Tim Hamlett got here to Hong Kong in 1980 to work for the Hong Kong Commonplace and has contributed to, or labored for, most of Hong Kong’s English-language media retailers, notably because the editor of the Commonplace’s award-winning investigative group, as a columnist within the South China Morning Publish and as a presenter for RTHK’s Mediawatch. In 1988, he turned a full-time journalism trainer. Since formally retiring 9 years in the past, he has written on politics for the Hong Kong Free Press, the place this appeared, and sometimes for Asia Sentinel.
Generally, as Joni Mitchell sang a few years in the past, you don’t know what you’ve received until it’s gone. Writing feedback about public affairs solely is sensible if there’s a dialog to which you might be contributing. But when one participant within the group erupts into offended shouting each time criticized, you may’t have a dialog.
We’re, after all, in harmful instances for individuals who don’t share our authorities’s excessive opinion of itself. However the necessity to tiptoe by a authorized minefield is simply a part of the issue.
There was once a dialogue by which the federal government expressed its views by numerous channels and accepted that different views could be expressed by different channels, or certainly within the extra broad-minded media in the identical channels.
To ensure that this to be in any respect significant, although, it’s obligatory for each events to entertain at the least as a rare and distant thought the likelihood that they’re flawed and the opposite individuals are at the least partially proper.
These days, the federal government has its personal info and its personal model of historical past. Any expression which doesn’t actively subscribe to each is to be contested and condemned. Or because the Secretary for Safety put it in a latest speech, “You may’t use deceptive accusations to vilify the federal government… the federal government should communicate up, make clear and condemn… and provides the residents the fitting to know.” This isn’t the context by which “the general public proper to know” often comes up.
Nonetheless, it sounds very good, in principle, however the observe is that comparatively innocent cartoonists and writers face a relentless circulation of official abuse, or because the Hong Kong Journalists Affiliation put it when Ming Pao axed a long-running cartoon this week, “Backed by considerable sources and public energy, the SAR authorities repeatedly focused a mere [cartoonist], reflecting that Hong Kong can’t tolerate crucial voices.”
I awaited with confidence an official clarification and condemnation of the JA’s many sins and errors, culminating within the declare that the federal government “welcomes criticism”, although within the mild of latest and forthcoming electoral reforms criticism is prone to be briefly provide. And right here it’s.
It’s tough to elucidate how the SAR authorities was such an illiberal creature. Was it inspired by the native representatives of the motherland to dial up the Wolf Warrior domesticity? Or is that this the results of the entire authorities adopting the method of our traditionally prickly police power?
Authorized intimidation by different channels additionally continues unchecked. This week Transit Jam, a web site devoted completely to the consideration of transport and planning issues, unexpectedly closed after being attacked by one of many Liaison Workplace’s poodle papers.
One other straw within the wind: Hong Kong Baptist College (HKBU) successfully banned its scholar union as a result of the newest management group had allegedly included “exaggerated, unfounded and biased” descriptions of previous occasions in its annual work plan, election platform and price range revealed on-line.
I don’t blame HKBU. Native universities are clearly now not anticipated to have scholar unions. The one surviving one is now at Chinese language U, and if I have been its president I might be investing in a flak jacket.
However the one who complained (namelessly) to BU was clearly in tune with the instances: there may be an official model of historical past and deviations from it are to not be tolerated. Additionally, final week, a reporter was scolded in a press convention for referring to “the 2019 protests”. Apparently the one acceptable phrase now could be “black violence”.
The conclusion to be drawn from all that is that there is no such thing as a longer any level in writing about native politics. We nonetheless have politics, after all. Everybody has politics. Even North Korea has politics. However our politics are now not performed in public, so it’s a disservice to your readers to jot down in regards to the pantomime supplied instead.
Additionally, the dangers appear to be growing. There have been, to cite one other previous track, “Ten inexperienced bottles hanging on the wall” they usually have been falling one after the other. I don’t aspire to be the final one. I’m nonetheless up for brand spanking new experiences however the within a Hong Kong police cell just isn’t on my bucket checklist.
So no extra politics. It will please (or maybe disappoint) the readers who sometimes categorical shock that I’m nonetheless at giant. I’ll attempt to discover much less traumatic issues to jot down about.
