Journos' group lost its way a while ago

In the argument between the police and the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, here's what you're not being told.

The police aren't killing the HKJA - the organization has been committing a long, slow suicide by abandoning political independence and giving out "student" press accreditation for HK$20 to people with no training, including children.

The result was that protests were flooded with journalists we all knew were fake, endangering themselves and everyone else.

When the HKJA was founded in 1968 by legendary Aussie journalist Jack Spackman, applicants had to be real, working journalists, and political independence was assumed. "Leave politics to the politicians, but don't let them get away with anything," Spackman used to say.

That changed in 2002 when the HKJA's new leaders cofounded the Civil Human Rights Front, main organizer of Hong Kong's anti-China protests, alongside other partners, including the Human Rights Monitor and the Confederation of Trade Unions. Both are generously funded by the USA's National Endowment for Democracy, the American state department's regime-change arm, set up by the CIA in 1986.

The HKJA never admits this and hates anyone to bring it up. Oops, sorry!

* * *

The Chinese writing on the pictured sign implies that drivers should be careful, but the English version sounds like drivers should beware of pedestrians crashing into their cars. English speakers are made of tough stuff.

* * *

Joe Biden last year on street protests in Hong Kong: "Extraordinary bravery shown All of us must stand in support."

Joe Biden yesterday on street protests in the United States: "Violence is never and can never be the answer. Those who engage in it must be held accountable."

* * *

Someone named Shahrezad Ghayrat on Tuesday tweeted a TikTok video clip of a worried-looking woman portrayed as a victim of China's crackdown on the Uyghur people. By yesterday, it had 50,000 shares.

But not everyone was fooled. "It's real," said one sarcastic netizen. "Didn't you know concentration camps allow smartphones, internet, ring lights, makeup and free time to make TikToks?"

Another netizen yesterday noticed Ghayrat's email address - she works for Radio Free Asia, listed in CIA documents as a "Propaganda Asset."

America's disinformation war against this part of the world is real.

* * *

"Psst! Want a copy watch?" Remember the fake goods salesmen who used to whisper from Nathan Road alleyways?

Hong Kong customs officers this week discovered that instead of standing on street corners, the villains were using Facebook Live and similar services to lurk in cyberspace for up to six hours to sell fake branded goods.

Yet, everyone's working remotely these days.

* * *

People as far afield as the UK and Australia were yesterday getting color leaflets about Covid-19 from Scarlet Yan Li-meng, described as working "at a WHO-referenced laboratory in Hong Kong." The leaflets "reveal" that the virus is a weapon designed in China.

The leaflets have been tracked back to former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, and his friend Guo Wenghui, a fugitive billionaire wanted for fraud and money-laundering. Jasnah Kholin, a Hong Kong scientist, described Yan's wild claim as "utter garbage."

* * *

Every 12th adult you meet in Hong Kong is worth more than HK$10 million, according to a survey by Citibank this week.

So? That doesn't mean the place is crawling with rich people. All it means is that some people own 550-sq-ft flats.

Talk to me! Send ideas and comments via the Facebook pages of the author or The Standard