Having failed to substantiate any of their wild claims about the CIA paying protesters and masterminding 2019-20, this is what has become of the argument blaming foreigners for the pro-democracy movement: the vague notion that foreign ideas, somewhere along the line, might’ve inspired folks¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Joel Chan@kjoules.org · 7d ago

In a “news” article, Hong Kong paper The Standard claims Western exchange programs and scholarships are covert recruitment schemes designed to groom Hong Kong students, journalists and politicians into anti-China agents, largely by linking overseas study to their later criticism of the government.

“London’s rare book shops appear to have been targeted by AI companies searching for books to train their models, after court documents revealed Anthropic bought, scanned AND DESTROYED [emphasis added] millions of physical books…”

Jeppe Mulich@jmulich.bsky.social · 6d ago

This week in "how can AI companies be more villainous"

Big step for Indigenous recognition. Siraya are the first Plains Indigenous people to be formally recognised, usually considered more "assimilated" than the recognised Mountain Indigenous peoples. focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...

Cabinet officially recognizes Siraya as Taiwan's 17th Indigenous tribe - Focus Taiwan

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Thursday approved the official recognition of the Siraya as one of Taiwan's Indigenous tribes, making it the country's 17th officially recognized tribe and the first Plai...

focustaiwan.tw

"Is this Hong Kong?" That's what an Indigenous Taiwanese protester asked as he was taken away by police in Hualien. He held a placard at the annual Pacific Austronesian Harvest Festival, stating he refused to serve as a propaganda piece for KMT politician Fu Kun-chi, known as the "King of Hualien."

男子舉牌抗議花蓮豐年節 身攜山刀拒盤查遭警帶離｜20260719 公視午間新聞

YouTube video by 公視新聞網

youtube.com

If your worldview is drastically altered by using Alipay during a visa-free layover in Shanghai, that says a lot more about you than it does about China. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The “Multifaceted Hong Kong” exhibition series at the Hong Kong History Museum closed today. It was an excellent exploration of the city’s ties to overseas Chinese and the local Portuguese/Eurasian community — easily the best part (left) of the museum. Hopefully they replace it with something good.

Hong Kong’s government has presented the city’s private members’ clubs with an ultimatum: either pay much more for the land they lease at a concessionary rate, passing along the cost to members, or convert into a public facility open to anyone. It’s a more nuanced issue than it may seem on its face.

This 👇💯

Ryan Ho Kilpatrick 何松濤@ryanhk.blue · last mo.

Reading this spurred me to write a thread that got out of hand and became a post — not to downplay the imposition of Han norms, but just say this is an incomplete understanding of what "Sinicization" means in Xi's China. Beyond cultural and ethnic identity, it is about enforcing political identity.

Reading this spurred me to write a thread that got out of hand and became a post — not to downplay the imposition of Han norms, but just say this is an incomplete understanding of what "Sinicization" means in Xi's China. Beyond cultural and ethnic identity, it is about enforcing political identity.

The Secret of Sinicization

As concerns spread over China's new ethnic unity law, let's reconsider what it really means to make individuals, cultures, and institutions "Chinese" in Xi Jinping's China.

open.substack.com

Eli Friedman@elifriedman.bsky.social · last mo.

This law is a real nightmare, creates a legal grounding for the state's assimilationist colonial campaigns

Happy 萬家福 PROSPERiTY PLAZA/樂家康 Uni-PROSPERiTY day to those who celebrate

家樂福改名「萬家福」 命理師讚：經營獲利變更好

統一集團現任統一集團董事長羅智先1956年出生(丙申年)生肖屬猴，於2023年完成收購「家樂福」，之後成為全資經營者。今年家樂福從7月1日開始家樂福量販，改名「萬家福」，家樂福超市，改名「樂家康」；內部透露，法商Carrefour被翻譯為家樂福，意指「家家快樂又幸福」，新名字「萬家福」則希望與民眾「一起發現生活的萬種幸福」。

tw.stock.yahoo.com

Ryan Ho Kilpatrick 何松濤@ryanhk.blue · last mo.

I've been enjoying the breathless press coverage devoted to what Carrefour's name will be in Taiwan after the French supermarket chain rebrands under the ownership of Taiwanese conglomerate Uni-President. We're finally going to know on July 1, so now we all have something to celebrate on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's patriots-only legislators aren't afraid to ask the hard questions. At a meeting on the expansion of Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, the BPA's Ray Wong noted that current plans accommodate only superyachts up to 50m, pressing the government on whether it will make space for mega and gigayachts

立會審議擴建香港仔避風塘工程　有議員關注工程如何推動遊艇經濟

立法會工務小組委員會審議擴建香港仔避風塘工程涉款20.3億。有議員關注相關工程如何推動遊艇經濟，帶動南區發展。民建聯新界東南議員葉傲冬說：「外國有整體規劃能帶動其他經濟，不是純粹泊位。如果日後有遊艇停泊，如果(海洋公園)水上樂園丟空或不理想，很難看。有沒有整體規劃，令避風塘南邊成為世界一流遊艇停泊區...

news.tvb.com

Probably something like this

Finbarr Bermingham@fbermingham.bsky.social · last mo.

US ambassador Bill White had Belgian police remove 2 journalists after they approached him at a party in a public space commemorating 250 years of the US What would be the reaction if this was China's envoy using Belgian police to eject reporters over an uncomfortable question?

I've been enjoying the breathless press coverage devoted to what Carrefour's name will be in Taiwan after the French supermarket chain rebrands under the ownership of Taiwanese conglomerate Uni-President. We're finally going to know on July 1, so now we all have something to celebrate on Wednesday.

家樂福新名字確定了？傳改「這3字」7/1正式亮相｜東森新聞

家樂福7月起更名萬家福、樂家康，統一集團雙品牌策略搶先註冊新商標，市場熱議新名稱。

news.ebc.net.tw

Been reading old issues of Undergrad from the 1960s and 1970s—it was, even then, an intellectually experimental and radical publication, and rather critical to Hong Kong’s student movements in the late colonial era. Really sad to see another product of longtime activism in Hong Kong gone

Ryan Ho Kilpatrick 何松濤@ryanhk.blue · last mo.

The University of Hong Kong's student union newspaper Undergrad (學苑) announced today it is ceasing operations after 74 years in print. "Our historical role has come to an end," the editorial board wrote on social media.

The University of Hong Kong's student union newspaper Undergrad (學苑) announced today it is ceasing operations after 74 years in print. "Our historical role has come to an end," the editorial board wrote on social media.

At this year’s races, a Canadian team was banned from wearing their team jersey because it was suspected of violating the Regional Flag and Emblem Ordinance, enacted by the “patriots-only” legislature in 2023 — the same law now invoked to bar local clubs from using the HKSAR flag or bauhinia flower.

Ryan Ho Kilpatrick 何松濤@ryanhk.blue · last mo.

At today’s int’l dragon boat races, I thought it was interesting how HK/Macau teams had to be prefaced 中國香港/澳門 while teams from the mainland were simply named for their locality. At the same time, mainland teams’ tops all had the PRC flag while local clubs were instructed not to wear the HKSAR flag.

At today’s int’l dragon boat races, I thought it was interesting how HK/Macau teams had to be prefaced 中國香港/澳門 while teams from the mainland were simply named for their locality. At the same time, mainland teams’ tops all had the PRC flag while local clubs were instructed not to wear the HKSAR flag.

“National Security Files DECLASSIFIED” Interesting to see the language and aesthetics of transparency, accountability, and explosive revelations used to promote a programme celebrating the establishment of the national security police and promoting their “contributions,” hosted by the force’s chief

With the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races coming up next weekend, paddlers from around the world are once again being warned not to endanger China’s national security.

The new head of Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department comes direct from the city’s police force — just like the new head of the Information Services Department, who was appointed last month. 消息：食環署長由前副警務處長袁旭健接任‎ 與新聞處長同出身警隊 www.hk01.com/article/6036...

消息：食環署長由前副警務處長袁旭健接任　與新聞處長同出身警隊

《香港01》獲悉，今年二月破天荒公開招聘的食環署署長，由警務處前副處長（行動）袁旭健出任，月薪287,990元至296,535元。當局最快今日（15日）公

hk01.com

HKU's School of Future Media (formerly Journalism and Media Studies Centre) has rebranded its Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) programme as the Bachelor of Journalism, Media and Artificial Intelligence: BJMAI. The School earlier launched an "MA in Creative AI" but hasn't scrapped the MJ programme — yet.

Bachelor of Journalism, Media & AI - School of Future Media

In a rapid changing world shaped by AI and digital media, the ability to tell accurate and in-depth stories is more crucial than ever. This double-major programme blends cutting-edge training in journ...

hkums.hku.hk

As Tuen Ng looms, dragon boat is the latest victim of AI enshittification. This local school has developed a system that collects data from students' pErg footage and compares it to a model paddler's, determining "incorrect" form. Their teacher thanks AI (not his students lol) for improved results.

樂善堂余近卿中學AI龍舟檢測系統　糾正姿勢增同步率助奪學界冠軍

樂善堂余近卿中學的龍舟隊，一直是學界比賽常客，日前在第十四屆學界龍舟錦標賽中，勇奪小龍混合錦標賽銀盃決賽冠軍。校長江文其分享，龍舟隊成績大

hk01.com

Pink Dot Hong Kong, the LGBTQIA+ festival cancelled last year when they could not secure WestK as a venue, is being cancelled again this year. Stanley Plaza and Murray House were booked for next month; Link REIT told them today that due to "licensing issues", the venues could not be rented

In the latest edition of 《Sirene》, you’ll find an article by me about my journey paddling from Taitung to Green Island, stopping along the way to explore Taiwan’s ancient indigenous maritime heritage, its more recent authoritarian past, and its ongoing rediscovery of the islands’ austronesian roots.

If you're a regular consumer of Taiwanese news media, you've probably noticed how they cannot run a weather story without featuring photos creepily focused on some young woman just walking down the street in the sun or rain. I guess they're just using AI for that now, and it's still creepy as hell.

10 million people died in the KMT-CCP civil war

Brian Hioe@brianhioe.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Here's the text of Cheng Li-wun's speech at the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum, she refers to the ROC as being a seed for peace, claims eastern culture is peaceful compared to despotic western culture, that Japan was acting out western hegemonic culture udn.com/news/story/6...

Esquire Singapore couldn't land an interview with Mackenyu, so they decided to just run an AI-generated "conversation" with the One Piece star instead. It's as dumb and unethical as it sounds, but I was not prepared for how pretentious it is. They're acting like this is experimental art. It's slop.

Mackenyu in Resonance - Esquire Singapore

In an unprecedented interview for both parties, we call into the abyss to hear what comes back about the resonance of Mackenyu.

esquiresg.com

The HK Story exhibition at the History Museum reopens today after more than 5 years. In one of many rewritten sections, the 1967 riots — when children were killed by Communist bombs — are celebrated as “anti-British resistance.” Meanwhile, the 2019 protests are the worst tragedy ever to befall HK.

Fact-checking pro-Beijing lawmaker Dominic Lee after he slams West, defends security law in viral UN speech 🔗 buff.ly/fCESpaq

State media behaviour

Joel Chan@kjoules.org · 4mo ago

The "experts" mentioned in this article: • Ronny Tong, lawyer, ExCo member • Regina Ip • Lau Siu-kai, Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...