Hong Kong falls into first recession in 10 years as protests, trade war weigh

PoS said:

My son wants to go to HK Disneyland and Ocean Park, but until the rioting stops I'm not setting foot over there.

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I think Disney has a park in Orlando and Anaheim

gulfman said:

I think Disney has a park in Orlando and Anaheim

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He is in Asia
He has the choice of Tokyo, Hong Kong and I believe Shanghai

PoS said:

My son wants to go to HK Disneyland and Ocean Park, but until the rioting stops I'm not setting foot over there.

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I was in Hong Kong last week but just barely. I barely got out besides which is all I wanted to do once I did get into HKG.

The main immigration station I always use Luoho Port Station was closed which is radical. The entrance door inside the building was rolled up open to the vast station bays but immigration police were standing in the doorway saying closed sorry for the inconvenience. I asked 'em about the next day and they shrugged and smiled and said "today." I took it as a metaphor for Beijing knowing it hasn't much of a tomorrow in HKG given the Beijing Chinese demand instead of negotiate.

Democracy demonstrators on the HKG side had wrecked several Metro stations that serve the huge Louho Port Station that is in Shenzhen City on the mainland and adjacent to HKG. Once a traveler from the mainland is in Louho and processed to the HKG side of the sprawling building the Metro is the only way out of it, so that was that and why the station was closed by Beijing.

I'd been traveling from the mainland to HKG when I got to Louho Station and found out it was closed. Louho on the Shenzhen side is also a mainland major train terminal and mainland intercity bus depot all wrapped into one. There was no news of the Louho closing of course on the mainland as Beijing couldn't have its population knowing the Immigration Ministry couldn't keep open a major access port and its major land transportation networks into the mainland.

The three other immigration processing centers were open however so I chose the one that I know has a bus to Wan Chai in HKG which is way out of the way of the action. I got my business done at a bank branch then headed off back to the mainland on my same day trip. I couldn't avoid it this time however.

Three successive Metro stations on the major line I had to use had been wrecked by democracy demonstrators in their unsuccessful attempt to shut down the particular line. While I fully support the demonstrators, I have to hand it to the HKG authorities who evacuated the last Metro station still intact on the line, herding masses of us onto large coaches all lined up to drive thousands of us past the three closed stations to the next station still intact to resume our journeys.

The lines of we Metro patrons being shuffled to the coaches that were constantly coming and going was blocks long and it snaked north to go south in six lines alongside one another. That is, we shuffled on foot north to go south and then snaked south to go north in several lines several times. So we were shuffling past lines on either side on the same block for up to 20 minutes on each block. We passed through a couple of underground garages en route. It was exhausting and trying for everyone but virtually everyone was patient and calm and there were transit police (unarmed in any way) each 20 yards or so.

One upside to it was that democracy demonstrators took out most of the HKG Metro electronic fare system so everyone simply walked through the turnstiles for free Ha. In contrast however I tell my angry friends and colleagues on the mainland that freedom isn't free.

gulfman said:

I think Disney has a park in Orlando and Anaheim

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Growing up in L.A. I've been to the Anaheim one many times. Disneyworld in FL I been to just once.

Lord Tammerlain said:

He is in Asia
He has the choice of Tokyo, Hong Kong and I believe Shanghai

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Aside from the new Star Wars attractions I actually think HKG's Ocean Park beats HKG Disneyland by a mile. The damn place is just huge, full of rides, zoos and restaurants.

Last week a platoon of unarmed PLA troops in Army shorts and t-shirts exited the PLA Hong Kong garrison to clear obstacles on a main road to it and along other roads nearby placed by democracy demonstrators to include uncollected rubbish. Democracy demonstrators have placed road obstacles to include at major tunnels in their campaign to paralyze the city.

Many HKG elected officials protested the PLA excursion as did citizen groups given PLA is prohibited by the HKG constitution from entering the city except at an urgent request by the HKG authorities who said they had not invited the troops out of their garrison.



Hong Kong Free Press

Video: Dozens of Hong Kong protesters make daring campus breakout with ropes and motorbikes


Officers fired live rounds on Monday, but said they did not think anyone had been hit. The university siege has become a battle of wills between Hong Kong’s stretched police force and the constantly innovating protest movement.


Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters dramatically escaped a two-day police siege at a university campus late Monday by shimmying down ropes from a bridge to waiting motorbikes, after Beijing again warned it could intervene to end the crisis engulfing the city.

Clashes rumbled into the early hours of Tuesday between protesters and police who had threatened to use deadly force to dislodge activists holed up at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).





In an apparently co-ordinated effort, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers streamed towards the PolyU campus to break the police siege, as clashes simultaneously raged with police nearby in Kowloon.

Video: Dozens of Hong Kong protesters make daring campus breakout with ropes and motorbikes | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

South China Morning Post
625K subscribers

Protests continue to grip Hong Kong
695,348 views









Anti-government protests in Hong Kong have spread to the territory's universities.

"Freedom is more valuable than our lives."




Democracy advocates in Hong Kong don't trust or like the BBC which they see as overly solicitous of Beijing in its own interest of being able to do its business in HKG and on the mainland. CNN in contrast is blocked and prohibited in the CCP-PRC along with the NYT, WaPo and many other USA news organizations. MSNBC is blocked while Fox News is welcomed by the authorities in Beijing and in HKG. CP cadre at mainland schools and universities use Fox regularly in their indoctrination classes.

HONG KONG

Australia Broadcasting Corporation

Hong Kong protesters surround police at university to support besieged students inside




As Hong Kong police patience wears thin with the students inside Hong Kong Polytechnic, other protesters have arrived on the scene to distract authorities and help their colleagues escape.










Associated Press Hong Kong
& Hindustan Times

Blaze at Polytechnic University Drives Out 100 Remaining Students

Who Are Arrested By Police

China Blames US & UK For Demonstrations, Disorder




"We are lacking food and clothes, we are suffering hypothermia, we only have little snacks and people are starving now." Ken Woo, Student Union President, Hong Kong Polytechnic University under police siege.

"We have no confidence in the police and in this government. This is not the last battle. There are more battlefields."


Indeed and as China expert Gordon Chang notes, each time Hong Kong people get protest and demonstration fatigue Beijing tries something stupid and unacceptable that brings the people back out onto the streets again.

COLUMN: In Hong Kong, worst may be yet to come: Peter Apps

Reuters
By Peter Apps
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

By Peter Apps

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - As protests in Hong Kong approach their sixth consecutive month, those in charge of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing may be regretting they ever took control of the territory – and particularly under a "one country, two systems" arrangement.

That the authorities will get more repressive in Hong Kong does not seem in doubt. But it is striking how Beijing is taking a much more cautious approach than it has with its minority Muslim Uighurs in northwest China.

Chinese rhetoric has also hardened in Hong Kong, as has use of physical force, particularly live rounds. The highly publicized use of troops in sports kit cleaning streets earlier this week appeared to be a veiled threat of a much harsher military crackdown. Still, so far the nature of Hong Kong's more open society – particularly the lack of censorship on social and other media – has left the authorities simply unable to act with the impunity they enjoy in China, particularly in its relatively remote Uighur-populated regions.

Hong Kong's current "one country, two systems" arrangement is due to expire in 2047. A decade ago, many in Hong Kong and the mainland might have quietly assumed that China itself would have a more democratic character by then, but that now seems unlikely. For protesters in Hong Kong, that gives further urgency to calls for more liberalization, for some even outright independence. For China, events in Hong Kong have already damaged diplomatic efforts to regain influence and ultimately outright control in Taiwan.

COLUMN-In Hong Kong, worst may be yet to come: Peter Apps



Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party has opened a 20-point lead for the general election that will be held in January. She has spoken out strongly in support of the Hong Kong democracy movement and offered asylum to HKG people who wish to relocate to Taiwan. Immigration to Taiwan from HKG has increased by 23% percent this year.

Four years ago DPP won control of the Taiwan unicameral legislature for the first time ever and is expected to retain its significant majority of members.

Tsai visited the United States during the summer for the fourth time as president while Beijing howled and spat against it. Pres. Trump earlier this year approved a $13 billion arms sale to Taiwan which set the CCP Dictator Tyrants in Beijing flapping their arms and sputtering.

Xi Jinping has vowed to incorporate Taiwan into the mainland CCP-PRC during his lifetime rule as emperor while Pres. Tsai has lectured Xi back telling Xi to get a life.

Some 100 democracy demonstrators continue to hold HKG Polytechnic University against the police siege now in its fourth day.




Hong Kong Free Press

China accuses US of seeking to ‘destroy’ Hong Kong with human rights act

21 November 2019

China on Thursday accused the United States of seeking to “destroy” Hong Kong and threatened retaliation after Congress passed new legislation supporting the pro-democracy movement that has thrown the city into nearly six months of turmoil.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act “indulges violent criminals” that China blames for the worsening unrest and aims to “muddle or even destroy Hong Kong”.


Democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong bearing USA flags gather to await the result of the vote in the US Congress to approve the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which was later passed by both Houses to forward to Pres. Trump.


But a 30-year-old masked protester who gave his name as “Mike” scoffed at surrendering, saying international and local pressure would cause authorities to make a humiliating “retreat”.

“Please try! You’re welcome (to storm the campus),” he told AFP, in a message to police.

“It will be a fun game of hide-and-seek.”

“Police are making the wrong calculation here if they think we will surrender. We have plenty of resources, plenty of food and water. We can last a month.”

In some areas, materials used for making Molotov cocktails were strewn about — accompanied by warnings against smoking — and graffiti was seen throughout the campus, including messages such as “You can kill a man, you can’t kill an idea.”

China accuses US of seeking to 'destroy' Hong Kong with human rights act | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP





Destroying Freedom in Hong Kong


Police in Hong Kong after being turned loose from their sty onto the streets of the city.











Thousands of democracy demonstrators have showed up at PolyU to distract police from their siege of the campus.

More than 80 per cent of respondents to a telephone poll of 750 people by the Chinese University of Hong Kong last month (October) said they supported the protesters' demand for universal suffrage, up from 74 per cent the previous month (September).

A separate October poll showed that the city's cold blooded leader, Carrie Lam, had the lowest popularity rating of any post-colonial Hong Kong leader, which is very low indeed. Lam's rejection by HKG residents makes Nixon's abysmal Watergate ratings look over the moon by comparison and contrast.


Channel News Asia*
& Reuters

November 20, 2019

Open homes, free rides: The people helping Hong Kong's protesters

Mak

"There are people living in the same city who are in need and we can offer," Mak told her 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son when they first asked about the 21 year-old stranger living in their home. "I'd been thinking about what I can contribute," said Mak, who asked to be identified by her surname. "I was aware of youngsters in the movement not having enough money or shelter or a place to take a rest. This is the minimum we can do."


Mak is one of thousands of Hong Kongers who support activists away from the front lines. They might be scared to participate themselves in largely unsanctioned, and increasingly violent protests, but they want to do their part for the movement.


Nam

"Some of the kids think it's all coming from me, but I say there's a lot of people behind me. They break into tears," Nam said. "It's not just about the basic needs, but it's also about the love and care from a stranger." Their stories reveal the breadth of support for the movement and the community spirit kindled in the chaos.

Getting activists safely home from protest sites is the aim of many online chat groups that coordinate drivers from across class lines to ferry protesters in sleek luxury cars and rusty sedans alike.

One such group, which they call Uber Ambulance and isn't connected to the company, has more than 32,000 members and uses code in its requests: Protesters are commonly referred to as students, protests as school, cars as school buses, drivers as parents and protest gear as stationery.

One post seeks "parents who can pick up students after school with stationery," for example.


Katrina prepares toothbrushes for anti-government protesters at her apartment in Hong Kong on Nov 11, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu)


Katrina says she objects to violence but doesn't ask her lodgers what they do at protests. She said the bigger question for the government is why protesters feel they must resort to violence.

Katrina and Mak are among nearly 90 people offering their homes to young protesters on one Facebook group, and there are at least two dozen more groups with thousands of members on the messaging app Telegram offering legal assistance, mass-transit travel cards, food vouchers and protective gear to protesters.




https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-people-helping-hong-kong-protesters-12111496



*Channel News Asia was established in 1999 by Mediacorp of Singapore and is an English language Asian news network that broadcasts by satellite to 29 countries in Asia, the ME and Australia with offices in New York, Washington, London, Brussels, in addition to many Asian capitals. It has received numerous awards at various New York media festivals.

Hong Kong has religious freedom that Chinese on the mainland lack. Xi Jinpingpong has for instance been requiring churches on the mainland to remove the cross from the top of the building to place it along a side that usually is next to another building. Church buildings specifically are being demolished to make way for roads and other development projects that never occur.

There were about 884,000 Protestants and Catholics in Hong Kong in 2016, according to government estimates. They are about 12 per cent of Hong Kong’s total population of 7.5 million.

Hong Kong’s churches have traditionally kept out of the political arena, focusing instead on serving society’s religious and social needs. Protestant churches run three tertiary colleges, seven hospitals, 180 middle schools, 199 primary schools and 260 kindergartens while the Catholics run 248 schools and six hospitals, according to the 2017 Hong Kong yearbook and Catholic diocese website respectively.

The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, which oversees 40 churches, 33 chapels, and 27 halls, issued a statement expressing regret, and said that unlike in the past, its churches could no longer protect democracy activists who seek refuge during clashes with police. Most Protestant churches continue to offer "rest stations" to democracy activists however.


South China Morning Post

Hong Kong’s protest pastors: as violence escalates, churches struggle to find a place between religion and politics


A light installation that reads "Free HK" is seen with a USA flag as people take part in a rally of healthcare professionals, part of larger demonstrations in which police and hardline protesters have fought increasingly violent battles, in Hong Kong's Central district on Oct 26, 2019. (Photo: AFP: Philip Fong)


After more than a century of providing Hong Kong with religious, educational, medical and social services, churches find themselves grappling with defining their role in politics.

An issue that turned up along the way is whether churches should shelter protesters fleeing from police, and this has left Christians divided. Those who say yes believe it is a way for Christians to put their faith into action by being “good Samaritans” taking in those in need. Those against the idea say they do not want churches “shielding rioters”.



Reverend Yuen Tin-yau says people don’t just want services, but also want to build a fair and righteous society. Photo: Josephine Ma


Some churches which have taken in protesters, including the Chinese Methodist Church, have been criticised by mainland media for sheltering “violent rioters”.

Mong Kok pastor Wong says there used to be a list on the social media informing protesters of churches providing “rest stations”, but it is no longer available. “But does that mean the number of churches that open their doors is smaller? I don’t think that is the case.” he says. Most are just providing shelter quietly.

Wong says something unusual happened recently at his church and some others. Two men, both mainlanders, turned up at the Sunday services, took pictures and left soon after the services began. This had never happened before, he says.

Hong Kong’s protest pastors: as violence escalates, churches struggle to find a place between religion and politics | South China Morning Post

With district elections occurring Sunday in Hong Kong democracy demonstrators have receded and called on citizens to vote to reject Beijing's candidates many of whom are used to running unopposed.

In the runup to the election democracy advocates registered 400,000 new voters so there is some hope of a turnaround to reject or reduce Beijing's stacked electoral control of district government elections outcomes throughout the city.

Meanwhile, 3 points to consider as the city takes a rare breather to allow the district elections to be held in some peace and calm:

Violence: The government's failure to reform and to initiate an independent police inquiry advocated by protesters using peaceful means is the rationale of those who have turned to violence.

Protesters Targeted Places Not People: The protesters have targeted specific places and property associated with mainland China. Until this week, violence against people was not part of their repertoire.

It was the police, not the protesters, who first opened fire and who have continued to engage in confrontational acts designed to provoke a reaction, including police calling the protesters “cockroaches” and banging their shields as they move forwards in formation.


Channel News Asia

Commentary: Have the Hong Kong police lost control?

Two deaths and video of a police man shooting an [unarmed] protester have hardened attitudes of Hong Kongers against the police, says the University of Birmingham's Carol Anne Goodwin Jones.

The government claims it is in control of the situation but, among the public, there is a widespread belief that the police are being allowed to act out of control.


Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks on the escalating violence in Hong Kong on Nov 12, 2019. (Screengrab: Reuters)

Together with the force’s unwillingness to acknowledge any wrongdoing, this has simply contributed to the growing feeling that the police are now acting with impunity.

No one has yet been held to account. The police’s resolute rejection of allegations that they have abused their power is fuelling the public’s belief that the government is simply not prepared to listen to them.

This is what some protesters have argued since the start, when the government failed to respond to the 2 million people who marched peaceably through Hong Kong in June.

The restoration of law and order demanded by Beijing can only be achieved by reining in the police, not by further use of force that is likely to transform the 2 million peaceful protesters of June into millions more protesters, coming to the aid of those on the frontline, fighting for their way of life.


Familiar to Americans and to Hong Kong democracy activists alike.



Carrie Lam is as cold blooded as they come. She has nothing however on Xi Jin Pig.




An estimated 2 million Hong Kongers turned out June 16, 2019 to oppose the extradition bill proposed by Beijing and presented by Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam. The bill was officially withdrawn.

In the Hong Kong district government elections Sunday local time more than 1 million voters had voted before noontime, which is a quarter of the 4.1 million eligible electorate. In district elections four years ago in 2015 the total vote dominated by Beijing candidates was 1.4 million.



Voters queue up outside a polling station during district council local elections in Hong Kong, China November 24, 2019. Polls are open for 15 hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Photo: Marko Djurica, Reuters.


ABS-CBN News reported that Jimmy Sham of the Civil Human Rights Front and a first time candidate in the Sha Tin district voted at 7:30 while continuing to recover from Beijing's Triad thugs beating him with hammers in October.

Voters are buzzing about the statement Saturday by U.S. national security adviser Robert O'Brien that Washington would not turn a blind eye to what happens in Hong Kong.

OBrien's comments seem to suggest that any extreme use of force by Beijing against anti-government protests in Hong Kong could further muck up US-Beijing relations to include the continuing trade war that is in fact a US geostrategic campaign to retard the economic growth of the CCP Dictator Tyrants in Beijing. US regulators last week hit Huawei and ZTE technology companies with more and new restrictive rules and regs due to their being agents and operatives of the CCP Boyz.

Polls closed three hours ago and votes are being counted in the District Council Elections across Hong Kong where turnout for the quadrennial balloting doubled Sunday over the elections of four years ago, in 2015.


Massive Turnout in Hong Kong Elections Amid Unrest

Turnout Doubled 2015 District Council Elections

Updated November 24, 2019 09:25 AM


Voters queue to vote at a polling station during district council local elections on Hong Kong Island, China November 24, 2019. Voters turned out in record numbers for an election seen as a referendum on pro-democracy protests.


HONG KONG - Hong Kongers voted in record numbers Sunday, and avoided anticipated clashes, during a local election that is widely seen as a de facto referendum on months of pro-democracy protests.

Voters formed long lines that snaked around city blocks outside polling stations across the territory, many waiting over an hour to vote in local elections that are usually viewed as relatively inconsequential.

District Council members who are being elected by Hong Kong voters have no power to pass legislation. But the election is the first chance for residents to vote since a wave of anti-government protests erupted in June, creating bitter divides in Hong Kong society.


Disqualified candidate and pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong stands in line to vote in the district council elections in Hong Kong, Nov. 24, 2019. Hong Kong Free Press said Joshua who is 23 is the highest profile protester in the territory since getting his start at age 15 and subsequently getting two jail terms.

As of early Sunday evening, voter turnout appeared to be on pace to double that of the previous District Council election in 2015, according to government figures. It also easily exceeded the previous record turnout set during the 2016 [territory] Legislative Council elections.

“This amount of people I've never seen. There are so many people,” said Felix, who works in the real estate industry and voted in the central business district.

Pro-government forces make up the majority in all 18 district councils, with the so-called “Pan-Democrats” taking up only about 25% of the overall seats. Hong Kong has seen a major surge in voter registrations, particularly among young people. Nearly 386,000 people have registered to vote in the past year — the most since at least 2003 — according to the South China Morning Post.

Massive Turnout in Hong Kong Elections Amid Unrest | Voice of America - English



Due to their superior resources, organisation, and connections, pro-Beijing loyalists and their conservative pro-establishment allies quickly succeeded in putting down roots and establishing themselves at the neighborhood level during the leadup to the 1997 turnover of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty. As a result, they now dominate all 18 District Councils and look set to maintain the majority of District Councils. While some analysts speak of a possible landslide victory by the Pan-Democratic Movement, the Movement hopes to win control of two districts and increase its numbers on the other 16 District Councils. This is the first time the Pan-Democrats have contested all 452 seats of the 18 Districts.

Results are changing the numbers by the moment as the Pan-Democracy Movement continues to widen its lead of seats won over the Beijing camp.

Presently it's 283 Pan-Democracy wins to 32 seats that have been called of the 452 total seats. As of the moment Beijing has seen 190 of its candidates get the boot by voters and still counting.

It was only Thursday Beijing said the election would go ahead after it had tried unsuccessfully all week to find a reason to cancel the disaster it knew was coming for 'em.



Posted 2:29 PM Updated at 2:30 PM

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy parties sweeping aside pro-Beijing establishment in local elections, early results show

Millions of people took to the polls in record numbers to vote in the only fully democratic election in the Chinese territory.


Prominent activist Joshua Wong was on the streets Sunday morning reminding people the first thing to do is to vote. Wong was disqualified from running by Hong Kong authorities and his successor candidate Kelvin Lam won with Wong's support.


HONG KONG — Early results from Hong Kong district council elections on Sunday showed a surge of support for pro-democracy parties on Monday in what appeared to be a significant endorsement of the protest movement and an indictment of the pro-Beijing establishment seen by many as responsible for months of unrest in the city.

Millions of people took to the polls in record numbers to vote in the only fully democratic election in the Chinese territory, an early sign they wanted to send a strong message to their government and to the Communist Party in Beijing.

Early results compiled by the South China Morning Post showed pro-democracy parties taking 108 of the first 120 seats to be declared, and pro-Beijing parties taking just 12. Several prominent figures in the protest movement won; several pro-establishment figures were unseated.

The turnout – more than 69 percent of the 4.13 million eligible voters had cast ballots an hour before polls closed – was significantly higher than the 1.4 million who voted in local elections in 2015. Voter registration was also a record high, driven in part by 390,000 first-time voters.

“Hong Kongers regard the election as a referendum and have clearly spoken that they are unhappy with how Hong Kong and Beijing have dealt with the ongoing protests in the last six months,” said Kelvin Lam, who won in the South Horizons West seat, according to the SCMP.

Lam was drafted to contest the seat for the pro-democracy camp after prominent activist Joshua Wong was barred from standing.

Hong Kong District Council election: Long queues form at polling stations with turnout already at record high | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP


Projections are that Pan-Democracy candidates are highly likely to win a majority of the total 452 seats, which contrasts to its 12% of seats going into the Sunday voting. In Tai Po District for instance, going into the election Beijing officials held 13 of the 19 council seats while Sunday's voting gave Pan-Democracy all 19 council seats.

Voter turnout was 71% contrasted to 47% four years ago in 2015 of the total 4.1 million voters to include almost 400,00 newly registered voters almost all young first time voters. There are already calls for the head to roll of HKG Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Results are changing the numbers by the moment as the Pan-Democracy Movement continues to widen its lead of seats won over the Beijing camp.

Presently it's 287 Pan-Democracy wins to 32 Beijing seats that have been called of the 452 total seats. As of the moment Beijing has seen 190 of its candidates get the boot by voters and still counting.

It was only Thursday Beijing said the election would go ahead after it had tried unsuccessfully all week to find a reason to cancel the disaster it knew was coming for 'em.


Posted 2:29 PM Updated at 2:30 PM

Pro-democracy parties score stunning gains in local elections in Hong Kong

Millions of people took to the polls in record numbers to vote in the only fully democratic election in the Chinese territory.



Prominent activist Joshua Wong was on the streets Sunday morning reminding people the first thing to do is to vote. Wong was disqualified from running by Hong Kong authorities and his successor candidate Kelvin Lam won with Wong's support.


HONG KONG — Early results from Hong Kong district council elections on Sunday showed a surge of support for pro-democracy parties on Monday in what appeared to be a significant endorsement of the protest movement and an indictment of the pro-Beijing establishment seen by many as responsible for months of unrest in the city.

Millions of people took to the polls in record numbers to vote in the only fully democratic election in the Chinese territory, an early sign they wanted to send a strong message to their government and to the Communist Party in Beijing.

Early results compiled by the South China Morning Post showed pro-democracy parties taking 108 of the first 120 seats to be declared, and pro-Beijing parties taking just 12. Several prominent figures in the protest movement won; several pro-establishment figures were unseated.

The turnout – more than 69 percent of the 4.13 million eligible voters had cast ballots an hour before polls closed – was significantly higher than the 1.4 million who voted in local elections in 2015. Voter registration was also a record high, driven in part by 390,000 first-time voters.

“Hong Kongers regard the election as a referendum and have clearly spoken that they are unhappy with how Hong Kong and Beijing have dealt with the ongoing protests in the last six months,” said Kelvin Lam, who won in the South Horizons West seat, according to the SCMP.

Lam was drafted to contest the seat for the pro-democracy camp after prominent activist Joshua Wong was barred from standing.

Pro-democracy parties score stunning gains in local elections in Hong Kong - Portland Press Herald


Projections are that Pan-Democracy candidates are highly likely to win a majority of the total 452 seats, which contrasts to its 12% of seats going into the Sunday voting. In Tai Po District for instance, going into the election Beijing officials held 13 of the 19 council seats while Sunday's voting gave Pan-Democracy all 19 council seats.

Voter turnout was 71% contrasted to 47% four years ago in 2015 of the total 4.1 million voters to include almost 400,00 newly registered voters almost all young first time voters. There are already calls for the head to roll of HKG Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

This election landslide blowout of Beijing by 9-1 in Hong Kong is an historic political earthquake against Beijing and the CCP-PRC.

The "silent majority" Beijing has been carping about just voted loudly.

It is also a kick in the balls of the virulent Hong Kong police.


Pro-China Forces ‘Annihilated’ in Hong Kong Election

The National Interest
Gordon G. Chang
November 25, 2019








Initial results from Sunday’s election in Hong Kong indicate that pro-democracy forces have handed Chinese ruler Xi Jinping a stunning setback. Pro-Beijing candidates are going down to defeat in District Council elections, the first real test of sentiment in the territory since protests began in April over the introduction of a bill authorizing extraditions to mainland China.

So far, pro-Dems have won 88.6 percent of the vote for 452 seats on 18 District Council boards. They have so far taken 351 seats versus 45 for the “establishment” forces. “Absolute political annihilation for the pro-Beijing camp” is how Stephen McDonell, a BBC China correspondent, described the result on Twitter. Tom Mitchell of the Financial Times called it a “Himalayan-sized avalanche.”

The District Councils, responsible for routine municipal services, have little power, but the Sunday elections took on significance, widely seen as a referendum on various matters because they are the only government bodies in Hong Kong whose members are elected by universal suffrage. “Sunday’s vote,” CNN noted on the eve of the election, “offers the first objective test of how people in the city feel about the protests and the government.”

Voters, in fact, kicked out China’s friends, including the high-profile Junius Ho, an establishment heavyweight. Pro-Beijing forces, holding 327, or almost three-quarters, of the seats prior to the election, controlled all the District Councils.

Pro-China Forces ‘Annihilated’ in Hong Kong Election

No one in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China had ventured to predict any such thing yet here it is. This is a huge blast to the ass of Beijing both locally and globally, and it constitutes a massive uplift in Taiwan the Republic of China.


Hong Kong Free Press

Hong Kong District Council election: Democrats take control of 17 out of 18 councils in landslide victory

Monday 25 November 2019 13:12



Hong Kong’s democrats have gained control of 17 out of the city’s 18 district councils following Sunday’s landslide election.

It marks a landslide when compared to the last election in 2015, when the opposition camp failed to win any district council.


The election saw a record high 71.2 per cent turnout rate with around 2.94 million people casting their ballot. The democrats won close to 400 out of the 452 seats. The pro-Beijing camp only won 58 seats. The democrats now have majority control in almost all areas.

The election came after five months of large scale protests originally against a now-withdrawn extradition law. The movement has evolved into wider calls for democracy and accountability over the police use of force.

The Democratic Party is itself the big winner of the election, winning 91 seats after fielding 99 candidates.


The party’s chair Wu Chi-wai said that the Hong Kong government should look at the result closely. “The split in society has to be carefully handled,” he said. Wu said Hong Kong residents used peaceful means to express their views. “We do not accept Hong Kong becoming a police state and an authoritarian city,” he said.


The [Beijing main party] Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, meanwhile, suffered a major defeat. The city’s largest pro-Beijing party fielded 181 candidates, but only won 21 seats.

The pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, another major party, only obtained four seats after fielding 62 candidates.

Electoral Affairs Commission Chair Barnabas Fung said, “Overall, the election was conducted very smoothly."

Hong Kong District Council election: Democrats take control of 17 out of 18 councils in landslide victory | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Tsunami in Hong Kong SAR election of district councils throughout the territory.


South China Morning Post

Hong Kong elections: tsunami of disaffection washes over city as pro-Beijing camp left reeling by record turnout and overwhelming defeat

Result set to give pan-democrats increase in seats on committee that chooses city’s chief executive; current leader vows to ‘seriously reflect on the people’s opinion’


Pro-democracy supporters celebrate huge gains in the district council elections.


The anti-establishment reverberations from almost six months of street protests swept through polling stations across Hong Kong on Sunday, as voters in record numbers roundly rejected pro-Beijing candidates in favour of pan-democrats.

The tsunami of disaffection among voters was clear across the board, as pan-democrats rode the wave to win big in poor and rich neighbourhoods, in both protest-prone and non-protest-afflicted districts and, in downtown areas as well as the suburbs.

Ousted pro-establishment district councillors suggested that young, first-time voters had been instrumental in dislodging them from their perch. Youthful, fresh-faced candidates, many active in the anti-government protests roiling the city over the past six months, were among prominent winners of the historic district council elections.


Jubilation as another pro-democracy politician wins in the district council elections. Photo: AP


The final election results were confirmed at 1pm on Monday.

Among the 452 seats up for grabs, the pan-democrats were victorious in 347, the independents – many of them pro-democracy – won 45, while the pro-establishment camp had to make do with 60.

The pro-democracy camp now has control of 17 out of 18 district councils. It won all elected seats in Wong Tai Sin and Tai Po district councils.

Hong Kong elections: pro-democracy camp wins 17 out of 18 districts while city leader says she will reflect on the result | South China Morning Post

It ain't over till it's over.




Pro-democracy candidate Leung Pak-kin won a district council seat while continuing to occupy HKG Polytechnic University against the police siege of democracy activists holding the campus. Leung told In-Media that he will stay on the campus: “We have not won yet. There are kids here still.”

A group of election winners has said they will rally outside the university on Monday afternoon. The HKG chief of police said early Monday police have no plans to take any further actions against the democracy activists occupying the university.






Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the Hong Kong government respected the election results.



“I noticed that the public have much analysis and interpretations over the results, and many pointed out that the results reflected the disappointment over the social situation and deep problems. The SAR government will humbly listen to the public and reflect thoroughly,” she said in a statement.

Hong Kong District Council election: Democrats take control of 17 out of 18 councils in landslide victory | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Hong Kong authorities didn't have much choice at this point, given the massive vote Sunday in support of democracy in HKG. Pro Beijing officials on 17 of the city's 18 municipal districts were blown out of the complete control they'd had of all 18 district councils. The election produced a record high turnout of HKG residents over all prior elections.


Hong Kong police lift siege on Polytechnic University after 12 days

29 November 2019

Hong Kong police have returned control over the Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus to the school management on Friday noon, ending a siege that has lasted 12 days.

Prior to that, masked protesters in black had occupied the university in keeping with a larger plan to mobilise a citywide strike and class boycott.



Over 1,000 people gathered near the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower on Thursday night to condemn the police for laying siege PolyU, and to express support for those holed up inside.






Hong Kong police in plainclothes arrive from their sty to the PolyU campus to collect evidence.

Hong Kong police lift siege on Polytechnic University after 12 days | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Hong Kongers are absolutely serious about this fight as they have shown their acceptance of the economic strains and hardship that have resulted from Beijing's unwise interposition against democracy, freedom, liberty and prosperity in HKG. Hong Kongers also know the Act will hurt and harm Beijing much more than it will impact the citizens of the Special Administrative Region SAR.



In Pictures: Thousands attend Thanksgiving rally as US passes Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act

29 November 2019

Thousands of protesters gathered in Central on Thanksgiving to express their gratitude to the US for passing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act – legislation that Washington can use to punish the city’s officials.

Thursday evening’s rally, which organisers say 100,000 attended, took place at Edinburgh Place. It came after US President Donald Trump signed the act into law in the morning, despite Beijing’s repeated opposition.

The act will impose penalties upon Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials who infringe upon “basic freedoms” in the city, including freezing their US-based assets, denying the use of the US banking system, and being denied entry into the US.































In Pictures: Thousands attend Thanksgiving rally as US passes Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

It ain't over till it's over.

And it's a long way from being over.


Hong Kong seniors rally to back students as activists decry police actions

Saturday November 30, 2019



HONG KONG (Reuters) - Secondary school students and retirees joined forces to protest in Hong Kong on Saturday, the first of several weekend rallies planned across the city, as pro-democracy activists vowed to battle what they say are police brutality and unlawful arrests.

A 70-year-old retiree in a blue aviator sunglasses and a gray tracksuit, who gave his name as Ko, said seniors could offer guidance to the younger protesters.

“Starting from day one I have been involved in this movement and there is no reason to stop now,” said Ko.

“Today is a cross-age group meeting and there are a lot of middle school students ... We are here to give them advice and moral support. I think they need it.”

Hong Kong seniors rally to back students as activists decry police actions - Reuters






Riot police officers block the street as anti-government protesters rally outside Prince Edward MTR station in Hong Kong, China, November 30, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Captain Adverse said:

Perhaps...unless he "wins" the trade war. In which case all the tariffs will lift or revert, trade will flow again...only on a more even keel, and the economy will "boom."

Try to look on the bright side of life.

Click to expand...

Better deals at lower cost is what we are looking for.

With Hong Kong in recession and now facing USA sanctions they'll be no peace in the city until Xi Jinpingpong says "one country, two systems" without his fingers crossed behind his back.