Hong Kong Pro-Democracy protests

[GeneChing]

I haven't been following this story as closely as I should. Nevertheless here's a thread starter to discuss it. Any members here in HK now care to chime in?

'Bruce Lee' shows up at Hong Kong rally
Uploaded on 11:18AM



Wearing goggles and carrying nunchucks, a Bruce Lee impersonator appears at the pro-democracy rally in the Admiralty area in Hong Kong on Sunday, October 5. Hong Kong civil servants returned to work at the government headquarters on Monday as pro-democracy protests which have paralyzed the area for more than a week subsided in the face of a deadline to disperse. Raffy Tima

[David Jamieson]

That dude is officially "that guy". lol

[GeneChing]

I'm somewhat disappointed that no one has really chimed in on this. Is it that all of the HK Kung Fu people have abandoned us because we cover too much modern wushu?

Jackie Chan ‘Worried’ Pro-Democracy Protests Harm Hong Kong’s Finances
Elizabeth Barber Oct. 10, 2014


Actor Jackie Chan attends the 2014 Bazaar Charity Night in Beijing on Sept. 19, 2014
ChinaFotoPress/Getty

The Hong Kong superstar was widely expected to come down on the side of Beijing and the Hong Kong government, who say that protesters are wounding the financial hub's economic future

Jackie Chan, Hong Kong’s famous action hero, has weighed in on the side of Beijing over the ongoing pro-democracy protests in the world financial hub.

Chan, writing on the China’s Twitter-like microblogging service Weibo on Thursday, said he is “worried” about damage to Hong Kong’s financial markets during the occupation of key commercial districts, calling for a “return to rationality,” Channel News Asia reports.

Chan’s pro-Beijing comments — his first on the Hong Kong protests — were widely expected, as the actor, well known for scaling buildings on film, has become perhaps just as notorious locally for professing fealty to China’s ruling Communist Party.

“I found out through the news that Hong Kong’s economic losses reached HK$350 billion [$45 billion] and I’m really worried,” Chan wrote.

“I believe every Hong Kong resident loves Hong Kong and wishes it well! Hong Kong’s bright tomorrow requires everyone’s support and hard work,” added the 60-year-old.

“In the song ‘Country,’ one line goes: ‘There is no prosperous home without a strong country.’ I am willing to work hard with everyone and return to rationality, to face the future, love our country, love our Hong Kong.”

Chan has been no friend to Hong Kong’s democracy movement in the past. In a 2012 interview with a Chinese newspaper, he expressed woes that Hong Kong had become a “city of protest,” referring to an annual pro-democracy rally on July 1, plus numerous demonstrations throughout the year on myriad social issues.

“People scold China, they scold leaders, or anything else they like,” said Chan. “They protest against everything.

“There should be rules to determine what people can protest about and on what issues they can’t protest about.”

[GeneChing]

"classic Hong Kong kung-fu movies, where the hero used an umbrella to fight the villain"
cuz kung-fu flicks are subversive...

‘Umbrellas more aggressive weapons than useless tear gas’, claims pro-Beijing lawmaker
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 16 October, 2014, 5:07pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 16 October, 2014, 6:46pm

Tony Cheung tony.cheung@scmp.com


Leung Che-cheung said it is "basic common sense" that an umbrella can be an aggressive weapon. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

A pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong has claimed that the umbrellas carried by the territory's pro-democracy protesters are more dangerous than the tear gas and pepper spray used against them.

Leung Che-cheung told bemused colleagues today that the evidence was there in classic Hong Kong kung-fu movies, where the hero used an umbrella to fight the villain.

“It is basic common sense that an umbrella can be an aggressive weapon, but many lawmakers are just completely ignorant about history,” Leung lamented.

Pro-democracy protesters, now in their third week of occupying main roads around Hong Kong, have become famous for their umbrellas - initially brought to protect against sun and rain, but later employed against pepper spray.

The protests were soon christened the "Umbrella Movement", an identity demonstrators have eagerly embraced.

“The umbrella can be used as shelter from the rain and the sun, as a walking stick, or as a stick to [protect yourself] from stray dogs … It’s aggressive,” Leung continued on Thursday. “But tear gas and pepper spray are useless weapons … because they cannot make protesters fall [down], they just come back time after time.”

Leung is not a popular figure at the protest camps, after rumours - which the lawmaker denied - that he helped to mobilise a gang to trash the site in Mong Kok.

Pro-democracy lawmakers seemed lost for words in response to Leung's "history lesson". Ronny Tong Ka-wah of the Civic Party wondered whether his parliamentary colleague had been “watching too many movies”, before pointing out that "fists can be aggressive too".

Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit was even more dismissive. "This kind of defence [of police firing tear gas and pepper spray] is pretty weak, it does not warrant a serious response," he said. "When you mentioned it again, everybody laughed."

IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok said Leung was reaching for excuses to blame peaceful protesters for the sporadic violence in the past three weeks.

[GeneChing]

'Umbrella Soldiers' score surprising victories, but pro-Beijing candidates dominate HK district council elections



Hong Kong voters turned out in record numbers yesterday in the city's first district council elections following the pro-democracy Occupy protests of last year in which thousands of young people called for a greater voice in their own government.
In what many believed would be a referendum on the success of the movement, at least eight "Umbrella Soldiers," young candidates who were inspired by participating in last year's Umbrella Movement, won unexpected victories, according to HKFP.
One of these fresh young faces was Chui Chi-kin, who bested established pro-Beijing lawmaker Christoper Chung Shu-kun of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). Chui had decided to run on the last day of the nomination period. "I'm a little surprised by the defeat," Chung said. "Since Occupy, many youngsters registered as first-time voters. They showed their power."
According to SCMP, perhaps the biggest surprise was the ousting of two pan-democratic big guns, Albert Ho Chun-yan and Frederick Fung Kin-kee.
By percentages, no pan-democratic group fared better than the NeoDemocrats, which won 15 of their 16 bids.
In total, about 900 candidates competed for 431 seats in 18 district councils. Pan-democrats won 112 seats, but failed to take control of any single district. Pro-establishment candidates took 298 seats, while independent candidates won 13 seats.
The historic turnout rate of 47% was higher than the previous record of 44% in 2003, but the results won't do much to change the make-up of Hong Kong governance with the balance of power remaining largely the same.
Anyway, district councilors wield little actual power, acting more in an advisory role in which they are able to push forward polices for the city's Beijing-controlled government to consider. However, the election of the eight "Umbrella Soldiers" sets the stage for next year's more important Legislative Council elections as well as the controversial poll to select the city's leader in 2017.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Nov 23, 2015 1:30 PM

Trying hard not to hum that Rihanna song now...