HONG KONG: Democracy Protest Swells, Police Respond With Tear Gas

Via the Washington Post:

Swelling crowds of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong on Monday plunged Asia’s normally staid financial hub into a tense standoff with Beijing that strikes directly at China’s expanding political grip in the former British colony. The rapidly escalating demonstrations are aimed at forcing Beijing’s Communist leaders to abandon newly declared powers to weed out any candidates in upcoming Hong Kong elections. Yet many on the streets proclaimed they are fighting for something even bigger: preserving a vision of Hong Kong promised 14 years ago when it reverted to Chinese rule. At the time, Chinese leaders promised a state within a state: allowing special hands-off provisions for Hong Kong such as elections and a degree of self-rule in policy making. But protesters now accuse China of reneging on the deal and trying to exert its control over every aspect of Hong Kong’s political affairs. The mounting protests present a conundrum for Beijing. Too hard a crackdown could drive more people to the pro-democracy cause, and that would embarrass Chinese authorities, who would never permit such a challenge on the mainland. Yet, by the same token, allowing the protesters some room risks encouraging others to question Communist control in the rest of the country over such issues as media freedoms, economic development and minority rights.

At Hong Kong Pride 2013

Gay Star News reports on Hong Kong's fifth pride parade:

Today's Hong Kong Pride showed the LGBT community there are more visible than ever before. The head of Hong Kong's Equal Opportunity Commission Dr York Chow addressed the crowd, as did member of the legislative council Cyd Ho. This year, the fifth Hong Kong Pride, saw more corporate sponsorship with JP Morgan and Citibank joining Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Nomura who gave cash sponsorship last year, Fridae reports. Paul Choi, Goldman Sachs' executive director of human capital management, also spoke at the parade. 'As a company, we have been participating in the parade since 2008, and we are glad to see more people taking part as Hong Kong becomes more inclusive,' he said in a statement.

An estimated 8000 people attended.

Edward Snowden Flees To Moscow

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has helped NSA leaker Edward Snowden get out of Hong Kong.  But he apparently won't be in Moscow for very long:

Edward Snowden left for Moscow on Sunday and his final destination may be Cuba, Ecuador, Iceland or Venezuela, according to various reports. The move is bound to infuriate Washington, wherever he ends up. "It's a shocker," said Simon Young, a law professor with Hong Kong University. "I thought he was going to stay and fight it out. The U.S. government will be irate." Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a source at the Aeroflot airline as saying there was a ticket in Snowden's name for a Moscow-Cuba flight. Itar-Tass news agency cited a source as saying Snowden would fly from Havana to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. The South China Morning Post said his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland.

On Friday night the federal government formally charged Snowden with espionage. Should he ever come to trial, he faces up to thirty years in prison.

Edward Snowden Charged With Spying

The federal government has formally charged NSA leaker Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government documents.

Snowden has been charged with three violations: theft of government property and two offenses under the espionage statutes, specifically giving national defense information to someone without a security clearance and revealing classified information about "communications intelligence." Each of the charges carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. Officials said charges against Snowden were delayed because the United States and authorities in Hong Kong have been going back and forth to make certain that whatever charges the U.S. filed would conform to the extradition treaty with Hong Kong. The U.S. has filed a "provisional arrest warrant," formally asking the police in Hong Kong to arrest Snowden. Because the FBI has no jurisdiction outside U.S. borders, U.S. prosecutors must ask local police to make the arrest.

The charges begin an extradition process with China which is expected to take several months. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reportedly been in contact with Snowden's lawyers in an attempt to help him seek asylum in Iceland.

Quote Of The Day - Edward Snowden

"I'm neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American. People who think I made a mistake in picking Hong Kong as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality. My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate. I have been given no reason to doubt your system." - Edward Snowden, telling the South China Post that he intends to fight extradition to the United States.

Snowden checked out his hotel room on Monday and is now in a "secret location" according to Post.  Yesterday an anonymous FBI source told the New York Times that "there will be no hesitation" to charge Snowden with leaking classified documents.  Tomorrow the entire Senate will convene for a closed session with the NSA, the FBI, and Department of Justice. Federal officials and legal experts in Hong Kong say they expect China would comply with an extradition request.

Edward Snowden Reported "Missing"

The BBC reports that NSA leaker Edward Snowden checked out of his Hong Kong hotel today and that his present whereabouts are unknown.

Hong Kong's broadcaster RTHK said Mr Snowden checked out of the Mira hotel on Monday. Reuters news agency quoted hotel staff as saying that he had left at noon. Ewen MacAskill, a Guardian journalist, told the BBC he believed Mr Snowden was still in Hong Kong. Hong Kong - a Chinese territory - has an extradition treaty with the US, although analysts say any attempts to bring Mr Snowden to America may take months and could be blocked by Beijing. Mr Snowden is believed to have arrived in Hong Kong on 20 May. A standard visa on arrival in the territory for a US citizen lasts for 90 days.

HONG KONG: Activists Launch Video Series Against Anti-Gay Bullying

More clips here.

(Via Gay Star News)

At Hong Kong Pride 2012

Hong Kong AIDS Group Blames Grindr

A Hong Kong AIDS group is blaming Grindr for a local rise in STDs and HIV infections. Gay Star News reports:

Spokesperson for AIDS Concern, Panda Cheung Yin-mei, told China Daily that Grindr ‘is one of the factors that are contributing to the record high levels of infections’. More worryingly, Cheung says attempts to engage with Grindr in order to work together to send a safe-sex message through the app have been obstructed by the American company. "Grindr is a money-making software," says Cheung. "They have tightened monitoring of users and they don't welcome NGOs doing outreach on the Grindr networks. Once they find a phone number is an NGO number, they block the number so the NGO cannot do it again." Cheung added that the problem in Hong Kong is more serious than in other parts of the world where Grindr is popular because of the absence of sex education in schools.

A Grindr spokeman told a local Chinese newspaper: "Grindr strongly encourages our users to engage in safe sex practices, get tested and know their HIV status."

Hong Kong: 15 Years After The British

Hong Kong Fights "Ex-Gay" Movement

Dan Choi writes on Change.org:

I write with great concern because Hong Kong's Social Welfare Department recently held a workshop for its staff led by a psychiatrist who claims he can "cure" LGBT people by having them take cold showers. The quack doctor, Hong Kwai-wah, is affiliated with Exodus Global Alliance, a discredited group whose work is rejected by every major medical and mental health organization. As the "ex-gay" message fails in America, Exodus is looking to exploit new markets and export hate overseas. Exodus' last global "outreach" was in Uganda, leading to the notorious and deadly Anti-Homosexuality Bill. This is why it is crucial that we stand up today against Exodus' opportunistic spread of homophobic lies in Asia. By signing our petition, you will tell the Social Welfare Department that its endorsement of "ex-gay therapy" is bringing great shame to Hong Kong and making a mockery of the department's mission to empower communities with dignity, harmony, and happiness.

Hit the above link to sign the petition.

China To Create World's Largest City

Chinese urban planners will join nine large cities near Hong Kong into one sprawling 16,000 square mile city which will be 26 times larger than London. With 42 million people within its boundaries.

The new mega-city will cover a large part of China's manufacturing heartland, stretching from Guangzhou to Shenzhen and including Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Huizhou and Zhaoqing. Together, they account for nearly a tenth of the Chinese economy. Over the next six years, around 150 major infrastructure projects will mesh the transport, energy, water and telecommunications networks of the nine cities together, at a cost of some 2 trillion yuan (£190 billion). An express rail line will also connect the hub with nearby Hong Kong.

The project includes 3100 miles of new high-speed rail lines. By the end of the decade, China plans to create even larger mega-cities with populations of 50 - 100 million.

Does This Mean The TSA Is Going To Start Asking Us To Remove Our Faces?

CNN reports that a passenger boarded a Hong Kong flight bound for Canada looking like an elderly white man, but after take-off he returned from the plane's restroom as himself, a young Asian man. It's all very Mission: Impossible.

The incident occurred on October 29 on Air Canada flight AC018 to Vancouver originating in Hong Kong. An intelligence alert from the Canada Border Services Agency describes the incident as an "unbelievable case of concealment." "Information was received from Air Canada Corporate Security regarding a possible impostor on a flight originating from Hong Kong," the alert says. "The passenger in question was observed at the beginning of the flight to be an elderly Caucasian male who appeared to have young looking hands. During the flight the subject attended the washroom and emerged an Asian looking male that appeared to be in his early 20s." After landing in Canada, Border Services Officers (BSOs) escorted the man off the plane where he "proceeded to make a claim for refugee protection," the alert says.

Reportedly the impostor got on the plane with the boarding pass of another booked passenger, an American who is only 55 years old.

Stay Right, No...Left

China is planning a massive 22-mile bridge connecting its mainland to Hong Kong. However Hong Kong drives on the left and China drives on the right. Above is the rendering of a Netherlands design team's solution to the problem by splitting the bridge mid-span and crossing the lanes under each other. Lots more about the planned bridge at the link.

Apartment Transformer

An architect in Hong Kong has turned his tiny studio into an "apartment transformer" through clever rolling walls and hidden spaces. His place is the same size as mine, but I think I'd tire quickly of all that rolling. Lazy American.

The Next Step In Internet Lovin'

You just know the internet porn industry has got their eyes on this one.

Hong Kong scientists have developed a robotic hand that allows people talking over the web to experience the sensation of touching each other — even feeling the strength of a handshake. The cyber hand can grip and shake as well as make the signs for OK and 'V' for victory. Professor Liu Yunhui, who led researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: "At this moment the function is not perfect and it can't copy exactly, partly because the robot hand is different from the human hand in terms of the degree of freedom of movement it has.

I give it three years before cyberhands are a basic feature of hookup sites. Maybe sooner. The above rudimentary model goes on sale at the end of this year at the startlingly low price of $35.

Coming Soon: 3-D Porn

A Hong Kong film studio is about to release a Chinese-language porn flick in 3-D.

Hong Kong film makers are preparing to leave filmgoers goggle-eyed by releasing the world's first pornographic movie in 3D, a news report said on Sunday. Shooting on the Chinese-language film 3D Sex And Zen, budgeted at 4 million US dollars, is scheduled for April with producers promising some of the most realistic close-up sex scenes ever. "Just imagine that you'll be watching it as if you were sitting beside the bed," Stephen Shiu Jnr told the Sunday Morning Post. "There will be many close-ups. It will look as if the actresses are only a few centimetres from the audience." Twenty five to 30 per cent of the movie, an update of one of Hong Kong's best known erotic films Sex And Zen, will be sex scenes, Shiu told the newspaper.

The same company that did special effects for Nightmare Before Christmas is creating the 3-D scenes.