Editor’s note for Thursday, October 1, 2020

My thoughts today:

“No amount of outcry, condemnation or sanctions over the Chinese government’s purported encroachment in Hong Kong’s affairs will alter the fact that Hong Kong is part of China and that its destiny is intertwined with the Mainland’s,” argues Regina Ip (葉劉淑儀 Yè Liú Shūyí) in a New York Times op-ed. The piece is a full-throated endorsement of China’s actions in Hong Kong, especially the enactment of the controversial national security law. Ip is a veteran, establishment politician, and member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council (ExCo) and Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo).

Ip almost certainly did not write the headline of the op-ed herself, but it’s a neat encapsulation of her message: “Hong Kong is China, like it or not.”

One of the many ways Mainland officials are making it clear that Hong Kong is indeed China is with a new wave of propaganda taken straight out of Chinese Communist Party playbook. Two examples today:

• A tweet from state-owned nationalist rag Global Times: “A group of young Hongkongers sang the Chinese national anthem in front of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Wan Chai on Thursday, waving Chinese national flags, to celebrate the National Day.” The tweet includes a video. (This ostensibly spontaneous demonstration of patriotism occurred at around the same time that Hong Kong police deployed in force to arrest dozens of pro-democracy protestors.)

• The official news agency Xinhua is tweeting photos of Chinese officials in white shirts doing mainland style awkward home visits in Hong Kong to show their connection to the common people. (For reference, here is a similar home visit, on a larger scale, by Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and other officials.)

The New York Times has also published an op-ed by a person on the opposite of the political spectrum from Regina Ip: Nathan Law (羅冠聰 Luó Guāncōng), the young activist now in self-imposed exile in London. Law’s piece is an idealistic plea, titled “Give Hong Kong the autonomy it was promised.” Unfortunately for Mr. Law, a realist can only reply: “Hong Kong is China, like it or not.”

In celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival and the full moon today, we decided to make our own custom mooncakes — with peanut butter! Here’s our recipe, which includes a step-by-step video.

Our word of the day is from a poem by Tang Dynasty poet Zhāng Jiǔlíng 张九龄, describing the melancholy of being far away from family and friends, but at least being able to see the same moon. This goes out to everyone who is stuck far away from their loved ones this Mid-Autumn Festival.

As the bright moon shines over the sea,
From far away you share this moment with me.

海上生明月 hǎi shàng shēng míng yuè
天涯共此时 tiān yá gòng cǐ shí

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief