Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/hk-magazine/article/2037203/talking-points-july-1-march-was-tiny-government-office-turned
Magazines/ HK Magazine

Talking Points: July 1 March was Tiny, Government Office Turned Into Man Cave, Joshua Wong Attacked

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Photo: Sam Tsang/SCMP

July 1 March Has “No Clear Theme”

This year’s July 1 protest attracted a mere 48,000participants according to organizers, down from 510,000 last year. Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai remarked that the march did not have a “clear theme” as the march was only a few weeks after the rejection of the electoral reform package. Besides pro-democracy marchers, localists joined the rally and brandished the colonial flag, New Territories villagers protested the government’s new town development plans, ethnic minorities sought equality and Chinese language education, while social activists marched for human rights. Critics dismissed the relatively small rally as “pointless” and “radical.”

Our take: What is this, a protest for ants?

Government Office Turned Into Man Cave

Oriental Daily reporters have busted workers at the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department of the Cheung Sha Wan Government Office for creating a private recreation area. An anonymous source sent the paper a photo of a member of staff asleep in a room in the building. An investigation revealed that staff, who were meant to be on standby on floor B1, were spending an unusual amount of time on the fourth floor in the ventilation services room. The room was found to contain sofas, an aquarium, airsoft guns and a chin-up bar with photos of women taped to the wall. The unit has since been cleared out and the items have been thrown away. The EMSD has acknowledged the gravity of the problem and is considering installing security cameras in the room.

Our take: Tax dollars well spent…

Joshua Wong Attacked

Scholarism co-founder and political activist Joshua Wong and his girlfriend Tiffany Chin were attacked in Tai Kok Tsui after leaving a movie theater. The unknown aggressor grabbed Wong’s neck and punched him, drawing blood and knocking off his glasses. When Chin tried to intervene, the man attacked her too, grabbing her by the hair. The attacker and an accompanying woman fled the scene, and no arrests have been made. A joint statement by 15 professional groups said that the act “was not only inflicted on them, but was inflicted on all Hongkongers” and that it was “an affront to Hong Kong’s core value of being an open society in which a diverse range of political opinions can be peacefully expressed without the fear of reprisals.”

Our take: Beating up the kid with specs: that’s one classy move.