Hong Kong's torch relay went off without a hitch on May 2, except for the fact that police “protected” some protesters by removing them. Also, some high-profile activists were banned from Hong Kong.
Questionable Judgment
More than any event since Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, the Olympic torch relay got rid of lingering doubts about the patriotism of Hong Kong citizens, but it also helped confirm Hong Kong's status as a liberal part of China where views of all kinds can be expressed. However, police have been accused of preventing people from demonstrating freely.
Implications/Analysis:
Hong Kong citizens may be patriotic, but part of it is coerced by the Chinese government. Also, although Hong Kong is more liberal than the mainland, not all views can be aired. All we have to do is look back at the universal suffrage debacle. The Hong Kong government & Beijing were going to have their way on this issue no matter what Hongkongers wanted. We wanted universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election in 2007 and for the upcoming Legislative Council elections this year. Did we get that? Of course not. The DAB and Beijing have delayed universal suffrage until at least 2017 and 2020.
China
Two Guangdong health officials hailed as SARS heroes have been forced to confess to taking bribes under shuanggui, according to Chinese media reports: Deng Feng, Director of the Guangdong Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and his deputy Luo Xiongcai. Shuanggui is a form of detention for Communist Party officials where they must “confess” crimes to the Communist Party. Deng & Luo were accused of accepting huge kickbacks from medical equipment & drug manufacturers/distributors, according to the Yangcheng Evening News worth 60 million yuan (HK$67 million each). Dr. Deng & Dr. Luo have also been accused of biased recruiting practices for passing over more talented staff in favor of Luo Yaoxing who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006 for taking HK$42 million in bribes over a 5-year period.
Implications/Analysis:
This is just like the case of Guantanamo Bay detainees being water-boarded (i.e. although the reason for capture is legitimate, the interrogation method isn't). In this case, Deng & Luo were humiliated publicly because of what they had allegedly done
