#HongkongersVoice #Court
Hong Kong Young Pro-democracy Activists #JoshuaWong, #AgnesChow and #IvanLam Tell Fellow Hongkongers Not to Be Afraid Before Their Trial

Image: City Magazine, Jan 2013
Source: Joshua Wong's FB; Agnes Chow's FB #Nov22

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26871

#HongkongersVoice #Court
Hong Kong Young Pro-democracy Activists #JoshuaWong, #AgnesChow and #IvanLam Tell Fellow Hongkongers Not to Be Afraid Before Their Trial

Pro-democracy activists Agnes Chow Ting, Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Ivan Lam Long-yin, who were former members of the now-disbanded Demosisto, will face trial at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on November 23, 2020.

Ivan Lam, aged 26 years old, is two years older than the 1996-born Agnes Chow and Joshua Wong.

Seven years ago, the trio were featured in the cover story of City Magazine, under the title "The Reflection of Scholarisn: Young Power: Post-1990s in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China". As the founding members of Scholarism, the trio were interviewed by the magazine for their roles as secondary school students in rejuvenating social activism in the city.

Seven years later, the trio, like their fellow Hongkongers, faced great adversities in the fight for freedom and democracy. In addition to this case regarding a protest outside the police headquarters in June 2019, Agnes Chow is facing another charge of violating the national security law.

As the three planned to plead guilty in court on November 23, 2020, immediate detention might follow.

[Editor's update on Nov 23, 2020:

Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam are immediately detained after being convicted in court on Nov 23. They told Hongkongers to fight on.

Read here:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26879]

Image: City Magazine, Jan 2013
Source: Joshua Wong's FB; Agnes Chow's FB #Nov22

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Read more:

#FreeAgnes
Agnes Chow Shares her Feelings on Social Media Before Trial
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26866

#JoshuaWong Reveals Abuse of Pro-Democracy Student in HK's Prison Before Own Trial
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26869

#Court
Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam Are Immediately Detained: "Fight On"

Joshua Wong told Hongkongers to never give up the fight for freedom and "it is not a time to kowtow to Beijing". "It's even more precious to help each other up" during the low tide.

Ivan Lam said whether the protest outside the police headquarters is a crime or a righteous act, "Hongkongers have the answer in their heart". Lam said their belief never changes.

Agnes Chow expressed anxiety towards her first time in jail, but asked the public to pay attention to the pro-democracy protesters who are facing more serious charges.

The three pro-democracy activist and former members of the disbanded Demonsisto were convicted in the West Kowoon Magistrates' Court on Nov 23, 2020 and are immediately detained.

The court will announce their sentence on Dec 2, 2020.

Source: InMedia #Nov23
https://bit.ly/3kXgjuO

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#JoshuaWong, #AgnesChow and #IvanLam Tell Fellow Hongkongers Not to Be Afraid
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26866

#DieWelt #HongKongProtest
#JoshuaWong Tells German Press: Not Expecting a Fair Trial, but Jailing Will Not Stop Hong Kong's Democracy Movement

Joshua Wong gave a written interview with the German press Die Welt while in solitary confinement, as he awaits his sentencing.

He said that he has long lost faith in Hong Kong's judicial system, and does not expect that a fair trial will take place

He says that it was difficult to sleep in his cell, since they kept his lights on 24 hours a day; however, compared to the 12 Hongkongers detained in China, he considered his charges to be relatively minor.

Wong said that he was placed in solitary confinement and not allowed to leave his single-person cell to meet with other inmates or exercise outside.

The lights in his cell were on 24 hours a day, and he could only sleep by covering his eyes with his face mask.

He further said he felt like a dissident in China, and that China is a threat to freedom across the world: "Everyone, including universities, journalists, and companies, are all being forced to adhere to Chinese standards."

Wong stressed that even if he, ex-Demosisto chairperson Ivan Lam, and ex-member Agnes Chow were all sentenced to jail, Hong Kong's democracy movement would not be stopped.

Source: Stand News #Nov27
Original: Die Welt #Nov27

https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article221122984/Joshua-Wong-China-bedroht-die-Freiheit-der-Welt.html

#Jail #PoliticalPrisoner #PoliceState #StandWithHongKong #AgnesChow #IvanLam

#Breaking
The Jailing of Young Pro-democracy Activists in Hong Kong: #IvanLam, 7 months; #AgnesChow, 10 months; #JoshuaWong, 13.5 months

Former members of the now-disbanded Demosisto Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Agnes Chow Ting, Ivan Lam Long-Yin were accused of surrounding the Police Headquarters on Jun 12 2019 and were charged with "inciting, organizing, participating in unauthorized assembly". They had pled guilty.

In the verdict, Magistrate Wong Sze-lai stated that the case was "premeditated" and the three defendants had participated actively. She described the assembly as "well-organized" where protesters chanted slogans challenging the authorities. She claimed that the case was severe and the penalty should have a deterrent effect.

The sentences for Ivan Lam (26y/o), Agnes Chow (23y/o) and Joshua Wong (24y/o) are 7 months, 10 months and 13.5 months respectively. Suspended sentences are not allowed. Chow broke into tears after hearing the veridiction.

Source: RTHK; Apple Daily #Dec2
Image: HKET

#PoliticalProsecution
HK Government Sentences Pro-democracy Youths to Prison,
British Foreign Secretary urges Hong Kong and Beijing to stop oppression

Former leaders of now-disbanded Demosistō Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were sentenced to 13.5 months, 7 months and 10 months in prison on charges related to the unauthorized protest in 2019 outside Police Headquarters.

Read more
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/27057

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab issued an statement in response, urging Hong Kong and Beijing governments to stop oppressing the opposition.

In his response to the jailing of the trio, Raab urged Hong Kong and Beijing authorities "to bring an end to their campaign to stifle opposition", and stressed that "prosecution decisions must be fair and impartial, and the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong must be upheld."

When asked about the sentencing of Hong Kong activists, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chun-ying only stated that this is not a diplomatic issue.

Samuel Chu, the founding and managing director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (#HKDC), an overseas Hong Kong organization which participated in implementing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, said in a statement that Beijing and Chief Executive Carrie Lam have sent a message through this case: If young people do not obey their ruling, they will be jailed.

HKDC has asked the United States and the international community to jointly condemn this sentencing , which raises questions about the fairness and independence of Hong Kong judicial system.

Source: Stand News #Dec2
#DominicRaab #JoshuaWong #AgnesChow #IvanLam #Jail

#HumanitarianCrisis
HK Authoroties' Jailing of Pro-democracy Activists Triggers International Uproar

During the demonstration outside the Police Headquarters on June 21, 2019, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, Ivan Lam and a large amount of protesters surrounded the building. The trio faced three charges of "inciting, organizing and participating in an unauthorized assembly". After pleading guilty, they had been remanded in custody for 9 days, before being sentenced.

On Dec 2, 2020, Magistrate Wong Sze-lai stated in the ruling decision at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts that the trio conspired and actively participated in the assembly, which caused roads blocked and potential risks, and wasted police resources. The trio were sentenced to 13.5 months, 7 months, and 10 months in jail, Agnes Chow's application for appeal was denied.

U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement, comdemning “China’s brutal sentencing of these young champions of democracy in Hong Kong" and calling it "appalling". 

Pelosi's statement also said, "This injustice is clear proof that Beijing will stop at nothing to stamp out dissent and to destroy the freedoms and real autonomy guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong."

At the same time, the UK foreign minister, Dominic Raab, also responded. He said prosecutions must be fair and impartial, and the rights and freedoms of Hong Kongers upheld: “I urge the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to bring an end to their campaign to stifle opposition."

Source: US Speaker; The Guardian; Stand News #Dec2

https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/12220-4?fbclid=IwAR2c6lxpCe_dlze1-wQ6PCA5tc31lUfOqHb-pzDXmGDweWz318d2uSn7gqk

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-jailed-over-protest-police-hq

#DominicRaab #NancyPelosi #JoshuaWong #AgnesChow #IvanLam #Jail

========
Related News:

#FreeAgnes
Happy Birthday, Agnes Chow

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/27064

#JPAC #GlobalSupport
#Japan Lawmakers and Scholars demands the release of Hong Kong's young pro-democracy activists

The Japan Parliamentary Alliance on China (JPAC), a Japanese cross-party organization formed by the members of the congress, held a press conference on Nov 30, 2020 at the House of Representatives of Japan to respond to the Hong Kong government's jailing of Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam.

Several scholars spoke at the event, including Professor Suzuki Ken of Meiji University. Ken said that Agnes Chow has been speaking to the world through Japan. In order to rescue Chow, the Japanese civil society and the political sector must take action.

In addition, Chow had earlier been invited as a researcher to Hokkaido University, Professor Ken Endo expressed that the arrest was broadly equivalent to the arrest of a fellow colleague. He asked the Hong Kong government for her release and demands the Japanese government to respond to the incident.

JPAC mentioned that Agnes Chow and the others represent the young people in their fight for freedom and democracy, yet they were suppressed and investigated under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. He said “Why should those who call on the public to participate in peaceful protest be condemned? Will Hong Kong become a repressive state without freedom and hope if this continues? Won’t the hopes of young people and citizens be trampled?” JPAC requests Hong Kong’s neighbouring countries to join in protest against the suppression and demanded the prompt release of the three activists.

The press conference was co-organized by JPAC and a new organization called PomeLo (Project on meeting local parliamentary alliance for Hong Kong).

#PomeLo was formed by 22 members of the Japanese city and district council and is represented by Endo Chihiro and Yuko Nagumo. The goal was to create opportunities for direct dialogue between the people of Japan and Hong Kong, so that the Japanese society can better understand the thoughts and demands of Hong Kong people.

Source: Stand News #Nov30

#JoshuaWong #IvanLam #AgnesChow #SuzukiKen
#HokkaidoUniversity #KenEndo
#MeijiUniversity #FreeAgnes

#HumanitarianCrisis #CCP
Wall Street Journal: "Jimmy Lai, China’s Lie: In today’s Hong Kong, promoting democracy makes you a criminal"

The Wall Street Journal (#WSJ) published an article titled "Jimmy Lai, China's Lie" in the name of the newspaper's editorial board. The article describes how advocating democracy makes one a criminal in Hong Kong.

On Dec 2, 2020, the founder of Apple Daily #JimmyLai and two senior executives of Next Digital were charged by the police with fraud. In the hearing on 3 December, Judge Victor So Wai-tak, whk is an appointed Judge for the National Security Law (#NSL), refused Lai's bail application.

Lai is rejected bail for the first time and will be detained in Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre until the trial to take place on April 16, 2021.

"No one is better known across the world for advocating democracy in Hong Kong than Jimmy Lai. So when Hong Kong police picked him up Wednesday on dubious fraud charges, China was sending a clear message: If you oppose us anywhere in the world, we will crush you" wrote WSJ.

"However, the fraud charge is not as serious as some of the others he already faces, especially on national security, its purpose is to dirty him up before he goes to trial on the others."

The WSJ article also mentioned it is no coincidence Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were sentenced to prison for participating in 2019 protests against a proposed extradition law on the same day. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rightly denounced the sentences as "appalling."

WSJ believes that Beijing is testing the position of Joe Biden, who is on board as the new U.S. President next month, to see if he will be different from Trump Administration.

The article supports the U.S. to consider adding more Chinese officials in the sanctions list and review Hong Kong's legal system. It emphasizes the U.S. has to refuse to accept "Chinese Community Party's (#CCP) Lie".

The article wrote, "We trust Joe Biden is paying attention." However, Biden is not eager to get trouble with China. But Chinese leader Xi Jinping has his own priorities.

WSJ described, "He [Xi] is testing whether a Biden Administration—especially one seeking a climate accord—will look the other way on China's behavior in Hong Kong and elsewhere."

WSJ urges for sanctioninh more Hong Kong officials, following how the Trump administration has voiced for Hong Kong and sanctioned Chief Executive Carrie Lam and ten senior officials in Lam's team since the Hong Kong Autonomy Act effective in August.

WSJ also hopes the U.S. to consider adding more officials the list and evaluate Hong Kong's legal system.

WSJ continues, "If lease disputes can be criminalized to go after political opponents, perhaps the government should advise U.S. courts that contracts in Hong Kong should no longer be presumed reliable. The sooner Mr. Biden makes clear these and other moves enjoy bipartisan support, the better he will be in his own coming dealings with China."

At last, the article believes that "the most powerful message the U.S. can send to China is moral" and quoted Alexander Solzhenitsyn's essay "Live Not By Lies" written in 1974 that "the best way to resist was to refuse to participate in the everyday lies all Communist regimes depend on."

"With regard to Xi Jinping, China's lies is about everything from the origins of the coronavirus to his incarceration of more than a million Uighurs.
China is now claiming that Jimmy Lai, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam are criminals for taking a stand for democracy. Insisting on the truth may not immediately set them free. But the lack of moral credibility is the regime's biggest vulnerability, and refusing to accept its lies must be the starting point of any U.S. China policy."

Image: Stand News
Source: Wall Street Journal #Dec2
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jimmy-lai-chinas-lie-11606951156

#HongKongProtests
#NextMedia #JimmyLai #JoshuaWong #AgnesChow #IvanLam #Demosisto #Court #Trump #Biden #US #Sanction #Xi

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong jailed for 13 and a half months over protest

On December 2, Joshua Wong (24), Agnes Chow (24), and Ivan Lam (26) were sentenced to 13.5 months, 10 months, and 7 months, respectively for organizing, inciting and participating in an illegal assembly outside of the Wan Chai Police Headquarters in June 2019.

“The court has considered that the offending period of the three defendants lasted for around 15 minutes and all the facts of the case, including that they committed the offence in a joint enterprise under the prevailing circumstances of increasing incidents of social unrest and large-scale public protests, which in the court’s view, made the case more serious,” said Wong Sze-Lai, the judge presiding the case.

Their sentencing has received much international criticism. The UK Foreign minister, Dominic Raab, has urged “the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to bring an end to their campaign to stifle opposition.”

Joshua Wong, despite his sentencing, remained resolute that “neither prison bars, nor election ban, nor any other arbitrary powers would stop us from activism,” and instead, urged people to focus on the 12 Hongkongers detained in China.

Source: The Guardian #Dec02

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-jailed-over-protest-police-hq?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#HongKong #HongKongProtest #JoshuaWong #AgnesChow #IvanLam #Democracy

UK House of Common Raises Concerns on the Severe Downturn in Hong Kong’s Situation. Minister of State for Asia Refuses to Comment on the Freezing of Former HK Legislative Councillor Ted Hui’s HSBC Bank Accounts
 
The House of Common of the British Parliament hosted an urgent inquiry on the imprisonment of Demosisto’s Secretary-General Joshua Wong, Chairperson Ivan Lam, and party member Agnes Chow on 7th December. Responding on behalf of the UK government, Minister of State for Asia Nigel Adams expressed his concerns on the issue of Hong Kong and the series of cases targeting pro-democratic activists, including the arrest of the three youngsters mentioned above and the media mogul Jimmy Lai from Next Media.
 
Adams had already expressed his concerns for the aforementioned cases to the Hong Kong government as well as to Beijing senior officials, asking them to adhere to their international obligation. At the time of the inquiry, there were judges from UK’s Supreme Court amongst the group of overseas judges at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal. Adams reiterated that UK judges had always played an important role in supporting judicial independence in Hong Kong, and that this independence was key in the success of Hong Kong. As a result, the UK government had wished to carry on in this aspect. However, the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law in July had brought up real problems and contradicted with China’s promise to protect Hong Kong’s fundamental rights and freedom under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. UK’s Supreme Court had been in constant communication with the UK government, examining the situation in Hong Kong and the stand from UK judges.
 
Parliament members questioned Adams why the UK government was not doing more when the situation in Hong Kong was becoming increasingly severe. They used the freezing of the bank accounts of former Hong Kong LegCo member Ted Hui as an example, suggesting that the UK government could perform countermeasures and sanction Beijing’s banks in return. In his response, Adams reiterated the government’s original stand, stating that he would not comment on individual cases and believed the business community would have their own judgement on Hong Kong’s situation under the newly imposed National Security Law.
 
Dissatisfied with the response from Adams, former Conservative Party Leader Iain Duncan Smith described the freezing of the bank accounts of Ted Hui and his family as an “outrage”, and that the UK government should stop these actions at once. However, Adams still did not respond directly but reiterated instead that China had made historical promises and would like to see China adhere to those promises.
 
#UK #China #HongKong #UKParliament #HouseofCommon #TedHui #BankAccountFrozen #Demosisto #JimmyLai #JoshuaWong #IvanLam #AgnesChow #NigelAdams #HongKongNationalSecurityLaw #CourtofFinalAppeal #SupremeCourt
 
Source: Stand News #Dec08

 https://bit.ly/30VTC2x