China Hong Kong SAR: News and Images

[Godman]

HK has a population of over 7 Million, a few thousand protestors is relatively low

 

[Kinetic]

Lol now the chinaman says Hong Kong uprisings is a indian conspiracy.

These must be one hell of a photo shop

We are with you HK.

 

[lastone]

Protesters targeted Hong Kong's Golden Bauhinia Square, a symbol of the city's handover to Chinese rule, on Monday, June 26, 2017.
Story highlights

• Police have reportedly been told to crack down on certain protest slogans and imagery
• They're hoping not to embarrass Chinese President Xi Jinping while he's in Hong Kong

Hong Kong (CNN)When Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule, the Bauhinia flower was chosen as the symbol of the new Chinese special administrative region.

A giant golden statue was gifted to the city by Beijing and erected at Golden Bauhinia Square, which is now used for official flag-raising ceremonies.
After Chinese state media published a photo of Xi carrying an umbrella on a site inspection in Wuhan province at the height of the Hong Kong demonstrations, the image was quickly remixed and adopted by the umbrella protesters.
Tiananmen Square

Pro-democracy activits march to mark the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre, on June 1, 2014 in Hong Kong.
On June 4, 1989, the People's Liberation Army sent tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square to clear pro-democracy protesters who had been occupying the site at the heart of Beijing for weeks. Hundreds were killed in the crackdown, and thousands more arrested. Hong Kong is the only place on Chinese soil which holds a major public commemoration of the event.
"The June 4 incident" remains one of the most censored topics in China, with all references to the massacre, no matter how oblique, banned or deleted. That means no social media posts around the anniversary using the words "Tiananmen," "June," "today," "student movement," "tank man," or "square," and no use of the numbers 4, 6, 8, 9 or any combination that adds up to 64 or 89, or even "May 35."
In 2013, even ducks were banned, after a giant yellow duck art installation was adopted as a way to bypass the censors.
'I want true universal suffrage'

A banner with the Chinese characters "I want true universal suffrage" placed on the windscreen of a car carrying Hong Kong leader CY Leung.
A key demand of the 2014 protests -- which were sparked after Beijing refused allow Hong Kongers to elect their own leader without China choosing the shortlist -- "I want true universal suffrage" ("ngo jiu zan pou syun" in Cantonese) has become a key rallying cry for pro-democracy activists in the city.
The slogan has been emblazoned on posters, written on walls, beamed onto the sides of buildings, and hung from Hong Kong's iconic Lion Rock mountain, which overlooks the city.
Protest songs

Protestors hold up their cellphones in a display of solidarity during a protest outside the headquarters of Legislative Council in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014.
While police may be able to prevent Xi from seeing anything that displeases him, drowning out the many Hong Kong protest songs might be a more difficult task.
"Boundless oceans, vast skies," a barnstorming ballad released in 1993 by the Hong Kong rock band Beyond has long been the unofficial anthem of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement due to its lyrics about freedom and hope written by front man Wong Ka-kui, who died in a freak accident shortly after its release.
While "Do you hear the people sing?" -- a defiant call for solidarity and resistance from the musical Les Miserables -- has been sung by protest movements around the world for years, it's popularity increased after 2014, thanks to the release of a Cantonese language cover.
As tens of thousands of Hong Kongers gathered in the streets in 2014, many felt they needed their own anthem -- rather than borrowing those of previous movements -- and several specially-written songs were released. "Raise the umbrella," written by Lo Hiu-pan hours after police fired tear gas at peaceful protesters, quickly became the most popular, featuring vocals from local popstars Denise Ho and Anthony Wong.

 

[hit&run&hitagain]

Two protesting Girls being mobbed by Police.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

@Chinese-Dragon brother, please come to check on some crazy Indian trolls are having a HK bashing party here while no moderators are around, thankyou

If I start reading this thread I'm going to start having to hand out negative ratings all over, including to Chinese members which I would rather not do.

Best thing to do is to let the thread die, and wait for the moderators to clean it up.

The irony is that the pro-democracy crowd in Hong Kong actually hate India, because India gives democracy the worst possible name.

 

[bbccdd1470]

True story. My friend who work in HK was offered money to protest. He told me was like a 8 hour shift. If you worked night shift they pay more. That's why you see so many protesters taking selfies , sleeping and watching movies on their phone.

That was one of the rumours that is considered true by many HK people, the fact was at that time we also had snapshot proofs from facebook and whatsapp about them talking about price. Not to mention, a large amount of foods and drinks sent to those occupied areas every morning by a large trunk, where even news reporter got threaten by occupiers when they tried to take picture. Also other stuffs like building materials such as bamboo and concrete that build fences and camping equipment came from nowhere. We also have concrete evidences that our Legco councillors, University professors and organizers of the umbrella revolution in some way connected to the foreign faction before or during the occupation.

 

[lastone]

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/26/asia/hong-kong-handover-exit/index.html
Hong Kongers look for an exit 20 years after handover to China
By Katie Hunt, CNN

Updated 0025 GMT (0825 HKT) June 27, 2017





Hong Kong (CNN)Terence Tam's dad fled to Hong Kong from China during the political chaos of the Cultural Revolution to make a better life for himself and his family.

Then a British colony, the city became home to a huge number of refugees fleeing Communism in the 1960s and 1970s.
Now 39, Tam says he's ready to make another escape, 20 years after the UK handed sovereignty over the city to China.
While Hong Kong is one of the most affluent cities in the world, he says it's now in the throes of its own political upheaval.
"I want to see if I can do the same for my family (as my father did for us)," he says. "I'm not satisfied with the situation in Hong Kong. The political situation, the government. We have so many complaints."

 

[Tauren Paladin]

Hong Kong is an autonomous region of China. There's nothing any country can do, the world recognizes it as a legal binding city in China. If it wasn't, Hong Kong wouldn't have China after the comma.

 

[StraightShooter]

Thousands march in Hong Kong to show dissent for Chinese rule
Rally by pro-democracy groups on 20th anniversary of city’s handover to Chinese rule follows Xi Jinping’s visit and labelling of any challenge to it as ‘a red line’




Pro-democracy protester Leung Kwok-hung joins a march in Hong Kong on Saturday. He was later taken away by police. Photograph: Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images


Tom Phillips and Benjamin Haas in Hong Kong

Saturday 1 July 2017 11.37 BSTFirst published on Saturday 1 July 2017 05.19 BST

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have marched across Hong Kongto mark the 20th anniversary of its return to Chinese control with a high-profile show of dissent.

China’s president Xi Jinping, who had been in the former British colony on a three-day tour, flew out of Hong Kong just hours before the annual protest kicked off in Victoria Park on Saturday afternoon.

But organisers said they remained determined to let Hong Kong’s political masters in Beijing know how they felt after two decades of Chinese rule.

“We know he has gone back to Beijing but we still want to show that they cannot ignore our voice,” said Howard Cheng, 28, one of the leaders of the group that organises the rally, the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF). “He came to Hong Kong but he didn’t want to hear the real voice of the Hong Kong people.”

Cheng accused Beijing of offering “fake democracy” to Hong Kong’s 7.3 million residents. “We are here to fight for democracy and universal suffrage.”

Organisers said more than 60,000 people joined the 3km march, which has been held nearly every year since Hong Kong returned to China in 1997.

Saturday’s rally, which will be followed by a massive pro-Beijing firework display celebrating the anniversary, kicked off at about 3.30pm local time.

A column of protestors surged westwards from the park towards Hong Kong’s financial centre, carrying flags, banners and yellow umbrellas – the symbol of 2014’s mass protests – stamped with the words: “Power to the people”.

Many demonstrators carried messages of dissent on black and white T-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as: “Never back down”, “fight for Hong Kong,” and, more poetically, “being born in uncertain times carries certain responsibilities”.

The protesters and their leaders said they hoped to use the anniversary of Britain’s departure to voice their disgust at Beijing’s refusal to grant them genuine democracy and its alleged erosion of their autonomy and freedoms.

A series of political scandals – including the abduction of a group of local booksellers by mainland agents – have left many convinced that Beijing is preparing to take a harder line with those who question its rule over the former colony.

“We are here to tell the truth that the 20th anniversary of handover is nothing to celebrate. We still don’t have democracy. We are here to tell the world that,” Nathan Law, a local pro-democracy legislator who was among those leading the rally, told the Guardian.

Eddie Chu, a 39-year-old environmentalist and pro-democracy politician, said the rally was “the most important chance to show the power of the people”. “My message is: give us the power that we deserve,” he said.

Michelle Wang, a 58-year-old protester, had come armed with a homemade placard that read: “July 1 is no celebration”.

“One country, two systems: what a lie!” she fumed, referring to the system under which Hong Kong returned to China’s control, but with far greater freedoms than the authoritarian mainland.

“I was born in Hong Kong. I see everything changing,” Wang went on. “Year after year things are happening. We don’t want to see so much influence from mainland China. We do not have universal suffrage. Maybe we will never have it. That’s why we are so angry.”

Jaco Chow, an activist from the New School for Democracy group, said that unlike many of the marchers, the Communist party was not his main focus.

“The biggest problem is always the capitalists,” the 33-year-old said. “The Chinese Communist party is another serious problem of course. But capitalists are the real problem.”

As the crowds surged past, through Hong Kong’s Wan Chai neighbourhood, Chow declared himself a proud Corbynista. “He’s cool. I hope Hong Kong can have a political icon like Jeremy Corbyn one day. [He’s] hardcore. An old school leftist. This is what we need.”

Jason Leung a 16-year-old protestor, was marching with a poster carrying a rather different message. “Don’t walk and smoke at the same time,” it read.

“I think it is very selfish,” explained the teenager, who was at his first rally and said he had come because he wanted to experience first-hand Hong Kong’s vibrant democracy movement.

“I have no bad feelings [about China],” Leung said when asked to describe his politics. “But sometimes I hate to see the China flag on buildings. Hong Kong is not China.”


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Chinese president Xi Jinping and Hong Kong’s new chief executive Carrie Lam leave after her swearing-in ceremony. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP
Xi Jinping was hundreds of kilometres away by the time Saturday’s protest began but he left demonstrators a clear message before his departure.

He said in an address before the protests began that Hong Kong must not be used as a launchpad to challenge Beijing’s authority and any questioning of China’s sovereignty in the territory “crosses a red line”.

Xi also said Hong Kong needed to do more to protect China’s national security and implement patriotic education programmes. Both of these issues remain deeply unpopular among city residents and previous government attempts to enact security legislation and national education sparked mass protests.

His remarks were a clear warning to increasingly vocal political factions calling for greater autonomy from China or even outright independence.

“Any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government and Hong Kong’s Basic Law, or use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses a red line,” he said. “It is absolutely impermissible.”

Little more than an hour before Xi’s speech, democracy protesters were attacked by pro-China demonstrators and hauled away by police as they attempted to march on the daily flag-raising ceremony.

Avery Ng, the chairman of the League of Social Democrats, said activists had suffered “a whole new level of intimidation and direct violence” during Xi’s visit, designed to shield the Communist party leader from dissenting voices. “I urge the people of Hong Kong: do not give up ... Once we give up then we will for certain slowly deteriorate into what is becoming of China today,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/01/hong-kong-xi-jinping-china-power-protests

 

[patman]

They are also the people in Hongkong

this is hong kong today

most/all of them want freedom

 

[StraightShooter]

Chris Patten: Did Beijing Betray Hong Kong?


By CHRIS PATTENJUNE 30, 2017

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Photo

Soldiers participate in a military parade as part of the Hong Kong handover ceremonies on June 30, 1997.CreditRomeo Gacad/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
LONDON — Can China be trusted?

In 1992-97, the last years that Hong Kong was a British colony, I was its governor. I endured round after round of difficult negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, over the protection of human rights and the development of the first stages of democracy in Hong Kong.

People often said to me, “At least once Beijing leaders reach an agreement, they stick to it.” I thought then that this view was probably based on faith rather than fact. And so it has clearly proved.

Hong Kong was never like Britain’s other colonies. Acquired after one of many Western interventions in China during the 19th century — which still understandably rankle the Chinese — the territory was picked up on a 99-year lease. The fact that the British did not take it in perpetuity was an attempt to help the enfeebled Qing dynasty save face.

After World War II, Britain’s other colonies were given independence and set — or so it was hoped, though with decreasing confidence — on the road to democracy. This was not always done with good grace, but by and large, Britain withdrew from empire without too much bloodshed or turbulence.

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Continue reading the main story

Soon, the only territory Britain still held was the trading outpost of Hong Kong, a successful free economy with a vibrant civil society and the rule of law — and a haven for people fleeing impoverishment and repression on mainland China after the communists came to power in 1949.

But Hong Kong lacked democracy. In the 1940s and ’50s, there were anxieties in both Britain’s Foreign Office and Hong Kong’s local administration. People were understandably worried that political arguments in Hong Kong would be dragged into the struggle between the communists and the Kuomintang on the mainland and in Taiwan.

China’s communist leaders warned Britain against passing democratic reforms in Hong Kong: It was anathema to encourage locals to think that they might be destined for an independent future as a nation state like Singapore.

Photo

Chris Patten in Hong Kong on June 21, 1997, the week before the official handover.CreditThe Asahi Shimbun, via Getty Images
The business community in Hong Kong also convinced British colonial authorities that the locals were not interested in politics; they just wanted to get on with business. I suppose it feared that elections might produce administrations keen on income redistribution.

So we British educated young Hong Kongers in their universities, encouraging them to read books about democracy and pluralism while telling them that these things were not for them.

As 1997 — the year Britain’s lease over the territory would run out — came over the horizon, the British and Chinese governments began discussing the terms under which Britain should hand sovereignty over Hong Kong back to Beijing.

In the early 1980s, China’s paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, produced the “one country, two systems” formula: Hong Kong would return to the motherland but retain its autonomy and way of life. This position was then turned into a binding treaty between China and Britain, the Joint Declaration. The deal underlined the importance of beginning Hong Kong’s democratization.

When I arrived as governor in 1992, the pass had been largely sold on the pace of democracy. Limited changes were spelled out in the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which had been adopted in 1990.

I tried to make the proposed electoral arrangements as fair and free as possible, for example by considerably extending, not the number of directly elected legislators, but the size of the electorate that could vote for them. Yet so far as the election of the chief executive, Hong Kong’s top position, was concerned, Beijing insisted on vetting all candidates for the post. A committee, largely of people handpicked by China, would then select a winner among them.

The last colonial government put in place as many defenses as possible to protect Hong Kong’s independent judiciary, the rule of law, human rights, freedom of speech and civil society. We passed legislation to protect Hong Kong’s pluralist society, in addition to very limited measures to make the city more democratic. This was pretty modest stuff. But it was enough to bring down on my head a torrent of abuse from Chinese Communist Party officials.

Back then, my greatest worry about Hong Kong’s prospects after 1997 was that it would simply become the richest city in China. I never feared that the Chinese Army would march in and run things itself.

Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, the Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world.

Thanks to the people of Hong Kong — not least its young citizens — this has not happened. There is a real sense there of what Hong Kong’s citizenship means and of the interconnections between the rule of law, pluralism and prosperity.

At the same time, I have always thought it was extremely unwise to allow this feeling to morph into a campaign for independence. It would dilute support for democratic development in Hong Kong. And it would play into the hands of Beijing hard-liners.

Beijing, on the other hand, has never really understood Hong Kong’s way of life. It talks a lot about “one country, two systems,” without making much effort to understand Hong Kong’s system.

For a time after the handover, the worst that Beijing did was to push back against the very limited progress that had been made toward democracy. Instead of allowing people in Hong Kong to decide the arrangements for their elections — something which had been promised — the Chinese communists started taking the process into their own hands.

The government of President Xi Jinping of China has gone much further in recent years. Beijing’s office in Hong Kong interferes more and more with the administration of Hong Kong, which is supposed to be handled autonomously by locals.

There have been attacks on the independent judiciary and the rule of law. Beijing intervened in a court case against legislators-elect who advocate independence for Hong Kong. Local publishers who produced books critical of the Chinese leadership and a billionaire who seemed to know too much about corruption within the Chinese Communist Party were abducted. Universities and the media in Hong Kong have come under pressure from China supporters.

President Xi is in Hong Kong this weekend to swear in its new chief executive, Carrie Lam, a former government official, who was elected by just a few hundred local citizens. She is best known for refusing to have any dialogue with the pro-democracy protesters of the Umbrella Movement in 2014, while she was the No. 2 in the Hong Kong government.

Hong Kong is a small place, but its fate will loom large over the 21st century. For what happens there will answer the question: Can China be trusted?

Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, is the Chancellor of Oxford University.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/opinion/chris-patten-hong-kong-handover-china-xi-jinping.html

 

[StraightShooter]

Art and punchbags in Hong Kong at colourful post-Xi protest
By AFP

PUBLISHED: 07:40 EDT, 1 July 2017 | UPDATED: 07:40 EDT, 1 July 2017

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A cardboard cut-out of China's President Xi Jinping holding a yellow umbrella, a symbol of the 2014 'Umbrella Movement' is carried during a protest in Hong Kong on July 1 -- the 20th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters marched through summer rain brandishing colourful art and props in Hong Kong Saturday, expressing their fears the city and its freedoms are being eaten up by China.

The march came hours after President Xi Jinping flew out after a three-day trip to mark 20 years since Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain.

There were sporadic arrests and scuffles during his landmark stay but protesters were given little space to make their voices heard in the midst of an unprecedented security lockdown.

On Saturday afternoon, they were free to express themselves once more as they marched through central Hong Kong from Victoria Park to government offices.

One protester carried a cardboard cutout of Xi holding a yellow umbrella -- symbol of the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement which brought parts of the city to a standstill.

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People attend a protest march in Hong Kong on July 1, 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule

Others waved pro-independence and colonial British flags, which have become an anti-China emblem.

Rows of punch bags were mounted with the head of Hong Kong's unpopular ex-leader Leung Chun-ying, who was replaced by incoming chief executive Carrie Lam Saturday.

Some protesters carried a cardboard model of a toilet picturing Leung's face on the lid and Lam's face in the bowl, covered with excrement.

"It's not straightforward to get what we want by just protesting, especially from this heartless government," said teacher Charlton Cheung, in his 40s.

"But we need to persist to show our fellow citizens we have a shared vision. Maybe one day we will be in big enough numbers that the government can't ignore," he added.

Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, one of five publishers of salacious titles about Beijing leaders who went missing in 2015 and resurfaced in detention on the mainland, joined the rally.

Lam has been in Hong Kong since ducking bail last year and revealing how he had been seized, blindfolded and detained for eight months without a lawyer.

The booksellers' case tapped into deep seated fears over how far China is reaching into Hong Kong and curbing freedoms.

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A banner which reads 'Democracy' is carried during a protest march in Hong Kong on July 1, 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule

"We are seeing the power of the police getting bigger, while the rights of the people are only getting smaller," legislator and activist Nathan Law told AFP.

A prominent theme in this year's march was the call for the release of cancer-stricken Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was given medical parole earlier this week but is still on the mainland.

Social worker Ceci Chan, in her 30s, said life was "difficult" for Hong Kongers and that Xi should not have hidden behind security barricades if he wanted to connect with residents.

"Hong Kong is a very great city. It's not good for anyone for it to just become any Chinese city," she said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/af...bags-Hong-Kong-colourful-post-Xi-protest.html

 

[StraightShooter]

 

[StraightShooter]

 

[Mista]

Look what the thread has become.