#GlobalSupport #Korea
52 Korean Civil Society Organizations Denounce the Arrest of Pro-Democracy Figures by Hong Kong Police: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

//...freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression are basic human rights that must be guaranteed.

We also express our deep concern that the arrest of pro-democracy activists by Hong Kong police could aggravate the social division and confusion at a time when governments and citizens must cooperate to fight the global disaster situation of COVID-19.

...“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” the injustice occurring in Hong Kong is, after all, a threat to justice that should be guarded by democratic societies around the world.

Therefore, we will continue to stand in solidarity with the Hong Kong citizens’ peaceful resistance toward democracy till the end. We strongly urge the Hong Kong government to immediately cease its unjust and arbitrary arrests of pro-democracy activists.//

#Apr21

#Newspaper

South Koreans support Hong Kong as they recall their own struggle for freedom

//Two hundred people in black marched from Seoul City Hall to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in late November in support of the Hong Kong anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (anti- ELAB) Movement.

//They chanted slogans and held banners in Korean, English, and Chinese that read “We support Hong Kong Resistance”.

//“I stand with Hong Kong because their demands are fundamental human rights. And we believe the five demands are right,”

//South Korea has its own bloody history of democratic movements in the decades after the Korean War in the ’60s.

//“It saddens me to see citizens of Hong Kong getting hurt like what happened in Gwangju Uprising in 1980,” Kim sighs, a 57-year-old docent of the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju.

//“In both the Gwangju uprising and the anti-extradition bill movement, there is the suppression of democracy. Freedom of speech is violated and police officers do not face investigation for their brutality against protesters in Hong Kong,”

//“To help prevent a repeat of Gwangju history, some South Korean students have stood up to fight with Hong Kong,” Lim says, “And this is also why people in Gwangju support Hong Kong as well.”

//some South Koreans supporting Hong Kong’s democracy movement have also set up Lennon walls, mostly on campus, to encourage Hong Kong students studying in South Korea.

//“The saddest thing is that the students get hurt and die during their fight. I hope no one gets hurt any more […] I sincerely hope for the victory in Hong Kong,” said Bae Eun-sim, mother of Lee Han-yeol, who died after the June Democracy Movement of 1987.

//Despite strong resistance from Chinese students, a group of ordinary Korean citizens created a Facebook page, “Hong Kong Protest Lennon Wall in South Korea”, as a safer platform to express opinions and support the movement.

//While condemning vicious attacks on the physical Lennon Walls, the administrator stresses that they are not against any nationality and believe no discriminatory comments should be posted.

//Several other universities removing Lennon Walls on university campuses aroused suspicion about pressure from China.

//Students immediately responded to the measure and regarded it as further diminishing South Korea’s freedom of speech.

//“It is dubious. Some people think the South Korean media is being censored by pressure from pro-China groups,”

//“We ask Korean media to provide the public with in-depth reports that explain the root causes of the Hong Kong protest and its significance,” they say, “we would like to know the change in the social climate of Hong Kong after the 2019 Hong Kong local elections.”

Full article: HKFP, (4-May)

Further reading:
52 Korean Civil Society Organizations Denounce the Arrest of Pro-Democracy Figures by Hong Kong Police: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/19832
Support of Hongkongers' Pro-democracy Movement from Korea
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/16994
Korean supporters take a photo with "Five demands, not one less" gesture and post in #Instagram everyday
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/16155

#Korea #GlobalSupport #antiELAB #5demands #freedom #GwangjuUprising #LennoWall #Censorship #Democracy

#Newspaper

Digital fraud in the South Korean general election? Possibility of Chinese manipulation in the vote-counting machines
 
(1 Jun) South Korea's general election in April was a landslide victory for President Moon Jae-in's ruling Democratic Party. But since then, there have been allegations of election fraud.
 
According to East Asia Research, the election fraud is related to digital fraud. It is suspected that the vote-counting machines, computer hardware and software, as well as information network telecom equipment manufactured by China's Huawei Technologies, had been tampered with. There are also suspicions on the QR codes used for mail-in votes and early ballots.
 
East Asia Research said that the instructions needed to operate the vote-counting machines “can come from the QR codes on the early-vote ballots as they are counted, or it can also be sent from an external source to the vote-counting server via the Internet”.
 
The National Election Commission chose LG U+ 5G, which uses Huawei equipment, as the wireless network for pre-vote ballots. East Asia Research said that “servers used at the election sites could be connected to servers in China, and the user on the Chinese end could access the vote-counting machines”.

Source: Newsweek Japan
https://www.newsweekjapan.jp/stories/world/2020/06/post-93560.php

Further reading:
Were The April Parliamentary Elections In South Korea Rigged And Fraudulent?
https://www.ibtimes.com/were-april-parliamentary-elections-south-korea-rigged-fraudulent-2980943

#Korea #Election #DigitalFraud #ChineseInfiltration #Hauwei

#Newspaper

South Korean ruling party legislator: I don’t care what China thinks, I support the people of Hong Kong!
 
Although South Korean President Moon Jae-in has not stated his stance on Hong Kong’s protests, a legislator of his ruling Democratic Party made an unprecedented statement today on Hong Kong’s resistance to the national security law, saying that he stands with the people of Hong Kong and says no to the new law – he is Park Yong-jin.
 
In an exclusive interview with Chosun (a Korean media), Democratic Party legislator Park Yong-jin expressed his views on the issue of democracy and human rights in Hong Kong – “We can’t only care about what China thinks, Hongkongers should be able to enjoy basic human rights and a democratic system. Although it is difficult for the Korean government to formally state its view on the democratization of Hong Kong, I have decided to show my support after hearing some Hongkongers saying that they want to learn from South Korean’s fight for democracy.”
 
Another reason that drove Park to state his position had to do with what happened to Koreans in the past. “In the 1980s, the late former President Kim Dae-jung, a major political figure of the opposition party in Korea, was once sentenced to death under Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship. At that time, the international community made great efforts to save Kim Dae-jung. The prime ministers of Sweden, Austria, and other countries repeatedly voiced their support for the former president, which led to success in the end. Their contributions should not be ignored.”
 
In fact, this is not the first time that Park has voiced out on Hong Kong’s issue. During the anti-extradition movement last year, he made his intention clear to journalists, saying that he hopes monitor the situation in Hong Kong as a member of the international community, so that China would reduce its crackdown on Hong Kong. “Human rights are universal values affirmed by the United Nations. As a ruling party, we should not hesitate when speaking out for human rights and democracy. During the democratization of South Korea, countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan made many contributions to us. Of course, people like Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan expressed their discontent at that time, questioning why foreign countries would interfere in South Korea's internal affairs. I believe that it was only because of these foreign interferences monitoring the situation, the suppression towards South Korea’s fight for democracy was lessened. I hope it is the same for Hong Kong...”

So far, apart from Park Yong-jin, Ryo Ho-jeong, a legislator from South Korea’s Justice Party, has expressed her support for Hong Kong’s movement.

Source: Chosun, Facebook

#Korea #GlobalSupport #ParkYongjin #Humanrights #democracy #SaveHongKong

#NetizensVoice

An unforgettable Hong Kong protest photo for Koreans
 
(13 Jun)This week marks the anniversary of the Hong Kong protests since last June. There are moments that are particularly unforgettable to Koreans who are concerned about the developments in Hong Kong.
 
Recently, I saw a Korean online media re-posting a photo that was taken during last year's protests, and the journalist captioned the photo as “A girl’s doll and Hong Kong’s future”. Instead of crowds gathering or a rousing protest scene in the photo background, the photo only shows a small stuffed toy, abandoned on the ground.
 
The photo was taken during a protest last August, when a girl was arrested on the street, the string the small doll was hanging loosened and fell to the ground. The doll’s name is Cooky, a bunny designed by Jungkook from the Korean boy band BTS.
 
This heartbreaking scene, accompanied by the band's doll, of which the motto is 'Speak Yourself', touched a chord in the hearts of Koreans as they also worried that the photo would be a metaphor for Hong Kong’s future.

Source: Steve Chung
https://bit.ly/3egYSmL

#GlobalSupport #Korea #HongKongProtesters

#Newspaper

Behaviour of a PRC eSports Player Reflecting CCP fierce Suppression of Freedom Speech and Panic of HK Affairs

(30 Jul) Famous PRC esports player (GameID: Mlxg at Chinese League of Legend team RNG) was firstly ridiculed by a S.Korean Player at his live boardcast in the late night of 28 Jul 2020, Mlxg fought back by saying “u mom die (Your mom is dead)”, “I’m your father.”

However, in the next game when Mlxg was mocked by another S.Korean Player who directly typed “Free HongKong” in the dialogue box, Mlxg hurriedly deleted the dialogue box from his live screen and shut the game down immediately without any replies.

Seems it’s well-known by all PRC citizens that any speech touching on HK affairs will lead them into trouble; Mlxg's behaviour also reflects that the CCP's close monitoring of all online speech in PRC is already a publicly-known “secret”.

Well, FREE HONG KONG!

Source: Not A Gamer
https://bit.ly/2BQkTKZ

Translated by: Hong Kong Echo

#Censorship #eSports #Korea #GlobalSupport #FreeHongKong #FreedomOfSpeech #Mlxg

#OpinionArticle #WhiteTerror
Barrister Lawrence Lau: "Collective Punishment: We All Could Be Jimmy Lai"

//The day has finally come. Next Digital's Jimmy Lai was arrested for "colluding with foreign powers" - if he hadn't broken any laws before, they have now made one up for him. Ever since the National Security Law was passed on July 1, Lai was asked again and again whether he would leave the city. Again and again he said no; he would walk with Hongkongers, because Hong Kong is his home.

In this new age of One Country One System, what does "colluding with foreign powers" even include? Holding a conference with foreign academics? Using American eggs in your restaurant? There are no clear answers. What counts as "colluding with foreign powers" is entirely up to those up there, and them alone; it's collusion if they say so. This is the absurdity of the National Security Law: it runs completely contrary to what the modern world expects from the rule of law, that is, the letters of the law must clearly spell out its intents and requirements to the public, so that people can take care not to break it.

Two hundred Blue Berets marching into Apple Daily's offices seemed like a scene straight out of history movies, from Korea's Gwangju Uprising 40 years ago. In 1980, the military government stormed into a newspaper office and made indiscriminate arrests, trying to silence the news of their violent crackdown on the city. After the gunfire ceased, the government thought they had finally secured Gwangju for themselves; what they never imagined was that it spurred thousands of angry citizens onto the streets, ultimately leading to the democratization of Korea.

40 years later, we live in an age where information flows hundreds of times faster than in Gwangju, yet this totalitarian government is still trying to crack down on press freedom and stifle information flow in an attempt to keep us from the truth. Either they are stupid, or they no longer fear the consequences of their actions! If that is the case, then neither should they fear international sanctions. The treacherous acts of the Hong Kong Communists and evil police force have long been in plain sight of the international community. Government officials would be wise start buying plane tickets for their children studying abroad; just like Carrie Lam's son, they better hurry back to Hong Kong, and bask in the glory of China's Greater Bay Area - for the rest of their lives!//

Source: Lawrence Lau Wai-chung's Facebook #Aug10
#NationalSecurityLaw #FreedomOfPress #PoliticalOppression #JimmyLai #AppleDaily #NextMedia #Gwangju #Korea
#LawrenceLau

BTS Makes Award Speech in Remembrance of Shared History in Korean War. Mainland Netizens Say Award Commemorates US Army in the War, Decry Speech as Insulting and Ask BTS to Leave China

Bangtan Boys (BTS), a world-famous K-pop boy band with a huge following, received the James A. Van Fleet Award last Wednesday (Oct 7) for their contributions to promoting US-Korea relations. In their award speech, members mentioned the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War, saying, “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women.” The speech attracted criticisms from mainland netizens, who stated through Weibo that it insulted China, some even commented, “Go away, BTS has died”. The post in question received 1.66 million likes and 36 thousand comments.

The James A. Van Fleet Award was organised by US non-profit organisation The Korea Society and established in 1995 in commemoration of James A. Van Fleet, Commander of the US Eighth Army during the Korean War and Founder of the organisation. The award is mainly given to persons or organisations that promoted US-Korea relations. The award ceremony this year was held online last Wednesday, during which the BTS was given the award for their musical achievements, influence on fans globally and promotion of US-Korea relations. During the award speech, the group’s leader Kim Nam-joon (RM) mentioned that this year marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, which gave special significance to the organisation’s annual gala this year. “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women. After 70 years, the world we are living in is much closer than before, and boundaries in many aspects are getting more blurred.” Kim’s speech did not specify the two nations mentioned.

Source: Stand News #Oct11

#Korea #US #China #Weibo #BTS #AwardCeremony #TheKoreanSociety #JamesAVanFleetAward

https://bit.ly/2GVLPLM

BTS Accused of Insulting China in a Speech that Mentioned the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War
 
South Korean boy band BTS made remarks on the Korean War recently, resulting in the accusation of insulting China by some Chinese netizens.  Some business brands immediately removed products endorsed by BTS from Chinese websites, according to reports.
 
BTS was recently granted the General James A. Van Fleet Award for their contribution in promoting Korea-US relations through their musical works.  Their acceptance speech kicked off the controversy.
 
RM, the leader of BTS, said that this year was the 70th anniversary of the Korean War and “we will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together, and the sacrifices of the countless men and women”.  Chinese netizens accused this remark as insulting to China, claiming that BTS did not respect the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army who died heroically in the Korean War.  Some people even initiated a BTS boycott.
 
 
#Korea #US #China #ChineseNetizens #BTS #RM #KoreanUSrelation #VanFleetAward #KoreanWar
 
Source: Now News #Oct12

https://news.now.com/home/international/player?newsId=408791&refer=Share

Reports allege Chinese express companies has banned the import of BTS products. Korea JTBC reportly contacted the Chinese department to confirm the allegations.
 
Disputes between BTS and Chinese netizens last week, which aroused from Korean War remarks, was not settled by the clarification of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
 
There have been recent reports on Chinese social media platform, Weibo, that Chinese express companies have refused to transport BTS products to China. As statements emerged from the Weibo account of Chinese Yunda Express Company. On Monday afternoon the company posted that “packages related to BTS will not be mailed temporarily”, and the reason for the refusal was that “it is something everyone understands”.  
 
Later, there were rumours on the internet that two other Chinese express companies, YTO and Zhongtong, also imposed similar new regulations to not ship BTS products to China. However, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency yesterday, the relevant news was untrue.  
 
But on the same day, later in a JTBC evening news broadcast, a report suggested that reporters from the press department were talking directly with personnel from relevant departments of China Communications Corporation. It was confirmed that the company was not shipping BTS products to China. 
 
Source: Standnews #Oct21
 
#China #BTS #Korea #JTBC #CCP #KoreanWar #YTO #YonhapNews

China Reaches World’s Largest Free-Trade Agreement with 14 Countries and Set to Wield More Influence, US Urges Japan and Korea Not to Go Silent on Human Rights Issues

As the trade war between China and the US continues, China formally signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 15 November. Covering 30% of the global population and one-third of the world’s trade volume and economic output, the RCEP is considered the largest free-trade agreement in the world.

With the US withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), it is believed that China would assume leadership of the RCEP and increase its influence in Asia in doing so. The US stated earlier that it hopes that Japan and Korea, both in the RCEP, will remain vocal in support of human rights and democracy in China despite the partnership.

Source: Stand News #Nov15

#US #Japan #Korea #China #RCEP #Trade #Diplomacy #HumanRights

https://bit.ly/33mz0Cl

Kimchi: Koreans angry over attempted Chinese takeover

The South Korean Agriculture Ministry was quick to dismiss Chinese claims, insisting that kimchi is not merely fermented cabbage but a central part of the nation's food culture and that the industrial standards for kimchi were recognized by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization as long ago as 2001. In a statement, the ministry said the Chinese had been granted certification for pao cai, adding, "We need to understand that pao cai is different from kimchi."

Kimchi is an indispensable part of the Korean diet, with more than 2 million tons consumed every year. More than 90% of South Koreans say they eat kimchi at least once a day, with over 60% having it at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Source: DW #Dec03

https://www.dw.com/en/south-korea-china-row-over-kimchi/a-55808530

#Korea #Kimchi

South Korea plans to build a “Chinese Cultural City”, more than 600,000 people jointly signed against, denounce China’s stealing of kimchi and other culture 
 
Some reports stated that South Korea Gangwon do plans a project of building “Chinese Cultural City”, which caused local people to oppose. According to Korea Blue House’s petition website, there were already more than 601,000 people signed as of Monday morning (19April) in Hong Kong time, which claimed the local government revokes that project. Since the petition number is more than 200,000, the government needs to response.  
 
According to Korea English media The Korea Herald, Gangwon do and Chinese People signed a business agreement in 2019. That is, to build a Chinatown in Chuncheon Si and Hongcheon Si, the scale will be 10 times of the Incheon’s. That project is being stated for using revitalizing domestic tourism.  
 
The organiser of the petition judged why it must build a small China inside Korea and stated that the publics do not understand why people need to experience Chinese culture on their land, they strongly oppose the project. The organiser also stated, they opposed Gangwon do build hotels for Chinese tourists, and said the site is the largest historical site in the world, and many cultural relics have been excavated. He said, China tries to steal kimchi, hanbok and other culture which are unique to Korea, they should against China. 
 
Source: Stand News #Apr19

https://bit.ly/3dBx1Qg
 
#Korea #Culture #China #Chinatown #Petition #Kimchi #Hanbok  

#IntellectualProperty
Illegal downloads of #Netflix #Korea's original series "#SquidGame" are circulating in #China with #Mandarin subtitle

Source: Korea ChoongAnh Daily #Oct5

Read more
⬇️⬇️

#IntellectualProperty
Illegal downloads of #Netflix #Korea's original series "#SquidGame" are circulating in #China with #Mandarin subtitle

//Netflix is not available in China. Technically, people in China shouldn't be able to access the series due to the nation’s #GreatFirewall, but many are watching it anyway through illegal streaming and download websites.

Many Koreans are expressing disdain toward the rampant online piracy of Korean content in China, and the popularity of “Squid Game” has made the issue much more tangible...

“Even though Netflix is not available in China and the Chinese government has been pushing back against Korean content in recent years, there are always websites that distribute Korean shows illegally,” said Park Kyung-suk, a history professor at Yonsei University who specializes in modern Chinese history.

“When I was living in China, I found out some websites even charge money for Korean content that they pirated. Even when a website gets taken down, another one springs up right away.” 


According to the Korea Copyright Protection Agency, China is the top country of illegally distributing Korean cultural content — including television shows, films, webtoons and music — over the past five years. From 2017 until September this year, over 85,000 of the total 411,319 cases of copyright violation regarding Korean content happened in China, followed by the Philippines and Vietnam. Although not surprising considering China’s vast population, many Koreans express disdain that such a large viewership is consuming Korea’s intellectual property illegally. 
  
“The disdain boils down to the fact that although China consumes a large volume of Korean content, the Korean firms that created them receive none of the profit that they rightfully deserve,” said Lee Gyu-tag, an associate professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea.//

Source: Korea JoongAng Daily #Oct6
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/10/06/entertainment/television/squid-game-china-netflix-dalgona/20211006171306929.html

#StreamingWebsite #Illegal #CCP #Merchandise #Taobao #Copyright