#NationalSecurityLaw #Visa #ForeignMedia #PressFreedom
Hong Kong's Immigration Department Suspected of Delaying and Denying Foreign Correspondents' Visas

The Foreign Correspondents' Club (#FCC) released a statement on 6 August 2020, indicating that multiple foreign correspondents in Hong Kong were having their visa renewal applications delayed.

Sources close to the Immigration Department revealed to Stand News that visa applications for foreign correspondents have to be double-checked by the "National Security Section" which had only been established in late June, 2020.

No public announcement has been made concerning the "National Security Section". The special section is currently under the jurisdiction of a Chief Immigration Officer who belongs to the "Quality Migrants and Mainland Residents Section" (#QMMR).

Sources said that the QMMR's office is located on the 6/F of the Immigration Headquarters, but that the officer working for the "National Security Section" does not work at that office. The Immigration Department Organisation Chart also had no mention of such an officer.

Sources also claimed that the Immigration Department had used technical reasons to hinder foreign correspondents' visa applications. For example, for a correspondent who had applied for a visa in 2018 with the status of an editor, were he/she found to have reported on the recent protests, the Immigration Department could delay or deny the application, citing the reason that their title reported and their current job are not consistent.

When processing the application, the Immigration Department also checked the correspondents' MPF (Mandatory Pension Fund) and wage records. Source said, "This wasn't necessary before. The guide on the [government's] website didn't state that it was necessary." However, the Immigration Department claimed that the check was to ensure that said media worker was really conducting regular work in Hong Kong. If it was found that the person was not paid for a few months, the authorities could claim that "the person does not no need to work in Hong Kong. Anyway, they are just making up excuses."

Source: Stand News #Aug12
#ImmigrationDepartment #FailedState

#Interview #Censorship

Politically outspoken "Comics Life" column removed from Ming Pao Weekly

"Comics Life" was a collaboration between five comic artists that focused on current social issues in Hong Kong. It featured a variety of styles ranging from the old black and white six panels, in salute to Old Master Q, to the more contemporary manga and graphic novel styles. After running for a little over a year, their efforts were cut short. Speculations over the cause waver between an innocuous change in content and pre-emptive self-censorship amid the National Security Law. Stand News interviewed three of the artists for their perspectives.

https://telegra.ph/Ming-Pao-Weekly-comics-completely-removed-Unwilling-to-be-deprived-of-my-due-rights-by-those-in-power-comic-artist-08-11

#ComicsLife #ComicArtist #MingPaoWeekly

#Speech #US #CCP
U.S. State Secretary Pompeo: "The Chinese Communist Party lies, and makes those who tell the truth disappear"

U.S. Secretary Pompeo delivered remarks at the Czech Senate, in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 12, 2020.

In his remarks, Secretary Pompeo indicated:

“It’s not tanks and guns. It’s very different from that. The CCP initiates retaliation against innocent parties when crossed. It infamously canceled the PFK Philharmonica’s trip to Beijing for something as simple as the mayor’s efforts to deepen ties with Taiwan. Shanghai cancelled its cooperation with Prague after this city signed a sister-city agreement with Taipei.”

“The CCP leverages economic power to coerce countries. Recall that the Chinese embassy in Prague sent a letter to your former senate president, who had hoped to visit Taiwan. Your free press did amazing work and reported on this strong-arming. The letter read as follows. It said, quote, ‘Czech enterprises with economic interests in China will have to pay,’ end of quote. This is deeply inconsistent with each of our values. The CCP lies, and makes those who tell the truth disappear.”

“Your senate president will make that trip to Taiwan later this month, fulfilling the wishes of his late predecessor. Good on him. Know too – know too that America is supporting you and will always do it.”

Watch the video:
https://youtu.be/oGaV5mD-x-I

Futher Reading:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/12/pompeo-chinese-threat-may-be-worse-than-cold-war-communism-394350

#HongKongChronicles #CUHKSiege #9Months #AcademicFreedom

November 11-15, 2019: Battle of #CUHK

Source: The People HK #Aug8
#BridgeNo2 #NeverForget #NeverForgive

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24236

#HongKongChronicles #CUHKSiege #9Months #AcademicFreedom

November 11-15, 2019: Battle of #CUHK

// Before the siege at PolyU, there was the violent battle at CUHK. The No. 2 Bridge shall be chronicled into history as the first battlefront for academic freedom.

It was then when I first heard the police shout, "There isn’t enough ammunition, order more to be sent from Wong Tai Sin!", the commander shouted into his intercom.

On the frontline at No.2 Bridge that day, the injured were carried away one by one. Burst eyes, shots to the chest, burnt arms and legs, respiratory problems from breathing in too much mace, and too many more. Yet as the injured retreated one by one, more took their place in the smoke and flames.

On that day, CUHK became a field hospital. Former President of the University Joseph Sung brought Hong Kong's top medical team. They, along with alumni and students, rushed back to defend the school, and as supplies kept coming through, the human chain soon reached from the No.2 Bridge to the School Gate.

On that day, I saw a young protestor go into cardiac arrest after breathing in too much mace. Luckily, he received cardiopulmonary resuscitation and he coughed out most of it, saving his life.

Do not forget what these young people have fought for. Do not forget our history. Chronicle every moment, for the regime is seeking to erase it. //

Source: The People HK #Aug8
#BridgeNo2 #NeverForget #NeverForgive

#1C1S #BasicLaw #Education
HK's Education Bureau disparages “Basic Law”, Claiming Constitution of PRC Applies in Hong Kong

In June, the Education Bureau launched a series of posters as teaching resources for “Constitution” and “Basic Law”. In one of the posters, it stated that the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China applies in Hong Kong; it also stated that Basic Law is not nationwide, so it cannot override Constitution of PRC.

A barrister in Hong Kong suspected the information to be a disparagement of Basic Law, claiming that Constitution of PRC and Basic Law should have the same judicial status in Hong Kong on a legal basis. Only Article 31 of Constitution of PRC is related to the establishment of HKSAR, whereas others are not applicable to Hong Kong.

Moreover, Apple Daily found on the internet that most of the information on that poster copied from a scholar in China supporting Constitution of the People Republic of China.

Source: Apple Daily #Aug13

Without Public Tender and Consultation, Hong Kong SAR Government Allegedly Transfers Benefits

Source: Stand News #Aug7

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24239

Without Public Tender and Consultation, Hong Kong SAR Government Allegedly Transfers Benefits

After arranging free voluntary Covid-19 test for residents in Tsz Wan Shan in July, on 7 Aug, Hong Kong's Home and Affair Department (HAD) announced the extension of the testing service to 86,000 people living in Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Tuen Mun and Yau Tsim Mong.

HAD also decided to collaborate with Tung Wah Group of Hospital, Yan Oi Tong and Mongkok Kai-Fong Association Chan Hing Social Service Center to collect samples. Sunrise Diagnostic Center under the controversial Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), will carry out the test.

As all tests conducted in Hong Kong's laboratories should be referred by registered doctors under the current laws in Hong Kong, the SAR government might have violated the regulation.

To make it worse, the SAR Government hasn’t shared any details nor answered any question regarding the selection procedures and criteria for laboratories and testing partners and, if any, the profit made by the government.

District Councillor codemned that the government did not consult and call for tenders openly, and this may involve the transferring of benefits. As many people of Hong Kong are still very worried about their DNA being collected Beijing as in the case of Xinjiang, many found the explanation of government unacceptable.

Source: Stand News #Aug7
#TransferringofInterests

#US #China
Made in .... : "Hong Kong is/not China?"

In response to Beijing's continuous encroachment of rights and freedom in Hong Kong, the U.S. demanded all export from Hong Kong to be labelled as “Made in China” from mid-September 2020 onwards.

Despite the outcry of the Hong Kong government, the move of the U.S. is trying to put an end to China’s "Heads I win, Tails you lose" wile to sully the city’s political autonomy while savoring economic benefits.

Source: Kit Man

#Aug12 #MadeinHongKong #MadeinChina #HKisNotChina #NationalSecurityLaw

#Newspaper

Will Swiss Banks Eventually Have to Leave Hong Kong?

//Swiss banks often have been blamed for lax controls and all-too-liberal approach to the choice of business opportunities.

//Swiss voters in November 2020 will have their say on a proposed law to make companies liable for human rights abuses that occur in connection with their activities abroad. This initiative would also increase the pressure on Swiss financial firms.

//In Hong Kong, the new national security law has put people under a new level of control, which also covers foreign banks. The new requirement may put (Swiss) banks on a collision course with the initiative as it could potentially lead to human rights infringements, impairing the banks’ strategies to grow in Asia and particularly China.

//All of Switzerland’s powerful global financial players have major operations in Hong Kong. They show little appetite to move away at a time when growth in markets such as the U.S. and Europe is adversely affected by a pandemic-induced recession.

//If the population votes in favor of the new law, Swiss banks will probably have to have a closer look at how they perform their business in Hong Kong.

Full Article: Finews, (06-Aug)
https://bit.ly/2PTqDqQ

#swissbanks #nationalsecuritylaw #humanrights #globalfinance

#OpinionArticle #NoStakeDoctor

Chinese coins are best for flipping

Source: Facebook

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24243

#OpinionArticle #NoStakeDoctor

Chinese coins are best for flipping

(6 Aug) "Don't worry! Even if the oropharyngeal swab's accuracy is the same as flipping a coin, as long as the coin is 'Made in China', it's exceptionally trustworthy! In the government we trust!"

If your parents or friends want to provide their DNA information to the Chinese company, BGI Genomics, in exchange for peace of mind, you can suggest that they flip a coin instead. It will be more convenient and efficient.

The following is from a Harvard University study that integrates more than 700 confirmed COVID-19 patients and over 3,000 samples, showing the Detection Rate of SARS-CoV-2 [using different methods]:
Oropharyngeal swab: 43% (95% CI: 34–52%)
Nasopharyngeal swab: 54% (95% CI: 41–67%)
Sputum sample: 71% (95% CI: 61–80%)

And the first thing the Chinese experts did when they arrived in Hong Kong was tell [us] Hongkongers to give up what we've already been doing. Instead, we had to switch to the 43% and 54% swab methods.

Even more worthy of mentioning is that taking a nasopharyngeal swab requires the medical practitioner to be in full protective garb whereas the deep throat [sputum] test doesn't. The patient merely needs to take the sample themselves and keep it in a container. Against all reason, the Chinese experts insisted that Hong Kong healthcare professionals take the more difficult route.

# HarvardResearchVSWuhanExperts
# ThinkForYourself
—
Mohammadi, Abbas, Esmaeilzadeh, Elmira, Li, Yijia, Bosch, Ronald J, & Li, Jonathan Z. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 detection in different respiratory sites: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EBioMedicine, 102903.

Source: Facebook
Translated by: Hong Kong Echo

#MadeInChina #VirusTesting #Accuracy #Coronavirus #DNA
#BGIGenomics #ChineseExperts

After the police dispersed foreign domestic helpers last week, the Labour Department today (15 Aug) sent temporary staff to explain the two-person gathering ban and mask orders in various Asian languages, displaying posters and distributing leaflets near the bridge of Mongkok train station. Ironically, this working group has more than two people and clearly violates the two-person gathering ban; however, the government likely invoked exemptions to legalize their own actions.

#FirstHand #Aug15 #GatheringBan #DomesticWorkers #GovernmentExemption

#China

Villa Becomes TV Protagonists’ Home?
Property Owner Demands TV Show Takedown and Compensation

Watching the television is about relaxation, but for Ms Lam who lives in Hangzhou, it was a cause for mounting anger. She found out, while binging a television show, that her villa had become the home of the protagonists. Her own bed was slept on by the female protagonist and the wine cellar in her basement became the setting for the protagonists’ rendezvous.

Ms Lam had called the police for help, but public security said the incident did not constitute a criminal offence. In her anger, she sued all 8 of the related companies, including the property management company and the television production company. She said, “We have not even lived in the house yet, and they have already exposed it all for me. That is to say, it is only under such intolerable circumstances that I am using the law as a weapon.”

However, it wasn't until being in the courtroom that Ms Lam learned that other television shows had been filmed in the house previously, in addition to the show she watched. Then who let the television crews in? Ms Lam suspected the property management company, as she handed them the villa's keys she bought it in 2015, out of consideration that she would not reside in it over long periods. They did, however, sign a confidential agreement that the keys would only be used in emergency situations.

Twice there was a change of property management companies, and both companies claimed to have no part in the incident. The television crew also clarified that they had communicated with the developer before filming and thought the villa was a show house, and did not constitute an intrusion. Mainland Chinese media have reported that the developer in question was a dishonest company that previously had not been able to be contacted, and is included in a list of corporations with questionable operations.

Ms Lam said that much of the furniture and equipment in the villa has been damaged, including the broken elevator in the house and the entrance door fingerprint lock, as well as tainted carpets and damaged walls because of camera set-ups. She demanded that either the television series be taken down or the scenes showing the villa be removed, along with an apology and compensation of CNY$3 million, to cover losses in property and invasion of privacy.

Source: Cable TV China Desk #Jul22

#Interview #RubyLeung #PoliceReport #Drama #HongKongPolice #PoliceImage

Former Police Report Host Resigns: “Do I have to support them even when they are wrong?”

Ruby Leung grew up watching Hong Kong police drama which often portrayed the police as heroic and righteous. So, it was natural that she would join the police force after graduating from university. Her work experience as a police officer ranged from patrolling to duties at the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau and the Special Duties Team. She even hosted the show Police Report (on #RTHK) which has been cancelled recently. However, she always found it difficult to accept the culture in the police force where dissenting voices are not well tolerated.

https://telegra.ph/Interview-Former-Police-Report-Host-Resigns-Do-I-have-to-support-them-even-when-they-are-wrong-08-14