Handmade passport holders identifying the owner as a citizen of the “Republic of Hong Kong” were last month introduced by Local Studio HK, a group of activist graphic designers.
The leather holders, which resemble the covers of an official passport, bear the title and emblem of the putative Republic of Hong Kong that the group designed in lieu of the People’s Republic of China and its national emblem.
Local Studio HK in July attained media attention by producing a series of “Hong Kong is not China” graphics showing the difference between Hong Kong and China, many of which include sardonic jabs at Hong Kong’s Chinese visitors and residents.
Photo: Local Studio HK Facebook page.
CITY CITIZENS
In an Oct. 27 announcement on Facebook about the passport covers, the group derided the Chinese-issued Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports as no better than British National Overseas passports and that both confer “second-class citizen status.”
“To the people of Hong Kong, the ‘city’ of Hong Kong is bigger … and better than the ‘nation’; we the people of Hong Kong do not claim citizenship to a nation, we have instead claimed citizenship to a city … which is genuine and real. Therefore, to Hong Kong’s native-born, our national citizenship belongs to the city of Hong Kong,” the group said.
“As for Communist China’s name and emblem printed on HKSAR passports, we feel no sense of belonging and only contempt... [We] have never been anyone but people of Hong Kong. This passport holder design is an expression of an identity and an aspiration,” the group said.
The group said that the name for the territory of Hong Kong and its emblem are less pressing issues than “identifying with and promoting Hong Kong’s autonomy, [and also] covering up the emblem of Communist China, of course.”
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it