Video of Social Movement Worlwide Played on Screen: The Gwangju Uprising in South Korea

This is a revolution in Korea in 1980, during which the Korean students demonstrated against the martial law government, and resisted against police brutality

#FirstHand #29Dec #Central

#FirstHand #29Dec
Joshua Wong: Let the world see Hong Kong. Let the world stand with Hong Kong

1705 | #Central
At the assembly in Edinburgh Place, Joshua Wong came on stage and said that he would continue to promote the pro-democracy movement of Hong Kong worldwide by every means of social media possible such as Twitter, Reddit, Instagram. He also expressed graditude towards the Hong Kongers for their support.

Wong stressed, "I will work hard to promote the Movement internationally. Let the world see Hong Kong. Let the world stand with Hong Kong.”

Au Nok-hin encourages Hong Kongers to start new initiatives

1720 | #Central

Au Nok-hin, former LegCo member who was being disqualified by the Government, said that no matter what role he is given, he would do his utmost best to support the Movement. (He expressed thoughts of incorporating new roles which will be significant to further strengthen the Movement.)

He said, ”Setting something up is always more difficult as compared to destroying a an existing entity. Hong Kongers are now building up and starting new initiatives - yellow economic circle and facilitating social activities for the Movement, and many others. Hong Kongers, be water, be united.”

#firsthand #29Dec #Instant

#FirstHand #29Dec #WordsFromHKers
1815 | #Central
A sea of light appeared at Edinburgh Place, symbolizing hope.

1818 | #Central
The past six months of Hong Kong. #standwithhongkong
#firsthand #29Dec #Instant

#firsthand #29Dec #WordsFromHKers

1838 | #Central

The rally ended with a closing note, "We will never give up, we will persist until the five demands are met. We hope Hong Kongers will always remember the blood, sweat and tears that we have shed to protect Hong Kong.”

1.1 See you in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay.

Civil Human Rights Front obtained the Letter of No Objection for the New Year Day March.

#CHRF #NewYearMarch #29Dec #1Jan

Confucius Institutes Closing in the USA

The US Department of Defense launched the Language Flagship Program last year to provide funding for all universities in the US to offer Chinese language education. Federal law forces all colleges to choose between the Pentagon and the Confucius Institute for their Chinese language funding. Until now, 13 universities have chosen to shut down the Confucius Institute. More Confucius Institutes are expected to be closed when their contracts with the universities expire this year.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said that the Confucius Institute exposes American colleges to the threats of espionage and intellectual property theft, which have happened in some universities already. Cruz added an amendment to the US military spending bill last year. The amendment sets out that universities with Confucius Institutes will not get Chinese language funding from the Department of Defense.

Since the University of Maryland opened its first Confucius Institute in 2004, there are now more than 100 Confucius Institutes in the US and over 500 worldwide. The Confucius Institutes are considered to be used by China to expand its soft power overseas and to supervise Chinese students who are studying abroad. During teaching and learning, sensitive issues like democracy, human rights, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan are not allowed to discuss.

The University of Oregon has recently closed its Confucius Institute. The vice provost at Oregon said that it was hard to choose between the two options. The Language Flagship of the Department of Defense provides them with nearly 1 million dollars each year for Chinese language education.

#ChinaInfluence #ConfuciusInstitutes #Xinjiang #Uyghur

Source: RFI TW (19-Jul)
https://bit.ly/2sw352A

Confucius Institutes Closing in Australia

Summary: NSW Government scrapped Chinese Confucius Institute's program after a six month's review upon a perception that the Institute is or could be facilitating inappropriate foreign influence.

(Editor's note: Despite this, Australia still has the third-highest number of Confucius Institutes and classrooms in the world — behind the USA and the UK — with 14 institutes and 67 classrooms across the country. The main concerns surrounding these Confucius Institute programs and Chinese language classes are that they are funded by the PRC government as the means of 'soft power' to gain undue political influences overseas. There is a threat to academic freedom in Australia and that the language courses and other public events held by the Confucius Institutes serve as propaganda platforms for the CCP.)

#ChinaInfluence, #ConfuciusInstitutes

Source: ABC (23-Aug)
https://ab.co/2rz58Tz

Japan Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker arrested on suspicion of taking bribes from a Chinese company

Tokyo district public procurator’s office special investigation has arrested Tsukasa Akimoto, LDP lawmaker, on suspicions of taking bribes from a Chinese company that intends to invest in an Integrated Resort (IR) project including a casino. Akimoto is suspected of receiving millions yen illegally.

Another lawmaker is arrested after Tomohiro Ishikawa was arrested in January 2010 because of political funding scandal. The special investigation will thoroughly investigate the violation with all related projects. The IR projects are the key in the tourism promotion and it may also be affected.

Akimoto was the advocator of IR projects. He was in charge of such projects as stated minister from August 2017 to October 2018. In the meantime, he was the Senior Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and was in charge of tourism policy. Akimoto said he never accepted any requests from the company or gave any companies special treatment. He also denied receiving any money.

The Chinese company runs online gambling business and its headquarter is in Shenzhen, China. They established a Tokyo office in July 2017 and showed their interest to the IR projects in the Rusutsu Village in Hokkaido.

Akimoto attended the seminar for IR projects held by the Chinese company in Nahashi, Okinawa and was a seminar speaker in August 2017. He also met the top executive of the Chinese company in Shenzhen, China in December 2017.

#ChinaInfluence #ChinaInfiltration

1. The Stand News (25-Dec)
https://bit.ly/2MGXgHd
2.Japan Times (25-Dec)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/25/national/crime-legal/ldp-tsukasa-akimoto-bribe-taking/#.XgO767CIY0M

Accounts of Police Brutality Shared at the Assembly by Those in Exile

Hong Kongers gathered once again, despite the downpour and the cold weather, at Edinburgh, Central. Thousands turned up to support, as keynote speakers took the stage to talk about the 'yellow economic circle'.

Recordings of people in exile were also played to lift the spirits of the Hong Kongers, and to rally them to fight on.

Please click here for the full article.

#PoliceBrutality #Exile

Secretary for #Education Claimed Right to Dismiss Principals for Supporting Teachers' Behaviour; Legislator Criticized as "White Terror"

In an interview with China’s “Shanghai Observer”, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Education, was asked what possible actions would the Bureau take if a school principal is reluctant to investigate into the conduct of a school teacher, or the principal is in fact supportive of the teachers' behaviour. Yeung responded that should the principal is not up to the requirement of the position, therefore the Bureau has the right to dismiss the principal in this regard.

Vice President of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’s Association, Legislator Ip Kin-yuen rebuked that Yeung had put unnecessary pressure on school, forcing school principals to execute political tasks and follow the government’s political stance. Yeung’s comment would incite white terror and could lead to incrimination of teacher by their behavior.

Source: NOW news
#whiteterror #EducationBureau

Presidential Debate: Tsai Ing-wen Reads Letter From Hong Kong Youngster Pleading for Taiwanese People to Refute Chinese Infiltration

The sole presidential debate for 2020 Taiwanese Presidential Election was hosted on December 29 at 2pm. The serving president, Tsai Ing-wen, Kuomintang candidate Han Kou-yu and People First Party candidate James Soong participated in the forum for the first time.

In her opening statement, Tsai read out a letter from a Hong Kong youngster, in which the youngster wrote, “I plea to my Taiwanese friends, do not trust the Chinese Communist Party, do not trust those pro-Chinese government officials, do not fall prey to the money traps set up by the Chinese government.

In the letter, the youngster also stated his hope of the Taiwanese People putting down differences between the different parties, and them defending Taiwan in solidarity against China’s media campaigns and military threats.

Source: Stand News
https://www.facebook.com/710476795704610/posts/2737850992967170/

#29Dec #Taiwan #TaiwanesePresidentalElection

China tightens up on info after Document of Xinjiang leaks

After The New York Times and Associated Press published speeches and leaked documents to prove the systematic use of technology and camps to brainwash people in Xinjiang, the Chinese government took drastic measures to restrict information and conceal its activities. State offices were ordered to dispose computers and related papers; and university teachers and workers, to delete phone and cloud data and even work-related social media groups.

In another case, the government confiscated evidence of detention. 8 officers went to the home of a former Uighur detainee’s ex-wife, and threatened to jail her for life if she didn’t turn over the detainee’s release papers. Such crackdown is believed to be a response to the Uighur Human Rights Policy Act passed last week (4-Dec), which threatens to punish Chinese officials who violate human rights against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, China.

Source: The Washington Post (13-Dec)
https://wapo.st/2MDirtH
#China #Uyghur #Xinjiang

In China’s Crackdown on Muslims, Children Have Not Been Spared

As many as a million ethnic Uighurs, Kazakhs and others have been sent to internment camps and prisons in Xinjiang over the past three years, an indiscriminate clampdown aimed at weakening the population’s devotion to Islam. Even as these mass detentions have provoked global outrage, though, the Chinese government is pressing ahead with a parallel effort targeting the region’s children.

Nearly a half million children have been separated from their families and placed in boarding schools so far, according to a planning document published on a government website, and the ruling Communist Party has set a goal of operating one to two such schools in each of Xinjiang’s 800-plus townships by the end of next year.

#Xinjiang #Uyghurs #China

Source: New York Times (28-Dec)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/world/asia/china-xinjiang-children-boarding-schools.html