For me this is still one of THE images from the 2019 Hong Kong protests; a warning to the world.

In an internal memo today, Hong Kong Justice Secretary Paul Lam threatened to root out and prosecute DoJ staff who disclosed DPP Anthony Chau's abuses of office and affair. It seems there will be no investigation of Chau--just a witch hunt against whistleblowers.

A rare vacancy at @HKFP - apply for one of the most rewarding jobs in local news... hongkongfp.com/jobs Deadline: May 31.

Here’s petition initiator Miles Kwan, who was detained by police, when he was brought back to his home by officers to gather evidence @inmediahk

【Tai Po Fire, Bid-Rigging, and Bamboo Scaffolding in NSL-Era Hong Kong】 The Tai Po fire was not just a tragic accident; it was the predictable outcome of a broken system. A system where estate management, renovation contracts, and public safety have long been undermined by collusion, bid-rigging, and zero accountability. And since the NSL, Hong Kong has no civil society or independent media strong enough to hold these networks to account. Even when residents and expert and activists like Jason Poon, took their own samples of the netting and tried to expose the risks, they were ignored. Wang Fuk Court was in the middle of a HK$330M “mega-repair.” Residents had protested the sky-high cost, accusing the owners’ corporation of force-pushing the plan through despite objections. Transparency was minimal. Oversight was weak. This is exactly how bid-rigging works in HK housing estates: pre-selected contractors, inflated prices, limited competition, opaque decisions, and incentives to cut corners on materials and safety, because no one is genuinely checking, nor can the civil society did what it used to do-- to hold different people to account and raise awareness of these issues. During the renovation, the contractor wrapped the buildings with mesh, and foam boards that allegedly failed to meet fire-resistant standards. Some residents took a sample of the netting material to test on their own; videos showed it burned and dripped-- hardly in compliance with the regulations [1]. Here, cheaper, flammable materials meant higher profit margins and higher risk. The Wang Fuk Court contractor ignored safety again and again, with a long trail of corruption and violations. In 9 years, they racked up at least 17 regulatory breaches and fines. When the fire started, the netting as shown in many videos, burned quickly. A slow fire became an inferno in minutes. Police arrested multiple directors and engineers from the construction company. ICAC launched an investigation into the renovation contract itself — including how a controversial HK$330M plan was approved and whether corruption was involved. This is the cost of collusion: Bid-rigging doesn’t just overcharge residents. It kills oversight, kills competition, and, in this case, helped create conditions that killed people. Hong Kong’s building maintenance system has tolerated collusion and corruption for years. The Tai Po fire is the clearest possible warning: corruption in estate management is not just a financial issue. It tells us a lot about HK-China relationship. Beijing could and had rewritten Hong Kong’s political system overnight and crushed organised dissent, but it has never been able to cleanly uproot the entrenched construction and maintenance networks that profit from this model of “business as usual.” And this is where the politics of bamboo scaffolding enters the picture. There is a long-understood agenda from Beijing to undermine Hong Kong’s bamboo scaffolding industry, not because it is unsafe, but precisely because it is a local craft, part of the Hong Kong identity, practised safely for decades, and one of the last corners of construction work where Chinese state-owned developers and their preferred contractors have never managed to gain a foothold. Bamboo scaffolding is not standard in the PRC; metal scaffolding is. And right now, mainland China faces a record glut of metal scaffolding materials, made worse by recent scandals over fake steel being used in their production , scandals that have no counterpart in Hong Kong’s bamboo trade. So when the Hong Kong Government suddenly pushes a mandatory shift to metal scaffolding “for safety,” it is hard to ignore the timing. Yahoo Finance reports that Hong Kong experts defending the safety of bamboo scaffolding are being aggressively dismissed by PRC netizens, while the Government doubles down on the same narrative. In other words, this is not really about fire safety. It is a political and economic project to replace a resilient local craft with PRC-standard practices, conveniently absorbing a mainland oversupply while sidelining an industry Beijing has never been able to capture. Thus, the tragedy is being used to accelerate “integration,” dressed up as technical modernisation. On paper, it’s about protecting the public; in practice, it sidesteps politically connected local players without ever reckoning with the actual causes of the fire: opaque estate governance, weak enforcement, collusion, and the hollowing out of watchdogs under the NSL. We, Hongkongers, outside or inside the city do not trust the government or any of its proxies. Five years of national security crackdowns, media censorship, and relentless state messaging have not repaired the rupture exposed in 2019. That distrust is alive, deep, and justified. HKSAR Gov and co are clearly not acting in good faith. Now, as you are reading, volunteers who organised themselves to help were reported to the police for unlawful assembly, a move that looks less like public order and more like spite. It is yet another sign that the Government now treats ordinary civic-minded Hongkongers as adversaries. And I fear reporting them is not the end of it, as Hongkongers came up with 4 very reasonable demands asking for investigation and accountability. For us, the fact that John Lee decided to thank Xi Jinping first, rather than giving the credit to the brave firefighters, showed us that they are replicating the Mainland disaster-stagecraft: PR-first, people-last; party-state-first, people-last. Taken together, the political economy of scaffolding, the erasure of civil oversight, and the Government’s behaviour during the crisis reinforce the same truth: the problem is not bamboo. The problem is a system where power, profit, and propaganda take precedence over safety, accountability, and the lives of Hong Kong people. [1] facebook.com/JasonPoonHongKo…

I see little Tommy’s been out overnight putting up flags again

The entrance to Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn, with its three concentric stone walls. Dating from around 3500-2400 BC, the ‘Maeshowe-type’ cairn is built into the side of Wideford Hill, near Kirkwall in Orkney. 📸 My own #TombTuesday #Prehistory #Orkney

Is Regina in or out? Rumours abound that the legislators including Regina Ip have been given whispered instructions to pull out from the so-called "Legislative Council General Election". In response, the leader of the New People's Party today said her party would make an announcement at "an appropriate time". But around seven or eight incumbent lawmakers have already announced their surprise retirement, including Tommy Cheung, Chan Kin-por, Doreen Kong (who hasn't officially announced but dropped enough hints for it to be a safe bet) and house chairman Andrew Leung, with more expected to announce this week. The retirements highlight the issue with these "elections": only rubber-stamped individuals can even think about standing as a candidate. When someone like Regina Ip is rumoured for the chop, we know something serious is going on: and for those chopped, going against the "whispered instructions over tea" would be futile. As I personally found in the relatively humble DC elections, you need a complex set of approvals to become a candidate for even a small local election, and LegCo's system is designed as an impenetrable firewall. You need at least 10 nominations, maximum 20, from the Election Committee. Someone like Regina could achieve 10 signatures in her beauty sleep if that was the only requirement. But you need nominations split across all five Election Committee sectors. The first three sectors are where an average Joe or Jane with political ambitions could feasibly find support - the professionals, industrials, grassroots & religious groups. No problem there except for numbers - nominations are limited to one per EC member, already limiting the pool to ~150 candidates for the 50 geographic and functional seats (if I've read the rather clumsy rules correctly). The fourth sector is trickier: LegCo members themselves and "representatives of district organisations and other organisations" which means extreme patriots appointed by govt and who will be entirely loyal to the govt's demands. While LegCo members might be more free to choose their favourite candidate, there's not enough of them to make these elections truly "open" in that sense. But that's all irrelevant, because the "Final Boss" is the fifth Election Committee sector: "HK's deputies to the National People’s Congress, members of the NCCPPCC and representatives of Hong Kong members of relevant national organisations." Those are the heavyweights appointed directly by Beijing. And it means nobody not rubber-stamped by Beijing is getting past that fifth sector. Which is why even popular and long-standing lawmakers such as Regina will perhaps be announcing their retirements to accommodate Beijing's desire for a younger cohort to lead HK into 2047. Maybe it's an age thing and the entire LegCo will be 50 or under; I might be wrong about that, but it's the obvious direction. I do believe this LegCo cohort will be for keeps and only death or severe disgrace will alter the membership between now and 2047. Well, I guess we will see on 24 Oct, when the first hopefuls submit their nominations.

The trial of Hong Kong democracy activist Anna Kwok’s father began today. He’s accused of “handling assets of an absconder”—a charge transparently designed to punish Anna, who lives abroad and has a bounty on her head from Hong Kong’s National Security Police for her advocacy work. The prosecution's agreed facts in court make clear how hollow the case is. In 1999, Anna’s father bought her a small life insurance policy—worth just US$11,000 when it expired in 2020. The prosecution’s own witness, the insurance agent that Mr. Kwok continued paying for the policy himself and that Anna never signed or paid anything. No allegation has been made that Mr. Kwok intended to provide these funds to Anna, or that he has ever financially supported Anna after her arrest warrant. The insurance agent, who was just doing his job, was interrogated for 14 hours by the National Security Department and threatened with prosecution if he didn't testify. This is what “rule of law” looks like in Hong Kong today: a father dragged into court for buying life insurance for his daughter 25 years ago, all to intimidate a democracy activist across the world into silence. Western companies still operating in Hong Kong should also take note of what was done to this insurance agent: by operating in a city run by thugs, you are putting your employees in danger of interrogation and threats of arrest for simply doing their jobs. Chinese report: tinyurl.com/3yp39e5c

RT @tomgrundy: Redditor spots this, installed last month: reddit.com/r/HongKong/commen… (HK was a British colony at the time, though local scho…

It's Golden Week, so let's check out the 3 a.m. scene at the most affordable accommodation available for mainland tourists in Hong Kong: the 24-hour McDonald's. (Photos: HK01, also see ALT text for captions)

RT @MichaelKovrig: Four years ago this week China’s government released me from 1,019 days of wrongful detention as a political hostage. If…

What does Beijing think about Putin meeting Trump in Alaska and about seeking a resolution to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? 📍Putin called Xi Jinping before accepting Donald Trump's invitation to meet in Alaska 📍 “China is pleased to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact and improving ties to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis”, Xi Jinping was reported to have said to Putin 📍”Beijing will maintain its stance on the need for peace talks and a diplomatic solution to the conflict”, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi 📍China does not want Russia to lose the war, so the meeting in Alaska and a potential outcome of Ukraine being forced to territorial concessions meet perfectly China’s geopolitical ambitions ➡️ China’s proposal for the European security architecture aligns with Russian security spheres. 📍⬆️ This outcome would also help China establish a foothold in Ukraine and potentially offer itself as a party for the reconstruction of regions claimed by Russia and even as a party for peacekeeping 📍It would be a joint victory for both Russia and China against the US and NATO, and thus demonstrate that the axis of autocrats can achieve results by supporting each other 📍This outcome would offer relief for China from any sanctions that the partnership with Russia could otherwise trigger. It needs cheap oil, natural gas and other commodities from Russia to maintain its economic growth 📍After meeting with Trump, Putin will travel to China and will participate in the SCO meeting 📍The Sino-Russia relationship is the most important quasi-alliance for both, and the outcome in Ukraine will show us how far they have come in establishing the new [autocrat-friendly] global order. In addition to Ukraine’s sovereignty, this is what is at stake here.

For a whole year I shared a riverbank with a male mute swan Everyday on my walk we conversed without a word being said Every day I hoped he found the partner he craved This year he brought his new family to see me

The Odishika Remix of Chains & Whips. Enjoy 🎧 youtu.be/fnI7eHfSnOk?si=eVqf…

Ukraine's intelligence services say they caught two alleged Chinese spies trying to steal secrets of a Ukrainian missile that sank Russia’s flagship euromaidanpress.com/2025/07/…

Serge Gainsbourg & Haydée Politoff / Ne dis rien Le petit dimanche illustré 22.10.1967 Suis-moi jusquʼau bout de la nuit🌌 Jusquʼau bout de ma folie🌀 Laisse le temps, oublie demain🕰️ Oublie tout, ne pense plus à rien🌫️ #SergeGainsbourg #HaydéePolitoff #FranceGall #MireilleDarc

Quite the statement from the NATO Secretary General

DEFINITIVE MAP OF ENGLAND'S CHALK STREAMS IS HERE. You will all remember that the very wonderful @srbuss volunteered to create a map of our chalk streams based on @wwf_uk's list. Here it is. It's fantastic. 😀 Thank you so much Steve, you're a star. (1/2)

Not good enough. Non stunning slaughter must stop. When did cruelty become a choice?

A quick post about what some of the government’s comms people have been doing regarding the 🇨🇳 mega-embassy cabling risk story. Worth knowing about this, as I believe several ministers will be unaware. 1. After @Richard_AHolmes broke the story late last year about the security services objecting to the FIRST mega-embassy application, the Cabinet Office phoned around to say there was no truth in it. This despite the fact that it was impeccably sourced. 2. They have behaved similarly with the @DPJHodges and Glen Owen stories, phoning editors and other papers to rubbish the veracity of their pieces. 3. At no point has a public denial been published. This is because the story is true, of course. 4. Now the @WhiteHouse has confirmed the presence of sensitive cables in @cazjwheeler scoop today, there can be no more denials, or attempts to call the integrity of journalists into question. So there’s a pivot. 5. Government will now argue that the risk can be managed. @peterkyle incorrectly asserted today that the cabling issue would “robustly” be dealt with “during the planning process”. But the Chinese application has been submitted and the Planning Inquiry concluded in late February. There can be no amendments to the application at this point unless an *entirely new* application is submitted. So what Kyle said was false. I don’t blame him, this is what he was briefed. 6. If the government decides to try to dig up the cables and move them, it will cost millions in taxpayer cash. The Chinese side refused both of the conditions set out in the @DavidLammy @YvetteCooperMP letter to the Planning Inspector. There is nothing in their application about either condition and absolutely nothing about the cabling. They’re not going to pay for it. Neither do we want them to pay for it - they shouldn’t have anything to do with sensitive UK infrastructure. 7. @AngelaRayner has the application and the Planning Inquiry report on her desk. I emphasise again: no changes can be made to this. In sum: there has been a deliberate attempt to bury the story, to obfuscate, and to mislead, even going as far as to dump on journalists to other journalists (and even their editors) who were doing their jobs. Wherever you stand on the mega-embassy issue, I hope we can all agree that this sort of behaviour is unworthy of government comms. @patmcfaddenmp @DanJarvisMBE @CatherineWest1 @bbclaurak