The battle for the education of Hong Kong children is recommencing.

"But in the wake of the protests, China is now also contemplating far-reaching new education policies. In separate comments in recent days, both Chen Zuoer, a top adviser to Beijing on Hong Kong, and Rao Geping, a Chinese law professor who sits on the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee, have called for the introduction of “national education” to the region. Such a curriculum would be built around Beijing’s desires, with the aim of promoting loyalty to the mainland among future students in Hong...Read more

Hong Kong's Chief Executive laying the groundwork for government suppression of freedom of the press and freedom to express opinions by Hong Kong citizens.

"If young Hong Kong people can’t freely talk about the future, what do we make of the government’s assurances that it encourages — and protects — free speech?

The Basic Law does not forbid lawful exchanges of ideas but the government is acting as though these are not allowed."

Once again, China shows its authoritarian hand.

"Chinese leaders aren’t expected to pay attention to anything but their own interests; indeed, their official news agency’s response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks was to make the case for more press limits."

More attempts at media intimidation in HK. You have to wonder who paid the Triad thugs to carry out the job?

It is all good and well to say "Je suis Charlie," but what about the thousands of others (especially women and girls) who have been brutalized by militant Islam in recent years? For them I say: "I am a Nigerian school girl kidnapped by Boko Haram, I am a Yezidi woman sold into sex slavery by the Islamic State, I am Malala who survived a murder attempt by the Taliban for promoting education for girls!"

Another minor threatened with being placed a detention home for participating in the Occupy Movement protests.

"The more we are suppressed, the more we think we are doing the right thing,"

Everyone needs to know that children as young as 13 are being arrested and separated from their families as a form of political persecution in Hong Kong.

Merry Christmas

Of all the Christmas music that has been recorded, this is one of my favorite Christmas carols. It was inspired by an Appalachian carol and is here beautifully arranged and sung by a Celtic harpist, fully keeping the heartbreaking simplicity and mountain flavor of the music and verse.

A return to the "bad old days" for foreign press in China?

I just learned something--rhizomic movement.

A rhizomatic movement is hopeless at negotiating with power – the talks with Hong Kong’s government predictably went nowhere. But power must nonetheless treat it with kid gloves because, thanks to social networks, it is on a hair trigger. Young Hong Kong knows precisely what it hates and fears: a glance across the water to the mainland is enough to show the future heading Hong Kong’s way, with its show trials and secret prisons, its puppet media and academia, its corrupt, mendacious and paranoid party.