The UK held local council elections today, with parties scrambling for some 5,000 seats in fiercely contested races. Labour faces a grim outlook — potentially losing a large number of seats, a setback that could kickstart calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's resignation. Yet if the anti-immigration Reform Party scores a landslide, BNO Hong Kong people will be no better off.
Also worth noting: 18 Hong Kong BNOs who have relocated to the UK are standing for election across various parties — among them, shockingly, Simon Cheng Man-Kit, a national security fugitive wanted by Hong Kong police.
National security fugitive Simon Cheng Man-Kit is running for Labour — and admits he's doing it for protection. Pure political opportunism.
His record is anything but clean. Cheng is one of the founders of the subversive organisation "Hong Kong Parliament" and a key figure among the anti-Hong Kong activist diaspora in the UK. His decision to align with Labour — and what he revealed in media interviews — lays bare a calculating, opportunistic political strategy. He may, however, have badly miscalculated by boarding the Labour sinking ship.
Cheng's background is deeply murky. During the 2019 Black Riots, he was employed at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong — and was spotted operating on the frontlines of the riots in a mysterious capacity. He later travelled to the Chinese Mainland on what was supposedly official consulate business, only to be arrested by public security authorities on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute. Cheng vigorously denied the allegations, but the evidence against him — both witness and evidence were substantial.
After his release, he made a hasty exit to the UK, where he was swiftly granted political asylum. He wasted no time founding the "Hongkongers in Britain" to continue his disruptive activities, and successfully lobbied for government funding.
This time, Cheng is standing as a Labour candidate in the Queensbury ward in northwest London. When asked by the media why he chose to represent Labour, he was remarkably candid: "Since Labour is currently the governing party, we should all the more participate in it and seek change from within the system." From a purely pragmatic standpoint, he is not wrong — Labour remains in power, at least for now, making it the most advantageous vehicle to hitch a ride on.
Labour in recent years has been blowing warm winds toward Beijing, drawing fierce criticism from anti-China voices in the UK — and Cheng sits firmly in that camp. Doesn't backing Labour contradict his own stated position? He managed to have it both ways, saying that standing for Labour "does not mean I fully endorse the party's China policy; rather, I hope to change their stance by participating within the system."
He also openly admitted that personal safety and self-interest factored into the calculation: "As a political refugee, running for public office provides me with an additional layer of protection."
Political opportunists always do the maths — but they can get it spectacularly wrong. Labour has tightened immigration policy significantly in recent years, erecting barrier after barrier for BNO Hong Kong people seeking permanent residency and naturalisation. That has alienated Hong Kong people and other ethnic communities in the UK. Flying the Labour banner is, for Cheng, likely to do more harm than good.
Labour's economic record since taking office has been dismal — growth has stalled while inflation has surged, and public support has collapsed. The party is widely expected to shed thousands of seats in these local elections. The odds are very high that Cheng has indeed boarded the wrong ship.
Labour is hemorrhaging support — and Cheng may have just boarded a sinking ship.
Cheng's opportunism extends well beyond the ballot box. Around the middle of last year, the government's "Welcome Hong Kongers" scheme was drastically scaled back — slashing annual funding to Hong Kong people's organisations from £2.6 million to £1 million. The “Hongkongers in Britain” took a major cut and was forced to pivot to fundraising, tapping into the pockets of Hong Kong people living in the UK.
In the scramble for funding, Cheng has repeatedly fed information to the media attacking rival activist organisations. He claimed that Cheung Hei Ching — leader of the "The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation" and herself a wanted fugitive — is too politically opportunistic. He warned that Kwok Tsz-kin, founder of "The Hong Kong Scots (CIC)," has hidden motives and should be approached with caution. There is no subtlety in the infighting.
His willingness to bite the hand of fellow activists for personal gain mirrors exactly the same mentality behind his courting of Labour for a council seat. Together, these episodes reveal what truly lies beneath the political make-up of these anti-Hong Kong figures.
Lai Ting-yiu
What Say You?
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
Washington is making enemies on all fronts and even alienating its own allies. Logically, the United States needs a strong intelligence apparatus right now. But Trump is taking the exact opposite approach. He has dispatched his loyal enforcer, Pulte, to execute a sweeping purge of the intelligence community.
The bloodletting is sending shockwaves through the ranks. It started at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Now it is spreading to the 18 agencies beneath it. The CIA has long harbored deep tensions with Trump and is unlikely to be spared.
Acting DNI Pulte is Trump's ruthless enforcer. Taking office this week, he instantly launched a sweeping intelligence purge to cut down the president's enemies.
Several members of Congress wrote to Pulte to demand an immediate halt. They warned this political purge will erode America's intelligence capabilities. But those warnings fall on deaf ears. Pulte answers to only one master, making a massacre all but certain.
Pulte is wasting no time sharpening his blade. CNN reports that he officially began work on Monday, a full day ahead of schedule. He immediately convened closed-door meetings with lawyers and aides. After securing a complete roster of ODNI employees, he started cutting. The first casualties were the politically appointed loyalists of former Director Gabbard. By Tuesday, multiple staffers were already leaving the office with boxes in their hands. More dismissals are sure to follow.
Gabbard was originally a "Barbie-type" senior official hand-picked by Trump himself. But she fell out of favor after clashing with her boss over the Iran strikes and internal restructuring. She resigned last month citing her husband's illness.
The reality is she was pushed out. Trump swiftly installed Pulte as the acting DNI for a 210-day term. Pulte previously served as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. This diehard loyalist was brought in for nothing but one obvious reason: to serve as the president's personal enforcer and bring about a massive purge.
The ODNI plays a role of enormous consequence in Washington. The agency serves as the president's intelligence adviser and briefs him on the most sensitive classified information. It coordinates all 18 intelligence agencies under its umbrella and oversees a staggering budget of nearly $100 billion.
Yet, Trump has always harbored deep suspicions about this apparatus. Since taking office, he has suspected that holdovers from the previous administration remain embedded within various agencies. He views these officials as fundamentally disloyal. Rooting them out is Pulte's primary mandate.
True to form, Pulte began slashing before his seat was even warm. CNN indicates he will quickly pivot his attention to the National Counterterrorism Center and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. He ordered those bodies to submit personnel files on Monday. They are already compiling lists of employees earmarked for dismissal.
Trump sees these agencies as riddled with subversives. Recent events have only reinforced his suspicions. The United States launched military action against Iran in mid-March. Shortly after, National Counterterrorism Center Director Kent abruptly announced his resignation. He released an open letter stating he could not support the war against Iran in good conscience. He further alleged that Israel had pressured the president into the conflict.
Such remarks sent Trump into a furious rage. He is now more driven than ever: thorough cleansing of the intelligence community is clearly long overdue.
Trump's distrust of the CIA runs just as deep and stems from long-standing grievances. A group of CIA officers participated in intelligence assessments related to the "Russia collusion" investigation back in 2016. The president brands these individuals as "deep state" operatives actively working against him.
Some of those officials remain at the agency to this day. They are prime targets in this new purge. It is only a matter of time before Pulte sets his sights on Langley.
Trump and the CIA share a bitter history. The agency is now firmly in Pulte's crosshairs.
Make no mistake: Trump is openly embracing accusations of a political purge. He spoke to the Wall Street Journal just two days ago and described the ODNI as bloated and unnecessary. He boldly declared he wants to see the agency get smaller, adding that many people there simply do not belong.
The president expects Pulte to execute this process immediately. He insists that whoever is eventually nominated to the permanent post must carry on the ruthless work. He views a massive "housecleaning" before a new director arrives as a profoundly good thing. Trump argues there are simply too many intelligence personnel, and he openly welcomes deep personnel cuts.
America's military vulnerabilities were already laid bare by its recent campaign against Iran. Now Trump is gutting the very intelligence services the nation depends on to survive. He is effectively severing his own limbs in a desperate drive to excise the "deep state."
At this destructive rate, the United States will inevitably be exposed as nothing more than a paper tiger.
Lai Ting-yiu
