#Excerpt
Excerpts from the Chief Executive's Press Conference on 4/2/2020

• The Medical Workers' strike have affected the operation for the Intensive Care for Newborns Unit, calling it “very sad and hurtful”

• Impressed by the medical workers who stay in their post

• Calls for the medical staff on strike to change their minds and return to work

• Government policy is not like “squeezing a toothpaste”, the administration is working day and night to implement and review measures to counter the epidemic. “Do not be surprised when we have new announcements every two days”

• Clarifies that she does not have cancer

• Announces a new internal directive regarding the use of masks for all the departments within the government. Only the sick, front line medical staff, and the ones who work in crowded areas are required to wear a mask. Government is spearheading efforts to reduce the use of mask to ensure adequate supply for the medical staffers. Lam deemed it not necessary to wear a mask while addressing the press.

Source: InMediaHK
#Feb4 #PressConference #ChiefExecutive

#FailedState
Carrie Lam Still Earns HKD390,800 per Month After 'Salary Reduction'

The Office of the Chief Executive announced that Carrie Lam will reduce her salary for 10% in the upcoming year to HKD390,800 per month. Executive Council non-official members will also reduce their salaries for 10%.

Source: RTHK

#Apr28 #ChiefExecutive #SalaryReduction #CarrieLam

#PoliticalSuppression #1C1S
China Axes Hong Kong's Electoral System to Boost Influence

Watch video:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29261

On March 30, 2021, Beijing imposed an overhaul in Hong Kong's electoral system. After a two-day meeting, the PRC's National People’s Congress Standing Committee (#NPCSC) directly amended two annexes in Hong Kong's Basic Law. All these changes will come into immediate effect on March 31, 2021.

In the Election Committee to select the Chief Executive, all 117 district councillor seats are eliminated.

The seats are replaced by “representatives of members of area committees”, including members of the government-appointed District Fight Crime Committees, the District Fire Safety Committee of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as representatives of associations of Hong Kong residents in the mainland.

A new sector will be added. They are deputies to the PRC's National People’s Congress (#NPC), the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (#CPPCC), as well as representatives of “Hong Kong members of relevant national organisations”.

As for the Legislative Council (#LegCo), the number of directly elected seats in the geographical constituency will be reduced. The District Councillor seats within the LegCo are to be removed.

The changes are likely to increase the influence of the pro-Establishment camp while ridding of the role of the locally elected District Councillors.

The District Council election had been the only direct election in Hong Kong since the Handover in 1997. In the 2019 election, the pro-democracy camp had a landslide victory across the territory, winning 388 seats to the pro-Beijing camp's 59.

Source: Stand News #Mar30

#HongKongElection #ChiefExecutive #DistrictCouncil #CCPRules
#ElectoralOverhaul #Beijing

The formation of the election committee is reformed that the Chief Executive can control up to 198 seats to "ensure" the upcoming chief executive election result in favour of China.

#ChiefExecutive #ElectionCommittee #CarrieLam #GoHKgraphics

#FailedState #1C1S
#CarrieLam is unable to confirm whether Beijing has issued a new mandate to “Regularize” Real Estate in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's #ChiefExecutive Carrie Lam met the media before attending the Executive Council meeting on the morning of September 21, 2021 and was asked about a Reuters report published the previous Friday, Septrmber 17, 2021, regarding Beijing’s pressure on Hong Kong property developers.

At first, she said that “I cannot confirm nor comment on this since they are all rumors.” She followed by saying that Beijing is very concerned about the livelihood of Hong Kong people. After they have “improved” the election system, they hope to enhance the effectiveness of the SAR’s governance. “After improving its effectiveness, of course they would want to help solve problems for the public.”

She added that the housing issue has been substantially adjusted by the current government, and now the remaining issue is the land issue.

“The current issue is a land problem. It is true that the developers have some privately own land, but when it is necessary, public powers can be exercised to recover some of these lands to develop public housing. Thus, solving a problem that has been bothering the city for a long time.”

#Beijing #RealEstateMandate
#Economy #Finance #PropertyMarket #HongKongMarket #CCPRules

Source: Stand News #Sept21
https://bit.ly/3m0SV2n

#Poll: One out of four #Hongkonger wants to emigrate; #CarrieLam: Not interested

On March 25, 2022, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (#HKPORI) announced some alarming survey findings that a quarter of the city population plans to emigrate, citing political uncertainty as the key reason.

Reporters took this issue to the #ChiefExecutive, Carrie Lam and asked whether measures are in place to retain talents.

Lam brushed the question aside as she responded in contempt, "I am not interested in these surveys in general. So I am not going to comment."

Lam asked Hong Kong people to stay confident as she foresees the #COVID19 pandemic receding in 4 weeks.

Lam's colleague, a member of the Executive Council, Bernard Charnwut Chan, apparently has a different view.

Chan expressed concerns over Hong Kong's role as the financial center in Asia when multinational corporations are moving their Asia Pacific headquarters away from Hong Kong.

Chan told reporters on a radio talk show that chances for these headquarters to be relocated back to Hong Kong are slim.

Although Hong Kong has lifted flight bans against 9 countries, inbound restrictions remained in force while many countries have removed COVID-19 restrictions altogether.

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar26
https://bit.ly/3tEWzDW

#BernardChan #FailedState #BrainDrain #EmigrationWave
#Exodus

Who is John Lee?: Sole Candidate in Hong Kong's #ChiefExecutive Election

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Apr18

Read more
⬇️⬇️

Who is John Lee?: Sole Candidate in Hong Kong's #ChiefExecutive Election

//Hong Kong’s former chief secretary #JohnLee has officially thrown his hat into the ring for next month’s leadership race after he submitted 786 nominations on Wednesday, April 15, 2022. The 64-year-old is the sole hopeful in the small-circle election scheduled for May 8, 2022. Lee is on track to be elected as the next chief executive by the 1,462 Election Committee members he vetted last year.

Lee’s appointment by 0.02 per cent of the population will mark the first time a former police officer assumes leadership of the city. Known for his hardline approach since he took the helm of the Security Bureau in September 2017, Lee’s tenure saw the 2019 protests and the subsequent enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law.

He gained an unprecedented promotion last June to the second-highest role in the administration, where he was entrusted to chair a powerful committee to ensure election candidates were Chinese patriots.

In response to accusations that frontline police had failed to display their warrant cards, making it difficult for people to file complaints against the force, Lee said on June 19, 2010, "The design of the uniform leaves no space for displaying the police officer’s number.”

...Lee at the time called on journalists to distance themselves from “evil elements” who “damaged press freedom.”

On June 17, 2021, Lee condemned journalists from #AppleDaily and #StandNews:

"Ordinary journalists are different from them… [for] anyone who tries to use journalistic work as a shield to engage in crimes endangering national security, the SAR government must use the strictest measures to clamp down [on them]. “//

Read more:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/04/18/who-is-john-lee-12-quotes-from-hong-kongs-unopposed-leadership-hopeful/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Apr18

#Regime #SmallCircleElection #ChiefExecutiveElection #NationalSecurityLaw

#PoliceState
Hong Kong Police Surround Pro-democracy Group Calling for Universal Suffrage on Election Day

In the past it would have been common to see protests during the #ChiefExecutive Election in Hong Kong.

It is, however, not the case anymore, as almost all the pro-democracy legislators have been jailed, coupled with the reformation of the electoral system.

On the early morning of May 8, 2022, the League of Social Democrats (#LSD), a pro-democracy group, tried to head towards the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center (#HKCEC) to protest; however, their members were stopped and searched by the police in Central Plaza, and were thereby banned from entering HKCEC.

As early as at 7:30am, over 30 policemen, all wearing stabproof vest, were stationed outside the clinic of Family Planning Association of Hong Kong in Wan Chai.

The chairperson of the League of Social Democrats Chan Po-ying comdemned the newly formed government for not tolerating opposing ideas, ‘Does #JohnLee’s “Starting a New Chapter” mean banning peaceful petition?’ she asked.

Chan also expressed that Hong Kong is ruled by fear, and that organisations often have to think twice before conducting any activity. She added that the League of Social Democrats understood the ineffectiveness in protesting, but still wished that the community was not silence. She then moved on to encourage organisations in the society to persevere, whilst lamenting over John Lee’s ‘lack of competitor’ in his run for Chief Executive, that the pro-establishment camp ‘didn’t even try to find him (John Lee) an opponent’, showing how pathetic the society was.

Source: InMedia #May8

Chief Executive-Elect Rejects Needs to Defend Freedom in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Chief Executive-Elect, John Lee visited the Legislative Council in early May and was asked why defending the freedom of speech and the press freedom was not in his election platform.

Lee argued that the city's mini-constitution, Basic Law has offered freedom in Hong Kong in many ways.

"We have all the freedom." He defended, "But this doesn't mean we have the freedom to violate the law."

Lee also added, "so long as permitted by the law, everyone has absolute freedom."

Source: Inmediahk; #May09

#ChiefExecutive #JohnLee #PressFreedom #FreedomOfSpeech

https://bit.ly/398Qbxa

John Lee Ka-Chiu has just been elected in the Chief Executive Election with 97.94% turnout rate, which is the fourth highest in the five "elections".

#JohnLeeKaChiu #ChiefExecutive #Election #GoHKgraphics

Cartoon by #AhTo: "We & Us"

"All animals are equal, bur WE are more equal than US."

[in Simplified Chinese] "This is WE"

[in Simplified Chinese] "This is US."

"But WE is not US."

[Editor's note: Taking the idea—some animals are more equal than others—from #GeorgeOrwell's Animal Farm, the 4-frame cartoon by Hong Kong artist Ah To is a satire on Hong Kong Chief Executive-elect #JohnLee's election campaign.

Amidst criticism, Lee defended his campaign slogan "We and Us" as a reflection of "his belief in fairness and togetherness".

Source: Ah To
https://www.facebook.com/100044541035098/posts/561762701985093/

#FailedState #AnimalFarm #ChiefExecutive #English #SmallCircleElection

Hong Kong gov’t to refund HK$147K fee for hanging #Chinaflags on lampposts, hours after leader #JohnLee’s request

//A group who applied to hang Chinese national flags on lampposts over multiple highways in Hong Kong last year will see fees totalling HK$147,000 refunded by the Highways Department, following instructions from #ChiefExecutive John Lee.

Lee said he learnt that a community group was asked to pay administrative fees and inspection fees by the government after applying to hang national flags over some highways in the New Territories for National Day last year.

The leader wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday night that he had asked the relevant department to educate the public on how to properly hang the national and Hong Kong flags. Lee said he also required the government body to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

“The government values the promotion of patriotic education and has been actively pushing community groups and the public to celebrate special dates such as the National Day, with respect to the flags and symbols of the nation and Hong Kong,” Lee added.

Less than two hours after Lee’s post, the Highways Department published a statement saying that it had approved the waiver and will inform the group of refund arrangements “as soon as possible.”

Pro-Beijing backlashes

The issue was first raised by pro-Beijing columnist Chris Wat in an opinion piece published on Tuesday in Headline Daily.

Wat said a group was asked to pay HK$147,670 by the Highways Department for hanging some 1,200 national flags on lampposts around Kam Tin Road and Fan Kam Road between September 20 to October 9 last year.

“When the people self-initiated to do what the government didn’t, why are you still punishing these patriots who gave their heart and sweat?” Wat wrote in her article.

A day after, lawmakers Michael Lee and Rock Chen wrote to the department to ask what legal grounds the fees were based on.

“During the riots in 2019, many political parties and groups were hanging flags and leaflets on streets as well – how were you dealing with those items?” Lee and Chen wrote.

After John Lee announced that he had asked the department to waive the fees in question, Michael Lee thanked the leader for his “immediate concern” on Facebook on Thursday night as well.//

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Jul22

https://hongkongfp.com/2022/07/22/hong-kong-govt-to-refund-hk147k-fee-for-hanging-china-flags-on-lampposts-hours-after-leader-john-lees-request/

#ChineseNationalism #FailedState #Taxpayers #GovernmentExpenses