Posted on 03/22/2021 6:58:07 AM PDT by SJackson
Pro-Beijing politicians accuse newly built M+ Museum of breaching the sweeping national security law
After successfully muzzling Hong Kong’s democracy protests and opposition, Beijing’s loyalists have warned art institutions about their collections as they seek to impose mainland-style orthodoxy on culture and purge the city of dissent.
Newly built on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, M+ Museum aims to rival western contemporary heavyweights like London’s Tate Modern and New York’s MoMA.
The 60,000 square-metre venue is finally set to open later this year after multiple delays. But it has already found itself in hot water.
Hong Kong: UK accuses China of breaching joint declaration Read more Earlier this week a group of prominent pro-Beijing local politicians accused the museum of breaching a sweeping national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong last year in response to 2019’s democracy protests.
The cause of the complaint, filed to police on Tuesday, was the content of a media preview, including works by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
“Many of the pieces are spreading hatred against the country,” pro-Beijing lawmaker Eunice Yung said in a recent question to city leader Carrie Lam in the legislature.
“Will the government censor the collection? What will the government do to prevent such provocation of anti-China sentiments?” she added.
Lam, a pro-Beijing appointee, replied that Hong Kong “respects the freedom of cultural and artistic expression”.
But she warned authorities would be on “full alert” for any breaches of the security law, adding that the red line “is clearly recognisable” for anyone hosting exhibitions.
The exchange sent a new shudder through the arts scene in a city struggling to hold onto its reputation as an international cultural gateway to China unhindered from the authoritarian mainland’s controls.
Protesters swamp Hong Kong court after pro-democracy figures charged
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
the Soviets never even considered invading us, something about 300 million guns. That’s one per person. 7 million Hong Kongers. Do the math.
Or is it roux? I should look that up.
For two decades,HK elected meely mouthed LEGCO (City council or congress) members who tried to play both ends against the middle. They sought to preserve the status quo of the real estate and banking cartels that actually run the city. Crony Capitalism and Communism are somewhat compatible. They thought they could buy off the PRC. I saw this coming in 2000, rather take a stand when they could, they abdicated their moral responsibility and kept HSBC and Li Kai Shing protected. Almost none of the politicians had clear political bison or theory. They were rea give rather than proactive. They were also arrogant and haughty.
HK could have been, should have been, a beacon of peaceful freedom to China, instead it engaged in go along to get along policies that tried to please everyone and ended up pleasing no one. Most of the people there don’t deserve this. But, it was obvious the entrenched bureaucracy and over paid civil servants were going to screw it up. FWIW, you have to go 17 steps down the civil service pay scale to find someone paid less than the US president! (Or did in2012 when I moved to Guam). HK is a vision of the fate of overly expensive cities here.
I hate the auto complete on this tab. It creates so many gammar and spelling mistakes.
Perhaps China realizes where things go if you DO NOT push back on crap from these people.
Similar to the Democrat Party here, the Chinese Communist Party conflates hatred for it with hatred for “country”.
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