-
IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
#OccupyCentral thread: Give me Liberty or Give me Death!
- Thread starter Asterix
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2008
- Messages
- 23,454
- Points
- 0
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
I hope they are crush by chinese tanks like those in 94.
Brainless kids. Just like 94.
No assault rifles, no tanks, no airforce, no army ? what democracy? Democracy are back by force. without force, there will be no freedom.
I hope they are crush by chinese tanks like those in 94.
Brainless kids. Just like 94.
No assault rifles, no tanks, no airforce, no army ? what democracy? Democracy are back by force. without force, there will be no freedom.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2012
- Messages
- 5,228
- Points
- 113
Re: Give me Liberty or Give me Death! Giordano Tycoon joins Occupy Central!
Francis Seow and Tang Liang Hong after telling disciples to Gostan last night
Now retract statements due to followers' demands and say charge forward
Having panicked last night due to perceived loss of control
Now they can see dat Gahbrament is afraid of People Power
Meanwhile this may be remembered as Umbrella Revolution
Free drinks and chee cheung fun are being distributed
Office workers on way to work cheered the protestors
Including a stockbroker living in expensive Repulse Bay
Sympathy strikes are being organised all over the place
Meanwhile CPF Minimum Sum is set to rise to one million dollars
Sinkies just shrug and say at least we still get to eat char kway teow
4.05pm: Occupy Central co-organiser Dr Chan Kin-man has called on Hongkongers to sustain the occupation until the government addresses the people's calls.
He clarified that Occupy only urged people to retreat if the police use weapons which could hurt people.
He said Leung Chun-ying's speech on TV last night, where he said the police would neither seek the PLA's help nor shoot protesters, had shown the government will not escalate its crackdown.
"Hongkongers are fearless towards tear gas and think it is manageable," he said. "So I would not suggest protesters retreat at this moment."
Chan said the occupation of different districts was initiated by the people themselves and thus "it was not Occupy Central to decide the duration of [the demonstration]". He added that the government should remove fences from around Civic Square and that CY Leung should step down.
3.45pm: Crowds are growing between Wan Chai and Admiralty, stretching into Central. Hundreds are also massed in TST. Entire streets have been taken over with protesters sitting peacefully or milling around.
Police say they will hold a press conference at 4pm.
3.10pm: A spokewoman for Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong said about 80 to 100 "delivery staff members of Swire Coca-Cola HK who are members of a union have been on strike today and staged a sit-in outside the Siu Lek Yuen plant".
"The Company understands that it is an action in response to union calls for strike in support of the Occupy Central protests. The strike was initiated by the related staff of their own volition and the company has expressed understanding about the action."
3pm: The leader of the Catholic Church in the city urges the government to exercise restraint and put Hongkongers’ safety first when dealing with Occupy Central protests.
“With reference to the regrettable events at Central, Admiralty and Wan Chai over the past few days, may I sincerely call upon the Hong Kong SAR government to put the personal safety of fellow citizens as her prime concern,” Cardinal John Tong Hon said in an “urgent” appeal.
Tong urged the government to exercise restraint in deployment of force “with a view to listening to the voice of the younger generation and of citizens from all walks of life".
2.05pm: The 'Umbrella Revolution' is gaining traction online as a name for the latest protests, thanks to the brollies deployed by demonstrators in an attempt to protect themselves from police pepper spray yesterday.
1.55pm: From 4pm on Sunday until 11am on Monday, 46 people were injured, according to the Hospital Authority - 33 men and 13 women. They are either in stable condition or have already been discharged following treatment, it added.
Meanwhile in Causeway Bay mainland tourists are watching the protesters by SOGO with interest.
Jessica Jiang, aged in her 20s, came to Hong Kong on Sunday. She said she was not surprised by the rallies in the city. "I think it's very normal," she said. "Hong Kong is a place with freedom of speech. I pretty much agree with the protesters."
Another tourist surname Li, from Inner Mongolia, said she didn't know why people were on the streets but wanted to learn more.
1.20pm: Police have appeared to switch to a softly, softly approach, downing their weapons and trying to reason with protesters.
A team of police negotiators arrived at a protest site outside SOGO in Causeway Bay, trying to persuade demonstrators to leave the scene.
"We understand you have been protesting for many hours," said senior inspector Hui Yee-wai. "We understand you are very tired and want to express your demands and views. But what you are sitting on is one of Hong Kong's major roads, and many citizens need to use the road to go to work, school and hospital. We hope you also show your care towards these citizens and let them resume their normal life as soon as possible."
Protesters, however, responded with chants of "police, strike!"
1.13pm: Condemnation of yesterday's heavy-handed police tactics continues.
Lawmaker Raymond Wong Yuk-man, supporting protesters in Mong Kok, said: "Not a stone or a glass bottle has been thrown over the past week, but police decided to resort to tear gas. All people did was raise their hands."
Lee Cheuk-yan, leader of Labour Party and the Confederation of Trade Unions, said workers at Coca-Cola's Sha Tin factory decided to go on strike today after their union's emergency general meeting this morning.
Noriyuki Suzuki, general secretary of International Trade Union Confederation Asia Pacific, condemned the crackdown in a letter to the Hong Kong branch (HKCTU) chief Lee Cheuk-yan.
"The government and police must stop suppressing the peaceful assembly and apologize to the people," Suzuki said.
Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang said: “This is a sad day for Hong Kong. Pictures of our Police Force firing pepper spray and tear gas into the faces of unarmed protestors will shame our government in front of the whole world."
12.45pm: Commentary in Chinese state media has taken an unsurprisingly critical tone of the protests. The state-run Global Times carried an English-language editorial this morning which said that “the radical activists are doomed.”
In a hastily deleted article on the paper’s Chinese language website, it was suggested that the People’s Armed Police, the nation's paramilitary force, could assist Hong Kong police in putting down the protests. “Support from the armed forces could quickly restore stability” in the city, the article said.
12.35pm: Hong Kong Bar Association says in a statement it is "deeply disturbed by, and deplores and condemns, the excessive and disproportionate use of force" by police yesterday.
"There can be scope for disagreement on the underlying political debate or demands leading to the demonstration. Some demonstrators may have committed criminal offences," it stated. "However, none of the above matters justify the use of excessive or disproportionate force by police against unarmed civilians as a matter of law and common decency."
12.08pm: The Education Bureau says it “deeply regrets” the move of the Professional Teachers’ Union - the largest trade union of teachers in the city - to call on secondary school teachers to go on strike. It has appealed to teachers to be “professional” and not to disrupt students’ studies.
Meanwhile students in other schools have boyoctted classes. Ming Kei College students are out of their classrooms, according to Scholarism, which posted photos on its Facebook page showing the whole school gathered in the hall, singing and share their thoughts. Some students of Baptist University are also having an assembly on campus.
Police have barricaded the upper part of Cotton Hill Drive, near Hong kong Park.
Lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, who is joining the rally outside SOGO in Causeway Bay, said he was arrested and detained for 10 hours yesterday and was released at 10pm. He said the police told him he could still be charged despite his release.
Ho condemned the police's using tear gas against protesters.
"The police were being totally unreasonable," he said. "There was no need to apply such physical force against such peaceful people."
11.05am: Pupils of two more schools have walked out of classrooms and gone 'on strike' - Po Leung Kuk Vicwood K. T. Chong Sixth Form College and SFTA Lee Shau Kee College.
Liu Cheuk-laam, a form 6 student from the school who faced tear gas in Admiralty last night, said: “We’re in a totally different situation now after the tear gas. All students should protest."
10.51am: Alex Mak Ying-kit, a 52-year-old stockbroker, lives in Repulse Bay and works in Sheung Wan. He took the bus to Causeway Bay and walked for more than an hour to get to his work, but said he didn't mind because he got to witness the protests. He said he was disappointed with the government for not listening to the people.
"I never thought the protest would have gone on for so long, and I would have joined in if more people had stayed." Mak said. "As a Hong Konger, if you don't make an effort like this, then it'll be curtains for Hong Kong within five years."
10.30am: Demonstrators on Connaught Road have been picking up litter as some hand out food and water.
In Admiralty protesters have moved plant pots onto tram tracks to stop the traffic.
In some areas of the city those on their way to work have cheered protesters for their actions.
Mr Chan, 51, who is in the accounting business, said the government had “underestimated the power of the people”.
Rosa Lai-Yuen-bing, a 50-year-old housewife with two children, said she had stayed with protesters until 4am, despite her 11-year-old daughter pleading with her not to be outside. “CY Leung should come and talk to us,” she said.
In Causeway Bay free breakfasts are being handed out.
9.25am: About 200 students from CNEC Lee I Yao Memorial Secondary School in Kwai Tsing District have gone on strike, according to Lee Shing-ho, a Form 6 student from the school. The strikers are sitting on the school’s playground and in the hall.
“The senior students took the initiative to leave their classrooms. This is not a strike led by the teachers. We want to protest police’s violent behaviour,” Lee, a co-organiser of the strike said.
He said several other schools in the same district had also seen walkouts.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...ruption-expected-day-dawns-occupied-hong-kong
Francis Seow and Tang Liang Hong after telling disciples to Gostan last night
Now retract statements due to followers' demands and say charge forward
Having panicked last night due to perceived loss of control
Now they can see dat Gahbrament is afraid of People Power
Meanwhile this may be remembered as Umbrella Revolution
Free drinks and chee cheung fun are being distributed
Office workers on way to work cheered the protestors
Including a stockbroker living in expensive Repulse Bay
Sympathy strikes are being organised all over the place
Meanwhile CPF Minimum Sum is set to rise to one million dollars
Sinkies just shrug and say at least we still get to eat char kway teow
4.05pm: Occupy Central co-organiser Dr Chan Kin-man has called on Hongkongers to sustain the occupation until the government addresses the people's calls.
He clarified that Occupy only urged people to retreat if the police use weapons which could hurt people.
He said Leung Chun-ying's speech on TV last night, where he said the police would neither seek the PLA's help nor shoot protesters, had shown the government will not escalate its crackdown.
"Hongkongers are fearless towards tear gas and think it is manageable," he said. "So I would not suggest protesters retreat at this moment."
Chan said the occupation of different districts was initiated by the people themselves and thus "it was not Occupy Central to decide the duration of [the demonstration]". He added that the government should remove fences from around Civic Square and that CY Leung should step down.
3.45pm: Crowds are growing between Wan Chai and Admiralty, stretching into Central. Hundreds are also massed in TST. Entire streets have been taken over with protesters sitting peacefully or milling around.
Police say they will hold a press conference at 4pm.
3.10pm: A spokewoman for Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong said about 80 to 100 "delivery staff members of Swire Coca-Cola HK who are members of a union have been on strike today and staged a sit-in outside the Siu Lek Yuen plant".
"The Company understands that it is an action in response to union calls for strike in support of the Occupy Central protests. The strike was initiated by the related staff of their own volition and the company has expressed understanding about the action."
3pm: The leader of the Catholic Church in the city urges the government to exercise restraint and put Hongkongers’ safety first when dealing with Occupy Central protests.
“With reference to the regrettable events at Central, Admiralty and Wan Chai over the past few days, may I sincerely call upon the Hong Kong SAR government to put the personal safety of fellow citizens as her prime concern,” Cardinal John Tong Hon said in an “urgent” appeal.
Tong urged the government to exercise restraint in deployment of force “with a view to listening to the voice of the younger generation and of citizens from all walks of life".
2.05pm: The 'Umbrella Revolution' is gaining traction online as a name for the latest protests, thanks to the brollies deployed by demonstrators in an attempt to protect themselves from police pepper spray yesterday.
1.55pm: From 4pm on Sunday until 11am on Monday, 46 people were injured, according to the Hospital Authority - 33 men and 13 women. They are either in stable condition or have already been discharged following treatment, it added.
Meanwhile in Causeway Bay mainland tourists are watching the protesters by SOGO with interest.
Jessica Jiang, aged in her 20s, came to Hong Kong on Sunday. She said she was not surprised by the rallies in the city. "I think it's very normal," she said. "Hong Kong is a place with freedom of speech. I pretty much agree with the protesters."
Another tourist surname Li, from Inner Mongolia, said she didn't know why people were on the streets but wanted to learn more.
1.20pm: Police have appeared to switch to a softly, softly approach, downing their weapons and trying to reason with protesters.
A team of police negotiators arrived at a protest site outside SOGO in Causeway Bay, trying to persuade demonstrators to leave the scene.
"We understand you have been protesting for many hours," said senior inspector Hui Yee-wai. "We understand you are very tired and want to express your demands and views. But what you are sitting on is one of Hong Kong's major roads, and many citizens need to use the road to go to work, school and hospital. We hope you also show your care towards these citizens and let them resume their normal life as soon as possible."
Protesters, however, responded with chants of "police, strike!"
1.13pm: Condemnation of yesterday's heavy-handed police tactics continues.
Lawmaker Raymond Wong Yuk-man, supporting protesters in Mong Kok, said: "Not a stone or a glass bottle has been thrown over the past week, but police decided to resort to tear gas. All people did was raise their hands."
Lee Cheuk-yan, leader of Labour Party and the Confederation of Trade Unions, said workers at Coca-Cola's Sha Tin factory decided to go on strike today after their union's emergency general meeting this morning.
Noriyuki Suzuki, general secretary of International Trade Union Confederation Asia Pacific, condemned the crackdown in a letter to the Hong Kong branch (HKCTU) chief Lee Cheuk-yan.
"The government and police must stop suppressing the peaceful assembly and apologize to the people," Suzuki said.
Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang said: “This is a sad day for Hong Kong. Pictures of our Police Force firing pepper spray and tear gas into the faces of unarmed protestors will shame our government in front of the whole world."
12.45pm: Commentary in Chinese state media has taken an unsurprisingly critical tone of the protests. The state-run Global Times carried an English-language editorial this morning which said that “the radical activists are doomed.”
In a hastily deleted article on the paper’s Chinese language website, it was suggested that the People’s Armed Police, the nation's paramilitary force, could assist Hong Kong police in putting down the protests. “Support from the armed forces could quickly restore stability” in the city, the article said.
12.35pm: Hong Kong Bar Association says in a statement it is "deeply disturbed by, and deplores and condemns, the excessive and disproportionate use of force" by police yesterday.
"There can be scope for disagreement on the underlying political debate or demands leading to the demonstration. Some demonstrators may have committed criminal offences," it stated. "However, none of the above matters justify the use of excessive or disproportionate force by police against unarmed civilians as a matter of law and common decency."
12.08pm: The Education Bureau says it “deeply regrets” the move of the Professional Teachers’ Union - the largest trade union of teachers in the city - to call on secondary school teachers to go on strike. It has appealed to teachers to be “professional” and not to disrupt students’ studies.
Meanwhile students in other schools have boyoctted classes. Ming Kei College students are out of their classrooms, according to Scholarism, which posted photos on its Facebook page showing the whole school gathered in the hall, singing and share their thoughts. Some students of Baptist University are also having an assembly on campus.
Police have barricaded the upper part of Cotton Hill Drive, near Hong kong Park.
Lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, who is joining the rally outside SOGO in Causeway Bay, said he was arrested and detained for 10 hours yesterday and was released at 10pm. He said the police told him he could still be charged despite his release.
Ho condemned the police's using tear gas against protesters.
"The police were being totally unreasonable," he said. "There was no need to apply such physical force against such peaceful people."
11.05am: Pupils of two more schools have walked out of classrooms and gone 'on strike' - Po Leung Kuk Vicwood K. T. Chong Sixth Form College and SFTA Lee Shau Kee College.
Liu Cheuk-laam, a form 6 student from the school who faced tear gas in Admiralty last night, said: “We’re in a totally different situation now after the tear gas. All students should protest."
10.51am: Alex Mak Ying-kit, a 52-year-old stockbroker, lives in Repulse Bay and works in Sheung Wan. He took the bus to Causeway Bay and walked for more than an hour to get to his work, but said he didn't mind because he got to witness the protests. He said he was disappointed with the government for not listening to the people.
"I never thought the protest would have gone on for so long, and I would have joined in if more people had stayed." Mak said. "As a Hong Konger, if you don't make an effort like this, then it'll be curtains for Hong Kong within five years."
10.30am: Demonstrators on Connaught Road have been picking up litter as some hand out food and water.
In Admiralty protesters have moved plant pots onto tram tracks to stop the traffic.
In some areas of the city those on their way to work have cheered protesters for their actions.
Mr Chan, 51, who is in the accounting business, said the government had “underestimated the power of the people”.
Rosa Lai-Yuen-bing, a 50-year-old housewife with two children, said she had stayed with protesters until 4am, despite her 11-year-old daughter pleading with her not to be outside. “CY Leung should come and talk to us,” she said.
In Causeway Bay free breakfasts are being handed out.
9.25am: About 200 students from CNEC Lee I Yao Memorial Secondary School in Kwai Tsing District have gone on strike, according to Lee Shing-ho, a Form 6 student from the school. The strikers are sitting on the school’s playground and in the hall.
“The senior students took the initiative to leave their classrooms. This is not a strike led by the teachers. We want to protest police’s violent behaviour,” Lee, a co-organiser of the strike said.
He said several other schools in the same district had also seen walkouts.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...ruption-expected-day-dawns-occupied-hong-kong
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2013
- Messages
- 17,813
- Points
- 113
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
this is why singapore will never attain swiss or australian standard of living......we are fucking number 1 gdp in the world yet we are still Maslow's 1 & 2......all the money in the world but we are still unable to take care of the rest of society........41 billion in taxes every year....and thats excluding CPF contributions,for a population of 5 million but we are unable to provide for every singaporean,all the money earmarked for military,white elephant projects,ft scholarships......and u wonder why singapore never seem to progress anywhere....spiritually,creativity,morally,socially,politically we are all a bankrupt nation......compared to other first world countries like australia,we are no better than other 3rd world asian shitholes.
this is why singapore will never attain swiss or australian standard of living......we are fucking number 1 gdp in the world yet we are still Maslow's 1 & 2......all the money in the world but we are still unable to take care of the rest of society........41 billion in taxes every year....and thats excluding CPF contributions,for a population of 5 million but we are unable to provide for every singaporean,all the money earmarked for military,white elephant projects,ft scholarships......and u wonder why singapore never seem to progress anywhere....spiritually,creativity,morally,socially,politically we are all a bankrupt nation......compared to other first world countries like australia,we are no better than other 3rd world asian shitholes.
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2012
- Messages
- 5,424
- Points
- 0
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
Well I consider HK to be below the Thais and maybe on par with Malaysians (or slightly above since Anwar lost). But Sinkies are way way below!!
Well I consider HK to be below the Thais and maybe on par with Malaysians (or slightly above since Anwar lost). But Sinkies are way way below!!
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2008
- Messages
- 6,814
- Points
- 113
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2008
- Messages
- 23,454
- Points
- 0
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
you are right, i mixed up the date. my bad.
you are right, i mixed up the date. my bad.
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
Please do not support behind the PC... Go to HK to join them...
If this is going to continue and the crowd get bigger and bigger... These is nothing the China CCCP can do accept repeat what they did during 4th June 1989...
If tear gas cannot make them leaves... Only TANKS can!!!
Please do not support behind the PC... Go to HK to join them...
If this is going to continue and the crowd get bigger and bigger... These is nothing the China CCCP can do accept repeat what they did during 4th June 1989...
If tear gas cannot make them leaves... Only TANKS can!!!
- Joined
- May 9, 2013
- Messages
- 336
- Points
- 0
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
I suspect u are a Tiong
Agree. Not behind the PC but smartphone ok.
I suspect u are a Tiong
Agree. Not behind the PC but smartphone ok.
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2013
- Messages
- 17,813
- Points
- 113
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
I suspect u are a Tiong
Agree. Not behind the PC but smartphone ok.
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2008
- Messages
- 17,979
- Points
- 113
Re: the spirit of idealism still survives in HK!
Continue like this and tian an men redux will take place
Continue like this and tian an men redux will take place
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
- Messages
- 27,848
- Points
- 113
Re: the spirit of idealism still survives in HK!
The risk is worth it ...many Hongkees don't want their island to be run like communist China. If you don't show that you care, why would the government bother to listen?
The risk is worth it ...many Hongkees don't want their island to be run like communist China. If you don't show that you care, why would the government bother to listen?
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2008
- Messages
- 17,979
- Points
- 113
Re: the spirit of idealism still survives in HK!
The hk government is cock n kenna snooked by their Beijing masters leaving them high n dry. That Leung guy has not a single day of peace since he took over. Better he quit n take his pension go relax one corner.
The hk government is cock n kenna snooked by their Beijing masters leaving them high n dry. That Leung guy has not a single day of peace since he took over. Better he quit n take his pension go relax one corner.
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2008
- Messages
- 9,230
- Points
- 63
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
I emailed my HK friend and asked him how the governor was selected during Brit rule, and he told me that the position was then appointed, not elected. In this case, nothing has changed. But it must suck to have freedom taken away after one has lived with it and gotten used to it. In this situation here, we are observers, unaffected by its outcome. But judging by the reaction in HK, it is very apparent Brit rule is preferred over that by their "own" kind.
Cheers!
I emailed my HK friend and asked him how the governor was selected during Brit rule, and he told me that the position was then appointed, not elected. In this case, nothing has changed. But it must suck to have freedom taken away after one has lived with it and gotten used to it. In this situation here, we are observers, unaffected by its outcome. But judging by the reaction in HK, it is very apparent Brit rule is preferred over that by their "own" kind.
Cheers!
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2014
- Messages
- 5,016
- Points
- 0
See how protests are being done professionally by HKees!
Sinosphere - Dispatches From China
SEARCH
Hong Kong Protesters Flock to Off-Grid Messaging App
By PAUL MOZUR and ALAN WONG SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 3:12 AMSeptember 29, 2014 3:12 am Comment
Amid swelling pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, protesters are turning to FireChat, a new app that allows them to send messages without a cellular or Internet connection.
Set off against a fresh wave of censorship by Beijing to ensure that potentially destabilizing images of the protests do not enter the mainland, the app is a testament to how the protean development of technology constantly challenges tried forms of blocking information online.
Introduced in March, FireChat makes use of a cellphone’s radio and Bluetooth communications to create a network between phones close to one another — up to about 80 yards — without connecting to the Internet. If a cellular signal or wireless network is available, the app uses that.
In 24 hours starting Sunday afternoon, the app, which allows users to host public chat rooms, added 100,000 users in Hong Kong and peaked Sunday night at 33,000 simultaneous users.
The surge in users was due in part to rumors that spread over the weekend that the Hong Kong government might shut down the Internet, according to protesters, though it is unlikely officials would make such a move.
Nevertheless, Kyle Hui, 19, a student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said the app was proving useful because large crowds had overwhelmed the mobile infrastructure in parts of the city, rendering cell signals spotty.
“Protesters use it to, for example, announce what supplies are needed — goggles, surgical masks — or to announce protest tactics,” Mr. Hui said.
The Hong Kong protesters are not the first to make use of the technology. In March, just 10 days after FireChat was released, students participating in the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan downloaded the app en masse out of concerns about the Internet being cut, said Christophe Daligault, an executive with Open Garden, the San Francisco company that distributes the app.
The company also saw a jump in users in May, after the Iranian government blocked access to the photo-sharing app Instagram and the messaging app WhatsApp.
“When people find themselves in the situation where they think access to the Internet is going to be removed, they all download the app in big numbers,” Mr. Daligault said by telephone.
In Hong Kong, fears that the Internet might be blocked may have gained credence because Beijing has occasionally used the tactic, as it did in the western region of Xinjiang during riots in 2009.
Thus far in response to the Hong Kong protests, Beijing has heavily censored social media on the mainland, scrubbing references to the demonstrations from Sina Weibo, a popular microblogging service. Instagram has also been largely inaccessible in mainland China since Saturday, according to users and several Internet watchdogs, leading commentators to speculate that the government shut access to the app to staunch the flow of images of the protests. Instagram did not respond to a request for comment about the apparent blockages. Facebook, which owns Instagram, has been blocked in China since the riots in Xinjiang in 2009.
For now, FireChat has only a modest presence in mainland China, in part because potential users need Internet access to download the app and its site has been blocked, according to the company. Still, if the company were to take a new approach — for instance, work out a way for users to download and sign up offline — that could expose new vulnerabilities in China’s network of filters, known generally as the Great Firewall.
Even so, FireChat faces some of the same problems faced by all social media — such as the uncontrolled spread of rumors and overwhelming streams of data, Mr. Hui said.
“Sometimes I get more than a thousand messages in just an hour, so I simply can’t keep up,” he said.
“People keep posting the same message to grab others’ attention,” he added. “And I’m skeptical of many of the rumors that spread on the app, like saying that the People’s Liberation Army is sending in tanks and armored vehicles.”
Sinosphere - Dispatches From China
SEARCH
Hong Kong Protesters Flock to Off-Grid Messaging App
By PAUL MOZUR and ALAN WONG SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 3:12 AMSeptember 29, 2014 3:12 am Comment
Amid swelling pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, protesters are turning to FireChat, a new app that allows them to send messages without a cellular or Internet connection.
Set off against a fresh wave of censorship by Beijing to ensure that potentially destabilizing images of the protests do not enter the mainland, the app is a testament to how the protean development of technology constantly challenges tried forms of blocking information online.
Introduced in March, FireChat makes use of a cellphone’s radio and Bluetooth communications to create a network between phones close to one another — up to about 80 yards — without connecting to the Internet. If a cellular signal or wireless network is available, the app uses that.
In 24 hours starting Sunday afternoon, the app, which allows users to host public chat rooms, added 100,000 users in Hong Kong and peaked Sunday night at 33,000 simultaneous users.
The surge in users was due in part to rumors that spread over the weekend that the Hong Kong government might shut down the Internet, according to protesters, though it is unlikely officials would make such a move.
Nevertheless, Kyle Hui, 19, a student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said the app was proving useful because large crowds had overwhelmed the mobile infrastructure in parts of the city, rendering cell signals spotty.
“Protesters use it to, for example, announce what supplies are needed — goggles, surgical masks — or to announce protest tactics,” Mr. Hui said.
The Hong Kong protesters are not the first to make use of the technology. In March, just 10 days after FireChat was released, students participating in the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan downloaded the app en masse out of concerns about the Internet being cut, said Christophe Daligault, an executive with Open Garden, the San Francisco company that distributes the app.
The company also saw a jump in users in May, after the Iranian government blocked access to the photo-sharing app Instagram and the messaging app WhatsApp.
“When people find themselves in the situation where they think access to the Internet is going to be removed, they all download the app in big numbers,” Mr. Daligault said by telephone.
In Hong Kong, fears that the Internet might be blocked may have gained credence because Beijing has occasionally used the tactic, as it did in the western region of Xinjiang during riots in 2009.
Thus far in response to the Hong Kong protests, Beijing has heavily censored social media on the mainland, scrubbing references to the demonstrations from Sina Weibo, a popular microblogging service. Instagram has also been largely inaccessible in mainland China since Saturday, according to users and several Internet watchdogs, leading commentators to speculate that the government shut access to the app to staunch the flow of images of the protests. Instagram did not respond to a request for comment about the apparent blockages. Facebook, which owns Instagram, has been blocked in China since the riots in Xinjiang in 2009.
For now, FireChat has only a modest presence in mainland China, in part because potential users need Internet access to download the app and its site has been blocked, according to the company. Still, if the company were to take a new approach — for instance, work out a way for users to download and sign up offline — that could expose new vulnerabilities in China’s network of filters, known generally as the Great Firewall.
Even so, FireChat faces some of the same problems faced by all social media — such as the uncontrolled spread of rumors and overwhelming streams of data, Mr. Hui said.
“Sometimes I get more than a thousand messages in just an hour, so I simply can’t keep up,” he said.
“People keep posting the same message to grab others’ attention,” he added. “And I’m skeptical of many of the rumors that spread on the app, like saying that the People’s Liberation Army is sending in tanks and armored vehicles.”
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2010
- Messages
- 34,326
- Points
- 113
Re: See how protests are being done professionally by HKees!
Sinkieland is light years behind Hong Kong.
HLP 'protest march' is a good start....baby steps
Sinkieland is light years behind Hong Kong.
HLP 'protest march' is a good start....baby steps
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2008
- Messages
- 23,454
- Points
- 0
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
indeed, there was no democracy under british westminister rule.
i hope they arrested all the students, expel them from the school. send them to PRC concentration camps for a few years.
replaced them with chinese citizens in school.
These people have no right to protest.
indeed, there was no democracy under british westminister rule.
i hope they arrested all the students, expel them from the school. send them to PRC concentration camps for a few years.
replaced them with chinese citizens in school.
These people have no right to protest.
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2008
- Messages
- 38,242
- Points
- 113
Re: Taiwanese show support for Hong Kongers
Sinkies have no balls....especially the 60%
Hong Kong-ers and Taiwanese have balls, guts and everything Sinkies dont have.
Sinkies have no balls....especially the 60%
Hong Kong-ers and Taiwanese have balls, guts and everything Sinkies dont have.
Similar threads
