Monthly Archives: June 2017

Trump’s surprise Paris visit marks shrewd political calculation – CNN

Posted: June 29, 2017 at 11:56 am

Trump announced Wednesday that he would be in Paris on Bastille Day, July 14, for a day of pageantry at an event that will mark 100 years since the US entry into World War I.

The US President, on his second trip to Europe in two weeks -- he heads to Germany for the G20 summit and Poland next week -- will bask in the pomp of his official role as commander-in-chief at a time when he is under political siege at home.

"The two leaders will further build on the strong counter-terrorism cooperation and economic partnership between the two countries, and they will discuss many other issues of mutual concern," the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

Macron, who was elected in May and won a broad mandate for his brand of outsider politics in parliamentary elections earlier this month, will use the visit to signal that despite his deep differences with Trump on issues like global warming, he is determined to maintain the alliance between the US and France, which has endured for more than two centuries.

"Macron is not inviting Donald Trump, he is inviting the President of the United States," said Nicholas Dungan, a former president of the French American Foundation, who teaches at Sciences Po, a prestigious French research university.

The visit will also further Macron's clear attempt to establish himself in the top rank of world leaders, despite his inexperience and relative youth. The French President is 30 years younger than his American counterpart.

Macron recently flattered Russian President Vladimir Putin at the French royal palace at Versailles but also put on a bravura performance, speaking directly about alleged Russian meddling in the French election and the "lying propaganda" of Russian state media networks.

"Tonight I wish to tell the United States, France believes in you. The world believes in you. I know that you are a great nation," Macron said in the video against a backdrop of the French tricolor and the flag of the European Union.

"I know your history, our common history," he said, calling on scientists, engineers and "responsible citizens" disappointed by Trump's decision to find a "second homeland" in France to work together on concrete solutions to climate change, and co-opted Trump's campaign theme in a swipe at the President by saying he wanted to "make the planet great again."

The trip to Paris also represents an about turn for Trump, who has sometimes denigrated the French capital and French government's policies on Muslim immigration following a series of terror attacks.

"A friend of mine, he said he was going to France like three or four months ago. I saw him yesterday. I said, how did you like France? He said, 'I wouldn't go to France. I wouldn't go to France because France is no longer France,'" Trump said in Florida at a campaign event last July.

"France is no longer France. They won't like me for saying that but ... France is no longer France and this world better be very careful and they better get very tough and very smart," Trump said.

Macron was endorsed by Obama ahead of his election win and may be making an attempt to fill the global leadership vacuum that many allies perceive was left by the US decision to walk away from global efforts to combat climate change and Trump's oft voiced skepticism towards NATO.

His victory over far right leader Marine Le Pen in May represented a triumph over the wave of populism that has been sweeping democracies and helped elect Trump and has already elevated him to the top tier of Western leadership, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A source who spoke with Trump after the G7 summit told CNN's Kevin Liptak that the President was annoyed after sitting through lectures from leaders including Macron and Merkel about the Paris accord during his previous visit to Europe.

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Trump's surprise Paris visit marks shrewd political calculation - CNN

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Vice Retracts Articles About Donald Trump’s Animatronic Robot at Disney World – Variety

Posted: at 11:56 am

Vice Medias Motherboard tech site has retracted two articles supposedly revealing discord at Disney Parks about Donald Trumps presence in the Hall of Presidents attraction citing factual errors and questions about sourcing for the pieces.

After a thorough investigation into the sourcing of two stories, Heres the Secret Backstage Trump Drama at Walt Disney Worlds Hall of Presidents and Behind the Scenes of Disneys Donald Trump Hall of Presidents Installation, and the identification of several factual errors, we have decided to retract both pieces, Motherboard said in an editorial note posted Wednesday in place of the two articles.

The note added, We are conducting a full editorial review to pinpoint how this source was vetted, and how these stories were approved and published in violation of our usual editorial workflow. We fell short of our standards, and regret the error.

The Motherboard story published on Monday, June 26, alleged that there was internal debate at Disney about whether Trumps animatronic figure would be speaking in the exhibit. The story also claimed, citing an anonymous source, that Trumps team was insisting on writing the entire speech for his robotic avatar in Disney Worlds Hall of Presidents.

That led Disney Parks to issue a statement that Trump will in fact be represented in the Hall of Presidents with a speaking role. The earlier Motherboard story, Heres the Secret Backstage Trump Drama at Walt Disney Worlds Hall of Presidents, published May 19, had cited an anonymous source close to Walt Disney Imagineering who claimed the animatronic Trump will probably not have a speaking role.

Disney is among Vice Medias investors, holding a $400 million stake in the millennial-skewing media company.

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Vice Retracts Articles About Donald Trump's Animatronic Robot at Disney World - Variety

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Clinton Portis Talks Urge to Commit Murder, Bankruptcy in SI … – Bleacher Report

Posted: at 11:55 am

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

In an interview with Brian Burnsed ofSports Illustratedon Wednesday, former NFL running back Clinton Portis recounted considering murder as a means of revenge for going bankrupt.

According to Burnsed, nearly all of the money Portis handed over to a group of men to manage and make safe investments with in 2013 disappeared, which resulted in his contemplating murder.

"It wasn't no beat up," Portis said."It waskill."

Portis discussed sitting in his car outside aWashington, D.C., office building with a pistol in his possession in hopes of confronting one of the investors who squandered his money.

A trio of financial advisersJeff Rubin,Jinesh Brahmbhatt andFuad Ahmedallegedly steered Portis toward faulty investments that resulted in millions lost for the former running back.

In his 2015 bankruptcy filings, Portis made potential claims of $11 million against them, but he believes it is unlikely he will recover anything close to that number.

Along with investment issues, Burnsed wrote in detail about Portis' lavish spending on cars, houses, clothing and trips, all of which contributed to his eventual bankruptcy.

Despite the losses, Portis told Burnsed he believes he can earn much of it back through a broadcasting career and appearance fees.

Portis also told Burnsed that he sustained more than 10 concussions during his career and is eligible to receive compensation as part of theNFL's $1 billion concussion settlement if he displays the requisite symptoms.

Rather than attempting to collect, however, Portis said he'd rather not know if there's anything seriously wrong with him:"F--k that concussion money. I'm scared. I'm really scared of the results."

The 35-year-old Portis played nine NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins and was named to two Pro Bowls.

He topped 1,000 rushing yards in a season on six occasions, including three campaigns of 1,500 or more yards in his first four NFL seasons.

Portis last played during the 2010 season and retired having earned$43.1 million, per Burnsed.

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Takata’s bankruptcy is a result of familiar failings – The Economist

Posted: at 11:55 am

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XL>AxrOwYnYFaN`F;?`F#:-Hg[z!'QU9#aF@!|/P}iZ|G !Ck%j}47E`.X]HouDn^yG4d d@HlFi+_j,N$8&>}o$-E7bktmzbu3u-zAm@ixV6Zi]o}3 ji(V-Bu/R8(A;;j2-150OYhp[ff]J~n,47`Hzrmd3e,lXsOydoU["~}t`KN)vO_9$7%4oBEffn|w;%FI,%y+-ok%`*4(EHN6p{,Kxo4z,%dP AXS_I6^01f8UA(HVoz|`.*1nqc8`?Tr:n-;w^+H3n~tDQKOc3!a v~oxBN.@up[ :l-W%wZ+[%hCF9g(= 4*qzaF+=cIC{em#8'yL[+VWY[E:Q_8{G UU7; pw'e/m>qm][>J$r)-X{N)N9O4Q5-rMeNZZ /55kPs*cF9?8@sDw *@Go>kKS0Y3:XI`gj ?"5)Xk|TZ,@kwSV !;2@=:_~7~vlWGG#{RSB,)Zvomas1/J9zfn/S8EmN? Q#}aj[P_N>7^EH'P! Ho@6oXhh9GwK*xHpn]2&[0W[-n"NzNx!pA-W 7wo;U 1tag[dY+DYUTX$GB^]/ _f6dxM^`XO$Y^4u?qmr2,0(A'd:a":Y&tsz.pZ5w$!A|gFSmc;{yc W8?Weq{IlgBxNA?+_3#d5:qa~qs6F'8k"[xUYuSa#Fqp3Fw.Nj~Q;OwNcX+llE%s%y`oYjuUs0e-p+K!9o

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Takata's bankruptcy is a result of familiar failings - The Economist

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Updated: Premier Marine files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Posted: at 11:55 am


Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Updated: Premier Marine files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Premier Marine was founded in 1992 with a focus on luxury pontoons. Pictured is the 2016 more. Robert Pearl Photography for Premier Marine Inc. A year after announcing plan to build a new manufacturing plant, the Wyoming, Minnesota-based pontoon ...

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Updated: Premier Marine files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

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Plant Vogtle: Critics want emergency public hearing on bankruptcy – Atlanta Journal Constitution

Posted: at 11:55 am

Critics of the troubled Plant Vogtle nuclear project say state regulators are ignoring the $8 billion elephant in the room, and want the agency to hold public hearings on the projects growing price tag and delays after a key contractors bankruptcy.

Last week, Nuclear Watch South, an environmental advocacy group, filed a legal motion aimed at pushing the Georgia Public Service Commission to hold an emergency hearing on the Vogtle project following the March bankruptcy of Westinghouse Electric.

The public hearing is needed in light of the PSCs lack of response to the extraordinary circumstances clouding the future viability of the Vogtle 3 & 4 construction project, the group said. Nuclear Watch South is very concerned about the many millions of dollars that are extracted from the public each and every month and transferred to Georgia Power as real profit.

Thursday, the PSC will hold one of its periodic hearings on the half-built projects ongoing costs to finance and build two new nuclear reactors at the power plant near Augusta.

But the PSC so far hasnt delved into the effects of Westinghouses bankruptcy on the Vogtle expansions future, saying it is waiting for Georgia Power to complete its analysis of future options for the project, including continuing construction, converting it to natural gas plants or shutting it down.

Earlier this month, consultants for the PSCs Public Interest Advocacy staff suggested the Westinghouse bankruptcy could bump Georgia Powers share of Vogtles price tag to more than $8 billion and add three more years of delays.

The consultants also said the project likely no longer makes sense economically, compared to cheaper alternatives like natural gas-fired power plants.

In their analysis, Philip Hayet and Lane Kollen, with the Roswell firm J. Kennedy and Associates, assumed disruptions caused by Westinghouses bankruptcy could add another $3 billion in costs and three years of delays. They said the projections are hypothetical but consistent with providing the (PSC) a complete and accurate picture of the projects future outcome.

The extra delays, according to the consultants, could push the completion date out to mid-2022 for one reactor and mid-2023 for the second unit, and boost Georgia Powers share of costs from $5.4 billion up to $8.4 billion, not including billions in additional financing costs.

In such a scenario, it would be uneconomic to complete the Vogtle project, the consultants concluded, even if Westinghouses parent company, Toshiba Corp., makes good on billions of dollars of guarantees it has promised.

A Georgia Power spokesman said the consultants provided their analysis to the PSC before Georgia Power reached a deal with Toshiba setting a payment schedule for $3.7 billion in financial guarantees.

We are reviewing (the consultants testimony) and will discuss (it) with the Georgia PSC and all parties as part of the open (hearing) process, said Georgia Power spokesman Jacob Hawkins in a recent statement.

Meanwhile, Georgia Power, the PSC, and critics of the company and the commission are arguing over what testimony will be allowed at Thursdays hearing.

Tuesday, Georgia Power filed a motion asking the PSC to strike parts of testimony by two advocacy groups before Thursdays hearing. Georgia Power argued that some of the testimony is irrelevant, and that the parties cant both testify and cross-examine other witnesses in the hearings, such as Georgia Power executives.

The Commission should not allow Nuclear Watch South and the Concerned Ratepayers of Georgia to knowingly and willingly offer testimony that is clearly outside the scope of the hearings rules on such matters, Georgia Power said in its filing to the PSC.

PSC Chairman Stan Wise weighed in with an order reminding parties to follow the PSCs rules to preserve strict order during this proceeding, and to ensure fairness and the development of the record.

In a public comment period at the beginning of the hearings, for a few minutes each, several members of the public usually air their opposition or support for the Plant Vogtle expansion before the five-member commission.

A few advocacy groups usually also testify or question company or staff witnesses during the hearings. Often, they face a barrage of objections from Georgia Power lawyers and stern commands from PSC board members to limit the scope of their questions and avoid injecting their opinions when cross-examining witnesses.

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Plant Vogtle: Critics want emergency public hearing on bankruptcy - Atlanta Journal Constitution

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Judge approves initial motions in Takata bankruptcy – The Seattle Times

Posted: at 11:55 am

DOVER, Del. (AP) A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday granted several preliminary orders allowing Japanese auto parts supplier Takata to move forward with its reorganization plan, which includes the sale of most of its assets to a Chinese-owned rival for $1.6 billion.

Takata was forced into bankruptcy this week amid lawsuits, multimillion-dollar fines and crushing costs related to the recall and replacement of tens of millions of lethally defective air bag inflators.

At a first-day hearing, Judge Brendan Shannon granted various motions allowing Takata to continue paying its bills and working with suppliers and customers.

Shannons rulings include approval of a key agreement between Takata and major automobile manufacturers, who are both the companys largest customers and largest creditor group, that Takata hopes will provide sufficient near-term liquidity as it moves through the bankruptcy and sale process.

In providing liquidity to Takata, the automakers have agreed to forego certain rights, including exercising setoffs against their existing accounts payable to Takata. Takata, in exchange, has agreed to continue to manufacture and supply parts and replacement kits during the bankruptcy and to offer the carmakers certain protections, including replacement liens and super-priority claims.

An attorney representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has sued Takata and Honda over the faulty airbags, expressed concern Tuesday that the bankruptcy case seems to have been set primarily for the benefit of the automakers, adding that its not clear whether their purported setoff rights have been properly established. He also objected to Takatas request for confirmation of an automatic stay, a routine bankruptcy provision that halts litigation or enforcement of judgments against a debtor during its bankruptcy.

Shannon overruled the objection, suggesting that the automatic stay is aimed primarily at private parties and foreign entities, and that the interests of the Virgin Islands would be sufficiently protected.

It is meaningfully different when a United States government entity seeks to move forward, the judge said.

Takata has acknowledged that a chemical used in the air bag inflators, ammonium nitrate, can degrade over time, especially in hot, humid climates. The defect can cause the inflators to rupture, spewing deadly shrapnel inside a vehicle. The problem has been blamed for scores of injuries and at least 16 deaths.

Takata deeply regrets that this has occurred and regrets the harm that has been done to injured parties and the pain suffered by families who have lost loved ones, Marcia Goldstein, an attorney representing Takata, said Tuesday.

The next hearing in the bankruptcy case is scheduled for July 26.

In the meantime, the U.S. bankruptcy trustee has scheduled a creditor committee formation meeting for July 6.

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Judge approves initial motions in Takata bankruptcy - The Seattle Times

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Empowering Women in Developing Economies – HuffPost

Posted: at 11:55 am

Co-authored by Mathilde Mukantabana, Ambassadorof the Republic of Rwanda to the United States of America.

Economic opportunity is vital to strengthening peace and stability, especially in fragile states and post conflict societies.Developing sustainable employment entails a strong partnership between the private and public sectors, as well as multilateral organizations. Kate Space & Companys social enterprise investment in Rwandawhich enables women to be part of its supply chainis an innovative example of that partnership.

Rwanda suffered one of the worst genocides in history in 1994. The Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda claimed more than one million lives and left in its wake a near total collapse of political and socio-economic institutions. The leadership of Rwanda and its people embarked on an arduous journey to mend the fabric of their society, and out of the ashes of destruction rose a new and prosperous nation.

Today, Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. There are several reasons for Rwandas economic and social progress. A growing body of research demonstrates that womens economic participation is essential for economic progressand for post conflict reconstruction and recovery. Women entrepreneurs drive GDP and create jobs, and the way women spend their income has a multiplier effect, as they invest it in education, nutrition, and other needs; this in turn improves the well-being of families and grows the standard of living. Rwandas leadership in gender equality has fostered a positive environment for womens political participation and entrepreneurship. Women comprise over 60% of the Parliamentthe highest in the world. Inheritance and land rights have been advanced, and there have been significant improvements on a range of indicators from education and literacy to health care.

We have observed the impact that the private sector can have on womens economic empowerment in Masoro, a village of twenty thousand people roughly twelve kilometers away from Rwandas capital, Kigali. Like many rural communities, Masoro suffered from higher unemployment and lower earnings than the national average. On the positive, local artisans were skilled in embroidery and sewing.

Officials from Kate Spade & Company decided to make a social enterprise investment in this small community to test if this investment could produce economic and social returns. The company recruited 150 of the villages most talented and committed female artisans in 2013, and helped them set up their own worker-owned, for-profit social enterprise: Abahizi Dushyigikirane, Ltd. or ADC. Kate Spade & Company has worked to build the capacity of the workers and has been using them as a supplier for its related brands. In that way, the women and their families can prosper and Kate Spade & Company can have a dependable supplier.

According to a recently released study by Georgetowns McDonough School of Business, in partnership with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security, Kate Spade & Companys initiative has already contributed to the empowerment of the women in Masoro. They are flourishing economically and socially. The women have improved their spending on necessities and are investing in the future. They are earning a decent and steady wage and receiving opportunities for training and development from ADC. The average woman working on the initiative has also reported higher levels of decision-making within her family related to personal finances.

This is evidenced by Appolinaire, a team leader in ADCs beading department. Appolinaire first applied to be a temporary worker at ADC in order to supplement her households income. To her surprise, she positively adjusted to the position right away, and especially enjoyed the camaraderie with other women. ADC offered Appolinaire an opportunity to take the sewing test required for a permanent position, which she passed.

With her new income from the factory, Appolinaire and her husband have been able to invest in a new kitchen, and they are gradually replacing their mud brick walls and dirt floor with bricks. Appolinarie says her voice is heard on all of the important household decisions. She no longer tends the land or cares for the cows. As she progressed at ADC and her salary increased, a young man was hired to do those chores. Clearly, she is becoming economically empowered.

On the business investment, the Georgetown study found that Kate Spade & Company has created a financially viable business model in Rwanda. The Masoro supplier will become more competitive as production increases. The increases are set to occur over the course of 2017 with the acquisition of another client. Kate Spade & Company is actively assisting in the search for a second client and potential investors to support their growth trajectory.

This innovative social enterprise investment offers a model approach for creating economic opportunity that is sustainable in marginalized communities. Other companies can also contribute to their bottom line and help to transform fragile and war-torn societies. Its a win-win approach: one that is good for business and good for society.

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Empowering Women in Developing Economies - HuffPost

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SA’s central bank row points to dangerous levels of intolerance – South African Broadcasting Corporation

Posted: at 11:54 am

Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago. (REUTERS)

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Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago. The role of South Africas central bank is at the centre of a heated debate. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko Steven Friedman, University of Johannesburg

What kind of financial system is sure to collapse if the central bank cares about peoples well-being?

The recommendation by South Africas Public Protector that the Reserve Banks mandate change, says much about Busisiwe Mkhwebane, none of it flattering. It says just as much about mainstream economic debate - and none of that is flattering either.

Mkhwebane recommended that the central banks constitutional mandate, which makes protecting the currency its primary goal, be changed to one which requires it to promote balanced and sustainable economic growth while ensuring that the socio-economic well-being of the citizens are protected. She also said the constitution should require the bank to achieve meaningful socio-economic transformation.

This triggered a wave of protests, as well as an announcement from the South African Reserve Bank that it would take the matter to court. The Reserve Bank had no option. The constitutional court has ruled that the Public Protectors findings are binding unless they are challenged in court. Her recommendation wildly exceeded what she is allowed to do by the constitution or democratic good sense - and the Reserve Bank could not allow it to stand.

Democratic constitutions are changed by large majorities of the people or their elected representatives not by individuals. By making a binding recommendation that the constitution be changed, Mkhwebane signalled that she either doesnt understand or does not care for democracy.

Her report is also very useful to a faction of the governing party which wants to deflect charges of state capture by claiming that white monopoly capital already controls the state. There are real questions about the fitness for office of a Public Protector whose report seems more interested in protecting connected politicians and business people than with taking the peoples will seriously.

But the reaction did not stop at insisting that Mkhwebane has no business telling the people what the constitution should say. Much of it objected not only to her saying what the Reserve Banks mandate should be, but to anyone at all doing that.

The prize for the wildest reaction went to the commentator who declared that Mkhwebanes ideas on the Banks mandate were inspired by someone who denied that the Nazi genocide happened. Others stopped short of tarring constitutional change with the same brush as mass murder but were united in claiming that to suggest that the Reserve Banks mandate be broadened is economically illiterate and deeply damaging.

Absa, who was the subject of a separate finding by the public protector on the issue of a controversial bailout, asked a court to rule that her proposed change posed a serious risk to the financial system. For its part the rating agency Standard & Poors, happy as ever to police the boundaries of economic correctness, warned that any interference with the Reserve Banks independence could trigger new downgrades.

To insist that anyone who proposes changing the Reserve Banks mandate is economically damaging and stupid is as contemptuous of democracy and dangerous to the economy as Mkhwebanes excess. It is undemocratic because it seeks to close down policy debate by declaring that only one view of the Reserve Banks mandate can ensure a healthy economy. It is dangerous because it blocks the search for economic remedies by seeking to bully even those who propose only mild changes to what the country now has.

The idea that the Reserve Bank should have a broader mandate is neither radical nor dangerous. The most famous central bank, the US Federal Reserve, has a broader mandate. Its dual mandate requires it to seek maximum employment as well as price stability.

The Australian equivalents mandate includes maintenance of full employment and economic prosperity and welfare of the people. The European Central Bank, famed for its love of austerity, has a mandate to seek sustainable growth.

And the the Bank of Englands website says that, subject to its goal of price stability, it aims to support the governments economic objectives.

In South Africa, not only has the view that the central banks mandate is too restrictive been repeated periodically but it may well have been implemented for a while. In 2010, then finance minister Pravin Gordhan wrote to then Reserve Bank governor, Gill Marcus, proposing a mandate which included growth and employment. Marcus reacted positively, which suggests that the bank acted on Gordhans letter. The financial system survived.

The US, European and Australian financial systems have also not collapsed. Their mandates have not triggered a downgrade and no one has accused these societies of economic illiteracy.

So either double standards are being applied or we are being told that restrictive central bank mandates are essential only if countries are in particular parts of the world (such as Africa) and governed by particular types of people (Africans).

And why does a change in the Banks mandate undermine its independence? A central bank loses its independence if politicians (or anyone else) can tell it what to do, not if its mandate changes.

For all its flaws, the Public Protectors proposal would retain the Reserve Banks independence, leaving it to the bank to decide what promotes the well-being of the people or transformation.

None of this means that the Reserve Banks mandate must change. Or that central bank independence must go. But it does mean that no one should be discouraged from debating the issue, as people routinely do in other democracies and market economies. What, besides that prejudice which we prettify by the term Afropessimism, explains the insistence that we may not debate what is freely discussed in most other places?

Closing down debate in this way is common in South Africa. It also lies behind complaints of policy uncertainty which does not mean, as it does elsewhere, that government keeps changing its mind and sending mixed messages the macro-economic framework has been stable for more than two decades. It means, rather, that some people who some others may take seriously raise policy ideas the economic mainstream does not like.

This demand that people can say anything they like about economic policy as long as the mainstream likes it too offers a misleading view of the economy. It says that there is nothing wrong with it except political interference and that it will flourish if politicians simply leave alone what is done now.

The contrary evidence is offered by mainstream organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the South African Reserve Bank itself which have shown that the current economic rut is a product of problems in the private economy as well as what government does.

This means that the economy must change. This, in turn, requires new ideas. They will not emerge unless everything is up for debate and ideas are not silenced because they trigger the fears and prejudices of a few.

Steven Friedman, Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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China would prefer Hong Kong forget about another historic anniversary that falls this year – Quartz

Posted: at 11:53 am

As China prepares to celebrate its 20th year of recovered sovereignty over Hong Kongwhich until the 1997 handover had been a British colony for a century and a halfanother historic anniversary that falls this year is largely out of sight.

In 1967, Hong Kong saw its deadliest public disturbance ever, with riots and a spate of bombings that left 51 people dead and hundreds injured. The riots are skimmed over in school history books, and tucked away at the local Museum of History. Even more alarmingly, they appear to have all but disappeared from the governments archives, a discovery that film-maker Connie Lo said she made as she was researching her documentary on the riots, aptly called Vanished Archives.

All I could find were bits of yellowed old newspapers, that crumbled as you touched them, she says. But there was hardly any footage. At the end of her search, all she could lay her hands on were 9 sections of 21 seconds each, kept on different DVDs. Questions to the archivists went unanswered, she said, and nobody seemed to know the exact details of what footage had existed and what had been lost.

Growing increasingly intrigued by the scarcity, Lo decided to look in London. There she was luckier than in Hong Kong, but the difficulty in finding local historical government records of these watershed events 50 years ago made her strongly determined to find out more.

Lo set out to collect evidence of what had happened through interviews of eyewitnesses and participantsmost of whom were not willing to speak in front of the camera, she saysand started a four-year long chase to shed light on a very murky chapter of Hong Kongs past. It was an episode that brought blood to the streets of Hong Kong, as communists in China saw a chance in anger over labor and housing grievances to subvert the colonial government through local sympathizers. These included the media, such as the still existing Communist Party-financed newspaper Ta Kung Pao, pro-China trade unions, and leftist school and college students.

The local branch of the Chinese state-controlled news agency Xinhua functioned as the headquarters for many of those subversive activities, as they promoted Cultural Revolution-style struggle sessions and hung large character posters or dazibao, on their walls. Meanwhile, in Beijing, Red Guards burned down the British Embassy, in an attack against British colonialism in Asia and elsewhere.

When I asked why there was no archival record and no footage of the riots and all that had happened in 1967 here in Hong Kong, I was told that in 1997 some intern was transferring the data, and that while doing so the copy was botched, says Lo, with a puzzled look that doesnt entirely reveal how much of this explanation she believes. At the same time, the footage for the riots in 1956, which were inspired by right-wing elements, are all there. You have all the archives accessible, she says.

To add to the sense that theres a willful denial of the past taking place, her documentary, completed earlier this year, hasnt obtained a commercial release in Hong Kong. As with the popular and lucrative dystopian feature film Ten Years, which left theaters even as interest in it was growing, and the documentary Raise the Umbrellas, theaters havent been keen on showing a political movie critical of the local and mainland authorities.

Even the Hong Kong Film Festival, while denying censorship, refused to screen the movie (link in Chinese). But as has happened for other films deemed too sensitive, Vanished Archives, too, is being successfully screened at packed privately rented venues, and show dates can be found on the movies Facebook page, which has 20,000 followers, or on its website.

As the Cultural Revolution was raging all over China, a labor strike against crushing conditions and the dismissals of some workers took place in front of a plastic flower factory owned by Li Ka-shing, now Hong Kongs richest man, in the Kowloon area. Days into the strike, it was hijacked by pro-Communist sympathizers. The next few weeks saw an all-out series of anti-British protests and bomb attacks that killed randomly. In one bombing, siblings aged 8 and 2 were among the dead, papers overseas reported.

The attacks only ended in late 1967, when Chinese premier Zhou Enlai finally condemned the violence, leaving the local leftists feeling stranded. From one day to the next, we were discarded, and made useless, says one of the riot participants interviewed by Lo.

After the riots, the British authorities decided to establish a series of measures to diminish social frictions, by implementing major reforms, like public housing and free education. In 1978, after the Cultural Revolution, as Deng Xiaoping took power in China and introduced his reformist policies, the role played by China in fomenting the riots was denounced as wrong.

Over the years, scholars have occasionally revisited that contested moment of history. In 2015, though, while Lo was working on her film, the issue of how to remember the riots provoked public outrage when people in Hong Kong found the police website was edited to make way for a new description of clashes, with communist militiamen changed to the more generic gunmen, for example. The revamped police story also omitted that it all had started from a labor dispute.

There is a clear attempt at whitewashing history in Hong Kong, says Ching Cheong, a veteran Hong Kong journalist who witnessed the events first hand. Ching adds that history is being rewritten because of Chinas sovereignty over Hong Kong and ever-increasing influence in the territory. After the handover, Hong Kong has been governed by administrations often filled with people considered close to Beijing. And this episode of local history isnt very flattering to the Party.

At the time, Hong Kong leftists were carrying out acts of urban terrorism with the support of the Chinese authorities, says Ching. Now, he said, They want to be seen as heroes.

Some of the more radical organizers of 1967 already have found redemption from Hong Kongs political elite. In 2001, Yeung Kwong, a trade unionist who was a leader of the riots, was awarded the Golden BauhiniaHong Kongs greatest official honorby then Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa. On the eve of the ceremony, Yeung side-stepped a question about responsibility for the bombings, blaming the British governments oppression instead. In 2015 current chief executive Leung Chung-yin attended his funeral, together with a number of high officials from Hong Kong and the mainland.

Many leftists today are hoping to be exonerated for the violence they unleashed, says Lo, the film-maker. They know the direction the wind is blowing.

Only 20 years after the handover to China, history is proving once again one of the most contentious issues that shape Hong Kongs post-British identity. It provoked acute protests when the post office announced a plansince put on holdto delete the remaining British insignia from old post-boxes to avoid confusion. Its also spurred civic activism, with the formation of a number of concern groups, among them the Conservancy Association (which also launched the campaign to protect the post-boxes) and the Archives Action Group, which is concerned with the lack of an archives law in Hong Kong. Some of that activism has drawn criticism from the mainland Chinese officials, one of the organizers says.

We have been told we are not decolonized enough, says Peter Li, of the Conservancy Association.

Read Quartzs complete series on the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover.

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