#DailyUpdate #May2 #COVID19

COVID-19 Updates (2/5)

At the time of writing, 3,430,875 cases of the coronavirus had been confirmed with 240,974 deaths worldwide. US, Spain, Italy and UK are the four most affected countries.

Hong Kong has reported no new cases, being the sixth day in the previous week.

Russia has reported 9,623 cases today, breaking the daily record.

Spanish Prime Minister asked for extending state of emergency for 2 weeks. Spanish nationals are allowed to exercise outdoors in designated periods.

With Spain’s epidemic slowing down, a temporary hospital has closed in Madrid.

Chinese authority only reports one importing case on Friday.

Epidemic breaks out again in North-eastern China. The clinic for fever patients at the hospitals in Harbin, Heilongjiang province has stopped accepting new patients. Reports also said ambulance has been non-stop carrying patients around the city.

US President Donald Trump again stated the intention to pursue China covering up the epidemic, charging tariffs would be considered.

President Trump urged Michigan governor to negotiate with anti-lockdown protestors.

The White House said China mishandling the epidemic is an open secret.

USS Kidd, a destroyer of the American navy, has almost 30% sailors infected.

WHO director Tedros said he has given the world enough time to tackle the epidemic.

The transmission rate in Germany has re-risen after loosening lockdown measures.

France announced all professional sports games won’t be reopened before September.

Children who contracted the virus in multiple regions show rare and serious symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease, it has yet to be proved to be related to COVID-19 though.

#FirstHand #Interview #Video #May2 #SingWithYou

Interview with Shatin District Councilor Mike Chan: HongKongers Are Losing Freedom Of Expression As Police Use Law Enforcement For Political Suppression

Q: What is your opinion of police operations tonight (2 May)?

A: I couldn't tell what riot police were attempting to do, when a large group of them stormed into the shopping mall disturbing shoppers and passers-by there. Some civilians were trying to get to the bus station and depart, but they were strained, being blocked by police cordon line. While it's in their powers to establish cordon lines to facilitate operation, police should also show civilians how to leave. I've tried to reflect this several times.

I saw shoppers in the mall on their own or in small groups of two or three. They were indeed not violating the gathering ban, but still being fined. I saw numerous unreasonable incidences as such tonight.

⬇️⬇️⬇️Continue Reading⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20165

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20164
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Q: Police stated repeatedly that they have the right to penalize anyone tempering law and order, be it reporters or civilians, and whether they are working or not. Do you agree with such statement?

A: It seems that police officers are interpreting the law arbitrarily and enforcing the law inconsistently as they wish. They may allow some dinners to continue having their dinner in restaurants and reporters to carry on their journalistic duties. But once when there were triggered, they may hand out fine tickets, even when the 4-people-gathering-ban was not violated, by willfully group together civilians standing or walking next to each other. I would say, the police are virtually using the anti-gathering ban as an excuse to set up a curfew and suppress people with different opinions.

Q: The "Sing With You" activity was disupted and ended without much singing. Are you disappointed?

A: It's not so much about the event in itself. Under the government's suppression, Hong Kong people are losing what little freedom of expression they have. I'm afraid this is becoming a norm in Hong Kong.

⬇️⬇️⬇️Continue Reading⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20166

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20166
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Q: What do you think about having "Sing With You” or similar activities in the future in Shatin?

A: First of all, I believe we have the right to express, in whichever format legally permitted. I don't see any reason to have the police here. If they're here to enforce regulations preventing the spread of coronavirus, why are they standing so close to each other? They aren't vigilant about epidemic prevention themselves. Again, as I have said earlier, they are using law enforcement as an excuse to exercise political suppression.

Q: Riot police came in and out the mall again and again, closing and reopening their cordon lines at least 3 to 4 times this evening. What do you think about their operation?

A: I didn't see why the riot police came in and out the shopping mall again and again. Perhaps, the officers saw people are gathering in the mall, or they saw people coming back to shop. They are creating substantial inconvenience to residents, moving police cordon lines here and there.

#May2 #PoliceState #PoliceBrutality #Shatin #MikeChan #SingWithYou #ShopWithYou #HongKongProtest


Heavy Police Deployment during Golden Week: Police Humiliate Disabled Lawyer
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20109

Riot police Enters Shopping Mall to Disperse Hongkongers on Labour's Day Holiday
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20066

Police Drive Away Wheelchair-bound Reporter
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20095

#AsiasFinest #PressFreedom #Doxxing
Police Allegedly Dox Investigative Reporter: An Apparent Retaliation and a Blow to Press Freedom, Journalist Association Laments

Apple Daily revealed earlier that Assistant Police Commissioner, Rupert Dover and his wife, also a police officer, had rented out one of the houses they are residing in Sai Kung as a guesthouse. The couple was suspected of breaching both the property rule which restricted usage of the house to an immediate family member of the house owner and operation of a guesthouse for short-term stays without a license.

Subsequently, Dover’s wife, Cheung Ngai-si allegedly changed her profile picture on Facebook to a picture of the reporter who was involved in Dover’s investigative report, perhaps, a retaliation by way of doxxing the involved reporter.

The incident is seen as a blow to press freedom and amounts to contempt of court as Apple Daily had obtained an injunction order from the High Court forbidding anyone from disclosing or publishing personal details of its staff.

While the paper was discussing options with lawyers to protect its staff, it issued a legal letter to Dover’s wife on May 2, demanding an apology and compensation and the reporter was expected to file a complaint with the privacy commissioner.

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) issued a statement, pointing out that the police officer's switching of her Facebook profile picture to the reporter's photo couldn’t be a coincidence. Such action was disturbing and added pressure to the press. The Association reiterated that Dover and his wife are public officials. When facing adverse media reports, they should respond appropriately to the content of the story, not targeting individual journalists. The Association urged the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to follow up on and investigate the matter actively.

Source: Apple Daily #May2 #PoliceState #HKProtest #PoliceBrutality #RupertDover

#AsiasFinest #Police
Hong Kong Police knowingly transgress the law?

Assistant Police Commissioner Rupert Dover was accused of breaking the property rule, by residing in a house on government land in Sai Kung that restricted residency to only the immediate family member of the house owner. Dover and his wife were also suspected of operating a guesthouse without a licence. A fish rots from the head: he is apparently not the only police tempering the law.

Chief Superintendent David Jordan was accused of having an unauthorised structure at his home in Tin Liu in Sai Kung. He was also accused of using police traffic cones for his own purposes.

A barrister pointed out that any possession of public property was theft and the use of traffic cones to occupy parking spaces in official land was a violation of the Road Traffic Ordinance.

Moreover, Superintendent Vasco Williams, famous for his "yellow object" remark, was said to have an unauthorised structure of 500 sq ft at his house.

Source: Apple Daily #May2

#AsiasFinest #Corruption #HongKongPolice
Expert Question How Widespread Corruption is in Hong Kong Police Force

Previously,
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20183

The member who withdrew from the International Expert Committee of IPCC, Clifford Stott, a Keele University Professor of Social Psychology specialized in Police Powers, shared Dover’s news on his Twitter on May 2.

In his comment, he described Dover as “one of the Police Commanders who handles protests in Hong Kong with radical and violent means”. Stott said Dover was currently involved in an accusation of corruption. He then openly asked, “How widespread is this in the Hong Kong Police Force?”

Source: Apple Daily #May2 #PoliceState #HKProtest #PoliceBrutality #IPCC

#Interview #MikeChan
Interview with Shatin District Councilor Mike Chan – HongKongers are losing freedom of expression as police use law enforcement for political suppression

Q: What is your opinion of police operations tonight?

A: I couldn't tell what riot police were attempting to do, when a large group of them stormed into the shopping mall disturbing shoppers and passers-by there. Some civilians were trying to get to the bus station and depart, but they were strained, being blocked by police cordon line. While it's in their powers to establish cordon lines to facilitate operation, police should also show civilians how to leave. I've tried to reason with the officers about this several times.

Read full interview:
https://telegra.ph/Interview-with-Shatin-District-Councilor-Mike-Chan--HongKongers-are-losing-freedom-of-expression-as-police-use-law-enforcement-f-05-04

#May2 #PoliceState #HKProtest #YellowEconomy #SingwithU #ShopwithU

Image source: Instagram

#Interview #FirstHand #May2
Police aggression disturbs peaceful night in Mongkok –
Interview with District Councilor Ben Lam Siu-Bun (Mong Kok East)
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#Interview #FirstHand #May2
Police aggression disturbs peaceful night in Mongkok –
Interview with District Councilor Ben Lam Siu-Bun (Mong Kok East)

Q: What happened earlier?

A: Around midnight (May 1), a large group of around 40 riot police disembarked from 3-4 EU police cars at Bank Center, and they set up cordon line at the junction of Shanghai street and Sai Yeung Choi Street South.

Q: What was going on?

A: I didn’t witness the whole incident from beginning to end. There were 10 - 20 civilians wandering around Bank Center, just peacefully going about their night lives. I suspect that the police thought these people might have violated the gathering ban, so they came to drive the people away.

Objectively speaking, yes, the 10-20 people might have been too close together. But to send 40-50 riot police to intimidate them - is that really necessary? They also briefly set up cordon lines, but less than 10 mins later the whole troop went back to their cars and left.

Q: Several riot police were acting quite aggressively, banging on their shields, yelling at civilians and ordering them to leave at once. How would you comment on their behavior?

A: Yes, banging on shields like that in the middle of the night really disturbs the residents in their homes nearby. They were also quite hostile towards reporters and district councilors on the scene. I saw one civilian using an ATM machine by himself, and the police still went over to intimidate him. He was quite startled.

They set up another cordon line on Nathan Road facing Sai Yeung Choi street South, but only for about one minute. This is completely unnecessary; it's a waste of police resources.

Q: Would you bring up these concerns to the Mong Kok police district commander, particularly their disturbing the peace of the community?

Our District Council has been discussing police aggression in meetings almost every month. However the police representatives who attended were not receptive to our suggestions, and sometimes they even left halfway through the meeting. We certainly will continue to bring up these concerns, but I also would not expect the police to change their ways.

#LamSiuBun #PoliceState #HKProtest #YellowEconomy #SingwithU #ShopwithU

Further reading: Riot Police Heavily Deployed in Mongkok
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20104