12 September 2014 | Hong Wrong
Reuters apparently scored quite a scoop yesterday when it quoted an official offering up what amounts to a death threat against a local pro-democracy figure…
According to the article, two anonymous sources confirmed that Zhang Xiaoming, the head of Hong Kong’s China Liaison Office, made the comment to pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung when asked whether a democrat could ever become Chief Executive.
Kylie Maclellan and Andrew Osborn | 2 Sept 2014 | Reuters
Britain’s parliament has rejected Chinese calls to scrap an inquiry into Hong Kong’s progress towards democracy, a senior lawmaker said, warning that reforms there may violate a 1984 deal on the former British colony’s sovereignty.
Richard Ottaway:
“My job is to see if Britain is living up to its side of the undertakings and secondly if China isn’t living up to their undertakings then what is the British government doing about it. This is not interfering in the internal affairs of China; that would be completely inappropriate.”
“If you have a committee which is not neutral in nominating a limited number of candidates, there seems to be a prima facie case that the undertakings given have been breached. I don’t particularly want to irritate the Chinese. I want them to understand the way we work.”
18 August 2014 | Reuters/AFP
Tens of thousands of people, many wearing red as a sign of their patriotism to China, took part in a demonstration march in Hong Kong on Sunday to protest a planned civil disobedience campaign by pro-democracy activists in the city.
Demonstrators braved wilting heat to participate in the rally, which was organized by a pro-Beijing group. Many carried banners or shouted slogans saying they wanted to “oppose” the Occupy Central with Love and Peace pro-democracy movement, while others waved Chinese flags. Some, however, seemed to be not quite certain what they were protesting.
Greg Torode, James Pomfret & Benjamin Kang Lim | 30 June 2014 | Reuters
“The real cabinet is the shadow cabinet,” said one source close to Leung [HK’s puppet leader]. “The chief executive’s office can’t do without the Liaison Office’s help on certain matters.”
Before the 1997 handover, the Chinese Communist Party focused on courting businessmen, academics and activists to secure influence and loyalty. It has now become more assertive, attempting to isolate party enemies, silence critics, and deliver votes.
A legacy of the earliest days of Leninist communist revolutionary theory, the United Front Work Department’s mission is to influence and ultimately control a range of non-party groups, luring some into cooperation and isolating and denouncing others. “The tactics and techniques of the United Front have been refined and perfected over the decades and we are seeing a very modern articulation of it in Hong Kong.”
James Pomfret | 7 April 2014 | Reuters
“The future of freedom and democracy in Hong Kong is under serious threat,” U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, head of the U.S. Congressional Commission that advocates improved human rights and the rule of law in China, said in a statement.
“China is already placing “pre-conditions” on who can run (in 2017), raising serious doubts about whether the elections will be free and fair,” he added, during the session.
James Pomfret | 7 April 2014 | Reuters
China has cautioned the United States not to interfere in Hong Kong affairs after Vice President Joseph Biden met two prominent pro-democracy advocates who have warned of Beijing’s tightening control of the territory, state news agency Xinhua said.
A former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong enjoys considerable autonomy and broad freedoms as a capitalist hub.
But it has been locked in a lengthy battle with Beijing’s leaders to push through reforms that could culminate in a direct election of its leader in 2017.
Occupy Central with Love and Peace 