#Breaking #PressFreedom
Breaking: Hong Kong Journalists Association deeply concerned that National Security Department detained a journalist and withheld travel documents to assist in investigation
The reporter who recorded the incident live belongs to an online news outlet. Accompanied by the lawyer of the HKJA, the reporter gave her testimony to the police at the Police Headquarters on the following day. The police said they will contact her through her lawyer if necessary, and will also notify the Journalists Association. Her role, according to the police, was to "assist in investigation".
However, at 11pm on July 26, 2021, without making contact through the lawyer, the national security police arrived at the temporary residence of the reporter, and demanded yet another testimony at the Police Headquarters.
Accompanied by national security personnel, the reporter then called her lawyer, only to tell the lawyer that their presence was not needed at the police station.
The reporter gave another testimony to the national security police, and was only accompanied by a friend. The reporter was taken to her original residence for the police to "collect evidence". The police also confiscated the travel document of the reporter.
The police had also not contacted the HKJA as promised. After learning of the incident, the Association immediately contacted the police to express their disapproval. After much deliberation, the HKJA lawyer was finally able to arrive at Chai Wan Police Station to accompany the journalist at 1am July 27.
As the HKJA learned, the journalist's role is still to "assist in investigation". However, she has now already given a cautioned statement, and the police has confiscated her travel documents. Furthermore, the documents are detained under authority of the National Security Department.
The HKJA stresses that a reporter who recorded a suspected crime being committed on live video is only carrying out their duty as a journalist. The reporter had also carried out their civic duty of assisting the police investigation, and should receive only recognition, rather than the treatment this journalist had received.
The HKJA demands an immediate explanation from the police, whether the reporter involved is only "assisting in investigation". If so, why did the police search her residence and confiscate her travel documents?
Following from the above, do future witnesses or potential witnesses also risk having their travel documents confiscated?
The HKJA stresses that this incident is equivalent to a threat against all journalists in Hong Kong. If merely recording an incident could turn a journalist into a suspect, then how can journalists perform their work with a peace of mind?
Government officials have said multiple times that the National Security Law only "affects a small handful of people". However, the acts of the National Security Department here is entirely contrary to the words of the officials. Because of it, all journalists in Hong Kong have been "affected", even "threatened".
HKJA calls for the police to respond immediately to the incident. The association also calls on all journalists to follow the incident, to safeguard the freedom of press and our own rights.
Source: Hong Kong Journalists Association #Jul27
https://www.facebook.com/242729300308/posts/10159255381655309/?sfnsn=mo
Breaking: Hong Kong Journalists Association deeply concerned that National Security Department detained a journalist and withheld travel documents to assist in investigation
The reporter who recorded the incident live belongs to an online news outlet. Accompanied by the lawyer of the HKJA, the reporter gave her testimony to the police at the Police Headquarters on the following day. The police said they will contact her through her lawyer if necessary, and will also notify the Journalists Association. Her role, according to the police, was to "assist in investigation".
However, at 11pm on July 26, 2021, without making contact through the lawyer, the national security police arrived at the temporary residence of the reporter, and demanded yet another testimony at the Police Headquarters.
Accompanied by national security personnel, the reporter then called her lawyer, only to tell the lawyer that their presence was not needed at the police station.
The reporter gave another testimony to the national security police, and was only accompanied by a friend. The reporter was taken to her original residence for the police to "collect evidence". The police also confiscated the travel document of the reporter.
The police had also not contacted the HKJA as promised. After learning of the incident, the Association immediately contacted the police to express their disapproval. After much deliberation, the HKJA lawyer was finally able to arrive at Chai Wan Police Station to accompany the journalist at 1am July 27.
As the HKJA learned, the journalist's role is still to "assist in investigation". However, she has now already given a cautioned statement, and the police has confiscated her travel documents. Furthermore, the documents are detained under authority of the National Security Department.
The HKJA stresses that a reporter who recorded a suspected crime being committed on live video is only carrying out their duty as a journalist. The reporter had also carried out their civic duty of assisting the police investigation, and should receive only recognition, rather than the treatment this journalist had received.
The HKJA demands an immediate explanation from the police, whether the reporter involved is only "assisting in investigation". If so, why did the police search her residence and confiscate her travel documents?
Following from the above, do future witnesses or potential witnesses also risk having their travel documents confiscated?
The HKJA stresses that this incident is equivalent to a threat against all journalists in Hong Kong. If merely recording an incident could turn a journalist into a suspect, then how can journalists perform their work with a peace of mind?
Government officials have said multiple times that the National Security Law only "affects a small handful of people". However, the acts of the National Security Department here is entirely contrary to the words of the officials. Because of it, all journalists in Hong Kong have been "affected", even "threatened".
HKJA calls for the police to respond immediately to the incident. The association also calls on all journalists to follow the incident, to safeguard the freedom of press and our own rights.
Source: Hong Kong Journalists Association #Jul27
https://www.facebook.com/242729300308/posts/10159255381655309/?sfnsn=mo
Facebook
Log in or sign up to view
See posts, photos and more on Facebook.
#ChineseEmbassy complaints about ‘ugly’ photos at #TokyoOlympics
A complaint from a Chinese embassy about a western news wire’s “ugly” choice of an Olympic weightlifting photo backfired on July 26, 2021 after it emerged that a state-backed outlet used a similar image.
The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted
“Among all the photos of the game, Reuters has chosen this one, which only shows how ugly they are.”
https://twitter.com/chinaembsl/status/14188363586432
Reuters used a photo of Chinese weightlifting gold winner Hou Zhihui straining to lift a barbell. However, state-run Xinhua, Sina and China Daily also ran similar images of Hou, though the latter replaced theirs.
A Chinese netizen on Sina Weibo claimed western media were “evil” and “not respecting Hou at all,” according to state-backed Global Times.
Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Jul27
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/07/26/chinese-embassys-complaint-about-western-news-outlets-ugly-olympics-photo-backfires/
A complaint from a Chinese embassy about a western news wire’s “ugly” choice of an Olympic weightlifting photo backfired on July 26, 2021 after it emerged that a state-backed outlet used a similar image.
The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted
“Among all the photos of the game, Reuters has chosen this one, which only shows how ugly they are.”
https://twitter.com/chinaembsl/status/14188363586432
Reuters used a photo of Chinese weightlifting gold winner Hou Zhihui straining to lift a barbell. However, state-run Xinhua, Sina and China Daily also ran similar images of Hou, though the latter replaced theirs.
A Chinese netizen on Sina Weibo claimed western media were “evil” and “not respecting Hou at all,” according to state-backed Global Times.
Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Jul27
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/07/26/chinese-embassys-complaint-about-western-news-outlets-ugly-olympics-photo-backfires/
#Court
Free speech or secession? "Liberate Hong Kong" at heart of landmark case
Source: Reuters #Jul27
Image: Stand News
Read more
⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30626
Free speech or secession? "Liberate Hong Kong" at heart of landmark case
Source: Reuters #Jul27
Image: Stand News
Read more
⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30626
#Court
Free speech or secession? "Liberate Hong Kong" at heart of landmark case
Three Hong Kong judges will rule on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 whether the pro-democracy protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times" is a call for secession when they deliver a verdict on charges against a 24-year-old man called #TongYingKit arrested at a demonstration on July 1, 2020.
The landmark ruling could have long-term implications for how a #NationalSecurityLaw that China imposed on its freest city on June 30, 2020 against secession, terrorism, subversion and collusion with foreign forces reshapes its common law traditions, some legal scholars say.
Activists say a ruling to outlaw the slogan will tighten limits on free speech.
In his closing speech on July 27, 2021, the defense lawyer Grossman said protesters worldwide often held up signs without facing prosecution, and that Tong should be acquitted if the meaning of the slogan was open-ended.
Grossman said [prosecution witness] Lau had an "untenable, rigid, mechanical view of history" that paid no heed to rhetoric, and the meaning of the slogan could not be pinned down as Lau was trying to do.
[Judge] Pang said the court would consider whether the "natural and reasonable effect" of the slogan could indeed incite others to secession, as well as Tong's criminal intent, in making its ruling.
Source: Reuters #Jul27
Image: Stand News
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/free-speech-or-secession-liberate-hong-kong-heart-landmark-case-2021-07-25/
#LiberateHongKong #ProtestSlogan #PoliceState #July1
Free speech or secession? "Liberate Hong Kong" at heart of landmark case
Three Hong Kong judges will rule on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 whether the pro-democracy protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times" is a call for secession when they deliver a verdict on charges against a 24-year-old man called #TongYingKit arrested at a demonstration on July 1, 2020.
The landmark ruling could have long-term implications for how a #NationalSecurityLaw that China imposed on its freest city on June 30, 2020 against secession, terrorism, subversion and collusion with foreign forces reshapes its common law traditions, some legal scholars say.
Activists say a ruling to outlaw the slogan will tighten limits on free speech.
In his closing speech on July 27, 2021, the defense lawyer Grossman said protesters worldwide often held up signs without facing prosecution, and that Tong should be acquitted if the meaning of the slogan was open-ended.
Grossman said [prosecution witness] Lau had an "untenable, rigid, mechanical view of history" that paid no heed to rhetoric, and the meaning of the slogan could not be pinned down as Lau was trying to do.
[Judge] Pang said the court would consider whether the "natural and reasonable effect" of the slogan could indeed incite others to secession, as well as Tong's criminal intent, in making its ruling.
Source: Reuters #Jul27
Image: Stand News
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/free-speech-or-secession-liberate-hong-kong-heart-landmark-case-2021-07-25/
#LiberateHongKong #ProtestSlogan #PoliceState #July1
Reuters
Free speech or secession? "Liberate Hong Kong" at heart of landmark case
Three Hong Kong judges will rule on Tuesday whether the protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our Times" is a call for secession when they deliver a verdict on charges against a man arrested at a demonstration last year.
#Breaking #Court
Hong Kong’s High Court found Pro-democracy Activist guilty in the city’s first-ever trial under the Beijing-imposed #NationalSecurityLaw
In a landmark verdict on 27 July, 2021, 24-year-old #TongYingKit was convicted of committing incitement to secession and terrorist activities. He could face up to life imprisonment as the court adjourned the sentencing.
Tong, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, is the first person to be found guilty of breaching the controversial security legislation, which also outlaws subversion and collusion with foreign powers. The ruling will likely set a precedent for upcoming national security cases.
In handing down the verdict, Madam Justice Toh – who was handpicked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam to handle national security cases – said that, in the particular circumstances where Tong displayed the “#LiberateHongKong” slogan, such a phrase was capable of "inciting others to commit secession".
Source: HKFP; #Jul27
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/07/27/breaking
Hong Kong’s High Court found Pro-democracy Activist guilty in the city’s first-ever trial under the Beijing-imposed #NationalSecurityLaw
In a landmark verdict on 27 July, 2021, 24-year-old #TongYingKit was convicted of committing incitement to secession and terrorist activities. He could face up to life imprisonment as the court adjourned the sentencing.
Tong, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, is the first person to be found guilty of breaching the controversial security legislation, which also outlaws subversion and collusion with foreign powers. The ruling will likely set a precedent for upcoming national security cases.
In handing down the verdict, Madam Justice Toh – who was handpicked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam to handle national security cases – said that, in the particular circumstances where Tong displayed the “#LiberateHongKong” slogan, such a phrase was capable of "inciting others to commit secession".
Source: HKFP; #Jul27
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/07/27/breaking
#Harrassement
China-funded Media Journalist Caught Photographing #InMedia Journalist's Computer in Court, Claims She Was Not Aware It's Prohibited
Source: InMedia #Jul27
Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
China-funded Media Journalist Caught Photographing #InMedia Journalist's Computer in Court, Claims She Was Not Aware It's Prohibited
Source: InMedia #Jul27
Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
#Harrassement
China-funded Media Caught Photographing #InMedia Journalist's Computer in Court: "Not Aware It's Prohibited"
The ruling of the first case under Hong Kong's #NationalSecurityLaw was handed down on the 27th of July, 2021 at the High Court. Over 80 journalists were in attendance to hear the verdict.
Afterwards, an In-Media HK reporter was told by another attendee that a woman in a blue shirt sitting in the row behind them was photographing their computer screen during the hearing. The woman also opened her #WeChat application at one point, and it was unclear whether she had sent out the photo.
The In-Media reporter immediately confronted the woman and informed the security guard about her actions. The woman was asked to show her cell phone photos, and it appeared that she had taken two photos in court, one of which had captured the In-Media reporter’s conversation with a colleague.
The woman claimed that it was her first time in court, and was not aware that photography was prohibited. She insisted that she had not sent out the photos through WeChat, and had deleted the photos on the spot.
Security later told the In-Media reporter that the woman in question is a "reporter" from Dot Dot News, and she claimed that she took the photo to confirm whether the In-Media reporter was her colleague from #WenWeiPo, a China-funded media, who was also in attendance.
According to available information, Dot Dot News is a subsidiary of China-funded Wen Wei Po, and was granted interviewing privileges by the government in July 2019 as an online news media. However, there had been allegations that they had spread false rumors and fake news; Facebook had shut down Dot Dot News' page after investigations.
As for photography in court, the judiciary stated in a media response that photography by anyone, journalists included, is prohibited by law inside the court and attached facilities. There are also multiple signs in the court building stating so.
Source: In-Media HK #Jul27
https://bit.ly/3l2V9PM
#Doxxing #Court #CCP
China-funded Media Caught Photographing #InMedia Journalist's Computer in Court: "Not Aware It's Prohibited"
The ruling of the first case under Hong Kong's #NationalSecurityLaw was handed down on the 27th of July, 2021 at the High Court. Over 80 journalists were in attendance to hear the verdict.
Afterwards, an In-Media HK reporter was told by another attendee that a woman in a blue shirt sitting in the row behind them was photographing their computer screen during the hearing. The woman also opened her #WeChat application at one point, and it was unclear whether she had sent out the photo.
The In-Media reporter immediately confronted the woman and informed the security guard about her actions. The woman was asked to show her cell phone photos, and it appeared that she had taken two photos in court, one of which had captured the In-Media reporter’s conversation with a colleague.
The woman claimed that it was her first time in court, and was not aware that photography was prohibited. She insisted that she had not sent out the photos through WeChat, and had deleted the photos on the spot.
Security later told the In-Media reporter that the woman in question is a "reporter" from Dot Dot News, and she claimed that she took the photo to confirm whether the In-Media reporter was her colleague from #WenWeiPo, a China-funded media, who was also in attendance.
According to available information, Dot Dot News is a subsidiary of China-funded Wen Wei Po, and was granted interviewing privileges by the government in July 2019 as an online news media. However, there had been allegations that they had spread false rumors and fake news; Facebook had shut down Dot Dot News' page after investigations.
As for photography in court, the judiciary stated in a media response that photography by anyone, journalists included, is prohibited by law inside the court and attached facilities. There are also multiple signs in the court building stating so.
Source: In-Media HK #Jul27
https://bit.ly/3l2V9PM
#Doxxing #Court #CCP
獨立媒體
《點新聞》女記者庭上拍攝《獨媒》記者電腦 稱首次到法庭不知不准攝影 | 獨媒報導 | 獨立媒體
（獨媒報導）首宗《國安法》案件今日（27日）裁決，逾80名記者於高等法院報道裁決結果。惟散庭以後，《獨媒》記者獲一名旁聽市民告知，一名坐在記者後一排、身穿藍衫的女士於聆訊期間拍攝記者的電腦，其後一度打開微信軟件，不肯定有否發出。《獨媒》記者隨即上前交涉，並通知保安，該名女士應要求展示手機相片，可見她於庭上拍攝了兩張相片，其中一張拍到記者與同事通訊的
‘They Have My Sister’: As Uyghurs Speak Out, China Targets Their Families
She was a gifted agricultural scientist educated at prestigious universities in Shanghai and Tokyo. She said she wanted to help farmers in poor areas, like her hometown in Xinjiang, in western China. But because of her uncle’s activism for China’s oppressed Muslim Uyghurs, her family and friends said, the Chinese state made her a security target.
At first they took away her father. Then they pressed her to return home from Japan. Last year, at age 30, Mihriay Erkin, the scientist, died in Xinjiang, under mysterious circumstances.
Source: NY Times #Jul27
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/world/asia/xinjiang-china-crackdown.html
#China #Crackdown #Xinjiang #Uyghur
She was a gifted agricultural scientist educated at prestigious universities in Shanghai and Tokyo. She said she wanted to help farmers in poor areas, like her hometown in Xinjiang, in western China. But because of her uncle’s activism for China’s oppressed Muslim Uyghurs, her family and friends said, the Chinese state made her a security target.
At first they took away her father. Then they pressed her to return home from Japan. Last year, at age 30, Mihriay Erkin, the scientist, died in Xinjiang, under mysterious circumstances.
Source: NY Times #Jul27
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/world/asia/xinjiang-china-crackdown.html
#China #Crackdown #Xinjiang #Uyghur
House lawmakers push for diplomatic boycott of 2022 Winter Olympics in China
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is introducing a measure to trigger a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China, over allegations that the country is committing genocide against its Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim minority groups.
The proposed amendment to the annual State Department funding bill, under consideration by the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, comes from Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., and is cosponsored by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey.
"It would have a significant impact on the United States sending an official delegation" to the Beijing Olympics next year, Waltz told ABC News on Tuesday.
Source: ABC News #Jul27
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-lawmakers-push-diplomatic-boycott-2022-winter-olympics/story?id=79073390
#Boycott #Winter #Olympics #China #Beijing #Uyghur
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is introducing a measure to trigger a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China, over allegations that the country is committing genocide against its Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim minority groups.
The proposed amendment to the annual State Department funding bill, under consideration by the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, comes from Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., and is cosponsored by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey.
"It would have a significant impact on the United States sending an official delegation" to the Beijing Olympics next year, Waltz told ABC News on Tuesday.
Source: ABC News #Jul27
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-lawmakers-push-diplomatic-boycott-2022-winter-olympics/story?id=79073390
#Boycott #Winter #Olympics #China #Beijing #Uyghur
Foreign journalists harassed covering China floods, correspondents' club says
Journalists from several media outlets covering recent floods in China were harassed online and by local residents, with staff from the BBC and Los Angeles Times receiving death threats, according to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC).
In a statement on Tuesday, the FCCC criticised what it said was growing hostility to foreign media, some of which it said was fanned by official bodies.
"There must be immediate action by the Chinese government to stop these attacks which continue to endanger foreign journalists," the BBC said in a statement on Twitter.
Source: Reuters #Jul27
https://reut.rs/3zEkQu2
#China #BBC #LosAngelesTimes #FCCC #journalist
Journalists from several media outlets covering recent floods in China were harassed online and by local residents, with staff from the BBC and Los Angeles Times receiving death threats, according to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC).
In a statement on Tuesday, the FCCC criticised what it said was growing hostility to foreign media, some of which it said was fanned by official bodies.
"There must be immediate action by the Chinese government to stop these attacks which continue to endanger foreign journalists," the BBC said in a statement on Twitter.
Source: Reuters #Jul27
https://reut.rs/3zEkQu2
#China #BBC #LosAngelesTimes #FCCC #journalist