A “yellow economy” of businesses has sprung up in Hong Kong to support anti-government protesters, but online store Jimmy Jungle is zeroing in on young demonstrators stuck in detention.
Michael, 27, set up the business along with three friends, to ease pressure on detainees’ relatives and friends in finding them items of daily use, such as toiletries, packaged to comply with curbs set by authorities worried about security.
“It’s a matter of conscience ... they sacrificed a lot for Hong Kong,” said Michael, who did not want to use his full name for fear of losing suppliers angered at his support for protesters. “We can’t forget them.”
Photo: Reuters
The company was set up after the arrest of a friend during a siege at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University in November last year, who has been in detention since.
“It has become like a full-time job for my friend’s family to find the snacks and daily necessities,” Michael said.
Rights groups say about 90 people are in custody, from among more than 7,500 arrested since anti-government protests escalated in June last year.
Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department (CSD), which furnishes detainees with items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes and toilet paper, said it did not have a figure for those detained over the protests.
Friends and relatives of detainees criticize as too strict the limits fixed on items carried in during visits.
“I understand why they need to standardize the approved items, but some are hard to find in the market and not every family can afford to buy from the convenience store nearby,” said Kay, 31, who has a detained relative.
Guidelines specify sizes and brands of toiletries, and, even in some instances, permit only wrappers with Chinese lettering.
However, few items in shops meet all the specifications on soap, for example, and some sizes of toothpaste are only available as giveaways with much larger purchases.
The CSD said it reviewed the guidelines regularly and adjusted them as needed, adding that it had recently widened the choices of handwash and disinfecting wet tissues.
Jimmy Jungle’s founders at first used their own money for purchases sold at cost to inmates’ families and friends, but now it can provide items free, thanks to donations of nearly HK$280,000 (US$36,049) within a single week after its launch last month.
Nearly 30 detainees have received packages since. They are usually delivered to the offices of district councilors located near detention centers, making it easy for visitors to take them in to detainees.
Michael hopes for eventual amnesty for the demonstrators.
“I hope the protesters won’t need our service one day,” he said. “My friend always told us not to feel desperate, as those in custody depend on us to ignite their hopes.”
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS