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YTSL

@ytsl.bsky.social

1.5K followers 790 following 14K posts

I really f**king love Hong Kong, and Funassyi! Bluesky user #55,617 -- joined in May 2023! -- but am also "over there" too. Yes, I'm still straddling between Twitter and here (because there still are not enough Hongkongers and Funatomo here!).

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · Sep 20

Have decided to post daily re Hong Kong heroes & heroines. 1st up: Chow Hang-tung. Activist, barrister, former vice-chairman of the HK Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China that organised Hong Kong's (once) annual June 4th candlelight vigils, and current political prisoner.

Portrait of Chow Hang-tung with Hong Kong's Central District skyline and Victoria Peak in the background.

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 4h

Probably the country that Funassyi's visited the most (not counting Japan) is Taiwan. Here's a video covering a Pear (Fairy) Fan Meet in Taipei. (Note: there's also a Part 2. Also, that ふなっしー is known in Taiwan -- and to some in Hong Kong too -- as 船梨精 (pronounced: Chuan Li Jing).)

【我愛偶像】20160225 船梨精專訪 PART1

YouTube video by MTV 我愛偶像 Idols of Asia

www.youtube.com

Reposted by YTSL

Gregory Adam Scott 史瑞💀骼💀 @sudasana.bsky.social · 5h

#OTD in 1911 the Wuchang Uprising 武昌起義 began, the beginning of the end for the Qing Dynasty and the imperial system in China. #雙十節

The Hubei Military government building in Wuchang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuchang_Uprising#/media/File:Hubei_Military_Government.jpg

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Reposted by YTSL

TrooperBari @trooperbari.bsky.social · 5h

He lost to a Venezuelan? Oh, that's not going to go over well. My condolences to the ketchup bottles at 1600 Pennsylvania.

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 5h

BREAKING: For her work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, María Corina Machado wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

María Corina Machado of Venezuela wins the Nobel Peace Prize

Opposition activist María Corina Machado of Venezuela has won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel committee praised her as a key figure in unifying Venezuela's political opposition.

bit.ly

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 5h

They're the reason why I generally avoid hiking in Kam Shan, Shing Mun and even Lion Rock Country Parks!

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 5h

I like Sendai so much I've visited it twice, actually! The first time, I had dinner one night at the pretty old school Oden Sankichi. Ended up having a pleasant chat with the owner and his wife, and they even gifted me this 👇 -- maybe they were impressed by my sake as well as oden consumption! 😅

Masu box with carvings on its side held in my hand.

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 6h

NOT the monkeys in Hong Kong! (I wish this invasive species had never been introduced here. 😡)

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Reposted by YTSL

Jeppe Mulich @jmulich.bsky.social · 6h

It's not just the US that is shutting down foreign language programs and funding. We are dismantling the tower of babel with our own hands and replacing it with the broken toaster of automatic translation.

Chinese Universities Abandon English Departments Amid Policy Changes and AI Disruption – Chinascope

English departments, once among the most popular programs at Chinese universities, are facing widespread closures across the country. Multiple factors including government policies, AI advancement, an...

chinascope.org

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 7h

It seems that I have more cat than dog lovers among my MOOTs. Which is fine by me; this not least since I'm more likely to take photos of cats (and birds and bugs, etc.) than dogs! 😅

Anyway, here's a photogenic cat I encountered in Taiwan.

A striped cat seated in front of a parked car. Its expression is one that says "Alert" to me.

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 7h

Happy to have met you here! And VERY happy to see that I've managed to convert you to Gunnerism (hehe). Next up: FUNASSYI!!!!!

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 7h

Re the tennis thing though: he forgot Arthur Ashe!!!!

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 7h

Last year, I went to a chain izakaya (Hanbei!) in Sendai. A Nepali (I asked, and ended up chatting with him for a bit) staffer was sent over by the Japanese staffers to deal with me after I asked for an English (or, at least, bilingual English-Japanese) menu. He was nice. I had a great time there!

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 7h

Going to try: eh-toh-bee-ko-keh?

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 7h

Is Thien Hau Tin Hau (i.e., the Taoist goddess of the sea)? And if so, was the LA Thien Hau Temple originally by the sea/located near a body of water?

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

A reminder that the last truly free elections in Hong Kong was in 2019, only at district council level, AND was won by a landslide by pro-democrats (as opposed to pro-Beijingers/police candidates).

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · Apr 1

The results of the 2019 District Council election. Given a chance, Hongkongers showed that they favour "yellow" (i.e., pro-democracy) candidates far more than "blue" (i.e., pro-Beijing/police) ones.

See why the Chinese Communist Party doesn't want Hong Kong to have genuine universal suffrage?

㊌✪👟 @waterstarrunner.bsky.social · Mar 31

The result of protest...

... use democracy while you still have it.

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

I don't he REALLY means it with regards to "reflect public opinions". Either that or he's fallen for the "The silent majority are behind us" delusion once again.

Joel Chan @kjoules.org · 13h

Zhou Ji, head of Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong outlined 3 “key hopes” for local media:
• focus on national development
• reflect public opinions & build consensus
• promote a positive image of China to the world,

i.e., become a propaganda arm for Beijing

www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

Beijing’s liaison office chief in Hong Kong lays out 3 hopes for local media

Director Zhou Ji also encourages media professionals to convey public’s views while helping to build social consensus.

www.scmp.com

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

BTW, I don't pronounce "Ng" the way she does... 🙃

Aloha (2015) - How To Pronounce Ng

YouTube video by taiche

www.youtube.com

Reposted by YTSL

un bastille after another @anem0ne.net · 12h

at least one of these has portrayed a woman that was supposedly of asian ancestry, therefore all white people look the same, just like all asians

Gary Erskine @garyerskine.bsky.social · 19h

PSA: A reminder that Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Samara Weaving, Jaime Pressly, Jaime Mackey and Jaime King are actually six different people

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

It is an encouraging read. But I also would like this question posed by a reader answered.

The Road to Hell @airjim.bsky.social · 9h

Assuming all you’ve laid out is on point, how is that the military chain from top to bottom has—four times at least—executed orders to fire on civilian vessels in open water and killed people?

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

Is this a te-may-toh, toe-mah-toh thing?

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 17h

Here’s a primer on ‘primer.’

It’s pronounced ‘PRIMM-er’ if you mean “a small book” or “a short informative piece of writing.”

It’s pronounced ‘PRY-mer’ if you mean “an initial coat of paint.”

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

What I hate about this is that it's going to get tankies going "Look, the CCP is Antifa!"

Reposted by YTSL

Matthew Brooker @mbrooker.bsky.social · 8h

A spying case collapsed because of a reluctance to call China what it self-evidently is - a threat to the UK’s national security. If this was an attempt to curry favour, it will go unrewarded.

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Is It Really So Hard for the UK to Call China a Threat?

Keir Starmer’s Labour government came into office last year promising to replace the conflicted and repeatedly shifting China policy of its Conservative predecessors with a long-term and strategic app...

www.bloomberg.com

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

There is more than one Portland Protest Frog!

BTW, this is why it looks familiar to some folks (knowledgeable about protest goings-on in Asia).

Xun-ling Au 歐迅灵 🏴 @xunlingau.bsky.social · 2d

Chinese Frog Mascot orginated in china by a woman complaining about the jobs market. Costume became popular after that. Video of shanghai cops harassing a vendor in same costume made it kinda a symbol.

knowyourmeme.com/memes/chines...

Chinese Frog Mascot | Know Your Meme

Chinese Frog Mascot refers to a costume trend that originated in China in May 2023 and grew popular on TikTok in August 2023. The costume was reportedly cr

knowyourmeme.com

Reposted by YTSL

Maaike @maaikeverbruggen.bsky.social · 8h

Who might get the Nobel Peace Prize today?
And who do you think deserves it?

* Can't be given posthumously
* Nominated before 31 Jan and decided upon before 31 Aug
* Not for actively warring parties (e.g. zelensky)
* Not about who is the biggest victim
* Can be an encouragement or recognition prize

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YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

Gwyneth Ho was sentenced to 7 years in November 2024 for subversion against the government and remains in prison. She also received a 6 month sentence in relation to her role in a banned protest on the 31st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre (i.e., June 4th, 2020).

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · Sep 21

Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam. Activist and ex-journalist who many Hongkongers first came to know via a livestream she recorded of thugs attacking MTR train passengers on July 21st, 2019, on the assumption that they were pro-democracy protestors returning from a protest march that took place earlier that day.

Gwyneth Ho seated at table and looking straight at the camera -- the way you'd expect a straight talker/shooter like her to do.

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 8h

Also, there's a journalist turned pro-democracy activist/politician who's currently a Hong Kong political prisoner: but, sadly, I think few people outside of Hong Kong know about Gwyneth Ho.

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 22h

Unlikely but it'd be great if it were Jimmy Lai, as it'd shine a light on journalism, AND Hong Kong.

KateAL @katieal.bsky.social · 23h

Hope it’s the committee to protect journalists (although these orgs and people are likely all very worthy).
Just wow the bravery of journalists we’ve seen to get the word about genocide out.. and other atrocities everywhere