Everyone who reads these posts knows that I read newspapers. It can be real newspapers, or on-line newspapers, but I read a lot of them from–left, right and center. You also know that I’m very concerned about Hong Kong. I haven’t said too much about Hong Kong recently because, frankly, I’m even more concerned about the US, but I’ll discuss that shortly. In the meantime, what I say on Friday was just so disheartening that I had to say something. And maybe the best thing to do was to actually show you. This was in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, July 23. Front page, above the fold. I also included the very short piece that was on page 7.
Should I calm down because it won’t happen here? Some of my family members do. But then my friends from Cuba and Venezuela and Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) disagree with them. They suggest that we we need to start careful attention. What do you think?
(It will be very interesting to see how many bots and other groups from the CCP–and there definitely are some–take a look at this)
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.
Hunger strikes in Hong Kong late 2019
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.
Poland, 1938
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?
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.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
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.
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.
Jimmy Lai
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)
Martin Lee
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 laterđ¤–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.
In 2015 the movie, âWolf Warrior,â about an elite unit of the PLA, was a box-office smash in China, followed in 2017 by Wolf Warrior II. These days, the term âWolf Warriorâ describes an extremely aggressive approach that China is using around the world. While most nations are focused close to home, Beijing is expanding its tentacles in numerous parts of the world. There are no interesting pictures today, just serious words which we should not forget, even as we deal with problems in our own backyards. (I promise pictures next time!)
South China Sea. In March and April, China carried out training exercises in the South China Sea around one of their artificial island. They have increased the size of one, and created several new ones. They built installations on Woody Island, and currently dispute both the Spratly and Paracel Islands. They unilaterally banned summer fishing in disputed waters in Vietnam, and are causing serious issues with the Philippines. Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines are pushing back, and are working with the US to maintain the international freedom of the seas.
East China Sea. China is disputing not one or two, but eight islands there. Japan recently discovered a Chinese submarine sailing around both the Mayakovsky and Senkaku Islands, both owned by Japan. Tension has grown, and both countries have ramped up their radar and others military activities in the area.
Hong Kong. Sadly, things in Hong Kong have gone from bad to worse. Once the new laws and so-called security measures were passed by Beijing, it only took a few weeks for them to move security forces into Hong Kong. Well over 500 people have already been rounded up. More is coming. Police have told restaurant owners to get rid of pro-democracy posters. City officials have offered 1 Million Hong Kong dollars to anyone who helps in the arrest of a âsubversive.â Despite significant US and UK sanctions, Beijing is taking Hong Kong apart. The UK has offered 3 million visa to Hong Kongers, though Beijing will not make it easy for the best and the brightest to leave. Thereâs an uneasy quiet in Hong Kongâmost of the protests have gone underground. Many China-watchers expect that theyâve moved on to insurrection.
Tibet. Mao Zedong seized Tibet in 1949. In 1976, at the end of the Cultural Revolution, PLA troops built several roads up the high plateau to Tibet. Hundreds of men died along the wayâdidnât matter. As soon as the PLA arrived in Tibet, they squelching any unrest at all, and started to close monasteries. Resentment built until there were riots against the Chinese in 2008. Beijing upped itâs game. Since 2011 virtually everyone has been barred from entering Tibet. Tibetans may only speak Mandarin Chinese anywhere outside the home. Beijing has been moving a great number of Han people into Tibet as teachers and virtually everything but the most menial laborers. Anyone wanting to become a monk has to pass stringent requirements to become a âpatriotic, pious, expert.â Buddhist are badly mistreated on a daily basis.
Uighurs. The Uighurs are Muslims living in the area called East Turkmenistan, Uighuristan, or Xinjiang province which Mao grabbed in 1949. In the past twenty years, Beijing has destroyed Uighur mosques, and been more repressive than even in Tibet. Currently 1.3 million people are held in more than 85 massive detention campsâbasically concentration camps with slave labor, torture and death. Those Uighirs who are not in the âreeducation campsâ work under the harshest conditions with drones and massive cypher-security keeping track of everyone all the time. Currently, Beijing has started, preemptive pregnancy checks, forced sterilization, abortions, and forced birth control. Ultimately, itâs genocide
Sino-Indian Skirmishes. The short India-China War lasted from October 20, 1962, to November 20, 1962, leaving the Line of Actual Control in the area around Ladakh and Sikkiman near the Galwan Valley. Recently India has begun some large infrastructure projects, and in a preemptive move the Chinese sent troops to the area. On June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were killed, and 10 were held by the Chinese until June 18. Itâs unknown how many, if any, Chinese were killed or wounded because Beijing refuses to divulge the information. The entire Indian nation is infuriated on every level because itâs become clear that Beijing wants to encroach on Indian sovereignty. India is pushing back. Interestingly, they have stopped using about 50 apps, including the seemingly fun TikTok, because those apps provide a back door for a huge amount of data that goes straight to Beijing. At the same time a number of nations are sending weapons and materiel requested by India, making it clear to China that itâs in for a fight if it goes any further.
As if all that wasnât enough, China is doing its best to get involved in Venezuela, parts of Africa, Iran and areas in the Middle East. And donât forget Taiwan!!
So, why would I start discussing China on a national holiday? Because this is 4th of July weekend, and Iâve been rereading something GeorgeWashington wrote in 1799. â…make them believe that offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only means of defense.â Beijing understands that. Even before the pandemic, Chinaâs had serious economic problems, problems with the âbelt and road,â problems in Hong Kong and Taiwan, etc. Now, most of the world is angry with China because even if it didnât invent Covid-19, it didnât alert anyone until it was much too late. What to do? Personally, Iâd apologize profusely and do everything I could to be helpful. (But Iâm a dog lover.) Xi Jinping is smarter than I am. And heâs a Wolf Warrior. When in doubt, attackâeconomically, culturally or militarilyâespecially when people are otherwise occupied. At the very least you can buy time. Best case, you get more of what you wanted in the first place. … Something to ponder.
We havenât heard much about Hong Kong recently. Things tend to slow down in the winterâitâs 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 wasnât 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 doesnât 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 brawlâyes, a for-real brawlâin 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 Chinaâs Liaison Office in Hong Kong.
Right now, the National Peopleâs 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 (Peopleâs 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 âone country, ONE systemâ 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 loseâif the laws go through they will be under Beijingâs rule.They marched, bellowing âLiberate Hong Kong,â and âHong Kong Independence, the only way out!â 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 Mayâthis 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 Peopleâs 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 grabâbut the Hong Kongers wonât give up with out a fight.
American flags by the thousands, parades, signs, posters…we just saw them during the Fourth of July a few months ago, right? But we also see American flagsâsome British flags tooâsigns, posters, lights, and hundreds of thousands of peopleâin Hong Kong! What began as a peaceful protest over a single piece of legislation has turned into 120+ days of mass protests with continued escalation and no end in sight. Hong Kong, currently home to 7.3 million people in an area of 428 square miles, goes back to the Stone Ageâwhatâs happened since then?
Hong Kong was a small fishing village at the time of the Han dynasty (200 BC) with about 250 little islands and peninsulas that gradually developed into a sheltered harbor. As early as the 7th century C.E. traders dealt in silk, tea, spices and textilesâsomething like a sea-faring Silk Road. By the 1500s numerous Dutch ships and some French arrived and began serious trading at Hong Kong. (Interesting that Portuguese also arrived in China but set up shop across from Hong Kong in Macao.)
Destroying Chinese War Junks, During the Opium Wars
By the early 1800s the Qing dynasty was trying to ban the import of opium, much of which came from India via British traders. In 1840 the Chinese seized a huge cache of opium, starting the 1st Opium War, which ended badly for China. In 1842, they signed the Treaty of Nanking, and one of the provisions ceded Hong Kong Island to Great Britain. At the end of the Second Opium War (1860), China handed over the Kowloon Peninsula to the Brits. During the course of the 19th century, trade between Europe, the US and China grew exponentially, and Hong Kong became increasingly important. In 1898 the United Kingdom brokered a deal with China under which the UK held a 99-year lease with what is called the New Territories. Together these three areas were known as the Crown Colonies.
Hong Kong circa 1930 (PD-HK)
With the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 thousands of exiles, many from Guangzhou (Canton), moved to Hong Kong, and twenty-five years later, hundreds of thousands more fled to Hong Kong when Japan started the Sino-Japanese War in 1938. On December 8, 1941, Japan attacked Hong Kong, and on Christmas Day that year, Britain was forced to surrender to the Japanese, who retained control of the city until August 14, 1945. After the war, Britain took back the territory and Hong Kong grew into a major trading port. Yet as civil war between the Koumintang and the Chinese Communist Party grew, more hundreds of thousands fled to Hong Kong yet again. The city grew at a massive rateâthe 1950s and 60s saw an explosion of light industry, commerce and finance, branching out into international banking. Interestingly, by the end of the Cultural Revolution in China, Beijing quietly became more open to the West and Hong Kong became the best conduit between nations.
By the late 1960s a number of people in Hong Kong were calling for a larger roles in the Hong Kong government. For myriad reasons it became clear to Great Britain that it was time to separate from Hong Kong. Remember, Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula were owned in perpetuity by the UK, but the New Territories were coming to the end of their 99-year lease. Had the UK tried to keep two of the three sections of the city, it would have caused more problems then it solved. Including all three parts of the city would be the best of a bad situation. Had the British and/or the people of Hong Kong said âno deal,â the Chinese would have simply moved in and taken the city by force.
Flag of the United Kingdom
Beginning in 1982, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and General Secretary Deng Xiaoping began negotiations for Britain to leave Hong Kong. Two years of discussions resulted in the Sino-British Declaration. Hong Kong would now be the Special Administrative Region and would maintain its capitalism, its own way of life, freedom of speech, right of assembly, religion, etc. until 2047. On July 1, 1997, the new flag of Hong Kong replaced the Union Jack. Hong Kong was now âOne Country, Two Systems.â Initially all seemed fine, but in fairly short order cracks in the two systems appeared. The Party Congress was tightening its grip on Hong Kong. At the same time, a small but growing group in Hong Kong began to advocate greater independence
Flag of Hong Kong
So what is happening today? In the spring of 2019, the government of Hong Kong proposed a bill that would allow it to extradite people to the Chinese mainland. Everyone understood that it would simply detain and extradite anyone the Chinese Communist Party wanted. When discussions, requests, letters, editorials, radio and TV ads didnât work, the people took to the streets in peaceful protest. Not just a few. Hundreds of thousandsâon occasion a millionâpeople. Eventually Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong (basically the mayor, taking orders from Beijing) put the order on hold, but it was too late. For almost five months people have been in the streets every night. In the middle of October Lam invoked emergency powersâand that stopped nothing. People are now openly calling for freedom. Itâs not just young people, itâs everyone from high school to what is called the GIA (Grandmother Intelligence Agency.) Police are out in force. To date they have used 10-15 live rounds, 4,500 tear gas canisters, 1,490 rubber bullies, 520 sponge greatest, and countless water cannons.
Also in October the US House of Representatives passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019. It is expected to pass the Senate and be signed by the President. Just recently, on October 23, the offending bill that started it all was officially killedâbut who knows what happens next? Just type in âHong Kong Newsâ to find out dailyâsometime hourlyâwhatâs happening, or follow Michael Yon who often live streams what goes on at night.
Hong Kong Protestersâphoto by Erin Song on Unsplash
Historical Lense 