A4 | January 7-13, 2016
www.TheEpochTimes.com
A stroll through Hong Kong’s
Major Events in
1
A year on from the Umbrella Movement for democracy, a series of major events
broke out. From a political reform being vetoed to an incident with the nomination of a pro-vice chancellor, all showed the will of Hongkongers to resist
the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interference and to guard the core
values of Hong Kong. The events were also taken as a continuation of
the spirit of the Umbrella Movement.
Mishap Leads to
Political Reform Veto
A political reform, aimed at the elections of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2016 and the Chief Executive in 2017, was termed “one person, one vote” by the Hong
Kong government. Pan-democrats and civic groups criticised
it as fake universal suffrage and opposed the reform bill. Half a
minute before the physical count on June 18 2015, the majority of
the pro-establishment members abruptly left the scene. As more than
half the members were still present, sufficient to make it valid, voting proceeded. The proposal was dramatically vetoed, with 8 votes for and 28 votes
against. Some pan-democrats exclaimed, “It’s God’s will!”
Of the small and big events of 2015, some had profound effects on
livelihoods, the economy and politics. As 2015 has come to an end,
a stroll through some of the year’s events serves as a reflection to
prepare for the coming year.
JANUARY
Francis Lam Pou-chuen, voice
artist for animated character
Doraemon, dies suddenly in his
sleep.
Pro-Vice Chancellor Rejected
Since the end of November 2014, pro-Beijing newspapers Tai Kung Po and Wen Wei Po had been publishing
articles claiming Johannes Chan Man-mun, ex-dean
of the faculty of law of Hong Kong University (HKU),
should not be appointed pro-vice chancellor of HKU
because of his support for the democratic Occupy Central movement. The HKU council continually delayed
the appointment with the excuse that they were waiting
until a new provost was in place, leading to discontent
among staff, students, and alumni. On Sept 29, the council rejected Chan’s appointment as pro-vice chancellor.
HKU student union president Billy Fung Jing-en revealed
details of the confidential discussion. Audio recording leaks
of the council meeting led the council to obtain an interim
court order. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying appointed his
supporter, council member Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, as chairman of the HKU council on a 3-year term, effective Jan 1, 2016.
screen shot
Leung Chun-ying criticises
Undergrad, the official magazine of the HKU Students’
Union, for their cover story
titled “Hong Kong People
Deciding Their Own Fate” for
promoting self-reliance and
self-determination.
Rampage of influenza virus
H3N2 leads to nearly 500
deaths.
FEBRUARY
Legislative member and chairperson of the New People’s Party
Regina Ip is pushed off by Qilin,
the mascot of Che Gong Temple
at Shantin, during the annual
fortune-telling ceremony (this
was taken as a bad omen by
some).
MARCH
Localists oppose parallel-goods
traders at Yuen Long.
Leung Chai-yan, daughter of
Leung Chun-ying, is allegedly
cursed at and slapped on the face
by her mother.
2
Asia
Television’s
License
Revoked
as Media
Reshuffles
TOP
NEW
Lead Water Pipes
In April 2015, the free broadcasting license of Asia Television
(ATV) was not granted. Meanwhile, conventional paper media
faced difficulties in operations. Hong
Kong Daily News, which has been running for 56 years, suddenly stopped operating on July 12. Sing Pao Daily News was
suspended temporarily. Sudden Weekly, the
weekly magazine published by the Apple Daily
group, also announced discontinuation with a cutback on manpower. On Dec. 14, the century-old South
China Morning Post officially changed hands. It was
bought by Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group for HK $2.06 billion
(US $266 million). According to the Hunrun Report, Jack
Ma is the third richest person in China
According to some analysts, the Jiang Zemin faction of the CCP,
which made widespread takeovers in overseas media, has run short
of resources, prompting a re-shuffle in the media.
After the veto of the political reform, Leung Chun-ying said he would concentrate on improving livelihoods. Then came the “outbreak” of the use of lead water
pipes in many housing compounds. On July 5, the Democratic Party first discovered that in some units of Kai Ching Estate, the lead content in the water
exceeded the standard set by the World Health Organisation. Water samples were taken by various political parties and government officials,
and it was then found that there was water with excessive lead levels
in 12 public housing compounds. Four building contractors were
involved in the housing estates in question, including China
State Construction, Paul Y., Shui On and Yau Lee Construction. Three contractors who were responsible for the lead
water pipe jobs were disqualified.
3
Shock Waves in Stock and Property Markets
Citizens followed closely the stock and property markets, which were exceptionally volatile
in 2015. With the influx of capital from mainland China, Hong Kong’s stock market entered the
great era after Easter. From 23,857 at the beginning of the year, it climbed to 28,442, a rise of 20 percent,
with trading turnover reaching a historic high of HK $292 billion. But from June onward, with the outbreak
of the stock market disaster in the mainland, Hong Kong’s stock market was very much affected. On July 8, the Hang
Seng Index broke a historic record by falling 2,138 points.
Big financial news also included Li Ka-shing’s announcement in January that he would merge and regroup business assets of over
HK $470 billion, with the group moving its registration overseas, prompting another round of speculation on his “retreating capital.”
4
APRIL
Granddaughter of Bossini
founder, Queenie Rosita Law, is
kidnapped.
JUNE
MAY
MERS, a new influenza virus, spreads
in South Korea. A South Korean enters
the territory without disclosing previous contact with a MERS patient, causing panic among the public.
5
It is disclosed that the Cambridge Nursing Home in Tai Po
undressed female residents who
had lost the ability of self-care
on the rooftop, leaving them
naked or half-naked before pushing them indoors for bathing.
They were thus disqualified for
a licence renewal processed by
the Social Welfare Department.
Ronny Tong resigns from the
Civic Party and LegCo.