The spirit of the Rainbow Warrior lives on nearly 25 years after the former trawler was consigned to the bottom of the Waitemata Harbour .
The never-say-die attitude epitomised by the refusal to be pushed around by agents of a tyrannous government was evident in Hong Kong on Tuesday 22 September, when thousands of Hong Kongers stood up and cried, "Thus far and no further", accompanied by inverted V-signs, black and white headbands tied piratically in the Federer style and mass chanting like you get at the end of a Government API.
This time, though, the spontaneous outpouring of anger was directed not at the bumbling French MI6-equivalent detonating "berms" under the watchful eye of Inspector Clouseau-equivalent President François Mitterrand; it was directed rather at the pathetic attempts of the Donald Tsang "led" government to con citizens into thinking that they would be contributing to the fight against "global warming" by riding in a taxi instead of in their own car for one day.
I knew something was wrong when my journey to work took several minutes longer than usual, even though I'd set out a little earlier than is my habit. I knew something was very wrong when on my return journey from St John's Cathedral after choir I needed to queue up for five minutes longer than usual at the cross-harbour tunnel – at half past nine in the evening.
At lunch yesterday with an old friend, I finally got the chance to pose the question that had been nagging away at the back of my mind.
"Oh, it's quite simple," Ah Tak replied. "All those Sunday drivers who never drive to the office thought it would be the ideal opportunity to save money on a taxi and take their car instead."
This is why the old men in Beijing are so scared of giving us the vote, I thought. Whenever Hong Kongers get the chance to vote with their feet – even if it's only the one that depresses the accelerator – they invariably make sensible, rational and responsible choices. Give their own people the vote, and the old men in Zhongnanhai know the likes of Tsang and his cronies will be the first to be booted out – followed in pretty short order by the old men in Zhongnanhai themselves.
The never-say-die attitude epitomised by the refusal to be pushed around by agents of a tyrannous government was evident in Hong Kong on Tuesday 22 September, when thousands of Hong Kongers stood up and cried, "Thus far and no further", accompanied by inverted V-signs, black and white headbands tied piratically in the Federer style and mass chanting like you get at the end of a Government API.
This time, though, the spontaneous outpouring of anger was directed not at the bumbling French MI6-equivalent detonating "berms" under the watchful eye of Inspector Clouseau-equivalent President François Mitterrand; it was directed rather at the pathetic attempts of the Donald Tsang "led" government to con citizens into thinking that they would be contributing to the fight against "global warming" by riding in a taxi instead of in their own car for one day.
I knew something was wrong when my journey to work took several minutes longer than usual, even though I'd set out a little earlier than is my habit. I knew something was very wrong when on my return journey from St John's Cathedral after choir I needed to queue up for five minutes longer than usual at the cross-harbour tunnel – at half past nine in the evening.
At lunch yesterday with an old friend, I finally got the chance to pose the question that had been nagging away at the back of my mind.
"Oh, it's quite simple," Ah Tak replied. "All those Sunday drivers who never drive to the office thought it would be the ideal opportunity to save money on a taxi and take their car instead."
This is why the old men in Beijing are so scared of giving us the vote, I thought. Whenever Hong Kongers get the chance to vote with their feet – even if it's only the one that depresses the accelerator – they invariably make sensible, rational and responsible choices. Give their own people the vote, and the old men in Zhongnanhai know the likes of Tsang and his cronies will be the first to be booted out – followed in pretty short order by the old men in Zhongnanhai themselves.
1 comments:
Just heard that there was no change in all relevant figures for Cosmetic Carfree Day: bus and rail patronage normal, no. of cars on road normal. Restores your faith in humankind.
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