We are still having problems with our streaming video. Please click here to view it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJgE3VrHVN8 There’s been shock, horror, and consternation in some pro-Beijing circles in Hong Kong about what’s been happening in Taiwan this week. Pro-democrat protests in Hong Kong have been spectacularly well behaved in the past, but there are those who are determined to worry that they might become so in the future. Ironically, even in Taiwan, most of the physical violence against individuals seems to have come from the authorities. Last Tuesday, the government of President Ma Ying-jeou passed a trade pact with mainland China in less than a minute. The trade deal would open up more than 100 service sectors, ranging from banks and telecommunications to travel agencies and hospitals. Many viewed the ruling party as having steamrolled the political system, by going back on a promise to allow a thorough review and debate of the terms of the deal, before passing it and sending it straight to the Kuomintang controlled parliament for a vote. The police have been given new guidelines on how to handle abuse from members of the public. But given that it seems to be part of the police force’s job to deal with people in tense situations, some observers say this seems either overkill, or a potential infringement of human rights. With us in the studio are Law Yuk-kai of Human Rights Monitor, and Ricky Chu of the Independent Police Complaints Council This week there was an election for members of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong. But with many members holding two votes, while others have none, that election doesn’t exactly look like a democratic process. This is the first proper contested election, even if only for the vice president posts. Of the nine candidates running, only eight could win. But the one outsider, Ho Kim-fai was not seen as a serious threat. Out of 75 sports association members, only 31 can vote, and each of them holds two votes. Only six of the existing officers have voting rights. It’s unclear what qualifies a member to vote. 

In part two, we report on a memoir by former Communist Party member Florence Aw, and on a Professional Commons debate on "What if HK had a CCP Chief Executive"?

Hello and welcome to The Pulse. When Justice Kemal Bokhary retired from the Court of Final Appeal in 2012, he warned of a “storm of unprecedented ferocity” gathering over rule of law in Hong Kong. Seven years on, the storm clouds have intensified. The Progressive Lawyers Group formed in 2015, in the wake of the Umbrella Movement, now includes more than 100 solicitors, barristers, law practitioners, law students and scholars as members. Two weeks ago, the group published its first “Hong Kong Rule of Law Report”. The 322-page bilingual report covers judicial issues, law enforcement, anti-graft initiatives, business, media, academia, individual rights, and events in other key areas last year. It also makes 60 recommendations for improving Hong Kong’s legal environment. With me is former convenos of the group, Craig Choy. Welcome back. Rather predictably the nominally independent watchdogs, the Equal Opportunities Commission or EOC, and the Ombudsman’s office have faced considerable controversy arising from the way they handle human rights issues and how they interact with Hong Kong’s administration. This month both bodies acquired new leaders coming from disciplined service backgrounds. Human rights concern groups and lawmakers are worried about the suitability of these appointments. On Wednesday, the District Court sentenced eight leaders of the Occupy Movement. The three co-founders of Occupy Central, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming received 16 month jail terms. Chu’s sentence was suspended for two years due to health issues. Legislator Shiu Ka-chun and the League of Social Democrat’s Raphael Wong were jailed for eight months. Democratic Party member, Lee Wing-tat and activist Eason Chung received suspended eight-month sentences, while Tommy Cheung was ordered to do 200 hours of community service. Legislator Tanya Chan’s sentencing has been adjourned until June as she needs surgery for a massive brain tumour. We’ll leave you with images of the scene outside the court on the day the sentences were handed down.

Hello and welcome to The Pulse. As Tim Wong, a doctor who works in the Accident and Emergency services, told us last week, staff in the public hospital sector have been working at breaking point for a long time. He argued that the public healthcare system is facing a systematic crisis. Front-line medical staff often point to the speed at which Hong Kong’s population is growing without a corresponding increase in public health manpower. They want to see a review of population policy, particularly the one-way permit scheme that allows 150 people from the mainland to settle in Hong Kong every day. With us are Sze Lai-shan, Community Organiser for the Society for Community Organization and former Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong. The current ratio of doctors to patients in Hong Kong’s public health service is 1.9 to 1,000. The ratio of nurses to patients is 7.1 to 1,000. The average length of time a doctor can spend with each patient is down to just a few minutes. Public hospitals are overcrowded, and medical staff are overworked. Last year and this year, the government allocated additional “one-off” HK$500 million funds to tackle the winter flu surge. But front-line staff say it’s not necessarily helping on the ground, and the problems they face extend well beyond the flu season.