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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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#PressFreedom
Press Freedom in HK at Record Low

Footage of last night's protest in #MongKok shows the police ordering journalists to kneel down as they were detained, forcing reporters to stop filming and hurling intimidating remarks, asking reporters who were crying out of fear to “cry louder”, sarcastically.

The police also ordered reporters to read out their ID numbers, full names and company in front of cameras. Some reporters and cameramen were pepper sprayed, they were then forced to not clean the stinging chemicals off by the very police officers who deployed it on them.

It has been a common occurrence for reporters to be arrested and taken away to police stations.

Other than getting arrested, reporters run an extremely high risk of getting intentionally hurt by police officers too. Veby, an Indonesia reporter, lost her right eye after being hit by a rubber bullet by the police.

Hong Kong Journalists Association expressed their displeasure at polices' insults yesterday (10 May). The Association also conducted a survey, showing that both the public and journalists think that the city’s press freedom has deteriorated to a record low, mainly due to “threatened personal safety of reporters when covering news” and “difficulties encountered when gathering information”. In fact, two-thirds of the interviewed journalists said that they had been treated violently by police or groups of people with “obvious political stands”.

Source: Ming Pao; Now News; RTHK News; Cable News
#May11 #PoliceState #PoliceBrutality #HKPress #Veby
#DailyUpdate #May11 #COVID19

COVID-19 Updates (May 11th)

At the time of writing, 4,218,049 cases of the coronavirus had been confirmed with 284,748 deaths. 1,506,743 have recovered.

Hong Kong has no new cases today. It has been 22 days since the last local case.

2.83 million Hong Kong residents have registered for the “Cumask”, the mask would start be distributed from today onwards.

Alfred Sit, Hong Kong Secretary for Innovation and Technology, refuses to disclose the vendor of raw materials due to worry about supplies.

Doctors found out that COVID-19 symptoms can present from head to toes.

Singapore labs have mistakenly treated 33 negative tests as positive.

In Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration on 20 May would center on “anti-epidemic”. There would be no celebration ceremony or banquets.

China has reported 10 local cases, with 5 of them located in Wuhan, the origin of the virus. It has been a month since last coronavirus case was reported in Wuhan. A local official in Wuhan was immediately fired due to mismanagement.

The Shanghai Disneyland Park has reopened.

35 new cases reported in South Korea, mostly from a nightclub infection group. 3 soldiers also contracted the virus.

With bounce back in Wuhan and South Korea, experts worry whether anti-epidemic measures should be loosen.

A press secretary of American Vice President Mike Pence has contracted the virus. However Pence would not self-isolate.

Staff members in elderly homes in state of New York are required to undergo virus inspection once in 2 weeks.

WHO director Tedros denied the say that he delayed the announcement of the virus’ ability to transmit among human and pandemic due to pressure from Chinese chairman Xi Jinping.

Entrants to the United Kingdom, except those from France, are required to self-quarantine.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced reopening the society conditionally and in stages. However regions outside England declared they may not follow the instructions.

With multiple countries in Europe have decreasing new death numbers per day, control measures are lightened.

Source: Now News, Worldometer, Apple Daily
#PoliceState #MassArrest
Hong Kong Police Randomly Arrest Over 200 Young People on Mother's Day, Families Wait Outside Police Station Overnight

Among the 230 people arrested by the Hong Kong police on May 10, most of them are in their teens; however, police had never disclosed the cause of the arrest.

Between 10 and 11 May, over 50 people waited overnight outside the Hung Hom Police Station, hoping to get news of their family members. A mother of a 14-year-old said her son was still getting his fingerprints recorded and the police said he would not be released shortly.

At 10:30 on May 11, some arrestees walked out of the station and said they were charged with "illegal assembly".

In the morning of May 11, a middle-aged woman prayed outside the station for the sake of the arrestees. According to sources, she had also prayed for 22-year-old Chow Tsz-lok outside the ICU of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in November 2019.

Source: Apple Daily #May11
#Mothersday #Pray #Family

Read: Arrestees' Families Wait On
Media is too big
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#PoliceState
Legislative Councilor Roy Kwong: Never get numbed by Injustice

On Mother's Day, police arrested at least 230 people in Hong Kong. Among them was Roy Kwong Chun-yu, a pro-democracy legislator, who was violently pushed onto the ground with the riot police's knee pressing against his head.

Watch video

Police later claimed that Kwong had thrown a water bottle in the direction of an officer and was arrested for "public misconduct". Kwong was admitted to the hospital.

Kwong reiterated that he was monitoring police operations on the frontline and buffered the conflict between the police and the public. In a video filmed by Undergrad from HKU Student Union, Kwong in white was holding a loud speaker with his two hands, making it quite impossible to throw a water bottle.

Although Kwong was released unconditionally on May 11, the lawmaker reminded Hongkongers not to get numbed by injustice: "we have our rights to the street".

Source: Stand News; Inmedia; Undergrad #May11
#RoyKwong #MothersDay
#RuleofLaw #LegCo #Assault
Police Ignore Assault Case, Pro-democracy lawmaker: "Does the rule of law only serve Beijing loyalists?"

Pro-democracy lawmaker Ray Chan of People Power was pulled and dragged along the floor by Beijing loyalist Kwok Wai-keung of Federation of Trade Unions, during the Legislative Council's House Committee meeting on May 8. The clash has caused Chan's spinal disk to slip.

On May 11, Chan made a report to the police at the Police Headquarters. Chan condemned the police for taking no action, despite that the assault has been filmed and broadcast in the news. Chan said the police called him, but only to tell him "not to have more than 8 people [the gather ban]".

Chan plans to launch a private prosecution against Kwok, but has to crowdfund HK$1 million. Chan expressed his utmost disappoinment at the police and Department of Justice: "Is the rule of law only serving the Beijing loyalists?"

Source: InMedia; RTHK #May11
#RayChan

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20612
#HongKongPolice
More Top Police Officials Found Breaching Property Law

The commandant of the auxiliary police force, Yang Joe-tsi, has allegedly violated property law.

Illegal structure was suspected in Yang's village house in Sai Kung. According to an investigative report by Mingpao, the structure is half the size of the rooftop and covered by solar panels.

Yang, however, is not the only top police official in Hong Kong who might have breached the property law. Police commissioner Chris Tang, Commander Rupert Dover, Chief superintendent David John Jordan and superintendent Vasco Gareth Llewellyn Williams (known for his "yellow object" remark) were discovered to have similar structures and licensing issues at their houses.

In addition, at least four police officers were allegedly connected to a drug slash.

Source: Apple Daily; RTHK #May11
#AsiasFinest #PoliceLies

Further Reading:
Hong Kong police top brass embroiled in property scandals
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
#PoliceState
Evidence of Police Brutality Against Reporters and Civilians on Mother's Day

On the night of May 11, 2020, riot police used pepper spray and batons to attack reporterson and civilians on the street of Hong Kong.

Source: DB channel (Alex Chan)

#May11 #PoliceBrutality #MothersDay #PressFreedom

Carrie Lam after Reading Police Review Report: Will Seek Ways to Monitor News
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20811
#CulturalRevolution
Government Blames Liberal Studies for Generating Different Opinions in HK

In an interview with China-funded, pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao, Carrie Lam drew an analogy of education in Hong Kong to “a doorless chicken coop without supervision".

Responding to the criticism launched by the Chinese Communist Party media and Beijing loyalists on Hong Kong public exam for "not being patriotic", Lam reiterated that the issues raised by Beijing would be dealt with as the future of Liberal Studies would be announced this year.

Conjoining Beijing, Lam blamed subjects like Liberal Studies for having been "infiltrated" and that "some people intentionally disseminated false and biased information in schools". Lam concluded "stringent control is required."

Since Beijing's open attack of Hong Kong's legislature and education system, the local population are worried that China's "Cultural Revolution" tactics will be applied in Hong Kong.

Source: Now News #May11 #LiberalStudies #Censorship
#Border #FailedState
Carrie Lam declares to lessen border control, yet tightens education censorship

In an interview with China-funded newspaper, Ta Kung Pao, Chief Executive Carrie Lam proclaimed that Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have aligned to concurrently lessen border control measures, exempting more people to commute through borders of these three cities without undergoing mandatory quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic. Prescribed requirements for such exemption may include a dedicated cause and medical surveillance, a requirement similar to the current practice of cross-boundary drivers. Lam hoped for an agreement to be reached within this month.

As for the arrangement for cross-border students to enter the city for studies, Lam said these students are scattered across multiple locations, so the issue would be dealt with when all borders are about to resume normal operations.

Source: Now News #May11
#WuhanPneumomia #Macau #Zhuhai
#FailedState #App
Government Spends 10 mil on 2 Redundant Apps

The Hong Kong Government has recently pumped in a large sum of money into developing two cellphone apps.

It costs HKD5 million to develop each app, with 4 million dollars being subsidized by the government. The two apps were developed by the "North Point Neighbour Association” and a health prompting group.

There have been doubts about how useful these apps actually are. Some of the elderly felt that there was no need for an app to be developed to teach them how to exercise. Many of them claimed that they would rather watch and learn it on Youtube.

It has been discovered that these two apps were developed by the same company. Subject matter experts were interviewed about these apps, and they estimated the cost to develop these apps to be 50% of whatever the government spent. In total, 10 million Hong Kong dollars was spent in developing two redundant apps, when it could have cost half the price.

Source: Cable News #May11
#HKGovernment
#FailedState #Misconduct
Director of #NationalSecurity Police in Hong Kong On Leave After Visiting Unlicensed Massage Parlour

#FredericChoi, a senior assistant commissioner and director of the national security police, is currently on leave, pending investigation for misconduct.

Choi has been regarded as a candiate for the next police commissioner.

According to the police, Choi was found visiting unlicensed message parlour.

Source: Stand News #May11
https://bit.ly/2Szzy5c

#MassageParlour
Army of fake fans boosts China’s messaging on Twitter

China’s ruling Communist Party has opened a new front in its long, ambitious war to shape global public opinion: Western social media.

Liu Xiaoming, who recently stepped down as China’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, is one of the party’s most successful foot soldiers on this evolving online battlefield. He joined Twitter in October 2019, as scores of Chinese diplomats surged onto Twitter and Facebook, which are both banned in China.

Since then, Liu has deftly elevated his public profile, gaining a following of more than 119,000 as he transformed himself into an exemplar of China’s new sharp-edged “wolf warrior” diplomacy, a term borrowed from the title of a top-grossing Chinese action movie.

Source: AP News #May11

https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-china-europe-middle-east-government-and-politics-62b13895aa6665ae4d887dcc8d196dfc
 
#Army #Fake #China #Twitter
Greta Thunberg and China bump heads over emissions

Greta Thunberg has made an enemy out of China which says she is uneducated and prone to being “manipulated” after the activist said climate change can’t be solved unless Beijing makes a drastic course correction on emissions.

“Thunberg, who at age 15 started skipping school on Fridays for her climate protests, is merely 18 years old this year,” Chinese propaganda mouthpiece the Global Times said.

“She is short of sufficient academic knowledge study, and lack of sound self-judgment capability.

“Girl like her is prone to be affected or even manipulated by some political forces.

Source: Sky News Australia #May11

https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6253586885001

 #GretaThunberg #China #Beijing #Twitter
Germany slams Hungary for blocking EU criticism of China on Hong Kong
 

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday lambasted Hungary for an “absolutely incomprehensible” decision to block an EU statement accusing Beijing of cracking down on democracy in Hong Kong.
 EU foreign ministers have been unable to adopt the text even though diplomats said it had already been watered down to get Hungary’s backing. EU foreign policy decisions require unanimity to pass.

“This is not the first time that Hungary has broken away from [the EU’s] unity when it comes to the issue of China,” Maas told reporters after the latest meeting of the bloc’s Foreign Affairs Council on Monday.
 
Source: Politico #May11

https://t.co/ScFSOubnp3

#Hungary #Germany #Hungary #EU #China #HongKong
 
“What comes today is the stained hands of a tyrant”: #YellowRaincoatMan’s Last Words Found

The Coroner's inquest into the death of #MarcoLeung “Yellow Raincoat Man" took place during which a notebook with his last words was exhibited.

“I am frustrated to this Hong Kong
whose answers to its future for
months I have sought yet not found

What comes today is my will
but also from the stained hands of the tyrant.”

“Fully withdraw Extradition to China
Release all students
We are not rioters
Carrie Lam must go”

Found in his remains is also a filled registration card of a wish for green burial, which means he chooses to bury by scattering his cremains in Gardens of Remembrance or at Sea.

Leung’s family has tried to approach the police in June 2019 and June 2020 for three times. Yet 2 days after they have given their statement, they left Hong Kong on the morning of 29 August 2019 and didn’t have any other travel records ever since.

Source: Stand News; InMedia #May11

https://bit.ly/3hivrVM
https://bit.ly/3xZI
Britain should invite Taiwan to the G7 and Cop26
 

The UK is in the middle of its most important foreign policy pivot of this century, as it moves away from the EU and tries to carve out an independent place on the world stage. Ministers like to call this new vision “Global Britain”. And one of the most significant changes in strategic stance so far has been a shift of attention towards the Indo-Pacific region. If Britain wants to play a significant role in that area, it should get as close as possible to Taiwan.
 
Source: The Times #May11

https://t.co/8dqJr7RWkd

#Britain #Taiwan #G7 #EU
A 612 trustee was taken away at the HK airport

Source: Inmedia #May11

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A 612 trustee was taken away at the HK airport

Dr Po-Keung Hui, one of the Trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund (which had ceased its operations), was allegedly taken away by the Hong Kong Police at the Hong Kong International Airport when he was leaving Hong Kong. Inmedia is inquiring the police about the incident. Denise Ho, who is another trustee of the fund, said she is currently safe upon Inmedia’s inquiry through her assistant.

The 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund was established on 15 June 2019. Its aim was to provide humanitarian support, such as medical, mental, psychological, legal assistance, to those injured or arrested during the anti-extradition bill movement.

Fund trustees included Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun, the Cardinal of the Catholic Church, Dr. Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, practising barista, Dr. Po-Keung Hui, the Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departure of Cultural Studies at the Lingnan University, Cyd Ho Sau-Lan, a former LegCo member, and singer Denise Ho. Cyd Ho is currently serving time in jail.

The Fund announced in 2021 August that since the Alliance for True Democracy was about to dissolve, they no longer had a valid bank account, and would cease operation. The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force then announced that the Fund was under investigation due to violating the National Security Law. The department issued an order to make material available as well as demanded both the Fund and the Alliance to hand over a source of income and donor information.

Source: Inmedia #May11

https://bit.ly/3L4K22f

#HuiPoKeung #612Funds #612HumanitarianReliefFund #AntiELABmovement #NSL #NationalSecurityLaw #colludingwithforeignforces