CONTENTS 03 04 06 08 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
Editor’s Note PASS-ed Events Hong Kong Mentorship Programme Cultural Trip 2017 - Geneva What’s On The Blog? The Creativity of Protest 食得騷，毫不豪 狂想曲 Power and Authority Trump: An American Horror Story Why is the UK Still in the EU? The Fourth Estate Have We Created Our Own Politics?
EDITORIAL Hi Readers! A little late, but welcome back! We hope Lent Term is going well and you’re not too stressed out. January was a little slow in comparison to the past few months, but just wait; February (aka Flagship Month) is coming right around the corner! This issue’s theme is ”Power and Authority”. Considering the many shifts in global leadership due to happen this year, we thought it would be good to explore the relationship between power and authority - two very similar, yet very different concepts. As always, we are accepting submissions from anyone on anything at lsesusochkpass@gmail.com, so make your voice heard! Janice Leung
(Publications Officer 2016-17)
Pass-ed Events January Two main things happened this month: meetings on our Hong Kong Mentorship Programme and our annual Cultural Trip - this time to Geneva, Switzerland! Read on to find out more about our students’ reflections on their meetings, as well as our Geneva travel log!
CULTURAL TRIP 2017 13th January, 2017 At 3am in the morning, dozens of bleary-eyed individuals were seen boarding minicabs to Luton airport, each carrying a small suitcase. After an exhausting first week of lectures and classes, we were off to Switzerland to embark on a cultural trip with other members of the LSESU HKPASS.
The first day was spent taking a guided tour at the United Nations office. We were able to see some very beautiful conference rooms, including the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, where the Human Rights Council meets to discuss and form solutions on some of the most topical humanitarian issues of the decade. We were also able to witness a live conference from the spectators’ room. The office was heavily decorated with gifts from various countries including China, Spain, Germany and many more. Each gift represented the country’s commitment and goal to achieve peace.
For dinner, we had cheese and meat fondue at Auberge de Savièse. The food was incredibly good and the meal was filled with laughter and banter.
14th January, 2017 We took a coach to Lausanne where we had plenty of time to wander around and catch some amazing sights of the city. We first visited the Olympic Museum, which showcased the evolution of the Olympics, sports attire and equipment of Olympic medalists, and most importantly the hard work, devotion and perseverance of athletes who never faltered on their way to achieving their dreams. After visiting the Olympic Museum, we were given free reign over where we wanted to go. My friends and I decided to have lunch before heading to Notre-Dame Cathedral. While restaurant-hunting, chaos ensued. Someone had decided that it would be a good idea to have a snowball fight (extra points if you manage to throw a snowball into someone’s jacket hood). It was terrific fun and actually managed to make everyone forget about their hunger for just a little while. As expected, the view of the city from the Cathedral was amazing.
15th January, 2017 On the third and last day, we had an afternoon flight to catch. However, Kathy (the amazing organiser of the trip, thank you so much!) managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Mont Salève in the morning. The view of Geneva from 1000m high was incredible and the ground was heavily laden with snow, which was powdery and soft to touch. As the sun shone upon us the air became warmer and it was more comfortable to walk around. To me, Mont Salève would definitely be the highlight of the trip!
What’s On the Blog? urban art, food, fiction Departing a little from our traditional politics and current affairs focus, this month’s blogs feature an array of creative and artistic topics!
The Creativit If you’ve been in Central and Hong Kong Station at any time over the holidays, you would probably have seen the massive new Forbidden Palace posters. You might also have noticed a few acts of mini-protest involving the exhibition. Red handprints and tank stickers on moving handrails have made their rounds on news, invoking imagery of the Tiananmen Square massacre, or more broadly the repressive nature of the PRC state. Whether or not that was warranted I will leave to your judgement, but you have to admit that the means of expressing dissent was quite creative. However, if we’re talking about creative protest, it goes without saying that the Umbrella Movement opened the floodgates for different mediums of protest expression in Hong Kong, from street art to music to film to sculpture. The name “Umbrella Movement” owes itself to the ubiquitous umbrella, thrown into center stage on the night of pepper spray, which then took a life of its own as an icon of resistance. In the months of occupying Admiralty and Mong Kok, physical umbrellas in all their forms have been used as artistic subjects, (street art, banners, post-it walls etc.) or as objects (umbrellas drawn on or decorated with calligraphy, balloon umbrellas, mobiles of origami umbrellas etc.) In the music sphere, there were many derivative works championing freedom and democracy, the most iconic of which being the recreation of “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Miserables, “Who Hasn’t Spoken Up Yet?” (試問誰未發聲 ？). Even after the occupation ended, the Umbrella Movement continued to inspire, spawning documentaries like Yellowing, multiple photobooks, sketches and more.
ty of Protest This blending of art and politics is nothing new. Throughout history, fools, clowns and carnivals have always played a subversive role to established power, while art, culture and creative protest tactics have for centuries served as fuel and foundation for successful social movements across the world. Art and artistic expression serve many functions in political protest, some of them aimed at producing knowledge and solidarity within the group of protesters and others as a means of communicating to those outside what the protest is all about. Music, song, and works of visual representation (theatre, sculpture, paintings etc.) are important in creating and communicating a collective narrative, articulating who we are, where we come from, what we stand for and what we are against. While Hong Kong society is remarkably divided over its future and its prospects look bleaker by the day, there are still small pockets of opportunity that have made themselves known. The arts have an audience increasingly ready to take in their creations, especially those of a political nature. In the limited cultural environment of Hong Kong, the cultural sphere should take advantage of that, and expand its presence while taking an active stance on Hong Kong’s future.
Jan 19, 2017 Janice Leung
嚟得London讀書，有人話要把握機會去歐遊，計我話就要利用LSE喺正West End, 食盡好 West。雖然英國已經出嗮名歐洲最冇啖好食嘅國家，而且對我地啲嚟自美食天堂嘅香港人嚟講 完全唔掂，但係好彩我哋喺人哋嘅首都讀書，算係多少少好西食。(想當年high school喺離 London 3個鐘火車嘅落後小鎮，有嘅餐廳都....)所以呢個專欄係專門探討喺London有乜美食 可以落吓格；至於貴唔貴抵唔抵食wor….見仁見智啦，畢竟喺英國讀書嘅洗費都係咁架啦，何不 好好善待腸胃呢？
今次就係去遠近馳名嘅Duck & Waffle。 有人話過，想喺英國搞到間餐廳出名，嗰 名一定要叫 "乜乜(野食)” and "乜乜(野 食)”，啲野食幾唔啦更都得。所以就算 大多數人(我原本)都唔明鴨加埋窩夫有咩 好食，呢間野照樣3個月前開始booking 。你冇睇錯，啲booking係 3 個 月, THREE MONTHS, 前 開始架啦。小編 為咗呢個專欄已經差唔多兩個月前book 定，最靚嘅時間都已經俾人攞咗.... 不過 先嚟啲background information 先啦; 呢 間野位於London其中一座最高嘅大廈～ Heron Tower嘅40樓 (以歐洲就算倫敦平 均十幢樓都冇一幢高過10層嚟講，個景真 係想見乜有乜架啦)；再以嗰個景嚟講， 寨食DUCK AND WAFFLE £17都算抵 啦。所以呢，上去啲咁高(級)嘅地方食， 價錢仲(相對地)咁抵，你話，唔多人book 就怪啦。 同Burger&Lobster唔同，呢到係除咗 Duck同埋Waffle係仲有其他野食嘅。不 過如果睇勻張menu, 你就回明白點解你 都係會乖乖地淨係嗌DUCK AND WAFFLE啦: 事關所有其他嘅主菜都更加 貴啲(唔計你選擇俾14蚊食雜菜沙律啦....) 。小編滿攞住自己有限嘅budget抱住敬 業樂業嘅精神，氹埋幾個friend一齊試咗 幾道appetizer同埋支紅酒（酒評就唔喺 到寫啦）。 其實以fine dining嚟講，Duck & Waffle 算唔太貴而且質素幾好(不過例牌分量略 細咁話啦)。首先我哋頭盤分別叫咗 SMOKED EEL(煙燻迷你鰻魚薄片+圍住 成碟擠嘅高級醬汁)同埋FOIE GRAS CRÈME BRÛLÉE(花瓜-chem-布哩: 姐係焦糖鵝肝布丁)。個smoked eel 雖然 係幾鮮，而且幾夾啲醬汁，但真係太細， 就嚟仲細粒過隻羹；至於個鵝肝十分好食
，焦糖量同埋結焦度都恰到好處(小編其 實諗過嗌多碟添:p)。嚟到主角DUCK AND WAFFLE, 我就覺得個配搭(leg confit鴨腿+waffle+煎蛋+mustard maple syrup)十分好: 有鴨皮嘅脆，亦有 窩夫嘅鬆軟；醬汁嘅配搭互相配合，分量 適中，總體嚟講係絕對值得點嚟食。 難得嚟到，作為亞洲人點都會影吓(食物/ 人)相留念。以Duck and Waffle 喺 Heron Tower嘅景嚟講，嚟到除咗影碟 野食，嗰到有條玻璃梯，係影景嘅靚位。 如果讀者們想嚟，除咗要留意早啲book 定(唔同時段唔同餐牌，小編去嘅係傍晚, all day menu)同埋帶定多啲£, 記住係留 意dress code要Casual Elegance , 簡 單嚟講就避免運動裝同埋牛仔褲; 晚餐更 加最好有襯衫/西裝外套。 嚟到呢到，其實呢次去Duck and Waffle 都有段古嘅，祇不過就喺未去嘅時候發生 : 話 雖然Duck and Waffle好出名，而 且好多人想去但係就book唔到/切，不過 我就學到呢啲通通都係睇一樣野: priority 。話說小編原本就約咗兩個老友去嘅，當 開sem飯食，點知去到約定前幾日，一個 就改晏咗機票未翻到英國，另一個就啱啱 出發咗去旅行。結果我就再揾過另外兩個 friend啦，點知無端端前一晚又係話有緊 要事唔喺London。嗰朝真係嬲到呢.... 想知道最後我點樣揾咩人一齊去，就留意 下期啦，拜拜~
Jan 19, 2017 Linus Cheung
狂想曲 他說過，初雪的時候會來找她，給她一個交代；於是，她盼好了好幾個晝夜，終於 盼到初雪的蒞臨。她盛裝打扮了一番，換上了他說過「很美」的衣裳，抹上了他說 過「很吸引」的唇彩，滿心歡喜地來到了約定的餐廳。他說過，他不喜歡吵鬧人多 的地方，他喜歡低調。一如以往，這所餐廳雖然氣氛不俗而且價值不菲，燈光卻很 是昏暗，選址也遠離繁囂的市中心，散發著某種看似不可告人的氣息。無他，她很 明白，他們的關係根本就不可告人。他們每次的約會都是這樣的，偷偷摸摸。在公 眾場合內，他顯得格外的小心翼翼，舉手投足間都驚慌提防。不論是在電影院、開 到海邊的車，還是她關上簾子的家，永遠都是不見天日，漆黑一片。他們每一次見 面都是在夜闌人靜的時候，彷彿漆黑中的模糊與恬靜能給他帶來最大的心安理得。 他們之間沒有過一張合照，也沒有別的情侶的「普遍」及「正常」。他們每次的相 聚也非如其他情侶般輕鬆，也從來不在正日。在普天同慶的聖誕節，他需要好好擔 當父親的角色，留下她一人在街頭獨自感受節日氣氛；情人節當天，他需要扮演好 好父親的角色，留下她形單影隻在街上流連，好不悲涼。 然而，她毫無怨言；然而，她奮不顧身，都只因他一句信諾，讓她看到他們的將來 ，讓她看到了他們之間的希望。他說過，他的婚姻生活並不幸福，他對妻子並沒有 愛，而是責任；他說過等孩子大一點便會向家人坦白一切；他說過他早晚會跟她在 一起，要她多等待一會；他說過他愛她。 就是這一絲希望，讓她陷入了年復一年的等待。四個寒暑過去了，她厭倦透了這種 見不得光的生活，她厭倦透了這種無止境的等待。於是他說，初雪的時候會來找她 ，給她一個交代。 晚上十一時，她漫長的等待結果還是換來了空無一物的失望。電話另一頭無人接聽 的「嘟嘟」聲勾起了她心裡的徬徨。其實，她並不是不知道他最近對她愈來愈冷漠 ，愈加的愛理不理；其實，她並不是不知道，她甚至從來不是他心中的「第二位」 ，而只是用來填補他心靈空虛的「後備」。其實，她不是不知道，只是不願去承認 。「喀嚓」一聲，電話接通了，他說：「我想 … 大概我們還是分開對雙方都比較好 。」她還來不及反應，「喀嚓」一聲後，話筒便再度傳來了熟悉的「嘟嘟」聲響， 只是她知道，這一次並不是再一次漫長的等待，而是真正的完結，一切都結束了。
Joyce Chan Jan 19, 2017
M O N A R C PRESIDEN GOVERNMEN PA R L I A M E N C O U R T P E O P L ? ? ? ? ?
C H NT NT NT S E ?
Power and Authority a question of legitimacy Although the term authority is often used interchangeably with power, there is a very important difference: while power is defined as “the ability to influence somebody to do something that he/she would not have done”, authority refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to exercise that power. In the current global political climate, perhaps in some places more so than others, there is an increasing number of cases where those with power cannot claim to also hold authority. This begs the question: where does authority come from, if not from power? Does it come from public approval, as shown in public discourse?? Does it come from a set of core values, whether written out for all to see or implicitly accepted by society? Does it come from legal justification, when the right to exercise power is conferred by law? Or does it come from the individual, depending on how trustworthy or morally upstanding he/she is seen to be? This month’s articles explore power, authority, and the linkages between them. Topics include: President Trump’s immigration ban; the legal justification of why the UK is still in the EU; the role of the press in a democracy; and nepotism arising out of school years.
Trump: An Americ Eight days was all it took for Trump to give the world something to protest about. On the 27th of January, Trump signed an executive order that bans all immigration from seven Muslim countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen), suspends all refugee admission for 120 days, and bars all Syrian refugees indefinitely. Supposedly, this executive order is designed to protect America from terrorism by giving the government time to overhaul the immigration system to increase vetting for immigrants to prevent Islamic terrorists from entering the country. What I think is very clear, however, is that this plan is counterproductive, could very well be illegal, and is un-American.
Handing terrorists a trump card In justifying his policy, Trump said that he would “never forget the lessons of 9/11.” But notable exceptions to Trump’s immigration ban include Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – places where the 9/11 hijackers came from. Even if these countries were included (which is very unlikely to have happened in the first place considering Trump’s business interests there), only 9 US citizens have been killed on average each year by Islamic terrorists – 7 killed by jihadists who are US citizens, and none killed by terrorists from any of the 7 countries on the ban list. People are more likely to be killed by armed toddlers, lawnmowers, and other fellow Americans (and terrible gun control). This ban, contrary to what the President might tweet, is not doing anything to protect American soil.
In fact, what he’s doing is most likely further endangering the US. By banning people from these Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, the winners who will benefit are terrorist recruiters. The policy sends a message that the US sees all Muslims as jihadists, and makes the US more of a target. ISIL is trying to portray the narrative that the West is at war with Islam, and this ban has added explosives to that fire.
CHECKS AND BALANCES The executive order will provide an early test of the extent to which US courts can restrain the Trump presidency. Judges have temporarily blocked some aspects of the executive order - in response to an emergency appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union, federal judge Ann Donnelly granted a temporary stay and ordered those detained at US airports to remain in the country rather than be deported. However, it will be some time before the courts resolve all the questions the new prohibitions raise. Discrimination on the basis of religion will be a prominent question that must be solved. The executive order says that the Secretary of State shall, “to the extent permitted by law,” give priority to refugee claims on the basis of membership of a persecuted religious minority when the refugee program resumes. Although the order itself does not mention any specific religion, Trump has said on Fox News that he wanted to give priority to Christians. Considering that the Constitution protects “free exercise” of religion and prohibits the government from establishing any religion, it remains to be seen whether this discriminatory provision will survive the courts.
can Horror Story AMERICA FIRST IS UN-AMERICAN Aside from the questionable utility and legality of this policy, it also degrades US moral authority and offends US values. The core tenets of what it means to be American are not exactly a secret. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and symbols like the Statue of Liberty lay out the American values in plain sight: liberty, individualism, freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and open-mindedness. Whether or not someone counts as American should depend on what they do and say, how they contribute and to what they aspire, rather than to whom you were born. This is the revolutionary American idea, and the long struggle of American history has been to match reality to that ideal. This is the concept of becoming a more perfect union laid out in the Constitution, which ranges from abolishing slavery, to dealing with slavery’s ongoing effects, to the continuing effort to open opportunities, under fair conditions, for Americans regardless of background. What Trump’s executive order is doing is essentially making judgements about what certain groups of people think and what role in society they can play based on who they are ethnically and culturally; and that is as un-American as they come.
3 Feb, 2017 Janice Leung
Have We Created An old saying says: School is a model of society. Indeed, school is a mini society where we learn different skills that would benefit us in the future. But if we look it with a different perspective, it also shows characteristics of our society as well. Being a Hong Kongese in UK nowadays is much easier than our predecessors who had neither a well-developed Chinatown nor affordable communication tools such as Skype. Nowadays, we are a significant nationality group of students with several societies that serve students from Hong Kong. However, it is exactly this number of students from Hong Kong which poses a problem: not too few that we only have a small group which drives all of us to act in unity, but also not too many that we all come from diverse background, with very few or no common friends on Facebook. As a result, students tend to be either marginalised from the dominant group, or they join
the group and further reinforce the bonding amongst them. If we compare to the society in Hong Kong currently, we can see how the shadows of the wider society also appears in various schools and universities in the UK. Observing the social phenomenon at schools, we can see Hong Kongers tend to form cliques at an early age, or known as ĺœ? ĺ¨ . A notable trend of Hong Kongers studying abroad is that we tend to come from a few elite schools. As these traditional prestigious school have a well-established network between them ( e.g. exchange, mixed choirs, joint school events and associations etc), students tend to have several common friends or even have met before they get to study in UK. Consequently, a massive group, usually considered to be loud and rowdy will be contrasted with the remaining individuals that are considered to be less sociable and nerdy. Other exceptions including ones that decide to hang out with people of different nationality.
Our Own Politics? Looking back to current Hong Kong’s elite class, there is a similar trend which resembles our school environment. As students who study overseas are likely to become prominent figures in different sectors of the society, these seniors are also prone to promote the next generation who are from similar background. Cliques of people with similar background (same elite schools, companies or other social circles) are seen, with critiques on the current government appointing people of their own friends rather than ones who are actual experts and limited social mobility to the top tier. Also, the “massive group” could be the image (or effect) of people of their own group gets the benefit while the others shall be marginalised. Of course, there are ones who choose to be “left out”, by emigrating as how some Hong Kong students decides to spend their own time with other nationals. I think this common experience of our future elite class can be blamed for possible nepotism currently in Hong Kong.
Is this a unique problem that only Hong Kongers fall prey to? Why does Europeans who come from countries of similar size or Singaporean seems not having a similar problem? This could be a social topic worth discussing, but then meanwhile it remains an infamous characteristic when people of other nationals think of societies dominated by Hong Kong people - too much politics. While we are complaining nepotism in the government, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones - we are also having the same traits.
Feb 2, 2017 Linus Cheung
The ďŹ rst step towards change is awareness. - Nathaniel Branden
LSESU HKPASS is a politically neutral society and any views expressed belong entirely to the author themselves.