Archive for the ‘Politics: All Posts’ Category
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VIDEO – Videos of Hong Kong’s Support Snowden Rally (Part 4 of 4)
Videos below, as part of our four-part coverage of the event… See also:
AP Video…
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PHOTOGRAPHY – Hong Kong Snowden Rally Photos (Part 3 of 4)
Hundreds gathered last weekend for a rally in support of Edward Snowden. Photos below, as part of our four-part coverage of the event… See also:
The panoramas below were taken by See-ming Lee…
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ACTIVISM – Hong Kong Snowden Rally Media Coverage (Part 2 of 4)
Kin Cheung, AP
Media coverage below, as part of our four-part coverage of the event… See also:
An unprecedented number of local social and political groups came together on Saturday at the supportsnowden.org rally in solidarity with the American NSA whistleblower. 27 co-organisers joined more than 900 Hong Kong and foreign demonstrators (according to an independent head count). With 6 speakers, including 3 LEGCO members, they marched in the rain from Chater Garden to the US Consulate, demanding an end to surveillance of innocent citizens. A letter (PDF) was handed in to Ambassador Steve Young demanding that the human right to a private life is upheld (Article 8 of the UN declaration). Accompanied by the world’s media, marchers then convened at HK Government HQ in Admiralty, demanding that Chief Executive CY Leung speak up, protect Snowden and ensure rule of law is upheld without interference from Beijing.
Despite the weather and warnings from the US consulate to avoid the area and Chater Garden, this was the biggest rally yet, worldwide, on the NSA/PRISM issue. The SCMP reported that, for some, it was their first ever march. A large proportion were expats and many bought their children along. More details, photos and videos will be up on the blog later this week. Collected below is some of the early coverage – this page will update on Sunday. Also be sure to check out the SCMP live blog.
INTERNATIONAL ARTICLES: -
ACTIVISM – Preview of Today’s Hong Kong ‘Support Snowden’ Rally (Part 1 of 4)
Preview below, as part of our four-part coverage of the event… See also:
Today at 3pm, hundreds will gather at Chater Garden (exit J2, Central) in support of Edward Snowden. Over 15,000 have been invited online with 600+ confirmed. The world’s media will cover the event live. An unprecedented 28 groups are now on board – a diverse and unified showing of concerned Hong Kongers. 6 speakers are confirmed, half of whom are serving LEGCO members, and we’ll be rallying at three key locations in the heart of the city this afternoon…
Preparations at the InMedia HQ took place last night – we have some whistles, waterproof placards and decorated umbrellas but please bring your own. This afternoon, we will all be whistleblowers! You can download placards here and be sure to join us, even if it rains. (Especially if it rains!).
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POLITICS – Full Lowdown: US Whistleblower Edward Snowden Seeks Refuge in Free Speech HK
Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald’s source for the American NSA (National Security Agency) whistle blower story, has been taking refuge in Hong Kong. Snowden chose HK as “they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent”. In an interview with The Guardian columnist below, he stated that…
“Hong Kong has a strong tradition of free speech. People think ‘China; great firewall’. Mainland China does have significant restrictions on free speech but the people of Hong Kong have a long tradition of protesting in the streets, making their views known, their internet is not filtered here. No more so than any other western government. And I believe that the Hong Kong government is actually independent in relation to a lot of other western governments.”
Snowden accepted that US security services have a presence here and that he could be extradited, rendered or even kidnapped by triads…
Full lowdown:
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BLOG – More Clueless Sexual Assault Comments, Now From HK’s Chief Prosecutor
N.B. This is not a satirical post. After Security Chief Lai Tung-Kwok aired his victim-blaming opinions on HK’s increasing rape figures last month, an even higher-ranking male official clearly fancied some time in the international spotlight…
Moron of the week, photo via SCMP
Australian lawyer and Director of Public Prosecutions at the HK Department of Justice, Kevin Zervos, reckons female victims of rape ought extend more sympathy to their poor attackers…
“Men will actually respect women more if they see women showing compassion to them and realising they are better off without a conviction.”
Cool story, bro… Zavos shared more of his deep thoughts in an interview with SCMP’s Joanna Chiu, who asked him whether he believed HK judges were overly lenient with sex offenders…
“There’s this boy-girl thing in life… You have young men and women out there interacting socially. And when an incident happens and a man gets carried away… is it social misbehaviour or is it a crime?”
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POLITICS – Photos from Hong Kong’s 2013 Tiananmen Vigil
Below are shots from tonight’s candle-lit commemoration in Victoria Park for those who died in the Tiananmen Square Massacre 24 years ago today. Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers filled several football pitches in Causeway Bay to remember the dead…
Refresh this post for updates this evening and tomorrow.
For more details on this year’s vigil and the events and controversies surrounding it, click here.
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POLITICS – 2013 Tiananmen Massacre HK Candle-lit Vigil: This Coming Tuesday
Imagine…
‘Fatescapes’, a project by Czech artist Pavel Maria Smejkal. Click to enlarge.
For many Hong Kongers, the events of June 4th, 1989 have the same emotional and political equivalence as 9/11 does to the Americans.
The 6/4 massacre not only sparked, but continues to represent, so much of the ongoing suspicion the city feels towards the mainland government. The annual Victoria Park candle-lit vigil itself has become a pressure valve for all kinds of scepticism, mistrust and often disdain for the Communist Party, well beyond its bloody actions 24 years ago. It is also a rallying point for HK’s ‘core values’ and for the local pro-democracy movement which is campaigning for universal suffrage country-wide.
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POLITICS – Average Salaries of Those Who Serve Us
Last week, a taxi driver named Tam Hoi-chi found himself in court after pocketing 50-cents when dropping off a woman in the New Territories. He fought in a pointless 6-month court battle, whilst many other states may have charged the passenger for wasting police time…
The SCMP revealed that “…the passenger did not ask for the 50 cents at the time but later complained to the police.” If only the police and our legal system pursued corporate criminals with the same vigour.
Long-suffering taxi driver, Tam Hoi-chi, via SCMP
Inspired by the passenger’s behaviour, we present a collection of average salaries for service staff in Hong Kong…
Domestic Maid monthly wage: HK$3,920 (or US$505, UK£331).
Image via asianews.it
Source: The Standard, 2012. Maids are exempt from the minimum wage law.
Cleaner average monthly wage: HK$7,641 (or US$984, UK£646).
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POLITICS – Hong Kong NOT World’s Most Racist State After All
Several articles criticising the methodology behind the Washington Post Racism vs. Economic Freedom story have appeared online. The original piece by Max Fisher appeared to show HK to be the most racist state in the world.
Hong Wrong noted the survey was outdated, whilst Reddit-user ‘cf18′ examined the original questionnaire which translates from traditional Chinese as follows…
The original survey
“26. For people with these background, which do you find unacceptable to be your neighbour? [show card]“
a – with criminal record
b – different race
c – heavy drinker
d – emotionally unstable
etc…
Answer: (1) acceptable (2) unacceptable
The source data for the article presents participant’s answers differently. It summarises responses as if participants were presented with ‘tick boxes’ whereby each person checks off each of the various groups of people they would be uncomfortable living next to. The data for HK is presented as a plain: ‘participant mentioned‘ or ‘participant not mentioned‘, as opposed to ‘acceptable‘ or ‘unacceptable‘ for each one. This suggests the ‘mentioned’ numbers actually related to the ‘acceptable’ column, meaning the figures are inverted. As ‘cf18′ notes…
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