📡Guardians of Hong Kong
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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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#Jan11 #TaiwanElection
A light-hearted satire of China losing its influence in Hong Kong and Taiwan


Netizens on various social media platforms shared an old picture of Wong Zhiwen (right), Director of China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong and Han Kuo-yu (left), Taiwan presidential candidate, sharing a gentlemen's handshake.

This picture was specially selected to ridicule the loss of influence from the pro-Beijing powers in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It was no coincidence that both of these gentlemen have recently been kicked out of their offices, one after another on January 4 and January 11.

Netizens also poked fun at the photo, leaving sarcastic comments such as describing this picture to be “China's Way of Standing Together”.

*This picture was taken during Han Kao-yu's visit to Hong Kong in March 2019. Back then Han was the Mayor of Kaohisung while Wong was the Director of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government
#ChinesePneumonia
Microbiologist in Hong Kong: Wuhan Pneumonia is a new SARS virus originated from bats; too early to quantify the scale of outbreak

According to Yuen Kwok-yung , Chair Professor of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, the gene map of Wuhan New Coronavirus is similar to the SARS coronavirus derived from bats. He said, “the new virimus is 80% similar to bat, civet, and human SARS viruses”.

From the analysis of viral gene sequencing, the viral genetic test currently in use in Hong Kong is valid. All patients who developed fever or pneumonia after visiting Wuhan, have responded negatively to the new Wuhan coronavirus.

At the moment, 1 person has died in Wuhan as China's state media announced on January 11. Another 7 are still in serious condition, together they accounted for about 20% of the total infected cases.

Yuen analysed that the proportion is not too low, he also cautioned that Hong Kong should learn from SARS experience, and that all preventive measures should not be relaxed to avoid possible large-scale outbreaks.

Source: Commercial Radio HK
#Jan11 #batvirus
#LennonWall
Police Alarmed Despite Citizens' Peaceful Activities Nearby Lennon Walls


As citizens rebuilt the Lennon Wall in different districts on January 11, police were deployed to patrol frequently, despite that Lennon Wall has been a very peaceful means of expression.

In the “Lennon Tunnel” nearby Tai Po Market Railway Station, several patrolling policemen record the posters about the Police Force with their phones.

Source: The Stand News #Jan11
White Terror Looms in Hong Kong as Schools Ask to Ditch Debate Topics on Anti-extradition Bill

White terror continues to loom among schools in Hong Kong. One of the debate topics selected by Hong Kong Schools Debate Federation this year was associated with Anti-Extradition Bill, and was then criticized by pro-Beijing newspaper and Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, also a pro-Beijing organisation. Sources of Apple Daily revealed that Education Bureau has been calling down the list of participating schools, exerting pressure on them to withdraw, saying “its is not advisable to discuss sensitive issues amid a sensitive time”. It was also said that schools were asked to provide names of those students refused to quit.

Besides, major sponsoring bodies of schools, including Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong and Shun Tak Fraternal Association also made contact with and advised their respective subsidizing schools to withdraw from the contest.

The Federation confirmed that 17 schools has withdrawn from this year’s debate contest so far, among which 5 were Government Schools. The Education Bureau had not responded to whether they had been pressurizing participating schools to drop out. However, the Bureau did stress that students should not participate in any contest that is politically coloured, fearing that it may affect their wellbeing.

Source: Apple Daily
http://bit.ly/2QHxYLh

#Jan11 #WhiteTerror #Schools #EducationBureau #Debate #Academia
#FirstHand #Jan11 #LennonWall
Lennon Wall at Percival Street, Causeway Bay
#Wuhan #ChinaPneumonia
3 new cases of Novel Coronavirus in Zhuhai, China

According to the Hygiene and Health Department of Zhuhai, 3 new cases of New SARS was confirmed, otherwise known as the Wuhan Pneumonia.

The Beijing News reported that the cases are a family of three, in which the parents arrived at their daughter’s residence at Zhuhai from Wuhan on #Jan11. The 78-year-old father fell ill, who was later confirmed to be a suspected case and admitted to the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University for isolation. Subsequently, the mother and daughter started to develop symptoms like a high temperature, who were sent for isolation on #Jan18. Shortly after, their conditions were also diagnosed as having the New SARS.

Source: Apple Daily #Jan21

Editor’s Note:
Zhuhai is a key trading and transportation centre in China and the only mainland city that shared borders with both Macau and Hong Kong. An outbreak there could lead to a plague in one of China’s most populous and prosperous regions.
#Injustice #Court #Censorship
HK Judge Orders Lawyer and Defendant's Family to Leave the Courtroom for Wearing Yellow Masks During a Trial

District Judge Ernest Lin demanded a lawyer and two family members of defendants, who were wearing yellow-color surgical masks, to leave the courtroom or change into masks of other colors.

While the lawyer has obliged, others refused to comply and are planning to file a complaint.

Four defendants pleaded guilty to illegal assembly and assault in a hearing on January 11, 2021. They were arrested in a conflict with pro-Beijing counter-protesters at a rally at Amoy Plaza in September 2019, which saw three people injured.

Source: Stand News; Apple Daily #Jan11

https://www.thestandnews.com/court/淘大衝突-四男認非法集結-法官練錦鴻趕戴黃口罩律師離席-質疑現場-黃背心-暴動/

#YellowMasks
#RuleofLaw #HKBA
Chairman of HK Bar Association: Secretary for Justice Needs to Stop Unprincipled Attacks on #JudicialIndependence

Source: Stand News, #Jan11

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#RuleofLaw #HKBA
Chairman of HK Bar Association: Secretary for Justice Needs to Stop Unprincipled Attacks on #JudicialIndependence

In his speech marking the opening of the Legal Year on 11 January 2021, Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, #PhilipDykes talked about judicial independence imperative to maintaining the Rule of Law in Hong Kong.

Dykes said his main concern were accusations that judges had acted out of partiality or bad faith “for no reason other than that they happened to decide a case one way rather than the other. Or because the result does not fit a political or moral agenda.”

He opined that these attacks on the judges “are pure poison” and it is the justice secretary’s responsibility to ensure accountability for these acts. He added, “If nothing is done about attacks, they will undermine confidence and respect for the courts and the administration of justice will slowly evaporate.”

Dykes stressed that “Without independent-minded lawyers, you will not have independent-minded judges.” “Independence at the Bar means being bold in defense and, where necessary, bold in aggression. It means barristers will take on unpopular causes and stick doggedly with them and not being swayed by negative opinions about them or their clients.”

He further elaborated that “the Judiciary is, notoriously, weaker than the other branches of Government whose functions, duties and powers are described in Chapter IV Basic Law”.

"The Judiciary commands no army or police force nor can it appeal to a sympathetic political electorate for support. It must demonstrate its worth in the constitutional order by commanding the people's respect through its commitment to the Rule of Law, which means, essentially, administering justice 'without fear or favour, self-interest or deceit."

"When there is a creeping barrage of baseless criticism that supposes that judges are politically biased, incompetent or dishonest, the damage is done not so much to the judges, who have broad backs, but to the Judiciary as an institution."

Dykes wrapped up his address hoping that “common sense prevails and that people see that conscienceless attacks on the Judiciary do no one any good. They eat away at society's respect for the Law, which is necessary for judicial independence.”

He carried on saying, "without judicial independence, a pearl of great price, we might as well pack up our bags and steal away for Hong Kong is nothing without it.”

Source: Stand News, #Jan11

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Read Philip Dykes’ full speech
Speech of the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, Philip Dykes SC, at the Opening of the Legal Year 2021, dated 11 January 2021

https://www.hkba.org/sites/default/files/20210111-Speech%20of%20Bar%20Chairman%20at%20Opening%20of%20Legal%20Year%202021%20%28E%29.pdf
#106Crackdown
#US National Security Advisor calls the #MassArrest of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong another nail on the coffin of Hong Kong democracy

Source: Apple Daily #Jan11

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#106Crackdown
#US National Security Advisor calls the #MassArrest of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong another nail on the coffin of Hong Kong democracy

US National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien wrote in his statement on Monday, January 11, 2021, that as early as May 2020, the Trump Administration foresaw and declared the death of Hong Kong’s free and open society at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (#CCP).

He elaborated further saying that “Just as China ignored its international obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, it continues to do so with the International Health Regulations.”

Calling it a “politicized arrest”, O’Brien opined that the #MassArrest on January 6 of more than 50 people for exercising their political rights guaranteed under the Basic Law, is the latest of many successive nails that Beijing has driven into the coffin of Hong Kong democracy.

He called for the world to stop paying “heavy prices for its naiveté and complicity in Beijing’s irresponsible and harmful practices”.

O’Brien closed his statement by saying that the US is examining further options to respond.

Source: Apple Daily, #Jan11
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20210111/XHGIWBGSUFGPHJFX2WEURNQD2Y/

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Read full statement
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-national-security-advisor-robert-c-obrien-011121/
#Court #Complaint
#Judiciary Annual Report 2020 reveals 91% of complaint cases concerning 1 pro-establishment judge's biased verdict

Source: Stand News, #Jan11

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#Court #Complaint
#Judiciary Annual Report 2020 reveals 91% of complaint cases concerning 1 pro-establishment judge's biased verdict

On January 11, 2021, the Hong Kong Judiciary released its Annual Report 2020, in which it acknowledged a significant increase in the number of complaints against judges and members of the judiciary during the year of report.

As at 30 September 2020, there were 4,700 complaints, the highest number since 2002. The upsurge stemmed mainly from one case (4,286 complaints) which accounted for 91% of all complaints.

The annual report stated that the complaint case involved a District Court judge and his verdict on one pro-ELAB protest incident was considered biased. It also stated that the Chief Justice has reviewed this case and conceded that the District Judge's comment could have compromised the public's confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. The concerning judge was then being excluded from handling cases involving a similar political context.

It was suspected that the mentioned case concerned #KwokWaiKin’s verdict on Taipo #LennonWall attack last April. In Kowk’s verdict, he described the defendant was himself a "victim" of the anti-government unrest and he praised him for turning himself in as “showing noble qualities”.

#HKProtest

Source: Stand News, #Jan11

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Read more about the District Judge’s verdict concerning Taipo Lennon Wall Attack

District Judge Praises Defendent who Attacked Pro-Democracy Protesters for "'Displaying Noble Qualities”
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/19826
British media: China deletes 300 studies from Wuhan Institute of Virology, including all research By “bat expert” Shi Zhengli

Source: Apple Daily #Jan11

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British media: China deletes 300 studies from Wuhan Institute of Virology, including all research By “bat expert” Shi Zhengli

British media The Mail on Sunday found that many important materials related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China published by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) are no longer available online, and are suspected to have been removed by the authority, causing a new round of controversy over suspected concealment of the epidemic by the Chinese government.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is suspected to be the source of the virus, and hundreds of pages of information have been deleted, including the research conducted by the Wuhan Institute of Virology and research data of Shi Zhengli, director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases. The 56-year-old Shi Zhengli, known as “batwoman”, who often collecting samples for research from bat caves, is regarded as a key figure who knows the source of the virus. The report pointed out that more than 300 studies published by NSFC, including those on animal-to-human diseases, were no longer available. Dozens of studies that were available online were deleted by the state-run institution, including research by Shi Zhengli.

According to the report, studies related to the risk of spreading the SARS-like coronavirus from bats and investigation into human pathogens carried by bats have disappeared, both of which are regards as importing clues to the source of the virus. It revealed China's attempted to hinder the investigation into the source of the virus. Iain Duncan Smith, a Former Leader of the British Conservative Party and member of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, pointed out that China is trying to hide the evidences, “It is vital that there is a thorough investigation into what happened but China seems to be doing all it can to stop that happening,” he said.

Source: Apple Daily #Jan11

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20210111/FEZPFC5ABNGWBLVVPO52DKN3SQ/

#COVID19 #SARS #Virus #China #WuhanInstituteOfVirology #ShiZhengli #Bat #CrossSpeciesInfection #NaturalScienceFoundationOfChina #NSFC #TheMailOnSunday
#Asylum #SafeHaven
Australian Senator Urges Australian Government to Accept Hongkongers Holding #BNO Passports

Source: Stand News #Jan11

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