Protest in Hong Kong

The Student Federation just have a public debate with the government of Hong Kong.

I've never seen such vague and irresponsible answers from any government, ever.

You know, it's good to know that old school legalist thought is still alive and well in The Middle Kingdom.

and : So with democracy, more power would end up in the hands of the proletariat and much less with the bourgeoisie. So the Communist Party-run People's Republic of China must be totally in favour of it then, Right? Right? :)

(Apologies if I explained the joke)

edited 21st Oct '14 11:01:43 AM by betaalpha

Ironically, that's exactly the same thing people predicted for America.

Yeah, the Founding Fathers were big on making sure the proletariat didn't mess things up. Originally, you had to own property to vote in most places.

Supposedly, it was also the reason of why the electoral college, and not the popular vote, is the the actual authority over who gets to be POTUS or not; the popular vote is theoretically easily swayed by emotions and short-term wants.

Also why senators were chosen by state legislatures rather than elected.

Yeah, but looking at the electoral college in US from The Other Wiki it doesn't seem to have the same problem of rioting the system by opening empty shell companies (because apparently, you can get more influence in the Election Committee by doing just that).

That's only because states are harder to form than companies though.

That's quite a vital difference. Especially considering that you can legally set up a company in Hong Kong in a day (or at least, that's what I heard).

That's the broken-ness of the system. It would be better if you can gain influence by having kids because that'd at least take nine months.

edited 22nd Oct '14 4:35:19 AM by IraTheSquire

During dinner, both dad and one of my uncles are convinced that the protests won't go anywhere. Especially due to the reality of their situation.

Same goes for my mother. Though I'm not sure what the end-game will be now.

To be fair the protest have proven that CY Leung has lost authority. As to what Beijing will do about that (if anything) we shall see.

New statement from the Force. An injunction's being sought out against the protest groups in Mongkok.

I would like to first focus on the critical situation in Mong Kok. Last Friday and Saturday, radical protesters and troublemakers called on more people to illegally occupy roads in Mong Kok. At various locations, they charged police cordon lines, and snatched mills barriers. In order to avoid the situation to deteriorate and to prevent members of the public, onlookers and police officers from unnecessary harm, Police took actions decisively to restore order. During the past weekend, Police arrested a total of 36 persons in the illegally occupied areas in Mong Kok. There were also 17 police officers who sustained injuries.

At present, confrontations and crime cases occur everyday in the illegally occupied areas in Mong Kok. The current situation no-longer matches with the “non-violent” principle as the protesters have claimed earlier. Radical protesters and troublemakers were amongst those remaining in the unlawful assembly. They stirred up the emotions of the persons at scene. They provoked police officers and charged our cordon lines to create chaos. In comparison with other illegally occupied areas, the situations in Mong Kok are actually more chaotic and dangerous. As pointed out in the rulings of the Court of First Instance, the demonstration in question based on civil disobedience have taken place for so long, in such a scale which has affected so many people and which has the real risk of turning into civil disorder.

We do not wish to see any more confrontations during this weekend. I therefore urge the general public not to go to the affected areas in Mong Kok and not to incite others to further obstruct any other roads. Should there be any troublemakers carrying out any violent behaviour or charge Police, we, with no other alternatives, will use minimum force to maintain law and order and ensure public safety.

Police have repeatedly reminded protesters not to reinforce road obstacles. However, last night, some of them still piled up large pallets and used plastic straps to tie them up with mills barriers. Police at scene immediately urged the protesters to cease their actions, so as to avoid causing obstruction to emergency services and traffic. Regrettably, they refused to stop. I want to stress that these behaviours are very selfish and irresponsible.

I must repeat that, the illegally occupied areas in Mong Kok remain a high risk area. The situation is very critical. Any persons, especially youngsters and students are urged not to go to the illegally occupied areas. Remaining there as spectators is also not advisable. Also, do not be incited by others to illegally occupy roads. Parents should not bring their children to these high risk areas, which will expose themselves and their children to unnecessary harm.

The Court of First Instance is now conducting a hearing on the Injunction Orders against the illegal obstruction of passageway in Admiralty and illegal road obstructions in Mong Kok areas.

Since the Injunction Order is of civil nature, generally speaking, police will not be directly involved in its execution. The Plaintiff or his/her agent will take lawful and appropriate measures to execute the Order. Police will deploy suitable manpower and take appropriate actions to maintain order, protect safety and prevent crime at the scene. Police reiterate that we will not tolerate any violent behaviour. If there is any breach of the peace or any illegal act, police will take resolute actions.

The rule of law is the core stone of Hong Kong. Every citizen should be law-abiding and respect court orders. Otherwise, there will be far reaching negative impacts on the rule of law in Hong Kong. The low crime rate, good law and order is not only dependent on police enforcement actions, but also requires efforts of every citizen to be abide by the law. Police cannot do it single-handedly. I wish the general public would continue to support police in our execution of duties. For illegal occupiers, I urge you to cease your illegal acts and stop causing damage to the rule of law in Hong Kong.

The court also have issued Injunction Orders against gatherings outside the Apple Daily office and other various places which are pro-protest. Interestingly, the police made no effort to shoo those people away.

Edit: Tin, leader of the HK pro-business Liberal Party, is asking CY Leung to resign. Link in Chinese.

edited 24th Oct '14 6:28:31 AM by IraTheSquire

That guy looks insanely like a Chinese Nicholas Cage.

BTW, he's with the pro-Beijing faction (no surprise that since the HK Liberal Party is pro-business). so...

Too hilarious to not share: according to the anti-protesters/pro-government people, the out-of-control protesters are armed with lightsabers and have been cutting up cars in half. Again, link in Chinese.

edited 26th Oct '14 5:31:44 AM by IraTheSquire

If I was armed with a lightsaber, cutting cars in half would be very low on my list of priorities.

So that's how the protester my roommate showed me destroyed that car.

Koreans in Hong Kong disturbed by comments of the head of the anti-protest organistion "Silent Majority for Hong Kong", who compared the current situation with the recent ferry disaster. Link in Chinese.

Got a photo of the Umbrella Man from Causeway Bay.

Uploaded to the wikimedia commons.

http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30092508

Hong Kong Police Force has started to clear some of the protest site.

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-18/hong-kong-may-start-clearing-city-center-demonstrators.html

Buzz is going around that some may go to Mongkok and protest there.

It sounds as if it is almost time for it to end.

My peer who was born in the States disagrees with the protest (was bored during Chemistry).