Occupy Central
Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.
Umbrella Movement
The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
Occupy Central site in an area surrounding the Legislative Council and Central Government Offices at Tamar were cleared 22-06-2015.
Hong Kong reform vote
The Hong Kong government’s political reform proposal for how the city elects its leader by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017 is based on a strict framework set by Beijing. The plan limits the number of candidates to two or three and requires them to win majority support from a 1,200 strong nominating committee. Arguing that this does not constitute genuine universal suffrage, pan-democratic lawmakers have vowed to reject the package, while pro-democracy groups have protested. The government’s resolution was to be put to a vote by the 70-member Legislative Council in June 2015, requiring a two-thirds majority to be passed.
POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 214
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 29
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 29
Full coverage of the day’s events on 17-07
Legco chief blames system and sees another bleak year ahead
The relationship between the administration and legislature will not be able to improve after the rejection of the government's political reform package last month, says Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing.
"The problem lies in the system itself, which is why it was so important to pass the constitutional reform proposal," he said yesterday. "I can only remain pessimistic about the system."
The system's fundamental problem will continue to exist and it will not be possible for the government and lawmakers to improve governance next year.
Speaking about Legco's work for the legislative year before the summer recess, Tsang said pan-democratic lawmakers and the government had not engaged in constructive discussions about political reform.
Both parties did not display any real cooperation and did not strive to reach a consensus in meetings, which was not helpful to improve relations.
"They just restated their opposing views," he said.
Tsang said the 79-day Occupy movement last year had led to a tense situation in society and he believed lawmakers should drop their differences and cooperate on economic and livelihood issues in the coming year.
Tsang cited the meeting between Democratic Party members and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, with both sides discussing livelihood issues, and pan-democratic lawmakers not showing any negative feelings.
Tsang also expressed hope that all parties could establish normal and frequent communication with mainland officials. He said central government liaison office director Zhang Xiaoming intended to invite all lawmakers on trips to the mainland.
The University of Hong Kong's proud reputation for autonomy is under threat, allegedly from well-placed people in the Hong Kong government. Photo: Reuters
The hundred-year-old reputation of HKU is on the line
The controversy surrounding the appointment of a new pro vice chancellor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is not just about who will eventually take the job.
It is, rather, a matter of procedural justice that affects not only the education sector but society as a whole.
HKU is the last stronghold of our academic freedom and procedural justice, which are among the core values the people of Hong Kong have treasured for so long.
Once this stronghold falls, our freedom will be on the line.
The hiring of a pro vice chancellor at HKU has always been carried out according to an established mechanism, under which a committee searches for candidates worldwide.
After having carefully scrutinized their qualifications and met them in person, the committee recommends its choice of candidate to the university council, HKU’s highest governing body.
Normally, the council appoints the committee’s recommended candidate, in a tradition that has been followed for decades.
However, this time, the HKU council seems to have deviated from its usual practice and has once again delayed the appointment despite the fact that the committee made its recommendation months ago, sparking speculation that the delay is politically driven.
Since December, the city’s two leading pro-Beijing newspapers, Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao, have launched relentless attacks against Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun, the former dean of HKU’s Faculty of Law, who has been widely tipped for the pro vice chancellor slot.
On Jan. 26, Wen Wei Po somehow got hold of a copy of the Research Assessment Exercise 2014, a secret document of the University Grants Committee (UGC).
The newspaper ran a front-page story citing the UGC report that said the number of theses published by HKU’s law school that attained either a four-star or a three-star rating was lower than that at its counterpart at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Wen Wei Po accused Chan of incompetence during his term as the dean.
In just 15 days between Jan. 16 and Feb. 9, Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po published a total of 47 news articles and commentaries directed against Chan.
This suggests a powerful force behind the scenes has gone to great lengths to prevent Chan from being appointed a pro vice chancellor.
Then in February, more news emerged about the controversial delay in the appointment.
Kevin Lau Chun-to, the former chief editor of Ming Pao Daily, said certain individuals authorized by the government contacted some members of the HKU council by phone or other means to try to influence them regarding the appointment.
Civic Party legislator Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, who represents the legal sector, also said he was told by someone at the university that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and some members of Hong Kong’s Executive Council tried to persuade members of the HKU council to remove Chan from consideration.
In fact, the HKU council had been looking for new pro vice chancellors as early as March last year.
Since then, HKU has named four pro vice chancellors. None of them ran into the kind of obstacles Chan has faced.
The fact that the university council has singled out Chan’s case and put his appointment as the fifth pro vice chancellor on hold for reasons that are hardly convincing and is deliberately delaying the process again and again on different pretexts has become a cause for grave concern among educators.
They are worried that the university management may have succumbed to political pressure and handed over its autonomy over the appointment of key personnel.
In the face of the threat to HKU’s long-standing system of appointments, which has been working so well for the past century, the university’s students, teaching staff and alumni and members of the public must speak out against the lack of procedural justice regarding Chan’s appointment and raise concern about the state of academic and administrative freedom at HKU.
I believe the HKU council must strictly follow the existing and long-standing standard procedure when it comes to the appointment of the pro vice chancellor.
The university management is under an obligation to provide justification for any deviation from the normal practice, so as to ease public concern over possible political intervention in a key decision making process of the most iconic and respected institution of tertiary education in Hong Kong.
Jasper Tsang says pan-democrats were not sincerely cooperating with the government during discussions over the failed election reform bill. Photo: HKEJ
Tsang laments lack of stable govt majority in Legco
Hong Kong’s top lawmaker is blaming an “unstable majority” in the Legislative Council for disappointing results such as the failure of the election reform bill.
Legco President Jasper Tsang said the political system does not allow the government to enjoy a stable majority in the chamber, according to public broadcaster RTHK.
Tsang made the remarks during a press conference Thursday marking the end of the legislative session.
He said the executive-legislative relationship has not been influenced by one person but by the whole political system.
It’s a pity this relationship “has not been constructively improved” this year, resulting in disappointing results, he said.
Tsang said pan-democrats were not sincerely cooperating with the government over the political reform proposal.
As a result, it was hard to engage in wholesome and constructive negotiations.
The chamber’s legislative output does not reflect the true relationship between the executive and the legislature, he said.
And he doubts Legco can made any real difference in improving the “weakened governance” because of the failure of the political reform bill.
He said Legco should focus on other major issues, such a copyright law, and work to fulfill public expectations.
Coconuts
HKFrontline
【港女被裁定以胸襲警罪成登《時代雜誌》網上版｜本土新聞】
在三月一日「光復元朗」反水貨客示威中，被控襲警的三十歲文員吳麗英，被裁判官裁定她當日以胸撞向總督察屬襲警，並指她用女性身份誣衊總督察非禮，是非常惡毒行為。《時代雜誌》網上版刊以「A Hong Kong Woman Just Got Convicted of Assaulting a Police Officer With Her Breast」為題報道事件，在報道的開首和結尾均提到有關方面無提及總督察傷勢。
吳麗英當日曾受傷口鼻流血，裁判官認為，被告聲稱被非禮，卻沒有在現場向警員投訴，只向投訴警察課投訴遭某人從後推倒，所以認為根本無非禮一事，而實情是她以胸撞警，故裁定她襲警罪成立，並指她杜撰非禮指控是非常惡毒行為。
另外，同案的三名男子也被裁定襲警及阻差辦公罪成，四人全部不准保釋，還柙至七月二十九日判刑。
Hong Kong Protestor Convicted Of Assaulting Police Officer With Her Breast
A female protestor in Hong Kong has been found guilty of assaulting a police officer with that well-known weapon: her breast.
Ng Lai-ying was convicted of using her chest to bump the right arm of Chief Inspector Chan Ka-po as the officer tried to control a protest against cross-border traders in March, according to the South China Morning Post.
At her trial, during which she pleaded not guilty, Ng said that Chan had stretched out his hand to reach her bag shoulder strap but that it had landed on her left breast.
A Hong Kong Woman Just Got Convicted of Assaulting a Police Officer With Her Breast
The extent of the officer's physical injuries was not revealed
A court in Hong Kongconvicted 30-year-old Ng Lai-ying Thursday of assaulting a police officer by hitting him with her breast during a protest on March 1.
Ng testified that during the protest the officer had reached out his arm to grasp the strap of her bag and that his hand had come in contact with her upper left breast, the South China Morning Post reports.
She told the court that she immediately yelled, “Indecent assault!”
But in his decision, the magistrate rejected those allegations, accusing Ng of lying in her testimony and instead finding her guilty of using her breast to bump the officer’s arm. “You used your female identity to trump up the allegation that the officer had molested you. This is a malicious act,” he said.
There was no word on what physical injuries, if any, the officer suffered.
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