New Zealand v Hong Kong Residency And Political Paranoia

I have been following the colourful case of Kim Dotcom from afar and want to deliver a new perspective on it from the screeds already published in New Zealand. I wish to focus on this concept of residency and compare and contrast attitudes in the media and in politics to a case like Kim Dotcom.

I shall start from the premise that Kim is a total utter nutcase. Quite clearly slightly unhinged and eccentric as hell. He lives on another planet and makes Gareth Morgan look like a strong stable quiet individual. However none of the above should affect judgment on this case. Living in a region that is poorly served with legitimately available purchases of songs and DVD's (we have no iTunes or Apple TV devices available and movie releases in the theatre are months behind) I have some sympathy with the services provided by Megaupload to those who used it. If we can't buy it on a timely basis, pirating is the only way you can get your hands on it.

Kim has Hong Kong residency. A subject I know a bit about because next week I have made the seven year mark working in Hong Kong so qualify to apply for a permanent ID card and therefore have the right to live here without requiring a work permit. I will earn mine by physically working from a base here for seven years and being able to prove to authorities I have enough money to support myself and therefore not take welfare, health or education tax dollars. Mine will be a permanent residency.

There is another way to get residency in Hong Kong which I assume Kim took. That of the capital investment entrant scheme. After seven years under this scheme he could apply for what I am doing to gain permanent residency.



The most important here for our discussion is (d) - have no adverse record in both Hong Kong AND country/region or residence. Here is the declaration on the application form which would also include relevant background checks. It covers "elsewhere" so Germany:




Here are the stats on the scheme, most applicants are Chinese and plenty get turned away. Some 23% of the total were declined and 33% of foreign nationals. That is - money alone doesn't buy you a slot.



Applications can be declined without even a reason given. A final test of good character is usual in this and Hong Kong has a procedure here for declining without lawful reason and I guess even appeal.



And lying means the residency disappears.



New Zealand has a similar process of checks on applicants. Added to these checks, Hong Kong already made the checks on Kim Dotcom and he was granted residency here so New Zealand authorities could gain some comfort in that. That is another jurisdiction with a record of declining the applications of 1 in 3 foreign applicants passed him clean with the same background checks.

So the difference in New Zealand and Hong Kong

New Zealand
- sensationalist media coverage
- confusion between tests for OIO and residency
- Labour trying to make political mileage out of it
- NZ First trying to resurrect their support base with it
- calls for an inquiry
- public happy with compliance with US authorities demands
- talks of revoking residency

Hong Kong
- silent politicians
- barely made a ripple in the media
- public couldn't care less
- no one in the media or public has even questioned revoking his residency
- iTunes store doesn't even allow you in HK to legitimately buy music and movies, there is no Apple TV devices available for sale. Television shows are a mile behind the rest of the world and movies are released here months even after New Zealand
- Life goes on

As I have said many times, I do wonder about the health of New Zealand media and political obsession with such sensationalism when 6 nights out of 7 the leading headlines on the nightly news appear to be stories about weather.



And Labour should be a little more humble about the Kim Dotcom case. I recall Bill Liu, Whaleoil's expose, Liu's multiple identities and donations to the Labour Party. So will frontbenchers David Cunliffe and Shane Jones they will never forget Bill Liu. Neither will all Labour MP's old enough to have been around to facilitate the disaster.

Those who live in glasshouses should not be throwing rocks.