Showing posts with label carrie lam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carrie lam. Show all posts

Sunday, November 17, 2019

I Am Worried For Hong Kong

I am worried about Hong Kong. This is too much violence. The solution is dialogue. The solution is Carrie Lam inviting the protest leaders to sit down and talk.

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Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Hong Kong: The Situation Escalates

After Xi Jinping recently met with Carrie Lam, he drew a line in the sand. He stands with Carrie Lam as Carrie Lam makes it sound like Hong Kong is a problem for the Hong Kong Police to handle. The more enlightened position would be that this is a political problem with a political solution, not a police solution.

And the situation keeps escalating. Every line that the Hong Kong Police crosses seems to add fuel to the fire. The hurricane keeps gathering momentum.

It is unwise of Xi Jinping and Carrie Lam to not seek a rapid political solution.



I have a feeling Hong Kong might be moving towards a general strike. So far it has been young people and students. Now the general population might step in and shut the city down.

The Chinese economic miracle would not have been possible without Hong Kong. China should not try to kill the hen that lays the golden egg.

All Hong Kong is asking for is one country, two systems. They were promised that by Deng Xiaoping.

Xi Jinping is trying to pass the buck. And this buck can not be passed.


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Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Hong Kong: Endgame Scenarios

Endgame 1: The Protestors Get Tired

One weekend they simply don't show up. Because they got tired. I don't see this happening. If anything, like a hurricane in the Bahamas, this thing seems to only gather further momentum.

Endgame 2: Beijing Sends In The Force

The PLA crosses the border and marches in. I don't see this happening. Beijing is smart enough to realize it will face major international sanctions. The tariffs that only the US has imposed, many major countries will impose. This act should be the least palatable to Beijing. This route chosen leads to a collapse of the communist party inside China because it starts a chain reaction.

Endgame 3: Inaction

Which is what is happening right now. Carrie Lam will not move the needle. Beijing will not move the needle. They basically hope for endgame 1, even though they do not so spell it out.

Endgame 4: The Protestors Get Better Organized, Locally As Well As Globally

Unless they want to also play the tire you out game, the protestors have no choice but to get better organized. Join this or that political party in the millions. Have elected leadership. Hold regular meetings. Pass resolutions after debate and discussion. Organize globally. Although the movement has been local to Hong Kong, it is only a matter of time before some questions will arise. Why are your demands good only for Hong Kong? What about the rest of China? In China, there might be fear. But what about the global Chinese diaspora? Why are you not winning the debate among the global Chinese diaspora? An interesting part of this development will be that the protest leaders will have to face the fact that they don't necessarily want a copycat political system to what America has. The political and economic system in the US is right now undergoing serious internal questioning. But unless the movement is capable of that debate and discussion, it is not a mature movement.

This last option seems to be the only available option.

Hurricane Hong Kong, will you hit Alabama?


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Carrie Lam Should Invite Protest Leaders For Talks

It is not realistic to think Xi Jinping will sit down for talks with the protest leaders. That might actually be a violation of one country, two systems. And I am not sure Beijing has instructed Carrie Lam to not talk to the protestors. I don't think she consulted Beijing before she decided on the mask ban, which was not a wise move.

Hong Kong Police is already doing the best it can. It is irresponsible of Carrie Lam to push it all onto a Hong Kong Police that used to be known as "Asia's Finest," but now has taken a beating in reputation. Hong Kong Police now has a major image problem.

The threats of "emergency powers," and "military crackdown" are empty and should not be issued, otherwise that will lead to a further erosion of her credibility and authority, worse than the one after the "mask ban."

The most important demand has already been met. Some of the demands can be negotiated. For example, three of the demands are about police conduct. A compromise position would be that the 2,000 plus who have been arrested are released, and although there is an investigation, it is more in the spirit of truth and reconciliation, not intended for punitive purposes. As to whether what has happened is "riot" or "protest," well for that you have free speech. You debate that part as much as you want.

The final demand is tricky. Carrie Lam could say, it is not in my power to accept or reject that demand. And so I can't discuss it. And that would be a fair thing to do. She truly does not have the power to accept the fifth demand.

The onus is on Carrie Lam as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. She should simply invite the protest leaders for talks.




Hong Kong: Carrie Lam hints at further measures to suppress protests Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has hinted at further measures to suppress the increasingly violent protests in the financial hub ahead of her annual policy speech, which will launch economic but not political measures in an attempt to douse widespread discontent....... the increasingly violent acts in recent weeks, which has seen activists hurling dozens of petrol bombs at police while others trashed metro stations as well as shops and banks seen as pro-Beijing. A home-made bomb was remotely detonated as a police car drove past on Sunday night and an officer also had his neck slashed by a protester. ........

Chinese president, Xi Jinping, warned during his trip to Nepal on Sunday that “anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones”

....... the increasingly severe police beatings of protesters, media and bystanders in recent months have caused sweeping resentment. Ordinary people yell obscenities when riot police officers are seen on the streets........ Lam said her annual policy address, scheduled for Wednesday when the legislature resumes sessions, would launch economic measures to ease the land and housing situation. Mainland Chinese officials have repeatedly said unaffordable housing and employment issues are the “root cause” of Hong Kong’s social unrest, although political scientists say economic sweeteners alone will not solve the city’s political crisis........ She condemned the violent attacks on mainland Chinese businesses, shops seen as pro-Beijing, and pro-government politicians’ offices. “To say these were to fight for freedom and democracy could not be further from the truth,” she said. ....... she said her government remained committed to holding district council elections as scheduled on 24 November, despite the unstable social situation........ the Communist party mouthpiece Xinhua news agency said “Hong Kong has slipped into a dangerous abyss and a critical moment” and urged the business sector and civil servants to shun political neutrality, show their support for the police and refrain from “condoning the rioters” for ruining the city’s prosperity.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says she expects police to submit full report to coroner on death of 15-year-old girl, that has triggered violence and conspiracy theories The chief executive also said more than 10 police officers were injured, as the force came under attack from hard-core protesters over the weekend.

US senator Ted Cruz accuses Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam of cancelling meeting with him out of ‘weakness’ and ‘fear’ of anti-government protesters Ted Cruz said he had been looking forward to talks with chief executive but was told when he landed in the city that the meeting had been cancelled ....... Republican senator also said he had met ‘non-violent protest leaders’ and impressed upon them the need to shun violence .......

“Prior to the meeting being cancelled, Ms Lam’s office asked that I agree to keep everything said in the meeting secret and not inform the press of anything she had to say,” Cruz said.

......... Cruz’s anti-Beijing campaign has seen him introduce a bill to amend the US-Hong Kong Policy Act, which would require the State Department to certify the city’s autonomy if it is to continue enjoying special trade and economic benefits under the existing arrangement....... Cruz and other China hawks in the US Congress are also pushing for the bipartisan Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would require Washington to assess whether the city should still be afforded its special status in light of political developments........ A couple of protesters were at Hong Kong’s airport to greet him upon arrival and thank him for his support for their cause – they had reportedly bought flight tickets so they would be allowed into the terminal building, which is off-limits to protesters after the chaos they caused during previous demonstrations at the arrival and departure halls. ....... “I recognise that some of the protests have turned violent. There is considerable concern that the protests are being infiltrated by agents of the Chinese government precisely to cause that violence, to turn the protests violent. I don’t know if that is happening or not; I can tell you the protest leaders with whom I spoke today believe it is happening,” he said. ......

“What I have encouraged the protest leaders with whom I have spoken is to embrace non-violent protest, to follow the tradition of Gandhi in India and Dr Martin Luther King in the United States

........ “That can be difficult to carry out, it can be particularly difficult in the face of violent oppression by government forces, of police beatings and shootings.” ....... “There is a reason the Communist Party in China wants the Hong Kong protests to turn violent because the Chinese Communist Party very much wants to characterise these protests as violent acts of terrorism rather than democracy protesters standing up for human rights,” he said. ..... “But my strong encouragement to the protesters here in Hong Kong is resist the urge to respond to brutality in like kind, but instead stand with dignity.”

‘Not feasible to relaunch a debate on universal suffrage now,’ Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam tells EU, according to internal report Chief executive said she expected a heavy defeat for pro-establishment camp in upcoming district council elections....... Lam reportedly said this year’s policy address will be focused on land and housing, and ‘reiterating confidence in one country, two systems’ ....... it was not feasible to relaunch a debate on universal suffrage now, as that would require constitutional steps by the National People’s Congress and society was too polarised ....... Lam reportedly stated there was nothing to be gained by opening a discussion on something that could not be delivered at present. Universal suffrage is one of five core demands of anti-government protesters......... The chief executive, who “seemed to be in an upbeat mood”, said she had every intention of ensuring the district council elections, scheduled for November 24, would proceed as planned. But she noted it was “up to protesters”......

she said “you can’t negotiate with the mob”

....... “She asserted that the unrest had now descended into ‘sheer and blatant violence’. It was no longer possible to envisage an end to violence being secured by meeting any of the four demands of protesters, given the activity of hard-core elements – who may have ‘organisations behind them’,” the report read........ Lam stood by the new anti-mask law, which took effect on October 5, arguing it had contributed to a decrease in protest numbers and in the use of petrol bombs. She added that at the moment there was no plan to enact further emergency powers.........Thousands of protesters have defied the ban and more than 70 people have been detained over the new law...... Lam did not share a possible time frame for future dialogues with the public, in spite of having confirmed that large-scale encounters were still planned, as smaller group meetings were continuing. While Lam emphasised her determination to “‘put Hong Kong back in business’”
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Sunday, October 13, 2019

Gangster Words Spoken By Xi Jinping: Shattered Bones

These words are gangster. I am surprised they are coming out of the mouth of a president in this day and age. Shattered bones?



I worry for Hong Kong. I do. No, I don't fear a military crackdown. But what is already happening is bad enough.

Let me explain the military crackdown part. This is not me saying what should happen. This is not me being an advocate. This is me talking like a political scientist, or analyst, or student of political science, or simply a blogger. Should Beijing go for military action in Hong Kong, that will start a chain reaction that will lead to a collapse of the communist party inside China. The tariffs that only the US has imposed all major countries will impose. That will give China its first recession in decades. There will be sudden mass unemployment and subsequent mass unrests. There is no police, no intelligence service, no surveillance camera, no facial recognition software, no tank, no gas canister that will save the regime beyond a certain point. And that is sad because it is unnecessary.

The Soviet collapse lead to a major contraction of the Russian economy. It led to the rise of the mafia. Living standards fell across the board. By population Russia is like a small province of China. The same level of instability will be too much if it happens inside of China. Too much for China, too much for the world.

I wish the protests were completely non-violent. But then I also wish the Hong Kong Police followed their own guidelines and did not engage in uniformed as well as ununiformed vigilantism.

But the onus is on Carrie Lam and Xi Jinping. They have the power to decide that they will simply sit down with the leaders of the movement and negotiate on their five demands. The five demands stay within the one country two systems paradigm. What seems to be the problem?

A Marxist is supposed to be a scientist who faces data. The data is out in the streets of Hong Kong. This is a golden opportunity for Xi Jinping to give China its third revolution of political reforms.





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Friday, October 04, 2019

Hong Kong: The Mask Ban Can Not Be Implemented

It is not possible to implement the mask ban that Carrie Lam has just imposed upon Hong Kong. And thus this will lead to further erosion of credibility for the Hong Kong leadership. This is a bad political move. There is no police solution to the situation. There is only a political solution.

Enhanced repression will downgrade Hong Kong as a business destination.





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Raising The Stakes On Non Political Solution In Hong Kong



Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam invokes emergency powers, announces face mask ban

Beijing and Carrie Lam are obviously nowhere near looking at the other four demands. They seem to think there is a police soltion to the whole situation. They want to tire out the protestors. They want to wait it out.

Your opponent will do what your opponent will do. But you have to chalk out your own strategy.

Leaderless is not a movement. Disorganized is not a movement. It bothers me that the Hong Kong protestors choose not to be politically organized.

The mask is a human reaction to the surveillance cameras. People don't want Big Brother to know where they are all the time. That invasion of privacy is so total. This is a global issue.
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Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Trying To Understand Hong Kong And China

While I have been trying to understand Hong Kong and China, this blog post of mine has been of great help: Racism. The history and persistence of racism in the United States should help us understand mindsets elsewhere that we might find exotic and offensive.

I can not talk of Hong Kong, without also talking of Kashmir.

I would like to talk of China, but also of Andrew Yang and Bernie Sanders, and all the race and class bias the two face. Looks like Bernie also faces what can only be called the Great Wall Of Capital.



To be clear, I don't believe the status quo is okay, in Hong Kong or Beijing. But where is the status quo okay?

Hong Kong, like every city out there, is sexist. The female protesters experience it on both sides. And so I have at times wondered if this whole movement is not some sexist rebellion against a female Chief Executive. Of course, that is rhetorical. The ball is clearly in Beijing's court. Carrie Lam has not much wiggle room.

Hong Kong, I believe, is taking the lead, not just for Hong Kong, but also for mainland China, not just for mailand China, but also for the 100 biggest cities in the world.


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Saturday, September 14, 2019

Hong Kong: No Police Solution, No Military Solution, Only A Political Solution

The leadership(s) in Hong Kong and Beijing are engaging in fantasy if they think there is some kind of a police solution or a military solution to the protests in Hong Kong. There is only a political solution. Engage the protest leaders in political dialogue. Basically, accept their five demands. That's it. That will make the whole thing go away.



Carrie Lam can defuse the Hong Kong protests by taking on the property tycoons The Chief Executive can break the stranglehold of property moguls by increasing land supply and providing more affordable housing ....... There is no question that Hong Kong has messed up big time. But a cloud of questions hangs over how to defuse the city’s biggest political crisis in decades........ Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po cited the gloomy economic outlook and downplayed the political crisis, he seems to have resorted to the tried-and-tested trick of “handing out candies” to assuage public discontent at a time of upheaval........the “grey rhino” risks long associated with Hong Kong – sky-high property prices, worsening inequality, lack of social mobility for youth, and woefully underfunded social security ...... every time a crisis has broken out – the crisis of governance in 2003, the national education controversy in 2012, the Occupy Movement in 2014 ....... From half a million protesters in 2003 to about 2 million in June ........ Lam, with the support of Beijing, must break the stranglehold of local property tycoons on the real estate market and curb their political influence by greatly increasing land supply for development and providing more affordable housing for low-income families.......

Hong Kong may pride itself as one of the freest economies in the world but, in fact, the property tycoons are calling the shots on the economy.

....... Hong Kong is short of space for property development – but perhaps not as short as one may think. Just seven per cent of the land is used for residential purposes. ..... In the two months since the anti-government protests started in June, Chinese officials have reportedly expressed dismay over some property tycoons’ reluctance to support Lam’s government and Hong Kong police. ...... the government could take back the 1,300 hectares of brownfield sites currently occupied by operators of open-air storage facilities, warehouses and car parks. ...... To speed up construction and reduce costs, the government should consider introducing

factory-built modular homes

into Hong Kong. ........ about seven per cent of land in Hong Kong is used for residential purposes while about 65 per cent is in green areas and country parks. Shrinking a few per cent of that land would ensure years of housing supply........ take back the 170-hectare Fanling golf course for residential development..... Greater land supply by the government would also have the added benefit of forcing the property tycoons to speed up development using their own land banks. ...... the government should also raise the minimum wage and create more middle-class jobs to improve social mobility for youth. To achieve that end, it should invest more in training health-care professionals and build more polytechnic colleges to equip the city’s youth for the information age ..... the government can also consider raising taxes on those making HK$2 million a year or more, and increasing taxes on property transactions valued at HK$10 million or more.



Hong Kong protests will not fizzle out on their own – Beijing needs to rethink its approach Hong Kong protesters’ resolve should not be unfamiliar to the Communist Party with its history of struggle against the Kuomintang. A more draconian policy will only harden that resolve, but what can be achieved if the grip is loosened? .......... Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has achieved little with her wilted olive branch of withdrawing an extradition bill previously pronounced “dead”. The mass protests she helped to spark, now in their fourth month, rage on. ........

Hong Kong’s administrators and others who advise Beijing are clueless about public sentiment.

....... Demosisto leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, and founder of Hong Kong National Party Andy Chan Ho-tin ........ Wong, who seeks not independence but Hongkongers’ right to self-determination and the election of lawmakers and the chief executive by universal suffrage, said that “for Hong Kong to gain real democracy, it may have to wait until Xi Jinping steps down”. ........ The ball is in Beijing’s court and how it tackles it will determine if Hong Kong caves in or becomes the tail that wags the dog........

They can be happy with Chinese sovereignty if the freedoms promised in the Basic Law are implemented so they can elect their lawmakers and chief executive by universal suffrage.

Meaningful universal suffrage would include voters’ right to nominate candidates, including themselves, to stand for election, rather than voting for candidates put up by their rulers.





‘West can’t solve your problems,’ China’s Communist Party tells Hong Kong protesters Western nations ‘can’t even solve their domestic problems … it is a fantasy to ask them to help people thousands of miles away’, it says ........ The commentary, by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, highlights socioeconomic factors such as the lack of affordable housing in the city as a root cause of the Hong Kong protests, signalling a shift in Beijing’s propaganda efforts in relation to the unrest......... “It is not easy to be a young person in this international metropolis. They face fierce competition and a heavy homework burden. After they get into university they have to shoulder big loans and even after they graduate ... [they still face] difficulties finding a job, low salaries, high property prices and an uncertain future.” ........

“The places ‘helped’ by Western countries to usher in ‘democracy and freedom’ are all in trouble. Western countries can’t even solve their domestic problems ...

it is a fantasy to ask them to help people thousands of miles away.” ........ The commentary came just a day after the commission published a similar article criticising Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing for condoning crime after he had urged those in power to “provide a way out” for the young demonstrators, describing them as the “masters of our future”.........It also suggested the 91-year-old, as a major property developer in the city, should be the one providing the way out by building more affordable homes.......... Li said it was regrettable that his remarks had been misinterpreted, but that he had become “accustomed to unwarranted accusations for many years”.



Hong Kong police target high-profile activists Joshua Wong, Andy Chan and Agnes Chow in wave of arrests amid anti-government protests

Joshua Wong, Andy Chan and Agnes Chow

....... Sha Tin District Council member

Rick Hui Yui-yu

was also arrested...... independence campaigner Andy Chan Ho-tin ...... He was stopped from boarding a plane leaving for Tokyo at Hong Kong airport....... Wong and Chow were key figures during the Occupy protests of 2014 while Chan, also an Occupy activist, led the banned Hong Kong National Party. ........ Wong and Chow are leaders of the pro-democracy outfit Demosisto, which has been campaigning for democratic self-determination in Hong Kong. Chow was disqualified last year from taking part in a Legislative Council election........ A third member of the party,

Ivan Lam Long-yin

........ In a statement on Friday, Demosisto insisted the recent protests were leaderless and the party was not spearheading them. ....... August 31 marks the fifth anniversary of Beijing’s stringent “831 Decision” on Hong Kong’s democratic reforms. ......... Seen as one of the leaders of the 2014 movement, Wong was jailed in August 2017 for six months for storming the government ­headquarters compound in Admiralty, which sparked the 79-day protest......... The anti-government movement has five main demands, including the bill’s complete withdrawal, the establishment of an independent inquiry into police’s handling of protests and genuine universal suffrage.



Can Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam issue an emergency edict? Yes, but the legislature needs to approve it the legislature is back in session in mid-October. ...... as the city entered the 81st day of unrest, surpassing the 79 days of the Occupy protests in 2014....... Local authorities could have the power to arrest, detain, censor media and amend or suspend any laws in operation......... Andrew Wong Wang-fat, a former president of Legco, said any emergency regulations could take effect immediately when gazetted, but lawmakers could later scrutinise or even repeal the order. ....... “Could the government be creating yet another crisis?” Wong asked. “Lawmakers will only have chance to scrutinise the bill on the second meeting in October, by which time the order may have already been in place for months. This will be a challenge to the legislature.”

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Wednesday, September 04, 2019

Hong Kong Problem: Unholy Alliance Of Capitalists And Communists



I don't know the details. So forgive if I get something wrong. I will stand corrected. But it is my understanding that something like half the Hong Kong legislature is not directly elected by Hong Kong citizens. These are business people, rich people, tycoons, industrialists, billionaires, real estate moguls, who enter the legislature through some kind of a back door that they negotiated in 1997 when Britain left. And these unelected people are the most reliable supporters of Beijing in Hong Kong. Go figure. It is like, there is a patch of no man's land somewhere in Latin America where Islamist terrorists and white nationalist terrorists both go to get trained.

And Carrie Lam is obviously not elected by the people of Hong Kong or she would have accepted the demands on day one. She is appointed by Beijing. That is ridiculous. That is not my idea of one country, two systems.

All members of the Hong Kong legislature need to be directly elected by Hong Kong citizens. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong needs to be directly elected by Hong Kong citizens. That would be an affirmation of one country, two systems.

2047 is a deadline. That is when all of China becomes like Hong Kong. Hong Kong does not become like China.


Carrie Lam, What Took You So Long?
Hong Kong And Beijing: The Water Will Break The Dam
Hong Kong Chief Executive Can't Choose To Quit
Steve Bannon, Hong Kong, 1989, And The CCP
Hong Kong Protests: The World Should Not Watch A Possible Massacre
Why Hong Kong Needs A Directly Elected Chief Executive
The Hong Kong Protest Lacks Political Sophistication
Hong Kong: The Shenzen Angle
Could Andrew Yang Become President?

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