Apple Daily News – Historical Lense

Posted on April 19, 2021 by bugsy122019

Hong Kong Update 😢

You may remember several months ago I spoke about the current crack-down on Hong Kong by the Beijing government. A number of democracy activists had ben thrown into prison for their involvement in an unauthorized protest on August 18, 2019 involving more than 1.7 million people. In April 2020, 72-year-old Jimmu Lai, the owner and publisher of the Apple Daily News, and 82-year-old Martin Lee, the founder of Hong Kong’s democracy movement and one of the people who put together the original Hong Kong constitution, and seven others, were jailed. In May, the Communist Party announced that it would try to pass a new National Security Law. Despite more protests and pushback from the Hong Kong legislature, they “passed” the new laws just before midnight on June 30, 2020.

The trials of the original nine individuals were relatively short, and everyone expected the outcome. On Friday, April 17, District Judge Amanda Woodcock passed the sentences–8 to 18 months. Mr. Lee and three other people got a suspended sentence because of their age, and as long as they didn’t commit any other crimes for the next two years. Mr. Lai, however, received a 12-month sentence. And that’s the least of his problems. While in jail awaiting his sentence, Beijing added new charges of foreign collusion and additional counts. That could end up with a life sentence.

Recently, Hong Kong’s prosecutors (the phrase Quisling— a person how collaborates with an enemy force that’s occupying that country–comes to mind) have charged 47 additional democratic activists with a variety of offensives, again using the National Security Laws. They tend to be younger individuals and it’s possible that they may receive longer terms. And of course, many of the young people who took to the street during the protests, are still waiting for their day in court. Many Hong Kongers have already left. Others are making their final arrangements ,to leave, but they know that the noose is getting tighter by the week. Still others have decided to stay and do what they can continue the insurrection–though largely underground.

It’s difficult to watch one of the most prosperous, beautiful cities turned into simply another large, grey, Chinese city. Have we done anything to help? Well, we’ve passed resolutions, and President Biden has said that the US seriously disagrees with Beijing’s behavior. Okay. Beijing doesn’t care. They’ve ignored the 1997 treaty with Great Britain. They haven take Tibet. They’ve put Uighurs in in slave-labor or concentration camps. They’ve decided they want Hong Kong and are in the process of absorbing it. And we’ve done nothing. How about we lobby for Mr. Lai? Lobby the Nobel Peace Prize for Mr. Lee? Make it clear that any Hong Konger goes to the head of the line when asking for asylum in the US. There is much we can do short of bullets to help.

A logical questions is, what’s next. Well, if we paid attention we’d see that what Beijing really wants is Taiwan. They’ve made that very clear. Taiwan understands that. Two weeks ago, the Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, announced that the nation will defend itself “to the very last day” if attacked by Beijing. And It’s good to see that the US, UK, and Australia seem to be paying attention. But this reminds we of Poland 82 years ago. The Poles intended to defend Poland to the end. And France and Great Britain signed treaty agreeing to come to their rescue if Germany attacked. What happened? Basically nothing. Are we going to help Taiwan in its time of need?

Posted on February 24, 2021 by bugsy122019

Time for an Update

It’s been a while since I discussed current events in Hong Kong, the Uighur’s and other Turkic peoples in Xinjiang province, as well as Tibet, so like I said, it’s time for an update. What’s been going on? Sad to say, very little good news.

Jimmy Lai at a meeting of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy

Remember Jimmy Lai–the billionaire entrepreneur from Hong Kong who owns the Apple Daily News, and who is a pillar of democracy? Well he was jailed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in December 2020 because he had been involved in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests in 2019 and 2020. He was originally given bail–more like house arrest, but at least not in jail. A few weeks ago, he was re-arrested and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal denied his bail because they believe he had committed crimes against the state, and colluded with foreign forces. They also said that he has the means to flee which, in fact he does, but he’s made it very clear to everyone that he will never leave Hong Kong. He could have left at any time in the past 30 years, but stayed to fight for freedom.

Ultimately, the CCP is trying to use Lai to intimidate the Hong Kongers, making an example of what can happen to people who defy the government. But this very well might backfire for Beijing because Jimmy Lai may be willing to become a martyr for liberty. He grew up on the mainland and knows how the Party works. As things stand now, he’s stuck in prison until his first court appearance in April. Want to bet that it turns into a show trial? Many Hong Kongers support Lai and democracy, but the CCP tends to take a difference view. They hope that keeping Lai in prison will suppress the Hong Kongers. After all, if someone like Lai can be jailed, what would happen to them?

Many families are having serious discussions about whether to stay or leave Hong Kong. Many have already left, and as the noose tightens, more are trying to move ASAP. Here too, the CCP is trying to set up road-blocks. For years, Hong Kongers have held British National (Overseas) Passports, the BN(O), issued since 1987. On January 29th, Zhan Lijian, the Chinese Foreign Minister announced that China wouldn’t recognize the BN(O) for people boarding flights out of Hong Kong as of January 31st. They would require the Hong Kong Identity Card (HKID). Great Britain has already changed its policies to make it easier for Hong Kongers become citizens of the UK, but when media broke the news about the newest restriction, the US, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Japan and Taiwan, in addition to the UK, announced that they would recognize the BN(O), in an effort to help Hong Kongers.

Remember, though, that Hong Kong is just the latest attempt of the CCP to suppress a people. We’ve talked about Tibet, where the Dalai Lama had to flee, temples have been destroyed, and the people basically enslaved. We hear more about the Uighur’s these days, because it’s clear that they have been forced into concentration camps, are raped, starved, beaten, and forced into “re-education” camps, while many others end up slave laborers making everything from sneakers to soda.

One of the very few rays of sum light in all this misery is that both former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and current Secretary of State Anthony Blinken are harsh critics of China’s horrifying human rights policies. It’s early days for the new administration–here’s hoping that they take their current comments seriously. I, too, understand real politik pretty well, but there’s something more important. Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury’s belief that “When principle is involved, be deaf to expediency.” Think about that before you buy a pair of sneakers.

Posted on December 2, 2020December 3, 2020 by bugsy122019

Lai, Lee, Wong . . . Who’s Next?

Last week I posted about the serious need to help the small and medium-size gyms, not only to keep them afloat, but also because of the serious health benefits good gyms provide all of us. Covid-19 has, understandably, focused all of us close to home. We’re working hard to keep family, work and school on an even keel. That gives us little time or energy to look outward. Between the virus and the election, Hong Kong has been on our back burner–and China has taken full advantage of that. So let’s take a minute and see what’s been going on in Hong Kong for the past few months.

Since the summer, with Beijing’s new National Security Laws now in place, China is closing the noose around Hong Kong tighter every day. Many Hong Kongers are quietly making their plans–either stay and fight, or sell their property and leave. Taiwan, the UK, Canada, Australia and the US are ready to help, but it’s a difficult process to leave Hong Kong–especially since it’s not known if Beijing will continue to recognize Hong Kong passports. There are also questions because many, but not all Hong Kongers have dual passports.

Jimmy Lai and Martin Lee at a 2019 protest in Hong Kong

On August 23th, 12 Hong Kongers, between 16 and 33 years old, tried to use a speedboat to make a 400-mile dash from a quiet cove in northeastern Hong Kong to Taiwan. All of them had been very involved in the massive demonstrations in 2019. They only made it 36 miles before the Chinese equivalent of the Coast Guard stopped them. They ended up in jail in Shenzhen province, just across the border in China proper. They are charged with everything from riot to weapons charges. Another nine people were charged in October. They may receive up to 10 years in prison for allegedly helping the “Hong Kong 12.” It’s estimated that over the past few months 10,000 Hong Kongers have been detained.

Chinese leadership recently announced it is beginning to impost “comprehensive governance” for the next five years. “Comprehensive governance” means direct rule from Beijing–no democratic rule, no civil liberties in Hong Kong. Then the Council of Hong Kong expelled four members of the Civic Party, one of Hong Kong’s numerous pro-democracy parties. The remaining 15 members of the party resigned from the Council in protest, leaving what we’d call the “rump” of the Council to do Beijing’s bidding.

Also in October, police raided the offices of media mogul and pro-democracy leader, Jimmy Lai, the owner of the Apple Daily newspaper and Next Digital magazine. He could certainly leave if he wanted to. He doesn’t. He had arrived in Hong Kong as a child who had stowaway on a fishing boat, and worked his way up from literally nothing. Later that month, more than 100 police took him into custody. He proudly walked out of his firm in handcuffs which he, and so many Hong Kongers considered a badge of honor. He’s currently out on bond but will go on trial for sedition and collusion with a foreign power. Then came the announcement that Martin Lee, the Father of the Hong Kong democracy movement who had been working for a free Hong Kong since he fled from China in 1949, had also been arrested. At the age of 82, Lee has said that he will not leave even if he dies in jail. “Dying without my convictions is what would really give me pain.” (WSJ Nov. 16, 2020)

It’s not just the older people who are staying. Many students and young people are staying too. For instance, Joshua Wong recently pled guilty and is held in solitary confinement for organizing an illegal protest near Hong Kong’s main police station last year. He knows that he can spent the next three years in jail, but he also knows that the fight for freedom will continue. According to Michael Yon, the well-known war correspondent who spend six months with the protesters, this is a serious insurrection. The fact that the US has put severe restrictions on banks in Hong Kong has given renewed hope to the freedom fighters. However, they are very concerned that the new administration may not stand with Hong Kong the way the current administration has.

The reason that I posted this update is because as difficult as things are here, the Hong Kongers are in a much worse position. The day is coming–hopefully sooner than later🤞–when we may go back to something close to normal. Left to the mercies of Beijing, what will Hong Kong be like by them? What could we do about it? Like I said in the last post–write your congressman/woman and insist that the US continue to put pressure on China, what we can to stand with a free Hong Kong.

Posted on May 26, 2020May 27, 2020 by bugsy122019

🇭🇰 SAVE HONG KONG 🇭🇰

We haven’t heard much about Hong Kong recently. Things tend to slow down in the winter—it’s colder, and people want to spend time with family and friends during the holidays, though small protests continued. Sadly, since the middle of January, the Covid-19 virus has overwhelmed much of the world. It turns out that Hong Kong wasn’t as badly hit as some other nations. A combination of lessons learned from SARS, a five-day strike by nurses demanding that Hong Kong close its borders, the immediate and universal use of masks (commonly used anyway for any illness), the extra care for the elderly, and isolation and quarantines, means that there have been only 1,066 confirmed cases and four deaths.

But that doesn’t mean that everything has gone swimmingly. Things have been bubbling just below the surface, because the basic issue remains. Beijing wants to take over Hong Kong, and the Hong Kongers want to remain one country TWO systems. Several weeks ago, 15 of the democracy leaders, including Jimmy Lai, a refugee from the mainland who became a multi-million dollar owner of the Apple Daily newspaper and champion of freedom, were rounded up, thrown into prison and are awaiting trial for sedition. The protests grew.

Then came a brawl—yes, a for-real brawl—in the Hong Kong legislature. A group tried to pass a law that would make it a crime to say anything disrespectful about the Chinese national anthem. The Hong Kongers responded with significant protests at China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

Right now, the National People’s Congress (NPC), all 3,000 of them, is having its annual meetings in Beijing. On May 22, they began to discuss national security laws which, if passed, will make it a crime for Hong Kong to try to break away from Beijing, to subvert the PRC (People’s Republic of China), and to conduct terrorist actions against China. The drafts currently remain in committee. No one in Hong Kong has seen even pieces of them. That only makes everyone even more concerned. Hong Kongers fully expect Beijing will try to grab more power. They know that Beijing wants to end the treaty of 1997 and now have “one country, ONE system” ASAP.

Over the weekend of May 22, protesters using numerous message apps and social media, even graffiti at a subway station, began to organize. Thousands of protestors showed up at Causeway Bay Mall, despite the fact that they had not received any permits. Many of them feel that they have nothing to lose—if the laws go through they will be under Beijing’s rule.They marched, bellowing “Liberate Hong Kong,” and “Hong Kong Independence, the only way out!” Within an hour, police arrive with water cannon and tear gas. 120 were arrested but the protest went on for hours. Hong Kongers are expecting more to come and are planning additional protests toward the end of May—this is quickly turning into an insurgence.

China has played the long game for centuries. It has wanted to take Hong Kong since 1948 and the birth of the People’s Republic of China. It took fifty years to sign the 1997 treaty with Great Britain, and then began gradually turning the screw to bring Hong Kong closer and closer to Beijing. But Beijing is still seething from the riots last year. With so much of the world focusing on the pandemic, now may be the perfect time for the PRC to make a serious power grab—but the Hong Kongers won’t give up with out a fight.