By Paulus Choy
HONG KONG- The newly formed organisation “Against Hong Kong’s independence and the insulting of Chinese”, protested outside the Legco parliament complex yesterday, in response to two politicians’ comments during their oath-taking, with journalists caught in the cross-fire.
The organisation issued a press release saying the two has insulted the Chinese and condemned the two for spreading independence ideas in Hong Kong.
Legco members Baggio Sixtus Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching called China “Chee-na”, and displayed flags saying “Hong Kong is not China” during their oath-taking on the 12th October.
Hong Kong government has initiated legal actions against the two, pleading that both’s occupied office in Legco is to be vacated, after their court injunctions to prevent both from taking oath was rejected.
As Leung and Yau returned yesterday attempting to redo their oaths, protesters surrounded the complex, expressing their concern against Yau and Leung’s derogatory comments, as well as their promotion independence.
The protest started at around 10 in the morning, as groups started filling up areas around the complex.
The protests included over 300 groups, ranging from concern groups, business unions and district councillors. The legco headquarters was filled with chinese and Hong Kong flags and chants condemning “anti-chinese” sentiments.
Read More: Hong Kong Is Already More Independent Than Any EU Country
A collection of people spoke during the protests, including College professors, union leaders and business figures.
WATCH: Video from the protest
The protest went on without huge confrontations, but was interspersed with a case of disturbance.
HKFP reporter Stanley Leung had his camera taken away, when he was covering the protest according to HKFP reports. He was surrounded by protestors, and later recovered his camera, only to find his memory card stolen.
HKFP released an announcement on their facebook page, condemning acts interfering with their operation.
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The organisers said roughly 16 to 17 thousand people took part in the rally, according to their announcement at noon. The police said around eight thousand people took part.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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Photo Credits: Henry Wong
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Why Are All These People In Hong Kong Doing Crazy Things On Rooftops?
Recreational trespass, “rooftopping” or urban exploring is the exploration of any open or abandoned space.
Hong Kong has the most skyscrapers in the world.
Hence, it attracts a lot of explorers from all over the world to reach the climax in Hong Kong.
For rooftoppers worldwide, conquering buildings and breaking the rules are the main spirit of this activity, but for rooftoppers in Hong Kong, it’s much more than just a death defying stunt.
Here’s some reasons why they do it:
- To redefine their limit
For many rooftoppers, it’s the feeling of empowerment and being on top of the world that the adventure brings. By conquering their own fear, capture stunning images of uninterrupted views and turning these rooftops as their own personal playgrounds, they push themselves beyond own limit.
- To recharge from hectic city life
To rooftoppers, everyday is ordinary life — everything is so structured and you have to follow orders. Hence, they want to get away from that.
“Rooftopping is like a getaway from city life to me — Hong Kong is such a fast-paced city with so much pressure and noise,” well known Hong Kong rooftopper Daniel Lau said. “When I’m on a rooftop, everything slows down, you don’t hear anything but wind, all the rush from the ground became like slow-motion.”
- To explore the city’s landscape
Symmetry Heaven – Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal.
The world famous breathtaking skyline of the concrete jungle is a must-see for tourists.
But if you’ve lived here your whole life, you’d probably be bored of visting the same places at the exact same spots.
Rooftopping allows rooftoppers to appreciate Hong Kong from a whole new perspective and reconnect with the vibrant city which they consider as a home.
- To reclaim the urban space from big business
Photo Credit: Exthetics/ Screengrab (Youtube)
The cost of living and flat price in this dense vertical city of over seven million is among the highest in the world.
As a result, the majority of Hong Kong’s youth still live with their parents in their adulthood without adequate personal space.
Spaces hidden in the famous skyline thus becomes the only ones left to explore for free and sneaking onto rooftops has become a statement of reclaiming the city from big business.
“[The] Roof is for everyone. Pick a book, read on a crane, get some inspirations,” rooftopper William Cheng said.
5. Rooftopping for freedom and disobedience
The city’s young people are part of a generation who have grown up with the umbrella revolution, worsening economic prospects and increasing worries of eroding individual freedom.
Rooftoppers – like other youngsters- showcase their frustrations by celebrating disobedience.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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Hong Kong Is Already More Independent Than Any EU Country
By Raphael Blet
In a time when the call for independence constantly increases, we need to put the dots on the i’s.
There is nothing wrong with discussing independence and the right to self-determination.
What is necessary for those independence advocates and supporters is to be conscious that sovereignty isn’t the key to independence and self-determination.
I have recently met some Hong Kong people who seemed to show their admiration for the European Union but at the same time, are advocating Hong Kong’s independence.
Isn’t it ironic to admire a supranational force when you advocate self-determination for yourself?
Many Hong Kong independence advocates who have not lived in Europe might not realize that Hong Kong is in fact much more independent than France, Germany or any other EU member state.
Despite not being a sovereign territory, Hong Kong benefits from more independence compared to EU countries like France or Spain. While the Basic Law guarantees Hong Kong’s autonomy, the EU’s Treaty of Lisbon advocates supranational submission.
While Hong Kong controls its borders and trade, EU members don’t as they are mostly signatory of the Schengen agreement which does not allow them to filter humans and goods entering their territory.
At the same time, Hong Kong has an independent judiciary in which Mainland laws do not interfere while European countries have to follow what is known as ‘directives’.
Such directives coming from the two parliaments (in Brussels and Strasbourg) are imposed to the national laws.
This strongly harms the judicial integrity of member states.
This without talking about monetary sovereignty which doesn’t exist in Europe.
When Hong Kong has its own currency, most EU members are depending on a single currency on which they have no control.
Some might refute my arguments with empirical evidence and say that either the two problems are not comparable or that the EU’s constitution was ratified after consulting the people.
This isn’t a valid argument as the Treaty of Lisbon was rejected by the French (54.67%) and Dutch (61.54%) voters who were later forced to accept it despite showing their opposition in the ballots.
All the examples given are enough to assume that Hong Kong has already more autonomy and self-determination compared to EU member countries.
As a ‘European’ who is reluctant in regards to EU institutions, it is even more revolting to see some EU officials commenting about democracy and sovereignty in the world while their own institution is anything but democratic.
Unfortunately, many people will not be willing to assume this reality, their answers being as usual: ‘it’s impossible to make such comparison.’
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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Cover Photo Credit: Bernard Spragg. NZ/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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There’s A Bleak Outlook For Artists And Businesses In Industrial buildings
By Paulus Choy
HONG KONG- When tourists step into the concrete jungle of Hong Kong, their sights are usually occupied by the cliched high-rises, shopping malls and night-life of this international city.
Unbeknownst to them, the robust and often run-down industrial areas here also offer entertainment.
Walk into some of the industrial buildings here, and you may find little boutiques, art galleries or restaurants. These establishments although raw on the edges, showcase unfiltered passion and creativity, that you can’t get while walking in air-conditioned shopping malls.
However, artists and entrepreneurs alike are scared for their future in Hong Kong, due to recent industrial building evictions in the city, amid public safety concerns for these buildings after accidents occurred in them.
Hong Kong’s industrial past
As one of the “four little dragons”, Hong Kong relied upon its industrial and manufacturing market to make her mark since the 60s. As the owners started to shift to the mainland to lessen costs, more of these buildings were abandoned.
Our economy shifted towards a seemingly diversified economy, whilst exclusively fostering growth in the service and finance industry.
Nowadays the manufacturing industry is almost non-existent, with industrial production dropping yearly, according to the Census and Statistics Bureau.
We have award winning restaurants, tourist attractions and of course, high rent prices; For the sixth year in the row, Hong Kong have been crowned with the most unaffordable housing market, by the International Housing affordability survey Demographia.
Our expensive commercial rent prices forced many start-ups to scavenge for deals, where many stumble into cheaper industrial spaces.
Now, you can find pretty much everything in these industrial spaces: according to the Planning Department, non-industrial uses include art showrooms, shops and restaurants, with about 21% of these being for shops and services in 2014.
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Wary of this trend, the HKSAR government decided to set up Industrial building revitalisation scheme in 2009’s policy address.
Hong Kong’s chief executive announced a set of tools to support revitalisation, yet until now many building tenants still opt to operate without the government’s permission.
Half of the applications this year got approved according to the Development Bureau, meaning some of the tenants have to tread carefully and operate without proper land lease conversions.
Government crackdown on “illegal” industrial buildings
Secretary for Development Chan Mo-po announced that buildings in violation of land leases, that attracted crowds and had premises inside with licenses to handle Dangerous material, shall be ordered to restore the space to its original state within 30 days, or else the government will repo the whole building.
Amongst the 11 buildings inspected, 73 cases were found to have match the considerations.
The checks were initiated after two big fires that occurred with these industrial complex. one fire started in a storage facility, that eventually cost the lives of two firefighters, sparking public outcry to beef up regulations on these buildings.
Photo Credit: Andrew Colin/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
The recent evictions forced many of the artists and small businesses to move out; According to the Lands Department, 19 of the 73 cases have ceased operating, these include band rooms, gyms and restaurants.
The government has not provided any support after their eviction, many are left to lookout for themselves.
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Many tenants are worried of these evictions; Factory Artist’s concern group issued a public letter to the government, expressing their concern on the recent evictions on cultural activities in industrial spaces, urging officials to loosen up regulations for cultural/artistic activities, and provide support to evicted tenants.
Culprit of the accidents
These evictions were to raise safety standards of the buildings, according to the Lands Department, saying these evictees attracted crowds, with buildings at risk of developing accidents.
According to local newspaper SCMP reports, there has yet to be an identified cause to the fires. Are tenants the sole culprit of these accidents?
Certain industrial complex do lack in fire safety precautions: According to a territory-wide survey done by the Fire and Services Department, there are over 300 buildings without proper sprinkler systems.
But to Paco Wong, who owns a few units in an industrial building here, management companies in these buildings are also responsible for fire safety standards.
He said tenants are responsible for fire fighting equipment within their units, but management companies are responsible for areas outside of the rented units.
He said a lot of the management companies don’t do a lot, as doing less and spending less money from collected management fees, means more profits for the management companies. The office- owner said many management bodies would tighten controls only when government checks begin.
Complex land lease conversions
Evictees were accused not only for safety standards, but also for conflicting land leases.
Many of these abandoned buildings were stipulated for industrial use in its land lease, so for people who want to set up businesses or workshops, they would have to convert the land lease in order to legitimise their operations in the complex, which will involve wholesale conversions. according to the government’s announcement in Legco.
Most of the buildings have leases falling into the “Industrial use” or “other uses(business)” as shown in the area assessment, done by the Planning Department.
If individual tenants of the complex want to convert their lease, they would have to obtain consent from every tenant in the building, initiating certain structural changes to the area, which doesn’t help when over 60% of these buildings have multiple owners.
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These modifications range from fire safety precautions, to parking lot additions, these projects take time and money, which were sorely lacking in a lot of the applications, even though government has announced financial aids including waivers and lowering application threshold.
Photo Credit: green_intruder/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Those who could afford conversions, are usually big corporations with the resources to sustain the changes. This raises doubts on whether the scheme can also help the middle/small-sized enterprises here, who can’t entertain the soaring commercial property prices.
Mr. Wong said few of the tenants attempted to do conversions, many of them were paying rent whilst waiting for the conversion approval. By the time they got approved, the tenants had to move out as they could not bear the costs any more. He also said the conversions require land premiums, which would raise rents.
He said the only ones who could have complete a conversion are people with a lot of money, or big corporations.
This could explain why there were subsequent withdrawals, after initial applications have been accepted by the government, according to data provided by the Secretary of Development.
Moving forward
Different government departments are involved when dealing with industrial buildings, which not only clogs down the operations, but it is often confusing to shop owners applying for spaces in industrial areas.
Right now, an application have to go through several departments at the same time, including the Planning Department, Lands Department, Fire and safety department etc.
One single department should be set up dedicated to these areas, with uniform and refined laws regulating the shop space, given there has been genuine demand for industrial spaces amongst artists and entrepreneurs.
This should be coupled with more government financial support, especially during the conversion period. This could encourage tenants to operate their businesses legally, instead of fearing for government checks every second.
Some of these buildings are at risk of developing accidents, but instead of fidgeting and closing down everything, government should examine and tackle the situation systematically.
They should identify businesses that could be in-risk of developing accidents; those that are not at risk of developing accidents, attracting small amount of people at the same time, should be allowed to continue.
Of course the details of the standards should be hashed out and be accessible to the public for reference.
Moreover management companies should also be held accountable, the government should also examine the performance of these companies, conducting regular checks on these management bodies.
With individual conversions and a dedicated guideline around it, tenants can operate their businesses legally, and improve safety standards at the same time, so that they can continue enriching Hong Kong.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
You can also like our RISE NEWS Hong Kong Facebook page to stay engaged with our local coverage.
Cover photo credit: www.pyz.It/Flikr (CC by–SA 2.0)
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