Timeline: Two Months of Turmoil at Hong Kong Public Broadcaster RTHK
Posted by John Chan | May 3, 2021
Over the weekend, the embattled Hong Kong public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) announced that it would begin deleting its own programming from the internet, including all content over a year old. It is a chilling move by the broadcaster, which has been embroiled in turmoil following a change of management with the appointment of civil servant Patrick Li as its Director of Broadcasting in February. On Monday, the broadcaster also formally fired Nabela Qoser, an outspoken RTHK journalist who gained widespread recognition during the 2019-2020 protests for her hard hitting questioning of public officials.
On National Security Education Day, Hong Kong Celebrates Police Brutality
Posted by John Chan | Apr 15, 2021
After weeks of wall-to-wall advertising, the Hong Kong government celebrated its newly created “National Security Education Day” on Thursday. The New York Times’ Vivian Wang
Teddy bears clad in black police riot gear, on sale for more than $60 apiece. Schoolchildren’s messages of gratitude to the authorities, pasted onto the walls of their schools. Uniformed police officers goose-stepping in formation, accompanied by a counterterrorism drill complete with a helicopter and hostage simulation.
[…] The full day of activities was designed to inculcate young and old with the importance of national security. It had been promoted extensively through street-side banners, front-page advertisements in the city’s newspapers, and even a scrolling digital display on one of Hong Kong’s downtown skyscrapers, among the government’s most concentrated propaganda efforts sin