POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 139 (03-05-2015)

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.

Occupy Central site in Causeway Bay was cleared as police moved in  ...

POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 139:

Full coverage of the day’s events on 03-05

Anti-cop protest song may have broken law: solicitor 



A band that performed a song containing the lyrics "f*** the police" did not only insult the force but may have broken the law, a lawyer says.

The song was performed last month at a Lingnan University show, which Students' Union president Lau Chun- lam said was held under the banner Asian Democratic Way.

But solicitor Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, a former Law Society president, told City Forum yesterday that the performance went beyond foul language and violated the expectations of the public.

"I am not merely criticizing foul language, or the art of speech or performance. What I want to tell you is about the bottom line of the law," Ho said.

"The song contains 16 paragraphs which start with [f*** the police] included words like `triad police' are rubbish and should be executed.

"By including such statements you have broken Public Order Ordinance section 17B. Not only are the words threatening and insulting, but you have also broken the law."

Lingnan University Students' Union had invited the band to perform, prompting university president Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon to apologize to the public. He also set up a special task force to look into the incident, and sent a warning letter to the union.

Lau, however, said critics have failed to look beyond the lyrics.

"You are only aware that we are speaking foul language, but you did not ask why we have used such words. The police use batons to beat us for 10 or more times but we only have to strike back once and we find ourselves in court or in jail. Is that justice?" Lau said.

Culture commentator Tang Siu-wa quoted from an article published by the Progressive Lawyers Group that said the concert was not a political rally and did not call on the people to take further action or to storm police or government offices.

"The concert was an opportunity to express [opinions] and not provoke a breach of the peace, and no peace was breached," Tang said.

Ho then dared Tang to read the lyrics out loud but was stopped by City Forum host Joseph Tse Chi-fung.

Lau said the Students' Union would apologize to anyone who felt hurt or uncomfortable.

Before the forum started, Alliance in Support of Our Police Force convener Leticia Lee See-yin asked Tse why RTHK had invited Ho, a spokesman for the New Territories Concern Group, and not her. Tse explained that Ho has a higher profile than Lee.



Splashing end for top cop in grim farewell




About 100 marchers defied warnings they were taking part in an illegal event and went to police headquarters in Wan Chai to mark in macabre fashion the retirement of Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang Wai-hung.

Marching from Southorn Playground, they carried funeral-style wreaths featuring Tsang's photograph as well as banners and placards saying "Rest In Peace" and "Say Goodbye to the Bald Eagle Forever."

A number of demonstrators also carried yellow umbrellas, the symbol of the 79-day Occupy Movement that was ended in December.

Before the march started, police raised a yellow flag to warn activists they could face charges because the event was not approved. The flag was raised again when the group arrived at the headquarters.

But the demonstrators set up an "altar" that included wreaths and pictures of Tsang then shot at it with water guns while burning incense to help the spirit find its way.

Some of them also chanted "go to hell" before the group dispersed at around 5pm.

A demonstrator accused Tsang of being biased during his term of office and for spoiling the image of the force. Tsang should have retired long ago, he said.

Tsang, 57 tomorrow, is the longest-serving commissioner, having been appointed in January 2011.

He joined the force in January 1978 as a probationary inspector and reached assistant commissioner in 2003 and deputy commissioner in January 2008.


Tsang starts pre-retirement leave today and will be succeeded by 53-year-old Stephen Lo Wai-chung, a deputy commissioner in charge of police management.





Guerrilla-style reforms not cool at all



Temperatures are running high in that political hothouse that Hong Kong has become by virtue of Beijing's experimentation with reforms.
You know things are heating up when someone with as placid a public persona as health chief Ko Wing-man goes ballistics when promoting the reform package.

Although Ko later apologized for his behavior, his shouting match, with an elderly man to boot, serves only to give the publicity drive exactly the kind of publicity it doesn't need at all.

The verbal exchange took place in Ngau Tau Kok on Saturday as Ko promoted the reforms to a boy. The elderly man chipped in by saying: "Stop cheating. Can 1,200 people [in the nomination committee] represent the whole of Hong Kong?

As the man left, Ko went after him saying: "I don't like people who come shouting and then walk away."

The man's retorted with "Don't try and fool children" and "The 1,200 people can choose candidates like a white-haired witch."

Calling it an insult, Ko fired back, saying: "It's fine that you have your ideals but you shouldn't impose them on Hongkongers."

The man hit back: "That's exactly what you've been doing."

Declaring he had been merely asking the boy to make an independent analysis, Ko said "that's all" and stomped off.

It is, without a doubt, the single most dramatic episode of the government's campaign so far.

Is Ko, despite his high popularity levels, suitable for the special political salesmanship that his peers have been performing with a cool head? I seriously doubt it.

Since the first-day chaos of the campaign, the government has changed its tack. Instead of alerting the media, officials opted for a guerrilla-style approach.

The advantage is that officials can choose what information they want to release after each outing.

Yet, there's also a disadvantage. For after a while, the footage they want publicized loses its appeal to the media.

It is still a mystery why a TV crew was present when Ko showed up in the public housing estate. No matter who brought the crew to the scene, it's now clear that the community is deeply split over the political issue and a mild- mannered figure like Ko will be unable to help to narrow the gap.

Opinion survey results released by TV stations show support for the package has been staggering between 40 and 50 percent. It's highly questionable that the government's publicity drive will be able to increase that figure in the month ahead to more than 60 percent.

It is apparent from Saturday's incident that the guerrilla-style tactic is riddled with risks.

The question that needs to be asked if should all effort be focused on breaking the deadlock through negotiation, rather than the amateurish exhibition of government officials appearing in public along with helpers from left-wing trade unions and political groups? For unless there is some kind of breakthrough, the package will very likely be vetoed.

And things are likely to get hotter in the war of words.

First, Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing asked his pan-democratic rivals to shut up at a City Forum debate. Then, chief executive Leung Chun-ying openly laughed at radical lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung being expelled from a Labor Day reception. Now, even Ko has lost his cool.

The hot-button issue of political reforms is causing even the more level- headed among us to veer toward the edge, and that cannot be good.

Coconuts

HongKong