Key Elections, Riot Police Standby Update Post #68 (was: HK Police Use Live Ammo/Protest Violence)

Snitchcat · Jun 9, 2019

Yesterday (9 June 2019) local time 15:00 approximately, HKers took to the streets to protest the Extradition Law in HK. This law allows HK to send suspects back to their own country, including back to China. And we're having none of that! The law states that you're innocent until proven guilty; extradition goes against that.

Quote from the SCMP article:

[The extradition law] would allow the transfer of fugitive ~~[sic] to places with less than robust legal systems, including mainland China.~~

Video:
https://www.facebook.com/laiyee.zhao/videos/10155941341945672/

SCMP Article:
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...ds-thousands-hongkongers-take-streets-protest

MaeZe · Jun 9, 2019

That's an incredible sea of people. China's habit of disappearing prisoners into the system must be frightening.

Snitchcat · Jun 9, 2019

MaeZe said:
That's an incredible sea of people. China's habit of disappearing prisoners into the system must be frightening.

It is.

Even if you do nothing to attract the Central Government's attention, if you're on their watch list, they can paint you black and arrest you all without you realising it's done. After you find out you've been imprisoned for one remark, you're out of luck.

Selling the wrong type of books lands you in the Land of Vanishing, too. Hence the booksellers debacle a while back.

onesecondglance · Jun 10, 2019

MaeZe said:
China's habit of disappearing prisoners into the system must be frightening.

So many of China's changes to HK law and policy are frightening.

Hang in there, Snitchcat.

MaeZe · Jun 10, 2019

At first I thought this was a mainland law but HK legislators are the ones passing it. Bummer.

Snitchcat · Jun 10, 2019

MaeZe said:
At first I thought this was a mainland law but HK legislators are the ones passing it. Bummer.

Muchly. Hence the march and the simmering rage vibe you get at times as you walk through HK. We're not exactly doing nothing, but we don't do violence; it's evident from the lack of face masks worn during the protest. The violent stuff the media reported happened after the actual protest, late at night. Some of those people got paid to cause unrest.

Snitchcat · Jun 10, 2019

onesecondglance said:
So many of China's changes to HK law and policy are frightening.

Hang in there, Snitchcat.

Thanks.

I'm not sure we're actually that horrified, or at least, I'm not. This is just dictatorship in a different guise being presented in another way: Instead of an Emperor and his advisers, we have a president, his prime minister and the political parties.

Snitchcat · Jun 11, 2019

And the protests continue, with mostly young people gathering overnight last night (Tues, 11 June): https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...lock-roads-downtown-hong-kong-defiant-protest

Snitchcat · Jun 12, 2019

Even Cambridge U has gotten involved: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...lock-roads-downtown-hong-kong-defiant-protest

Snitchcat · Jun 14, 2019

More disruption at key stations this morning, local time (14 June).

And another march is set for Sunday: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...testers-return-mtr-stations-urging-passengers

HKers aren't taking this extradition bill lightly; and we're not giving up.

mccardey · Jun 14, 2019

There's so much courage being shown over there, Snitch. Look after yourself.

The pressure of Hong Kong public opinion against a proposed extradition law appears to be causing cracks in the unity of pro-Beijing leaders after two senior figures called for the legislation to be delayed or dropped.

Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, has staked her authority on pushing through the legislation, vowing not to back down during a week in which protests have convulsed the city. She has compared demonstrators who were pelted with rubber bullets and teargas to spoilt children.
But one of her senior advisers, an influential pro-Beijing politician, said on Friday the bill would have to be delayed, while a senior Chinese diplomat attempted to distance Beijing from the law.

MaeZe · Jun 15, 2019

Snitchcat said:
Thanks.

I'm not sure we're actually that horrified, or at least, I'm not. This is just dictatorship in a different guise being presented in another way: Instead of an Emperor and his advisers, we have a president, his prime minister and the political parties.

I can't imagine.

But given the way this county's going maybe I should. A third of this country is happy with the white supremacists asserting their hatred.

Temporary positive development: The Atlantic: Hong Kong’s Protesters Earn a Victory. They Will Need More.

The legislation has been postponed (but maybe that's a cynical plan to diffuse the protests).

Wednesday’s protest turned violent in the afternoon when riot police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray at protesters, who hurled a variety of objects at officers, and repeatedly tried to push through their defensive lines.

Stay safe Snitchcat.

Snitchcat · Jun 16, 2019

And yesterday, local time (17 June, 3pm onwards), marks 2 million people protesting still, even though the bill was delayed. It has not been dropped. Video here: https://www.scmp.com/video/scmp-ori...ng-kong-prompts-leaders-apology-no-withdrawal

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...-remaining-hong-kong-protesters-clear-streets << article early Monday morning HKT about remaining protesters. However, traffic lanes have been reopened and the subway is running normally.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...testers-united-common-cause-insist-we-are-not << black t-shirts are the code to the protests. By and large, HK people are pacifists, and the police violence was unwarranted, although, that said, some of the protesters' violent actions were unnecessary, too.

Even the Expats here have joined native HKers: (vid) https://www.scmp.com/video/hong-kong/3014750/overseas-hongkongers-demand-withdrawal-extradition-bill

Snitchcat · Jun 16, 2019

mccardey said:
There's so much courage being shown over there, Snitch. Look after yourself.

Thanks.

I agree with the movement, but since I don't do well in crowds, I'm avoiding the protests -- staying home when they're going and watching the news coverage. Much better suited to being there in spirit.

MaeZe said:
I can't imagine.

But given the way this county's going maybe I should. A third of this country is happy with the white supremacists asserting their hatred.

Temporary positive development: The Atlantic: Hong Kong’s Protesters Earn a Victory. They Will Need More.

The legislation has been postponed (but maybe that's a cynical plan to diffuse the protests).

Stay safe Snitchcat.

Thanks. I will.

Yes, that is a cynical plan. It just means that the bill will be pushed through at a later date when all this has died down, but HKers want justice, peace, and to not be victims of a judicial system we don't trust; even the native population of that system doesn't trust said system, either. Fair trial? In HK, yes; on the Mainland, no guarantee. Part of the reason we don't want the extradition bill -- HK is a free city, with free opinions. We don't do suppression or injustice.

The temporary reprieve with the postponement of the bill is just that: temporary. It needs to be withdrawn completely.

We'll see what today and tomorrow brings.

mccardey · Jun 16, 2019

This was interesting...

[FONT=&quot]Hong Kong's survival as a global financial hub can no longer be taken for granted. [/FONT]The extradition battle being fought out on the streets of Wan Chai[FONT=&quot] is inextricably tied to the larger Sino-US struggle for superpower hegemony.

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]The more that Beijing chips away at Hong Kong's civil liberties and autonomy, the more certain it is that Washington will strip the enclave of its special status.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Once this line is crossed, the US will cease to recognise the territory as an independent member of the World Trade Organisation. It will cut off access to sensitive technologies. Hong Kong will be subject to the same painful tariffs faced by exporters from mainland China.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Many of the 1,400 US firms operating there will decamp, setting off an exodus towards Singapore. The Hong Kong model as we know it will no longer be viable.[/FONT]

We'll see how that plays out...

MaeZe · Jun 16, 2019

Another fuck-awful thing about Trump.

Thank you HK for standing up to this travesty.

Snitchcat · Jun 17, 2019

MaeZe said:
Another fuck-awful thing about Trump.

Unfortunately, #45 can actually do what he threatens -- it's written in the US-HK Policy Laws: https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinio...kong-and-china-pay-economic-price-extradition

Since 1997, many countries have made exceptions / upheld special arrangements for HK, dependent upon the city keeping its autonomy. So, while it looks like #45 is throwing a tantrum this time, he isn't. (I despise the guy, but this was arranged long before he took the stage.)

Thank you HK for standing up to this travesty.

Thank you for standing with us.

Snitchcat · Jun 17, 2019

mccardey said:
This was interesting... We'll see how that plays out...

Washington can actually do that, and that's part of the scary thing about this bill: If HK loses its autonomy within these first 50 years, its value as a financial capital is done. I don't believe Beijing doesn't realise this. OTOH, I expect Beijing already has plans to label Shanghai the financial capital of China, if it hasn't done so already, or it's trying to give Shenzhen that title.

Snitchcat · Jul 1, 2019

This has really pissed me off: I agree that the Extradition Bill needs to be withdrawn -- permanently. But I don't agree with the paid rioters damaging property. Seriously! HK has progressed from violent protests to peaceful ones and to have these paid arseholes destroy that is enraging.

I hope those culprits are caught and punished!

It's that old saying about a few bad apples. The majority of the protesters were peaceful; even the TVB news said "only a segment of protesters [were violent]".

Dammit, HK! Get rid of the trolls!

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3016861/hong-kong-clean-begins-police-take-control-legislative

MaeZe · Jul 1, 2019

I hope for everyone's sake the rioters weren't there to make the protestors look bad.

Snitchcat · Jul 1, 2019

MaeZe said:
I hope for everyone's sake the rioters weren't there to make the protestors look bad.

That's exactly why they were there.

MaeZe · Jul 1, 2019

Snitchcat said:
That's exactly why they were there.

It's so hard to fight the people with power. If you need a place to flee, now or later, I have a place for you in WA State. Just send me a PM.

Snitchcat · Jul 13, 2019

MaeZe said:
It's so hard to fight the people with power. If you need a place to flee, now or later, I have a place for you in WA State. Just send me a PM.

Thank you. :Hug2:

Snitchcat · Jul 13, 2019

And the protests continue. Why? Because the bill has not been formally withdrawn: it only requires 12 days' clear notice to be back on the time table.

Local time tomorrow (14 July), the protests take place about a 30 min train ride from me.

https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/...s-continue-bill-not-dead-can-revived-12-days/

ElaineA · Jul 13, 2019

If you're going, stay safe, Snitchcat.

Key Elections, Riot Police Standby Update Post #68 (was: HK Police Use Live Ammo/Protest Violence)

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