CY Leung on missing booksellers and judicial review; TV Most award show goes viral; ‘King Arthur’ strikes back.
Photo: Chris Lusher
Government & LegCo
CY Leung on missing booksellers: Seeking assistance from mainland authorities, but response time varies
– CY Leung urged mainland authorities to assist in investigation works over fivemissing booksellers amid rumours that they were brought across the border
– Leung however stressed that the response time of the mainland counterparts has varied in the past
– LegCo president Jasper Tsang also called on Beijing to send a clear message that ‘one country, two system’ was not violated
– Leung, meanwhile, backed retired Court of Final Appeal judge Henry Litton’s claim that the city’s judicial review system “is sometimes abused”, just one day after Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma defended the system
– The HKUPOP survey found, ahead of the policy address, Leung’s popularity rating dropped to the lowest point of 37.5 since he took office in 2012
Ombudsman probes public libraries following dumping of 10,000 books
– The Ombudsman launched an investigation into the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s handling and procurement of library materials, following reports that hundreds of boxed sealed with tape of the Hong Kong Central Library were found disposed of on a pavement
– The boxes contained some 10,000 books, some appeared to be brand new
– Preliminary investigation raised question over whether the working criteria and procedures for procuring and withdrawing library materials were up-to-date
Government proposes raising CE election expenditure cap to HKD16.3m
– The government proposed raising the spending limits for CE election campaign (ch) by 25.4% to HKD16.3m in face of rising price levels
– Given that the Election Committee remains at 1,200 members, the move implies that a CE candidate will be allowed to allocate an average maximum of HKD13,583 on each vote
General Politics
Award ceremony makes big shout-out for derivative works and local identity
– The TV Most 1st Guy Ten Big Ging Cook Gum Cook (ch) Awards Distribution went viral on social media, with songs making fun of the city’s social and political injustice being sung on stage
– The award show, held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium, aired by NowTV and sponsored by Shell, was a production of online multimedia firm TV Most, which was known for its satirical and derivative works
– Pundits suggested that such media transformation could contribute to new marketing models and the strengthening of Hong Kong’s local identity
I take charge of HKU council to ‘avert anarchy and mob rule,’ ‘King Arthur’ says
– The University of Hong Kong’s new council chairman Arthur Li hit back at those who opposed his appointment, saying that he accepted the post because he did not want ‘anarchy’ and ‘mob rule’ in Hong Kong
– Li also accused some academics in the university of hiding “behind [the] slogan of academic freedom in order not to do their work”
Paul Zimmerman and Leung Yiu-chung eye LegCo ‘super seat”
– Pro-democracy Southern District Councillor Paul Zimmerman and New Territories West lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung both showed their intention to run in next year’s LegCo ‘super seat’ election
– The Democratic Party was said to be planning to field James To and another newcomer in the ‘super seat’ election, while the ADPL is picking Ronald Yeung Chun-yu as its replacement for Frederick Fung who failed to retain his DC seat
‘Dream Bear’ tells court how CY Leung fooled him and framed him
– Businessman Lew Mon-hung accused CY Leung of framing him to justify not keeping his promise to reward him as the District Court resumed hearing on one count of perverting the course of public justice against him
– Lew said Leung first promised him a seat in the Executive Council, and later changed to offer to nominate him as a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC if he was to be CE
