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HKFP
2 days ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Co-organiser of independent book fair rebuts ‘soft resistance' accusation from Beijing-backed paper Wen Wei Po
A co-organiser of an independent book fair in Hong Kong has rebutted accusations made by Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po, which alleged that the event and participating bookstores carried out 'soft resistance.' In a front-page report on Monday, the paper said that 'Reading Everywhere – Hong Kong Independent Book Fair and Bookstore Festival' was full of 'an atmosphere of soft resistance.' The report also carried the tag, 'Cracking down on soft resistance.' The independent book fair was co-organised by and held at Hunter Bookstore, an indie bookshop in Sham Shui Po, from Thursday to Monday. As part of the event, a series of talks on new books also took place at different independent bookshops, such as Book Punch and Have a Nice Stay. Wen Wei Po alleged that 'Reading Everywhere' sold books with messages that 'oppose China and disturb Hong Kong.' The paper cited as examples: a biography of the jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a memoir of former Democratic Party lawmaker Emily Lau, and a new novel written by pro-democracy political commentator Johnny Lau. According to the report, an undercover Wen Wei Po reporter went to the book fair and asked a staff member at Hunter Bookstore whether the store was selling a biography of Lai. The shop attendant said the book would be on sale after the book fair. 'This indicated the staff member was well aware of the 'soft resistance' nature of the book,' the report read. In response to HKFP's enquiry, Leticia Wong, director of Hunter Bookstore, said Lai's biography was published by a Taiwanese publisher and copies of the book had just arrived a few days ago. She said she did not display the new book at the book fair because the event focused more on local publishing. 'It's not because we're hiding the title,' Wong said in Cantonese. 'If the government said we can't sell this book, we immediately wouldn't sell it. But right now the government has said nothing.' Wen Wei Po also accused the independent book fair of placing a donation box for the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA). The paper previously labelled the press union an 'anti-government political organisation.' Wong rejected the accusation, saying that the book fair did not place any donation box for the HKJA nor sell any merchandise of the organisation. 'It's ridiculous. They even got the facts wrong,' she said. Wen Wei Po also alleged that Book Punch ordered Lai's biography for readers and sold HKJA merchandise. Pong Yat-ming, owner of Book Punch, told HKFP on Monday that they sold HKJA keyrings and they had no further response to Wen Wei Po's report. 'Surprised' A journalist-turned-politician, Lau is a member of the city's largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, and served as a lawmaker from 1991 to 2016. She published her memoir, Stay Here, in July. The pro-Beijing paper referred to her new book as an example of 'soft resistance' and called Lau a 'lawmaker of the Mutual Destruction Camp.' It also alleged that she criticised the 'enhanced' election systems as a 'regression of democracy' in the book. 'Mutual destruction' is a phrase arising from the 2019 protests and unrest, which expresses a willingness by protesters to exhaust all means, even at the cost of sacrifice, to bring about justice or damage the government. 'I am surprised. I never knew that I would be categorised as the Mutual Destruction Camp,' Emily told HKFP in Cantonese. 'In fact, this was the first time I was called this way.' Many people have criticised the current election system as a 'regression of democracy,' Lau said. 'It's just my personal opinion. Of course, there are people praising it as 'progress of democracy.' I hope there is still freedom of speech in Hong Kong.' In March 2021, Beijing passed legislation to ensure 'patriots' govern Hong Kong. The move reduced democratic representation in the legislature, tightened control of elections and introduced a pro-Beijing vetting panel to select candidates. The Hong Kong government said the overhaul would ensure the city's stability and prosperity. But the changes also prompted international condemnation, as it makes it near-impossible for pro-democracy candidates to stand. 'Soft resistance' Since 2021, Chinese and Hong Kong officials have mentioned the phrase as a threat to national security but have not been specific about what it means. In late June, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam gave an explanation of 'soft resistance' for the first time. He said there were three main elements of soft resistance: making false or misleading statements, expressing them irrationally and with emotional bias, and with the intention of creating a misunderstanding about the Chinese and Hong Kong governments and their policies. Lam said on Commercial Radio on Saturday that some forms of 'soft resistance' actually do not violate the law, and the authorities should utilise 'soft power' to handle 'soft resistance.' '[We] should make sure [the public] understand what the government is doing and what is happening in our country… and to enhance people's understanding and belonging to the country,' Lam said in Cantonese.
HKFP
08-07-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong NGO defends ecotourism research after ‘soft resistance' accusation from Beijing-backed paper
Policy think tank Liber Research Community has defended its research after Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po accused the NGO of 'soft resistance' through its policy recommendations for Hong Kong's ecotourism initiatives. The paper ran a full-page report on Tuesday, accusing the NGO of using 'pseudo-science' to challenge the bottom line of national security. The report also named Greenpeace Hong Kong, which co-hosted a seminar event on ecotourism with Liber and other environmental groups online last month after a local university cancelled their venue booking. According to the Wen Wei Po report, Liber 'has been using pseudo-science as 'camouflage' to spread untruthful comments to vilify the government.' Brian Wong, a researcher at Liber, said he was confident that the think tank's research was well-founded. 'Our last report was solid, with methodologies, data, and case studies,' Wong told HKFP on Tuesday, adding that the NGO would continue its work. 'If they think what we're putting out is pseudoscience, more information is needed to substantiate their claim,' he said. Addressing the 'soft resistance' accusation, Wong said: 'We are just conducting research and making suggestions for the benefit of Hong Kong's people and environment.' 'Done well' According to Wen Wei Po, Liber's research is based on the 'false premise' that development will always have environmental impacts. But Wong maintained that Liber was not opposed to the government's ecotourism initiatives. 'We just want it to be done well. There are always details from which we can derive insights by conducting research,' he said. 'The government has itself said that recommendations are welcomed as long as they are based on fact.' Last month, Liber and Greenpeace published a joint report urging the authorities to set a clear framework for eco-tourism development after discovering that existing arrangements may grant developers more flexibility to build private housing on ecologically sensitive land. In early July, 10 green groups, including Greenpeace, separately called on the authorities to align ecotourism policies with international standards. They warned that such eco-projects would otherwise endanger local communities and ecosystems if they skewed in favour of property developers' interests. On both occasions, the NGOs did not state that they opposed the plan or called for it to be shelved. Wong also said that the Wen Wei Po report contained inaccuracies. Contrary to the report's claims, he said Liber did not attend the press conference held by the Society for Protection of the Harbour, an environmental NGO, which the Development Bureau accused of making 'misleading remarks' about a legislative amendment streamlining approval for harbour reclamation works. Liber also did not draft a template for representation letters regarding the San Tin Technopole, a planned tech park development in the New Territories that has been green-lit despite a 90 per cent opposition rate in a consultation exercise. The Wen Wei Po report also said that one of Liber's events, which one of the paper's reporters attended without revealing their identity, had the makings of an 'underground assembly,' quoting a host's remark that 'what's said here, stays here.'
RTHK
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- RTHK
Guangdong southbound car scheme 'to arrive this year'
Guangdong southbound car scheme 'to arrive this year' Mable Chan, second left, meets her Guangdong counterparts in Guangzhou over the Southbound Travel Scheme. Photo courtesy of the Information Services Department The government has been quoted as saying it plans to roll out a scheme this year that will allow cars in Guangdong to enter the streets of Hong Kong's urban areas. This came as Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan met her counterparts in Guangzhou on Monday to discuss details of the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme. In a statement, the government said Chan visited a vehicle examination centre in Guangzhou to learn more about its operation as part of efforts to prepare for the southbound scheme. It said the increased traffic will benefit various industries. "Under orderly and controllable circumstances, the Southbound Travel Scheme aims to provide options for tourists from Guangdong, meeting the keen expectations of the public on two-way travel and bringing new visitor segments to Hong Kong," it said. In an interview with the Wen Wei Po newspaper, Chan was quoted as saying that authorities will set a quota for the scheme. She said there's certainly a need to take into account how small Hong Kong is as well as its traffic jams. Chan noted, for instance, that the quota for the northbound scheme was 200 vehicles a day when it began two years ago. The southbound scheme is meant to be implemented in two phases. Guangdong drivers would initially be allowed to take their vehicles to an automated car park near the bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai, before urban areas are opened up to them in the second phase.
HKFP
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- HKFP
Guangdong vehicles to be allowed into Hong Kong urban areas ‘in phases' as gov't vows to strengthen safeguards
Vehicles from neighbouring Guangdong province in mainland China will be allowed into Hong Kong's urban areas 'in phases' in a move to ease travel arrangements, transport chief Mable Chan has said, adding that authorities are drafting application procedures and guidelines. The government aims to roll out the 'Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles' scheme by the end of this year, Chan said in an interview with state-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po on Monday. Initially, mainland vehicles will only be allowed to park at the Hong Kong end of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, Chan said. Mainland drivers can then transit to nearby Hong Kong International Airport or use public transport to get to other districts. The city's government would later allow Guangdong vehicles to drive into the urban areas of Hong Kong 'in phases,' Chan said, without disclosing a timeline or the definition of 'urban areas.' She said authorities on both sides were considering the quota for vehicles, the border crossing arrangements, and support facilities. Authorities will strengthen risk management, requesting Guangdong drivers to comply with Hong Kong laws, ensure the safety of their vehicles, and buy relevant insurance cover. Mainland China drives on the right while the former British colony of Hong Kong drives on the left. Chan headed to Guangdong on Monday for further talks on the scheme. A scheme prolonged Hong Kong introduced the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles on July 1, 2023, with local cars allowed to cross the border and drive into Guangdong province. Four months later, the then-transport and logistics chief Lam Sai-hung announced that the government would introduce the southbound scheme by 2024. Lam said at that time that Guangdong drivers would only be allowed to park at Hong Kong Port at the end of the bridge. Since Hong Kong was relatively small and crowded, authorities had not yet set a schedule for Guangdong vehicles to enter urban areas. In May, former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in a Facebook post questioned why authorities were delaying the scheme. 'To do something, you only need one reason; not to do something, you will have a hundred reasons. The scheme of Guangdong vehicles for southbound travel has been prolonged due to a hundred reasons,' Leung wrote in Cantonese.
HKFP
24-06-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
‘Soft resistance' may arise during Hong Kong development, official warns
Hong Kong needs to guard against 'soft resistance,' which may emerge during the city's development process, a government official has warned. 'Soft resistance' may arise in areas such as land development, compensation for resettlement, and reclamation projects, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn told Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po in an interview published on Sunday. The development chief was among high-ranking officials who gave media interviews addressing 'soft resistance' and national security concerns in recent days, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Beijing-imposed national security law on Monday next week. Linn said the Development Bureau must 'think from the national security perspective' in its work and make 'timely clarifications' when misunderstandings about the government's development plans arise. She cited the San Tin Technopole development plan, which has drawn concerns from environmental groups over its impact on what they described as the largest remaining intact coastal wetland ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area. The tech hub's planning zone, which was expanded in May 2023 to over 600 hectares, involves wetlands, and thus the project would 'easily provoke opposition' from environmentalists, Linn said. 'The process of development may easily stir up different emotions and opposition. Some objections are reasonable, some arise from misunderstandings, and some are deliberately manufactured with ill intent. We have to handle it carefully,' the minister said. Linn went on to say that reclamation development in the city was often met with 'soft resistance,' citing the amendment to the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, which was passed by the city's opposition-free legislature last month. The new law made it easier for the government to create new land through reclamation in the city's famed Victoria Harbour despite objections from environmental activists. Without naming a group, Linn said in Sunday's interview that some organisations had spread 'false images' online claiming that the government planned large-scale reclamation in Victoria Harbour. She said the government had issued a 'timely rebuttal,' adding that the claims were not misunderstandings but rather 'deliberate provocation.' In January, the Development Bureau issued a statement on social media to 'seriously refute misleading remarks by the Society for Protection of the Harbour.' The statement came hours after the environmental group held a press conference expressing opposition to the ordinance amendment. Its representatives, including harbour protection advocate Paul Zimmerman, questioned whether the legal amendment paved the way for large-scale reclamation and raised concerns that Victoria Harbour could become 'Victoria River.' The bureau rejected the group's claims, saying they were 'factually incorrect.' The bureau also accused the group of using 'fictitious images' to support its claims. In a press release issued by the Society for Protection of the Harbour in July, the group included an image of Victoria Harbour alongside the slogan 'Save Our Harbour' and the phrases 'Stop Reclamation' and 'Danger.' The same image was shown at the group's press conference in January. Since 2021, government officials have cited 'soft resistance' as a threat to national security, although they have not provided a clear definition of the term. The phrase was repeatedly used by government officials in their recent media interviews leading up to the national security law anniversary. Last week, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said the government will strictly vet applications for event subsidies and performance venues, as well as exhibition content and library collections, to prevent 'soft resistance.' Monday, June 30, marks five years since the national security law came into effect. The legislation was inserted directly into the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, in 2020 following months-long pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
