#YingEChi #Ban #Documentaries
#Censorship: Hong Kong Authorities Accuse Protest Documentaries of "Constituting Criminal Offences"

The Hong Kong government's Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (#OFNAA), which is responsible for approving films and printed matters for public distribution, accused two local documentaries of "constituting criminal offences" for showing footages of the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement.

The two documentaries “Taking back the Legislature" and "Inside the Red Brick Wall" were produced by Ying E Chi, a veteran non-profit independent film organization in Hong Kong.

The documentaries captured the pro-democracy protesters' siege of the legislative council on July 1, 2019 and the siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in November 2019, respectively.

Ying E Chi released a statement on Sept 21, 2020 and revealed how the OFNAA has made different attempts to bar the films from being shown in cinema. These included the request to re-edit; overturning past approved screening certificates; and classifying "Inside the Red Brick Wall" into a Category III film only 2 hours before its release.*

*In Hong Kong, Category III films are restricted to an audience above 18 years of age. In the case of "Inside the Red Brick Wall", Ying E Chi has to make refund to all underaged spectators.

Ying E Chi said the authorities has tried to "coerce the directors into making statements against their wills" and threatened to bar the films from screening.

Ying E Chi also expressed that "the opinion expressed in the statement issued by The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) does not reflect the views of the director and the production team".

According to Ying E Chi director Vincent Chui, four staff of the OFNAA were present to monitor the public screening on Sept 21, 2020.

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Ying E Chi expresses strong disagreement as the OFNAA:

1. Force the films to be edited under the pretext of protecting everyone, but in fact, only to protect their own interest

2. Request an announcement to be made at the beginning of the film, yet refused to be declared as the one who demanded the announcement

(See images in blue: https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/25425)

3. Overturn the previous certificate issued by the OFNAA with unspecified reason

4. Fail to issue the certificate on time as promised, whilst shifting the responsibility to the applicant

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The comments made by the OFNAA on the two documentaries are as follows:

“Taking back the Legislature”:
“This film records the serious incident of the storming of the Legislative Council Complex on 1 July 2019. Some of those depictions or acts may constitute criminal offences under prevailing laws.”

“Inside the Red Brick Wall:
“This film records the serious incidents at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and nearby areas in November 2019. Some of those depictions or acts may constitute criminal offences under prevailing laws. Some of the contents of or commentaries in the film may be unverified or misleading.”

Source: Ying E Chi; Apple Daily #Sept21
https://www.facebook.com/261128170659949/posts/3063984707040934/

https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20200921/KVBCY4X4LZG4DKOP6FJJIF34AE/

#VincentChui #PolyUSiege #LegCoSiege #1July2019 #IndieCinema #HongKongCinema

#Censorship #YingEChi
Independent filmmakers: Film inspection authority stalls reviewing process and shutters anti-ELAB movement DVD submitted for inspection

“Inside the Red Brick Wall”, a documentary directed by filmmakers of HK Documentary Initiative was released on September 21 at the Hong Kong Arts Center. The film, centered on the siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has captured one of the most intense confrontations between pro-democracy protesters and HK police during the year-long anti-ELAB movement in 2019.

When receiving the long-overdue Certificate of Approval, Ying E Chi Cinema was stunned to find the DVD of “Inside the Red Brick Wall” it submitted for inspection was “utterly shattered”.

When being asked, a staff member of OFNAA (Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration) claimed that they had “accidentally'' damaged it during reviewing process. Ying E Chi Cinema stated on its Facebook that “it had never occurred in almost 20 years since our establishment”.

Source: Apple Daily #Sept22
#WhiteTerror #FailedState #FreedomOfSpeech #HongKongCinema #IndieCinema

Read how the negotiation between Ying E Chi cinema and the OFNAA unfolds on the cinema’s Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3063984707040934&id=261128170659949

Related article: Hong Kong Authorities Accuse Protest Documentaries of "Constituting Criminal Offences"
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/25426

TikTok is Banned in Pakistan, Referring to Unfiltered “Immoral” Content

Pakistan telecommunication regulator announced the ban on the use of TikTok, a video-sharing social media application under a Chinese technology company ByteDance, as the regulator received numerous complaints on immoral and inappropriate content.

Pakistan telecommunication regulator stated that TikTok could file a complaint and they would review the ban policy after removing unlawful contents.

Reuter quoted three senior Pakistan officials as saying on Friday (October 9) that the government decided to ban the social media application TikTok as the application was not able to remove “immoral” content. A senior official who directly involved in this decision said that they had requested TikTok to set up an effective system to hide immoral and inappropriate content for many times. However, the platform has failed to satisfy the Pakistan government. The government therefore decided to ban TikTok.

#Pakistan #TikTok #Ban #ImmoralContent #Reuter

Source: Stand News #Oct10

https://bit.ly/3jU7jag

#Newspaper

Fish With mercury and arsenic: Russian Federation temporarily limited fish import from China

(09 Jan) It became clear why fish and seafood from China were banned. Starting 9 January 2020, there has been a temporary ban of the fish supply to Russia, for example, tilapia, trout, shrimp and the so-called sea cocktails. "This is not a complete list and all of them can be extremely toxic", this conclusion was made by Russian experts as a result of a large-scale inspection. They found cadmium, mercury and arsenic in fish from China.

Tilapia can still be found in the market, but there is no data on its true origin. 

This is the tilapia fillet, labeled with such information: Khimki, such-and-such highway, 21 d ... (when reporter visited the addressed on thr kabel) There is no aqua farm in sight, but a car service is legally located. 

But there is a small print on the tag, stating " Country of origin: Southeast Asia ". This is the most commonly used name for China, says fishing expert Alexander Savelyev. He said, "China, as you know, there is neither a law on aquaculture, nor any effective instruments to control its quality and Rosselkhoznadzor studies confirm this".

In 2019, more than 40 cases identified unsafe fish products coming from China to Russia were found and monitored. Heavy metals were found in the fishstocks, such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic.

"50 million tons (of fishstock) grew in its ponds and left the place that they grow, China needs to do something with it. In Chinese culture there is a saying: If you are tired of your old shoes, throw them in the pond and in a year you will receive an excellent tilapia," said Alexander Saveliev, head of the fishing news agency.

The import ban has affected some types of Chinese shrimp and four types of aquaculture - eel, sturgeon, trout and tilapia, which sulfonamides have also been found. These are antimicrobial agents added when fish grows, along with other growth hormones. And this, doctors say, is just an explosive mixture for our health.  

"It leads to violation of its own microflora under the influence of sulfonamides. These chemicals have a damaging effect on the body, it is toxic. For example, some have such chemicals in their kidneys. Metabolism is changed and distorted. And on some adults it can even lead to obesity ," said MD, Tatiana Bandurina. 

Celestial Empire is one of the main fish suppliers in Russia. The year before last, China imported 36 thousand tons of frozen products. Naturally, the ban will lead to some increase in prices for fish and seafood, economists believe, however, the effect is only temporary. 

"Such drastic measures are justified. They will lead to a slight increase in prices in the short term. Within a few weeks, a couple of months, the imbalance will be eliminated, and prices will return to normal, " said economist Maxim Chirkov.

However, Russian warehouses are still full and filled with stocks of frozen Chinese fish, and the sales of products continues, despite the import ban. And China is still lucky, experts say. Not only the farmed fish, they believe, but also the fish caught in the sea and processed before being sold to Russia, needs to be thoroughly checked. After all, this product does not fall under the ban of the Rosselkhoznadzor, but that is why it does not become less dangerous.  

Source:
Ren TV
Pourquoi Taiwan
HKLIG Forum

Translated by: Hong Kong Echo

#ChineseFarmFish #Russia #Ban #ImportFish

Exclusive: Wikipedia bans 7 mainland Chinese power users over ‘infiltration and exploitation’ in unprecedented clampdown

The move by the Wikimedia Foundation came after "long and deep investigations" into a group of mainland Chinese users, two months after HKFP revealed that some of them allegedly threatened to report their Hong Kong peers to the city's national security police.

The foundation that oversees Wikipedia has taken unprecedented action to ban seven mainland Chinese users from its websites globally and revoke administrator access and other privileges for 12 other users, following an HKFP report of alleged threats to Hong Kong users.

Source : HKFP #Sep14

https://hongkongfp.com/2021/09/14/exclusive-wikipedia-bans-7-mainland-chinese-power-users-over-infiltration-and-exploitation-in-unprecedented-clampdown

#Wikipedia #Mainland #HKFP #Ban #Revoke

#PopMusic #Censorship
Top Ranking Song Mocking Chinese nationalists Banned in China and Delisted from HK-based streaming app

Malaysian rapper #Namewee and Taiwan-based Australian singer #KimberlyChen Fang-yu rolled out a Mandopop song titled "#Fragile" (玻璃心, or literally meaning "#GlassHeart"), on Youtube in mid-October 2021.

The term "glass heart" is commonly used to describe nationalist Chinese netizens who become easily upset when a social media post attacks the Chinese Comminist Party (#CCP).

While the song can be interpreted as a love song, the music video satirizes the CCP and nationalist Chinese netizens
(aka "#LittlePinks") through the extensive use of the color pink, simplified Chinese subtitles, and a giant and clumsy panda.

References are made to China's claims to Taiwan, bat soup representing COVID19, the Great Firewall, and #XiJingping's latest political campaign Common Prosperity.

The song hit the internet with an overwhelming popularity, receiving over 10 million Youtube views in just first few days.

The pro-China netizens criticized the lyrics for "inflicting insults on China", leading to both the ban of the singers in China and the removal of their #Weibo accounts.

In response, Namewee wrote on his Facebook page pointing out that the song has reflected a general trend as more people are realizing CCP's oppression and encroachment. The artist said, "[this song is] not so amazing, it's just a mirror."

Commenting on the freedom of expression in artistic creation, Namewee said, "If I have to give up creative freedom and my ideals, this goes against any artististic pursuit.  I would rather stop creating."

Namewee added in his comment that with the growing number of supporters, he would consider leveraging their influence to resist and protest against authoritarianism.

He said, "I believe if one remains silent in the face of iron fist, it would foster and reinforce them [authoritarianism]. Until one day, the iron fist hits your head as it spares no one."

On October 27, 2011, the Hong Kong-based music app, #MOOV, was found delisted the song from its app. Netizens slammed the music app, calling it "#FragileMOOV".

Source: Stand News #Oct25; as1 entertainment #Oct27

https://thestandnews.page.link/v8e74czAgLL9oV6Z8/

#PopCulture #PopSong #MandoPop #MOOV #Delist #Creativity #Art #Culture #MusicVideo #Ban

Huawei appeals Sweden's ban on company for selling 5G gear

Huawei (HWT.UL) said on Friday it had filed an appeal against a ruling by a Swedish court in June that upheld a ban on the Chinese company for selling 5G equipment in the country.

The company said it had requested an oral hearing in the case, but the Court of Appeal could decide if such a hearing should be held or a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice should be requested.

Huawei had earlier said it would consider all options, including an appeal.

Source: Reuters #Oct01

https://www.reuters.com/article/sweden-huawei-tech-idUSKBN2GR38X

#Huawei #Swedish #5G #European #Ban