturday.

Q1. Total retail sales fell by 14.6% in January 2015. What are your worries?
34%: Mainland consumers are now buying daily necessities instead of luxury goods, thus reducing dollar volumes
34%: Overall consumption desire has fallen
17%: Retail industry is entering a deep winter
11%: No worries
4%: No opinion

Q2. The recent Occupy Central movement and the anti-parallel traders demonstrations have caused disturbances. What was the impact?
38%: The impact is gradually showing up
28%: The image of Hong Kong tourism was damaged
21%: Scared away the genuine tourists
9%: Not a lot of impact
4%: No opinion

Q3. What is the impact on the Hong Kong retail and tourism sectors after the mainland authorities stepped up their anti-corruption campaigns?
45%: Few purchases of luxury items
24%: Changes in consumption patterns
22%: Fewer individual tourists
6%: Not a lot of impact
3%: No opinion

Q4. What is the impact on Hong Kong of restricting the multiple-entry permits and currency devaluation of neighboring countries?
30%: The Hong Kong economy will be hit with a double whammy
29%: Mainland tourists will travel to other countries
20%: Worsening conditions for Hong Kong retail sector
18%: Not a lot of impact
3%: No opinion

Q5. What is the impact if the Hong Kong retail industry sags?
36%: Chain reaction that will affect the overall Hong Kong economy
28%: A tide of company failures
25%: Layoffs in related industries
8%: Not a lot of impact
3%: No opinion

Q6. What is the biggest problem in the capacity of the Hong Kong tourism sector?
36%: Expand sightseeing locations and increase attraction
34%: Set up a border shopping city for parallel traders
24%: Limited capability which causes conflicts
4%: No opinion
2%: Not a lot of problems

Relevant information on year-to-year changes from 1999 to 2015 according to the Census and Statistics Department.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 1:17pm

Previously Internet users have called for citizens to assemble at the Sheung Shui East Rail station for the Sheung Shui Tour. Since prior demonstrations have led to violent clashes, the police have placed some metal barricades near the station. Meanwhile the parallel goods traders were operating as usual.

At the Cambridge Plaza where there are many industrial buildings that house warehouses/distribution outlets for the parallel goods traders, most of the stores were closed. According to the security guards, those stores don't open for business on Sundays anyway.

Meanwhile another Internet group had called for a Sha Tin Tour. It is not know how much interest there might be.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 2:21pm

At Hong Hai Street (Sheung Shui), it is relatively calm for now. But at least 20 stores have lowered their gates, including distribution outlets, restaurants, dried goods stores and currency exchange stores.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 2:31pm

When Sha Tin Tour was announced on Facebook, about ten Internet users expressed the intention to participate. At this time, nobody has shown up yet. There is a Women's Day (March 8) event in New Town Plaza with lots of people. Four to five police officers were present.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 2:55pm

Outside Building A, Cambridge Plaza, a female mainlander was existing when a male Internet media reporter began filming her. The mainlander was displeased and used her hand to block the camera. She pulled at his press pass. The male Internet reporter did not retaliate, but only backed off until he was against the wall and then he fell. The male Internet reporter called the police. The female mainlander returned to Cambridge Plaza but came back out after the police arrived 10 minutes to assist in the investigation. The police treated the matter as a dispute case.

(see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx1X0jPiAnc)

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 3:08pm

Today Captain America showed up without his body armor at the overpass near Exit C of the Sheung Shui East Rail station. He said that he did not expect any clashes and therefore he did not need body armor today. He also said that there were too many police at the other exits, and that was why he showed up at the overpass. He was stopped by several policemen who demanded to check his Hong Kong ID. They searched his belongings for dangerous materials. They let him go eventually.

Captain America waved the British flag today outside Exit D. He said that he a localist and he supports Hong Kong independence, and that is why he is waving the British flag.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 3:37pm

Outside Sheung Shui East Rail Station, there were verbal quarrels between mainland travelers and demonstrators. Many passersby stopped by to watch. A Sheung Shui aborigine told the press about the problems caused by parallel goods traders. A woman took a photo of him, and he started a quarrel with the woman, and was even shoved by her. The police intervened and escorted the woman away. There were many pro-government groups present too.

(Oriental Daily with video) March 8, 2015 4:56pm

At around 3pm, more than 100 persons were gathered outside Sheung Shui MTR station. That number includes the police and press. There were some isolated verbal quarrels and clashes, but nothing on a large scale.

A mainland woman towing a luggage case and a small girl were verbally abused by demonstrators. The small girl burst into tears out of fear.

An Internet Facebook group called "Go to Tuen Mun after Sha Tin Tour" called for a transfer of battleground at 4pm. About 40 participants responded to the call. This was very confusing, to say the least. Earlier in the week, the target was Tsuen Wan. Later, it was changed to Sheung Shui. On Saturday, someone suggested Sha Tin. Today in Sheung Shui, there was a low turnout. There were more police, press and counter-demonstrators than demonstrators. Then someone proposed Tsuen Wan and/or Tuen Mun on the fly. But wherever you send these 40 demonstrators, they won't be able to do anything.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 5:17pm

The Sheung Shui Tour people took taxis to Tuen Mun. About 100 people gathered at the V city Mall calling for "stopping multiple-entry permits." Many jewelry stores inside the mall immediately lowered their gates.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 5:28pm.

Almost 100 persons marched from V city to Yan Ching Street. A number of them charged inside a pharmacy. There was no police present at the time. Two police vehicles have now shown up.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 5:38pm

Several dozen persons went from Sheung Shui to Tuen Mun. They arrived outside the Tuen Mun West Rail station, marched through V city and arrived at Tuen Mun Town Plaza to shout slogans such as "Love the Motherland." Some of them wore surgical masks to avoid identification by the police. The police raised the yellow flag at one point to indicate a police line. The demonstrators then went from Tuen Mun Town Plaza to Trend Plaza. The demonstrators said that because they needed to move fast because the police reinforcements are arriving. A number of stores were forced to lower their gates, including parallel goods stores, jewelry stores etc to avoid clashes.

During the interview, a citizen pointed out that Mr. Man used to sell pirated disks. Mr. Man admitted that he did that before, but he learned from his mistakes and has not changed his mind since. He advised the demonstrators to recognize their mistakes too.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 5:39pm

After the demonstrators left, the Sheung Shui stores have re-opened and the luggage-powers have re-appeared after a two-hour break.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 6:14pm

About fifty demonstrators raced through Tuen Mun Town Plaza. When they spotted mainlanders shopping in the jewelry store Chow Sang Sang, more than ten of them charged inside and cursed out the customers, who talked back. The incident went on more than 3 minutes until more than a dozen policemen (some of them traffic policemen) showed up. When the demonstrators saw the police, they shouted: "The police are here" and "Leave quickly" and raced towards Trend Plaza. Chow Sang Sang lowered the gates afterwards. Whenever these demonstrators approached jewelry stores or infant formula-selling stores, they would surround the store and curse. Therefore, other jewelry stores such as Luk Fook and personal health/beauty care stores such as Mannings and Watsons also lowered their gates.

The demonstrators were highly organized. They had spotters outside. Whenever the police arrived, the spotters notified the main group which would quickly disperse.

A shopkeeper Mr. Man who sells computer game disks was unhappy with these demonstrators, and cursed them out. He challenged them: "If you have the guts, you remove your surgical masks!" The demonstrators surrounded Mr. Man and they cursed each other out. The security guards separated the two sides. Afterwards Mr. Man said that the demonstrators are causing chaos in Hong Kong. He suspected that these people were paid to cause trouble. If they are genuinely unhappy with the parallel goods traders, they should reflect this to the Legislative Council instead of causing destruction everywhere.

(Oriental Daily with video) March 8, 2015 6:43pm

A number of demonstrators moved nearby plastic barricades for road construction into the middle of the road in order to block the B3X from departing.

(Oriental Daily with video) March 8, 2015 6:58pm.

A number of violent clashes took place at the B3X bus station. Uncle Zhao who wanted to take the B3X bus to Shenzhen clashed with the demonstrators who kicked his hand cart. Uncle Zhao said that he comes to Hong Kong once a month, mainly to buy food products and infant milk formula for his grandchild. He spend about HK$1,000 this time. He said that the demonstrators were causing chaos without reason. He said that that Hong Kong and Mainland China are brothers who have emotional bonds, and he wishes that the demonstrators won't pick on mainlanders.

(Apple Daily with video) March 8, 2015 8:52pm

An elderly man was pushing a hand cart when he was surrounded by raging demonstrators who cursed him out. His hand cart was carrying audio-visual equipment and someone pointed out that "he is not a parallel goods trader" and "he is a singer." But that didn't deter the demonstrators from harassing him.

The elderly man began to argue with the demonstrators. He charged them with "bullying by numbers." He took out a stick and challenged them to fight "one-on-one." In the end, the elderly man was shoved down on the ground, and hand cart was toppled on the ground, scattering all his belongings. The demonstrators scattered when the police showed up. Some people helped the elderly man to collect his belongings. The elderly man told the police: "I merely play music in the public park."

(Oriental Daily with video) March 8, 2015 7:05pm

Outside Tuen Mun West Rail station, demonstrators and residents cursed each other out. Large numbers of police reinforcements showed up and began to arrest some demonstrators. The other demonstrators tried to "salvage" the arrestees by force.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 7:42pm


A Facebook group called for poeple to move after the Tuen Mun Tour to the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower at 8pm.

(Oriental Daily) March 8, 2015 9:37pm

At around 930pm, about 20 anti-parallel traders demonstrators set off from the Tsim Sha Shui Clock Tower towards Canton Road. The police PTU (Police Tactical Unit or blue berets) stopped them. The demonstration leader Cheng Chung-tai (Civic Passion) said that they were only "strolling around, buying things, eating). But the police said that this demonstration was unauthorized and refused to let them pass by setting up a cordon. Some demonstrators attempted to break through the cordon by force. At least 3 persons were arrested. The 7-11 convenience store and the Arome Bakery immediately lowered their gates.

(Apple Daily with video) March 8, 2015 9:56pm

A video showed a man being surrounded by demonstrators. One female demonstrator used foul language to accuse the man of deliberating ramming his body against her. The man proclaimed innocence and took out his telephone to make a call. But someone kicked him hard from behind so that he fell down on the ground. Another demonstrator rushed up and told the man to quit 'acting.'

[Note: The bald-headed old man wears a Tuen Mun club soccer jacket, so he is a local resident and not some mainland parallel trader.]

(Apple Daily with video) March 8, 2015 10:50pm

According to a woman who had just left work from Star House and was ready to take a bus home, a male probationary police inspector pushed her aside multiple times, touching her breast. "He kept pushing me, not just once, until I almost fell down. He touched my breasts. He touched my head. Don't you think that this is a big problem? What would happen if it were a pregnant woman or a senior citizen who walked by?" She said angrily.

Our reporter asked how hard did the police officer push? She said angrily: "He kept holding me, he kept pushing. He wasn't gentle, right? He was absolutely not gentle? What does he think I am? I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a Hongkonger! How can he treat us Hongkongers this way?" This woman pursued the police officer to the clock tower and demanded him provide her with this name, rank and serial number. But he avoided her with a very lousy attitude.

Videos:

http://news.tvb.com/local/54fc34056db28cc734000003 (TVB) News report
0:15 Demonstrator kneed a luggage case
0:19 Demonstrator kicked a luggage case
0:22 Demonstrator kicked a handheld shopping bag

http://cablenews.i-cable.com/webapps/news_video/index.php?news_id=453569 (Cable News) News report
http://cablev.i-cable.com/video/?id=230647 (Cable News) Comments from Figo Chan and Cheng Chung-tai on the mother-daughter case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FymgsG_ck1A (Apple Daily) News report
0:34 Mother and daughter being harassed
1:06 PrizeMart worker: "A whole group of people came in. They cursed people and told people to go back to China, the parallel goods traders to go back to China. But our customers ... most of our customers are Hongkongers."
1:22 The male customer at Chow Sang Sang jumped up and said: "I am a Hongkonger! ... You even make noise when a Hongkonger wants to shop!"
2:02 A young man walks up and kicks the luggage of a woman, then flees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqyXBG9K5SI (Ming Pao) News report
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Sq6sr9dlA (Ming Pao) News report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN7h64OMXXA (Epoch Times) The presence of large numbers of policemen caused the demonstrators to withdraw. More than 50 police officers were present, which was a lot more than the demonstrators. Some demonstrators complained, "They said Tsuen Wan and then they said Sheung Shui. It was impossible to track. There are now more reporters than demonstrators."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJzGndgE2dk (Epoch Times) Cursing out all suspected mainlanders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXj4avB-s1A (Epoch Times) Stores in shopping mall forced to close
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2_vPv0iUJ4 (Epoch Times) Bald-headed old man gets kicked in the back by demonstrator whose face is visible at 0:33.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwOcXoQlpG0 (Epoch Times) Police make arrests in Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz1p5UwHCkM (Epoch Times) The mother-daughter case from a different angle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKsRUGWjxHw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aCBJpwQ4rI (dbc) Sheung Shui District Rural Committee chairman Hau Chi-keung takes a tour of his home turf. He says that everything is fine and dandy in Sheung Shui on this day. How many people did he mobilize today for this counter-demonstration? Nobody, he says, because they all showed up spontaneously. He says that people are under no restrictions and can do whatever they want. [Note: Mr. Hau is dressed as and talks like the typical New Territories country squire. In Yuen Long last week, the country squires were told by the "Godfather" Lau Wong-fat to stay away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsTm7x_WnRQ (Headline Pop News) Sheng Shui, Tuen Mun and Tsim Sha Tsui news footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrfeCOVysX4 (dbc) Demonstrating inside a shopping mall in Tuen Mun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5nOyKBC-vo (dbc) Demonstrators clash with a counter-demonstrator, multiple arrests afterwards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB9vr-5XEJs (dbc) Demonstrators prevent the B3X bus from departing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SNMTl2vaH4 (dbc) Demonstrators charged into Chow Sang Sang and harassed someone who looks like a mainlander, but he is a Hongkonger who got mad as hell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBmg0b0KLKQ (dbc) Three instances in which the demonstrators couldn't really tell mainlander parallel traders from other people. Demonstrators yell at a couple to go back to China. Then they demand a woman to open her luggage case for inspection. Then they harass an old man carrying audio-visual equipment back from the park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gnce1efiYY (INT News Channel) 3:29pm. Demonstrators argue with a counter-demonstrator. The demonstrators want the woman in yellow be arrested for assaulting the male photographer at 0:35. But shouldn't the female demonstrator in the pink hat be charged with assault too for the action at 0:30? Anyway the police intervened and separated the two sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Pv0tNiDTo (INT News Channel) 6:05pm. Demonstrators in Tuen Mun Town Plaza and Trend Plaza chase mainland tourists away. Their slogan is about opposing "parallel goods smugglers" and "multiple-entry permits", but their action is against mainlanders and certain stores (health and beauty products, jewelry, pharmacies, discount) in general.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvDIn2f4hHgn (INT News Channel) 6:36pm. Demonstrators block the B3X bus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVygZ5tjLls (SocREC) A demonstrator is arrested at Star Ferry (Tsim Sha Tsui).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQMJMweRciU (SocREC) The police set up a line at Star Ferry (Tsim Sha Tsui) as shown in slow motion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4KjWnsy9YQ (SocREC) Demonstrators scream abuse at the police.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4rj_NNRy78 (SocREC) Foul-mouthed female demonstrator claims to be sexually molested by a police officer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ob-ZXezio (SocREC) Demonstrators enter pharmacies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu4gIlSoKsw (SocREC) Demonstrators harass the 73-year-old man back from playing music in the park.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXa9AfqyhME (SocREC) Demonstrators refused entry into Harbour City Mall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmScGE_R0fs (SocREC) Demonstrators stopped from entering a restaurant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MMOVAalRM (SpeakoutHK) Collection of the worst behaviors of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCzFk_uETBY (Lam Ho-Kay) The prelude to the case of the woman and the girl who burst into tears. The demonstrator in the grey hooded sweater accused the woman of being a smuggler. She opened her suitcase and revealed the contents which are some books and clothes. She asked: "What smuggling? What smuggling?" The demonstrators told her to get lost quickly. At 0:54, the small girl began to cry. The press didn't care and kept filming. At 1:10, the woman said: "You Hongkongers are bullying a mother and a daughter now." The demonstrators strolled around and pretended that they didn't hear her. At 1:22, she said: "You are human waste! You can't even acknowledge that you are Chinese." At 1:24, a male demonstrator responded: "I am not Chinese. Fuck your mother!" At 1:28, she asked them: "Am I smuggling?" The male demonstrator screamed back: "The issue is not whether you are a smuggler or not! The issue is that your compatriots are smugglers! Their smuggling created hardship in our lives!" Another male demonstrator said: "Even if you are not smuggling this time, you will be smuggling some other time!" At 1:41, the second male demonstrator asked: "If you did not come here to buy things, then what are you here for?" She said: "My daughter attends school here." The first male demonstrator screams: "She studies here? She is using up the resources of the people of Hong Kong. We don't even have any place to live in." The woman makes a telephone call and tries to figure out her location. At 3:00, a male demonstrator said: "Are you paying any taxes?  If you pay tax, I will apologize immediately!" The girl kept crying as another woman came up to console her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-u6qlYIfCA (Camman Wong) Assaults on the bald-headed senior citizen and on the senior citizen park music player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEUSPoTH91s (Camman Wong) Another view on mother-daughter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n02bbn_7aKw (peepermusica) Another view of the mother-daughter incident

Internet comments:

- Seven methods with which demonstrators chase visitors away

1. Kick the handcarts (of anybody) and immediately flee
2. Scream and curse at suspected parallel traders
3. Walk into a pharmacy and start yelling
4. Race around different shopping centres
5. Charge into jewelry stores
6. Use plastic barricades to block the road and thus prevent the B3X bus from leaving Tuen Mun Centre to Shenzhen Bay
7. Shine strong lights at B3C passengers

- Wanted for using Method 1 above:- A Joshua Wong look-alike zombie (see 0:30 of i-Cable news https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MMOVAalRM ) (see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HUPIuuZOTs&feature=youtu.be )


- (Oriental Daily)

A number of Facebook pages are now offering bounties for the young man who kicked the handcart of an old man. One page offered $3,000 for information which will be forwarded to the police. Another page offered $10,000.

March 12, 2015 update. The individual has been arrested by the police. He was working as a building surveyor for an architect. It is reported that his company has fired him without compensation (because his contract stipulates that he will be fired without compensation if charged with a crime). The person who provided the information will receive the $3,000 incentive.

- Wanted too: A Chinese female aged 30-40 threw a garbage can against the police, turned around and fled

- Not arrested yet was Immaculate Heart of Mary College student Lam Ka-wai today, but should be arrested because the crime is documented:

P.S. (Passion Times) Police arrested a 14-year-old girl and a 34-year-old man on March 13 for disorderly conduct in public. Specifically, they allegedly moved barricades onto the roadway to prevent the B3X bus from departing.
P.P.S. (Oriental Daily) Upon advice from the Department of Justice, the police have released the 14-year-old girl unconditionally.

- (Apple Daily) March 13, 2015. Police arrested two persons for moving barricades to block buses. One is a 34-year-old man named Fung and the other is a 14-year-old girl named Lam. They were arrested in Yau Ma Tei and Sha Tin respectively.
Yes, two more non-Tuen Mun residents were arrested in their fight for the Tuen Mun self-determination. During the demonstration, a number of Tuen Mun residents were harassed and assaulted.
And yes, two more non-taxpayers who are sucking up the resources of the people of Hong Kong.

- This was supposed to be about opposing parallel goods trading. But look at some of the targeted people today? A mother with a small girl. What parallel goods trader would bring a small girl with her? Also the customer in Chow Sang Sang. When was there ever parallel goods trading in gold and diamonds? The only thing in common is this: The demonstrators hate all mainlanders PERIOD
- Ah, but there was also the old man with the audio-visual system on a handcart. They hate all persons towing handcarts and luggage cases PERIOD. [Sorry, but it's alright to do so if you don't look Chinese.]

- If the demonstrators hate mainlanders so much, they should go and demonstrate at the location where 100% of those present are mainlanders -- the People's Liberation Army Garrison in Central district, Hong Kong.

- Given that the demonstrators today went from Sheung Shui to Tuen Mun to Tsim Sha Tsui, it is clear what their goal was: to annoy the police, to make them chase all over the place. The mice wanted the cats to run after them. Did the action today bring democracy closer? You tell me.

- In future, when Hongkongers go out, they need to remember to bring Hong Kong IDs, birth certificates as well as their tax payment receipts. When they get stopped by valiant warriors, they show their Hong Kong ID to prove that they are Hongkongers, their birth certificates to prove that they were born here and are not mainland migrants, and their tax payment receipts to prove that they are not sucking resources away from the people of Hong Kong. If you forget any of the above, you will be beaten up and told to go back to China.

- Everything in politics is about promoting self-interests. The Tuen Mun/Tsim Sha Tsui demonstrations were organized by Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous. What do the rest of the pan-democrats think?
Chan Wai-yip and Leung Kwok-hung of the League of Social Democrats and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen of People's Power came out against the demonstrators. They are trying to curry favors with the radical wing of the pan-democratic spectrum.
Gary Fan Kwok-wai (Neo-Democrats) and Claudia Mo Man-ching (Civic Party) also came out against the demonstrators. Both Legislative Councilors are trying to curry favors with the Localist wing of the pan-democratic spectrum.
The rest of the pan-democrats are silent, because they cannot afford to offend the radical wing on one hand and the general public on the other hand. They stay quiet and hope that nobody will notice that they are silent.

- Why beat up a random grandpa, even if he is a native Hongkonger? The answer is simple -- according to public opinion polls, over 90% of persons aged 55 or over are against Occupy Central. Now is the time to take revenge and you are going to be correct 90% of the time. Very good odds.

- Here is the situation once upon a time.

You get off Star Ferry wearing a yellow blazer.

You are immediately surrounded by a dozen men wearing surgical masks.

They accuse you of being a Falun Gong member.

You explain that the yellow blazer is a Nike product which has nothing to do with Falun Gong. You show them the Nike label.

One masked man said: "That's doesn't prove that you didn't wear a Falun Gong jacket previously, nor that you won't wear one in the future."

Another masked man said: "Even if you are not, the point is that people like you are with the Falun Gong."

A third masked man said: "If you are not with the Falun Gong, then why are you at Star Ferry?"

...

How should you respond?

- New global trendsetter: Hong Kong is the shopping paradise where some shoppers are not allowed to shop.

- I've always thought that the anti-parallel trader demonstrators are making double mistakes -- they got the wrong targets and they use the wrong methods. If you are dissatisfied, you can tell the government. Instead, you "lynch" mainland travelers who come here legally. Of course, you may say that the demonstrators did this because they found the situation intolerable. But what if other people find the behavior of the demonstrators to be intolerable and want to "lynch" them in the same manner? Is that okay? If you don't think it's okay, then you better shut up about any "intolerable situation."

- They beat up a grandpa who was pushing a handcart to carry audio-visual equipment for playing music in the public park. Next thing you know, they will beat up a grandma for pushing a handcart to take the newspapers to the recycling center. Nowadays pushing a handcart is living dangerously.
- If you walk around in the middle of the night, you see all sorts of handcarts on the road. These are the garbage collectors who gather the garbage from individual buildings down to the garbage collection points. They are easy to beat up, because they operate in isolation. That should be a good starting point to eliminate all handcarts.
- If carrying a handcart or luggage case is an original sin, the solution is obvious: ban the use or sale of all handcarts and luggage cases in Hong Kong. Then we shall have peace and quiet.
- If you want to ban all handcarts/luggage cases, the starting point should be the Hong Kong International Airport. Anyone who steps off an airplane will have their luggage cases confiscated. Why? Because the people of Hong Kong apparently demand it because of the fear of sustaining a mortal injury when a luggage case is rolled over their toes.

- The grandpa with the audio-visual equipment must be a beggar begging for alms through his singing. So he was breaking the law and therefore he deserves punishment.
- Eh, you probably have never visited a public park in Hong Kong. Here is a random sample through searching for "Tuen Mun"+"Public Park"+"singing songs": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-zukGDex2I . Sure, it may be loud, but you can go elsewhere in the very large park if you want quiet.

- There is the theory that the grandpa musician provoked the crowd and therefore the group attack on him was justified and inevitable. Well, well, well. During these demonstrations, the demonstrators provoked the police repeatedly by charging the police line, cursing them with foul language, shrieking "Sexual molestation!", kicking the police in the shin, etc. Therefore the police counter-charge was "justified and inevitable." Right?

- These grandpas were most likely born in China and came down to Hong Kong to steal our resources. Therefore they should be expelled back to China. As for their children and grandchildren who were born in Hong Kong, they ... eh ... are the demonstrators that we saw today.

- It was very wrong for Oriental Daily to show the face of the scared little girl. We need to protect her identity so that she does not suffer from the psychological trauma of an Internet celebrity. Oriental Daily has no concern about the potential damage that they are causing. Now that her face has been published, the Internet users will find out everything about her (her home address, her kindergarten, etc) and make sure that she will be plunged into a living hell.
- Actually, Oriental Daily should be showing the faces of the demonstrators who caused this little girl to be so scared. We are more interested in finding out about their names, addresses, workplaces, telephone numbers, etc. But it won't do any good because these justice avengers all wear surgical masks to avoid identification. The exception is that young woman who pulled down her surgical masks to sip a drink. Let's find out more about who she is. We already know that she is a member of Scholarism and currently attends the Immaculate Heart of Mary College.

- Fuck the fucking press! They saw innocent individuals being bullied and harassed right in front of their eyes, but they did nothing because their mission was to record the truth and not be part of the story themselves. Fuck you!
Fuck the fucking police! Where were you when you were needed to stop the bullying!? When you show up, you were only interested in separating the two sides. You avoid making arrests, because that means paperwork. Fuck you!
Fuck the fucking demonstrators! Your enemy is the Hong Kong SAR/Chinese governments. You should be attacking CY Leung and his lackeys, the Chinese Communists and their lackeys, etc. But you only harass individual children, women and elders. Fuck you!
Fuck the fucking New Territories country squires. You are supposed to defend your community. But you let outsiders come in and run amok, so that the local businesses lost 20% of their revenues for the day. Fuck you!

- The demonstrators got routed by the Yuen Long country squires, so today they decided to pick on grandpas and little girls. You pick the battles that you can win. Very rational decision. Yet another victory on the road to democracy.

- (The Stand) Actually, it is not important whether the demonstrators made the little girl cry. More important is the fact the demonstrators knew that they were wrong but they did not stop. This mother opened her suitcase and showed some books (recipes for making soup) and ordinary daily items. She is clearly not a parallel goods trader. The normal reaction is to apologize and move on. And when they mistake Hongkongers for parallel traders, they should apologize too. However, these demonstrators got mad and continued to heap abuse, even pushing people down on the ground. That senior citizen who went to sing in Tuen Mun Park is a genuine Tuen Mun resident, and he is practicing community self-determination in public space usage. The demonstrators mistook him for a parallel trader, pushed him on the ground and toppled his handcart. How different are they from the evil cops and the reviled Food and Hygiene Department inspectors?
They are not even practicing ethnic discrimination. If so, the matter could be solved by showing Hong Kong ID's. But they seemed to treat anyone who talks back as hostile enemies. This is not defending Hong Kong. This is dividing Hong Kong. This is not Reclaiming Hong Kong. This is letting Hong Kong fall into the dark abyss. I don't know if this is because I sympathize with those victims of mistaken identity. But I know from instinct that this method won't work.
When the triads make a mistake in identification, they leave. These demonstrators are worse than triads.
It is not wrong to oppose parallel traders. I understand the sufferings of the North District residents. But when the action has no bottom line, then this is not a force for justice. Although the dangers are remote, I can imagine how mentally anguishing it will be for me to co-exist with a bunch of people who have no bottom line.

- Mainlanders are uncivilized because they spit, they squat, they talk loudly, they urinate/defecate in public etc. Hongkongers are uncivilized because they only bully children, women and grandpas. When the Titantic began sinking, they said "Women and children first". Today the demonstrators harassed women and children first.

- The Individual Permit Scheme is as addictive as heroin. You must wean yourself of this ultimate addiction.
- So you stop all individual mainland visitors. What happens to your economy? Where do the displaced workers go? They should all go to grow cabbages in New Territories in order to make Hong Kong self-sufficient?

- Captain America, the current points leader in the Whac-a-mole game. [Note: In Chinese, one version of the Whac-a-mole is known as "Hit the Idiot" (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUBrMTnt5z0 )]
- Captain America wants to take over an anti-parallel trade demonstration and change it into a rally for Hong Kong independence under the British colonial flag. Say what? If you live under the British colonial flag, you are not independent.

- It was said that the demonstrators took taxis from Sheung Shui to Tuen Mun. Here is the truth. There was no taxi line, but the minibus from Sheung Shui to Tuen Mun had a couple hundred people in line. Fact: These demonstrators have no money to take taxis!

- Trend Plaza is an upscale mall in lower-/middle-class Tuen Mun. That is why there are more mainland shoppers. The demonstrators are jealous of their high purchasing power, and that is why they enjoy the opportunity to curse mainland shoppers out. Of course, there is plenty in life that the demonstrators may be jealous about. How about westerners with Hong Kong girlfriends? Why don't the demonstrators go down to LKF to curse the westerners out?

- These demonstrators don't know who the parallel traders are. At Sheung Shui East Rail station, the parallel traders pick up their goods and take the train to Luohu. 99% of these couriers are Hongkongers who can make as many trips as they like. Canceling the mainlanders' multiple-entry permits will do nothing to change this situation. At Tuen Mun Town Plaza's Chow Sang Sang, the mainland customers are mostly Individual Permit Scheme visitors under single-entry permits. They are tourists, just like American tourists, Japanese tourists, etc. Mainlanders account for the majority of tourists who stay overnight. Do you want to stop them from coming? Why just them and not those from other nations? The Japanese and Americans also carry luggage cases that may roll over your toes!

- The reason for wanting Chow Sang Sang to go out of business is that they make good money and therefore can afford to pay increasing rents, which drive the traditional fish ball shops out. What if all the Chow Sang Sang's, Chow Tai Fook's, Luk Fook's and TSL go out of business? It is also traditional that when Hong Kong women get married, their friends and relatives buy gold bracelets and necklaces for them. Where would they buy now when all the jewelry stores are closed by order of the new Hong Kong City-State?
- The answer to the rhetorical question is obvious -- all the jewelry stores can stay open, but they cannot serve mainland customers. That's all the demonstrators ever want.

- Developments over the past few weeks lead to an obvious outcome: the local residents in Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Sheung Shui, Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Fan Ling will have to form their own neighborhood self-defense committees to defend against the marauders from outside. It won't require much because the invaders number only 100 to 200 at most. The satellite cities have populations of several hundred thousand each.

- The Tsim Sha Shui woman who charges a policeman with touching her breasts says: "He kept pushing me, not just once, until I almost fell down. He touched my breasts. He touched my head. Don't you think that this is a big problem? What would happen if it were a pregnant woman or a senior citizen who walked by? ... What does he think I am? I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a Hongkonger! How can he treat us Hongkongers this way?" Well, she should ask the animals in Tuen Mun about harassing children, women and senior citizens. Who do they think they are?

- As for the Tsim Sha Shui auntie who said that she was sexually molested by the policeman. Firstly, she said that she had just left work in Star House around 10pm on a Sunday night to take a bus home. The demonstrators were facing off the police in front of the clock tower. The geography says Star House is on the west side, the bus stop is in the middle and the clock tower is on the east side. So if she leaves Star House to go to the bus stop, she does not go near the police cordon at all. Furthermore, regular bus riders know that the buses are parked on the north side. So they cross the street directly from Star House to where the bus is parked. To use the sidewalk from Star House to Star Ferry to cross the street at the end of the bus line and walk to the front where the bus is parked is a waste of time. And you may miss the bus too. So her description makes no sense.
Secondly, what would a normal person do when you see that there is a mass of policemen and masked demonstrators in front and your bus is on the left? You walk left to take your bus. Nobody is interested in stopping your bus from leaving. It is only because you decide to walk up front behind the police line to see what's going on, and then you get upset when the police to tell you to leave the area. When you exercise what you think is the unalienable right of Hongkongers to stand anywhere that they want, you find trouble instead.
Thirdly, there are lots of people that a probationary police inspector may think about molesting, but you are just not a likely target. [Sample comment:
咁既尊容,除晒都食唔落,算吧la, 下次屈警察唔該搵個有說服力少少既可以嗎?With a face like yours, you are untouchable even if you take off all your clothes. Forget it! If you want to frame the police, can you find someone more convincing please?]
Fourthly, the next phase is for Internet users to find out who you are and whether you really worked at Star House at that hour, and then they will publish your name, address, telephone numbers, etc.

-Regardless of what people want to say, the iconic photo for this day is:

One thousand words.
Which is the hard high wall and which is the egg that breaks against it (per Haruki Murakami)?

P.S. Somebody has made a poster:

Condemn organized crime
The whole city is howling in anger
Punish the Hong Kong Independence people severely.

- See also: Richard Scotford Her Child became a needless pawn and Society is Broken. Also https://www.facebook.com/RichScotford5/photos/a.567649076669746.1073741827.567628880005099/607280162706637/?type=1 where many commentators insist that the whole thing was a staged trap.

- Someone said that all the mother needed to do was to walk away with her daughter. Therefore, everything that happened afterwards was the mother's fault.

That's about fucking right.

On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery (Alabama), the bus driver James F. Blake ordered black female passenger Rosa Parks to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger. She refused. Blake said, "Why don't you stand up?" Parks responded: "I don't think I should have to stand up." Black called the police to arrest Parks. She was tried on charges of disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance and found guilty. She was fined $10 plus $4 in court costs.

Parks said: "I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just time... there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became."

So all Parks needed to do was to yield her seat. Everything that happened afterwards (arrest, jail, court, fine) was her fault. That's right! This is the American Civil Rights Movement revised to suit our leading Hong Kong revolutionary theoreticians.

To paraphrase Rosa Parks, the Hong Kong mother might be saying: "I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be abused in the middle of the street in front of my daughter for being something that I am not ... there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I did not plan to do this. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became. I certainly do not want my daughter to grow up and experience the same thing. This has got to stop now."

- (SpeakoutHK) Lam Yat-hei:

One of the centers of attention of the One Day Tour of Hong Kong yesterday was about the demonstrators making a small girl cry. This drew plenty of discussion. I want to say that while it is nice to have sympathy, we should not let it override other matters. It is very natural for small children to cry. In restaurants, I heard small children cry. On buses, I hear small children cry. Even during movies, I hear small children cry. What is so extraordinary about a small child crying?

Turn your attention back to the several Tours. Do not talk about crying children. The force of these one hundred or so persons have drawn a response from Hong Kong and public opinion in the mainland. That is awesome. We citizens don't have to do anything, and someone has helped us to tour Hong Kong. I have nothing to complain about.

I have lived in Fanling before, and I witnessed how the parallel traders took over Fanling. I moved to Yuen Long and I saw how the parallel traders filled up Main Road. I moved to Tuen Mun, and I paid high prices for food and housing along with the mainlanders. I am very selfish. At this moment, I would rather sympathize with the citizens in the front line who take the risks of being arrested and beaten by the police. I have no feeling towards that crying child. I only think that she was noisy.

- (Yahoo News) Civic Passion's Cheng Chung-tai said that the world should not treat the demonstrators as thugs or hooligans. He said that the demonstrations arose due to dissatisfaction with government policy. The world should not smear these demonstrators and should not hold them up to saintly standards. He said that the Hong Kong SAR government should be apologizing for stalling on the parallel trading issue, which therefore forced the demonstrators to enter the shopping malls to demonstrate. He emphasized that the demonstrators came out to defend the local communities. As for the crying little girl, Cheng said that the mother was responsible, because she mentioned that the girl was studying in Hong Kong and this touched the nerve of the demonstrators.

- One of those demonstrators who harassed the mother-daughter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCzFk_uETBY wore a grey USA-NY sweater, khaki pants and black-white Nike shoes. He was later arrested even as he begged the police to let him ago because he promises that he will leave immediately. All it takes is to go to court and obtain the personal details of this wastrel.


"Innocent bystander/eyewitness" wearing US-NY hooded sweater, khaki pants and black-white Nike shoes administer flying kick to a shopping bag from behind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7YsSJq_2-8 shows this man being frisked by the police earlier in the day. A woman with a mainland accent showed up to call him "son." What irony to find him wanting to attack his mother's kind!

(VJmedia)

By now everybody has seen a so-called video that claimed to be about "demonstrators making a child cry." ... Who caused the child to cry? Which side has greater responsibility? It remains to be determined. We don't know if the woman provoked the demonstrators, or the demonstrators provoked the woman? But the howling of the woman triggered the crying of the child. Before the child started crying, the demonstrators asked the woman not to scare the child. So who needs to read up on the Convention on the Rights of the Child? The woman or the demonstrators?

The legally illiterate law enforcement agents also need to read up the Convention of the Rights of the Child. In Tuen Mun, a 14-year-old youngster was watching the demonstrator and was suddenly arrested by the police for tossing objects. A bystander volunteered to testify to the contrary, but was also pushed down to the ground and had his eyeglasses smashed. The two individuals neither wanted nor have the ability to resist. The police manhandled them and charged them with resisting arrest ...

[Note: Oh, would you believe that this is one and the same person (grey US-NY hooded sweater, khaki pants and black-white Nike shoes): the demonstrator who harassed the mother-daughter in the early afternoon and the innocent bystander/eyewitness later in the evening?]

- (Radio Hong Kong programme audio recording) March 9, 2015. Interview with an 18-year-old demonstrator.

Q. Why do you participate in these demonstrations?
A. Actually, it is like this. Here is an issue. It is useless to bring up to the District Council. It is useless to bring up to the Legislative Council. It is useless to bring up to the Government. When that happens, you need to do something to draw the attention and concern of society. So the purpose of this action is to attract the attention and concern of society. Therefore, I think everything should be tried. That is why I supported this action at first.

Q. Hmm. Your purpose is to attract the attention and concern of society. You said that you went to Sheung Shui and Tuen Mun. Tuen Mun seemed to be more chaotic. Some demonstrators appear to kick the goods that people were carrying. Did you witness these so-called chaotic conditions?
A. Eh, I took one of the popular Facebook videos. It was about a mother-daughter passing by with a luggage case in tow. They were accused of being parallel goods traders. She opened the suitcase to prove that she was not a parallel goods trader. She had a book on how to make soup. There were some other materials which were not parallel goods. The mother-daughter also hold Hong Kong ID's.

Q. The girl was in tears.
A. Yes, yes, the girl was in tears. When I took the film at the time, I was very very ... when I saw the girl in tears, I wondered if we should have some sympathy? What should we do in the face of such a situation? We are not focusing on this thing, we are not focusing on this one scene, we are focusing on what the impact is. In the beginning ... in the previous anti-parallel trader actions, people were calling for the cancellation of multiple-entry permits. We went to some bus stops, such as the B3X bus stop in Tuen Mun. We spotted those excessively heavy suitcases and we said, "Hey, it is over the limit. You can't let it get on!" After we speak up, the workers got stricter in their inspections. They are normally not so strict. But when we show up there, they are stricter. The action is visible and obvious. People can see that we are acting directly on this issue. But the chaotic situation yesterday is such that the people were not able to distinguish between a parallel trader and an ordinary citizen. Everybody can tow a luggage case. They aren't all parallel traders. This was happening from the beginning, but yesterday everybody realized this problem.

Q. Do you think that this is bad?
A. Actually, I obviously think this is bad. Local residents should take care of local matters. In any action, it is wrong to mistake someone for someone else and then refuse to apologize afterwards, continuing to scold them instead.

Q. Suppose the mother-daughter were really parallel traders. Can you curse them out?
A. I don't think so. Ultimately, they are people who work under the policy. They are not the people in charge of the policy. They are just taking resources that are allowed under the policy. How shall we deal with this issue directly? If the parallel traders talk back and want to pick a fight with you, it would be alright to scold them. But the situation did not appear yesterday. She was continuously scolded. She volunteered to open the suitcase herself to prove that she was not a parallel trader. She also showed her Hong Kong ID.

Q. Ordinary citizens do not have the right to inspect other people's Hong Kong ID?
A. Yes. She wanted to prove her status.

Q. She must have been pressured hard into doing this.
A. Yes. I was at the scene. I was embarrassed myself that I did not go out and stop this. But at that moment, ten to twenty masked persons were scolding her. Anyone would be scared. Even if I am a localist, it would be hard to support them.

Q. Are your thoughts in the minority among the demonstrators?
A. Not the minority. Actually, at the scene that day, people said not to point at people to scold. Many people said so.

Q. Only a few persons pointed and scolded, and the majority thought that it was wrong?
A. Yes. "Leave." "Leave." They kept telling them to leave. But some people stayed and continued to scold.

Q. So do you regret participating, because your participation encouraged certain actions that you disapprove of?
A. I have no regrets. I took some of the videos. I only posted them on my Facebook. I did not pass them to the media outlets. When I took the video, I wanted people to analyze who was doing what. That is, some people were doing things that you identify with while others were doing things that you don't identify with. After making the analyses, we know what to do when a new issue comes up. That is, we know which group to follow to do whatever. It is better when everybody knows. Therefore, I have no regrets. But on this issue, I know that I can pose the question: In future actions, should we change? ...

- Proclamation of victory -- Tuen Mun City Centre at 2pm on Monday. No parallel traders, no mainland tourists, no Hong Kong shoppers. Finally we are free to walk in this almost deserted shopping mall!

- This is an immaculately stupid comment. Firstly, did you check the status of the mall at the same time last week? Would you believe that it was just as sparse? Secondly, having an empty mall may be good for you to stroll around. But the businesses won't be pleased at all.

(SpeakOutHK) March 12, 2015.

In watching the mother-daughter video, I had to note that the passersby were cold and indifferent. The mother-daughter were surrounded, and the daughter was scared into crying. This was a clear case of bullying (many against two, men against women). People came by, they saw and they hurried away. Nobody helped the two for several minutes until one woman came by and offered paper tissue to wipe the tears away. While the passersby saw that an injustice was being carried out, they also saw dozens of mobile camphones and cameras working. They knew that if they entered the fray, they could easily become tomorrow's headline story, and that video will forever be part of their resumés. Therefore, they kept their mouths shut and walk away. That means injustices multiply.

Q1. In the election of the Chief Executive, which phase do you care most about?
43%: The composition and selection of the nomination committee
11%: The nomination process
22%: The method of one-vote, one-person universal suffrage
6%: Other
9%: Don't care
9%: No opinion

Q2. To become considered for Chief Executive candidacy, the threshold should be set at ...?
27%: 150 nomination committee members' recommendation
12%: 100 nomination committee members' recommendation
46%: Other
9%: Don't care
7%: No opinion

Q3. How shall the nomination committee vote in order to come up with 2 to 3 Chief Executive candidates?
13%: Each committee member gets three votes for three different candidates
9%: Each committee member votes for two to three candidates
17%: Each committee member can vote at most thrice, for one to three candidates
29%: Each candidate is voted upon
17%: Other
7%: Don't care
8%: No opinion

Q4. What is the voting procedure for Chief Executive?
18%: Single round, the winner being the one with the most votes
51%: Two rounds (if nobody gets more half in the first round, the top two enter a run-off)
16%: Preferential voting (voters cast votes in order of preference)
10%: Other systems
2%: Don't care
4%: No opinion

Q5. Do you want the Legislative Council to pass the one-person, one-vote proposal under the framework of the August 31 resolution of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, or to keep things as before?
52%: Pass
27%: Same as before
15%: Hard to say
6%: No opinion

Q6. If the government makes a public promise that the Chief Executive election method can be improved after 2017, do you think that it will increase the chances of the Legislative Council passing the proposal?
44%: Yes
28%: No
22%: Hard to say/don't care
6%: No opinion

Q7. If the nomination committee can include more sectors or re-distribute the current sectors, do you think that it will increase the chances of the Legislative Council passing the proposal?
34%: Yes
32%: No
26%: Hard to say/don't care
8%: No opinion

Q8. If the nomination committee is vastly expanded to include more sectors consisting of voters, do you think that it will increase the chances of the Legislative Council passing the proposal?
40%: Yes
29%: No
25%: Hard to say/don't care
6%: No opinion

Q9. When the Legislative Councilors hold positions about the constitutional reform that are opposite to majority opinion, do you think they should follow majority opinion?
71%: Yes
14%: No
10%: Hard to say/don't care
5%: No opinion

Q10. How confident are you that the Legislative Council will pass the 2017 Chief Executive election proposal?
9%: Very confident
11%: Somewhat confident
38%: Not a lot of confidence
28%: No confidence
10%: Hard to say
4%: No opinion

Q11. In the District Council elections, will the candidates' positions on political reform be a key factor in deciding your vote?
60%: Yes
20%: No
12%: Hard to say/don't care
7%: No opinion

Q12. In the Legislative Council elections, will the candidates' positions on political reform be a key factor in deciding your vote?
68%: Yes
17%: No
9%: Hard to say/don't care
7%: No opinion

The pro-establishment DAB party recently commissioned an independent research organization to poll the people of Hong Kong about the proposed constitutional reform. 811 adults were interviewed on February 11, 15 and 16 by telephone. The respondents were not told that a political party commissioned this poll.

With respect to the proposed constitution reform that follows the National People's Congress Standing Committee's August 31st resolution with on one-person, one-vote for the Chief Executive in 2017,
60.5%: Agree
30.0%: Disagree [prefer the 2017 Chief Executive election to use the old method of election committee]
9.5%: Don't know/no opinion

The 30% were told that Chief Executive elections after 2017 can be improved based upon actual conditions, then:
4.3%: Acceptable
24.1%: Unacceptable

When asked whether the Legislative Council should vote according to what the majority of the people wishes,
83.3%: Yes
8.8%: No

If the proposed reform for the 2017 Chief Executive election is vetoed, 63.7% pessimistic about the prospects of implementing universal suffrage and 64.5% is pessimistic about Hong Kong's overall prospects (including politics, economy, society, etc).

(DAB)

Q1. If the 2017 Chief Executive election is based upon the August 31st framework of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, do you think the Legislative Council should pass or veto?
60.5%: Pass the proposal so that there can be one-person one-vote for Chief Executive in 2017
30.0%: Veto the proposal so that the Chief Executive election method will stay the same as now
9.5%: Don't know/no opinion

Q2. Some people think that we should pass the 2017 proposal to get one-person one-vote and then progress gradually to enhance the Chief Executive election method. What should the Legislative Council do if this is true? (Base: Those who responded "Veto" in Q1.)
14.5%: Pass the proposal
81.0%: Veto the proposal
4.5%: Don't know/no opinion

Q3. A Legislative Councilor wants to resign in order to trigger a de facto referendum through the by-election. What do you think?
33.8%: A waste of public funds
27.1%: Useless towards implementing universal suffrage
17.2%: Allow citizens to express their dissatisfaction with the NPCSC resolution
8.8%: Rally for District Council elections
5.5%: Useful for fighting for universal suffrage
7.6%: Don't know/no opinion

Q4. Do you think that the Legislative Council should decide on the basis of majority opinion of the citizens about how to vote for the 2017 Chief Executive election method?
83.3%: Yes
8.8%: No
8.0%: Don't know/no opinion

Q5. If the Legislative Council ultimately fails to pass the 2017 Chief Executive election proposal, what is your outlook for universal suffrage in the Chief Executive executive after 2017?
23.6%: Optimistic
63.7%: Pessimistic
12.8%: Don't know/no opinion

Q6. If the Legislative Council ultimately fails to pass the 2017 Chief Executive election proposal, what is your overall outlook for Hong Kong, including political, economic and social prospects?
23.6%: Optimistic
64.5%: Pessimistic
11.8%: Don't know/no opinion

Q1. Recently, there has been a series of protests spontaneously organized by citizens to oppose the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). Do you agree with these protests?
54.8%: Disagree
26.2%: In-between
16.3%: Agree
2.7%: Don't know/hard to say

Q2. Some people think "The number of mainland visitors from IVS has exceeded the capacity of Hong Kong to receive them." Do you agree with this statement?
12.1%: Disagree
21.3%: In-between
63.3%: Agree
3.4%: Don't know/hard to say

Q3. Overall, do you think IVS should be expanded, reduced or kept the same?
3.4%: Expanded
25.1%: Kept the same
66.7%: Reduced
4.9%: Don't know/hard to say

Q4. Some people say: "If the IVS is reduced, the Hong Kong retail, tourism and related sectors will be negatively impacted." After considering this, do you still agree with the reduction?
4.4%: Disagree
89.7%: Agree
5.9%: Don't know/hard to say

Q5. Right now, registered residents of 49 mainland cities are allowed to come to Hong Kong as individual travelers. The Shenzhen-registered residents can even get multiple-entry permits. Some people think that the multiple-entry permits should be eliminated. Do you agree?
7.1%: Disagree
20.2%: In-between
70.4%: Agree
2.3%: Don't know/hard to say

Q6. For Hong Kong, has individual travel been good or bad?
32.8%: More good than bad
36.3%: More bad than good
28.0%: In-between
2.8%: Don't know/hard to say

Q7. For you personally, has individual travel been good or bad?
19.3%: More good than bad
49.1%: More bad than good
22.8%: In-between
8.9%: Don't know/hard to say

Q8. Has individual travel caused inconvenience in your daily life?
35.3%: No
62.6%: Yes
2.2%: Don't know/hard to say

Q9. How much inconvenience? (base: Those who said "Yes" in Q8)
34.0%: A little bit
32.5%: Moderately
33.5%: A lot

Q10. Some people think "a border shopping centre should be built in Lok Ma Chau to serve mainland visitors." Do you agree?
19.8%: Disagree
21.4%: In-between
54.5%: Agree
4.3%: Don't know/hard to say

(Oriental Daily) March 3, 2015.


Reclaim Tsuen Wan
Sunday (March 8, 2015) at 15:00
Tusen Wan West Station

The last few Reclaim actions
Led to the restoration of peace and tranquility to many places
But the Revolution has not succeeded, so the comrades will still have to work harder
This action is spontaneously organized
So there is no need to apply to the Evil Police
For your convenience to post here,
Fifty-cent gangers and traitors will be posted.

(Oriental Daily) March 4, 2015.

Previously a Facebook user had called for "Reclaim Tsuen Wan, chase away the locusts, cleanse Tsuen Wan" for Sunday (March 8) at 15:00. But that Facebook user suddenly decided to cancel the event because he did not consult anyone beforehand and obtained any feedback. At the time, several dozen Internet users had already expressed the intention to participate.

Internet comments:

- In Yuen Long, Civic Passion and Hong Kong Indigenous filed an application for a demonstration, and the police gave a no-objection reply. Many physical clashes took place. If these two organizations were to apply again, why would the police approve? But if the police don't give approval, then Civil Human Rights Front would decry the end of freedom of assembly in Hong Kong.

- The North District Parallel Imports Concern Group ran a demonstration march in Tsuen Wan on February 23 (see #162). The attendance was estimated to be between eight to ten persons. After the actions in Tai Po, Sheung Shui, Tuen Mu, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long, the numbers behind the various groups are:
-- 10 to 20, North District Parallel Imports Concern Group
-- 100 to 200, Civic Passion
-- 50 to 100, Hong Kong Indigenous
-- ??, the anonymous black ninjas

If this Facebook user only has the North District Parallel Imports Concern Group behind the event, it will be ten or so demonstrators. Meanwhile there will be hundreds of photojournalists who are expecting a re-run of Sheung Shui, Sha Tin and Yuen Long. That would be terribly embarrassing.

Therefore, this event needs the participation of the other groups. But each group has its own agenda.

This Facebook organizer said that the event was to "reclaim Tsuen Wan, chase away the locusts and cleanse Tsuen Wan." His agenda is ambiguous, because it can be interpreted to cover some or all of (A) mainland parallel goods traders; (B) mainland visitors with multiple-entry permits; (C) mainland tourists with single-entry permits; (D) mainland migrants to Hong Kong. The specific combination will affect the support level. For example, a jewelry store workers may oppose mainland parallel traders for causing congestion and inconvenience, but they want the mainland tourists to keep coming.

Here are what the groups want for themselves:

-- The North District Parallel Imports Concern Group opposes the mainland parallel goods traders.

-- Civic Passion opposes all mainlander presence in Hong Kong and they want a Revolution to overthrow the Hong Kong SAR Government as well as the Communist Party.

-- Hong Kong Indigenous wants an independent Hong Kong City-State.

-- The anonymous black ninjas want a war game with the Hong Kong Police.

The nature of the event will be affected by the absence/presence of these groups. For example, in Yuen Long, when the Civic Passion started the march, they were chanting "Down with the Communist Party!" as led by the guy carrying the megaphone. Does everyone in the procession to protest parallel trading agree with this agenda? As another example, in Sha Tin, the Hong Kong Indigenous people were screaming at people "We don't want your kind here" solely because they look like mainlanders.

- On Sundays, the streets of Tsuen Wan are flooded with thousands of people sitting on the sidewalks and obstructing pedestrians.  They need to be 'cleansed.' P.S. They are Filipina/Indonesian domestic helpers on their day off.

- This Facebook user thought that as long as he characterizes the event as spontaneously organized by citizens, then police permission is not required. What might happen is that as soon as a couple of dozen people (including demonstrators as well as counter-demonstrators) are gathered, the police will declare it to be an unlawful assembly and promptly start arresting people.

- If you can't generate interest for Tsuen Wan, the other locations (such as Kowloon Tong, Kwun Tong, Tseung Kwan O, etc) are even less attractive. So the only left is to recycle Tai Po, Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. But remember that 38 persons were arrested in Yuen Long. For a group of 200 to 300 people, that is more than 10% already. How much longer can they keep this up?

- (Oriental Daily) March 4, 2015.
With the disappearance of "Reclaim Tsuen Wan," there was a new Facebook group "Back to Reclaim Sheung Shui" today. The activity is planned for March 8 (Sunday) 3pm at Sheung Shui East Rail Station. The purpose is to "attack parallel trading facilities, eliminate multiple-entry permits."

Been there, did that (#146), got nowhere since. Last time, there were arson attempts. A real conflagration this time?

(Oriental Daily) February 28, 2015.

According to Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Association's Yuen Long branch chairman Wong Tat-kwong, there are about 1,000 businesses in Yuen Long and most of them are worried that they will lose business as a result. Wong said that the association will dispatch a 100-strong uniformed "Legal Advisor Team" to assist the businesses. Wong admitted that no all team members are legal professionals.

Yuen Long District Council chairman and Hong Kong Legislative Councilor Leung Che-cheung said that the police has promised to send several hundred police officers to maintain order, and he is confident that the police can control the situation. However, Leung criticized the police for permitting the demonstration to take place because traffic will surely be paralyzed in the surrounding area. Leung recommends that any business that gets blockaded should immediately lower the gates, and the "Legal Advisor Team" will take videos to sue for civil damages. Leung said that he was unaware of the rumor that the demonstrators will be met with a feces attack.

(Oriental Daily) February 28, 2015.

Previously the villagers in the six Yuen Long villages and four North District villages were going to hire ten tourist buses to carry villagers to the demonstration sites to "maintain order." "We will use violence to stop the violence. We will beat the troublemakers as if they are ISIS." But the action has now be called off. According to Eighteen Village Affairs Committee chairman Leung Fuk-yuen, the police have issued a non-objection letter to the demonstrators, so that villagers may be arrested for interference. But some villagers said at the committee meeting: "When I go out there, I expect to fight and be arrested by the police." But the committee decided that having a large number of villagers rushing into town centre would cause chaos, and therefore they called offthe "marshals." Heung Yee Kuk chairman Lau Wong-fat also told them not to take action. However, Leung said that individual villagers may still be concerned and show up on their own.

(Oriental Daily) February 28, 2015.

Given that some organizations will he holding a "Reclaim Yuen Long" action tomorrow, the police have moved more than 30 metal barricades outside the Long Ping West Rail station. Because of the Lunar New Year, there were very new parallel traders out there today. At the cross-border bus stop, there were must a dozen or so passengers on line.

According to Mr. Chan at a Yau Sun Street pharmacy, the police notified him that there will be a demonstration tomorrow. His boss has instructed him to lower the gates immediately if demonstrators charge inside the store. Mr. Chan said that tomorrow is the wrong time because parallel traders won't show up for the first 15 days of the Lunar New Year. Mr. Chan said that the many parallel traders are affecting the lives of Yuen Long residents, but he hopes that the demonstrators won't target all mainland tourists.

According to Mr. Lee who operates a dried goods store on Sau Fu Street, he will be putting the more valuable goods such as dried scallops and oysters inside instead of outside in case the demonstrators want to damage his property. He said that although the number of mainland tourists has increased in recent years, it did not help his business even as the rent kept going up. He called for both the demonstrators and the Yuen Long residents to exercise restraint.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

At 2pm, about 80 Civic Passion members were at the Long Ping West Rail station. Most of them wore yellow-colored clothes, some of them wearing surgical masks and using cameras to record videos. Included is The French Guy, who was suspected of breaking into the Legislative Council building.

Captain America also showed up in full armor, including helmet, goggles, armor plate, knee guards, elbow guards and gloves. He said that he wanted to participate in the march, but he got off at Yuen Long Station instead of the Long Ping Station. But as soon as he stepped out on the platform, he was attacked by three middle-aged men without cause. Eventually he arrived at Long Ping station. He said that the full armor was used to protect himself and that he did not intend to attack other persons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfEXICLs2Z0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P0Qvk35IEw

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

About 100 Civic Passion members arrived outside the Long Ping West Rail station and were met by several dozen Yuen Long villagers who told the visitors that they are not welcome. The Civic Passion leader used the megaphone to explain the purpose of the demonstration. But the residents shouted for them to go away and thus stopped the speech. The police told the two sides to clear the sidewalk. The villagers continued to yell, "Hot dogs (=Civic Passion") drop dead" and refused to leave.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

Civic Passion member Cheng Chung-tai said that they same prepared today with umbrellas, water and cleansing agents to defend against the rumored feces attack. Another Civic Passion member said that the demonstration's purpose was to stop the multiple-entry visas for mainlanders. [Note: The demonstrators followed their leader to chant "Down with the Communists!" and that is at a different level from stopping parallel traders.]

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

Even before the demonstrators reached Sau Fu Street, about one-third to one-half of the shops have already lowered their gates in preventative mode.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

On Sau Fu Street, local storekeepers faced off against Hong Kong Indigenous members. At least ten stores including Maxim's are already shuttered. The "high-risk target" of Infant Formula Wholesale City has used bicycle chains to lock its glass entrance and there are several policemen posted inside the wtore.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

About 200 demonstrators faced off against Yuen Long residents on Sau Fu Street. The two sides shouted at each other. A resident alleged swung his fist and was chased by demonstrators. The police used batons to disperse the crowd and took 3 individuals away. Both demonstrators and residents were dissatisfied with the police action. At this point, about 60% of the shops on Sau Fu Street are shuttered. Meanwhile On Ning Road is completely "occupied" 30 minutes ago already as cars cannot enter Sau Fu Street.

(Apple Daily with video) March 1, 2015.

At around 4:10pm, a driver drew his car into Sau Fu Street. He got into arguments with demonstrators, some of whom banged on his car. The driver said: "Go away! Do you think this is Mong Kok?" The car eventually left under police escort.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015

Hong Kong Indigenous has just announced that they are dissolving the action today. When the group reached Kiu Sau Path, they were repeatedly attacked and the police were unable to protect them. During the procession, there was repeated physical clashes and fights. The demonstrators kept provoking the residents wherever they went.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

There were multiple clashes between demonstrators and residents. The police used pepper spray at least twice. On Sau Fu Street, demonstrators charged from the sidewalk onto the roadway and were tackled by the police. Residents threw water bottles at the demonstrators and told the police to "beat them up." Demonstrators tossed water bottles back. The police arrested four demonstrators.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

During the chaos, a middle-aged man allegedly molested a female passerby. He was surrounded by a large number of people and then the police came to take him away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSb3MLMTi3c Police take statements from alleged molester and victim.

(Oriental Daily including video) March 1, 2015.

On Sau Fu Street, a group of anti-demonstration Yuen Long residents objected to the presence of demonstrators in their midst and asked them to leave. But these demonstrators responded by raising yellow umbrellas. The police attempted to separate the two groups, and there was a three-way physical clash.

When a police officer attempted to arrest a 13-year-old boy, a 20-year-old man attempted to intervene. That man was arrested, and his 28-year-old girlfriend attempted to free him. In the chaos, she feel down on the ground and began bleeding. She has been charged with interfering with the police in the line of duty.

[The initial story was that some people tried to leave the sidewalk to occupy the roadway. Among them was this woman who claimed to have dropped her mobile phone on the roadway and wanted to retrieve it. The police allegedly tackled and injured her.]

(Apple Daily) March 1, 2015.

On Sau Fu Street, the police used pepper spray twice. Demonstrators used umbrellas to ward off the spray. In the chaos, a man and a woman were held down on the ground by seven to eight police officers. The man resisted and said: "Hey, I was just walking by. What are you doing?" The woman was bleeding profusely in the mouth and looked to be in pain. The police went up and offered her paper towels. Then they took her away for treatment.

[Note: The clearest video so far is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9xWwltW6Y8. It looks like the boyfriend pulled the woman towards him, she tripped on a metal ladder and fell down on the concrete. However, this video from dbc radio was edited. There were many other cameras around, but those people are not sharing their films or eyewitness testimonies.]

(Sing Tao) March 3, 2015.

36 men and 2 women were arrested, their ages range between 13 to 74 years old. The youngest is the 13-year-old boy named who is Secondary School Form 2 in the Hung Hom district. He lives with his parents and a younger brother. On his Facebook, he says that he gets along with his family, and his hobby is Internet games. Recently, he has been active in social movements. Earlier Chu had been arrested for assaulting the police, public disorderly conduct and interfering with police in the line of duty, and is under investigation. When he was arrested on Sunday for assaulting the police, he stuck to a bad attitude down at the police station, and asked impatiently when he can be bailed out.

The 28-year-old "Bleeding Mouth" girl named Ng is a friend of 13-year-old Chu. She, her 20-year-old boyfriend named Kwong and Chu participated in the "Reclaim Yuen Long" movement. On her Facebook, she expressed support for the Umbrella Movement and is politically engaged.

In addition, the police found a number of weapons on two men. On the 33-year-old man named Chan were 5 DIY pepper-oil sprays and a switchblade knife. At the time, Chan was wearing body armor. Chan is unemployed and has a prior record for manufacturing explosives and smuggling cigarettes. He has previously engaged in social movements, including Occupy Admiralty and Occupy Mong Kok. He was a volunteer at the medical aid station in Admiralty, where he posed with his full body armor for a photo. The police searched Chan's apartment and found three DIY police batons with electrical wires.

On the 29-year-old construction worker named Cheng were found a large hot oil spray can and a boxcutter. Cheng is a Yellow Ribbon activist. He said that likes to ride motorcycles and play paintball games. He has many photos showing himself holding rifles.

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

"Reclaim Yuen Long" was meant to be a demonstration against parallel trading and multiple-entry visas for mainlanders, but it turned into Occupy Yuen Long! The founder Wong Yeung-tat of the organizer Civic Passion issued an apology on his Facebook about his deep reflections on the problems that occur when an organization becomes too big. He wrote: "Sorry, I failed in my leadership. Today, Civic Passion performed poorly. Tomorrow I will solemnly apologize to everybody during my program." But Wong did not explain in what way was Civic Passion's performance so bad. Some Internet users wondered: "Did they perform poorly because they stood on the sidewalk instead of the middle of the roadway?" Others noted that he did not show up in person today and wondered if he controlled everything by phone. Wong replied: "When an organization gets too big, it becomes rigid. We are no exception. We must reflect on this deeply." He also emphasized: "I commanded everything that Civic Passion does. It is my responsibility. I am the commander of a large army!"

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

After dark, the Reclaim Yuen Long movement turned to guerilla warfare. Several dozen demonstrators walked along Yuen Long Main Road to Kau Yuk Road. They stepped on the roadway and paralyzed vehicular traffic. The demonstrators chanted "We don't want locusts." The demonstrators then proceeded to Kong Lok Road, and two-way vehicular traffic was paralyzed. A pharmacy immediately removed its display wares and lowered the gates. The demonstrators called the workers "traitors".

(Oriental Daily) March 1, 2015.

At around 8pm, the demonstrators returned to the Yuen Long Main Road and blocked vehicular traffic in one direction. The police came, but the demonstrators taunted them. The police arrested several individuals, which caused the rest of the demonstrators to charge onto the road. Some police officer took out their police batons and arrested more demonstrators. They told the demonstrators to get back onto the sidewalk.

(SCMP) Arrests and pepper spray as scuffles break out at Yuen Long protest. March 1, 2015.

Chaotic scenes hit the narrow streets of Yuen Long on Sunday as clashes marred the latest protest against mainland traders – but police fears of a violent counter-protest involving triads proved unfounded.

Police used pepper spray to break up clashes as the 200 or so protesters and opponents exchanged foul-mouthed insults as they marched from Long Ping MTR station to Sau Fu Street, where a cluster of shops serve mainland buyers.

Disputes yesterday occasionally escalated, and police moved in with pepper spray. Several reporters were also sprayed, while one photographer received a wound to his chest. Police arrested 33 people, aged 13 to 74, for offences including possession of weapons, common assault and assaulting police. Further arrests could follow, the force said. Five officers received treatment in hospital for minor limb injuries.

The protesters, most in their 20s and 30s, chanted “go home and buy mainland products!” while opponents cried “no one welcomes you guys, go home!”

Residents appeared divided. Some sympathised with the protesters, who say parallel traders overcrowd towns and edge out stores that serve locals. Others felt the traders brought economic benefits while the protesters were the ones causing disruption. “Many of those rural gentry are landlords of those shops [that target mainlanders],” said one woman, a law student, referring to rural leaders who led opposition to the protest. But the owner of a hair salon said he had to close his doors, adding: “Protests like this will only make things worse.”

About 30 protesters from Hong Kong Indigenous  – formed by people involved in last year’s Occupy pro-democracy movement and which joined last month’s protests – wore armour under their jackets. “This [armour] is purely for self-defence. We’ll separate the conflicting parties should anything happen,” said spokesman Ray Wong Toi-Yeung, 22. Wong asked protesters to disperse at about 4pm and not crowd the town’s main road. Some, however, took that as a signal to do the opposite. Traffic was briefly disrupted on Castle Peak Road,  and groups of protesters were still in the town by 10pm.

(Wen Wei Po) March 2, 2015.

The "Reclaim Yuen Long" was originally proposed by spokesperson Leung Kam-fat of the North District Parallel Traders Concern Group. But the country squires responded that they will retaliate. Leung determined that he did not have the numbers so he asked the radical parties for help. As the leading radical party, Civic Passion agreed along with their allies Hong Kong Indigenous and the Phoenix/Dragon/Lion Group. Members of the foul-mouthed Orchid Group, Student Frontline and Chinese University Indigenous Study Group were also spotted among the demonstrators.

According to an informed source, the radical parties put in all-out effort. From Civic Party, only their leaders Raymond Wong Yuk-man and Wong Yeung-tat were absent but every other key member (such as Cheng Chung-tai, the French Guy and Brother Joey) was present.

Around 3pm, almost 100 persons assembled near the Long Ping West Rail station and proceeded towards the town centre. The route was monitored by the police. Many Yuen Long residents blocked their progress and cursed them out. Therefore the procession moved along very slowly. Normally it takes only 20 minutes to reach Sau Fu Street. On this day, it took one full hour. Almost everybody wore surgical masks to avoid recognition except their leaders (Cheng Chung-tai, the French Guy and Brother Joey) who are too well-known. They used a megaphone to chant slogans along the way.

At around 4pm, Civic Passion and Hong Kong Indigenous who had previously received the no-objection letter from the police for the march unexpectedly declared the event has been concluded. They said that people can continue with the Shopping Revolution on their own. According to an informed source, the organizers did not want to be arrested by the police or attacked by the village residents. But this is tantamount to selling out all those who heeded their call and came out. After the organizers left the scene, the remaining collection of people roamed around like headless flies.

After Civic Passion made the announcement, several dozen members in yellow clothing walked quickly to the Long Ping West Rail station. But our reporter observed that they didn't use any Octopus card to enter. Instead, they queued up and paid for single trip tickets by cash. Using Octopus card be evidence for the police to charge them will unlawful assembly.

(Sina.com.hk) March 2, 2015.

According to the Internet website Polymer, its reporter was standing on the curb filming when he was threatened by a plainclothes police woman. She said that this was not a demonstration and that the reporter was interfering with police business. The reporter stepped back on the sidewalk. But the policewoman saw that the reporter was still filming. So she said that she wanted to inspect his Hong Kong ID because he was blocking traffic. Our reporter thought that the police action was regrettable and therefore posted the video segment on the Internet https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=641642829296250.

In the video, the policewoman told the reporter that he is obstructing traffic and must move away. She told him that if he continues to stand there, he will be arrested. Finally she loses patience and demands to see his ID. He tells her to wait a minute as he keeps filming and demanding that she provide a reason for seeing his ID.

Internet comment: "Actually you are required to produce your proof of identity (i.e. your identity card) on demand by a police officer under Section 17C(2) of the Immigration Ordinance whether there is any reason or not!! So stop demanding a police officer to give you a reason if he demands you to produce your ID card or you will only show your ignorance of the law."

Internet users found out that this policewoman Kwan Wang-shan was featured in the Hong Kong People Hong Kong Police promotional film last year. They posted her full name, her office address, telephone and fax numbers, her email address, her home address, her secondary school photos, etc on the Internet.

(Post852) March 2, 2015.

With respect to the events yesterday, Civic Passion leader Wong Yeung-tat explained on this morning's program <Good morning, Greater Hong Kong> that there were problems with the arrangements. The leaders including Cheng Chung-tai, The French Guy and Brother Joey rigidly stuck to team formation without any flexibility. Even as Cheng Chung-tai was speaking to the press, there were clashes at the back but nobody went over to help. Wong thought that this was unacceptable. He said that the obsession with team formation was too rigid, the field command was poor, "zero adaptability", "just fucking march and fucking yell" with nothing accomplished. Wong also said that he bore the greatest responsibility because he had not explained the arrangements beforehand. He said that he did not attend yesterday because an organization should not rely on him alone.

(Apple Daily) March 2, 2015.

The Student Front organization announced yesterday that it is officially disbanding. The notice said that there are many action-oriented organizations in Hong Kong, many of which have more resources than Student Front. Since Student Front members tend to be conservative, low-keyed and secretive in order to protect their actions and members, it was hard for the organization to seek exposure. The organization is disbanding now so that its members can go back to be ordinary activists.

Core member "Four-eyed Brother" Cheng Kam-moon said on his Facebook: "Today, I hope that everybody shouldn't keep faith with 'student organizations' which use their student status and aura to call the people of Hong Kong to resist. In the end, I respect each comrade in Student Front as a resister. I saw what all of you paid on the road of resistance. I hope that you won't spread stories about internal squabbles and power struggles. If you have time, you should do practical things and serve different functions in different positions in the resistance."

During the Occupy Movement, Student Front advocated "using force to stop tyranny" and opposed the Grand Stage system of the Federation of Students/Scholarism. Cheng Kam-moon said that he was not opposed to the two student organizations and he wanted only to have a 'Valiant' organization to fight along their sides.

(Oriental Daily) March 2, 2015.

The original TVB report was: http://news.tvb.com/local/54f2ee116db28cc31a000004 A police officer working as media liaison was surrounded and punched by demonstrators. When police officers came to support, their pepper spray caught this unlucky police officer as well. This police officer was called 'unlucky.'

The true story has come out now. Upon reviewing the video, we saw that the police officer tried to leave but he was cornered by many masked men who punched his face multiple time. Nevertheless he kept his eyes open and tried to avoid the punches. Suddenly a right hand holding an object appeared on the scene, reached the left side of the left eye of the police officer and pressed the thumb down. The police officer immediately closed his eyes in pain and dropped down to a half-kneeling position. By this time uniformed police officers arrived at the scene and applied pepper spray to the crowd of demonstrators. Due to the timing coincidence, it would appear that the police officers sprayed their own man by mistake.

Our photographer filmed the police officer afterwards with a can of Rexona Men's Deodorant spray on the ground, next to a pair of goggles and a foldable umbrella. It is speculated that the perpetrator left his tools behind afterwards because he did not want to found with them in case the police stops him. This police officer said afterwards that he was sprayed with a strong menthol-flavored liquid which caused pain in his eyes and that was definitely not the pepper spray used by the police.

(The Standard) March 3, 2015.

Officers were forced to use pepper spray and batons during the protests in Yuen Long after demonstrators refused to heed repeated warnings, police said.  Thirty-eight people aged 13 to 74, including two women, were arrested on Sunday for common assault, assaulting police, possessing offensive weapons and obstructing officers from carrying out their duties. Ten officers were among those injured. Police also displayed the weapons they seized, which included a homemade pepper spray. Others are knives, box cutters, screwdrivers, protective pads, goggles, self-made shields and batons, a bottle of inflammable liquid and sulfur powder.

Yuen Long deputy district commander Kerry Carew said that after protesters caused disturbances to shops and road users, police gave repeated advice and warnings including displaying banners to appeal to them to express their views in a peaceful and rational manner. "But they refused to comply and charged police lines," he said. "To ensure public safety and public order, police took resolute action by using the minimal level of force, including using pepper spray and batons, to stop the unlawful, violent acts." Police have not ruled out further arrests.

Yuen Long assistant district commander Ngai Chi-shung said a spray seized from a protester appeared to contain chili oil. "We need to conduct tests to see if the ingredients are harmful or not," Ngai said.

Among those arrested were a 13-year-old student accused of assaulting an officer and a young woman who tried to stop police from arresting the boy. Most of those arrested do not live in Yuen Long.

Leung Kam-shing, a spokesman for the North District Parallel Imports Concern Group, said the scuffle between protesters mainly from Civic Passion and Hong Kong Indigenous and anti-protest groups broke out after they were provoked by the pro-establishment Voice of Loving Hong Kong. Patrick Ko Tat-bun, convener of Voice of Loving Hong Kong, denied that they had provoked the protesters.

The protest was the third in a month to target parallel traders who buy goods in Hong Kong to sell across the border. Demonstrations in Tuen Mun and Sha Tin were also violent.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAESPkbJqVk (INT News Channel) Part 1 (14:32) Preliminaries. Some uncles delivering speeches on Chinese history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zik6vpG7GM (INT News Channel) Part 2 (14:47): Assemble and start out. They encounter shouting from opponents: "Hot dogs drop dead soon" and "Go away quickly."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pVsco8cLPY (INT Nes Channel) Part 3 (15:11) Quarrel with opponents. A woman tried to seize a Hong Kong independence flag (=British Dragon/Lion flag with the Queen's Crown now replaced by a phoenix rising from the ashes).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uMmRF9454g (INT News Channel) Part 4 (15:47): Demonstration march down On Ning Road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxCEfQm9c2I (INT News Channel) Part 5 (15:52): Sau Fu Street. Police used pepper spray. Multiple arrests by the police.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffG3dlMwwws (SocREC) A collection of videos at various points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SSfXL62lwY (SocREC) Conflict at McDonald's. The restaurant ousted 200 unhappy customers and closed the door.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4at5b_WDDI (SocREC) The police remove two fighting men.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBzg2JTZlao (SocREC) A citizen deliberately fell down as if he was hit. He was taken away by the police.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBkuOfdSOcE (SocREC) A police inspector looks to arrest someone by himself. Then other police officers arrive to support him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRqAV-V57ds (dbc) Police arrest someone. Then another man came up and began a rambling rant. The policeman kept asking: "What are you saying? What are you saying?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9xWwltW6Y8  (dbc) Detailed analysis of the case of the "Nosebleed Girl"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7KSW7A-nQY (dbc) ATV reports cops pepper spray from the police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-UgXsxsM_8 (dbc) The police make arrests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FUX7VM0a2k (RFA Cantonese)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBgp2gqQqTM (Passion Times) Citizens tell Civic Passion that they are useless because they needed their much despised police to protect them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQixhkcCnlA (Passion Times) A woman claiming to be a Yuen Long resident speaking to the press to say that they can take care of their own affairs and that the police should not be protecting Civic Passion. She said that Civic Passion did not come to stop parallel traders, but instead they want to stop all mainland tourists and destroy Hong Kong's economy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFUdH-jV7co (Passion Times) Brawl on Yuen Long Main Road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVbYjE0lAw8&feature=youtu.be (Protest Times) Big brawl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVbYjE0lAw8&feature=youtu.be (Protest Times) Police arrest someone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD87rML-ek8 (Epoch Times) Yellow paint bombs from the demonstrators hit many persons, including the police

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1wwBZOzFg (Epoch Times) "Nose bleed" girl is escorted away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aoscTl_1jU (Epoch Times) A man climbs up a lamppost. What for?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb3VVZ3lUu0 (Bastille Post) A pedestrian claims to have been assaulted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Qbj4tibog (RT) Raw footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meceN6Cm0T4 (WarmWaterFrog) Citizens telling the Hot Dogs (=Civic Passion) to go away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ennhC7gvze0 (WarmWaterFrog)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzS1q3PJrYc (WarmWaterFrog) Action inside McDonald's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3baaQhcWE (WarmWaterFrog) How a demonstration turned into Occupy Yuen Long with people throwing obstacles to stop vehicular traffic.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=949796238364969 (Hong Kong Hermit) Analysis of the arrest of the 13-year-old boy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kgHmJDHqus (Hong Kong Hermit) Compilation of various incidents throughout the day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxmWTgoWuCo (Apple Daily) Street fighting men. Note the man in green and the man in red in the beginning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b44tidjO3A (Apple Daily) The mother-daughter is titled "Anti-parallel trading became IS, no apologies after harassing a child?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iTgraCrQfc&feature=youtu.be (Galsound) Street fighting men in Long Ping in front of a rural house. Three Blue Ribbons versus one Yellow Ribbon until the country squires joined in. The cameraman told them to stop, but a country auntie said, "What is it to you that they are fucking fighting?" When the police came, both sides said the other guys started the fight. The country squires said that they knew neither party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfuetfHwjSM (Chan Robert) A compilation.

http://news.tvb.com/local/54f2ee116db28cc31a000004 (TVB) A police officer working as media liaison was surrounded and punched by demonstrators. When police officers came to support, their pepper spray caught this unlucky police officer as well.

Internet comments:

- The Hot Dogs shouted the slogans of "Oppose parallel goods trading!" "Oppose handcarts!" "Oppose multiple-entry permits!" Handcarts? If they go to the Hong Kong International Airport arrival lobby, they will see tens of thousands of Hongkongers coming back from overseas as well international visitors with handcarts in tow on every day of the year. Why don't you stop them first before they could cause mortal dangers to other Hongkongers with those handcarts?

- At 4pm, the cowards known as Hong Kong Indigenous announced that they were calling off the action. But they added that anything else that happens afterwards will be the result of spontaneous actions by citizens for which their organization is not responsible. Chickenhawks! They're just too afraid that the police will hold them responsible.
Also, they advertised themselves being the Valiant Warriors who will lead Hongkongers towards a new and independent Hong Kong City-State. On this day, they gave up after being confronted by a few uncles and grandpas with either balding heads or funny hairdos/toupees. Part of their problem was that they had their own demonstration march route which is different from the larger Civic Passion contingent. This meant that they had to walk down the gauntlet with just a dozen or so members. They were outnumbered and became easy targets. So they blamed the Evil Police for not protecting them.

- If the main goal is to cancel multiple-entry visit permits, then they should be protesting in front of Government Headquarters or Legislative Council. In Yuen Long, the pharmacies are properly licensed businesses in accordance with the law. They pay their rents, they pay their workers and they pay their taxes. It is wrong to think that you can get rid of these pharmacies by a brute show of force. If brute force works, it will be easy for anyone to hire a couple hundred of actors a day to achieve anything that they want (e.g. close Disneyland/Ocean Park; close Ngong Ping 360; close the Hong Kong International Airport; etc).

- This was a very disappointing outcome. I was expecting to see feces and urine being dumped on the demonstrators. Or at a minimum, I want to see a mass brawl involving hundreds of people. I waited all day and almost nothing happened. In the end, the Hot Dogs moved to an isolated area, gave self-congratulatory speeches to the media, took off their yellow shirts and dispersed. It was not worth the wait.

- Let us compare two situations. Case 1: Yuen Long is supposedly being overrun by mainlander parallel traders who use up all their resources. But the Yuen Long shopkeepers continue to open their doors and do business every day. Case 2: Yuen Long is going to be liberated by Civic Passion/Hong Kong Indigenous, who will solve the parallel trader problem. But the Yuen Long shopkeepers (including McDonald's, Sasa, etc) lowered their gates quickly when these guys appear. Who are the Yuen Long shopkeepers more worried about? Who do they wish would just go away?

- (Oriental Daily) October 7, 2014. About a dozen Chinese University of Hong Kong students gathered outside the University Station MTR exit. They knelt down in a row with the banner: "We are forced to disrupt people's livelihoods only because the people can't make a living anyway."

Well, on this day, the reason why the Sau Fu Street shopkeepers couldn't make a living was precisely because demonstrators scared them into shuttering their shops. And while they are closed, they can't earn a cent. It's a tough to live in a time of chaos (thanks to CUHK students and their ilk).

- HKG Pao poster

We are forced to use iPhone
We are forced to eat buffet
We are forced to wear Nike
We are forced to carry Gucci
We are forced to play PS4
It is impossible to make a living in Hong Kong
This the reason why we have to disrupt people's livelihoods

- This whole thing is about releasing anger. The demonstrators are malcontents who want to express their dissatisfaction. They can't tell who a parallel trader is, so they scream at anyone that they don't like. But on this day, they got their comeuppance. Instead of the mild-mannered professionals in Admiralty or the middle-class female shoppers in Causeway Bay, they run up against authentic Hong Kong aborigines. They talk tough, but the aborigines talk even tougher. The aborigines have a simple message: "Who are you people? You don't even live here. You're outsiders. Why are you trying to solve what you think are our problems? We don't want your kind here. Go away!" The demonstrators don't dare to start a fight because they know that the other side is even tougher, with rumors of triad violence motored by feces/urine bombs. So they roam around Yuen Long in frustration afterwards, throwing obstacles in the streets, blocking the roads and screaming at outnumbered pharmacy workers. This was a horror show that highlights their worst behavior.

- The action during the day led nowhere. So after it got dark, the demonstrators took to Occupy tactics. They blocked vehicular traffic in mobile fashion temporarily. What does that accomplish? They forced the police to race over to the location to clear the site and arrest some of the miscreants. They annoyed the hell out of local drivers who were trapped. They caused a number of businesses to lose most of their sales income for the day (for example, there was a television interview with a fashion clothing store owner who said that her sales total for the day was a goose egg). So this is mobile Occupy. You hurt citizens and businesses without making an inch of progress towards your stated goal (stop parallel trading; genuine universal suffrage; overthrow the Communists, etc). And you couldn't occupy Yuen Long Main Road for more than 3 minutes.

- I've watched so many videos taken the scene. Here is one example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Ba5Lgtnyk that I have watched three times. I was trying to divine the meaning of the entire action. Sorry, I can't see anything. What is the point? You jostle, you yell and then you look around to see where the action is.

- The Umbrella Revolution has been going on since September 2014. Here are the various phases:
(I) Occupy Central (=Occupy Admiralty; Occupy Causeway Bay; Occupy Mong Kok; Occupy Tsim Sha Tsui) for genuine universal suffrage in accordance with international standards;
(II) Shopping Revolution in Mong Kok with nightly shopping trips up and down Sai Yeung Choi Street South (Mong Kok) after the stores are closed;
(III) Hong Kong independence activities;
(IV) Oppose parallel trading (which really includes oppose mainlander parallel trading; oppose multiple-entry Individual Permit System for mainlanders; oppose pharmacies, jewelry stores, cosmetics stores, discount stores; oppose mainlander tourists; overthrow the Chinese Communists).
So far, nothing has been achieved on any front. What next? Vindicate June 4th 1989?

- Next target?
Kwun Tong? Not if Wong Yeung-tat (Civic Passion) wants to run for District Council in Kwun Tong or Legislative Council in Kowloon East.
Tseung Kwan O? Large population, many housing estates and shopping malls, but too faraway for parallel traders to be working there.
...
Really, there are no obvious targets left. Recycling Tuen Mun or Sha Tin is not creative. Next time, the locals may not take it kindly either.

- Here is the Oriental Daily front page story for the morning after:

Using anti-parallel traders as pretext
Promoting Hong Kong independence and causing chaos in Yuen Long
Raising the Phoenix/Dragon/Lion flag, demonstrators provoke clashes

- Watch the videos: there were three groups of demonstrators.
The first group are Civic Passion people wearing yellow shirts. Their goal is to advance their political position among the radicals in the population at the expense of those other political parties that were absent today (such as People Power and the League of Social Democrats). They chant "Down with the Chinese Communists!"
The second group are Hong Kong Indigenous people wearing blue shirts. Their goal is Hong Kong independence. They carry the Phoenix/Dragon/Lion flag.
The third group is led by guys wearing black clothing and surgical masks. These are the original Occupy Central people who usually lead the charge, tell others to occupy and quickly vanish before the police show up for the others to be clobbered and arrested by the police. Late in the evening, these are the men in black who led the occupation of Yuen Long Main Road. The tactic is distinctly Occupy, in its methods (e.g. throwing bus signs onto the roadway) and result (i.e., nothing accomplished). Their goal is to be destructive. The lesson from Occupy Central is that you should decide whether you want to be associated with these people or not, because all their bad deeds will stick onto you.

- Noted in passing: The police reported that 27 of the 32 charged with offenses during the Yuen Long demonstration were not Yuen Long residents. That was expected, because the whole exercise wasn't about fighting on behalf of the Yuen Long people but for the media exposure of outsiders for political gains.

- Police exhibited the weapons confiscated, such DIY pepper spray using hot oil.

- Here is a piece of sophistry from a university lecturer:

(Passion Times) March 3, 2015.

... Cheng Chung-tai (Civic Passion) pointed out that the demonstration march was obstructed by the police so that the demonstrators were stuck together for long periods of time on congested roadways. This affected certain local residents and small stores. Therefore Cheng wanted to apologize to them. But mainly he wanted to apologize to the demonstrators. Was it because they weren't radical enough? Cheng said that may be true, because the purpose of the demonstration march was to express their demands and therefore they shouldn't disband immediately after they finished marching.

When asked why a demonstration march would not suffice for expressing their demands and that only a physical clash is acceptable, Cheng said that Yuen Long and Sheung Shui are presently flooded with parallel traders and therefore local residents are already affected in their daily lives. Therefore, the economic losses of the small businesses should not be attributed to the demonstrations, because there is chaos already.

He said that the chaos during the demonstration was caused by the police who did not make effective arrangements for the demonstrators to express their demands. The demonstrators are victims of the system, and therefore the responsibility for any chaos should not fall on the victims. He said that the police allowed certain pro-establishment Blue Ribbons and Love-organization members to provoke the demonstrators and that was what created the chaos. In truth, the demonstrators were very restrained, or else more extreme situations would have arisen. The degree of intensity in Hong Kong demonstrations is not comparable to international standards.

Cheng said that the comparison of this demonstration with previous ones should not be on the intensity. Instead, it is about citizens becoming aware that they need to come out to defend their own communities without blindly obeying to what certain political organizations command them to do. He believes that more people will take to the streets spontaneously. He said that Civic Passion is only one of the organizers, and their goal is to call on more people to take to the streets to defend their own rights ...

This is a piece of rubbish because what really happened was this: The local residents of Yuen Long came out to defend their own interests against a bunch of outsiders who came to create chaos in their community. Please re-read what Cheng said. Cheng possesses zero self-awareness of the irony of his own arguments.

Consider the case of the shop owner who says his normal take was $12,000 for a Sunday, but has made less than $3,000 so far that day. When this shop owner thinks about the $12,000 that he made last week when parallel traders were running wild on the street and then the $3,000 that he made this week when there are hundreds of demonstrators outside his front door, what is his logical conclusion? Who caused him to lose $9,000? If he should complain about the missing $9,000, he would be told that he is being selfish because the whole thing was about the greater good over the long term. Of course, that is unprovable and untestable. This is that pie in the sky. If democracy comes, we will live happily forever afterwards ...

But at least Cheng recognizes that Hong Kong does not meet international standards on demonstration intensity (see, for example, Kiev fire bombs or Kiev demonstrators charge into government building) or police brutality (see LAPD shooting on March 1st, 2015)

Related link: Occupy Yuen Long - The Pre-game Show

(SCMP)

Sweeteners totalling HK$6.6 billion have been announced in the 2015 budget – a jump of nearly 80 per cent on last year’s figure – which will favour the worse-off members of the population.

Among the additional government expenses, HK$5.5 billion will go towards an extra two months’ worth of allowances for recipients of  CSSA, Old Age Allowance (fruit money), Old Age Living Allowance and Disability Allowance. A month’s rent will be waived for low income tenants living in rental public units, prompting an expenditure of HK$1.1 billion.

Altogether, these items will cost the government 78 per cent more than the HK$3.7 billion earmarked last year.

(Oriental Daily) A Facebook manual on how to apply for CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance):


Step 1: Break all family relationships
Because the application is based on the family unit, you must break all family relationships. If you want a good living, you must disown your parents, siblings and children! Of course, you need to contact them first to document the fact, such as obtaining your mother's statement that she is no longer supporting you and you tell the Social Welfare Department folks that you have to move out to a $1,500 month tomb-like room for that reason. Please remember that your rented room must cost less than the maximum rent subsidy.
Why won't you apply along with your family? Because it is hard to reach consensus, because some of those old eggheads may act as if they have backbones. Besides, the per capita payment will be less with a larger family. If your mother, your father, your sister and you split up, you will be receiving four separate welfare payments!

Step 2: Resign from your job
As everybody knows, CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance) has an income test. Before you apply, you must resign from your job. Retire now and don't even think more about it. You are going to get money for doing nothing, so why work anymore? For pride? Nobody believes that anymore! Getting your boss to add the comment "unable to complete the work due to defective mental capacity" would be even better!

Step 3: Wipe your records clean
CSSA also has an asset test! So you should put aside your bank accounts, stocks, foreign currency, gold and anything else. Do not apply until you have done so! You may not know how to make money, but you surely must know how to hide away your assets. You don't need me to teach you that! Please remember that you must not give your assets away to your relatives or friends, because the Social Welfare Department will count all gifts within the last three years. If you own any real estate, let them go too. You should put up with short-term losses compared to the long-term gains.

Step 4: Prepare for the home visit
You can now file an application with the Social Welfare Department. They will visit you at home. Put away your PS4, Gundams and butter. If you must have a computer at home, please find a Pentium 3 machine from somewhere. If you have done Steps 1-3, you are basically ready! If you want to make sure, you refer to 'butter' as 'beef' as if you have never heard of it.

Step 5: Your benefits
Congratulations! Your application has been approved and you are eligible for the basic $2,070 monthly payment. This is supposed to cover food, telecommunications, water, gas and electricity. This is going to be tough, but if you can have a few more children, you will have a lot more subsidies. Of course, you just hand the children off for relatives to take care off!

You will receive a maximum rent subsidy of $1,500. You won't be able to rent anything with so little money. So you need to sleep in the street for a few days and tell the Social Welfare Department about it so that they can move you ahead for public housing eligibility.

As for medical coverage, you don't have to spend a cent if you are on CSSA. Some of my welfare recipient friends even get prescriptions and sell them to pharmacies. You do that every day of the month and you make enough to buy an iPhone6 already. You may even consider breaking your arm or leg, for which you get $1,950 per month for 50% disability and another $500 for 100% disability. If you need constant care, you can as much as $3,515 in subsidies.

Step 6: Getting a job afterwards
Although you are now living well, the Social Welfare Department will demand health young people to go find a job or enter some kind of training program. They will set a plan up for you to get a job, and they will check how you did. At this time, your former boss' letter will come in handy! "Unable to complete the work due to defective mental capacity" will cause the Social Welfare Department to recommend you to see a psychologist (who could be as pretty as psychologist Kelly Chan in the movie Infernal Affairs). If you are unlucky that you actually get a job, the Social Welfare Department will withhold your pay. It is up to you to decide whether you want to live in heaven or hell.

As a reminder, a welfare recipient cannot leave Hong Kong for more than 56 days per year. So you probably can't visit Europe more than 5 times a year.

(Headline Daily) February 27, 2015. By Ricky Wong.

I was dining with a government official a few days ago. He was pessimistic about the future of Hong Kong but I took the opposite view of great optimism. Yesterday, I listened to Financial Secretary John Tsang on radio about the new budget. I was sad to hear what some callers said to the radio host. These people think that they can just sit at home and the government is obliged to provide them with benefits including cheap housing, transport subsidies, electricity subsidies, providing for their parents ... all the audience members thought that government should shower more benefits.

I don't know if the radio station was screening the callers or whether these callers represent majority opinion. Some caller could not understand why the textbook subsidies were no longer available. Some people got real estate tax rebates, but non-homeowners receive nothing. Some people noted that there is child exemption, but no parent exemption. It is discouraging to listen on, because these people clearly don't realize that these benefits came from the corporate taxes and salary taxes that hard-working people earned and paid. Obviously, we should be helping certain needy people to maintain the most basic living standards. These callers were not just asking to meet the basic daily needs, but they want to improve their own living standards not by their own hard work but through government assistance.

Many years ago, I went with Oxfam to Nepal. The workers reminded us not to hand candies to the local children, because this will mislead them into thinking that they can get something for nothing. Instead, we could buy a sheep for a local family so that they can raise more sheep. Subsidies should be intended to let the beneficiaries improve their skills to make a living for themselves. Let's be fair, Hongkongers.

Internet comments:

- (Wikipedia) Comprehensive Social Security Assistance:

One limb of the eligibility test for CSSA is the requirement of having been resident in Hong Kong for a certain number of years in the past, though not necessarily immediately before applying. Under the predecessor schemes to the CSSA, this requirement was 10 years up until 1959, five years after that, and then just one year after 1970. In 2004, the Tung Chee-hwa administration extended that period to seven years, in response to the rising cost of CSSA payments to Mainland Chinese new immigrants in Hong Kong, though children under the age of 18 were exempt from this new requirement. At the same time, the Tung administration introduced an additional requirement that the applicant have been resident in Hong Kong for one year immediately prior to the date of applicant.

Both of the requirements introduced in 2004 have since been struck down by the courts. In June 2010, in response to a lawsuit by a Hong Kong permanent resident formerly working in mainland China who had returned to Hong Kong after becoming unemployed, the Court of First Instance held that the requirement of one year's residence immediately prior to the date of application violated the right of freedom of movement in Article 31 of the Basic Law. The government appealed the ruling, but the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's ruling and ruled against the government in February 2012. Then, in a 2013 case by a mainland Chinese woman whose husband had died soon after her arrival in Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that the seven-years' residence requirement violated Articles 36 and 145 of the Basic Law and ordered that the previous one-year requirement be reinstated.

- Hongkongers keep worrying about a Communist takeover. It turns out that the Communists are not mainlanders. The Communists are themselves.

- The older generation earned every cent with their own hands. The newer generation earned every cent by sticking out their hands for handouts.

- (Taipei Times October 15, 2007) Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang has been forced to make an unprecedented apology after warning that democracy could lead to the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, in which millions of Chinese were persecuted. Tsang said that democracy, if taken to the extreme, could spark scenes reminiscent of the disastrous decade-long violent purge of capitalist influence, which tore the country apart.

Tsang's initial comments were made during a radio interview on local broadcaster RTHK. "If you go to the extreme [of democracy] you have the Cultural Revolution, for instance, in China. Then people take everything into their hands, then you cannot govern the place," he said. Challenged by the interviewer on whether the purge under communist leadership was in fact an example of democracy, Tsang said: "It was people taking power into their own hands. This is what we mean by democracy."

"I am very sorry that I made an inappropriate remark concerning the Cultural Revolution during a radio interview and I wish to retract that remark," he said in a statement issued on Saturday, in what is believed to be his first public apology since taking office. "Hong Kong people treasure democracy and hope to implement universal suffrage as soon as possible. I share the same aspirations," he said.

- Hongkongers have too much pride to apply for CSSA. All those welfare recipients are mainlanders!

Mainland kids scram back to the mainland!
In 2014, Hongkongers awaken

Hong Kong is not obliged to feed these locusts
They don't pay taxes, they have not contributed, and they act as if we fucking owe them
If you want family reunification, you scram back to China.
In 2014, Hongkongers awaken

- Hongkongers are worse than Comfort Women. Under this new slavery system known as the Basic Law, they toil hard to provide for mainland idlers who defecate in the streets and push up prices.

- You are going to take in only $2,070 a month off CSSA. How are you going to survive? You pay $1,200 to rent a Caged Home. You pay $20 for a lunch box twice a day for $20 x 2 x 30 = $1,200 a month. You are running behind already. So your own choice left must be ... to become a parallel goods trader carrying infant formula and toilet paper from Sheung Shui to Luohu!
The optimal solution is this: Get rid of mainlander parallel traders by eliminating multiple-entry permits so that the market will be worked by Hong Kong parallel traders who can get off CSSA and make a proper living.

- "過左海就神仙" = Once you reach the other shore, you become a god. Most Hongkongers are not indigenous; they were either born in mainland China (about one-third) or their parents came from there. But once you are in Hong Kong and you learn to speak fluent Cantonese, you are a Hongkonger and no longer a mainland locust to be held in disgust and contempt. Nothing unusual here (reference points: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, etc).

- Yellow Ribbons say that they hate mainland locusts. But when there is money available, they change their tune and say that they wish that they could be mainlanders living off CSSA. Can we all get along and become CSSA recipients every one of us?

- When the mainland newcomers have no job skills, you complain that they soak up welfare payments. When the mainland newcomers have high job skills, you complain that they take away the good jobs. When the mainland newcomers come with a lot of cash, you complain that they buy up all the luxury apartments. The only way to please you is to forbid all mainlanders to come to Hong Kong, either as immigrants, businessmen or tourists. Right?

- On one hand, this debate reveals the xenophobia towards mainlanders among certain Hongkongers. On the other hand, the more interesting revelation is the hostility towards social welfare recipients (=parasites). Yes, Hong Kong has its share of Welfare Queens.

One argument for preserving the functional constituency in the Legislative Council is that universal suffrage would give too much influence to those who make less than HKD$14,000 per month. Because they are much larger in numbers, they determine election outcomes. They will vote in their own interests, which would be more social benefits from the government.

If I were a Legco or Chief Exec candidate under universal suffrage, I should be proposing higher corporate taxes and a whole lot more welfare benefits. I am not being cynical. I am simply acting in accordance with the design principles of this system of universal suffrage.

If history is any guide, eventually businesses will move away from Hong Kong to friendlier Hengqin (Zhuhai) or Qianhai (Shenzhen) while Hong Kong will wallow in bitterness and recriminations endlessly. In the United States, they will tell you that if you don't like it, you can move elsewhere. But it is generally hard to move due to career, culture, language, geography, etc. In Hong Kong, it is as easier as moving to live on the other side of the border just minutes away from before.

- Some CSSA statistics:

By category in 2011, the number of cases:

Old age: 153,950
Permanent disability: 18,449
Ill health: 25,168
Single parent: 32,860
Low earnings: 12,319
Unemployment: 26,859
Others: 7,106
Total 276,710

The number of new arrival CSSA recipients (who could fall into any of the above categories) was 17,253 in December 2011.

More CSSA statistics:

Among adult new arrivals, 7.2% of their families received welfare. The percentage of families in the general population on CSSA was 11.5%. Comparing new arrivals families to general families, the percentage of news arrivals' families receiving CSSA was lower than that for general ones.

Yet many commentators seem to think that all the CSSA recipients are new arrivals, every single one of them.

- In looking at the CSSA case categories, I would say:
Old age: ok
Permanent disability: ok
Ill health: ok
Single parent: fuck 'em (go find someone to marry!)
Low earnings: fuck 'em (work harder!)
Unemployment: fuck 'em (get a job!)
Others: fuck 'em (do something or the other!)
Total = 153,950 + 18,449 + 25,168 = 197,576 which is a 29% reduction to be re-distributed among the well-deserving CSSA recipients.

- Hey, only about 250,000 or persons are in the CSSA scheme. We must hold a public referendum to vote on whether CSSA should be eliminated altogether. We the working class who pay taxes will win hands down. This would be democracy at its finest.

First incident: During the Lunar New Year holidays, I received many messages from friends and family members. A police friend sent a photo of twelve members of the Police Tactical Unit (PTU) holding up a banner that said "喜氣羊羊" about joy for the Year of the Sheep. My first thought was that these police officers looked handsome. My second thought was that: "In these times, there is going to be trouble about this." Indeed, Internet users launched an all-out attack. Not only did they flood the comments, but they launched formal reports against these policemen for violating regulations.

According to a newspaper investigation, this photo was taken after the graduation ceremony. The relevant guns were not loaded. According to past practice, graduates are allowed to take photos with their friends and families for commemorative purposes. This was a trivial matter, but those troublemakers picked it up for hyping and attacking the police.

Second incident: On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Heung Yee Kuk chariman Lau Wong-fat went to Che Kung Temple as usual. Legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee was knocked about by the dancer wearing the Chinese unicorn costume. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpT_aTeIUI0 ) Immediately Internet users flooded the forums with the videos, including slow- and reverse- motion versions. Meanwhile the Liberal Party celebrated their Lunar New Year group meeting with Kirin (=Chinese unicorn) beer. Reporters interviewed the dancer in the Chinese unicorn costume to see if he is a Yellow Ribbon.

These two episodes showed the narrow-mindedness of some Hongkongers. They have lots of time on hand to nitpick on some trivia every day, and the media obliged by magnifying these into major incidents. This is how frogs in the well come into being.

Internet comments:

- Parents, do not let their children join the Hong Kong Police, because they are the Dark Forces.

- Parents, how to tell if your son is good or bad? If your son is good, he enlists in the Police Force; if your son is bad, he sleeps in the street.

- This photo of police carrying rifles is clearly intended to terrorize. They remind people that the police can shoot you anytime and therefore you should be wary about joining any demonstration to defend your God-given rights.

- I don't care what you all have to say. This is all I have to know about the Hong Kong Police:

- Lots of Hong Kong police carrying guns in this promotional video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkxEbXlhBy4. We must demand YouTube take down this piece of terrorist propaganda. We Hongkongers have to defend our freedom, democracy and human rights. In a democracy, when a policeman wants to fart, he has to obtain the permission of the citizens first.

- Terrorism from the Hong Kong Police's Counter Terrorism Response Unit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1mo-2Lx94U Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzcdVfcLnj0 Part 2

- How would Hongkongers react to this promotional video from the Rochester (NY) police department? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5CA2zqfF8 The same fear and loathing?
And what about this dancing policeman in Malmö (Sweden) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIpb6fZThGU ?

- On one hand, you demand the Chinese Communists move into an open and democratic society. On the other hand, you move yourself into the Dark Ages.

- If you want to take a positive view, then it is a group photo of righteous people celebrating the Year of the Sheep. If you want to take a negative view, then it is violent people raping the Year of the Sheep. Whether you take a positive or negative view was determined before you ever saw this photo.

- The Umbrella Revolution failed with absolutely nothing accomplished except the creation of ill will, so the Yellow Ribbons wants to make sure that nobody in the world will have a happy new year.

- Yellow Ribbons don't like to hear celebratory Lunar New Year messages. They like to hear their Valiant Warriors screaming "Fuck your mother!" into the ears of mainland tourists.

- Yellow Ribbons obviously don't trust the police. So why do they still call "999" for police assistance when they get into trouble with angry citizens?

- It's okay to open a yellow umbrella during a university graduation ceremony. It's not okay to pose with guns in hand during a PTU graduation ceremony. The first case is morale-boosting. The second case is striking fear and loathing.

- Time for the Civil Human Rights Front to call yet another million person march to protest police brutality!

- It would have been fine with the Yellow Ribbons if these police officers carried a "1989 June 4th sign."

Better yet, these guys would be hailed as heroes if the words were "I want genuine universal suffrage" or "Support Occupy Central."

- Here is the whole story at Oriental Daily. There is a 40-second video in which about 100 uniformed police officers formed a X with four of them holding up red signs carrying the words "Joyous Sheep." The loudspeaker announced: "We wish all the guests good health and great joy in the Year of the Sheep." Then the group dispersed. This film was taken on February 13th after the PTU paraded at their graduation ceremony in front of invited guests. The formation was created to thank the guests.

- Meanwhile here is the whole story of the Chinese unicorn at Oriental Daily (video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soY7FJWx77c)

Regine Ip Lau Suk-yee finally met up with Master Tse, the Chinese unicorn dancer who knocked her sideways. She immediately gave him a $500 red envelope. She said: "It was okay. I wasn't scared. It was an accident." She joked to Master Tse, "There is no need for you to skip town."

- That bitch Ip Lau (=Evil Tumor) has no shame. She exploits every and any opportunity to her advantage. She wants to run for Chief Executive, but the Chinese unicorn bumped her aside. Actually, she needs to be run over by an 18-wheeler.

- "Regina Ip keeps putting on these shows to enhance her image. But no amount of public relations work is going to save her, because the crux of the matter is that she is an ugly bitch." Do you have any insights beyond personal attacks?

- The Chinese unicorn is a sacred animal. So the action was a sign from the heavens.

- Criticizing her is so easy under the circumstances. Master Tse was identified by the press. If Regina Ip goes to see him, she is putting on a political show. If Regina Ip does not go to see him, she is being petty-minded. The only way that she will get any praise is to retire from politics permanently (which would still be a show but it is the final one).

- If you review the action film frame by frame, it should be clear that Master Tse intentionally bumped into her. But being the true Yellow Ribbon, he will always deny it afterwards. In like manner, the Occupy Central masterminds are denying that they had anything to do with any unlawful assemblies.

- If you review the action film frame by frame, it should be clear that Master Tse did not intentionally bump into her. In the end, they both got media attention. Master Tse is now famous and Regina Ip gets credit. This is a win-win case, and much better than the petty-minded lose-lose cases (see, for example, the Liberal Party's folly).

- Master Tse had better be careful afterwards and avoid dark deserted alleys. Fame is not a always a good thing.

- Leung Kwok-hung had better start throwing some more bananas soon, because Regina Ip is hogging all the media attention now.

- How can such trivia be reported for more than a week?

喜氣羊羊
喜氣羊羊
喜氣羊羊
喜氣羊羊

(Hong Kong Indigenous)

[in English as provided by Hong Kong Indigenous]

White terror in Hong Kong - how police violated rights of a HK Indigenous member.

The night before, one of our members was followed after an internal meeting in Kowloon. The following is a subjective description of the events.

The suspicious car was discovered tailing him in Tate's Cairn Tunnel. Our member thus attempted evasive measures to ditch the follower, including driving to Fanling, circling in a roundabout and stopping at a road shoulder. The 4-seater following him had four men with headphones on board. The men, upon realising they were noticed, radioed for support and another car joined.

Our member then stopped, disembarked and had a meal in Taipo. Men from the cars tailed him on foot. They were keeping so close they even followed him into a washroom. The men on his tail did not seem to give up easily. However, when he arrived at his village, the two cars stopped outside. Why?

It did not take long for him to find that his parking spot was occupied by another private car. The two guys on board admitted they were undercover cops and refused to say anything else. Then he got home and discovered two more plainclothes agents outside his house. He questioned their presence. The duo ignored his questions and left.

The door to the rooftop was opened but no property was lost. Our member dialed 999 for a police report and police constables came to give him a report reference number.

The next morning, he was tailed again from his home to Tsim Sha Tsui.

To sum up, the police have put four vehicles and more than ten agents on one of our members. It would be a reasonable guess that his home was broken into by the police themselves.

The authority is using the police force as a tool to suppress protestors and, to an extreme degree, violating our human rights. It would not be hard to fathom how cruel and cold-blooded are the authorities we are up against. While they were just breaking in this time, would they start planting dangerous materials or other evidence in our homes next? Is the Hong Kong Government as dirty as the China Communist Party now? Can the law protect Hong Kong people's human rights?

Hong Kong Indigenous will not tolerate any harassment, suppression or violation to the rights of our members. Be warned, the authorities, you have our word.

Internet comments:

- Ten police agents following you at the same time? Who do you think you are?  Yip Kai-foon? Cheung Tze-keung?

- We live in an age with all sorts of wonderful technologies. If this were to happen to me, the first thing that I would do is to take out my smartphone, record the faces of the 'tails' and the license plates of their cars and post all of it as evidence on my Facebook. As the famous Internet saying goes, "No pictures, no truth." Does this Hong Kong Indigenous member not own a smartphone?

- Who gives a shit about Hong Kong Indigenous? Why would the police send ten agents per shift to follow this one person. What information could he possibly yield? What has Hong Kong Indigenous ever done except to yell at a few people who look like mainlanders?

- (Wikipedia) Paranoid schizophrenia: One criterion for paranoid schizophrenia is delusion. A delusion is a belief that is held strong even when evidence shows otherwise. Some common delusions associated with paranoid schizophrenia include, “believing that the government is monitoring every move you make, or that a co-worker is poisoning your lunch." These beliefs are irrational, and can cause the person holding them to behave abnormally. Another frequent type of delusion is a delusion of grandeur, or the “fixed, false belief that one possesses superior qualities such as genius, fame, omnipotence, or wealth." Common ones include, “the belief that you can fly, that you're famous, or that you have a relationship with a famous person."

- I too have been followed by the CIA, FBI and MI6 since birth before conception.

- Please take the stuff that you have been sniffing down to a laboratory for analysis.

- It is not enough to see visit a doctor. You must remember to take your medicine on time.

- This story is promptly published by Next Magazine/Apple Daily. According to their usual standards of reporting, they quoted the Hong Kong Indigenous Facebook and did nothing to verify anything. Real-time journalism is so exciting these days. You sit at your desk, visit a Facebook page, copy and paste the contents over and then you get ready to leave work and go home.

(Oriental Daily) February 26, 2015.


Headline: Universal suffrage controversy: Chinese Traitor Lee received an appointment for arrest call for next Monday.

Summary: Sources said that the Hong Kong Police made telephone calls to at least ten Occupy Central organizers, including former Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee who goes by the nickname of "Chinese traitor Lee."

(Oriental Daily) February 26, 2015.


Headline: Budget proposal - Blind Mo called out for hypocrisy for supporting Occupy Central and caring about Hong Kong Tramways at the same time.

Summary: Yesterday Secretary of Finance John Tsang made a presentation on the government's budget. Civic Party legislator Claudia Mo Man-ching ("Blind Mo") criticized that the budget did not provide any aid to the Hong Kong Tramways. John Tsang smiled and said: "So you care about Hong Kong Tramways." Pro-establishment Tam Yiu-chung said that Claudia Mo was faking sympathy: "If you really care about them, you should not have blocked the conduct of their business with Occupy Central."  Legislator Ann Chiang Lai-Wan said that since the pan-democrats instigated Occupy Central, they are most responsible for any economic losses sustained by Hong Kong Tramways. Chiang asked Mo to "reflect upon herself" instead of making misleading statements at the Legislative Council.

[Note: "Blind Mo" is a term used to refer to a person who is ignorant, useless, illiterate, possessing only superficial, rudimentary knowledge. In the Taishanese dialect, the term "Blind Mo" is literally a "blind grandmother" which is highly prejudicial when used to refer to a younger person, both to the subject as well as to the categories of elderly women and blind persons in general.]

(Bastille Post)

Let me stipulate the following. Firstly, I applaud those who refuse to go to Hong Kong anymore. Secondly, I respect those who continue to go to Hong Kong. Thirdly, for those who are still thinking about it, I will provide you with some reasons for rejecting Hong Kong.

I am a Shenzhener. It is easy for me to go to Hong Kong, but I rarely do so. Why?

Reason 1: Whatever Hong Kong has, Shenzhen has it too. If you have money, you can buy anything you want on the mainland? This is no longer the early days of the Cultural Revolution where everything was scarce. You don't have to travel to Hong Kong to buy something.

Reason 2: Many people say that Hong Kong has the genuine stuff (especially infant formula and electronic products). But do I really have to travel to Hong Kong to get them? For example, suppose I want to buy a camera. If I am looking for quality, I can go to a specialty store in Shenzhen. If I am looking for a good price, there are plenty of parallel goods stores on Huaqiangbei Road. Infant formula? Mainland China has lots of imported brands. If you don't trust them, you can get your friends in Singapore or Australia to ship them to you. The postage fees will be less than the expense of spending time in Hong Kong. It is also an open secret that some unscrupulous Hong Kong pharmacies sell fake infant formula to mainlanders.

Reason 3: The most important reason that I refuse to go to Hong Kong is this: The people of Hong Kong are openly cursing mainlanders are "locusts." Indeed, there is freedom of speech in Hong Kong, and they can say whatever they want about mainlanders in private. But these people were taking out full-page newspaper advertisements to insult mainlanders as locusts!

This is not just exercising freedom of speech. This is unmitigated and undisguised discrimination and insult! Anywhere in the world, even in the the so-called most free country of the United States, the newspapers cannot be publishing advertisements that say "the Chinese are locusts," "the Indians are seven-spot beetles", etc. On mainland China, the Shanghainese may privately refer to Hehan residents as "Baozi", or the Guangzhou people can privately call outsiders "Laozi," (see Ethnic Issues in China) but you won't find such terms used in public media. Indeed, everybody is likely to harbor some form of bigotry or the other. But when such terms are being used in your public media, things have been elevated to an unacceptable level.


Mainland spoofs of the same xenophobic advertisement taken in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing

If the Hongkongers are so cocky as to insult mainlanders publicly, why should we mainlanders continue to hand them loads of RMB even as they look at us with disgust and contempt!? Mainlanders, we should show some self-respect!

The following comments are addressed to Hongkongers. As a Shenzhener, I grew up watching TVB and ATV, I listened to Sammi Cheng and Eason Chan, and I have an inexplicable affinity (even adoration) for things Hong Kong. But recent events have caused me to become increasingly disappointed and hostile towards Hong Kong. I want to make some comments that Hongkongers probably don't want to hear.

Comment 1: You keep saying that mainlanders are taking over your place. But have you ever thought about the immense annoyance that you Hongkongers are causing in Shenzhen? In the streets of Shenzhen, Hongkongers are everywhere -- the restaurants are filled with Hongkongers who speak loudly and smoke cigarettes with total disregard of others; the buffet restaurants are taken over by your senior citizen dining touring groups and they are more valiant than anyone else when high-priced seafood is brought out; the streets around the border crossings are filled with Hong Kong parallel traders who are even more dismissive of traffic rules than mainlanders; the roads are congested with trucks, vans and cars carrying Hong Kong license plates. Frankly, many Shenzheners are tired and sick of you Hongkongers taking over our previous resources. But have you ever seen a full-page advertisement in a Shenzhen newspaper calling Hongkongers 'locusts'?

Comment 2: You Hongkongers say that mainlanders have taken over your job opportunities. But have you ever thought about how you Hongkongers usurp educational opportunities on the mainland? Because you hold that precious Hong Kong ID, you get preferential treatment on the mainland. It is easy for you to get into the elite mainland universities. So those of you who don't have the grades to enter Hong Kong University or Chinese University of Hong Kong rush instead to Peking University, Qinghua University, Qinan University and other elite mainland universities. I know a female student whose dad is a Hongkonger. Her grades were terrible (just over 300 points in the university entrance exam), but she managed to gain admission into an elite university in Guangzhou! Each time that a place is given to an ill-qualified Hongkonger, it means that a well-qualified mainlander loses out. You Hongkongers don't even pay tax on the mainland. Why are you using up that valuable slot?

Comment 3: All those mainlanders are going to shop in Hong Kong do so legally. They did not sneak across the border illegally. Why don't you curse out your government instead? Why take out newspaper advertisements to curse out the mainland locusts? You even surround the mainland shoppers inside your shopping malls and curse them out. Who is the one with the problem? You or the mainlanders? The Hong Kong government officials are accountable to your citizens. They can ban all mainlanders from coming to Hong Kong, but they don't. It is not that they don't know that mainland tourists may be disruptive in Hong Kong, but they take a broader and longer view that the Hong Kong tourism, hospitality, retail and restaurant industries will be defunct without the mainland tourists.

Comment 4: Everybody wants to take advantage of small favors. The mainlanders come to Hong Kong because the products are "worth the money." In like manner, you Hongkongers go to Shenzhen because the products are "worth the money." As long as these activities are permitted under the law, nobody can complain. If you really think that mainlanders are seriously impacting your lives, you should change the system. For example, you felt that the mainland mothers-to-be were taking up your resources and so you introduced laws to stop them from doing that. So if you aren't happy with mainlander tourists coming under your Individual Visit Scheme, you can change it. You don't have to keeping taking it out on innocent mainland tourists as you are doing right now.

Comment 5: Twenty years ago, Hong Kong was the model for mainland cities to admire and imitate. This gave you a sense of superiority. But as the mainland cities developed rapidly, your superiority is diminishing. Your competitiveness is being matched, even surpassed by Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the north. Simply put, you are not hot stuff anymore. Please put aside your arrogant posture and take a new look at the mainlanders on an equal footing.

Nice guys finish last. Nice mainlanders should not put up with the blatant discrimination from Hongkongers. Since they are calling you 'locusts', you should show some self-respect and refuse to go and shop in Hong Kong. Let them pay for the price of their own arrogance. Hongkongers, you insult us and we don't seem to fight back. But you shouldn't think that we have good tempers.

(SCMP) Sha Tin retailers hit as mainland visitors stay away over Lunar New Year. February 25, 2015.

Retailers in Sha Tin malls painted a gloomy picture of Lunar New Year trading after the number of mainlanders coming to Hong Kong during the holiday dropped for the first time in years. But the slowdown was good news for shoppers - who reported they could finally enjoy the malls without the crowds.

Immigration Department figures showed that the number of mainlanders who visited Hong Kong in the first six days of the Lunar New Year holiday - from last Wednesday to Monday - fell 1 per cent, from 851,375 last year to 842,124.

A saleswoman at a beef and pork jerky shop, Bee Cheng Hiang, at Sha Tin's New Town Plaza, where a protest against mainland tourists and parallel traders erupted earlier this month, reported fewer mainland shoppers on the day of the protest and the following days. "Most of the shoppers in the days after were Hongkongers and not mainlanders. Maybe they preferred staying home on the mainland," the saleswoman said.

Jenny Lam, a saleswoman at the Camela fashion boutique in Sha Tin Plaza, said business was down one-third compared to Lunar New Year last year, adding "there were obviously fewer mainlanders" over the holiday.

(SpeakoutHK)

According to the latest numbers, 606,000 mainlanders entered Hong Kong on the first four days of the Lunar New Year. This is a decrease of 0.64%. Individual tourists dropped by 6%, which is the first decrease in a decade. Many anti-mainland folks "popped champagne" in their Facebook groups and declared that the anti-parallel trader campaign is succeeding.

Will mainlander parallel traders stop coming to Hong Kong to make money on account of these two-hour Sunday-only demonstrations in single locations? Of course they will continue to come. During the Lunar New Year, the shops that sell daily necessities did great business.

So the decrease in total number of mainland visitors is actually a warning! Like any business, tourism should be looking at both quality and quantity. We want to attract on high-quality tourists who spend a lot of money even as we want to deter the parallel traders. When shopping malls offer free bus services to mainlanders who buy cases of daily necessities, they are emphasizing quantity over quality. But if the demonstrators mean to stop parallel goods trading, the actual outcome is that they are chasing away the high-quality tourists who feel unwelcome. We need to have high-quality tourists (from mainland or anywhere else) who come two to three days once a year and spend $20,000 to $30,000 per capita.

(YouTube) Common, John Legend - Glory from the motion picture "Selma"

(YouTube) Common & John Legend's Oscar acceptance speech

(Bustle)

John Legend and Common used their Oscar Best Original Song acceptance speech to reflect on the message of the song, and remind us all that while Selma was set in the past, its themes surround us in the present. 

Common started off the moving speech:

First off, I’d like to thank God that lives in us all. Recently, John and I got to go to Selma and perform “Glory” on the same bridge that Dr. King and the people of the civil rights movement marched on 50 years ago. This bridge was once a landmark of a divided nation, but now is a symbol for change. The spirit of this bridge transcends race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and social status. The spirit of this bridge connects the kid from the South side of Chicago, dreaming of a better life to those in France standing up for their freedom of expression to the people in Hong Kong protesting for democracy. This bridge was built on hope. Welded with compassion. And elevated by love for all human beings.
 

Then Legend took to the microphone, building off those sentiments:

Thank you. Nina Simone said it’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live. We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago, but we say Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now. We know that the voting rights, the act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised right now in this country today. We know that right now the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850. When people are marching with our song, we want to tell you that we are with you, we see you, we love you, and march on.

(Apple Daily)


(translation) On the pedestrian overpass over Harcourt Road, the people may have dispersed but the place is not lonely. The motion picture "Selma" took the Oscar Best Original Song in "Glory". In his acceptance speech, the singer Common said referred to the landmark Selma which represented the colored people's struggle to obtain voting rights, and linked this to the fight for justice around the world, including the Umbrella Revolution in which the people of Hong Kong are fighting for democracy. The Occupy Central founder Benny Tai hopes that the movie will encourage the people of Hong Kong to continue firmly on the road to universal suffrage.

Internet comments:

- Apple Daily puts the Oscar Best Original Song on its front page, and then promptly proceeds to mislead as usual. The exact words of Common were: "The spirit of this bridge connects the kid from the South side of Chicago, dreaming of a better life to those in France standing up for their freedom of expression to the people in Hong Kong protesting for democracy." But Apple Daily reported that Common linked Selma to "the Umbrella Revolution in which the people of Hong Kong are fighting for democracy.

Fighting for democracy and the Umbrella Revolution are two different matters. If you poll the people of Hong Kong about democracy and universal suffrage, you will get almost 100% support. If you poll the same population about Occupy Central with Love and Peace (aka Umbrella Movement, aka Umbrella Revolution), you get 80% opposition. The goal of democracy is universal, but the one particular method (namely, the Umbrella Revolution) chosen by a small set of people (including Apple Daily/Next Media) is almost universally reviled.

- The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) used a number of civil resistance methods, such as boycotts (e.g. Montgomery Bus Boycott), marches (e.g. Selma-Montgomery), sit-in's (such as the Greensboro sit-ins), and other nonviolent actions.

By contrast, the Umbrella Revolutionaries blocked the streets and prevented schoolchildren from going to school, government workers from going to their offices, customers from entering shops, trucks from making deliveries, senior citizens from going to hospitals, etc. The schools, offices and shops were not engaged in any unjust, undemocratic actions (such as segregated seating for different races in Woolworth's). The tactics affected the lives of millions of ordinary citizens who had nothing to do with the contestable issues. Can you imagine the African-American Civil Rights advocates shutting down schools, churches, offices and shops everywhere in town? They would be justifying racial discrmination!

- Benny Tai wrote an idealistic script about how Occupy Central with Love and Peace would unfold. Reality did not play itself out according to this script.
See, for example, this video taken at Sha Tin recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mezcJ8Vqcdc INT News Channel.

At 2:00, a mainland female tourist who has every right to be present in this shopping mall gets yelled at by pro-democracy mouth-foaming valiant warriors with lots of "Fuck your mother" and "Go back to China."

At 2:29, the gentleman in the white t-shirt screams a few inches away: "What the fuck is this to you!? Fuck your mother! Don't ever fucking come here again! Did you hear me?" Then the crowd applauds his speech.

At 2:45, the gentleman in the white t-shirt is encouraged by the reception to his speech, says: "I fuck you mother! Don't ever fucking come here!" The female says that he is blocking her way. He screams: "I am fucking refusing to let you pass! Does that fucking upset you?" And it goes on for a while, with nothing of substance except "Fuck your mother!" and "Don't ever fucking come back!" The police show up to chants of "Evil police!"

At 6:24, a mall security guard removes the luggage case.

At 12:27, the crowd surrounds a man in a corridor and offers him some more "Fuck your mother!" He waves a Hong Kong ID card to prove that he is a Hongkonger and a demonstrator tries to grab it. More "Fuck your mother!" They won't let him leave until he apologizes. For what? The man's female companion makes the pray sign, slaps her companion lightly on the face and begs the crowd to forgive him. More "Fuck your mother!" He says, "I am a Hongkonger and I am Chinese."

At 16:07, a middle-aged man gives the real message: "I am a Hongkonger. I am a Hongkonger. You eat shit!" The distressed woman slaps her companion a few more times. None of the targets of the venomous attacks have anything to do with the implementation of civil nomination in the election of the Hong Kong Chief Executive.

If you want to draw an analogy, this is like a bunch of white racists surrounding an African-American at the Woolworth's lunch counter and screaming: "We don't want your kind here!" and "Don't ever fucking come back here again!" In the end, American civil disobedience triumphed over such racist behaviors by stoicism and moral superiority. Here in Hong Kong, such racist behaviors are adopted by certain pro-democracy valiant warriors. Not all pro-democracy people support with this type of behavior, but not many of them come out openly to condemn such behavior out of fear.

- If Common were to spend some time to investigate what the exact issue is that led to the Occupy Central actions, he would be surprised that it was about civil nomination of the Chief Executive in Hong Kong. Civil nomination? This is complicated (see, for example, Suzanne Pepper), but it is also very simple.

The Hong Kong pro-democracy activists say that they want their election to meet international standards. Unless this happens, they won't have genuine universal suffrage. Except civil nomination does not exist in Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, etc. It exists only in 32 countries such as Angola, Chile, Ghana, Malawi, South Korea, Zambia, etc. Civil nomination is not a sine qua non under any so-called international standards.

According to international standards, universal suffrage is the extension of the right to vote to citizens unrestricted by race, sex, belief, wealth or social status. Previously, the Chief Executive was elected by a 1,200-member election committee. The current reform proposal extends the right to vote to all voters. However, the Umbrella Revolutionaries would rather veto the proposal if they can't get civil nomination. If they succeed, the Chief Executive will continue to be elected by 1,200 persons. Common would be very much perplexed by this situation.

- The people of Hong Kong can have universal suffrage in 2017, but the pro-democracy activists won't let them. That's where we are.

- "The people in Hong Kong protesting for democracy"? Methinks that this refers to those Hong Kong citizens who hate the non-democratic methods of the Yellow Ribbons.

- Madame Roland: O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom! (Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!)

- Common made a reference to Hong Kong in his Oscar acceptance speech. Why Hong Kong only? Here is a list of other worthy subjects from around the world:

-- Argentina to exercise sovereignty over the Malvinas (which the British insist on calling the Falkland Islands) because the people of Hong Kong must learn that an island people have the right to determine their own fates in spite of the claims of sovereignty by a nearby strong nation.

-- Australia to leave the Commonwealth, so that their Prime Minister does not have to appointed by a Governor-General designated by the Queen of England, because the people of Hong Kong must learn never to accept an appointed leader from a higher authority.

-- How to solve The Palestinian Problem because the people of Hong Kong need to be told that they must protect the interests of Israel the same way as in the United States.

-- The February 12th coup in Venezuela because the people of Hong Kong must learn that all their voting rights can be taken away in a coup sponsored by the most powerful country ever in the history of Earth.

And if you have the guts to wash your dirty linen in public, try also closer to home:

-- Eliminating the Electoral College system that officially elects the President and Vice-President of the United States of America which has resulted in winners who did not receive the plurality of the nationwide popular vote. The Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have said that systems like that are not genuine universal suffrage meeting international standards.

-- The dismantling of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which shows that it is possible to erode rule of law by sophistry.

-- Edward Snowden and the surveillance state, because the Hong Kong pro-democracy activists think governments should not interfere with free speech on the Internet. Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald interviewed Edward Snowden in Hong Kong (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z99qFwsDmU )

-- Ferguson (Missouri) because the Hong Kong pro-democracy activists should be told what police brutality is really like.

-- Occupy Wall Street because the Hong Kong pro-democracy activists call their own thing Occupy Central with Love and Peace but have no idea how America handled their Occupy demonstrators.

(SCMP)

Two student leaders of the Occupy movement have been invited to an international human rights summit to speak on Hong Kong's political reform.

Alex Chow Yong-kang, secretary-general of the Federation of Students, and his deputy Lester Shum, have confirmed their attendance at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 24.

Introducing the duo as "major delegate[s] of the umbrella movement to the only dialogue with the Hong Kong government", the summit's website announced their participation, with their photos promoted on the front page.

The duo will be the first Hongkongers to speak at the forum, organised by a coalition of 20 human rights non-government organisations worldwide ahead of the United Nations Human Rights Council's main annual session, which starts on March 2.

Chow said he would be speaking on the restrictive framework laid down by the National People's Congress Standing Committee in August for the city's chief executive election. "We will talk about the right to participate in public affairs and politics, and we'll also touch on the state obligations from the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration," Chow, from the University of Hong Kong, said.

Several speakers from China have been invited to the summit in the past, including Tibetan and Uygur dissidents. This year, blind human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng , who escaped and went into exile in the United States, is also invited.

Noting his participation may displease mainland authorities, Chow said: "It is important to let the outside world know what is happening in Hong Kong." Chow had his travel document to the mainland revoked last year when he and two other federation members attempted to take a flight to Beijing to seek a meeting with officials on reform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZzS92fZwe4&feature=youtu.be Hong Kong protest leaders Alex Chow & Lester Shum, Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, address the opening United Nations Session of the 2015 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.

Internet comments:

- Apple Daily quotes Alex Chow as saying that tens of thousands of students and citizens were hoping to change the political system through the Umbrella Revolution. Tens of thousands? Let me even grant you one hundred thousand. Why does one hundred thousand represent the will of the 7 million people of Hong Kong? Furthermore, since Hong Kong is part of the People's Republic of China, why does one hundred thousand represent the will of the 1.4 billion Chinese?

- On whose behalf are Alexter speaking? It is unclear. They like to say that they are speaking for the people of Hong Kong, many of whom don't recall ever empowering them to do so. They sometimes say that they are speaking for the Hong Kong Federation of Students, which does not now include Hong Kong University where Chow is registered as a student in his sixth year of undergraduate studies.

- After 79 days of Occupy Central with Love and Peace, these people haven't paid the bill yet. No apologies, in spite of 80% of the population wanting them to stop long ago.

- "The fate of Hong Kong will impact China and the rest of the world"? According to Alex Chow, Hong Kong will have to determine its own destiny. However, China and the rest of the world whose fate will be affected by Hong Kong do not get a say in something that will impact them? Typical Alex Chow gibberish (see Alex Chow On The Record).

- "Hong Kong democracy is granted under One Country Two Systems, which is the biggest obstacle in the path of democracy for Hong Kong." This proves that they want to get rid of One Country Two Systems and found an independent Hong Kong City-State. And this Summit is not an academic conference to discuss abstract ideas.

- The entire language is borrowed from ISIS, with so much about the awakening of the soul to seize your own destiny into your own hands. The only thing missing is the part about eternal salvation and the 72 virgins.

- Why didn't the United Nations invite someone to represent the hundreds of thousands of people (employers, employees, drivers, etc) whose lives were negatively affected by this Umbrella Revolution Movement thing.

- Who is paying for this junket? Alas, the Hong Kong Federation of Students has a war chest of HK$ 20 million squirreled away just for these occasions. So HEHE won't have to beg Jimmy Lai for money after all.

- Looking at the YouTube video, it becomes obvious why Alex Chow and Lester Shum refused to field media questions in English during the Occupy period. Doesn't Hong Kong University have some minimum English proficiency requirement?

- So they got on the podium. Then Alex Chow sat behind the sign for Lester Shum, while Lester Shum sat behind the sign for Alex Chow. So they can't even read English?

- Lester Shum wears a black pullover with the words "Hollister Surfers." He has no clue as to the significance of this pullover.

First of all, about Hollister Surfers:
(Urban Dictionary) Hollister is a company that sells surfer-themed clothing. Unfortunately, people usually have this to say: "People who wear Hollister have probably never been to a beach before."
Thus, by wearing a Hollister Surfers pullover at the Summit, Lester Shum is hinting that he knows nothing about human rights and democracy.

Secondly, there was a famous series of advertisements from Hollister:

(Daily Mail) September 10, 2012.

When American fashion line Hollister decided they would send a bevy of models dressed as lifeguards to South Korea to greet customers at the opening of their store in Yeouido, they were supposed to bring a feel of the surf-culture associated with the brand. Instead, they brought controversy after making racist gestures and obscene hand motions in photos with customers. ... Korean newspapers reported that one of the models posted a photo to his personal Twitter account, showing him making 'squinty eye' facial expressions - mocking Asians - while posing in front of the royal Gueongbokkung Palace.

In a separate episode, another one of the models was shown giving the middle finger while posing with customers at the store launch ... Though the offending models were not named, the company announced that they fired 'the couple of associates involved' and posted a message regarding the issue on their Facebook page, though it no longer appears on the site. 'On behalf of our more than 80,000 associates around the world who cherish our core values and our culture of diversity and inclusion, we sincerely apologize for the offense caused by these unauthorized, ill-considered actions,' the message read.

Was the choice due to ignorance or insensitivity?

- From Geneva Summit: "Human rights heroes, activists and former political prisoners from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Venezuela and other countries testify about their personal struggles for human rights, democracy and freedom, and join hands to plan action strategies." Hong Kong is now in the same class as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela.

(Wen Wei Po) February 23, 2015.

... Since January this year, the radical organizations Civic Passion, Hong Kong Indigenous, Student Frontline and others have demonstrated in Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin against parallel traders and the Individual Visit Scheme. They blocked a number of shopping malls and cursed out mainland tourists. Although this drew plenty of social criticisms, they were unabashed and in fact quite proud. They thought that the police and the shopkeepers were helpless, and now they are planning for the next wave of action -- Yuen Long Main Street on March 1st (Sunday).

Here is what a local Yuen Long country squire told us: "We are not afraid. We will not be weak like those people in Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun or Sha Tin. If the troublemakers show up on our turf, we will retaliate!" This person said that even though Yuen Long is a large district with more than 500,000 residents, there are just a few public housing estates in outside areas such as Tin Shui Wai, Hung Shui Kiu and Long Ping. Most of the residents in the heart of the town around Yuen Long Main Road are indigenous Hongkongers. The town centre is almost the only large commercial area in town, which means most other residents in the outlying areas of the town (such as the Eighteen Villages or Shap Pat Hueng) come in to shop for food and other daily necessities. Most of those shops are owned and operated by the indigenous Hongkongers (many of whom are Hakka people) who have known each other for generations. "If the troublemakers charge into a store, they are challenging our whole community. We won't wait for the police to show up. We won't let them get away with it. We will definitely fight back."

This person also said that Yuen Long people have a strong sense of local identity. They will not let outsiders come in and cause trouble in their community. "Just look at the decades of District Council election results. Only local people or those outsiders who have demonstrated their commitment to the community can hope to win. We will never let outsiders make trouble here."

Internet comments:

- Year of the Sheep Lunar New Year Battle Royale -- The Valiant Warriors of the Umbrella Revolution will engage the Yuen Long walled village people on March 1st, 2015 3pm-6pm in Citimall, Yuen Long district.

Date: March 1st, 2015 (Sunday)
Time: 2pm
Assembly point: West Rail Long Ping exit D
March route: West Rail Long Ping Station->Hong Lok Road->Kau Yuk Road->Yau Sun Street->Tung Lok Street->Sau Fu Street->West Rail Long Ping Station
Civic Passion


Hong Kong Indigneous People vs. Mainland Individual travelers
March 1, 3pm, Yuen Long
Angry phoenix rising from the ashes to defend out city-state


Equipment being readied by the Yellow Ribbons and the Yuen Long country squires. An alternate title is "Genuine indigenous Hongkongers versus Locust descendant young wastrels."

- Historical reminder -- The Six-Day War (1899).

The Six-Day War of 1899 was fought between 14–19 April 1899, by the British Empire and the major punti clans of New Territories after the British takeover the territory after 99-Year Land Lease of New Territories signed on 9 June 1898 between the British and the Qing government. The war began on 14 April with the insurgents burnt down the mat shed the British prepared for a flag-raising ceremony at the Flagstaff Hill in Tai Po.

A number of 125 Indian soldiers of the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (disbanded in 1902, not to be confused with the latter Royal Hong Kong Regiment formed from the body of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps in 1949, consisting primarily of Europeans and Chinese) was sent to Tai Po on 15 April and soon besieged by the villagers. They were rescued after the Royal Navy's HMS Fame shelled at the insurgents' position. On 17 April the British forces launched attack on the insurgents in Lam Tsuen Valley and chased them into the hill. On 18 April, a number of 1,600 insurgents assaulted the British troop at Sheung Tsuen but was soon defeated. The insurgents and villagers surrendered on 19 April.

After the war, Governor Henry Arthur Blake adopted an amiable co-operation policy with the villagers and it remained of the official policy of the colonial government on the New Territories throughout almost the entire British rule.

- Yuen Long will be completely different from Sha Tin. In Sha Tin, the large New Town Mall was just a commercial shopping mall whose tenants are faceless corporations (McDonald's, KFC, Mannings, Watsons, Sasa, G2000, etc). The Sasa cosmetics salesgirl isn't going to start a fight with the demonstrators. Yuen Long will be different because the street store operators are locals.

- They like to say "Hong Kong issues should be settled by the people of Hong Kong without interference from outsiders (such as mainland China, United Kingdom or United States)." Well, Yuen Long issues should be settled by the people of Yuen Long without interference from outsiders. But if so, there wouldn't be many demonstrators on March 1st. If all they can do is raise 200 people for Sha Tin from all over Hong Kong, how many live in Yuen Long? Ten at most?

- Apple Daily has this scare story about how KMB's B1 bus lines are enabling parallel traders with $50 for an all-day pass that allows unlimited rides on five bus routes, including B1 which goes between the Lok Ma Chau border crossing and Tin Shui Wei via Yuen Long. This meant that a parallel trader can make multiple trips per day!
But Apple Daily won't report that KBM recently disclosed passenger data on B1 -- on the average, about 60 people in total buy the $50 unlimited pass. Of these passengers, 2 persons ride on the B1 more than once a day. So we are talking about two potential parallel traders per day! We need to Occupy Yuen Long to stop these two bus riders?

- Yuen Long does not have that many parallel traders, who are using the industrial buildings and warehouses in Tuen Mun and Sheung Shui as their operational bases. Yuen Long does not have many mainland tourists either because it is really outback. What Yuen Long has is a lot of country squires who don't speak the contemporary hip version of Cantonese, and that's because the Yuen Long people are the authentic indigenous/aboriginal people of Hong Kong whose Cantonese contains traces of Hakka or Weitou accents. Meanwhile most of the demonstrators are likely to be born in mainland China themselves or second- or third-generation descendants of their much detested "locusts" from mainland China.

- The so-called "country squires" of Yuen Long are just lawless thugs who have no sense of the rule of law. There are more illegal buildings structures in Yuen Long than anywhere else in Hong Kong because the country squires ignore the Buildings Department warnings. Many public areas are taken over as parking lots to generate fees for the illegal occupiers. The only place that you can set off firecrackers against the law in Hong Kong during Lunar New Year is Yuen Long, because the police don't dare to issue summons for fear of a mass riot by the country squires.

- The radical organizations managed to mobilize 200 people in Sha Tin (according to police estimates). Yuen Long has a population of 580,000 and Sha Tin has a population of 650,000. How can these radical organizations claim that they are representing the people of Yuen Long or Sha Tin? I suspect that most of them will be taking their first ever excursion out to the remote outpost known to them only by name as Yuen Long. Afterwards, they will probably need to ask for directions about where the train station or bus depot is.

- The localists keep talking about their idyllic vision of a Hong Kong City-State. In this new paradise, all the jewelry stores, pharmacies, hotels and restaurants serving mainland tourists will be gone. Instead, the displaced workers will go out and grow organic vegetables in northeastern New Territories to make Hong Kong self-sufficient in food, water and other essentials. On March 1st, I suspect the self-proclaimed localists of Hong Kong Indigenous will be met by the indigenous farmers' favorite fertilizer -- human dung.

- This battle of Yuen Long will have a perfect script. The radicals will get out there, they will be outnumbered by the locals, they will call the police dogs for help and they will hold a press conference to decry everybody else -- the local residents who were obviously paid by the Communists; the police who were ordered by CY Leung not to help them; the pan-democrats and other "Hong Kong pigs" who did not come out and fight beside them; the media which did not cover them to their liking; the United States Consulate, the British Consulate and the United States Human Rights Council which did not issue immediate condemnations; ...

- The Country Squires of Yuen Long won't even have to do anything themselves. Why would they when they have lots of South Asian help available cheaply?

- Here is what happened to some pro-Occupy Central people in Yuen Long.
September 30, 2014 daytime
Citimall, Yuen Long district, New Territories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GexOVTzGao
Some highlights:
0:25  "We hope that the government will listen to our voices."  "Fuck your mother!"  "They are even doing New Territories, fuck your mother."  "Curse him out."  "People like these deserve to be cursed out.  They are even causing trouble in New Territories.  You must be crazy.  You must not have been beaten up before.  Fuck you!"  "Fuck your mother!  Go away!"
1:56 "Occupy Central?  Occupy your mother!"  "Pack up, you bastard!"
2:25 "You think about it.  If CY Leung leaves, someone else takes his place.  It is the same.  You are just causing trouble for yourself."
2:55 "Bastard!"  "Bastard!  Drop dead!"
Another Yuen Long video on October 1 with people shouting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYoY-nOExqo

- Here is what happened to some demonstrators when CY Leung held a community meeting in Tin Shui Wai on August 11, 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNAOqMvYItk (Apple Daily)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZWNQC4x14E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5YwAmuejbM (Legislator Leung Kwok-hung)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh2aD7IlX4M (INT News Channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG_SxoJ_n7M (INT News Channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgUTF4e4UuU (INT News Channel)

- On March 1st, the entire Yuen Long District police force will call in sick, leaving the demonstrators to face the wrath of the indigenous residents on their own. The St John Ambulance will be overwhelmed.

- One reason for the action was that Yuen Long is getting too crowded. Well, getting rid of all parallel traders won't make too much room. Let me list the other groups of people causing the crowding, and you can decided what to do about them:

-- Hundreds of thousands of residents from surrounding towns (such as Tin Shui Wai, Hung Shui Kiu, Ping Shan, Sheung Shui) who come to shop and relax in Yuen Long on weekends

-- Hundreds of thousands of rural villagers in Shap Pat Heung (Eighteen Villages) who come to shop and relax in Yuen Long on weekends

-- Tens of thousands of Filipina/Indonesian domestic helpers who sit on the pedestrian overpasses on Sundays and other public holidays

-- Thousands of South Asians who flock to the South Asian market by the bus terminal

-- Thousands of black people who live in Kam Tin

-- Dozens of new private housing estates such as Yoho Town with their tens of thousands of new residents.

All these people pour into Yuen Long on Sundays. If you can stop all of them, Yuen Long will have peace and quiet.

- Whatever happens in Yuen Long on March 1st won't make any difference. Just ask yourself -- something happened in Tuen Mun on February 8 and then something happened in Sha Tin on February 15. But has anything changed in Tuen Mun or Sha Tin since? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The whole thing is just a media circus.

- The demonstrators want a stop to the Individual Visit Scheme which allows Shenzhen residents multiple entries into Hong Kong. But this is not going to stop parallel goods trading. At present, about half the parallel traders are mainlanders and half Hongkongers. If the mainlanders can't work anymore, the workload will be taken over by Hongkongers. You must therefore also restrict Hongkongers from making multiple visits.

(SCMP) Hundreds of Hongkongers plan new protest march against mainland Chinese visitors  February 24, 2015.

Hundreds of people have signed up to take part in a fresh protest march this weekend against the influx of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong’s New Territories towns, as discontent with crowded streets and transport delays grows.

The planned rally, organised by online social media group Valiant Frontier would follow recent protests against mainland tourists and parallel goods traders in other New Territories towns such as Tuen Mun, Sha Tin and Sheung Shui. The localist group plans to march near Tai Tong Road Light Rail station, an area lined with grocers and pharmacists that are popular among mainland tourists.

As of Tuesday, 274 people said on the group’s Facebook page that they would join Sunday’s protest. It said the arrangement had caused great nuisance to residents and that streets in the area were jammed by tourists and trucks, goods, and wooden pallets used in parallel trading.

One Facebook user, Autumn Yuen, who claims to be a Hong Kong Island resident, said he would go north to join the march: “I live in Sai Wan. What is happening in Yuen Long has little to do with me at least immediately. But I must come on Sunday.” Yuen Long resident Ms Lau said the streets in the area were mostly narrow. With too many tourists – usually each carrying at least one suitcase to store their purchases – residents faced difficulty walking on the pavement, she said. She also said the variety of shops in the area had diminished in recent years, with many of them turned into pharmacists to cater to mainland tourists.

On February 8, a handful of people were arrested and shops closed after a protest against parallel-goods trading in Tuen Mun descended into chaos. One scuffle between a couple and a group of protesters in Tuen Mun Town Plaza turned into a shoving match, which prompted officers to use pepper spray. Just a week later, Sha Tin saw a similar rally when more than 100 people demonstrated at New Town Plaza, chanting “mainlanders go back to the mainland”.

A rural leader and district councillor based in Yuen Long, Leung Fuk-yuen, said local residents and villagers would ask police to take action if the protesters caused chaos on Sunday. "If they cause a nuisance to others or block businesses, residents will spontaneously find someone like the police to solve the problems and maintain order," Leung told RTHK. He said the tourist situation was "acceptable" in Yuen Long and the streets were not really crowded.

(Sina.com.hk) February 24, 20

A well-known Yuen Long country squire and real estate agent named Wong Sau-yin posted on Facebook to say that he has communicated with a certain business association in Guangdong province about the Hong Kong demonstrations, and proposed the plan of "laying down a bed of nails at the bottom of the pond" which will make sure that "the families of all those people will have bad experiences." Elsewhere, this same Internet user said that those who engaged in physical attack in other districts "all came from Yuen Long anyway." He said that his organization "spent HK$50,000 to cause a Yellow Ribbon zombie to suffer a brain concussion, lost his ability to speak and drool uncontrollably ... I want to see when they are coming to Yuen Long."

These comments caused Internet users to holler that this guy Wong was a professional hit man. Wong said that he was misunderstood and said that he has reported the public outcry to the police.

[Note: The reference to "laying down a bed of nails at the bottom of the pond" has the whole world mystified as no one has heard of this saying. Some people think that this comes from GTA (Grand Theft Auto). However, the more likely explanation is that he mistyped "laying down a bed of nails underneath the bed" which is done by feng shui masters to cause bad karma to the unsuspecting target."]

- Well, you guys made an open statement to cause trouble in Yuen Long (as you did in Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin). Now the locals have responded that they are waiting for you to show up. If you are as valiant as you claim to be, you better show up on time or else you are a coward. No disappearing act, please.

- Here is a propaganda "news report" piece in Ming Pao in support of Occupy Yuen Long. No wonder that Ming Pao is no longer ranked number one in public trust. Here are some lowlights:

-- "Our reporter found out that on the pedestrian sidewalk on the section of Main Road near the Light Rail station was only 2 meters wide. Even if there are not a lot of pedestrians, it already felt congested." [If this is a problem, then expand the roads instead of restricting mainland individual tourists!]

-- "At Sau Fu Street, our reporter found that Health Century Infant Formula Wholesale City which sells infant formula and other health/medical products, cosmetics, food, toilet tissue, etc. The salesperson said: 'We don't say that we have the cheapest products in the whole district' but we have a wide variety of selections and we provide mail service (including infant formula) all over China." [What is the problem with a wholesale centre that provides bulk sales and delivery at reasonable prices? What has that got to do with mainland individual tourists?]

-- "Ms. Peng came to visit Hong Kong from Hunan (China) during the Lunar New Year holidays. She was recommended to go to the Health Century Wholesale City. She found that the facial masks were only about $5 cheaper than at Sasa and Bonjour, but she thought that the products here in Hong Kong were superior in quality to mainland ones. Therefore she purchased ten boxes of facial masks." [What is the problem with a tourist spending money in Hong Kong? Does this mean that a Kong girl can't find any facial masks to buy? Doesn't the Wholesale City know to order more from South Korea and make even more money?]

-- "Ms. Zhang comes from Shenzhen about twice a month to buy daily necessities. She went to the Whole City to purchase shampoo and skincare products, which are even cheaper than on Taobao. 'In Shenzhen, I can only buy products made in China. Hong Kong has the imports, which have better guarantees." [Isn't this a natural brand equity for Hong Kong that can be exploited for commercial profit? And it won't last forever because it is an intangible asset.]

-- "Mrs. Tong of Yuen Long has a 1-year-old daughter. She said that infant milk formula and diapers rose in prices by about 10% during the Lunar New Year. She said that the pharmacies that cater to mainlanders and parallel traders reserve their products for mainlanders only. 'Hongkongers can't buy them.' She said that the price for Huggies diapers went up by more than $30 and she has to ask at four or five pharmacies before she can find them. Yuen Long resident Mrs. Chung said that there are too many pharmacies in the district, and their customers congregate on the sidewalk to pack their luggage, creating congestion. The mainlanders even create a scarcity of toilet paper, and cause prices of daily necessities to rise." [Clearly Mrs. Tong and Mrs. Chung never learned any basic economics on the relation between demand/supply and price/quantity (see link). If demand is increasing due to more individual mainland tourists with wads of cash making purchases, prices and quantities should both increase. If you see instead prices increase and quantities decrease, it is a supply decrease problem. Ask why the suppliers are colluding and hoarding to jack up the prices even higher!]

-- "Mrs. Cheng who owns the Sun Luen Hing Pharmacy on Sau Fu Street said that he "won't serve parallel traders with carts. He says that parallel traders obstruct the streets and cause rents to soar. A number of pharmacies on the same street specialize in serving parallel traders by selling infant formula at one or two dollars higher than wholesale prices. 'There is no way that I can sell at a loss in order to compete with them.' He insisted also that he won't stock hot-selling Lunar New Year gift items such as Ferrero Rocher chocolates and cookies. 'This is outside of the core business, and I shouldn't be branching into other people's business.' The landlord will be increasing his rent by 50% this April. Mr. Cheng said that his pharmacy may not be able to hold on." [Mr. Cheng wants the individual mainland tourists to vanish and his competitors too, so that he can charge higher prices for his products to local residents. Mrs. Tong and Mrs. Chung must be very glad with this outcome.]

- Another Ming Pao story on commercial rent: Whereas rents have been decreasing in the major consumption centres of Hong Kong (such as Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok), they have been increasing in Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan. Recently, Nike, Ingrid Millet, Estée Lauder and others have rented stores on Yuen Long Main Road. Near Citimall, Sasa will be paying $500,000 a month in rent to displace long-time tenant Ocean Empire Congee Restaurant.  But the monthly rent per square foot of HKD$136 is still peanuts compared to the HK$676 paid by Bonjour for Nathan Road 612-618 in Mong Kok. [This is a soul-searching question on which do you want: (A) the Ocean Empire Congee Restaurant where you can have pork liver congee for $40 and which pays $40 per hour to its workers; or (B) a Sasa health and beauty products multinational chain store with total of HK$8.8 billion in 2014 revenues.]

(SCMP) Security stepped up for fresh Hong Kong anti-parallel trading protest as 500 police drafted in  February 27, 2015.

District Councillor Leung Fuk-yuen, who is also chairman of the Shap Pat Heung rural affairs body, said today some residents and indigenous villagers were expected to come out to express their objection to the protest. “Yuen Long is a quiet place and residents do not like to see outsiders stir up trouble in their area,” he told a DBC radio this morning. He criticised protest organisers for getting people from other districts to “intervene” in the town’s affairs. “I think people should show mutual respect,” he said. Leung did not say if the local communities were organising any counteraction to the protest. He said only that residents were expected to turn out spontaneously.

As of Friday, 537 people have signed up for the anti-parallel trading protest on the organisers’ Facebook page, up from 274 on Tuesday.

Leung and Yuen Long District Council chairman and DAB lawmaker Leung Che-cheung will meet police tomorrow to discuss crowd control measures. Police planned to deploy 500 officers, Leung Che-cheung said.

Heung Yee Kuk chairman Lau Wong-fat today called for tolerance and peace. He said he appreciated the livelihoods of some residents could be disturbed if there were too many visitors. “If you are shopkeepers, you would want more people to come. If you are ordinary residents, you may think otherwise. It is natural,” he said. “But I hope the protesters don’t go too far. It is festive time. It should be a time for peace and harmony.” He said he had heard some villagers would set up marshal teams to help maintain order if the protest grew too big. “I hope there will be no conflict,” he added. Lau also said he did not think the parallel trade problem was particularly serious in Yuen Long.

(Oriental Daily) February 22, 2015.

The Population Policy Concern Group and the North New Territories Parallel Imports Concern Group organized an demonstration against parallel traders. The group of about 10 persons marched from a shopping mall entrance to the office of Legislator Michael Tien. The demonstration was over in less than one hour.

Internet comments:

- Why in the world do you want to run a demonstration when most shops are closed for the first four days of the Lunar New Year? There were many more reporters than shoppers or shopkeepers.

- Parallel trading is not an issue in Tsuen Wan. In Sha Tin last week, the demonstrators also went after mainland tourists (or even people who look as if they are mainlanders). But Tsuen Wan does not even have mainland tourists. What tourists would stay in a hotel so far away from the city centre?
- Oh yes, there is the Panda Hotel in Tsuen Wan. But any tourists who are booked to stay there know that they got the cheap treatment from the travel agency in lieu of a five-star harbor front hotel.

- They object because Tsuen Wan is crowded. Well, Tsuen Wan used to be an industrial district until the British colonial administrators declared that it was going to be a New Town. Then it has become crowded ever since, long before there were any mainland tourists.

- If parallel trading is not an issue in Tsuen Wan, why do this? This is because they want to put pressure on Legislator Michael Tien, who is advocating even more individual mainland tourists to be allowed to come. That's fine, except the demonstrators are deliberately confounding the issues.

There are three major types of 'visas' for mainlanders.

Shenzhen residents can get multiple-entry visas. They live nearby and may have reasons to travel to Hong Kong multiple times per year. Some of these visa-holders are parallel traders but not all of them. The demonstrators want an end to all of these visas, which means that mainlanders will have to apply for a visa every time that they want to go to Hong Kong.

The single-entry visa is used mostly by individual tourists who live in a a number of large mainland cities (such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Chengdu etc). Legislator Michael Tien wants to open to three additional smaller cities to boost Hong Kong tourism.

The one-way visa is for mainlanders to immigrate to Hong Kong, usually for the reason of family re-unification. For example, a Hong Kong man marries a mainlander woman and they have a child. The wife and child can come to live in Hong Kong on one-way visas, and they become permanent residents after living here for seven years. There is a quota of 150 one-way visas per day, or about 55,000 per year. It is not always used up as some grantees decide not to come after all.

In these demonstrations, the objectives are not always clear. They all say that they oppose the parallel traders, but they often deviate to the other categories in their speeches or actions. On this day, they are protesting against multiple-entry and single-entry visas in their slogans. But they always point to the parallel trading as their reason. They are not the same thing at all. Please make up your minds about what you want and for what reasons!

- They don't want mainland tourists? In 2013, 40.7 million mainland tourists came to visit Hong Kong, of which 27.5 million were under the Individual Visit Scheme. These people spend more than $8,000+ per capita on each trip. If you are willing to forsake HK$200 billion in tourist expenditure, you should say so explicitly.
 
Please check off this simple menu:
[ ] Ban all parallel traders who are defined as those mainlanders who travel frequently between Hong Kong and the mainland, as many as 26 times per day.
[ ] Ban all parallel traders who are defined as those mainlanders or Hongkongers who travel frequently between Hong Kong and the mainland, as many as 26 times per day.
[ ] Stop issuing multiple visit permits to mainlanders, so that each visit must be applied for separately.
[ ] Stop issuing multiple visit permits to mainlanders and Hongkongers, so that each cross-border visit must be applied separately.
[ ] Establish an upper bound on the number of visits each mainlander can make to Hong Kong (e.g. 12 times per year, or 4 times a month)
[ ] Establish an upper bound on the number of cross-border trips each mainlander or Hongkonger can make (e.g. 12 times per year, or 4 times a month)
[ ] Abolish the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) under which residents in 49 mainland cities are allowed to come to Hong Kong for one short-term visit by themselves
[ ] Ban all mainland tourists regardless of whether they come individually or in tour groups.
[ ] Ban all citizens of the People's Republic of China from entering Hong Kong for any reason (business or leisure)
[ ] Ban all tourists from entering Hong Kong (PRC, Taiwan, Japanese, American, British, French, whatever)
[ ] Ban all foreigners (tourists or business travelers) from entering Hong Kong (PRC, Taiwan, Japanese, American, British, French, whatever)
[ ] Or state whatever re-combination that you want to come up with ...

- They don't want mainlanders to come to Hong Kong at all? About one-third of all Hong Kong residents were born on the mainland, including people like Jimmy Lai (Next Media), Lee Cheuk-yan (Labour Party legislator) and Claudia Mo Man-ching (Civic Party legislator). Many Hong Kong residents have parents who were born on the mainland. Tiffany Chin also has family back in Yunnan province, after it was revealed that she was turned back while attempting a family visit.

- Tsuen Wan? This makes no sense whatsoever. This is an original New Town with a mix of residential, commercial and industrial areas. There is no real centre as such, but many shopping malls (Citywalk, Tsuen Wan Plaza, Tsuen Wan New Town Mall, Nan Fung Centre, Discovery Park, Nina Tower, etc). There is no direct train to the border crossings. What mainland parallel trader would pick up merchandise in Tsuen Wan and bring to the mainland? It is not efficient in terms of both time and money.

- Legislator Michael Tien's office is in Discovery Park. Well, that place is a ghost town with very few shoppers to begin with, never mind whether these are parallel traders or not. It is a 15 minute walk to the Tsuen Wan MTR station. Once you get on the MTR in Tsuen Wan, it is about 10 stops to Prince Edward Station. From there you transfer to the Kwun Tong line to reach Kowloon Tong Station. From there you transfer to the East Rail line to go to the border crossings at Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau. Why would a parallel trader pick up merchandise from Discovery Park? Why not at Sheung Shui which is just one East Rail hop from Luo Hu or Lok Ma Chau? This whole demonstration is for the ten demonstrators to proclaim victory for freedom and democracy, and feel good about themselves.

- (SCMP) Number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong falls for ‘first time since handover’. February 24, 2015.

The number of mainland tourists who came to Hong Kong in the first five days of the Lunar New Year public holiday fell this year for the first time in nearly 20 years, the head of the Travel Industry Council says.

Immigration Department figures showed that 675,155 mainlanders entered Hong Kong during the five days from Wednesday to Sunday, down 0.16 per cent from last year. By contrast, the 676,297 mainlanders who visited Hong Kong in the same period last year represented a 13.7 per cent jump from 594,302 in 2013.

The latest figures have shocked experts in the retail and tourism industries, who attributed the decline to a recent spate of protests against mainland visitors. They also said many mainlanders now prefer Japan and Europe because currencies in those countries have been weak compared to the yuan.

A drop in mainland visitors would hurt Hong Kong's retail sales and tourism, some analysts said. "It is the first time I have seen a drop during the Chinese New Year. That is due to a series of protests against mainland visitors. Some of them have given up on Hong Kong," said Joseph Tung Yao-chung, who has been executive director of the Travel Industry Council since 1997.

Tensions between Hongkongers and mainlanders have been escalating for years as city residents accuse visitors from the north of snapping up daily essentials such as powdered baby milk formula to such an extent that it has become either difficult to buy or prices have soared.

Earlier this month, more than 100 people protested at the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, chanting "mainlanders go back to the mainland". Another protest is planned for Sunday in the border district of Yuen Long against the multiple-entry arrangement for Shenzhen permanent residents.

Tung also said only about 400 package tour groups came to Hong Kong in the second and third days of the new lunar year, compared to some 500 last year. "I fear the situation will worsen."

Brokerage CLSA said the latest Immigration Department figures showed that the city was losing out in the tourism industry. The firm found that there were only “short queues in front of luxury goods shops on Canton Road”. CLSA forecast the number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong will grow by just  4 per cent this year. Last year, mainland visitor numbers soared 16 per cent.

This came as a local deputy to the National People's Congress is set to submit a proposal at its annual session next month calling for a curb on the multiple-entry scheme for Shenzhen residents. "The influx of mainland tourists has brought immense pressure on the boundary checkpoints and community facilities. The tourists end up unable to enjoy quality service here," local deputy Ip Kwok-him said.

But tourism sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing said mainlanders from more cities should be allowed to come to Hong Kong through the individual visit scheme. The scheme currently allows residents of 49 mainland cities to come to Hong Kong. "Hong Kong does not welcome mainlanders while other countries are doing the opposite. The US is also making its visa policy friendlier to mainlanders," he said. In November, China and the US signed a deal that allows citizens of both countries 10-year tourist and business visas.

Population Policy Concern Group convenor Roy Tam Hoi-pong said he believed protests against mainland visitors played a small role in the decline. "It is more because of the mainland's crackdown on corruption. Fewer are coming here to spend money," said Tam, who organised a protest last Sunday against another NPC delegate's proposal to extend the individual visit scheme.

(Oriental Daily) February 17, 2015.

The Internet group Hong Kong Indigenous was recently involved in organizing the demonstrations against parallel traders in Tuen Mun and Sha Tin. They announced that in anticipation of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's crackdown on unlicensed food vendors in the so-called Kweilin Night Market, they intend to to show up to defend this local tradition.

(Oriental Daily) February 20, 2015.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced that they will enforce the law rigorously against the illegal night market on Kweilin Street in the Sham Shui Po district. Last night there was an argument between Yellow Ribbons and Blue Ribbons. The police had to separate the two sides. Andy Yung, who acted the role of Captain America during the Occupy Mong Kok movement was reportedly assaulted and had to leave.

(Oriental Daily)  February 21, 2015.

After the Kweilin Street Night Market was banned by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, a number of them went to Mong Kok. Last night more than a dozen food vendors set up on Portland Street selling fish balls, teppanyaki, marinated meat, deep fried tofu, etc. At the urging of Hong Kong Indigenous members, some of these vendors moved from the side streets onto Portland Street in front of the Langham Place shopping mall. The process of moving under the escort of more than a dozen Hong Kong Indigenous members appeared to be dangerous, because the carts had charcoal boilers and boiling oil stoves. Seven Food and Environmental Hygiene Department workers wanted to stop them, but about 50 to 60 Hong Kong Indigenous members and other masked citizens surrounded them and cursed them for "arresting vendors but not parallel traders" using obscene language. They even spread the rumor that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department workers assaulted vendors.


Stinky tofu vendor pushing a cart with boiling oil in the company of Hong Kong Indigenous members

(Oriental Daily) February 21, 2015.

The Kweilin Street Night Market re-appeared on Portland Street in the Mong Kok district. By 3am, there were still more than 30 carts of food vendors between Shan Tung Street and Argyle Street. Some of these carts held up Kweilin Street Night Market signs.

At around 4am, more than 30 Food and Environmental Hygiene Department workers showed up. The vendors quickly removed their carts and Hong Kong Indigenous members swept the streets on behalf of the vendors. Within minutes the street returned to normalcy.

(Oriental Daily) February 21, 2015.

More than 20 street vendors showed up again on Portland Street in front of Langham Place around 9pm. More than 10 Food and Environmental Hygiene Department workers tried to stop them, but other persons opposed. The workers asked for police assistance, and more than 20 Police Tactical Unit members showed up and shut down Portland Street between Shan Tung Street and Argyle Street. About 8 Hong Kong Indigenous members showed their support for the vendors.

(Local Press) Benjamin Garvey:Protests against Kweilin hawker’s market ban reflect rift in HK democracy camp. February 27, 2015.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqApbOG4JG4 Shouting between supporters of the unlicensed street vendors and the customers/workers of the licensed Ho Kee Restaurant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVHE080hNYU (SocREC) Food and Environmental Hygiene Department inspectors being told their mothers' stinking cunts are being fucked. That's exactly what they are chanting.

Internet comments:

- Hong Kong Indigenous went out to Tuen Mun and Sha Tin because they say that the many parallel traders are blocking the streets and malls, thus preventing the residents from living normal lives. Now they come out to Sham Shui Po to defend the unlicensed food vendors to block Kweilin Street and Portland Street, thus preventing the residents from living normal lives. I am confused. What do they really want? Pray tell me, someone.

- On one hand, Hong Kong Indigenous want all the jewelry stores and pharmacies to close because they serve mainlanders in order to make way for localist stores (e.g. selling curry fish balls, chicken feet, pork intestines, stinky tofu, fried green peppers, etc). On the other hand, they support unlicensed food vendors. Well, can you have stores paying rent and hiring workers to sell curry fish balls competing with the unlicensed food vendors selling the same things but much cheaper right on the sidewalk in front of the stores?

- Hong Kong Indigenous complains that the government is trying to prevent indigenous people from earning a little bit of extra money during the Lunar New Year holidays. How about the restaurants which are making less money as a result of the unlicensed food carts in front of them? Aren't you preventing them from earning a little bit of extra money?

- These people Occupied for 79 days. They obviously don't give a rat's ass about the economic impact on regular businesses.

- I've seen someone take out two canisters of natural gas and start cooking from the back of a van. If the damned thing explodes in an accident, hundreds of people could die. What about that?

- I went to Sham Shui Po last year. The offerings were just the regular stuff (BBQ meat, stinky tofu, deep fried pork intestines, curry fish balls, etc) that can be found anywhere else. The prices were higher than in Mong Kok, North Point or elsewhere. It was nothing special. The only noteworthy thing was that the garbage was piled high on the roadside and stank to the high heavens.

- Rumors abound that the triads collect $500 per cart in protection money per night. So 40 carts mean $20,000 in total revenues per night. Not a bad business to be in.

- No way, my friend operates a food cart and he does not pay for protection. He has earned several tens of thousands of dollars each year. Please do not speak out of ignorance.

- Buddy, how many stinky tofu cubes must you sell per night to earn several tens of thousands of dollars? Your arm would fall off from the labor!

- Sham Shui Po's big brother/triad boss is "Blindman Heng." During the Occupy Hong Kong period, he was praised for coming out to "protect the students." When the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department comes out against unlicensed food vendors, he is being praised for "preserving collective local memories."

- The government should relax law enforcement for a couple of weeks per year for the sake of nostalgia.

- Nostalgia? There is plenty of things that I am nostalgic about. How about cooking with accident-prone kerosene stoves? Black-and-white television on Rediffusion? Airplanes landing perilously at Kai Tak Airport? Rickshaw drivers?

- Should the unlicensed food vendors be thanking or hating Hong Kong Indigenous? In previous years, nobody gave a rat's ass about their activities. Now that Hong Kong Indigenous shows up to support their illegal activities, there is an all-out government crackdown. Praise the Lord!

- I stood in line for half an hour in order to pay ten dollars for four defrosted fish balls. That was my experience. How is that for nostalgia?

- From the news report, "During this time, one food vendor was surrounded by more than 30 citizens who accused him of opposing Occupy Central. The food vendor left the scene." What is this? Is there a political correctness test for unlicensed food vendors?

- The pan-democrats will always win. If you enforce the law, they say that you are unsentimental. If you don't enforce the law, they say that you are negligent. Heads they win, tails you lose.

- I live in Sham Shui Po, and you have no idea what I have to put up with. Because of the garbage from the food vendors, the streets are infested with rats. Even the tenth floor apartments have seen big rats inside thanks to the Kweilin Street Night Market. PLEASE!

- From where does the assumption come that the Food and Environment Hygiene Department won't enforce the existing laws rigorously during the joyous Lunar New Year holidays? It is the same assumption that the traffic police won't issue parking tickets that leads to triple parking in the streets.

- Someone says that since most regular restaurants are closed for the Lunar New Year, we should tolerate the unlicensed food carts. What kind of world are you living in? There was decades ago. Today all restaurants open year round!

- The unlicensed food vendors pose a threat to public safety and hygiene. First of all, their carts carry heaters, hot water/soup and boiling oil. What happens if a cart is tipped over and falls on a baby carriage? Secondly, the food is homemade and not subject to any hygiene inspections. You are waiting for mass food poisoning to happen. Thirdly, if it is okay for unlicensed food vendors to operate on Kweilin Street, then it must be okay to operate everywhere else? How about if I operate a food cart on Star Ferry? Inside the IFC? Of course, when bad things happen, it is always 689's fault.
P.S. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has said that they are enforcing the existing laws. Under the law, it is possible to have fixed-placed and itinerant hawkers, but this is only after obtaining community approval through the regular process and meeting public health standards.

- A licensed restaurant is subject to inspection by the Food and Environmental Health Department. Failing to meet hygiene requirements may result in fines or even temporary or permanent suspension of the operating license. An unlicensed food stall is not subject to inspection. Surprise inspections does nothing because the itinerant vendor cannot be tracked down even if the laboratory report of the food shows health hazard.

- Apple Daily kept reporting that the pro-establishment DAB is against unlicensed food vendors. But they can't name any pan-democrat (e.g. Frederick Fung whose home base is the Sham Shui Po district) who supports unlicensed food vendors. Why don't we see the Civil Human Rights Front organizing a demonstration to support these unlicensed food vendors? That's because they ultimately know that you cannot open the floodgates for unlicensed food vendors to operate everywhere.

- Here is a bizarre assertion: The older generation were used to eating curbside food and they never get sick. Today there is no more curbside food but the new generation frequently gets ill. Therefore eating unlicensed and unregulated food is good because it builds up immunity! How is that for scientific rigor?

- Is that why so many Hongkongers go to Japan to build up their immunity against radiation!?

- The Temple Street Night Market has merchandise, second-hand-goods, Cantonese opera singers, fortune tellers, food, etc. The Kweilin Street Night Market has mostly food carts plus some martial arts exhibitions (between Yellow Ribbons and Blue Ribbons).

- Captain America, less well known as Andy Yung, goes around swinging a British colonial flag to advocate Hong Kong independence. Does he realize that the hawker licensing procedures came from the British colonialists? That's a rhetorical question given that he obviously does not care about the intellectual property rights of Captain America.

(Ta Kung Pao) February 18, 2015.

Lingnan University Student Union president Nathan Law is also a member of the Hong Kong Federation of Students executive committee. Yesterday he was interviewed on radio about the issues raised by the Hong Kong University student vote to withdraw from the federation.

Nathan Law was asked why the students are demanding that Hong Kong should not elect its Chief Executive by a small election committee but meanwhile the Federation leaders are elected from among and by a small group of student representatives. Isn't that a self-contradiction? Nathan Law replied that some of the student representatives were popularly elected by students. Furthermore, if the secretary-general is elected by universal suffrage by all university students, then his powers and accountability would far exceed that of any representative of a student university at a particular university. Thus, Nathan Law said that it is impossible to elect the federation secretary-general by universal suffrage.

Concerning the federation finances, he said that the federation hands the financial documents to the representative groups from the member universities. He acknowledges that as a the president of the Lingnan University Student Union, he has omitted to disclose the details to the student body. He said that the federation is doing an internal review about the composition of the secretariat and the executive committee.

Concerning whether the Hong Kong University Student Union will receive its share of assets back from the federation, Nathan Law said that no such stipulation exists on the procedure of withdrawal. However, it is written elsewhere that "members do not share the assets."

(Wikipedia)

The Hong Kong Federation of Students is formed by the student unions of 8 institutions: Hong Kong University, Chinese University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

(University Grants Committee student enrolment 2013/2014)

Hong Kong University: 17,888
Chinese University of Hong Kong: 8,687
Hong Kong Polytechnic University: 17,293
City University of Hong Kong: 13,004
Hong Kong Baptist University: 7,051
Lingnan University: 2,645
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: 10,146

(Hong Kong Federation of Students)

Each member university elect its chief representative to the federation. The rest of the team of representatives is either appointed by the chief representative, or appointed by the student council, or appointed by the student union executive committee (that is to say, they are not elected by the student body).

The standing committee of the federation is composed of the chief representatives of the member universities; the chairman of the standing committee; the secretary-general and the deputy secretary-general.

The secretariat is composed of the secretary-general, the deputy secretary-general and an appointed secretary.

The standing committee makes it decision through consensus. On any decision, there has to be a consensus for the federation to proceed. If a consensus is not reached, then member universities can proceed on their own but they cannot use the name of the federation.

The student representatives are held accountable to the student councils and the students of their respective universities.

Internet comments:

- The Federation of Students secretary-general Alex Chow goes around saying that he is representing the people of Hong Kong to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Now it turns out that he was elected by eight elected student representatives and the toadies that those eight appointed. This sounds a lot smaller than the 1,200 election committee for Chief Executive.
P.S. Their new name is "The Hong Kong Federation of Students (minus Hong Kong University)."

- The Federation of Students wants universal suffrage for the Hong Kong Chief Executive, but not for their own secretary-general. Ex-archbishop Joseph Zen wants universal suffrage for the Hong Kong Chief Executive, but not for the Pope. These are examples of Hong Kong democracy: You shout slogans for democracy, but you won't practice democracy yourself.

- "If the federation secretary-general is elected by universal suffrage by students in all the member universities, then his powers and accountability are greater than those of a student union representative from any individual member universities. In that case, it becomes impossible to determine accountability. Therefore, it will be impossible to elect a federation secretary-general."

-- "Some of the student representatives are elected by universal suffrage." That means "some other student representatives" were not elected by  universal suffrage, just like the corporate votes in the current Chief Executive nomination committee.

-- DLLM, now you tell us.

-- This is the Federation of Students Standing Committee's version of the August 31st resolution?

-- "I want genuine universal suffrage."

-- Can I believe that some faux democrats are helping me to get genuine democracy? Please do not take me for a fool!

-- Time to escalate action and occupy all eight university campuses to demand genuine universal suffrage.

-- This sounds even worse than what the Communists have to say about universal suffrage. If the Communists require that the Chief Executive be a patriot who loves Hong Kong and China, then these guys must require that their secretary-general not be a mainland student (c.f. Eugenia Yip).

-- The "Communist Federation of Students"?

-- Amazing that 800 comments later that no one Yellow Ribbon came out to defend Nathan Law's statement, not even accusations of fifty-cent gang membership against the naysayers.

-- Down with the Federation of Students Gang of Four (Alex Chow, Lester Shum, Yvonne Leung, Nathan Law)!

- Why doesn't Nathan Law want universal suffrage within the Federation of Students? Just look at the enrolment statistics: Hong Kong University has 17,888 students and Lingnan University has 2,645 students. Other things being equal, representatives from the larger universities will have higher chances of winning than those from the smaller ones. Nathan Law (Lingnan University) is Alex Chow (Hong Kong University)'s anointed successor as secretary-general. His job is on the line. So why would he be interested in universal suffrage? Behind what a politician says is always self-interest.

- Nathan Law is spouting incoherent rubbish even before becoming secretary-general. But he is following the grand tradition established by Alex Chow.

- The eight universities are very different in enrolment sizes. Hong Kong University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University have more than 17,000 students whereas as Lingnan University and Shue Yan  University have under 3,000 students. If universal suffrage is implemented for the standing committee, it will be dominated by the larger universities.
The analogy is with the bicameral United States Congress. There is a House of Representatives which is apportioned to states by population (for example, California has 53 seats and Vermont has 1 seat). There is a Senate in which each state gets two seats irrespective of population size. Legislation has to be passed by both houses before it is sent out for presidential approval. This structure is there to allow the small states to protect their own interests.
The Federation of Students has a standing committee with one student representative from each of the 8 universities irrespective of student body size. Thus, it is like the US Senate. The standing committee also has a secretary-general and a deputy, who are like the US President and Vice-President in powers. But the US leaders are elected by a modified form of universal suffrage (which is not one that the Federation of Students would say is "genuine").

- "The Chinese Communists have lowered the barriers on universal suffrage. We might as well as not waste any more effort on fighting. We will never see universal suffrage implemented in our lifetimes. Instead, we should think about Hong Kong withdrawing from the People's Republic of China to form a new nation that will elect our own leaders to look after our own interests." That can be re-written: "The Federation of Students standing committee through Nathan Law has lowered the barriers on universal suffrage. We might as well as not waste any more effort on fighting. We will never see universal suffrage implemented in our lifetimes. Instead, the individual universities should think about withdrawing from the Federation and go back to electing their own student union members who look after their interests."

- Nathan Law means to say that if students at a particular university are unhappy with what the Federation is doing, they can hold their own student representatives accountable (but not the student representatives from other universities). But if the secretary-general is elected by all students, students at a particular university cannot hold him accountable because he can always claim that he is considering the interests of everybody and not just the students from one university. That sounds tough, except that is what every national leader faces.

- One speculation why the pan-democrats don't really one-person-one-vote for Chief Executive is that this person would have greater authority than the legislators who are elected by functional constituency or geographical district. For example, a legislator in Hong Kong Island was elected by the voters there and not authorized by voters elsewhere. Therefore, this Chief Executive could legitimately overrule the legislators. Within the Federation of Students, an elected secretary-general could legitimately overrule the student representatives from individual universities.

- If the Federation of Students is eventually dissolved as the member universities vote to withdraw, who would be the happiest?
(A) The Communist Party
(B) The three Occupy Central stooges
(C) Joshua Wong/Scholarism
(D) The pan-democratic legislators
(E) The Hong Kong Indigenous group

- If and when all eight universities withdraw from the Federation, the HK$ 20 million sitting in the bank will go into the pockets of the five faceless board directors who have been there since 2003. That's swell.

- This concerns only one student organization, the Federation of Students. As for the other student organization Scholarism, elections are not even held. Nobody knows who they represent or how they come about. They seem to say that they represent the secondary students of Hong Kong. Which secondary school has ever held elections for Scholarism representation?

(Oriental Daily) 3:11pm.

Video action of demonstrators arguing with mainland tourists. In the beginning, the demonstrator in black t-shirt was restrained by other demonstrators who also pleaded with others to stop filming. Then there was shouting of "Go away! You are not welcome here" At around 0:55, a Cantonese-speaking man in a red t-shirt shows up to argue with the demonstrators. The police then interceded.

(Oriental Daily) 3:26pm.

The demonstrators clearly had a plan. They divided the actions into keeping an eye for the police, harassing shoppers, raising their own red warning banners, etc. When the police showed up, they dispersed. During this time, someone grabbed a female plainclothes police officer by the hair so that she lost her balance and almost fell down. Meanwhile the demonstrators yelled "Evil police" and "Good people don't become cops." Meanwhile the New Town Plaza made public announcements to tell tourists to look after their accompanying children given that there are demonstrations going on.

Addendum: (Oriental Daily) Among the 6 persons arrested yesterday was a 35-year-old unemployed man named Wong. He was charged with assaulting a police officer by pulling her hair from behind. Wong was already out on bail for another incident during a Mong Kok demonstration in January. The evidence? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBM2AYkbJSo At 1:05, someone reaches over and pulls the hair of the female plainclothes police officer. This is replayed in slow motion at 1:18.

(Oriental Daily) 3:35pm.

Video action of more than twenty demonstrators surrounding a short fat lady outside a shuttered store. It is reported that inside New Town Plaza, at least 7 stores (including jewellery shops Chow Sang Sang and Chow Tai Fook) shut down. Meanwhile the demonstrators were chanting: "We are not going to let them leave their shopping carts." Some demonstrators distributed surgical masks to others to tell them to "protect themselves."

(Oriental Daily) 3:56pm

On this afternoon, Internet users came to join the "Defend Sha Tin, oppose parallel traders" Action. Some of the demonstrators got very excited and yelled at anyone hauling luggage because they must be parallel traders.

A cosmetics shop near the Yata Department Store had lowered its gates, so some of the customers were trapped inside. Meanwhile a Ms. Chan hauling a luggage was identified by the demonstrators as a parallel trader and they surrounded her and cursed her out. In the struggle, she was also accused of pushing the Mong Kok cross-dressing guy Ah Kay down on the ground. Afterwards, Ms. Chan told our reporter that she is a Hongkonger who went to Yata to buy her family's Lunar New Year items. She said that the demonstrators were out of line.

Addendum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvs2ZHZVdm8 Video posted by SocREC reporter Ava Chan, who happens to be Ah Kay now working as a reporter using a pseudonym.

In the video, there was a wrestling match between a demonstrator in a black t-shirt with a friend who was trying to stop him from attacking mainlanders. Someone noted his state of mind: "He is a drug abuser." At 1:39 of the video, the man in the black t-shirt shouted aloud: "I want genuine universal suffrage!"

Addendum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixWx56EvjxU Another view of the man in black t-shirt.

(Oriental Daily with video) 3:59pm;

The demonstrators told the mainland tourists to "scram back to China." Others chanted "Build the Hong Kong City-State." Some demonstrators intercepted any mainlander with a shopping cart or luggage case and prevented them from moving.

A Mr. Li from Shenzhen saluted the demonstrators with his middle finger. He said that he comes down to Hong Kong once a month. He was trying to buy Lunar New Year items this time, and ran into the demonstrators. He said: "I am very unhappy" and "I don't understand why they would discriminate against mainlanders." He says that this was an isolated incident and he will continue to come to Hong Kong.

[Mr. Li was also interviewed by Apple Daily. He showed that he bought some biscuits and Sugus candies on this trip.]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo-Wy31QXHw (dbc) At 1:00, there is Mr. Li from Shenzhen trying to making his way through. The plainclothes police woman who would get her hair pulled shows up at 1:13 to help him.]

(Oriental Daily with video) 4:17pm


[Laughing sales assistants being dogged by journalists]

One man got into argument with the demonstrators. The man later walked into the Global Work clothing store. Demonstrators charged into the store, and caused the shop assistants to go into hiding to avoid being targeted. Meanwhile other demonstrators banged on the door of a shuttered underwear shop.

(Oriental Daily with video) 4:42pm

A clash between police and demonstrators on a passageway between different shopping plazas.


A Valiant Warrior punched a mainland tourist from behind.


A Valiant Warrior in black hood and surgical mask delivers the message to mainland tourists ("Chinese people love their motherland, go back and spend money in China")

(Oriental Daily with video) 5:19pm.


Waving the British Dragon/Lion flag for Hong Kong independence.


A man says the demonstrators attacked him. The demonstrators said he attacked the demonstrators.

(Oriental Daily with video) 5:46pm.

A male citizen called out from the fourth floor of New Town Plaza to the demonstrators below: "Young wastrels". About 200 demonstrators rushed up to the fourth floor. The police formed a cordon around the male citizen. But the demonstrators pressed forwards and surrounded the male citizen in front of a store. The police jostled with the demonstrators, raised the red warning banner and then released pepper spray. As more demonstrators surged forward, the mall management stopped the escalators. All the stores on the fourth floor were shuttered.


The man who called the demonstrators "young wastrels" being manhandled by them. Note the bespectacled young man holding on to the right foot.

(Apple Daily) has the same incident. A bald-headed man who claimed to be a Hongkonger clashed with anti-parallel trader demonstrators and accused them of being "young wastrels." He placed his hands around the neck of a bespectacled young man. The young man told the police: "He held my neck." The police eventually took the bald-headed man away for questioning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCJBW93r0u0 (Epoch Times) The bald-headed man versus the mob. At 1:05, he is down on the ground and they are screaming: "Fucking kick him to death!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUTLw7Ij86E (SocREC) The bald-headed guy versus a very valiant crowd. The crowd asked him: "You assaulted someone and now you are breaking out in cold sweat." It probably has more to do with the spitting right in his face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUjH5YoneNw Internet users compared the bald-headed man to Donnie Yen in the movie Ip Mon as the legendary Chinese martial artist who issues a challenge to fight ten Japanese soldiers at the same time.

(Oriental Daily) 9:18pm

Mr. Cheung who operates a eyeglass store in New Town Plaza estimated that he lost at least 30% of his business today as a result of the two hours when he had to shutter the store. The store depends heavily on weekend sales. But he emphasized that his paramount concern was the safety of the workers and customers. He said that his customers are about half local and half mainland. The mainlanders purchase eyeglasses for personal use. He said the demonstrators can express their demands without impacting others.

(Ming Pao) http://news.mingpao.com/ins/%E3%80%90%E6%B2%99%E7%94%B0%E5%8F%8D%E6%B0%B4%E5%AE%A2%E3%80%91%E7%A4%BA%E5%A8%81%E4%BA%BA%E6%BD%AE%E6%95%A3%E5%8E%BB%20%E5%BA%97%E8%88%96%E9%87%8D%E9%96%8B/web_tc/article/20150215/s00001/1424010921687

According to Ms. Man at the Japanese furniture stop SaLa in New Town Plaza Phase III, they were not aware of the demonstration today. During the action, they lowered the gates for half an hour. Even though the crowd left, business was still affected. Sunday is usually the better day for business, but they lost about $3,000 in business today.

According to Ms. Ho in the women's fashion store Mushroom, they were not aware of the demonstration today and therefore were unprepared. The demonstrators arrived around 4pm and about 100 people gathered outside the store. They lowered the gates for about half an hour. She thinks that evening business was affected. Even though traffic resumed to normal by 6pm, they had missed the prime shopping time period. She estimates that they lost 50% of their normal Sunday business.

(Apple Daily) 8:52pm

An escalation of action took place later. About 50 demonstrators rushed onto Tam Kon Po Street across the Shatin Town Hall, and tossed garbage cans and traffic cones onto road to block vehicular traffic. Many drivers honked to signal their displeasure. The police came and restore order. The entire incident lasted two minutes.

(The Standard) Sha Tin protestors pepper sprayed.

Tensions rose from about 3pm with the group of protesters arriving at the mall and shouting at mainlanders to go home. Some held signs saying, "Get Out" and "You are not civilized." A mainland woman shouted back but was immediately drowned out by several protesters who yelled back while giving her the middle finger. One protester held up the colonial flag and called for independence for Hong Kong.

During the chaos, shelves in one shop were pulled down, scattering goods on the floor. Scuffles between various groups were reported at about 5pm and a shop's shutter was hit by a hard object thrown by an unidentified person. Officers immediately hoisted the red banner and moved in to separate the opposing groups with pepper spray.

One local shopper scolded the protesters, calling them "useless youths." As tempers flared, police surrounded the shopper, but protesters pushed forward and scuffled with officers.

Several more scuffles erupted among protesters, shoppers and the police, with several people falling over. Police then formed a human wall to separate protesters and others as well as to prevent protesters from launching themselves at the shutters that shop operators had pulled down.

The protesters were not deterred by the pepper spray and most shops on the fourth floor were forced to close amid fears protesters might rush in. Police used batons to disperse protesters, and a policewoman had her hair pulled.

A mainland shopper from Dongguan said: "By organizing such a rally, Hong Kong people have shown themselves to be troublesome." Others said they will continue to shop in Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong woman said the increasing number of mainland visitors had disrupted locals' daily lives and she now visits the mall less often."They are impolite. The hit people with the luggage they drag around and do not even apologize," she said.

(SCMP) Fresh clashes in New Territories protest against parallel traders

Clashes erupted in the New Territories for the second Sunday in a row yesterday as a shopping mall was overrun by anti-parallel trading protesters.

Police were repeatedly forced to intervene, wrestling protesters to the ground, drawings batons and unleashing pepper spray. But a series of arrests led to demonstrators confronting officers, hurling abuse such as "black police" and other insults.

For a second week, after protests erupted in Tuen Mun last Sunday, the colonial-era flag was waved at the protest. One demonstrator waving the flag was aged just 13.

Police last night said six men were arrested for offences including assaulting police, disorder in a public place, obstructing police and common assault. Three people, including an officer, were injured, police said. They later said more arrests may follow.

Trouble flared after more than 100 young protesters marched from the Sha Tin MTR station through the New Town Plaza, chanting "mainlanders go back to the mainland" and telling mainlanders to "drink their own milk powder".

As demonstrators advanced, shops rolled down their shutters - many with customers still inside - and escalators were stopped.

One local, who gave her name as J.Chan, 29, said she resented mainlanders. "The situation is bad here. Sha Tin has become a parallel trading heaven," said Chan, who grew up in the district but moved away a year ago. "I once saw a mainlander just casually having a meal of siu mei [Chinese barbecue snacks] in a shopping mall nursing room. They have no manners and no culture."

Mainlanders and parallel traders were berated by demonstrators, with some reacting angrily by giving protesters the middle finger. "I don't understand what they are saying [in Cantonese] but this is crazy, I don't know why they are so violent," said a mainland tourist from Hangzhou . "I have only come to buy gifts for the Lunar New Year ... I guess I won't spend so much here in the future."

Tensions rose as sporadic clashes erupted between protesters, police and even shoppers. Some mall-goers were so angry about the protests that scuffles broke out with those marching.

A spokesman for one of the activist groups at the protest, HK Indigenous, which had coorganised last week's Tuen Mun rally that led to more than a dozen arrests, said the Sha Tin event was spontaneous. "We are not here to cause trouble. We are here merely to see how this [parallel trading] activity is affecting Hongkongers' lives," he said, adding one member of the group was arrested yesterday "without reason" .

 Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgaBZvhmJhI (SocREC) Taken at 6:17pm. The video title said that a Chinese woman is surrounded by a large number of citizens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDyCQWO-GgY (SocREC) Action from the rear. People milling around looking to take pictures and videos. What was happening?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOqITIwqMCw (SocREC)
0:08 (Crowd) Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! ...
1:00 (Crowd) Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop! Evil cop! ...
1:18 (Woman) Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother!
1:30 (Woman) Release him! Release him! Release him!
1:36 (Woman) Why are you arresting the kid? Why are you arresting the kid?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3-X47b1aOo (SocREC) Taken at 6:19pm. The police removed a luggage case (according to the video title, but the said action was not observed on this video). The demonstrators chanted "Evil cops" and "Fuck your mother!"
(Oriental Daily) A female mainland tourist with a luggage case was cursed out by the demonstrators and fled leaving the luggage case behind. When she went back to retrieve her luggage, she got into an argument with a demonstrator wearing a surgical mask. The police separated the two. The demonstrator would not stop and continued to curse for 10 minutes. The police escorted the female tourist to leave. But her luggage was pasted with banners saying "Valiant resistance" and "Building the Hong Kong Nation." The demonstrators then tried to kick the luggage case. More than a dozen policeman surrounded the luggage case. The demonstrators accused the police for guarding luggage on behalf of mainlanders. They said that this was a waste of police resources. The luggage case was finally removed by the security personnel at the shopping mall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqBFe8L1Wxk (SocREC) Physical confrontation between police and demonstrators. Pushing and shoving. A shop gate was damaged.

(INT News Channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4073xL1n3Y Part 1 at 3:10pm. Assemble at the train station and give the obligatory press conference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTezhK_UM3w Part 2 at 3:19pm. The video begins with the man in the black t-shirt wobbling around and cursing everybody's mother. At 2:22, he says "I want genuine universal suffrage."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2VQNPbES2w Part 3 at 4:11pm. At 1:26, the crowd chases someone into the Global Work clothing shop. A man and his son are escorted away to leave through the door on the lower floor of the store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oorKiLPeDE Part 4 at 4:45pm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko5Mezv5kNg Part 5 at 5:11pm. The bald-headed guy versus the mob. They mill around. At 4:12, "Don't hit him." "Don't hit his groin." "Don't hit him in the face." "Don't hit him with your hand. Fingerprints." "Don't let anyone see you." At 4:43pm, "Go back to the mainland! Go back to the mainland! Go back to the mainland!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiETC0tFBeE Part 6 at 5:56pm. Police use pepper spray.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab1C-JCm0Hw Part 7 at 6:05pm. The bald-headed guy got thrown on the floor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mezcJ8Vqcdc Part 8 at 6:22pm. First a couple is surrounded and cursed at. Then there is the mysterious luggage case in the middle of the hall. At 2:00, a woman gets yelled at by pro-democracy mouth-foaming valiant warriors with lots of "Fuck your mother" and "Go back to China." At 2:29, the gentleman in the white t-shirt screams a few inches away: "What the fuck is this to you!? Fuck your mother! Don't ever fucking come here again! Did you hear me?" Then the crowd applauds his speech. At 2:45, the gentleman in the white t-shirt is encouraged by the reception o this speech, says: "I fuck you mother! Don't fucking come here!" The female says that he is blocking her way. He screams: "I am fucking refusing to let you pass! Does that fucking upset you?" And it goes on for a while. Nothing of substance except "Fuck your mother!" and "Don't ever fucking come back!" At 5:20, the camera pans back to the luggage case, now plastered with slogans. The police show up to chants of "Evil police!" At 6:24, a mall security guard removes the luggage case. At 12:27, the crowd surrounds a man in a corridor and offers him some more "Fuck your mother!" He waves an ID card and a demonstrators tries to grab it. More "Fuck your mother!" They won't let him leave until he apologizes. For what? The man's female companion makes the pray sign, slaps him lightly on the face and begs the crowd to forgive him. More "Fuck your mother!" He says, "I am a Hongkonger and I am Chinese." At 16:07, a middle-aged man gives the real message: "I am a Hongkonger. I am a Hongkonger. You eat shit!" The distressed woman slaps her companion a few more times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSQ1jRA0-e8 (dbc) A series of citizen-policeman confrontation. A policeman gets injured on the forehead at 2:11. The crowd surges forward. The police raise the red warning banner and then used pepper spray.

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/realtime/breaking/20150215/53441838 (Apple Daily) At 5:45pm, more than one hundred demonstrators clashed with the police. The police pushed forward, and the demonstrators and reporters were backed into a fashion store after forcing the plastic door open. The police used pepper spray, and many reporters got sprayed. Fortunately, the people only pushed the display shelf down and did not break the kitchen cabinet which held some glass dining utensils, or a lot of people might be injured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFP4cCYURdM (Epoch Times) A man tries to sneak away while the policeman is listening to a complainant. Other policemen chased him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBM2AYkbJSo (Epoch Times) At 1:05, someone reaches over and pulls the hair of the female plainclothes police officer. This is replayed in slow motion at 1:18. The police woman want certain bystanders to play their videos to locate the perpetrator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRVjghKn040 (TVB) News hour report
0:43 An elderly couple claimed to be tourists on their first visit ever to Hong Kong. The man said: "I feel that you Hongkongers are very troublesome. You Hong Kong people. We did not block the passageway. We were only sitting there. This was my first time here. How would I know?  Very bad. Very bad. Chinese people don't curse people this way.
1:00 Placard: "Chase away Communist locusts; restore British Hong Kong; build a Hong Kong People's Government." "Eradicate the 1 million barbarian Communist locusts, wash away the shame of 18 years of oppression by the Communist locusts, cleanse Hong Kong once more."
1:26 Masked young man: "Chinese people should buy Chinese products." Woman with children: "We used came to walk around. What is the matter with you people?"
2:25 Ms. Ho who is in charge of a cosmetics store: "I guess that business would decrease by 20% to 30% because the traffic flow. The gate is lowered now, so the customers aren't coming in. It becomes harder to conduct business."

Internet comments:

- Yet another demonstration with unique Hong Kong characteristics: twenty demonstrators, a hundred spectators, and five hundred so-called "photojournalists", most of whom don't work for media outlets and are only looking for Like's on their Facebook.

- If you know anything about mainland China, you will know that February 15 (Sunday) was a regular working day because they shift the rest day to the long Lunar New Year vacation week. So most of the shoppers in Sha Tin today are Hongkongers.

- The action is "Defend Sha Tin, oppose parallel traders." They targeted the jewellery stores Chow Sang Sang and Chow Tai Fook. What have the jewellery stores got to do with parallel traders? Nothing. This is just a Sino-phobic action in disguise. That was why you have people waving the British Dragon/Lion flag for Hong Kong independence.

- One demonstrator was heard yelling: "Why are you expelling me from the mall but not the locusts?" That is because the mainlanders are shopping whereas you are trying to stop them from shopping. If this reasoning defies you, you need to check into the Castle Peak Psychiatric Hospital.

- How did a protest against parallel traders became an all-out attack on mainland tourists? What is the future of a city whose citizens harass tourists?

- If you say that the mainland tourists are rude and disorderly, then I don't see how the mob today can be described as polite and orderly. "You are wrong, therefore I must be right" is a weird logic.

This demonstrator brought his own red banner: "Oust all barbarians." On this day, the demonstrators were the barbarians, both in behavior and in literal meaning: "The word
蠻 refers to those uncivilized people living in Southern China (e.g. Hong Kong) and far away from the Central Plains, which was the political and cultural centre of the Middle Kingdom."

- The slogan was to eliminate multi-entry visas for mainlanders. Fine, what if the Hongkongers' Home Visit Permit is entitled to only one visit? If you want to make another trip, you have to go down to the China Travel Service and re-apply? How would you feel? Very inconvenient for some Hongkongers who need to travel more often, eh?

- I support ousting the parallel traders (both mainland and Hong Kong citizens), but I oppose the ousting of all mainland tourists. But unless the Localists have special abilities, they can post guard in front of PrizeMart and they won't be able to correctly distinguish between the two types all the time. So this type of effort is going to result in some mistakes. But I suppose this was the intention of a subset of those demonstrators, namely those waving signs that they want to cleanse one million mainland locusts from Hong Kong.

- The real purpose today cannot be about harassing mainland tourists or parallel traders. It is to harass Hong Kong shoppers doing their Lunar New Year shopping, in the hope that they will be stupid enough to blame CY Leung for what happened.

- As for the 50 people who tossed garbage cans and traffic cones outside the Shatin Town Hall, I completely fail to see the connection to stopping the parallel traders. There isn't even any symbolic value. It only reminds people of the losing cause known as Occupy Central. Sometimes, I wonder if these stupid people doing stupid things are actually Communist agents provocateurs who want to provide the rationale for legislating Article 23.

- Apple Daily said that drivers honked to express their displeasure at the people tossing garbage cans and traffic cones on the road. This is speculative on the part of the reporter. How do you know if the drivers were not honking in support of the action? Apple Daily must apologize for this reporting mistake and the chief editor must resign to complete the accountability process.

- I just saw on TVB News a female Shatin resident voicing her support of the demonstrators. Well, does she welcome the Umbrella people to block all vehicular traffic (including buses and minibuses) and set up a tent city in downtown Shatin? She just might, but only if she assumes that the government will fall as a result. Except that won't happen.

- These young wastrels are really good at attacking in wolf packs one or two mainland tourists. But they will never go to Beijing and mount a protest in Tiananmen Square. What is holding back "genuine universal suffrage" is not the CY Leung government; it is the Chinese Communist Party. So they attack the enemy by harassing one or two mainland tourists at a time. And they call themselves the Valiant (勇武) Ones.

- I once thought that this was a campaign against parallel traders. Then I noticed that all Hong Kong mobile telephone equipment companies engage in parallel trading -- that is, you can buy either the Hong Kong model or an imported model from somewhere else (Australia? Vietnam? Indonesia? wherever) which is cheaper due to price differential. Who are we trying to kid here? It was never about parallel trading. It was always about Sinophobia.

- They keep shouting "Mainlanders should go home and use Chinese products." Does that mean that Hong Kong people should stay home and use only Hong Kong products? Oh, wait, Hong Kong does not make that much, does it? So what is the rationale?

- The confrontation with the bald-headed guy made clear what the underlying strategy of the day was. After the Umbrella Revolution, it was clear that long-term mass occupation was unsustainable, would lose public opinion support and be forcibly cleared by the police. Then they thought about reaching out to the local communities. But when a handful of Yellow Ribbons set up street booths, they get chased away by dozens of angry citizens. Therefore the current strategy is an optimal solution.

First of all, there is no intention of running a long-term mass occupation. This is just fluid and transient for a couple of hours only.

Secondly, their numbers are just big enough (200 according to the police estimate). The bald-headed guy challenged a demonstrator to a fight. The demonstrator refused to fight him. Instead, a dozen of demonstrators jumped the bald-headed guy and held him on the ground. The bald-headed guy got up and want to fight one-on-one. The telling remark from a demonstrator was: "Yes, the whole point is that we have the numbers. Does that upset you?"

If you spread the 200 people across the main parallel trading towns (Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Fan Ling), then each location will have only 30 to 40 people who may be lynched by local resident and shopkeepers. Therefore this current strategy of one town each Sunday is optimal.

But it won't change anything, because they can cause trouble in one town for two hours every Sunday while business goes on as usual at other locations and at other times. The whole exercise is only for media consumption.

- The appearance of the bald-headed guy revived the old "All bald-headed guys look the same" talk.

Top right: Mong Kok anti-Occupy demonstrator.
Bottom right: Admiralty police officer
Top left: Sha Tin heckler
Bottom left: Sha Tin heckler
For a previous feature analysis, see ETTV report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yei_IOjNVmU

- As for the couple who were surrounded, the man made the mistake of saying: "I have a Hong Kong ID. I am Chinese." He completely failed to realize that the goal of the day was not to oppose parallel traders. The goal was not even to oppose mainlanders whether they are parallel traders, tourists or migrants. The goal was to oppose all Chinese. Even if the man was a Hong Kong aborigine of a dozen generations, his original sin was to think that he is of Chinese origin. According to the Localists, the Hongkongers are a different species from the Chinese people.

- Before they ever permitted individual tourists from mainland, it was just as crowded in Causeway Bay or Mong Kok. Nobody came out to cleanse the Hong Kong locusts. So to come out now is hypocritical. If you want to target the Communists, just say so. Instead you start opposing everything and everybody from China and thus show that you have even worse quality than your enemy. This is doing a huge disfavor to the other Hongkongers.

- When the Hong Kong University students voted to withdraw from the Federation of Students, opponents said that the Communists would be most delighted to see that happen. Given what happened today, I must say that the Communists would be most delighted to see that happen. If this road show can tour all 18 districts of Hong Kong, it will wipe away any modicum of sympathy left for the pro-democracy movement. Previously, most people outside of Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok only saw it on the news. Now they will get a up-close-and-in-person look at what Occupy-style democracy shall be.

- This woman was complaining on TVB that the mainlanders are blocking the passages. She said: "They run their cart over your foot, break your toenail and still they never apologize." Hell, yes! I know of a bunch of other people who blocked the streets of Hong Kong for seventy-nine days and still they never apologize. Who is worse?

- The numbers. Maybe 200 active persons showed up today (you can't include the spectators or 'photojournalists' as well). How many mainland parallel traders were in Sha Tin today? Probably none, because it makes no economic sense (that is, they would have gone to Sheung Shui or Tuen Mun which are much closer to border crossings to save time and money). How many mainland tourists were in Sha Tin? Probably in the order of thousands (if not tens of thousands). How many persons who were born on the mainland were there? Probably close to two to three hundred thousand.

If the goal was to stop mainland parallel traders, then this was a total victory (because they were never there to begin with). If the goal was to stop mainland tourists (not parallel traders), then the enemy won. If the goal was to stop anyone born on the mainland, then this was a total defeat.

So what was the goal?
According to the original announcement, it was to stop the parallel traders.
According to what some demonstrators did, it was to stop mainland tourists (or anyone with a cart or luggage case).
According to what some demonstrators said, it was to stop the mainland Chinese (who are all Communists). Evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_dNKnEXlIs The crowd was chanting "Down with the Communists!" repeatedly.

- So the point of the exercise today is to oust all the mainlanders from Hong Kong. For example, the mother who took her children to stroll around the mall was told by a masked demonstrator to go back to China. According to Wikipedia,

Ethnic Cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic groups from a given territory with the intent it making it ethnically homogeneous. The forces applied may be various forms of forced migration (deportation, population transfer), intimidation as well as mass murder ... the purpose of ethnic cleaning is to remove competitors. The party implementing this policy sees a risk (or a useful scapegoat) in a particular ethnic group, and uses propaganda about that group to stir up FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) in the general population. The targeted ethnic group is marginalized and demonized. It can also be conveniently blamed for the economic, moral and political woes of that region ... Ethnic cleaning is defined a a crime against humanity under the statutes of the International Criminal Court.

- Food for thought experiments:

(A1) What if the person hauling the luggage case is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, big-breasted British woman?
(A2) What if the person hauling the luggage case is a black Sudanese man seeking political asylum here in Hong Kong?
(A3) What if the person hauling the luggage case is a big fat Brazilian trader working out of Chung King Mansion?

(B1) What if some rich pro-democracy person raises the money to buy the whole mall, and then posts "We don't sell to mainlander pigs" signs everywhere?
(B2) What if some rich mainland person raises the money to buy the whole mall, and then posts "We don't sell to Hong Kong pigs" signs everywhere?

- I was shopping at the Burberry store today. I could not get out before the gates were lowered, so I stayed inside. They were banging on the doors like rioters. Sigh!

- I went out to Cheung Chau to relax this time. Instead, I found more people there than in Mong Kok. Next week we need to Occupy Cheung Chau and cleanse the locusts. Oh, wait, those locusts are all Hongkongers on weekend vacation. Mainlanders come from rural areas and see no reason to visit what looks like home. But Hong Kong city hicks want to go out to Cheung Chau and experience that rural feel.

- The Kee Wah Bakery lowered its gate and posted a sign: "Due to the rioting, we are temporarily suspending business." This has hurt the feelings of many pro-democracy people. There was no riot, unless you count the police riot. If there was pepper spray, the police used it without any justification whatsoever. We will boycott Kee Wah until they surrender and apologize.
\

Addendum: (Oriental Daily) Justice prevails! Kee Wah surrenders and acknowledge that the workers used an inappropriate description.

- The only way out is (A) CY Leung must resign; (B) Hong Kong must close its borders with China; (C) Hong Kong must have genuine universal suffrage which means civil nomination of the Chief Executive. If we can have all three, happiness will greet us at the end of the rainbow!
Another way out is (X) expel all the young wastrels and the valiant warriors to Namibia (to sew clothes at Chinese-owned garment factories) or the Falkland Islands (to rear sheep for the British).

- I watched these videos from SocREC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMXRxmdJOWw  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwDU1cqed_U taken at 4:27pm. A middle-aged man with a military crew cut and a woman were surrounded and cursed out ("Fuck your mother" etc). The couple kept saying "We are Hongkongers" to no avail and the guy waved his Hong Kong ID.
So on this day, the mob targeted anyone whom they think looks like a mainlander, regardless of whether the person is a parallel trader, or a mainland tourist with a multiple-entry visa, or a mainland tourist with a first-time single-entry visa (as were the elderly couple from Dongguan as recorded by TVB News), or a new migrant from the mainland who came within the past 7 years, or someone from the mainland who has already earned permanent resident status (according to the Population Census, 2.2 million Hong Kong residents were born in the mainland, Taiwan or Macao), or a native born Hongkonger. Of course, the demonstrators are never to be blamed. Instead, it is the fault of 689 and his Communist masters to allow mainlanders to come to Hong Kong for any reason at all (as immigrants or tourists).

(Apple Daily) When this Hongkonger couple walked by, the demonstrators thought that they were mainlanders. The man raised his ID and said: "I have an ID, but I am Chinese." This infuriated the demonstrators who surrounded the man and cursed the couple out. The wife slapped the husband a dozen time and begged the demonstrators for forgiveness. But the demonstrators ignored her pleas and continued with their cursing. They forced him into a corner. Finally a plainclothes police man came and escorted the couple away.

- Another Sunday, another shopping mall. Has total victory been achieved? Or even partial victory? An hour later, all the stores will re-open for business as if nothing happened. If you are truly valiant and strong, you would have burned the mall down to the ground and then there won't be any more parallel traders or tourists in Sha Tin for all times. As it stands, you have changed nothing. I suppose that's fine as long as you feel good about yourselves with the many Like's on your Facebook.

- Yuen Long next week? That will be the Grand Battle of the Valiant Ones versus the Rural Triads while the police take a Lunar New Year vacation.

- A Yuen Long fruit stand sign says: "This stand does not sell to mainlanders."

Related link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cvK-VGPocQU No dogs or Chinese allowed in Huangpu Park scene from Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury.

- Wong Yeung-tat (Civic Passion) probably wants to run for Legislative Council in the Kowloon East district once more. So the big question is: Will Civic Passion try to occupy the APM mall in Kwun Tong? If they do, it will upset the local shopkeepers and residents, and they will remember it when the voting comes around. Therefore, it is better to reclaim Tuen Mun (New Territories West district) and Sha Tin (New Territories East district). But rival radical party People's Power may want to press on with Occupy APM anyway and put the blame on Civic Passion.

(The Standard) HKU students back vote on matter to quit. January 27, 2015.

Two University of Hong Kong students running in upcoming Students' Union elections disagree with a proposal for the university to leave the Federation of Students. But they back a referendum on the issue.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Hong Kong University Students' Union yesterday, the leader of the Smarties group, Michael Pang Cheuk-kei, said: "We're happy with a referendum, though we oppose leaving the federation. But we'll respect the result if students want to do so." The leader of Ascent, Fung Jing-en, said the group has a similar stance: "We do not want to quit the federation. We should consider reforming it first."

The motion for the referendum was passed narrowly by the Students' Union Council last night. It will be held from February 9 to 13 simultaneously with the union elections.

The federation came under fire from two other student representatives from the HKU Independence group. They criticized its decisions and actions during Occupy Central, which they said included being too late in escalating action. And an escalation on November 30 "should not have been only symbolic," representative Lee Kai-tik said. Another representative, Ng Wai-ka said he had heard various students talk about boycotting the federation.

(South China Morning Post) Federation of Students suffers biggest split in 57-year history as HKU quits over Occupy. February 15, 2015.

Hong Kong's oldest and most politically influential student body, which organised the sit-ins that acted as a catalyst for last year's Occupy turmoil, suffered the most significant split in its 57-year history yesterday when one of its biggest bloc of members voted to leave.

University of Hong Kong students voted narrowly in favour of quitting the Hong Kong Federation of Students in a referendum sparked by a groundswell of support for the so-called localist movement, which to varying degrees supports Hong Kong independence and believes the federation's core mission to "build a democratic China" diminishes its ability to represent the interests of the city.

(Bastille Post) February 14, 2015.


Final vote:
2,522 for
2,278 against
1,293 null

The Federation of Students was the active leader of the Occupy Central movement. When the Hong Kong University Student Union quits the Federation after the Occupy Central movement, one would think that the pro-establishment forces propelled the referendum to quit. But the fact is the exact opposite. The referendum was instigated by radical students. 400 of them thought that the Federation of Students was too moderate and therefore they started the referendum to for their student union to quit the federation.

Afterwards there were arguments between the pro- and anti- sides on this referedum. Former Federation of Students secretary-general Daisy Chan wrote on her Facebook that the pro-withdrawal faction was "really XXXXXXX trash." She added, "Withdrawing from the federation" is a false issue, because the proponents really want to dismantle the Federation of Students as a whole. The dissolution will "only create problems without solving anything." Thus, if the pro-withdrawal faction has the courage to "benefit the enemy (the Chinese Communists), then they should know that they will be XXXXXXX cursed out as traitors who abet the Chinese Communists." She said that the pro-withdrawal faction is brainless, and wanted the citizens to start a "Save the university students by finding their brains for them."

Daisy Chan's remarks were passed around the Internet. The group that started the referendum process posted a screen capture on their own Facebook page, with the comments: "'Actually those who propound the withdrawal from the Federation are really XXXXXXX trash.' Thus spoke the 2011-2012 Federation of Students secretary-general Daisy Chan. Current Federation of Students deputy secretary-general Lester Shum also posted a 'like'. After two months of discussion and more than 400 persons signing the petition to hold the referendum, this was the response that we got. What do you expect out of the Federation of Students? Are reforms from within possible? Hong Kong University people, how can you not be angry?

(VJmedia) February 14, 2015.

Since when did my standard for doing things become "Would the Communists be happy or not?" We must cast our votes for the pan-democrats "or else the Communists would be most delighted". We must not withdraw from the Federation of Students "or else the Communists would be most delighted." We must not criticize the leftwards, "or else the Communists would be most delighted." We must not charge at the national flag, "or else the Communists would be most delighted" ...

But when you advised people to withdraw from the Occupy areas, you didn't say "the Communists would be most delighted"? And when the Democratic Party got into a secret discussion with the China Liaison Office behind closed doors, you didn't say "the Communists would be most delighted"? When you tell us to oppose the localist movement to reclaim Hong Kong, you didn't say "the Communists would be most delighted"? When the leftards want Hong Kong and mainland China to meld together, you didn't say "the Communists would be most delighted"? When the Catholic Justice League wanted to pray for the melding of Hong Kong and mainland China, you didn't say "the Communists would be most delighted"? ...

Can you please explain?

[After the results were announced, Daisy Chan wrote on her Facebook:

Daisy Chan: If I were Wong Yiu-ying, I would open up eighteen bottles of red wine to celebrate. I didn't even have to raise my hand and it was already a bountiful harvest. This has been unbelievable.

Daisy Chan: Actually, if I were the Communists, I would want chaos in Hong Kong, because Grand Peace comes only after Grand Chaos. They already posted soldiers in Hong Kong, so it is easy to send the dispatch the soldiers. But I am less optimistic about whether the people of Hong Kong can weather the storm. More likely they will use their foreign passport to leave in case of trouble.

Daisy Chan: If this is going something bad out of good intentions, then it is not a simple matter about the freedom to associate. The Federation of Students is really no big deal, but I believe they can insure that the academic field won't be turned 'red' overnight. Besides, I can't see how the Hong Kong University which founded the federation many years ago is in anyway not independent or free.

Simon Cheung: Today, the Communists must be very happy.

Daisy Chan: Actually, people do not deny that the Communists are applauding. We have reached the greatest possible consensus. This post is over. Maybe not liking the Communists is an idea that is past its time.]

What is the basis for you to deduce that "the Communists would be most delighted" with the withdrawal of Hong Kong University from the Federation of Students? Why couldn't the referendum be interpreted as the young generation voting for rapid de-Sinoficaiton, which would in fact caused maximum headache for the Communists? Besides, there are many factions within the Communists and they don't share the same interests. Where is your evidence? Aren't you supposed to be "scientific, objective, neutral, unbiased, fair and comprehensive"?

Please don't be so hypocritical, okay? Please don't hold too many double standards, okay? Please do as you say, okay? I am not asking too much. You have been moving the goal posts around, just like the Communists. As Ms. Yip Po-lam said, "You detest the Chinese Communists, but you act just like they do. Is that worth it?"

To be fair, the current Federation of Students cabinet will seem to favor Greater China and leftist ideology less than previous ones, but it doesn't mean that Hong Kong University students must join. Whatever our positions, we must share the basic consensus to respect the democratic system and the referendum results. Frankly, I don't see the current result will be making a material impact soon. But the Federation of Students folks need to respect the wishes of the voters, stop making snide remarks and apologize for calling people "XXXXXXX trash."

(Bastille Post) February 15, 2015.

In the Hong Kong University referendum, the measure to withdraw from the Federation of Students was passed by a margin of more than 200 votes. Next, the Lingnan University students will hold their own referendum. If they vote to withdraw as well, the the Federation will lost 2 out of 8 university members. If more universities follow suit, the Federation will be shattered.

... In retrospect, this action by the Hong Kong University students was clearly planned by some very smart people. They took advantage of the frailties of the current Federation of Students -- namely, their inability to grind out a ground game patiently because there was neither media spotlight nor large numbers of cheerleaders.

The whole lesson taught us that the reason why the Federation of Students seemed so powerful during Occupy Central was that they were attacking the establishment only. It is easy to attack people, but it is a lot harder to defend against similar attacks. The Federation of Students is a 57-year-old establishment. Their opponents perceived the weakness in the Federation in defending their establishment. So it was a rout in the end.

Internet comments:

- The Federation of Students ran around claiming to represent the people of Hong Kong, who don't remember ever empowering them. Now it turns out that the Federation cannot even claim to represent the university students of Hong Kong.

- Voter turnout of 6,093 was said to be 39% in this referendum. Of these 2,522 voted 'for',
2,278 voted 'against' and 1,293 cast 'null' or 'blank' votes. Thus, 39% x 2522 / 6903 = 14% voted for the Hong Kong University Student Union to withdraw from the Federation of Students and 39% x 2278 / 6903 = 13% voted against. The remaining 73% of students either did not vote or cast 'null'/'blank' votes. What is the popular mandate as indicated by these results? Why won't people respect the 73%?

- All this means is that the Undergrad faction has won and the Hong Kong University Student Union can go ahead full-steam with the independence movement.

- This is good beginning. All university student unions should hold the same kinds of referendum so that all students can express their own opinions. At present, the Federation of Students make all the decisions without allowing for individual expression. What kind of democratic system is this? How can this be genuine democracy/universal suffrage? The students should be allowed to tell their Student Unions whether they want such a state of affairs or not.

- "This means that the Hong Kong University students have rejected the leftards and want to become Valiant Localists." Good, let's start the Revolution then. Please name the time and place.

- It was said that Yvonne Leung, ex-HKUSU president, declined to make a statement on this referendum and thus fail to rally students to vote against. Well, actually, it won't help. Suppose she came out with a firm statement on the importance of the Federation of Students to Hong Kong democracy, she would only rally students who dislike the Occupy Movement to vote 'for.'

- The referendum instigated by the Valiant Localist students was passed. This meant that future student resistance movements will be more "valiant" and "localist" in nature. These two ingredients imply that an armed rebellion for Hong Kong independence will be in the cards for the future. The incoming Student Union president said that if the Hong Kong University students are treated violently in future demonstrations, they will come "wearing armor and carrying shields" and they will "use force to stop the violence."

- There was no exit poll. But there is a suggestion that the "for" votes came from two extreme ends of the political spectrum. On one hand, there are those who thought that the Federation of Students was too moderate and failed to escalate during the Occupy Movement. Therefore, they want the freedom for HKU students to act more valiantly in the future. On the other hand, there are those who thought that students should be studying and not playing politics.
This landscape is reproduced in the larger society, although it has not played out in this way yet. At present, the confrontation is between a pro-establishment camp and a pro-democracy camp. The present Chief Executive and his cabinet are pro-establishment. Someday it may come to pass that a moderate pan-democrat becomes the Chief Executive. The lesson from the student referendum is that this Chief Executive will be opposed by both the pro-establishment camp and the more radical pro-democracy camp. His/her position will be even more precarious than the present CY Leung government.

- Since when have they respected voting? It was always about the quality and not the quantity of voters. 80% of citizens opposed Occupy? It's the 20% high-education, high-quality people that count! So they should annul the referendum results and go ahead before. [Indeed, the current HKU student leadership has said that nothing will change as they will continue to attend Federation of Students executive committee meetings as before.]

- It doesn't matter to the Federation of Students. It is a duly registered organization with something like several tens of millions of dollars in assets (since all university students automatically pay HK$6 to them each year). Although a new cabinet is elected every two years, the board of directors is a bunch of faceless individuals who have been there forever. Even if all the individual student unions withdraw, the Federation will merrily continue to raise more money to fight for freedom and democracy.

(South China Morning Post) February 13, 2015.

A fund was launched yesterday to help people who were arrested or injured in clashes with police during the 79-day Occupy Central protests last year. The Umbrella Relief Fund will pay for medical expenses, loss of income as a result of having been arrested or legal fees where necessary.

The fund's trustees have set an initial target of raising HK$1 million, which is to be available for up to six years. They believe about 100 to 200 Occupy protesters will need financial assistance.

"We are not encouraging people to take part in illegal activities. But we would like to offer some help to those who suffered losses because they have done what they believe is good for Hong Kong," said trustee Christine Fang Meng-sang, a former chief executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.

Trustee Edward Chan King-sang, a former Bar Association chairman, said: "Some also face hardship as a result of having been arrested or having had to attend inquiries or court hearings."

(Oriental Daily) February 13, 2015.

The Occupy Movement caused some businesses to suffer tremendous economic losses and some police officers to be injured or face criminal prosecution. When asked whether the Umbrella Relief Fund would accept application from these victims, Chan King-sang said that the government claims to be seriously considering giving aid to the affected businesses, so there was no need for the Umbrella Relief Fund to help them.

Fang Meng-sang also said that the police themselves have relief funds and donations. She also said that the Umbrella Movement did something that Hong Kong needs to have, and that is why the Umbrella Relief Fund will only help those people (including those who participated in the unlawful Occupy activities).

(Ta Kung Pao) February 13, 2015.

You beat someone up and then you want them to pay your own medical expenses? This sounds totally preposterous and absurd ...

The Umbrella Relief Fund does not have an evaluation system and it has no upper limit on the amount that can be applied for. Even Chan King-sang admits that they don't have the capability of doing a detailed investigation of the circumstances and therefore they may be deceived. Thus, the Fund relies on the honesty and integrity of the applicant. Furthermore, the Fund says that they don't care whether the applicant had engaged in illegal activities and all they care is that the applicant was injured or suffered economic losses.

How did these people get injured during the Occupy Central events? They were the radicals who stood in the front lines to fight the police. The Fund is footing their bills, thus encouraging such extremist behaviors. Chan King-sang said to hilarious effect: "These lawbreakers had already committed their unlawful acts. Therefore we cannot be encouraging them after the fact." Meanwhile the businesses in the Occupy areas which suffer economic losses will be ignored by the Fund because the government is "considering" giving them aid ...

(Passion Times) February 13, 2015.

The Umbrella Revolution died at the end of last year. Although the process was tumultuous, it contributed nothing towards democracy. Maybe some people thought that it was a useful enlightenment process, but the truth is that it was a waste of time and effort.

... Recently, a bunch of "democrats" started the Umbrella Relief Fund to help the Occupy participants and medical workers to cover their medical expenses and legal fees. They aimed to raise $1 million. The applications are to be processed by the Civil Human Rights Front.

The Hong Kong social activists know what the Civil Human Rights Front are about. If you are unfamiliar, then they are hucksters who try to sell you blessings and medicine for your wellbeing.

If you remember back to the start of the Umbrella Revolution, a group of lawyers started a volunteer group to proved free legal aid to those who are prosecuted. But before it took effect, the clash at the Legislative Council ripped the beautiful lie apart because these lawyers said that they won't serve those accused of violent crimes.

If you remember even further back, the Occupy Central organizers raised money through public donations with a goal of $7 million. Nobody knows where that money went, although some people have surely made their contributions. After the Occupy Central died noiselessly, that money vanished into thin air.

Given those precedents, the emergence of an Umbrella Relief Fund is incomprehensible. The only explanation is that this is yet another confidence game, whether this was for the money or the fame or mostly likely both. The chances of the those truly victimized Umbrella Revolution participants getting this money is near zero.

Setting up such a Fund today is like rubbing salt into the wounds of those who were hurt physically and/or emotionally during the Umbrella Revolution. These people have the audacity to package this as a charitable act. Their shamelessness and hypocrisy is colder than the winter this year.

Internet comments:

-
To the Umbrella Relief Fund: I was hit and injured in the head during the Umbrella Revolution. Can you help me?
Response: Thank you for your inquiry. You need to file an application with the Civil Human Rights Front's volunteer secretariat. This Facebook page is for promotional purposes only. Please excuse us.

- (VJmedia) The Umbrella Relief Fund thanks a number of other organizations, including the Civil Human Rights Front, the Hong Kong Shield, the Umbrella Parents, the Umbrella Arrested Alliance etc. They all belong to the same grouping. For example, Fang Meng-sang of the Umbrella Relief Fund is on the board of director of Stand News, etc ... This so-called Umbrella Relief Fund is merely a brand extension from the Civil Human Rights Front, the Catholic Church Peace and Justice League, in as much as Ajisen Ramen and Sapporo Ramen are two brand lines within the same company.
The application form requires that you fill out your personal particulars including where, when and how you got arrested/injured. Whether they will help you is going to depend on whether you belong to their group. For example, the Occupy Central secretariat led by Melody Chan Yuk-fung had plenty of justification for refusing legal aid to action-takers ... If you are not aligned with them, they will only trample you a few times more. You didn't accept the Admiralty organization? You criticized Yip Po-lam? You don't like the pan-democrats? They will tell you to drop dead.

- Five persons came up with $6,000 totals (Mr. Chan gave $2,000 and the other four gave $1,000 each) and they want others to contribute to reach $1 million. If you want to make the big money, you must spend a little bit of seed money up front. Well, these five persons get to decide what to do with the money which they will pocket first. And they won't tell you because they have to protect the privacy of the recipients. Well, well, well ... If this isn't a confidence game, what is?

- Mr. Chan is a senior barrister and commands $100,000 per hour for his services, and he donates 2% of one hour of his time (at $2,000). I make $30 per hour. Where should I send my 2% (= 60 cents)?

- There is the interesting case of the dim sum chef living in the Sun Hing Building in Mong Kok. He was going home after dinner with this wife and mother when he found his building entrance being obstructed by Occupy Mong Kok. He moved the obstacles aside in order to go home, and he was attacked by several Yellow Ribbons. His hand was broken and he could not work for three months. Will the Umbrella Relief Fund provide relief to him? Fang Meng-sang said: "We would like to offer some help to those who suffered losses because they have done what they believe is good for Hong Kong." So that would seemingly disqualify our chef, because all this selfish prick did was try to go home that night. And what he achieved by his broken hand was to sully the name of the Umbrella Revolution, and we all know that was a bad thing.
P.S. The guys who assaulted him may be entitled to financial aid, though.

- Cheap bastards! The Umbrella Relief Fund organizers are two lawyers, one doctor, one accountant and one social worker (a former chief executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service), and they couldn't come up with 1 million themselves. It is only bread crumbs to them.

- "I want genuine financial assistance" and "I want genuine legal aid" banners are appropriate.

- I want to donate the 50 cents that I will get for writing this negative post.

- Wow! The Fund is going to accept applications which they won't check because they are going to count on the honesty of the applicants! You must be really stupid if you donate a single cent to this Fund.

- Can I donate in Bitcoins? I have plenty left on hand and I don't know what to do with it. Someday it may be worth something again.

- This is so inane that it must be a money laundering operation. Lots of anonymous cash coming through the door and spent through a black box operation in order to protect the privacy of the donors.

- What would happen if some Americans were to form an ISIS Relief Fund to help the ISIS members pay for their medical bills and legal fees? What would the United States government do?

- The Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme reported that 1.2 million persons participated in the Occupy Movement. If each one would donate a dollar, there would immediately be $1.2 million in the Fund. Better yet, if each would donate ten dollars, there would be $12 million!

- The poor attendance at the February 1st demonstration march organized by the Civil Human Rights Front was not necessarily a huge problem. The bigger problem is that donations and sales have plunged at the booths along the route. The money flow is stopping, so that it is necessary to come up with alternate revenue streams. Not to worry because there are always enough fools out there who can be counted to part with their cash.

- I am going to tell all my friends and relatives to apply. The Umbrella Relief Fund/Civil Human Rights Front have already said that they won't check the story because they don't have the resources. So this is a test of writing creativity. You could get $10,000 for writing a good fictional essay.

- This is as stupid as asking people to contribute money to save ATV. Fucking stupid!

Archival material: This famous post from Melody Chan of the Occupy Central secretariat.

Someone called me at 5am to say that two people have been arrested and requested help. I guessed that they are those who were arrested at the Legislative Council, but I asked against hope in case I am mistaken. Through Whatsapp, I asked: "Where? Why?" He had the nerve to say "Legislative Council." I thought, "You have to nerve to seek me out." Then I switched the phone into airplane mode.

Are you guys the one who object to the organization and want to dismantle the Grand Stage? When you get into trouble, you call the arrest aid hotline. Nothing is ever so easy in this world.

Yes, lawyers should put aside their personal views and do their best for their clients, who may be murderers or Rafael Hui, to defend their rights under the existing system. But sorry, the volunteers at the legal aid group are not your lawyers. We are not obliged to cover every case. To put it bluntly, we are not even obliged to provide arrest aid in the middle of the night while leaving our families behind. We don't have to go to Central, or South Island, or Mong Kok police station to accompany you to make your statements and get fingerprinted and photographed, and then we have to go to work the next morning.

The volunteers and lawyers have been silently making their contributions to the movement. It is often inconvenient to be interviewed by the newspapers for this kind of work. We don't even want to be identified. We just quietly contribute our share for the citizens. But what have you done for the movement? You have been cursing the Grand Stage. In Mong Kok, you made posters against Yip Po-lam, you sold souvenirs and you disbanded the marshals. Every time that you rashly charge the police line, you curse the citizens for not supporting you. After you made your charge, you disappear and the only arrestees were the students and citizens who couldn't flee as fast as you can. The only people who got beaten were the uncles and lads who came out to support you.

And you had the nerve to call me up at 5am to provide support for arrestees? If you really need a lawyer, we can certainly help you: You sign a retainer first and you pay by the hour. Currently most of our lawyers are billing $3,000 to $5,000 per hour. There is a discount rate of $20,000 only for one nighttime visit down at the police station. Once you wire the money into the lawyer's bank account, we will rush over any time of day that you want.

(Ming Pao) February 10, 2015. http://news.mingpao.com/ins/%E5%B1%AF%E9%96%80%E5%99%B4%E6%A4%92%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6%20%E5%A4%96%E7%B1%8D%E8%A8%98%E8%80%85%EF%BC%9A%E9%81%8A%E8%A1%8C%E6%9C%AC%E5%AE%89%E5%85%A8%20%E8%AD%A6%E5%88%B0%E5%A0%B4%E8%AE%8A%E6%88%B0%E5%A0%B4/web_tc/article/20150210/s00001/1423559437602

The foreign reporter Richard Scotford for the bilingual Hong Kong publication <bc magaine) was gathering news last Sunday on the demonstration against parallel traders in Tuen Mun. He personally witnessed the police using pepper spray inside the shopping mall. He also claimed to have been verbally harassed and attacked by the police.

This morning, Chief Executive CY Leung said that it was unacceptable that a small group people can charge at a shopping mall and harass people in order to express their discontent. The Hong Kong SAR will rigorously enforce the law.

On Facebook, Richard Scotford responded to CY Leung:

Internet comments:

- Does anyone read this <bc magazine> thing? Who cares what this Richard Scotford guy says?

- Why was it necessary to invoke a foreign reporter? What is the matter with Ming Pao's own reporters? They were there too. Have they censored themselves? Are they Sinofied/mainlandized?

- Why am I surprised that a foreigner should think that it is okay for wastrels to stop people from conducting business? After all, Yanks and Brits think that invading Iraq is a very good thing too.

- After the relay hunger strike, this is the next great invention for the Umbrella Revolution: safe demonstration marches inside shopping malls!

- Does this brother mean that if the police didn't show up, then it is not a crime to have an illegal gathering inside a shopping mall to halt business. In like manner, if you rob a bank and you leave before the police arrive, then it is not a crime. But if the police arrive quickly and there was a gun fight between cops and robbers with innocents getting shot, then it is the police's fault!

- Trend Plaza is owned by Henderson Land Development Company Limited. It is private property. It is not like in the open streets or public parks. You cannot march onto private property without permission. If you think otherwise, let me know because I'll march right into <bc magazine> and occupy the publisher's office, and you better not call the police.

Reference: (American Civil Liberties Union) "The general rule is that the owners of private property can set rules for speech on that property. If you disobey the property owner's rules, they can order you off their property (and have you arrested for trespassing if you do not comply)."

- You enter private property to interrupt business. The owners called the police, and you say that it was wrong for the police to come. You should have said so beforehand. If the police won't come, the owners may take the matter into their own hands. When that time comes, please make sure that you don't call the police to come and protect you!

- The organizers filed an application with the police. The police did not object to a march through the streets of Tuen Mun. However, the filing did not indicate that the procession would head inside an enclosed shopping mall. When the demonstrators entered the mall, the assembly became unlawful. What do you think the relevant law enforcement agency should do? This is a rhetorical question to which the correct answer is always: They should always support freedom, democracy, human rights, universal suffrage and rule of law. Mom, apple pie and baseball too.

- "It was safe to walk around Trend Mall in Tuen Mun" needs to be amended as follows: "It was safe to walk around Trend Plaza in Tuen Mun to harass shoppers and prevent shopkeepers from conducting business."

- The policeman told Richard Scotford: "Go here." That is grammatically wrong because it should have been "Go there." This shows that all Hong Kong police officers are poorly educated IVE (Institute of Vocational Education) trash. Meanwhile those arrested Civic Passion members are reporting upper-class occupations such as welfare recipients, waiters, apprentices or (most frequently) unemployed/unemployable.

- Safe to walk around? How can any demonstration march organized by the Hot Dogs (=Civic Passion) be safe? This is a self-contradiction!

- Is a demonstration march so important that (1) the police have to disappear; (2) all the shops have to be shuttered; (3) six vehicular traffic lanes have to be closed for seven days; (4) all newspapers have to give four pages of full coverage and only report the organizer's crowd size estimate? There is a limit as to how much the people of Hong Kong will put up with!

- The arrests were made near the top of a long escalator. Why don't you tell me whether it was safe to have a physical confrontation at that location? People tumbling down the escalators? People crashing through the glass wall down several storeys? Of course, when that happens, it is the police's fault.

- It was safe for the reporter to walk around the women's restroom. Then the police came, tried to make him leave and turned the women's restroom into a shit show.
It was safe for the reporter to walk his dog. Then the police came, tried to make him clean up the dog pooh and turned the street into a shit show.
It was safe for the reporter to walk around Baghdad. Then the American stealth jets came to put on a shock-and-awe show and turned Iraq into a shit show.
It was safe for the reporter to walk around ... you can fill in whatever story that your imagination can conjure up ...

- This Richard guy is just like that female American photojournalist who jumped on the car hood in Mong Kok to take pictures. For them, it is news first, rumor mongering second, rule of law third.

Reference (Stand News) Richard Scotford

(Apple Daily) "Big Mouth Ling" interviews Cary (Tuen Mun resident)

689, do you know how the daily lives of the people of Tuen Mun are being affected by parallel traders? Do you know how severe the problem is?

As the problem of parallel traders grew worse, there was a thousand-person demonstration in Tuen Mun recently. The demonstrators took the action to arouse public attention to the problem of parallel traders. We interviewed Cary, who has lived in Tuen Mun since he was young.

Cary pointed out that apart from congestion, the Tuen Mun residents' biggest problem is traffic.

Because the Tuen Mun residents use the Light Rail as the principal means of transportation, the influx of more luggage-carrying parallel traders have caused the Light Rail to be more congested, with many people having been knock down by luggage cases.

Because the Light Rail is so congested, Tuen Mun residents usually have to wait two to three trains before they can get on. Therefore, they are often late for their appointments.

Cary said that a number of Tuen Mun residents are accustomed to using taxis instead of the Light Rail, especially those parents taking their children to school or picking them up after school. For the sake of the safety of their children, the parents are willing to pay more. But Cary said that the taxi fare is usually only about 30 dollars within Tuen Mun.

Internet comments:

- Let me get the facts right first:
(A) School children leave for school between 7am and 8am.
(B) Wellcome and other supermarkets open at 8am.
(C) Mannings and other pharmacies open at 9am.
How in the world are you going to get hundreds of parallel traders taking the MTR Light Rail on the way to school?

- At that hour, you are more likely to be run over by primary school children carrying their school bags than parallel traders. The parallel traders can take the B3X bus. Why would they be taking the MTR Light Rail?

- Where does the Light Rail run? It runs within Tuen Mun/Tin Shui Wai. It does not go anywhere near the border. Why are parallel traders taking the MTR Light Rail at 7am? Where do they come from? Where are they going to?


Paul Cezanne: Da dove veniamo? Chi siamo? Dove andiamo? (1897)

- When I was young, I walked to school because the buses were always full. Nowadays kids are spoiled and take taxis because the MTR Light Rail is crowded.

- The MTR Light Rail has been congested for the longest time. The fact is that Tuen Mun is a satellite town of almost 500,000 residents. The MTR Light Rail has a daily ridership of almost 500,000. There is a train in intervals of 4 to 9 minutes. Of course, it is going to get crowded.

- This bloke Cary in the orange shirt claims that he is a Tuen Mun resident. But the videos were taken in Tin Shui Wai and did not show any parallel traders. Does this Cary even know the difference between Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai? And he could not name which station has a lot of parallel traders at which hours. This Cary guy must be a Civic Passion member pretending to be a Tuen Mun resident.

- More likely, the students are habitually late for school. Therefore, the Light Rail congestion due to parallel traders is offered as the excuse.

- I live in Shenzhen and I work in Hong Kong. Therefore I cross the border every morning to go to work. All I see are other people going to work and school children going to school. I never see any parallel traders at that hour.

- During the 79 days of the Occupy Revolution, cars, buses and taxis could not go through Admiralty. Therefore, many people took the MTR to and from work. It was normal for five or six trains to pass before you can get on. Most people get up earlier in the morning and arrive home later in the evening. If you complained about the additional commute time, the Yellow Ribbons said that you were being selfish. So to the people waiting for the MTR Light Rail in Tuen Mun, suck on it!

- I take the MTR from Quarry Bay to Admiralty every morning. It is normal for three to four trains to pass before I can get on. It must be because of those goddamned parallel traders, as there cannot be any other explanation.

- Someone just wrote: "It is normal in China to have to wait two to three trains. But this is Hong Kong. This should not be happening." Well, I take the minibus at Metro Plaza (Kwai Fong district) every morning to go to work. It is typical to have to wait for three buses to fill up before I can get on. Sometimes, it could be as many as five to six buses. So am I living in China now?

(YouTube)

0:02 (Chairman Tam Yiu-chung) Eh, Ms. Tiffany Chin Sze-man.

0:03 (Chin) Thank you, Chairman. Although the Occupy Movement has temporarily stopped, it does not mean that the Umbrella Movement has ended. The Umbrella Movement broke out because the problems with the political system in Hong Kong and because the police fired tear gas canisters. To this day, the problems with the political system are still not resolved. Not resolved. Not resolved. We are not talking about opening Civic Plaza or getting someone to resign. The problems originated from within the system.

We are talking about civil nomination. As  long as we don't have civil nomination, the authorities such as yourself and the large financial interest groups will continue to monopolize. It is very boring to talk about this stuff, because it has looped for more than a decade. But it has to be continued to be discussed until the problems are resolved.

I will talk also about the problem with the police. The police is supposed to be politically neutral. Why can the police wear blue ribbons to work? Why can the police beat people without any justification? Why haven't the seven policemen been prosecuted yet?

The problem about the political system is not a communication problem between this generation and the previous generation. Very simple. Civil nomination. One person, one vote. Very fair, very democratic. Simple and straightforward. All this stuff about gradualism and pragmatism. An equal system of nomination is the most practical.

If there is an adjective for you pro-establishment people, saying "Pok-gai" is not enough.

1:10 (Chairman) You used foul language again.

1:12 (Chin) When the evil cops beat the citizen, you keep quiet. When the government runs a black-box operation, you keep quiet. What you like most is to be selective and oppress the common citizens. This chairman is going to tell me to pay attention to what I say and how I act. But I can go back to my true self and even if I use foul language, I am still better than you beasts wearing human clothes and you animals with human faces. You say one thing and you do something else. You only know how to suck up to the Communists.

According to the discussion between the government and the Federation of Students on October 21 last year, it was said that Lau Kong-wah's speech was leaked. Maybe you want to open your mouth and let the mold grow. I want to give you an opportunity and I will add to what I just said with (in English): "I agree with you."

I still have a little time. I want to sing a song for Lau Kong-wah and 689 (nickname for Chief Executive CY Leung). "689. You are too fucking stupid. Let me say out that if you want to eat shit ...

(Chairman) Please do not use foul language ...

Internet comments:

- The Chairman Tam Yiu-chung was extremely disrespectful. All the girl did was to use some mild language (equivalent to saying "Eat Shit" or "Drop Dead" in English). The chairman should not be interrupting someone in the middle of a speech. Simply awful.

- "Pok-gai" is not really obscene language. You go down to the wet market and you hear women say a lot more worse things that this. What is the fuss?

- (Speakout HK)

Everybody has the right to express dissatisfaction against those who hold different opinion on constitutional reform, especially towards HKSAR Chief Executive CY Leung. There are many ways of expression. Nowadays, the young people in the front lines of social movements like to use obscene language to express their dissatisfaction ...

Obscene language does not necessarily cause harm to other people. Plenty of discussants have covered this topic, and I don't intend to delve into this any further ...

But during the past period, we can see that such behaviors cannot change anyone or anything in a positive direction. On the contrary, it breaks down communication and mutual trust, and ensures that social divisions are deepened. It can be said to have every disadvantage and no advantage whatsoever. Shouldn't we be concerned when young individuals prefer this manner of expression?

- What is the purpose of this session at the Legislative Council? It is to let people have their say on constitutional reform in public. If you believe that the world is divided into mutually exclusive pro-democracy and pro-establishment camps, that you are in the pro-democracy camp and that you are addressing the pro-establishment camp as represented by Tam Yiu-chung and Lau Kong-wah, then what good does it serve to say "To call you guys Pok-gai is not going far enough"? You have merely made sure that there can be never be exchange or trust. The only thing that this does is to make yourself feel good and important. You said some clever words, you drew media attention and then ... nothing. Whatever you want to achieve isn't an inch closer. Why do you do this? You don't reflect on what you need to do. You seek instead your next media-moment to repeat the same. Except your act gets tiresome eventually.

- In the five-step constitutional reform process, we are presently in the second round of consultation in preparation for the Legislative Council to vote on the proposed package. There are 70 seats in the Legislative Council. Two-thirds (=47 votes) is required to pass the law. The pan-democrats hold 27 seats and they have averred that they will veto the proposal. The government needs to pry loose 4 votes to pass the law. This is where we are.

Scholarism says that they want civil nomination of the Chief Executive candidates. That is to say, anyone who gathers a sufficient number of petition signatures from registered voters will be able to become a candidate.

According to Article 45 of the Basic Law, "The method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures." If you want civil nomination instead of a "broadly representative nominating committee", then the Basic Law has to be amended.

Guess what? Amending the Basic Law requires the concurrence of the Chief Executive, the National People's Congress Standing Committee and two-thirds of the Legislative Council. How do you get these people to concur?

You have been calling the Chief Executive a "wolf", you refuse to call him by his name and you will only say "689", and you have said that his resignation is required for any negotiations with the government. Why would he concur?

You have been calling for the overthrow of one-party rule by the evil Communists? You advocate Hong Kong independence. Why would the National People's Congress Standing Committee concur with your demands?

You have been calling the pro-establishment camp of the Legislative Council worse than "Pok-gai". It so happens that they hold 47 out of 70 votes, and only 24 votes are needed for a veto. Why would they concur?

Since you can't deal with any of these three parties, and you can't do anything to affect them directly, you decided on the Occupy Movement: You will hold the people of Hong Kong hostage and make these three parties bend to your will. Except they refused to move. What is left in your toolkit now? More Occupy? More obscene cursing on television? Reaching out to the local communities and preaching the democracy gospel?

- The speech is typical incoherence from Scholarism people. There are so many unproven assertions. For example, she said: "As long as don't have civil nomination, the authorities such as yourself and the large financial interest groups will continue to monopolize." Where is the evidence for the converse: "If we have civil nomination, then the authorities such as yourself and the large financial groups won't be able to monopolize."?

First of all, civil nomination does not exist in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, etc. The most powerful country in which civil nomination exists is Russia, which is a kleptocracy run by oligarchs. The reason is that civil nomination gave the cover of legitimacy for those who have the overwhelming power to guarantee that the elections will work in their favor. A poor righteous guy will never defeat the dark sinister guy backed by the financial might of the oligarchs. If the oligrachs win the election through the most universal of universal suffrage, they can do as they please afterwards. Why would we want that to happen in Hong Kong?

(Apple Daily) "Big Mouth Ling" interviews Tiffany Chin Sze-man.

- Tiffany Chin grew up in Shatin. She has lived there for more than a decade and felt that the district was being vexed by mainland individual tourists. She said that she had to queue up to buy lipstick: "I went to Mannings to buy lipstick. I had to stay in line for one hour. Isn't that too much?"

Internet comments:

- She stood in line at Mannings for one hour. That line must have been long enough to wrap five times around the building. It is one thing to exaggerate a little bit, but this is beyond all reasonable bounds. Hong Kong students are very good at lying, and they are also very good at lying too. I don't know what else they are good at.
P.S. Of course, the line couldn't go out of the store because the alarm bells would ring when someone takes the goods outside the store without paying.
P.P.S. So if the line was inside the store and let's say there were 30 people. If it takes 4 cashiers to handle 30 people in 60 minutes, Mannings might as well as close up shop because they won't be able to cover rent and wages.

- Of course it is possible that this happened. Mannings opens at 9am, and she shows up at 8am. Therefore she stood on line for one hour. This is a very straightforward as well as the most reasonable explanation.

- 信你一成,雙目失明 Famous Cantonese saying: "If I believe you 10%, my eyes will go blind."

- She stood in line for one hour and she is whining like crazy about the wasted time. But she blocked the streets for 79 days and how much time did millions of people waste as a result? Many people spent more than one hour extra each day on commuting. Who's got the bigger complaints here?

- There is always a long queue outside the (in)famous Australia Dairy Company restaurant every day. But it looks like those waiting are all Hongkongers because mainlanders fail to see the value of poor food and lousy service. On one hand, this is bad because queuing is a waste of time. On the other hand, it is good because it means the Communists have not taken full control yet. What gives?

- The last time I ate at Hinsho Yokohama Ramen in Jordan district, they made me wait outside for more than one hour. This is bad on two counts. Firstly, queuing is a waste of time. Secondly, Japanese militarism is evil. But why do I keep going back?

- She was stupid. Here is what she should have done: First she locates the lipstick that she wants to buy. Next she opens out a yellow umbrella. Then the store manager will rush over, open an express lane to complete the transaction and send her on her way. It works almost every time, except on those occasions when the store manager throws everybody out and lowers the gate.

- Her first mistake was to stand in line for one hour without figuring out that the right thing to do was to bolt and wait for another time and place. Her second mistake was to blame the Communists for wasting her time instead of her own self. But Yellow Ribbons never learn from their mistakes.

- Tiffany Chin stood in line for one hour along with the mainland individual tourists. This is baloney. Given the legendary uncivilized nature of mainlanders, there would have been a mass riot already.

- Why did she patronize Mannings? She is the one who said that she opposed the monopolistic power of the big financial interest groups. Mannings is owned by Dairy Farm International Holdings which is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, which also owns/operates the Wellcome supermarkets, Maxim's Catering restaurant, 7-Eleven convenience stores, IKEA home furnishing stores, Jardine Motors (including Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai), Hong Kong Land, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and others. She should be patronizing friendly independent neighborhood stores.

- If the mainlanders ignore queuing and jump the line, she complains that they are uneducated and uncivilized. Now they learn to queue up like other Hongkongers, she complains that they are wasting her time. So the only way to please her is to make them disappear altogether -- that is, no mainland tourists allowed in Hong Kong! Then she is going to complain why half the stores in New Town Plaza are shuttered and she wants 689 to resign for causing that to happen.

- At Ocean Park and Disneyland, some of the better rides have waiting times of two hours or more (by design because making it quicker would diminish their value). Obviously the problem arose from the mainland tourists. If they are not allowed in, Hongkongers shall have instant access with zero waiting time. Of course, Ocean Park and Disneyland will go out of business, for which 689 will have to resign for allowing it to happen under his watch.

- So Tiffany Chin's greatest concern about Hong Kong being taken over by the Communists is the long line to buy lipstick?

- She keeps referring to the Communists taking control of Hong Kong. [赤化 means "turn to red."] This seems very arbitrary to me.

Here are the things that she apparently feel are the effects of the Communist takeover:

- She has to stay in line for one hour to buy lipstick
- She can't say "Puk-gai" in making a statement at the Legislative Council

There are plenty of other things Hongkongers don't mind working with the Communists or taking advantage of them:

- Drink the water from Dongjiang River
- Use the electricity generated from the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant
- Use red lipsticks (and I don't see anyone using yellow lipsticks)
- Buy an iPhone6 in Hong Kong and sell it in Shenzhen for profit
- Download unlimited mp3 music and Korean drama shows from mainland-based bittorrent websites
- Use Taobao to search for and buy products and use SF Express to deliver to Hong Kong
- ...

- Has Mannings been taken over by the Communists? Where is the evidence? Do you see Chairman Mao portraits on the wall? Hammer-and-sickle banners hanging down from the ceiling? Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention music on the sound system?

- Queuing up? Check Google Image search on Post Office Queue, okay? Get used to it. It happens everywhere in democratic or Communist countries around the world. Or read this story about getting an ID at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.

- Is Tiffany Chin the fat chick who secretly ate a McDonald's burger while on hunger strike?

- If the building of the nation of the Hong Kong City-State requires young noble democratic people, then we are screwed if all we have is Tiffany Chin and her boyfriend Joshua Wong.

- (Addendum) Tiffany Chan traveled to Kunming city (Yunnan province) with her family to visit relatives. She was stopped by the Public Security Bureau and sent back to Hong Kong. It means that her parents are mainland migrants (="locusts"). In the categorization of Hong Kong Indigenous, she is a "Pok-gai" to be exterminated too.

Here are some of the considerations:

- Ideally we should be attacking multiple districts on the same day because the 'locusts' are everywhere -- the Umbrella Revolution occupied three districts. But then we don't want to have too few people show up.

- Yuen Long has the first wholesale infant formula market designed to meet mainland needs. If we don't stop them, Yuen Long will become just like Yiwu in China.

- If we can occupy Yuen Long, it will be a huge AWAKENING for the Yellow Ribbons.

- New Town Plaza in Shatin has the highest number of mainland 'locusts'.

- Shatin is one big shopping mall with lots of entrances/exits to make escape.

- The pedestrian walkways in Yuen Long are narrow, but there are lots of 'locusts' around especially down near Wing Wah on Yuen Long Main Road. But if we spill into the streets and block vehicular traffic, it will give the police the excuse for clearance.

- Someone is going to say to stay away from Yuen Long because there are many triad people there. DLLM! We've already seen it all in Mong Kok so what do we have to fear?  We are valiant and we shall defeat the triads in a resounding victory!

- During Occupy Central, some guys tried to set up a street booth in Yuen Long but they were immediately chased away by some New Territories gentlemen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYoY-nOExqo There are too many of these uneducated country bumpkins in Yuen Long. They just don't understand what is good for them.

- I think we should do Shatin for training (confession: I am playing Battlefield 4 right now), because Yuen Long will be more fun and exciting. I promise I will lead the way for the Valiant Ones.

- I vote for Shatin. The battlefield is a lot larger and there are many more 'locust' targets. So it is the final Big Boss level. Anything else will be an anti-climax.

There is an Occupy Shatin Facebook page with the details being worked out:

- Event: 3pm - 6pm, Sunday February 15, 2015. Assemble at Shatin East Rail Station Exit B.

- The slogan shall be "Reclaim Shatin, Defend our Homeland, Eliminate multiple-entry visas."

- Target locations: Wai Wah Centre (four dispensaries are there); Shatin Centre (PrizeMart); the East Rail station (where mainlanders and parallel traders take the train); Shatin Plaza (three to four dispensaries plus Mannings and Watsons); UNIQLO (clothing); Sasa (cosmetics); Yata supermarket.

- Please remember to bring helmets, goggles, surgical masks, bottles of water, thick clothing. Also memorize the telephone numbers of the volunteer lawyers and your school/company.

- As of Tuesday, more than 700 people have pledged to show up at this event. At this rate, we will have at least 10,000 demonstrators on Sunday and we will completely paralyze Shatin!

- Someone claims to have reported this Facebook page to the police. Well, we haven't done anything unlawful and we don't intend to either. It is perfectly legal for us to enter by the hundreds into these stores and shop. Shatin is a big place. It will take a lot of time to visit all these stores.

- This week, it will be New Town Plaza. Over the next few weeks, we will target Moko (formerly Grand Century Plaza) in Mong Kok, Telford Plaza in Kowloon Bay, Hollywood Plaza in Diamond Hill, Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong, APM in Kwun Tong, Times Square in Causeway Bay, Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui and Pacific Place in Admiralty. These malls are frequented by mainlanders. We will show up and stop business every Sunday between 3pm and 6pm until as such time when the multiple-entry visas for mainlanders are eliminated. Then Hong Kong will be free and democratic.

-To the anti-locust warriors, be careful about the New York Times reporters. As you can see, when they pick the photos of the demonstrators, they want to create the image of the demonstrators as being vicious and nasty. They won't post any photos of the police raising the red banner and using pepper spray, or how the parallel traders are affecting the lives of local residents. In the article, the New York Times reporter said that the demonstrators "claimed" that parallel traders are affecting people's livelihoods. They also paid special attention to the demonstrators calling the parallel traders locusts.

- (Update on Thursday) The Facebook page administrator has deleted the page, upon receiving the warning that he/she may be charged for inciting an unlawful assembly and using a computer with dishonest intent.

(SCMP) Tuen Mun protest against parallel traders ends with arrests and pepper spray. February 8, 2015.

Tensions ran high in Tuen Mun this afternoon as a protest attended by hundreds against the impact of parallel goods trading on the community ended with chaotic scenes, arrests and pepper spray.

From the Tuen Mun light rail station protesters marched to the notorious B3X bus stop down the road, where they shouted "go back to mainland China" and "give us back Tuen Mun" at passengers. Citybus’ HK$11 express B3X route runs from Tuen Mun Town Centre to Shenzhen Bay Port and is known to be used heavily by parallel traders and mainland visitors on individual visits. "Every time I walk home I can’t get by because I am blocked by a horde of [mainlanders] with luggages on the pavement," said one Tuen Mun resident who went by the name of "Chris".

One of those leading the march was Civic Passion’s Cheng Chung-tai, which called the buses "private coaches for parallel traders" and urged protesters help Citybus employees clamp down harder on the practice. "Tuen Mun residents, counting on the authorities ... will no longer work. You must take charge of your own district," he said.

The jeering and taunting were met with mixed responses from some parallel traders. Some took photos of the protest with their phones and laughed. A few even threw up their middle fingers at the protesters as their buses went by.

From the bus stop the protesters marched to Yan Ching Street, an area full of dispensaries and gold shops, where they demonstrated against the impact of parallel trading on the local livelihood. Some shops had to shut their gates, and the situation became even rowdier as protesters began irking residents and shop owners in the area.

Eventually, the crowd moved to nearby malls for "gau wu" style protests. “Gau Wu” is a Cantonese transliteration of Putonghua's "gou wu", which means "to shop", and became a popular protest phrase after a mainlander at an early anti-Occupy rally told a reporter that she was there to shop.

One scuffle between a couple and a group of protesters at Tuen Mun Town Plaza turned into a shoving match, which eventually led to police officers launching a volley of pepper spray into the crowd. Batons were pulled out and a red warning flag was raised outside the entrance of the mall warning protesters to leave the area.

By nightfall, shops at nearby Trend Plaza were forced to shut as protesters took over nearly half of the mall. Batons and more pepper spray were deployed as clashes broke out between protesters and police. Injuries were sustained on both sides and multiple arrests were made.

"Yes, it was chaotic but I think it was very successful as we really got the message out to the parallel traders," said Andy Yung Wai-yib, holding a colonial-era flag. Yung is better known as "Captain America" for his role in last year’s 79-day Occupy movement.

This is not what you think it is. There is a sub-text running underneath about the clash of radical factions. The lead group appears to be "Tuen Mun People Tuen Mun Affairs." The announcements were made via Facebook (as recorded at memehk.com):


Tuen Mun is completely unrecognizable today
B3X bus locusts have disturbed the peace in Tuen Mun
The new market has become pharmacy city for the convenience of parallel traders
Tuen Mun Park taken over by prostitutes
Parallel traders showing up in Tai Hing Estates
Tuen Mun Centre filled with luggage-lugging people
Action to oppose parallel traders invading Tuen Mun
February 2nd, 3pm
Assemble underneath the Tuen Mun Light Rail Station


Tuen Mun People Tuen Mun Affairs
Joint "valiant action" on February 8th
The following organizations have announced that they will attend (this action is organized by netizens and residents -- there are no organizers): Civic Passion, Hong Kong Indigenous, North District Parallel Imports Concern Group,  Population Policy Concern Group
...
Participants can bring their own "Yellow umbrellas, surgical masks, V-masks, demonstration banners, flags."
In addition, someone has promised to make an application to the police on our behalf. But the police will drag you to a dark corner and beat you up whether an application was filed or not. When you come out to attend a resistance action,  you must be psychologically prepared to be arrested. By this time, what is there to fear?
(We deeply apologize if we cause any convenience to local residents)


Action map:
1: Assemble underneath Tuen Mun station brirdge
2. B3X bus stop
3. Parallel traders at pharmacies
4. "Brain Fever" Pharmacy
5. V City
6. Mai Kei Industrial Building

Now what must be puzzling is the listing of the "Brain Fever" Pharmacy. Why is it a resistance landmark in Tuen Mun? It turns out that the majority owner of the pharmacy is allegedly Stephen Siu, who is the "Brain" behind the radical People's Power political party. Civic Passion believed that Stephen Siu's Memehk website fingered their member "The French Guy" to the police as the person who illegally entered the Legislative Council (see link). So the subtext is that it is a fight between the radical political parties Civic Passion and People's Power. If you think that you came out to support the Tuen Mun people to reclaim their homeland from mainland locusts, then you are wrong. You were tricked to serve as pawns for Civic Passion to attack People's Power.


The devil Stephen Siu fingering the warrior of justice (The French Guy) to the blind policeman on November 25, 2014.


The overhead banner of the pharmacy has photos of Stephen Siu and celebrities (such as Erica Yuen, chairwoman of People's Power), actor Kent Cheng Jak-si), etc).


Hong Kong Indigenous: We will be distributing surgical masks at 2pm. See you later!


Slogan: "I am a Hongkonger" with British Dragon/Lion flag in background


First stop: B3X bus stop


Next stop: Stephen Siu's pharmacy ( https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1079091575451106&set=vb.160696287290644&type=2&theater ) with people chanting "I want to buy surgical masks" and "Stephen Siu, go to hell for serving RMB (=the people's currency)!"


Slogan: "Stephen Siu, pharmaceutical drug salesman"


Stephen Siu's pharmacy lowered its gate.


Jewellery stores also lowered their gates.


30 minutes after the demonstrators moved on, Stephen Siu's pharmacy raised the gate and resumed business as usual.


Civic Passion's The French Guy leads the crowd to chant "Down with the Communist Party!" Is that the focus of this demonstration march? If that is the purpose, then these people should be shouting in front of the China Liaison Office or the People's Liberation Army barracks, not at some Tuen Mun pharmacy.


17:18pm The Tuen Mun Town Plaza. Police raise red warning banner


Blood is flowing everywhere in the mall! (Note: later determined to be red dye)

Video links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpFSj3u05zM (dbc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEXCEn-RjrQ (dbc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R83fTnffPkQ (dbc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-2cWKPU5Uk (dhkchannel) Trend Plaza action. Good action video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a_MRuZSZe0 (Hei Kwok) Demonstrators delight on scaring female mainland traveler. Yet another victory for democracy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VktmmdelM4 (Jin Wong)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjuXJdLpetk (Hong0Konger)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMbyaCKcsYU (Hong Kong Hermit)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jPu-S03mTc (Diary of Hong Kong Revolution) Slogan chanting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3pkbRB-Cb0 (Diary of Hong Kong Revolution) Slogan chanting outside a pharmacy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Wn03gsw4M (Diary of Hong Kong Revolution) Slogan outside another pharmacy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_qms5fBKTo (Diary of Hong Kong Revolution) Slogan chanting outside Stephen Siu's pharmacy. The demonstrators want to charge inside the store to make purchases.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlSIIE75hXs (Diary of Hong Kong Revolution) Challenges from other citizens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE1aSPCJ_iY Steven Siu's pharmacy closes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CRqkrdruCQ (SocREC) Trend Plaza. Pepper spray. Injured policeman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi0iILhUrG8 (SocREC) Trend Plaza. Pepper spray.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdka6t2pQr8 (SocREC) Trend Plaza. Pepper spray.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-NmDR0pH1s (yanchi918)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6btLPL5q8Y&feature=youtu.be
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=851305224932646 (Passion Times) Pepper spray used by police without warning at 04:55.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKdMJU35uwI (Epoch Times) Yelling and screaming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J258GAxZHro  (ZEROONE 01) Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VleabsJBjE (ZEROONE 01) Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWDK_fpWhp8 (ZEROONE 01) Part 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr9SIKjfaFI (ZEROONE 01) Part 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RRu17XmJfw (ZEROONE 01) Part 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btQS32Vs8lE (ZEROONE 01) Part 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzdDZiaVXzw (ZEROONE 01) Part 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAdYe_OGx4A (ZEROONE 01) Part 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si4vC5NVjuc (ZEROONE 01) Part 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSU5szRqLtg&feature=youtu.be Street view from above

Internet comments:

- Previously, they attempted to set off fires in Sheung Shui. Today, they announced the action publicly beforehand. So they are not going to do anything that breaks the law. They will go and chant some slogans, take some photos and feel good about themselves.

- (Discuss.com.hk) Yesterday the demonstration against parallel traders evolved into an occupation of a shopping mall. The radical organizations Civic Passion and Hong Kong Indigenous incited the violence. They called 350 persons together to "intercept" parallel traders in Tuen Mun, but they blocked the roads, stopped shops from doing business and charged into the shopping mall. Some shops lowered their gates quickly. In the evening, about 150 demonstrators charged into Trend Plaza, surrounded a shop that sold Lunar New Year goods and cast verbal abuse against tourists. They pushed a police officer down on the ground and then more than a dozen rioters kicked him in the head. Civic Passion and other radical elements clearly used the excuse of a demonstration against parallel traders to conduct an Occupy incident to ruin business and people's livelihood. They pretend as if they care about people's livelihood but they are actually carrying out a mutated version of the Occupy Movement. Citizens need to be aware.

- People make economic arguments for having individual mainland tourists. Mainlander shopping supports the local retail trade. If the individual mainland tourists can't come, the retail workers can switch jobs. They have low education and poor skills, but they can always work in supermarkets for the same wage levels. What is the problem? Even if there aren't even supermarket jobs, they can always go on welfare. So these people should STFU.

- Stop mainlanders from entering Hong Kong? The first ones to support this will be the current parallel traders. They are mostly Hongkongers and they would love you to eliminate their competition for them.

- The demonstrators were estimated to number somewhere between 300 and 500. On this day, there must have been tens of thousands of mainland tourists and parallel traders in Tuen Mun. In Chinese, the word for demonstration is literally "show of force." Who's got the greater force?

- I wonder how many of the participants today are actually Tuen Mun residents. Why would Tuen Mun residents raise the flags of Civic Passion and Hong Kong Indigenous instead of their own local organizations on their home turf? Do the demonstrators know where the line of demarcation between the old and new Tuen Mun markets is? Where is the location of the But San School? In which Tai Hing Estates building is the Choi Yuk Restaurant located?

- I looked carefully at the photo of Mr. Siu's pharmacy. They are selling regular daily stuff (such as laundry detergents, cleaners, facial tissues, hair shampoos/conditioners etc). This is not one of those Lockhart Road pharmacies with LED lighting and ceramic tiles selling New Zealand infant milk formula and Korean facial masks. Why do the people of Tuen Mun want it closed? It is there to serve them.

- They chanted slogan in front of Stephen Siu's pharmacy but they completely ignored the other pharmacies which are dedicated to serving the parallel traders. How else to think about the ulterior motive of the whole action?

- I fully support of occupation of Stephen Siu's pharmacy. He was a pro-democracy stalwart but he is now making critical statements about the Occupy Movement. People like that should be made to suffer for their perfidy.

- I can understand why people want to target pharmacies/dispensaries. I can understand why they want to blockade the Bank of China, even though it is closed on Sundays. I can even understand why they want to harass PrizeMart, which has been in business for many decades and a favorite discount shopping place for price-conscious Hong Kong citizens. But I don't see why they are blockading the Saint Honore Cake shop in Tuen Mun Town Plaza. How do you parallel trade in bread loaves and egg custards?

- Since physical action is involved, I expect Civic Passion leader Wong Yeung-tat to take his usual vacation in Taiwan.

- Oh, I see that they splash red paint in the shopping mall to intimidate the shopkeepers, and they set off a fire outside the Tuen Mun Town Hall. They are behaving just like triad gangs. See, for example, (Forbes)  "On July 4, 16 stores in the CSL New World cellular chain were sprayed with red paint in the wee hours of the morning, a typical warning sign from Hong Kong criminal syndicates, known as triads, against targeted victims. At about the same time, a sedan rammed into the front door of New World's Renaissance Hotel in the tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon."

- I'm a longtime resident of Tuen Mun. Prior to today, I have never heard of the Reclaim Tuen Mun project. What is this Tuen Mun For Its Own People thing? Nobody consulted me. I have never heard of Civic Passion or Hong Kong Indigenous. Why are they representing the people of Tuen Mun today?

- I can't believe that a newspaper editorial is saying that the police caused all this when they refused to enforce the law. When parallel traders pick up their wares and block the roads, the police should issue summons to them, or even arrest them if they show sass. Well, well, well. For 79 days, there were a lot of people blocking the roads in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. Did this newspaper editorial writer demand the police to issue summons, or even arrest the offenders? No. That's called double standards. This is rule-of-man and not rule-of-law when the law applies selectively to only certain persons.

- I just went down to watch the battle live. These people want the mainlanders to be patriotic and buy only mainland products. Well, I am loyal to Hong Kong and I only take the Hong Kong MTR to work. Therefore I must be loyal. Yup! These wastrels think the whole thing is a music concert. They shriek at anything. As they say on the RTHK programme "Gimme Five," this is making something out of nothing and utterly lacking in creativity.

- I'm a longtime resident of Tuen Mun. Prior to today, I have never heard of the Reclaim Tuen Mun project. What is this Tuen Mun for its people? Nobody consulted me. I have never heard of Civic Passion or Hong Kong Indigenous. Why are they representing Tuen Mun today?

- I am a Tuen Mun resident. Today, I became the star of a Tuen Mun Concern Facebook group. I went out shopping this morning with a cart in tow. As a result, I was cursed out as a mainland parallel trader in very very foul language! Yes, I was that fat guy who was going to buy laundry detergent powder. Don't I have the right to curse those fuckers back!?

- If Tuen Man People Tuen Mun Affairs runs a regular weekly "Beat the Parallel Traders/Mainlanders Up" action, then all it means that the parallel traders and mainlanders will go to Yuen Long or Tai Po instead. Then it is time to form Yuen Long People Yuen Long Affairs and Tai Po People Tai Po Affairs groups. Meanwhile Tuen Mun will be turned back into a lifeless city as before with a half-deserted mall with one KFC and several electronic game centers.

- The police used pepper spray without warning in an enclosed space. This is exactly what you expect from a bunch of poorly educated IVE (Institute of Vocational Education) losers who can't read the English-language instructions on the pepper spray can.

- Last week, arson took place in Sheung Shui. This week, arson took place in Tuen Mun while the demonstration was going on. (Oriental Daily) At about 7pm, construction materials for a women's rest room under repair in the Tuen Mun Town Hall suddenly caught fire right after a garbage can caught fire. Firemen suspected arson and turned the case over to the police for investigation. The Fire Next Time?

- This is sweet. Once upon a time in the 1980's, Hongkongers flocked to Luowu Commercial City to buy cheap stuff to maximize returns on their higher purchasing power. The shopkeepers didn't complain about the Hong Kong locusts, did they? Today, mainlanders have higher purchasing power and they flock to Hong Kong to buy the cheap stuff to maximize returns. But some Hongkongers want to chase these locusts away. I love the broken symmetry.

- Last week, it was Sheung Shui district. This week, it was Tuen Mun district. We will be making the grand tour and make sure to spare none of the 18 districts! We'll see you somewhere next week! By so doing, we will insure that the pan-democrats lose every district in the upcoming District Council elections!

- Yet another Civic Passion "Hot Dog" farce. This was supposed to be an action against parallel traders. Instead, it became harassing Hong Kong shopkeepers and salespersons. Why block the entire Trend Plaza mall and stop business for the entire evening? Do all the mall stores serve only parallel traders and mainland tourists? For Hong Kong businesses, the period before the Lunar New Year is critical because volume usually stops during the New Year. This was Occupy Tuen Mun except the Hot Dogs couldn't hold it for more than a couple of hours.

- Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Occupy Movement has ended in total failure. The Civil Human Rights Front march was sparsely attended. So something must be found to keep the level of discontent up. How about getting people to do something stupid so that the police will clobber them? Great idea! Keep charging, guys! If you get arrested, the others will surround the police station and demand your release, so that more people will can arrested. By this time, getting pepper sprayed and arrested isn't going to lift the Movement up to a higher level. What is needed is the first Martyr Hero of the Revolution. Does anyone want the job?

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qW_QCvjUPQ (Speakout HK)
0:56 (Voice of male Commercial Radio host) We saw some photos from the bus stop today. Obscene gestures were made and obscene words were hurled. Do you think that this method will stop the individual tourists? Or perhaps persuade them ...
1:10 (Ray Wong, Hong Kong Indigenous) Eh ... as for this action, I obviously think that it will not have a big effect on individual tourists and parallel traders.
1:22 (Radio host) So this isn't going to solve the problem? You know that?
1:25 (Ray Wong) I know. But this is what the citizens spontaneously did because they were too angry and that is why they made these obscene gestures, even using obscene language.

- (Shu Online) March 7, 2013. According to the mainland customs department, there are about 20,000 parallel traders of which 60% are Hongkongers. During the present week, about 300 persons had gone between Hong Kong and the mainland more than 4 times in one single day, of which 90% are HongKongers. During the year 2012, 8,000 individuals were prosecuted, half Hongkongers and half mainlanders. The highest record is held by a Hongkonger who went back and forth 26 times in one day.

- I see that the demonstrators have declared victory for the action on Sunday. Let me tally for them:

- 13 persons were arrested.

- A number of people were pepper-sprayed by the police.

- 1 policeman was kicked in the head repeatedly, passed out and had to be hospitalized.

- The B3X bus from Tuen Mun to Shenzhen Bay was prevented from leaving for 15 minutes.

- Stephen Siu's pharmacy lowered its gates and stopped conducting business for 30 minutes.

- A number of stores in Trend Plaza lowered their gates and stopped conducting business for about 2 hours. A shopkeeper said that business volume was down 20% for the day.

- A fire was set off to ignite some construction materials used to repair a women's restroom outside Tuen Mun Town Hall.

- Next week, the demonstrators will move elsewhere. It will be business as usual in Tuen Mun.

Does this add up to a resounding victory?

Q1. There is the opinion that the proposed constitutional reform places too many restrictions on Chief Executive election candidates and therefore the Legislative Council should not pass this legislation. There is another opinion that even if these restrictions are present, the Legislative Council should pass this legislation so that all the voters of Hong Kong can cast votes to elect a Chief Executive. What is your opinon?
38.1%: Support the first opinion (do not pass this legislation)
49.5%: Support the second opinion (pass this legislation)
4.8%: Support neither opinion
7.0%: Don't know/no opinion
0.7%: Refused to answer

Q2. Suppose the Hong Kong SAR government makes this change: The National People's Congress Standing Committee promises that the Chief Execution election method will be changed after 2017, what would you like the Legislative Council do? [Base: Those who answered "do not pass this legislation" in Q1]
30.2%: Pass the legislation
59.5%: Do not pass the legislation
8.8%: Don't know/no opinion
1.5%: Refused to answer

Q3. Suppose the Hong Kong SAR government makes this change: The group/company votes on the nomination committee will be replaced by individual votes, what would you like the Legislative Council do? [Base: Those who answered "do not pass this legislation" in Q1]
52.1%: Pass the legislation
39.3%: Do not pass the legislation
7.6%: Don't know/no opinion
1.1%: Refused to answer

Q4. Suppose the Hong Kong SAR government makes this change: If no Chief Executive candidate receives more than half the number of votes or more, the election is voided and has to re-start, what would you like the Legislative Council do? [Base: Those who answered "do not pass this legislation" in Q1]
37.3%: Pass the legislation
56.3%: Do not pass the legislation
5.3%: Don't know/no opinion
1.0%: Refused to answer

Q5. There is an opinion: If the constitutional reform proposal of the Hong Kong SAR government is not passed by the Legislative Council, then the old method without universal suffrage will be used in 2017. There is another opinion: If the proposal is not passed, then the constitutional reform process will be re-started to have a more democratic Chief Executive election. What is your opinion?
38.5%: Support the first opinion: Use old method in 2017
44.5%: Support the second opinion: Re-start the constitutional reform process
7.5%: Do not support either opinion
8.6%: Don't know/no opinion
0.9%: Refused to answer

Q6. There is an opinion: If the constitutional reform proposal of the Hong Kong SAR government is not passed, then the 2020 Legislative Council election will use the old method. There is another opinion: If the proposal is not passed, then the constitutional reform process will be re-started to have a more democratic Legislative Council election in 2020. What is your opinion?
30.7%: Support the first opinion: Use old method in 2020
43.6%: Support the second opinion: Re-start the constitutional reform process
8.9%: Do not support either position
15.7%: Don't know/no opinion
1.1%: Refused to answer

Q7. During and after the Occupy Movement last year, did you change your hope on the Legislative Council should pass the legislation? [Base: Those who wanted the Legislative Council to pass the legislation in Q1]
45.3%: Hope more that the Legislative Council will pass the legislation
10.6%: Have no hope about the Legislative Council passing the legislation
35.3%: Did not change my hopes
7.9%: Don't know/no opinion
0.9%: Refused to answer.

Q8. During and after the Occupy Movement last year, did you change your hope on the Legislative Council should refuse to pass the legislative?" [Base: Those who did not want the Legislative Council to pass the legislation in Q1]
55.4%: Hope that the Legislative Council will not pass the legislation
18.6%: Have no hope about the Legislative not passing the legislation
22.5%: Did not change my hopes
3.3%: Don't know/no opinion
0.3%: Refused to answer

Q9. What are the chances of the Legislative Council the constitutional reform proposal from the Hong Kong SAR government on the 2017 Chief Executive election?
17.4%: Very likely
29.2%: Very unlikely
46.3%: Half-half
6.6%: Don't know/no opinion
0.5%: Refused to answer

Q10. There is an opinion: If universal suffrage cannot be achieved for the 2017 Chief Executive election, then Hong Kong will sustain huge losses politically, economically and socially. There is another opinion: Even if universal suffrage is not realized for the 2017 Chief Executive election, business will be as usual in Hong Kong. What is your opinion?
25.9%: Support the first opinion (huge losses)
61.6%: Support the second opinion (business as usual)
7.3%: Do not support either opinion
4.6%: Don't know/no opinion
0.6%: Refused to answer

Q11. Do you approve of the pan-democrats boycotting the second round of consultation on the Chief Executive election method?
26.9%: Approve
60.5%: Disapprove
12.3%: Don't know/no opinion
0.3%: Refused to answer

 Q12. How important is the position on constitutional reform issues for you to decide which Legislative Council candidate to vote for?
33.3%: Very important
34.0%: Important
16.2%: Half-half
7.2%: Unimportant
2.6%: Very unimportant
1.6%: Not applicable (e.g. not a voter, does not intend to vote etc)
4.7%: Don't know/no opinion
0.3%: Refused to answer

Q13. If you prefer a candidate but he holds the opposite preference from you on the Chief Executive voting method, would you vote for him in the next Legislative Council?
57.6%: Yes
30.6%: No
4.0%: Not applicable (e.g. not a voter, does not intend to vote etc)
7.1%: Don't know/no opinion
0.8%: Refused to answer

Internet comments:

- Look at the results for Q1: 38.1% want the Legislative Council to vote down the constitutional reform proposal while 49.5% want them to vote for it. Clearly, the politically correct newspaper headline would be "FEWER THAN HALF OF THE PEOPLE WANT THE LEGCO TO VOTE FOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PROPOSAL!!!"

- On Q5, 44.5% think that the constitutional reform process should be re-started if the the Legislative Council votes down the current proposal. Please read 5-Step Process of Constitutional Development. This is not up to the people of Hong Kong alone to decide. Re-starting means that the National People's Congress Standing Committee will give you the same package again to vote down. The people of Hong Kong does not have any leverage to force the Chinese Communist Party to bend to their wishes. Self-mutilations such as the Occupy Movement have been shown to have no impact.

- Why do any more polling? The pan-democrats have said that they will veto the proposal no matter what the public opinion is. In matters of great right and wrong, public opinion doesn't matter to them at all.

- Q10 says that business will be as usual after the vote. So who cares anyway?

- On one hand, the Communists offers a proposal. But their interest is actually not passing that legislation which is an improvement on the existing system in terms of democratic ingredients. Instead they want to keep the old system which will remain if the Legislative Council does not pass the proposal.
On the other hand, the pro-democracy activists want a better proposal and they threaten to veto the current proposal in the Legislative Council. But their threat is exactly what the Communists want to see happen.
So we all see where this is heading to, don't we? Why do any more polling? It won't matter, because the everybody in the Legislative Council have the same intentions (to vote down the current proposal) even if their motives are vastly different.
In the end, the pro-establishment legislators will vote for the proposal as if they really want it, while the pro-democracy legislators will vote against it as if they really don't want it.

(Oriental Daily) February 6, 2015.

This afternoon, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council continued the debate on the funding application for the Innovation and Technology Bureau. Pro-democracy legislators took turns to introduce motions for adjournment and deliver speeches in order to drag on the proceedings. Even Democratic Party legislator Albert Ho got bored with the incessant filibustering. So he started to nap in his seat. After more than ten minutes, he suddenly snapped out of it and continued to browse the web.

Internet comments:

- (Wikipedia) Albert Ho was with the original Legislative Council from October 1995 to June 1997. Then he was part of the new Legislative Council as a representative from New Territories West after the handover of Hong Kong from July 1998 to September 2012. He has now been part of the Legislative Council as a representative from District Council (Second) from October 2012. After twenty years of listening to the constant drivel, he is entitled to an occasional nap, right?

- Albert Ho is due to resign in April 2015 for the purpose of triggering a de facto referendum through the by-election for his replacement. He is a dead man walking. So why should he give a flying rat's ass about what happens from now on? Give him a break!

- This is totally unfair. Some pro-establishment legislators drool even more than Albert Ho during work hours!

- In the above picture, he looks like he is dozing off. But could he be actually browsing his favorite adult video site, as eternally preserved in this previously recorded Legco picture?

- The pan-democrats insist that CY Leung must resign for doing such a bad job as Chief Executive. Here we have pan-democrat Albert Ho, watching naughty photos and napping in legislative sessions. Did CY Leung go this far?

(Oriental Daily) February 6, 2015.

In November 2014, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that legislators Albert Ho and Leung Kwok-hung should pay the legal fees incurred by Chief Executive CY Leung after their election petition and judicial review were disallowed. Today, the fee was assessed to be $400,000 in the Court of Final Appeal. Together with the original lawsuit and the appeal fees of $1,800,000, the grand total to be paid by Ho and Leung is $2,200,000.

Leung says that he has only just more than $200,000. He is unsure whether he will have to file for personal bankruptcy. But he believes that the people of Hong Kong will help him out. He said that he chose to file an judicial review to challenge the election system, because there wasn't much that the Legislative Council itself could do.

Meanwhile Albert Ho said that he has not decided on how to share the costs with Leung. But he said that the fees will have to be paid because they lost their case. He will see if other people are willing to donate money.

Internet comments:

- The entire case was absurd anyway. Why would a court make a ruling on an election outcome without an egregious mistake (and there wasn't a provable one)? This would politicize the judiciary and destroy the separation of powers. And those two had Martin Lee as their lawyer?

- Easily solved. Dial Jimmy Lai's number. Over the years, he has donated millions to the Democratic Party of Albert Ho, and to Leung Kwok-hung (who claimed to have kept the money on behalf of his party, League of Social Democrats).

- If a mysterious "caring citizen" showed up to foot the bill, the Independent Commission Against Corruption had better look at the case carefully? Did this person put the two legislators up to the court case while promising unlimited financial backing? That would be influence peddling.

- In spite of its name, the Court of Final Appeal does not have the final word. It is still possible to appeal to the the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the United Nations Human Rights Council and the International Court of Justice (Hague). All those people have time on hand and would love to make a mountain out of a molehill.

- That's just par for them. They filed the legal challenges and they got the media coverage. When it comes to paying the legal bills, they look to someone else to donate to the democracy cause.

- Fundraising would be easy. Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme says that 1 million people participated in the Occupy Movement. If each one would give a dollar each, that is already $1 million. Two dollars each and they are home. Easy as pie.

- This was a mistake by the two. They are not supposed to take this on personally. They should find a welfare recipient from somewhere to file the court challenge of the election result. The complainant would be able to apply for and receive legal aid, so that the whole thing is paid for by the taxpayers. This is how the Civic Party usually does things to derail government plans.

- Leung Kwok-hung says that he has only just over $200,000. His monthly salary is $80,000+. Where did all the money go? To support the patriotic democratic movements in China? To pay for his bar bill? Anyway, if Leung can't come up with $1.1 million, he can declare personal bankruptcy. They can't confiscate his home, because he is living in public housing (which is supposed to be means-tested and $80,000+ per month is way more than the income threshold).  In a way, he is asking for it because he said that he was broke even before he filed the appeal case.
P.S. Leung is said to have routed most of his salary into a Resistance Foundation which is under his control. So that money (rumored to be more than $6 million already) is untouchable by CY Leung's lawyers.

- If Leung Kwok-hung files for bankruptcy, he will automatically lose his legislator job. That is bad for democracy. But that would mean another de facto referendum by-election. That is good for democracy.

- Albert Ho is a lawyer so he is loaded with money. He will have to come up with his share or else he loses everything (his home, his law practice, his legislator position, etc).

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ8oEkZYxqs Paula Tsui sings the classical Lunar New Year congratulations song, now used for expressing Schadenfreude in Hong Kong.

- Instant photo: "I want genuine bill payment" for the Um...banana Resolution.

(Apple Daily) February 6, 2015.

Mainland student Eugenia Yip, who is running for social secretary of the Hong Kong University Student Union recently admitted that she was a member of the Communist Youth League of China (Wikipedia estimates that CYL has 73 million members in 2007). One netizen posted pages from the January-February 2014 issue of Guangzhou-based magazine CITY ZINE that the female model was suspected to be Eugenia Yip.

Furthermore, there were some stimulating exciting pseudo-lesbian photos too.

Internet comments:

- Typical media trick to obfuscate and shield themselves from legal responsibility. They won't say the model is Eugenia Yip, because they may be sued. They haven't done any verification, so they can't prove that it is true. Therefore, they say that a netizen said that model is suspected to be Eugenia Yip. Somebody else said it and they are only reporting on that. Of course, the readers will walk away taking whatever impression they want to take.

- What is the evidence? Because they are young women and look a little bit alike (as do thousands of other with the same look)? This reminds me of the bald-headed cop and the bald-headed gangsters in the early days of Occupy Mong Kok -- all bald-headed people look alike (see Apple Daily), just as all young women look alike.

- Let me follow this. She is a lesbian and therefore she is not fit to be social secretary of the HKUSU. She can't socialize with men, because she hates them. She can't socialize with women, because she may seduce them and turn them into lesbians. Right?
P.S. What about Raymond Chan Chi-chuen? HOCC?

- The French national motto is "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (Liberty, equality, fratenity). So Eugenia Yip bitches about how she was singled out for extensive muckraking out of 40 candidates for various positions. Well, to be fair and equitable, Campus TV should dig out the real, apparent and imaginary dirt on all the 39 other candidates and make sure that nobody will ever want to run for any HKUSU position in the foreseeable future. I totally support this.

- If she can't stand the heat, she should get out of the kitchen. This is normal in any election.

- Look, the simple fact is that Communist women cannot be trusted on anything. Therefore she should drop out of school and go back to China where she belongs. We Hongkongers don't want any fucking Communists here.

- Been there, did that. See McCarthyism.

- Hong Kong University students come from all over the world. If an American student runs for a Student Union position, do we need to be concerned about whether her grandmother was Republican or Democrat? whether she herself is a Young Republican? whether she attended a graduation ceremony at which Hilary Clinton was speaker?

- I think the students are taking themselves too seriously. How significant are they in Hong Kong society? How much political influence does the Hong Kong University Student Union have? They even have to use shifty tones to promote Hong Kong independence. When they go on hunger strike, they couldn't last four days even after sneaking in Pocari and glucose. Why would the Chinese Communists need to infiltrate this disorganized dysfunctional non-entity? And if they did, wouldn't they have the perfect cover ready in place? In the final analysis, it is just a bunch of egotistical kids fantasizing about their own self-importance.

- Stop this witch hunt already! If you don't like her politics, just cast your vote for some other candidate slate. If there are no other candidates, vote to cancel the position afterwards.

- This is not a witch hunt at all. In her open letter, Eugenia Yip has admitted the following fact: She attended a banquet with about 200 other persons. A VIP guest with "red" background attended the same banquet. Therefore, she is "red" and must not be allowed to serve on any HKUSU committee. PERIOD. All this has been verified by the Campus TV reporters. Some people are calling this a WHITE terror witch hunt. No, this is not. WHITE terror only applies when Communists go after their opponents.

- The fact that the position of social secretary is not political is not the point. The fact is that once you let the first one of them through the door, the floodgates will be opened. We have to stop the Commies, here and now! We shall not be moved. This is our last stand!

- Oh, wait, I thought that we spent 79 days occupying in order to have a Chief Executive election without any pre-screening. But now Campus TV/Apple Daily want to pre-screen candidates for social secretary of Hong Kong University Student Union. Please clarify. URGENT, because I don't know how to think otherwise.

- When Apple Daily used to publish a Hong Kong guide to prostitutes, nobody held it against them as being unfit. When Crystal Chow Ching ran for Legislative Council in the de facto referendum by resignation, nobody held it against her as being unfit for having worked at a dance hall. So prostitution is alright but Communist affiliation is not. Did I get this right?

- What kind of binary choice is this? Eugenia Yip versus Yvonne Leung (President of the Hong Kong University Student Union)? Oh, I'm really having a hard time on deciding. NOT.

- We need to reflect on the underlying current. Since when has it become important that anyone who comes out to run for any position (government, student union, etc) has to be vetted on potential Communist background? Why is the Communist Youth League membership of a candidate for social secretary at a university student union the subject of major media coverage over a number of days? So maybe all those with Communist backgrounds are bad people. But shouldn't the students be allowed to use their own judgment to elect their own representatives. Do they need the major media outlets to point out the politically correct thing that they should be doing? Of course, in the final analysis, this is still the fault of the Communists to instill so much fear and loathing among people of Hong Kong. If they didn't exist, we would never have to worry about this sort of thing. Like war, death, famine and pestilence. We would be happier if they didn't exist. And my mother is a woman ...

- Extra! The Cabinet slate Smarties of which Eugenia Yip has Michael Pang Cheuk-kei as the presidential candidate. It turns out that Pang had been a salaried assistant of Legislative Councilor Raymond Wong Yuk-man. During the public appearance today, Pang got mad over the questions, stood up and said "This is going too far! You all know my political background", and left with his Cabinet candidates, leaving behind only Eugenia Yip to continue. What a candidate slate!?

- Extra! Cancel the HKUSU election now! The Commies are here! It has just been revealed by Undergrad magazine that of the two main factions vying for the election, one faction Smarties has Communist Youth League member Eugenia Yip as a candidate while the other faction Ascent's leader Fung Jing-en has acknowledged that his maternal grandfather is a senior Communist Party official. Horror of horrors! How can students be expected to choose between two rotten bananas? We demand that all candidates must have squeaky clean backgrounds with no mainland ties for at least three generations without any red seedlings! We don't want our Hong Kong University students to be brainwashed. We want them to be just like Yvonne Leung! Campus TV must inform all students that they must cancel the election now! A choice between two Communists is not a choice. It is a death sentence.

- Extra! Could the "black" news coming out against Smarties and Ascent be the work of third party factions? But wait, Campus TV faction Spear just announced that its president candidate is a mainlander who was a member of the Communist Youth League too. So we're all even.

(Apple Daily) February 6, 2015.

At the Fanling Magistrates' Court, there were 23 cases in which mainlanders were charged with trying to take too much infant milk formula from Hong Kong to China, including three persons who carried between 16.8 to 20.8 kilograms. The presiding magistrate Bernadette Woo Huey-fang pointed out: "Isn't it pathetic that you won't even use the infant milk formula made in your own country?" The magistrate lectured the defendants in putonghua and said that this was a national disgrace.

Internet comments:

- I look around and see so many Hongkongers using iPhone's which are made by Foxconn (Taiwan) in China. Isn't it pathetic that Hongkongers won't use locally manufactured mobile phones. Oh, wait, Hongkongers don't have the capability to make their own mobile phones. Isn't that a real disgrace?

- I look around and see these Kong girls carrying around Hermès, Chanel, Prada, Burberry ... handbags and never local Hong Kong brands. Oh, wait, I don't know of any Hong Kong fashion brand. Isn't that a real disgrace?

- I look around the streets and see people drive cars made by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Toyota ... and never local Hong Kong brands. Oh, wait, no cars are made in Hong Kong. Isn't that a real disgrace?

- I look around the pharmacies and see Hong Kong people buy infant milk formula from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Switzerland ... and never local Hong Kong brands, because Hongkongers don't know how to raise cows for their milk. Isn't that a real disgrace?
Oh, wait, the whole business has to do with price-fixing in the huge China market by the major foreign milk powder firms? (see Reuters)

- I look around and see that Hongkongers do not have their own gutter oil. No disgrace, big honor. That is because they export it to Taiwan, which re-imports it back to Hong Kong at marked-up prices. Isn't that a real disgrace?

- http://en.people.cn/n/2014/0806/c98649-8765983.html I read "In 1986 only 675 Hong Kong women married mainland Chinese, but by 2013 this figure had grown to 7,507 - a tenfold increase. A new report shows that many women in Hong Kong now work on the Chinese mainland, where they have the chance to meet wealthy mainlanders with their own international life experience. Marriages between Hong Kong women and mainland men are becoming increasingly common." Isn't that a real disgrace?

- It is typical Hong Kong chauvinism to think that China couldn't live without Hong Kong. There are about 80 million Chinese children between the ages of 0 and 4. Do you think that they all depend on the infant milk formula scrounged from Hong Kong (total population 7 million) by a few hundred enterprising smugglers?

- What is the matter with this magistrate? These are just petty smugglers who are trying to make a few dollars by hard work. This was not exactly treason. The defendants didn't exactly sign a treaty to concede Hong Kong permanently to the British, did they?

(Ming Pao) http://news.mingpao.com/pns/%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB%E9%BB%A8%E5%B9%B4%E5%AE%B5%E7%94%A2%E5%93%81%E8%A2%AB%E5%85%A7%E5%9C%B0%E6%9F%A5%E5%B0%81/web_tc/article/20150207/s00002/1423244657194 February 7, 2015.

The Democratic Party ordered 7,600 rolls of toilet issue and 20,000 packets of tissues with the images of Chief Executive CY Leung and others in order to sell at their New Year's Market stall. The merchandise was supposed to shipped from the mainland factory in Shenzhen to Hong Kong. Yesterday, the factory called the Democratic Party to say that the merchandise has been confiscated and the factory closed down. According to the Democratic Party spokesperson, "We didn't place the order under the name of the Democratic Party. We got friends to do this. The delivery address is not our Party office either. But the mainland Public Security Bureau still found it." The merchandise was worth $100,000 for which a deposit of $30,000 had been made.

Internet comments:

- DLLM! Didn't you say that the mainland is hell on earth and you want to end one-party rule? But you nevertheless placed this order surreptitiously in order to exploit the cheap labor up there and maximize your own profit. Thanks for contributing to the welfare of Hell and one-party rule.

- Didn't you say that no mainland product is ever safe and that is why you prefer to drink Australian milk, eat Japanese instant noodles and Korean lunch meat, smoke American cigarettes and drink Scottish whiskey? But you nevertheless ordered this merchandise to sell to unsuspecting Hong Kong citizens to wipe their buttocks and noses. What if the toilet tissue catches fire spontaneously and blows someone up? What if the toilet tissue is carcinogenic and people catch rectal cancer?

- The mainland factory that took this job is entirely shut down, and people are out of work because of your sneakiness. Thanks a lot! Of course, you refuse to accept any responsibility and you blame the Communists for everything that happens.

- Hong Kong First! You should have placed your order with a local factory. Of course, there are no local factories anymore. There are Hong Kong trading companies at which you can place an order, but the production facility is usually located in Dongguan city (Guangdong province).

- Well, if Hong Kong can't even produce a roll of toilet paper, then what hope is there for them to build an independent, self-sufficient Hong Kong City-State? Most importantly, what will you use to wipe your arse? Tree leaves? Apple Daily? IKEA catalogues?

- In America, they sell Barack Obama Toilet Paper too (see Amazon.com)

(YouTube) The Government decision to reserve parts of the Central waterfront for military purposes was highly controversial. The "Hongkongers Come First" took a lightning-fast action. They forcefully entered the PLA barracks in the Tamar site while waving the British-Hong Kong flag and chanting slogans to oppose the construction of the military pier in Central. They demanded that the PLA withdraw from Hong Kong.

(SCMP) Activists in PLA barracks break-in deserve an award. January 8, 2014.

Unlike in previous years, Public Eye will hand out just one New Year's Award this year. The award goes to the four sickos who broke into the People's Liberation Army barracks in Admiralty last month. Were they too stupid to understand they could have been shot? Military guards elsewhere would have been far less restrained in this age of terrorism. Did the four think they'd be hailed as heroes for daring to play chicken with the PLA? Most Hongkongers have condemned their childish prank. Even the pan-democrats, who detest the Communist Party and consider the PLA part of it, didn't applaud. The four belong to a group that calls itself "Hongkongers Come First", which advocates independence. Anyone who thinks Hong Kong can become independent must be living in la-la land. Public Eye agrees that Hongkongers should come first in matters such as school places, infant formula and housing. But independence? That's insane. The PLA's heavy-handed role in the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen crackdown can never be erased. But it used a surprisingly light hand against the four. But that doesn't mean their idiotic escapade will be laughed off. It reinforces Beijing's belief that Hong Kong has traitors out to undermine the country. Harbour protectionists want total public access for the seafront outside the barracks instead of having it sealed off at times as a military berth. But there's a fat chance of full public access now. The break-in will make the PLA even more cautious. To the four idiots, we confer the Lock Them Up And Throw Away The Key Award.

(SCMP) PLA break-in suspect calls to halt trial, claiming pressure from Beijing. April 10, 2014.

One of four people accused of trespassing at the People's Liberation Army headquarters at Admiralty in December has asked to halt his trial permanently, citing possible political pressure on the courts after Beijing expressed concern over the alleged intrusion.

Billy Chiu Hin-chung applied to Eastern Court yesterday for a permanent stay of proceedings. "Since senior officials on the mainland and state media have demanded severe punishment [for us], I have reason to suspect the court may be under political pressure," he said.

Chiu, 29, and three others - Dickson Cheung Hon-yin, 40, Tse Wing-man, 29, and a 15-year-old who cannot be named because he is under 16 - were arrested on January 1 over the Boxing Day intrusion. Hours later, state media reported that Beijing had expressed "grave concern" about the break-in.

Cheung, Tse and the teenager had given statements to police but doubted the relevance of some of the questions they were asked, their defence lawyer Norton Pang told the court.

The defendants did not know if they had entered the barracks because there was no clear sign indicating the boundary, Pang said. They insisted that even if they had stepped within its boundary, they had the right to do so and it was done as a gesture, the lawyer said. The defence disputed whether setting foot beyond the barracks' front gate meant entering the restricted area.

(SCMP) Activist who trespassed in PLA barracks attacked outside court. June 19, 2014.

An activist was assaulted outside court yesterday before being given a suspended jail term for trespassing at the PLA barracks in Admiralty. The assault took place at the entrance to Eastern Court in Tai On Street yesterday afternoon. A man, later identified as a 58-year-old unemployed Hong Kong resident, allegedly assaulted Billy Chiu Hin-chung, 29, as he was about to read a statement in front of reporters. The man yelled, "What nation are you building?" and "You are also Chinese" before physically attacking Chiu.

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRo2H06MeMgl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByHXXJjUQ-I

(SCMP) Anti-Beijing protestors rally outside British Consulate-General, urging UK to take back Hong Kong. June 15, 2014.

Ten activists from the pro-independence group Hongkongers Come First rallied on Sunday outside the British Consulate-General in Admiralty, urging London to take back Hong Kong and help make the city an independent state.

They raised the Union Jack, waving placards and chanting slogans “Declare Sino-British Joint Declaration Void” and “Hong Kong Is Our Country” during the rally, which was closely monitored throughout by a dozen of uniform and plainclothes police officers.

The group claimed that Beijing’s white paper on Hong Kong, released last week, was proof that China had broken its promise in the joint declaration that it would give Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy.

In a Chinese language petition letter, addressed to the queen, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and British consul-general Caroline Wilson, the group said Hong Kong’s democratisation, press freedom and independent judiciary had been eroded after the handover. “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong [and a] high degree of autonomy, have become the lie of the century,” the petition said.

One activist Billy Chiu Hin-chung said: “Hong Kong should be made an independent state. Hong Kong is our country. We are not Chinese.” He urged Britain to get back Hong Kong from China and hold a referendum in the city to decide whether Hong Kong should be made independent.

(YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i75dsuk0bY Police officers want to stop and check IDs of individuals including Billy Chiu.

(Oriental Daily) October 17, 2014.

The police cleared obstacles in Mong Kok early this morning. At around 630am, a foreign photojournalist was taking photos when he was attacked by Billy Chiu of Hongkongers Come First. The police arrested Chiu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrKzv3vlHY Video of the arrest of Billy Chiu
0:09 (Policeman) You're so troublesome. And your mouth stinks.
0:11 (Chiu) If you take some sweets, you won't stink.
0:13 (Policeman) If you keep quiet, it would be even better.
0:17 (Chiu) You can go home.
0:18 (Policeman) If you don't go home, then how can I go home? You got me involved in this trouble.
0:21 (Chiu) This is a sidewalk.
0:25 (Policeman) Stop kicking! Hey, I won't be so polite! I'm telling you! I don't care if there are dozens of cameras.
0:41 (Policeman) Hey, you stop kicking! You stop kicking!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij0T68twTvU Video of the arrest of Billy Chiu. Longer version.

(Oriental Daily) November 27, 2014.

Last night, a number of demonstrators blocked the intersection of Sai Yeung Choi Street South and Soy Street in Mong Kok. The police asked the demonstrators to step back on the sidewalk. Some of them obeyed, and the police directed some cars to drive through. But the demonstrators kept going back and forth "crossing the street". When a car carrying Organized Crime and Triad Bureau police officers came through, some demonstrators decided that "something was wrong with the car light" and stopped it. The police reinforced and a clash took place. Social activist Billy Chiu was among those arrested.

(Oriental Daily) December 24, 2014.

The Self-Determination Party of Tibet and Hong Kong was supposed to meet outside the Central Public Library (Causeway Bay) at 8pm tonight. The meeting was called off. Afterwards Billy Chiu and two other members decided to block the Hung Hom Cross-Harbor Tunnel. At around 930pm, the three of them paraded around near PolyTechnic University and waved flags for the photographer. Then they rushed onto the tunnel entrance, threw traffic cones on the road and tried to interfere with the cars. But the cars swerved to avoid them and continued. The three then fled the scene.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2bu0gtG94E SocREC interview with Billy Chiu (all talk in Cantonese)

(Oriental Daily) February 2, 2015.


Billy Chiu of the Self-Determination Party of Tibet and Hong Kong soliciting donations at a street booth, drawing little or no interest

(Oriental Daily) February 5, 2015.

This morning, social activist Billy Chiu appeared in Kwun Tong Court to face three charges of interfering with five police officers in their line of duty, struggling to resist arrest and assaulting a police officer by kicking him three times. The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the judge set a March 19 trial date.

The judge set the original bail at $500. This time he questioned the defendant about his personal finances. Chiu said that he worked sometimes as a freelancer, but he mainly depended on support from other social activists(s). However, Chiu declined to name the social activist(s). The judge raised the bail from $500 to $5,000. Because the defendant did not have the money on him, he was remanded until he could raise the money.

Later, Chiu told the judge that he has borrowed $5,000 from a pastor to post bond. However, he was unable to provide a fixed address. The judge said: "Don't you have a lot of social activist friends? Get one of them to give you an address."

(Oriental Daily) February 5, 2015.

In the afternoon, Chiu found the social activist James Lung to provide a Kwun Tong industrial building address. But the judge pointed out that an industrial building cannot serve as a home under the law. Chiu said that he has always lived in an industrial building. So the judge asked James Lung to make a personal guarantee to the court. Finally, Lung posted a $1,000 personal guarantee bond and Chiu was allowed to leave.

Afterwards outside the court room, Chiu said that the magistrate was being harsh because he did not want to let Chiu out on bond. Lung said that the magistrate did this in order to retaliate against the Umbrella Movement and its participants.

Internet comments:

- No money for a pro-democracy activist to post bail? Call Jimmy Lai at Next Media.

- All social activists are idlers who sleep in the streets. That is why they have no money and they have no fixed addresses.

- Billy Chiu is said to be receiving 接濟 (=charity handouts) from other social activists, but he wouldn't name them. Well, let me guess -- if the name of his organization is the Self-Determination Party of Tibet and Hong Kong, then his benefactor must be the Tibetan National Congress! The revenue is booked as "product placement."

- Billy Chiu used to belong to the Hongkongers Come First (also known as Honghongers Priority). But he is not a native-born Hongkonger, as he came to Hong Kong as a Vietnamese refugee immigrant in the 1990's (see Wikipedia https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%8B%9B%E9%A1%AF%E8%81%B0). Strictly speaking, he is not entitled to wave the Hongkongers Come First flag with the British dragon/lion insignia.

- It is a shame that Occupy Mong Kok has been cleared. Otherwise Billy Chiu could report the tent city at "Mong Kok Lower Village" as his permanent address.

- It is illegal to convert an industrial building unit into a residential apartment. Billy Chiu has just made an admission in open court that he regularly lives in an industrial building. The Buildings Department should take action immediately against the owner James Lung.

- I am opposed to take a person's measure based upon his/her looks. I am even more opposed to the use of violence. But I have to say that I can easily overcome those inhibitions with respect to this person. Please beat him up for me.

(Oriental Daily) May 22, 2015.

On October 17, 2014, the police arrested 30-year-old Billy Chu near the intersection of Nathan Road and Shan Tung Street for suspicion of charging the police line and kicking a senior police officer. Today, he was sentenced to 3 weeks in jail on those two charges. In addition, since the crimes were committed during his probation period, he was sentenced to an additional one week. The magistrate said that the defendant deliberately prevented the police from carrying out their duties and also resisted when arrested to cause multiple injuries. Since the defendant has shown no remorse so far, the sentence would be carried out immediately.

(SCMP) Activist jailed for obstructing police during Occupy protest. May 23, 2015.

An activist who was previously given a suspended prison term for trespassing at the People's Liberation Army barracks in Central was sentenced to three weeks in jail yesterday for obstructing and resisting police at an Occupy protest last year.

Deputy Magistrate Stephanie Tsui May-har said Billy Chiu Hin-chung, 30, had shown no remorse and that the offences involved police officers who should be subject to protection. "A few police officers were injured," she said.

Chiu was convicted earlier in Kwun Tong Court for charging a police line in Mong Kok on October 17 and resisting arrest. After handing down the sentence, Tsui noted the convictions came four months after Chiu was given a suspended two-week sentence for unlawfully entering the PLA barracks in June. "The case you were convicted of [at the time] was of a serious nature," she told Chiu.

Tsui, after listening to counsel Jonathan Man Ho-ching's mitigation for Chiu, said she saw no reason not to activate the suspended sentence. She added one week and sentenced Chiu to a total of four weeks in jail.

The court previously heard that Chiu clashed with shield-wielding police officers posted to Shantung Street to help with the first clearance operation in the Mong Kok occupation that night. Chiu was arrested and escorted to a building, during which he was accused of kicking a police officer. He faced one more count of assaulting a police officer and pleaded not guilty to all three.

A video played in court showed Chiu accusing police of making false accusations. He was acquitted of assault as the magistrate decided the contact between him and the alleged victim could have been accidental.

Chiu, of the Self-determination Party of Tibet and Hong Kong, was granted bail pending an appeal. A source familiar with the matter said he was unlikely to raise enough money to fulfill the bail conditions.

(Wen Wei Po) July 2, 2015.

According to police sergeant Fung Kwok-bo, he was doing crowd control on the night of November 27 near the intersection of Soy Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street South. At the time, Billy Chiu called on others to charge onto the roadway and used both his hands to push Fung. Fung told Chiu to stop. Chiu used his chest to bump Fung's chest. Fung used his hands to hold a flashlight and push Chiu back. The two fell onto the roadway. Fung sustained scratches on his nose and kneecap.

The defense said that Chiu did not attack Fung. Instead Fung used a flashlight to hold Chiu's neck and dragged onto the roadway. Fung put Chiu's face to the ground while four to five other policemen kicked and punched Chiu. Fung defined these allegations.

(Oriental Daily) July 22, 2015.

Billy Chiu was sentenced to 14 days in jail for bumping into a police sergeant. Since he was held at the detention centre for the previous 13 days, he was therefore freed in the evening.

(SCMP) June 22, 2016.

A group of activists are setting up another political party to campaign for Hong Kong’s independence.

Calling itself the Alliance to Resume British Sovereignty over Hong Kong and Independence, the extreme localist group is the second political party formed within three months that advocates Hong Kong’s independence.

The first was Hong Kong National Party, formed in late March.

Among the core leaders of the new party is activist Billy Chiu Hin-chung, 31, who said the party was planning to field candidates in the Legislative Council elections in September.

Unlike the National Party, Chiu said they would not aim to make Hong Kong an independent state in one-go, rather, they would want Hong Kong to become a British colony again first before asking Britain to let the city go independent.

“We do not recognise the Sino-British Joint Declaration. So, the only logical result that Hong Kong has to return to British rule. It will be transitional. And we shall aim ultimately at going independent,” said Chiu on Tuesday.

He added that they had prepared to set up the party for about half a year.

The party is to be formally inaugurated on Sunday.

Despite the seemingly common goal of Hong Kong’s independence, Chiu said they had no ties with the National Party, adding that the form of independent state the National Party was seeking was not “genuine independence”.

“The National Party claim they would recognise those outsiders who flee to Hong Kong [as Hong Kong nationals],” said Chiu.

Chiu was formerly with the League of Social Democrats and later founded the protest group Hongkongers Come First in 2013. He managed to catch media attention by waving the colonial-era Hong Kong flag during protests.

He and several others made a political stunt in late 2013 when they broke into the People’s Liberation Army barracks in Admiralty while waving a colonial flag and asking the PLA to “get out of Hong Kong”. He was at last sentenced to two weeks in jail for entering a closed area without a permit, but the term was suspended for 12 months.

In one of the latest cases, Chiu was found guilty of taking part in an unlawful assembly in June 2014 when he and other protesters stormed into the Legislative Council building during a violent protest against the government plans to develop the northeastern New Territories. Chiu was sentenced to 150 hours of community service by the court in February.

(SCMP) If you’re going to be loony, at least have a little fun. By Alex Lo. June 23, 2016.

If you want the Brits to retake Hong Kong, it’s advisable to know something about Britain first.

A group of Hong Kong activists have set up a new secessionist party advocating the resumption of British sovereignty. Given their political stance, I think it’s safe to assume they know absolutely nothing about British politics. What British politician would seriously consider taking back Hong Kong?

So before they start, I suggest our localists learn something from a quintessential British institution, the never-do-well but still respectable Official Monster Raving Loony Party, founded by the late musician David Sutch, better known as Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow. Its members have run in every British parliamentary election since the 1980s but never won a single seat. Still, they are not without influence. Thanks to them, Britain has 24-hour pubs. Few political parties anywhere can claim such a solid achievement.

Our new localist party may not have the same catchy name or comparable sense of humour and fun, but their members seem to be every bit as crazy as those of the British party. You can tell by their name. Sorry, it doesn’t get any better in Chinese: “The Alliance to Resume British Sovereignty over Hong Kong and Independence”. One definition of insanity is to hold two contradictory ideas in your head and fervently believe in both.

If the alliance wants to fight for highly implausible policies and unlikely causes, they should at least try to have a little fun while they are at it. Co-founder Billy Chiu Hin-chung wants to kick out the People’s Liberation Army and does not recognise the Sino-British Joint Declaration. How do you go about unrecognising an international treaty?

Chiu’s greatest act of provocation so far is with the colonial flag. He was one of the first people to wave the flag during political protests. He even did that once with his girlfriend after breaking into the PLA barracks in Admiralty, a stunt that earned him two weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months.

Many have followed his flag-waving example, which may be why Chiu thinks he now has enough clout to form a party. But fighting for the colonial flag to fly over Hong Kong once again is surely a quixotic quest. Some of us thought it was just an expression of youthful rebellion and resentment. Now we know they actually mean it.

(SCMP) June 26, 2016.

A new extreme localist political party is hoping to grab as many as five seats in the Legislative Council elections in September with a xenophobic and pro-independence manifesto.

The Alliance of Resuming British Sovereignty over Hong Kong & Independence, inaugurated on Sunday, said it did not recognise the Sino-British Joint Declaration and their identity as ethnic Chinese. The party defines a Hong Kong national as someone born to parents who had gained right of abode in the city before 1997.

The separatist group is the second party formed in the past three months – after the Hong Kong National Party – that advocates Hong Kong breaking away from China.

The new party’s convenor, Billy Chiu Hin-chung, a self-styled pro-independence revolutionary, said the party had about 30 members so far but claimed it had overseas support, with prominent Taiwanese independence campaigners Shih Chao-hui and Wang San-chi serving as “honorary consultants”.

Among the party’s platforms is a call for a 10 per cent sales tax for all “non-Hong Kong” shoppers, cancellation of the one-way permit system to halt an influx of mainland migrants, dumping all books written in simplified Chinese characters in public libraries, and awarding infrastructure projects to Britain in exchange for military protection by the Commonwealth.

Chiu said the party was financed by donations of its members, who include office workers, teachers, students and nurses. The members were recruited through social media.

The party planned to field candidates in each of the five geographical constituency in the Legco elections, Chiu said.

“I am not a daydreamer. If I won in the election, I, in my capacity as a legislator, shall liaise with the British government over repealing the Sino-British Joint Declaration and taking back Hong Kong. After that, we shall seek to make Hong Kong an independent state.”

Chiu claimed they had spent about six months preparing for the party launch, but Sunday’s press conference was shambolic.

Without warning, Chiu ticked off some fellow members for having forgotten to bring a “Hong Kong national flag” they had designed to show to the press and refused to continue without it. A fierce quarrel ensued in front of the media. Chiu walked out and returned only when scolded by another member for keeping reporters waiting.

He was formerly with the League of Social Democrats and in 2013 founded the protest group Hongkonger Come First. That same year Chiu and several others broke into the People’s Liberation Army barracks in Admiralty while waving a colonial-era Hong Kong flag and demanded the PLA “get out of Hong Kong”. That stunt earned him a two-week suspended jail term for entering a closed area without a permit.

(Yahoo.com) June 26, 2016.

Billy Chiu said that the election will cost $70,000 to $80,000 per district. Each candidate will be responsible for raising their own money. Will they coordinate with the Localists? Billy Chiu said that they are not fellow travelers with Hong Kong Indigenous or the Hong Kong National Party. Chiu said that Civic Passion-Proletariat Political Institute-City State are their enemies. He said that the Alliance of Resuming British Sovereignty over Hong Kong & Independence is the only genuine "pro-independence" party in Hong Kong, and he is very confident about their prospects in the upcoming elections.

(Wen Wei Po) June 26, 2016.

Where does the money come from? Billy Chiu said that they accept donations from Hong Kongers, contributions from its own party members, loans from family members and donations at street booths on July 1st. Chiu also claimed that they have already registered an building firm named 巷蜀 and acquired a bank account for it.

A law expert said that when a company is registered, it must state the nature of its business. A company cannot be formed to do one thing and then do something else instead. When a building company starts accepting political donations, the bank should freeze the account for further investigation. If this building company is used for an election campaign, then its assets and operational details must be disclosed to the Election Affairs Commission.

(Oriental Daily) June 27, 2016.

Today an Internet user informed Billy Chiu said he was unable to deposit his donation into the East Asia Bank account. When Chiu asked the bank, the reply was that deposits into new business accounts must enclose proof of business relationship. Since the company has no business relationship with the Internet user, the proof does not exist. The bank expressed its regrets.

Later in the afternoon, Billy Chiu said that there is a difference of opinion between the Alliance of Resuming British Sovereignty over Hong Kong & Independence and himself. Specifically, the Alliance does not want any association with Taiwan independence. Therefore Chiu and the Alliance have agreed to an amicable separation effectively immediately.

(Sky Post) When the media lose public trust. By Robert Chow Yung. January 4, 2015.

Trust is a valuable asset. It does not come out of nowhere. It is earned through a lot of hard work, but it can dissipate overnight for no good reason. Afterwards it becomes very hard to recover. This happens to people, but all the more so for the media. Recently, the public relations company Edelman the 2015 Trust Barometer study in 27 countries/regions. Hong Kong fell from 9th place to 17th place in terms of total trust. In the case of trust in media, Hong Kong's score fell from 63 to 41 ... According to the investigators, the drop was due to the Occupy Movement.

During the Occupy Movement, a number of local media outlets and many media workers tossed aside the golden rules of independence, fairness and impartiality to become active participants. They even became instigators of chaos. So how could the public not resent?

The media which joined and supported the Occupy Movement found that they suffered losses in circulation and advertising revenue. But can the other media stay aloof? And what can media workers do for themselves, their organizations and Hong Kong as a whole?

First of all, the media management/administration people must have the courage to adhere firmly to the principles of neutrality and impartiality. They must ignored the personal preferences of their subordinates to coerce them into changing their judgments and tossing media ethics aside.

We must understand that even though certain rogue elements within the organizations can bring some politicians or political parties to launch malicious criticisms against the media out, the management/administration must make final stand to do the right thing without retreating. Media workers must never back down because they are the last defenders of media ethics ...

What can we be talking about? Here are the two headline stories for Ming Pao. On the left: A June 4th 1989 student eyewitness account from a Canadian confidential file. This story appeared on page A3. On the right: Alibaba spends $1 billion to help Hong Kong young people start their own businesses. This story appeared on page A2.

(Radio Free Asia) February 3, 2015.

Journalists and pan-democratic politicians in Hong Kong have hit out a decision by one of the city's most respected newspapers to cancel an article on the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square mass protests. Staff at the Chinese-language Ming Pao newspaper, which removed former editor Kevin Lau last January, have asked the paper's editor-in-chief to explain why he chose to override a unanimous decision on Sunday by the paper's editorial board to run the story on Monday's front page. The report was based on recently released diplomatic cables from Canada, and included a student's eyewitness account of the bloodshed that ensued when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) cleared the protests with tanks and machine guns.

Ming Pao editor-in-chief Chong Tien-siong has so far made no response to calls for an explanation, and repeated requests for an interview were met with the information that he wasn't in the office on Monday.

According to the paper's staff, Chong initially made no objection to the plan, but later ordered that the Tiananmen story be replaced with a feature about mainland Chinese Internet giant Alibaba as a role model for young, would-be entrepreneurs.

Ming Pao union leader Chum Shun-kin said the story that Chong pulled contained details about the contemporary history of the massacre, including eyewitness accounts of the killing of civilians. "Maybe some people are thinking that, as editor-in-chief, he has the right to change the front page," Chum told RFA in a recent interview. "But the question is, whether it was reasonable to do so. If the entire editorial staff of the newspaper thought that this was a good story, why is he unilaterally ignoring them?"

(Sinosphere New York Times Blog) February 4, 2015.

At every newspaper, journalists enthusiastically kvetch about editors bumping their articles from prominent spots in print, depriving them of glory, if not readers.

But when the newspaper is Ming Pao, a troubled flagship of respectable journalism in Hong Kong, and when the story is about the armed crackdown on protesters in mainland China in 1989, the grumbling can burst into protest. Once again, Ming Pao, a daily broadsheet, is at the heart of contention over media freedom and priorities in Hong Kong.

Journalists at Ming Pao have jousted with the paper’s chief editor this week over his decision to shift the position of an article in Monday’s edition about a cache of documents from the Canadian Embassy in Beijing during the lead-up to the crackdown and the carnage that ensued on June 3-4, 1989.

Ming Pao’s staff association denounced the editor’s decision to give more prominent space to a report about a fund for young entrepreneurs in Hong Kong started by Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire who founded Alibaba, the e-commerce company. The association asserted that the decision was a backhanded attempt to muffle the impact of the report on 1989, still a highly sensitive subject for the mainland government.

“In our view, a newspaper’s daily choice of its leading story reflects the principles and values upheld by the newspaper,” Nick Kwok, the chairman of the Ming Pao Staff Association, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

“In Hong Kong, readers care deeply about stories about June 4th, and they are of historical significance,” Mr. Kwok said. “No matter how you weigh it, it’s obvious that the story about the witness account of machine guns firing at students has to lead.”

The latest controversy at Ming Pao has ignited misleading news reports that assume the editors pulled the entire report on 1989. In fact, the article appeared at length. A headline ran over the top of the front page, “Canadian secret documents: Students witness gunfire on June 4.” The article itself appeared on the bottom two-thirds of Page 2 and all of Page 3. (The paper’s front page was given over to coverage of a pro-democracy demonstration in Hong Kong on Sunday.)

On Tuesday, the editor in chief at the heart of the uproar, Chong Tien-siong, issued a statement defending his decision. An editor has to decide what is most important for readers to see first in the paper, he said.

“The editorial policy of Ming Pao has never shown fear or favor,” Mr. Chong said. “The editor in chief has the power and responsibility to alter the layout,” he added. “On Sunday, I exercised my decision-making power to put Alibaba as the leading story, and I made no alterations whatsoever to the report on the secret documents of June 4. It appeared in its original form in a prominent position.”

“The editor in chief has the power and responsibility to alter the layout,” he added. “On Sunday, I exercised my decision-making power to put Alibaba as the leading story, and I made no alterations whatsoever to the report on the secret documents of June 4. It appeared in its original form in a prominent position.”

But aggrieved journalists at Ming Pao have dismissed that explanation, reflecting the persistent distrust between them and Ming Pao editors over the paper’s overall direction. They said that the chief editor broke established norms by coming into the office late on a Sunday night to alter the layout, to which he had not raised objections at an editorial meeting that evening.

“His statement that the change was a result of editorial logic is full of red herrings,” Mr. Kwok, the staff association chairman, said of Mr. Chong’s statement. “People have cast doubt on the decision’s motives: the existence of a ‘black hand,’ commercial pressures and so on.”

In its own statement released on Tuesday, the Hong Kong Journalists Association urged the paper’s editors to “strengthen communication with the editorial department to dispel the unease and suspicion among the staff of the department.”

On Tuesday, 80 staff members of Ming Pao held an hourlong stoppage, Radio and Television Hong Kong, a public broadcaster, reported. In 2015, it seems, the newspaper will remain in the news, a battleground over the future of journalism in Hong Kong.

(Oriental Daily) Old News Cannot Be Hyped Into New News. By Lo Wing-lok. February 4, 2015.

Ming Pao editor-in-chief Chong Tien-siong changed the headline story from <Canadian secret file on student eyewitness account of shooting on June 4th> into <Alibaba helps Hong Kong young people to start their own businesses>. Ming Pao's union leader are publicly questioning that decision. Earlier Chong said that the decision about the headline story was based upon news value.

The so-called "secret file" was the release of certain files according to a prescribed schedule by Library and Archives Canada. This is publicly disclosed information not exclusively held by Ming Pao, which did not co