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.
POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 142:
Full coverage of the day’s events on 06-05
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.
Lawsuit seeks ban on govt’s 2017 universal suffrage ads
Former Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Paul Shieh on Wednesday filed a lawsuit on behalf of a retired news photographer, seeking a ban on government radio and TV campaigns related to the 2017 electoral reform proposal.
As the “2017, Make it happen” advertisement series contains political elements, it should be blocked from mass media channels, Sheih said, according to Ming Pao Daily News.
The Communications Authority should ban the airing of those ads, Shieh argued on behalf of his client, the report said.
The lawsuit also urges that Patrick Nip, Director of Information Services, be barred from providing such advertisement materials to media outlets for broadcast.
Shieh’s client, retired news photographer Cheung Tak-wing, criticized the government’s promotion of its political reform proposal, saying the campaign is biased and lacks impartiality.
“The ad only talks about one person one vote, but it did not touch on the formation of the 1,200-strong nomination committee,” said Cheung.
Ordinary people won’t have the knowledge or expertise to understand the implications of the electoral reform proposal, he said in his complaint.
Cheung is seeking legal assistance from the government but is yet to get the green light.
The retired news photographer complained that while citizens or political organizations are not allowed to run advertisements with political content, the government is exempted from such restrictions under the Broadcast Ordinance.
The double standards violate freedom of speech under the human rights ordinance and the Basic Law, he said.
Coconuts
Hong Kong student body defiant against critics of obscene anti-police rap
The Student Union president of Hong Kong’s Lingnan University has stood defiant against critics of a song played at a campus concert that included insults against the police their families.
The debate topic of RTHK’s televised City Forum on Sunday was on the so-called “Concert of Resistance in the Dark Times”, organised by the student body last month.
At the show, four-man band played a rap song that included obscene lyrics about Hong Kong police. The band members were not students but were invited by the Student Union to perform.
Lau Chun-lam, president of the SU, said in Sunday’s open-air forum that Hongkongers had to make use of many forms of action to protest against the unjust government, SCMP reports.
The concert was organised in response to the government’s unwillingness to listen to the public’s view, he added
"It's like when we punch back just one time after the government hit us with a stick 10 times, you continue to focus on that one punch we throw. Is that just and fair?" Lau asked.
Former Law Society chairman Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, a pro-establishment forum speaker, claims playing the song in public could constitute a violation of Section 17B of the Public Ordinance, where offenders face fines of up to HKD5,000 and 12 months imprisonment for using abusive and threatening language.
The lawyer also criticised Lau for "living too comfortably" and urged him to "look at the Middle East and Africa".
In the midst of the debate, Ho threw a printout of the lyrics at Lau, and challenged the SU president to read them out on air, which the host disallowed in respect to the Broadcast Ordinance, EJ Insight reports.
A female forum speaker, cultural commentator Tang Siu-wa, also disagreed with the lawyer, saying she believes the performance was an exercise in freedom of speech.
Ho countered by suggesting she strip on stage if she believes performance art would provide her with an excuse.
Excellent logic there. That’s exactly the same thing.
The debate topic of RTHK’s televised City Forum on Sunday was on the so-called “Concert of Resistance in the Dark Times”, organised by the student body last month.
At the show, four-man band played a rap song that included obscene lyrics about Hong Kong police. The band members were not students but were invited by the Student Union to perform.
Lau Chun-lam, president of the SU, said in Sunday’s open-air forum that Hongkongers had to make use of many forms of action to protest against the unjust government, SCMP reports.
The concert was organised in response to the government’s unwillingness to listen to the public’s view, he added
"It's like when we punch back just one time after the government hit us with a stick 10 times, you continue to focus on that one punch we throw. Is that just and fair?" Lau asked.
Former Law Society chairman Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, a pro-establishment forum speaker, claims playing the song in public could constitute a violation of Section 17B of the Public Ordinance, where offenders face fines of up to HKD5,000 and 12 months imprisonment for using abusive and threatening language.
The lawyer also criticised Lau for "living too comfortably" and urged him to "look at the Middle East and Africa".
In the midst of the debate, Ho threw a printout of the lyrics at Lau, and challenged the SU president to read them out on air, which the host disallowed in respect to the Broadcast Ordinance, EJ Insight reports.
A female forum speaker, cultural commentator Tang Siu-wa, also disagreed with the lawyer, saying she believes the performance was an exercise in freedom of speech.
Ho countered by suggesting she strip on stage if she believes performance art would provide her with an excuse.
Excellent logic there. That’s exactly the same thing.
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