#PrimaryElection
Beijing and Pro-Beijing Camp Denounce Democractic Primaries in Hong Kong

Over 600,000 people participated in the primary election coordinated by legal scholar Benny Tai and former legislator Au Nok-hin and executed by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute on 11 and 12 July.

Tai was motivated by the turnout and projected that the opposition could end up winning 45 seats or more. In the preliminary results released, young pro-democracy activists had in general attracted more votes than veteran democrats.

The final results, including votes from over 20,000 paper ballots, will be released on July 14.

However, the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, warned on July 13 that the primary polls could amount to "an act of subversion" under the new national security law. Lam claimed the primaries had an "objective of objecting to (and) resisting every policy initiative of the Hong Kong SAR Government" and so "it may fall into the category of subverting the state power, which is now one of the four types of offences under the new national security law."

Around midnight on July 14, China state media Xinhua News Agency condemned the primary election as "illegal," "foreign interference," and a "destruction to electoral practice". PRC's Liaison Office in Hong Kong condemned Tai for "manipulating the election" and accused him of the intent to "seize power".

Earlier, the government's Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau released a statement, claiming that the authorities had received complaints that the pan-democratic weekend primaries "may have allegedly interfered with and manipulated" the elections.

A Bureau spokesman added that "the format, procedure and results of the so-called 'primaries' held by the pro-democratic camp" will not be "recognised nor approved".

Benny Tai reiterated that the government's statement was not reflecting the reality. The organization of the primaries did not involve any call for action. Whether to supoort or object the Financial Budget is a right enjoyed by the councillor. Tai said there is nothing breaching the law.

Tai also cited ordinance no. 22 and pointed out that objecting the financial budget in Hong Kong has nothing to do with subverting the Central Government. Tai did not see why the authorities insisted an expression of public opinion has something "illegal".

Source: RTHK; Stand News; InMedia #Jul14
#LiaisonOffice

Benny Tai Dismisses Beijing's Accusation of Primary Election in Hong Kong as ‘nonsense’ and ‘absurd'

PRC's Liaison Office on July 13 accused Legal scholar Benny Tai, coordinator of the primary election in Hong Kong, of trying to seize power in Hong Kong and launch a ‘colour revolution.’ Pro-Beijing figures and government officials in Hong Kong also claimed that the primary poll and the intent to veto the government's budget plan were a subvertion of state power.

Tai on July 14 dismissed Beijing's accusation as ‘nonsense’ and ‘absurd.’ Tai clearly indicated that the power to veto the government’s budget as a means to pressure the administration is fully authorised under the Basic Law.

“These are arrangements of the relationships between the executive and legislative authorities provided in the Basic Law. In no way that any unlawful means would be involved”, Tai wrote in a social media post.

“It is absurd for alleging this as subverting the state. Also, the allegation ignores the clear wordings of the Basic Law.”

He also rejected separate charges by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office that the primary had limited the right and freedom of people to run in the upcoming election.

“For those who joined the primary elections, they make their decision to run or not run in the official election independently. They are not under any form of coercion”, Tai wrote.

He said if the central government considers the 610,000 voters who cast ballots in the primary to have broken the law, “it will make governance even more difficult in the future and will provoke even more radical protests.”

“If they have not contravened any law, then any person assisting them in voting would also not be unlawful”, he added.

Democratic Party lawmaker James To echoed Tai’s contention that Beijing’s criticism of the primary election is “absurd.”

“The more the Beijing government or the related agencies attack us the better chance that we [will get more] support from the community, and the better chance that we may really have the opportunity to get a majority in the coming Legco.”

Source: RTHK #Jul14
#BennyTai

#PrimaryElection
Helena Wong not signing up for Legislative Council Election after loss

The pro-democracy primary election was held last weekend. More than 610,000 people participated and voted. The organizer, Power for Democracy, announced the preliminary electronic voting result. Helena Wong from the Democratic Party had less than four thousand votes, and was ranked seventh in a list which had eight people.

At a press conference today, Wong announced that she was not going to sign up for the Legislative council election this September. Even though the "protestor camp" ran the risk of being disqualified, she made the decision not to participate. At the press conference, Wong asked the public to treasure the experience of the members of the Democratic Party, and also asked for them to continue supporting the members of the Democratic Party.

Source: Stand News
#Jul14 #HelenaWong #DemocraticParty

#NatioanlSecurityLaw
HKU Student Union Refuse to Self-Censor under "National Security Law"

The Student Union of the University of Hong Kong reported on 11 July that the Lennon Walls on campus were vandalized by groups in white shirts. Today (14 July), the Student Union will be organizing a reconstruction of the Lennon Walls to encourage the freedom of expression on the campus.

Due to the resurgence of the pandemic, it will be not be a central event. The Student Union Chair, Edy Jeh called for the students to come and post messages at their own pace throughout the day.

She does not wish to see the Lennon Wall vandalized again, and she hopes to defend the students' freedom of speech on campus by not imposing restrictions on what can or cannot be posted.

Source: Stand News
#Jul14 #NSL #HKUStudentUnion #Censorship #LennonWall

#LegCo
Pro-Beijing Party Releases Plan for Legislative Council Election

//Hong Kong’s biggest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), has released its list of candidates for the Legislative Council elections in September, describing it as the most challenging poll it has ever faced.

The party holds 13 seats in the current council.

The party chair Starry Lee is to run for the District Council (second) superseat, with Kwun Tong district councillor Frankie Ngan second on the ballot.

Incumbents Horace Cheung (Hong Kong Island), Vincent Cheng (Kowloon West), Holden Chow and Ben Chan (New Territories West), Gary Chan and Elizabeth Quat (New Territories East) are all seeking re-election.

This means veterans Ann Chiang, Leung Che-cheung and Wong Ting-kwong are gone, as will be current lawmakers Wilson Or, and Edward Lau.

Former Wong Tai Sin district councillor Joe Lai is a late replacement for Or, who announced he's not running last month.

In the functional constituencies, Steven Ho will look to retain his seat in the agricultural and fisheries sector.

A local delegate to the mainland's top advisory body, lawyer Kennedy Wong, has recently joined the DAB, and will try to retain the Import and Export seat vacated by Wong Ting-kwong.

Sham Shui Po district councillor Lau Pui-yuk will contest Legco’s district council (first) seat, and former district councillor Eric Tam will run in the social welfare sector.

Briefing the media, the party leader Lee accused the opposition of trying to “mutually destruct” Hong Kong by vetoing all government proposals, including future budgets, and paralysing Legco.

She alleged that their plan is to force Beijing to have a bloody crackdown here, to pave way for sanctions from Western countries.//

Source: RTHK #Jul14

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#US #China #SouthChinaSea
US Officially Rejects China's So-Called 'Nine-Dash Line' Territorial Claims in South China Sea
 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has officially rejected Beijing’s claims on the portion of the South China Sea bounded by the so-called ‘nine-dash line’.  In a statement issued on 13th of July, Pompeo wrote that “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them”.  China has since objected strongly to this latest position.
 
In his statement, Pompeo emphasised that America aims to “preserve peace and stability, uphold freedom of the seas in a manner consistent with international law [and] maintain the unimpeded flow of commerce”.  He stressed that the US “oppose[s] any attempt to use coercion or force to settle disputes”, adding that these “deep and abiding interests” are shared by many of those of its allies who support “a rule-based international order”.
 
Pompeo further noted that China “has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region”.  Since first making its so-called ‘nine-dash line’ claims in 2009, Beijing has not given any coherent legal justification, according to Pompeo’s statement.
 
On 12th of July 2016, the ‘nine-dash line’ claims were ruled legally unsound in the final decision of the South China Sea Arbitration.
 
Pompeo stated that “the world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire”.  The US, he continued, will stand with its Southeast Asian allies in “protecting their sovereign rights to offshore resources, consistent with their rights and obligations under international law”.  Pompeo added that the US will “stand with the international community in defence of freedom of the seas and respect for sovereignty and reject any push to impose ‘might makes right’ in the South China Sea or the wider region”.
 
Source:  Stand News  #Jul14
 

#Finland #Extradition #1C1S
Finland Annuls Extradition Treaty with Hong Kong after China Enforces National Security Law in Hong Kong
 
After the National Security Law was put into effective in Hong Kong on 30 June 2020, Australia and Canada had both announced suspension of their extradition treaties with Hong Kong.  

On 13 July, Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto had also announced that under the Hong Kong National Security Law, the extradition treaty between Hong Kong and Finland would no longer be applicable. 
 
As stated in a Reuters report, Haavisto told a press conference that the current situation has changed from the time when Finland first signed the treaty, thus the extradition agreement with Hong Kong “should not be applied”.
 
Source:  Stand News  #Jul14
 

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Australia’s Visa Extension for Hongkongers: Media Analyses the Possibility of Chinese Communist Party's Infiltration and Names Prominent Hong Kong Officials with Family Members Residing in Australia
 
Following Australia’s announcement in offering “safe haven” to Hongkongers, Australian security experts and Hongkongers living in Australia have expressed concerns over Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and their supporters or family members obtaining residency through the policy, urging the Australian government to review applications stringently.
 
Hong Kong Pro-China Officials and Their Family Members Might Seize the Opportunity to Obtain Australian Residency
 
The Hong Kong National Security Law has sparked international concern.  Australia is expressly against the new law and has plans to offer “safe haven” to Hongkongers by extending their visas for a maximum of 5 years and offering opportunities to apply for permanent residency.  Some Australian nationals and immigrants from Hong Kong are worried that the new policy might give a pathway for families of CCP and HKSAR officials, the Hong Kong Police Force and their families or even CCP spies to obtain permanent residency.  The national newspaper The Australian has pointed out that Hong Kong’s Education Secretary Yeung Yun-hung, who has been leading efforts in censoring school textbooks, and Tam Yiu-chung, the only Hong Kong politician involved in the reviewing process of the national security law, both have family members residing in Australia.  Yeung’s son and daughter are both students in Australia, while Tam’s son is already an Australian citizen.
 
Hongkonger-Australians: We Don’t Want Oppressors to become Our Neighbours  
 
In an interview with the local media, Jane Poon, a spokesperson for an organisation of Hongkongers living in Australia called Australia-Hong Kong Link, talked about how it was a known fact that many Chinese nationals continue to serve the interest of China after obtaining permanent residency in Australia.  She stressed that many Hongkonger-Australians would like to urge the Australian government to consider conducting checks on political backgrounds, “A great number of Hongkonger-Australians still have family ties in Hong Kong.  They do not wish to see their oppressors making their way to Australia, or even becoming their neighbours.”
 
Source: Stand News #Jul14
 
Further reading:
Chinese Australians warn of sleeper agents
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/23508

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#Newspaper
U.S. Denounces China’s Claims to South China Sea as Unlawful

//The Trump administration rejected China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, reversing a previous policy of not taking sides in such disputes and escalating tensions with Beijing on yet another front.

//The move aligns the U.S. with a 2016 ruling by a United Nations tribunal that found China’s claims to waters also contested by the Philippines were unlawful.

//“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement Monday.

//China on Tuesday said the U.S. statement “neglected the history and facts” around issues concerning the South China Sea.

//Regional countries weighed in, with the Philippines urging China to “heed the call of the community of nations to follow international law and honor existing international agreements.”

//Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday that his country was “very concerned” about China’s recent activities in the waters.

//The top State Department official for East Asia, Assistant Secretary David Stilwell, said in an interview the U.S. hoped its announcement Monday would give cover to other nations in the region to contest their own claims against China. 

//Stilwell said the U.S. wants to talk to China but said such discussions need to be productive.


Source: #Jul14
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-13/u-s-denounces-china-s-claims-to-south-china-sea-as-unlawful?srnd=politics-vp

Climate Change Is Not a Reason to Give China a Pass on Human Rights

In a widely-publicized July 8 letter, four dozen American advocacy groups—including the Sunrise Movement and the Union of Concerned Scientists—demanded that President Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats reverse their “antagonistic posture” in favor of a more cooperative relationship with Beijing to “combat the climate crisis.” The signatories also attempted to frame the current administration’s China approach as a surrender to pressure on the right that’s counterproductive to global governance as well as responsible for xenophobia against individuals of East and Southeast Asian descent, and therefore “doing nothing to actually support the wellbeing of everyday people in either China or the United States.”

Source: Slate Magazine #Jul14

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/china-climate-change-democracy-human-rights.html

#Climate #China #HumanRights #JoeBiden