#Interview #HongkongersVoice
The Movement should be localized — Exiled Hongkonger Sunny Cheung’s resistance imagination

Part 1

The China-imposed National Security Law has driven fear into the hearts of many people in Hong Kong. In the past few months, “Immigration”, “Exile” and “Political asylum” have taken many of the city’s front-page news reports. Activists of the pan-democracy political camps and protesters have fled the city one after another.

Facing fierce police grip, social distancing restriction and an immense sense of helplessness, the resistance movement in Hong Kong has come to a halt and receded. This was followed by a mass resignation of all pro-democracy legislators, which has put an end to the resistance in the legislature front.

“International lobbying” has become a buoy to salvage Hongkongers from despair. Whenever the news on US sanctions against Chinese or Hong Kong Officials is released, it always lights up hopes in some Hong Kong people.

#SunnyCheung Kwan-yang, former spokesman of #NetworkDIPLO who was active in international lobbying, decided to leave Hong Kong in August 2020 for a life of exile.

In his video interview with Stand News taken place in 2020, he is candid about his loneliness and struggling, as if ‘transcending between Hell and Earth’.

Being abroad, he keeps working on the international front, but he is also frank about its limitations. ‘We are not bringing an army back [to Hong Kong].’

‘Outside Hong Kong, many efforts become cheap.’ In view of the prevailing gloom and outrages in political reality, he urges Hongkongers to bear hope in darkness and turn this hope into a strong force of resistance...

He saw some brothers in exile with psychological trauma, fearing to reach out. ‘In order to help those who left Hong Kong as a result of this movement to walk out from the shadow and trauma; it is important to connect with the local governments and civil organizations for financial support so that they can continue with their study and have access to counselling service.’

Source: Stand News #Dec29
https://bit.ly/2KRH9sg

#Reflection

#Court #47Democrats #PoliticalSuppression
A Journalist's Account of Witnessing the Trial of 47 Pro-democracy Activists in Hong Kong's Court

Part 1

[Editor's note: The Hong Kong authorities arrested and charged 47 pro-democracy with #NationalSecurityLaw violations for their participation in the primary election of the democratic camp in 2020. The trial began in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on March 1, 2021.

The following is a reflective account written by Hong Kong journalist Cheung Hoi-kit.]

In the court room, the 47 pro-democracy activists took half of the seats, crowding the area behind the defendant fence and the seats outside. It is like the entire dissidents camp has been arrested at once. Regardless of their ages, ranks and the political party, they became a community, facing their fate together.

With the large number of defendants and their lawyers, the main court did not have seats for the families, reporters and the public. Families could not stay close to the defendants, not even to have any eye contact, as they had to watch the hearing through the live broadcast.

The main court accomodated neither family members nor reporters. Even more so, no bail statement discussion was allowed. The marathon-style trial was like an epic, where countless tales were recounted.

The court debated on a wide range of media reports of the 47 pro-democracy activists. Although the chief magistrate Victor So said that those stories were touching, he claimed that those reports did not point to any public benefit.

Linda Wong, a senior counsel representing the defendants, argued that those stories were not a paragraph in a fiction, but the experience and the true background of a person. The defendants were not mere numbers.

The cold legal provisions and heart warming personal stories continued to compete in the court room.

Source: HK Citizens News #Mar14
Image: Sophiekiu.artsy
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29387

https://www.hkcnews.com/article/39218/47%E4%BA%BA%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E6%A1%88-%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB%E6%B4%BE%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8-%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E5%A4%A7%E8%B5%B7%E8%A8%B4-39218/%E3%80%90%E6%8E%A1%E8%A8%AA%E6%89%8B%E8%A8%98%E3%80%9147%E4%BA%BA%E6%A1%88%E5%9B%9B%E6%97%A5%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%9C%E3%80%8C%E5%8F%B2%E8%A9%A9%E5%BC%8F%E6%8F%90%E5%A0%82%E3%80%8D%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%80%E4%BA%9B%E5%82%99%E5%BF%98

#Reflection #PoliticalPrisoners

#Court #47Democrats #PoliticalSuppression
A Journalist's Account: Lengthy Court Hearings Bring 47 Pro-democracy Activists to Exhaustion

[Editor's note: The Hong Kong authorities arrested and charged 47 pro-democracy with #NationalSecurityLaw violations for their participation in the primary election of the democratic camp in 2020. The trial began in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on March 1, 2021.

The following is a reflective account written by Hong Kong journalist Cheung Hoi-kit.]

Part 1:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29388

Continue with Part 2 below:

Among the 47 pro-democracy activists charged, legal scholar Benny Tai has believed in the Hong Kong Basic Law for all his life. He did not say much in court on these consecutive days.

Since the trial could not be done on the first day, he needed to attend two court hearings in the following days. They were an appeal case concerning the Occupy Central with Love and Peace (#OCLP) in 2014 and the bail trial for the primary election. Even the chief magistrate Victor So claimed to see Tai's fatigue.

Laywer Lawrence Lau has helped the pro-democracy protester Tong Ying-Kit, who was the first Hongkongers to be charged with National Security violations. However, this time Lau himself is also one of the defendants being charged with "conspiracy to subvert state powers".

Lau chose to defend himself. He said he had never expected himself to breach the law. The statement was simple and straight-forward.

Former Stand News reporter Gwyneth Ho was cheerful as usual. She was heard humming a Cantonese pop song "So I say I love you" on the first day of the trial.

Former legislator Lam Cheuk-Ting told his wife, "I love you".

However, after days of trial, several defendents started to ger unwell. The atmosphere in the court also changed significantly. For three days and nights, the defendants were even not given a chance to take a shower or change their clothes.

Source: HK Citizens News #Mar14

https://www.hkcnews.com/article/39218/47%E4%BA%BA%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E6%A1%88-%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB%E6%B4%BE%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8-%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E5%A4%A7%E8%B5%B7%E8%A8%B4-39218/%E3%80%90%E6%8E%A1%E8%A8%AA%E6%89%8B%E8%A8%98%E3%80%9147%E4%BA%BA%E6%A1%88%E5%9B%9B%E6%97%A5%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%9C%E3%80%8C%E5%8F%B2%E8%A9%A9%E5%BC%8F%E6%8F%90%E5%A0%82%E3%80%8D%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%80%E4%BA%9B%E5%82%99%E5%BF%98

#PoliceState #BemnyTai #LawrenceLau #GwynethHo #LamCheukTing

#Reflection #PoliticalPrisoners

#Court #47Democrats #PoliticslSuppression
The #Heartbreaking Moments: When Pro-democracy Activists in Hong Kong Fight for their Last Chance to Speak Up

[Editor's note: The Hong Kong authorities arrested and charged 47 pro-democracy with #NationalSecurityLaw violations for their participation in the primary election of the democratic camp in 2020. The trial began in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on March 1, 2021.

The following is a reflective account written by Hong Kong journalist Cheung Hoi-kit.]


Part 1:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29388

Part 2:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29399

Part 3:

The hearing on March 3, 2021 was heartbreaking.

The bail conditions were discussed. These include a series of bans in elections, social media, media interview and others.

The defense stood up and argued that the bail conditions were too strict.

As most of the defendants are former Legislators and current district councillors who represent the electorates, the bail conditions would silence them totally, causing them to lose their functions in the community.

The girlfriend of Ventus Lau, one of the 47 pro-democracy activists, described that the bail conditions were sending the defendants to their "social death". Granting some form of freedom by sacrificing a large part of their rights is simply unreasonable.

Another heartbreaking moment came as several defendants changed to self-defence. Whether it was a planned strategy or a suddent change of mind, they were fighting for the last chance to speak for themselves. As they spoke, some of them hoarsed while others choked with tears.

Source: HK Citizens News #Mar14
Image: Sophiekiu.artsy

https://www.hkcnews.com/article/39218/47%E4%BA%BA%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E6%A1%88-%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB%E6%B4%BE%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8-%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E5%A4%A7%E8%B5%B7%E8%A8%B4-39218/%E3%80%90%E6%8E%A1%E8%A8%AA%E6%89%8B%E8%A8%98%E3%80%9147%E4%BA%BA%E6%A1%88%E5%9B%9B%E6%97%A5%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%9C%E3%80%8C%E5%8F%B2%E8%A9%A9%E5%BC%8F%E6%8F%90%E5%A0%82%E3%80%8D%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%80%E4%BA%9B%E5%82%99%E5%BF%98

#Reflection #PoliticalPrisoners

#Court #47Democrats #PoliticalSuppression
A Journalist's Account: What has the political situation in Hong Kong become?

[Editor's note: The Hong Kong authorities arrested and charged 47 pro-democracy with #NationalSecurityLaw violations for their participation in the primary election of the democratic camp in 2020. The trial began in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on March 1, 2021.

The following is a reflective account written by Hong Kong journalist Cheung Hoi-kit.]

Part 1:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29388

Part 2:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29399

Part 3:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29408


Part 4:

As a journalist, I really regretted not being able to record all 47 personal stories of the 47 pro-democracy activists in details.

In 2021 Hong Kong, our freedom of speech as well as publication could disappear in no time.

On the fourth day of trial on April 4, 2021, I felt loss ans had a fuzzy memory inside the court.

I can only remember just before the court decision was made, the atmosphere in the court was heated up. The chanting if the pro-democracy supporters broke through the concrete wall of the court, reaching the the press room and the lobby.

This moment is similar to the first day of trial, when thousands of Hongkongers gathered outside the court to show support for the 47 pro-democracy activists.

However, in the end, only 15 out of the 47 dedendants can bail out. Even with that, the Department of Justice immediately asked for an appeal, so in the end, no one can step out of the court.

Afterwards, the families of the defendants screamed and howled. Their sound filled the area outside the court and continued to echo in my mind.

What has the political situation in Hong Kong become? It is a time when almost all the top bar counsels cannot change the situation, nor bring any defendant out of the court with bail.

Source: HK Citizens News #Mar14
Image: Sophiekiu.artsy

https://www.hkcnews.com/article/39218/47%E4%BA%BA%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E6%A1%88-%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB%E6%B4%BE%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8-%E5%88%9D%E9%81%B8%E5%A4%A7%E8%B5%B7%E8%A8%B4-39218/%E3%80%90%E6%8E%A1%E8%A8%AA%E6%89%8B%E8%A8%98%E3%80%9147%E4%BA%BA%E6%A1%88%E5%9B%9B%E6%97%A5%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%9C%E3%80%8C%E5%8F%B2%E8%A9%A9%E5%BC%8F%E6%8F%90%E5%A0%82%E3%80%8D%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%80%E4%BA%9B%E5%82%99%E5%BF%98

#Reflection #PoliticalPrisoners