Report: Gathering Penalty Ticket has no effect on the Controlling Coronavirus Outbreak


Mingpao, a Hong Kong newspaper, compared the monthly enforcement figures of the "Prohibition on group gatherings" (Cap. 599G*) and "Compulsory mask-wearing" rule (Cap. 599I**).

It was found that the Hong Kong police issued 2,460 fixed penalty tickets on 599G in April 2021, highest in a single month, but there was only 60 confirmed local cases of Covid-19 infection in that month.

On the other hand, the maximum number of fixed penalty tickets on 599I was issued in March last year, when the 5th wave of the pandemic peaked.

Dr. Ho Pak-leung, President of the Carol Yu's Centre for Infection at the University of Hong Kong, believes that the variation in fixed penalty tickets issued is not correlated with that of infection cases, and the fixed penalty is not an effective way to control the pandemic.

According to Dr. Ho Pak-leung, the government stepped up the enforcement of the compulsory mask-wearing rule during the 5th wave of the pandemic, which led to a significant increase in the number of fixed penalty tickets. However, the variation in the group gatherings prohibition ticket issued is not correlated to the pandemic but is probably more related to places and police verbal warnings rather than pandemic risk assessment.

Ramon Yuen Hoi-man, a member of the Sham Shui Po District Council and the spokesman of the Democratic Party on medical policy, questions if it is necessary to issue fixed penalty tickets so relentlessly when the pandemic subsides, "the government should not make an impression that there's a hidden agenda proceed in the name public health".

* Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Gathering) Regulation

** Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation

Source: Mingpao #May19

#599G #599I #GatheringBan #FailedState

https://life.mingpao.com/general/article?issue=20220519&nodeid=1652897733454

#Court #FailedState
Upcoming Chief Executive Violates Election Regulations and Asks to be Exempted

#JohnLee, former chief of police and the next Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, was found violating the election regulations, as he failed to submit the Consent of Support forms on the day when his advertisement was published.

The consent forms concerned table tennis team coach Li Ching, lawmaker Nelson Lam and artist Alex Fong.

The penalties can go up to a fine of HK$5,000 and a sentence of six months in jail; however, Lee asked the High Court to “exempt” him from the regulations, and “relieve” him from the penalties.

According to Hong Kong Free Press, Lee also urged the court to waive the costs of his application for the penalties to be waived.

Source: Ming Pao; Hong Kong Free Press #Jun8

Image: ReNews

#FailedState
Hong Kong Government Censors its Own $31m Anti-ELAB Movement Report in light of National Security Concerns

Source: Hong Kong Economic Journal #Jun14

Read more
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#FailedState
Hong Kong Government Censors its Own $31m Anti-ELAB Movement Report in light of National Security Concerns

The Hong Kong SAR Government's Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office (#PICO) had allocated $31 million HKD to 79 research studies regarding the 2019 #AntiELAB movement.

The research topics included public sentiments towards violence or the strategy of "mutual destruction" (攬炒, literally "burn with us"), public participation during the government's policy-making process, culture, values, ethnic identity, and so on.

All 79 studies have been concluded, but their results have yet to be published to PICO's website, contrary to the Office's established practices.

Responding to Economic Journal's inquiry, PICO stated that the government is compiling the results into a report; however, it will be for internal reference only, and the government has no plans to make it available to the public.

The decision was allegedly due to legal risks regarding certain content in the report. A researcher who participated in the studies noted that the topics were determined before the #NationalSecurityLaw was enacted, and they covered a relatively wide range of subject matter. The government may be concerned of the National Security Law's implications when it decided not to publicize the report.

Source: Hong Kong Economic Journal #Jun14
https://bit.ly/39k85NR

#Censorship #GovernmentTransparency #NSL #BurnWithUs

Hong Kong Judiciary updates “Guide to Judicial Conduct” to Restrain Judges' Social Media Activities

On May 16, 2022,the Judiciary of Hong Kong updated the “Guide to Judicial Conduct” since 14 years. The new guidelines targets judges and judicial officers and added suggestion of their social media activities.

For example, judges and judicial officers are asked to be extra cautious on “adding friends”, “liking posts” and “following” anyone or any organization. At the same time, they should ensure that thet themselves and their friends and family would not unnecessarily reveal their contact details and private life information, to avoid being “doxxed”.

The Guide also has regulations on how judges and nudicial officers shall behave in interviews and warned them of making comments to the media, even when it is anonymous.

Since the implementation of the #NationalSecurityLaw (#NSL), foreign media has interviewed a few Hong Kong judges who stayed anonynous and showed their concerns about unfair court decision. The new regulations also mention that the media’s enquiry should be referred to the court and will be sent to Press and Public Relations Section for follow-up.

In recent years, many judges in Hong Kong have been criticized for taking the side of the authorities when dealing with the social movement-related cases. However, the Guide told the judges and judicial officers are asked avoid responding to any criticism, sending letters to the press, and dealing with other matters in court.

Source: Inmedia #May16
https://bit.ly/3Mly9WW

#JudicialConduct #Doxxing #Court #FailedState #Micromanagement

#FirstHand #Jun30
Hong Kong Authorities Seal Off Wanchai North to 'welcome' Xi Jinping

Since June 29, 2022, Hong Kong police sealed off a large area completely including car ways and pavements in Wanchai North, to prepare for the arrival of the Chinese Communist Party (#CCP) leader #XiJinPing. From the midnight of June 30, the Exhibition and Convention Center station will also be closed.

On July 1, Xi will be present at the Exhibition and Convention Center to observe the ceremony celebrating the establishment day of the Hong Kong SAR and the officiation of the new Chief Executive.

On the eve of July 1, Hong Kong police sent in the anti-terrorism squad to patrol the area in their new uniform. Police dogs were also deployed. Reporters on the flyover were stopped and searched for 4 times.

During Xi's visit to Hong Kong, the metro will not stop at the
Exhibition and Convention Center station until 2pm on July 1. Buses will also be rerouted.

It was reported that some pro-democracy groups like the League of Social Democrats were warned by the authorities of the consequence of carrying out protests on the day.

#PoliceState #FailedState #Authoritarianism #Suppression #Handover

#NationalSecurityPolice in Hong Kong Demands Pro-democracy Groups to Cancel Protest on #HandoverAnniversary

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the handover, chairperson Chan Po-ying, of the pro-democracy group League of Social Democrats (#LSD), released a statement. She said some volunteers working for thr group were visited by the national security police. The friends of these volunteers have also become the target of the police. After evaluating the situation, the group decide not to pursue any protest on the day.

Meanwhile, #AveryNg, a core member of the grouo who was recently released from the prison, was reportedly under the police surveilance. Ng posted the sentence "I'm in prison, if you know what I mean" on his social media page. Many associated the incident to how the Chinese police surveyed and monitored dissidents like Lu Xia before important days.

This time in Hong Konh Ng commented on his own post by saying, "I'm not being detained" and "I will be happy in the 'prison'."

Source: Mingpao; whatsapp news #Jube29

https://link.mingpao.com/74403.htm

https://www.whatsnewsmedia.com/9685/22/50/22/

#PoliceState #FailedState #Authoritarianism #Suppression #Handover

Hong Kong photographers to Record the Authorities' Destruction of #Lantau's Ecology

"Lantau Tomorrow Vision" is a plan of the Hong Kong SAR government to conduct reclamation in Lantau Island. Despite opposition, the government will start making consultation and finance plan in October 2022.

#Greenpeace invited local photographers to produce a documentary "Lantau - The Hidden Treasure of Hong Kong" to record the scenery and wildlife of the island, as the reclamation plan is expected to damage the ecosystem.

The photographers believe in the importance of this decumentary, in order to pass on the memory of the era and the testimony of the destruction to future generations.

"This place could be completely different in 10 years. We will look at it and treasure it as much as we can. We will stand witness to the destruction."

Source: Inmedia #Jul02
https://bit.ly/3ulb7Zl

#Ecosystem #Conservation #Reclamation #Photography
#LantauTomorrow #FailedState

#UN rights committee seeks assurances hearing participants from Hong Kong won’t be targeted under security law

//The #UnitedNations #HumanRightsCommittee on Thursday began reviewing Hong Kong’s rights record for the first time since Beijing imposed its #nationalsecuritylaw, amid questions about whether groups making submissions to the meeting could fall foul of the legislation.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs #ErickTsang and several other top officials attended the meeting in Geneva via video link. In his opening speech, which lasted just under 20 minutes, Tsang said the government had done much to protect #humanrights in Hong Kong.

He also cited Chinese leader #XiJinping as saying the One Country, Two Systems policy has been working well, adding it was recognised by 1.4 billion Chinese people and the international community...

The UN Committee members, however, were not convinced the security law offered sufficient protections for people’s rights and freedoms.

“I note, honourable secretary, your comment about the events that precipitated this law, but I must observe that it was done overnight, without consultation, and bypassing the local legislature,” the committee’s vice chair Christopher Arif Bulkan said.

Another vice chair, Shuichi Furuya from Japan, expressed concern at the overarching nature and broad scope of the legislation. He said the committee had received reports about organisations overseas being requested by Hong Kong authorities to remove content that may be in violation of it....

The meeting of the committee of 18 international experts will continue on Friday and next Tuesday, while a closing session will take place on July 22, 2022.//

Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/07/07/un-committee-starts-first-review-of-hong-kong-human-rights-since-security-law/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Jul7

#NSL #FailedState #UnitedNations

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