Happy Chinese National Day!

(The very moment a Hong Kong police officer shoots a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester in the chest. You can see the flash in the barrel of the gun. This happened earlier today.)

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic of China was officially established on October 1, 1949. National Day is basically China's equivalent to our 4th of July. Independence Day.

1. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, which is supposed to be a free and democratic city, the corrupt Hong Kong police have shot a live round into the chest of a Hong Kong protester at point blank range. I believe this is the first time the Hong Kong police have fired a live round and struck a Hong Kong protester. Of course, the corrupt Hong Kong police work on behalf of the corrupt Hong Kong government, which in turn is chock full of lackeys for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing (e.g. Hong Kong's mayor Carrie Lam is the prime example).

2. There's a lot of video footage online of the shooting if anyone is interested (e.g. here, here, here).

3. It looks like the protester that was shot is 16 years old, not 18 years old as originally reported. At least it's been reported the protester is a Form 5 student. The protester is currently in critical condition at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong. There's some optimism the protester will pull through in large part because the bullet missed his heart. Apparently the bullet hit and is lodged in one of his lungs. If so, then I presume it would have collapsed his lung, but a chest drain and surgery could save his life. I'm merely speculating; I don't have any information on the medical details.

4. In addition this wider angled video more clearly shows the police officer wasn't in any personal danger. He had a clear exit. Rather the police officer broke ranks with his fellow police officers, had his weapon drawn, and went after the protesters. The police officer didn't use non-lethal means of suppression like pepper spray or mace or a baton. Nor did the police officer fire a warning shot into the air. No, the police officer shot the 16 year old kid at close range in the chest. It appears he was aiming to kill (murder).

5. It wouldn't be difficult to figure out who this police officer is. At least the Hong Kong police would know who it is! However, I kind of doubt the Hong Kong police will ever volunteer this information let alone make a public apology, though that's what a police force in a democratic nation is supposed to do. More likely the Hong Kong police won't do anything. They likely won't come forward with any knowledge of who shot off his firearm (which appears to be a .38 S&W). Indeed, the Hong Kong police have defended the police officer who shot the kid in the chest.

6. Of course, this is only the latest (and worst) in Hong Kong police brutality. There have recently been other videos of protesters pinned to the ground with police officers attempting to cover their mouths as they try to scream out their full names. That's because these pinned-down and soon-to-be-arrested protesters hope the media will pick up their full names so that Beijing can't make them "disappear" quite as easily. That says a lot about how corrupt the police are.

7. Not to mention, under Hong Kong law, protesters are entitled to the sorts of protections we're entitled to in the US (e.g. a phone call, a lawyer to defend them). However, the Hong Kong police don't accord them these protections despite the fact that this means the police are violating the law. And I wouldn't be surprised if Hong Kong police are physically and violently beating protesters during their "interrogations" when there's no CCTV around or when they turn off CCTV.

8. Both communist China and the corrupt Hong Kong government would love nothing more than to have protesters escalate the violence against the Hong Kong police so that they can invite Beijing in to "calm" the situation. If that happens, that'll almost surely be the end of democracy in Hong Kong.

9. By the way, there's a mistaken rumor going around that the protesters are predominantly younger Hongkongers while older Hongkongers by and large don't support the protests. That's not true. There are many older Hongkongers who are protesting and/or supporting the protests. Also, I presume older Hongkongers tend to be more circumspect about answering these sorts of questions when asked in media surveys or the like. Anyway I think it's just misinformation that the CCP is more than pleased to encourage.

10. On the bright side, there's no better way for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to commemorate Chinese National Day today than doing the most CCP thing possible - shooting their own people!