Three Activities in Hong Kong Cancelled Before China’s National Day

The Chinese regime faces problems ahead of National Day

Tens of thousands of Hongkongers rallied on Sept. 8, 2019 to ask U.S. President Trump to liberate Hong Kong. (Yue Tin-Jau/The Epoch Times)

Commentary

For the Chinese Communist regime, the upcoming celebration of its National Day on Oct. 1 only means trouble. China is experiencing both internal and external crises. The ongoing anti-government protest in Hong Kong alone is a big headache that Beijing does not know how to handle at all. Very recently, three activities in Hong Kong were cancelled—fireworks on National Day, “Red Song” parade, and Hong Kong Jockey Club’s racing event.

The Three Cancellations

The Hong Kong government announced on Sept. 18 the cancellation of the National Day fireworks originally scheduled on the evening of Oct. 1 at Victoria Harbour, citing safety concerns.

Various Hong Kong media predicted that there will be large-scale protests on Oct. 1, even if the police does not grant permission. They said that a fight could break between anti-government and pro-Beijing supporters during the fireworks celebration.

Another activity, a parade themed “Hand in hand and sing praises to our motherland,” was originally scheduled to be held on Sept. 18 in the city. The organizer called on Hongkongers to participate in this parade through an online publicity campaign. Hong Kong police believed that the event would bring chaos and so they decided to cancel it.

However, on the day that the parade was supposed to be held, pro-Beijing supporters showed up, holding Chinese national flags. They gathered at the starting location, a shopping mall, shouting “China, keep up the good work!” Some of them spoke in Mandarin, the mainland Chinese dialect. When the rally was over, they drove away in police cars. Many shoppers at the mall questioned who those people were and why police cars escorted them out of the premises, as it didn’t seem to be a spontaneous activity at all.

On that same day, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) cancelled all races when they heard pro-democracy protesters would target the Happy Valley racecourse.“ Hong Kong Bet—a horse owned by pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho—was scheduled to race that night.

HKJC explained that it had conducted a thorough risk assessment and concluded the race should be cancelled for the safety and security of the people and horses.

Immediately after the cancellation announcement, Ho said that HKJC should not bow to “such bullying forces,” referring to the protesters. Hong Kong netizens immediately responded to Ho’s comment, saying that Ho himself is the “bullying force.”

CCP’s Celebration of Its National Day Will be One Big Headache

Initially the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wanted to make a big fanfare to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China. Unexpectedly, almost everything has gone wrong. Even the fireworks display in Hong Kong has been cancelled. This is equivalent to admitting that the “one country, two systems” policy has failed.

In addition, it can be expected that protests may emerge all over Hong Kong on China’s National Day. The anxiety the CCP is experiencing is beyond words.

In fact, for the mainland Chinese people, National Day is really a disastrous event. Instead of standing up against oppression, Chinese people feel powerless in the face of tyranny and corrupt officials. The so-called “liberation” that the CCP promised is more like “falling to enemy occupation”—several generations of innocent Chinese citizens have been fooled, plundered and persecuted by the CCP.

We need to take a look at the humiliation and harm the CCP has brought to the country and its people. In today’s China, the environment is heavily polluted, natural resources are almost exhausted, the economy is experiencing a big downslide, officials are extremely corrupt, and good people are being abused. China is a nation on the brink of ruin.

Every year, in the run-up to the National Day celebrations, the Chinese regime spends a lot of money and makes a big effort to create the illusion of “prosperity.” At the same time, Beijing is on high alert. Police and national security personnel are dispatched to curb rights activists and dissidents; internet censors keep their eyes on all kinds of social media and online forums; and the police treats everyone as a suspect. Would anyone be in the mood to celebrate National Day under these conditions?

The situation this year is even more absurd. Due to security concerns, stores cannot sell knives, even kitchen knives. Domestic pigeons and kites are banned on the military parade rehearsal day. Hotels near Tiananmen Square are told that their guests must stay inside and they cannot accept new reservations on National Day.

In addition, the shortage of pork and soaring pork prices have become a huge problem for Chinese consumers. CCP officials have responded by curbing pork prices ahead of Oct. 1 celebrations.

The CCP is faced with other major issues. They continue to wage a trade war with the United States. The CCP also wants to wage wars against the so-called “Hong Kong separatists,” “Hong Kong riots,” and “anti-China forces.” Any rational person would find them inconceivable as they are only inviting more trouble.

During the three months of protests, Hongkongers have truly witnessed and experienced the CCP’s “white terror”—a phrase used in Hong Kong and elsewhere to describe authorities’ actions that create a climate of fear. Police make random arrests, cook up false charges, intimidate civilians, and collude with gangs to commit violence and attack pro-democracy protesters. The Hong Kong government blindly follows all the instructions from Beijing, completely ignoring the demands from the Hong Kong people. Does the CCP still expect Hongkongers to be enthusiastic about celebrating its National Day?

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho had advocated that all “Hong Kong independence activists” should be “killed without mercy.” During the Yuen Long violent attack on the evening of July 21, when gangs attacked protesters at a subway station, Ho was seen shaking hands and chatting with the gang members, praising them for “defending our hometown and motherland.”

After the video of Ho shaking hands with gang members was exposed, the teachers and students from his alma mater, Queen’s College, initiated a joint petition, pointing out that his behavior was an embarrassment to the school and had violated the very basic ethical principles. They appealed to the Hong Kong Legislative Council to impeach Ho. Members of the HKJC also called on the horse racing club to cancel Ho’s membership and to ban his horse from all future races.

We must know that when freedom and the rule of law cannot be guaranteed, the damage is a lot more than the mere cancellation of horse races. Hong Kong’s special status as the financial center in Asia will also fade away—the prosperity of the city is at great risk.

All in all, the cancellations of three activities in Hong Kong send out the same message: the CCP is making it obvious for all to see that it is not welcome, the pro-communist camp is acting like a clown and making a fool of itself. In the midst of the social and political upheaval in Hong Kong, there is a clear distinction between right and wrong. Some people only care about wealth and turn a blind eye to the tyranny. But there are those who listen to their conscience and stand up against tyranny with great courage. During this period of social unrest, every Hong Kong citizen is facing a test about making a moral choice, instead of taking a political stance.