#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

#PoliticalPrisoners #PoliceState
Hong Kong #Court Jails Heavyweight Pro-Democracy Figures: 14 months for Jimmy Lai and 18 months for 'Long Hair'

On April 16, 2021, Hong Kong court jailed some heavy-weight pro-democracy figures for "organising and participating in unauthorized assembly" during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (#AntiELAB) Movement in 2019.

August 18, 2019 marks one of the largest protests during the movement where pro-democracy Hongkongers walked peacefully in the heavy rain from Victoria Park to Central to express their voice.

The following are the jail terms announced by the distrct judge Amanda Woodcock :

#Longhair #Leung KwokHung: 18 months (the longest term)

#AppleDaily founder #JimmyLai: 14 months (*combinig with another case involving a protest on August 31, 2019)

Former lawmaker #LeeCheukYan: 14 months
(*combinig with another case involving a protest on August 31, 2019)

Former lawmaker #AuNokHin: 10 months

Former lawmaker #CydHo: 8 months.

Former lawmakers #MartinLee,
#MargaretNg, #AlbertHo and #YeungSum: suspended jail terms

Source: Stand News #Apr16
Photo: Nasha Chan

https://bit.ly/3tuIDKs

https://bit.ly/3dnoxMn

https://bit.ly/3e9lgiS

#HKProtests #PoliticalSuppression #JailTerm

“Who Is The Wolf? BTW, China Is Not A Lamb”: Tweet from Chinese Embassy Baffles Internet

Source: Stand News #Apr01

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“Who Is The Wolf? BTW, China Is Not A Lamb”: Tweet from Chinese Embassy Baffles Internet

As China continues flexing its muscles as part of its “wolf warrior diplomacy”, the Chinese Embassy in Ireland posted an enigmatic tweet inspired by Aesop’s fable of the wolf and the lamb. Published on 1 April, it began by asking rhetorically who the wolf was and went on to say that China was not a lamb to the confusion of the Internet. The tweet has since been deleted.

The fable originally tells the story of a lamb running into a wolf at a creek, where the wolf hurls various false charges against the lamb to justify its predation. When the lamb proves its innocence and refutes the accusations, the wolf gives up looking for an excuse and eats it straight away. The lesson is understood to be that there is no point appealing to reason in face of one as wickedly unreasonable as a wolf.

The tweet began with the question “Who is the wolf?” and went on to say that some had accused China of engaging in “wolf warrior diplomacy”. The embassy then noted how in the fable the wolf fabricates charges just so it can eat the lamb. Wrapping up the tweet, it wrote that “The wolf is the wolf, not the lamb” while remarking that “China is not a lamb”.

Source: Stand News #Apr01

#China #Ireland #Embassy #Twitter #WolfWarrior #Diplomacy

https://bit.ly/3a9pGFv

Will Japan Confront China? A Visit to Washington May Offer a Clue.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is the first foreign leader to be invited to the Biden White House, where he is likely to be pressed to more fully address Beijing’s threat to stability in the region.

TOKYO — As he visits Washington this week, it would seem as if Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan could take a victory lap.

Mr. Suga is the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House by President Biden, who has vowed to reinvigorate alliances. Japan already had the distinction last month of being the first international destination for the new U.S. secretaries of state and defense. And Mr. Suga will not have to contend with threats of higher tariffs or the need for constant flattery that drove Mr. Biden’s mercurial predecessor.

Source: Times #Apr14

#Japan #China #Biden #WhiteHouse #Beijing

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/world/asia/suga-biden-japan-washington.html

China's New Belt and Road Has Less Concrete, More Blockchain

The Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t been good for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. the virus “seriously affected” one-fifth of the projects in the China-centered infrastructure drive, according to the Ministry of foreign Affairs. Djibouti, Laos, Maldives, Pakistan, and Zambia, among others, have asked China to renegotiate or forgive Belt and Road loans. Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka have already extracted concessions.

Source: Bloomberg #Mar24

#China #BeltandRoad #Djibouti #Laos #Maldives #Pakistan

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-24/china-s-new-belt-and-road-has-less-concrete-more-blockchain

Meet the Hong Kong expat proving to be a thorn in HSBC’s side

On New Year’s Day last year Hong Kong politician Ted Hui was temporarily blinded by a riot officer who lifted his protective goggles to fire a stinging pepper spray into his eyes.

Days later the 38-year-old vowed to return to the frontlines of the pro-democracy movement, calling it his duty to hold the police accountable. He refused to hold back in the months that followed, dropping rotten plants and stink bombs during council sessions in protest against new laws which suppressed democracy in the city.

Source: Telegraph #Feb14

#TedHui #HSBC #Blinded #Democracy

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/02/14/meet-hong-kong-expat-proving-thorn-hsbcs-side/

#Censorship #HumanitarianCrisis
#RTHK bans Journalists from receiving Human Rights Press Awards

Source: Apple News; Human Rights Press Awards #Apr7

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#Censorship #HumanitarianCrisis
#RTHK bans Journalists from receiving Human Rights Press Awards

Multiple news documentaries produced by the public broadcaster RTHK in Hong Kong have won the Human Rights Press Awards.

The winning titles include the episodes entitled “Waking up in the spread of the pandemic” and “In the name of justice” of the programme “This Week”.

According to Stand News, the news documentary program "#HongKongConnection" also receives accolade. In particular, the episode “7.21: Who owns the truth?”, produced by local journalist #BaoChoy Yuk-ling, won the grand prize in the Chinese Documentary Video category.

Despite the international accolades received by many journalists of the station, #PatrickLi Pak-chuen, the newly appointed Director of Broadcasting to RTHK, disallowed the staff from submitting their works to local and international competitions. Li even contacted the Human Rights Press Awards in person to demand RTHK’s withdrawal from the competition, but it was refused by the organizer.

The award-winning program "#ThisWeek" includes the particiation of former RTHK journalist #NabelaQoser, who is known for her critical stance and professionalism.

Another awardee Bao Choy is currently facing charges made by the Hong Kong authorities, accusing her of "falsifying statement". The authorities' action against Choy has been decried by many journalists and the local population as an act of political suppression.

The RTHK spokesperson claims that the station will not receive the Awards, and insisted that it will withdraw from the competition.

Source: Apple News; Human Rights Press Awards #Apr7
http://humanrightspressawards.org

https://bit.ly/3uzpzuj

#HumanRightsPressAwards #Journalism #Professionalism

#PoliceState #PoliticalSuppression
Hong Kong government criticizes foreign authorities for "sheltering criminals and imposing harm on community safety"
#NathanLaw: How about the White-clad mobsters in Yuen Long?

Source: Stand News #Apr10

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#PoliceState #PoliticalSuppression
Hong Kong government criticizes foreign authorities for "sheltering criminals and imposing harm on community safety"
#NathanLaw: How about the White-clad mobsters in Yuen Long?

Former Chairman of Demosistō Nathan Law was offered political asylum by the British Home Office. The HKSAR government soon issued a statement accusing foreign governments for sheltering criminals, and ignoring the threat they impose on local communities.

Regarding the issue, Nathan Law questioned if Hong Kong government was “covering for the white-clad mobsters in Yuen Long 721 Attack who attacked citizens and endanger community safety”. He stated that, if the government issued letters to countries offering asylum, saying that the sheltered Hongkongers were threats to their safety, those countries would reply, “You are out of your mind”.

Law stated on April 7, 2021 that he was offered political asylum by the British Home Office, acknowledging his identity as a refugee. This elicited responses from both Chinese and Hong Kong government.

Zhao Lijian, Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Ferign Affairs Information Department, criticised that the British government “openly stood up for pro-Hong Kong Independence individuals, and offered shelter for the wanted”, which was an offence to international diplomatic relations and the Rule of Law they signified.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government issued a “solemn declaration”, stating that they opposed to the offering of shelter to criminals from any country, and that if they turned a blind eye to their “crimes”, they were ignoring their threat to the local society and residents, and would end up “reaping what they have sown”.

Source: Stand News #Apr10

https://www.thestandnews.com/international/%E6%B8%AF%E5%BA%9C%E6%8C%87%E5%A4%96%E5%9C%8B%E5%8C%85%E5%BA%87%E7%BD%AA%E7%8A%AF%E5%8F%AF%E5%B0%8D%E5%B1%85%E6%B0%91%E9%80%A0%E6%88%90%E5%AE%89%E5%85%A8%E5%A8%81%E8%84%85-%E7%BE%85%E5%86%A0%E8%81%B0-%E5%85%83%E6%9C%97%E7%99%BD%E8%A1%A3%E4%BA%BA%E5%91%A2/

#YuenLong721 #PoliticalAsylum #Refugee #Hongkongers

Orbán to Borrow from China for Fudan University’s €1.5B Budapest Campus, Which Costs More Than to Run Hungary's Entire Higher Education System for a Year

Source: Stand News #Apr08

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Orbán to Borrow from China for Fudan University’s €1.5B Budapest Campus, Which Costs More Than to Run Hungary's Entire Higher Education System for a Year

A report published by the Hungarian investigative journalism centre Direkt36 on 6 April says Fudan University’s new Budapest Campus, the first European campus of the Chinese university, will cost a whopping 1.5 billion euros (around 13.9 billion HK dollars)—more than what the eastern European country spent on its entire higher education system in 2019. The project will depend mainly on Chinese loans. The report further reveals that the Hungarian Ministry of Innovation and Technology, which will supervise the project, has recommended the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) to be the builder with the firm indicating that a certain amount of Chinese material and labour will be employed.

The non-profit Direkt36 has gained access to a series of documents about the new campus, including a draft proposal by László Palkovics, Hungary’s innovation and technology minister. According to the proposal, the government estimates the cost to be 1.5 billion euros without taking into account the infrastructure costs and other expenses. This exceeds its entire expenditure on the country’s higher education system in 2019, which clocked in at 1.3 billion euros (around 12 billion HK dollars). It is further stated in the proposal that part of the cost will be covered directly by Hungary with the rest covered by loans from China. The China Development Bank will provide a loan of 1.3 billion euros on preferential terms.

According to Direkt36, the CSCEC made a bid of under one billion euros (around 9.23 billion HK dollars) and secured the innovation and technology ministry’s recommendation. The report says the CSCEC made it clear in its tender that a certain number of Chinese workers will take part in the project and building material will be imported from China. The report says further that the Hungarian government has decided that China shall be the sole constructor with a commissioner appointed by the innovation and technology ministry supervising the project.

Source: Stand News #Apr08

#Hungary #China #Fudan #Education #Diplomacy

https://bit.ly/3soyrBN

Declare yourself a Hongkonger, not simply Chinese, Canadian census campaign urges

People of Hong Kong origin in Canada have been urged to declare themselves as Hongkongers, and not only Chinese, on the national census next month, in an effort by activists to preserve the diaspora’s “unique identity”.


The “I Am Hong Konger” campaign, launched this week, asks immigrants and their descendants to specify their Hong Kong origins in the sections of the census questionnaire about ethnicity and place of birth. The campaigners remind respondents that they can list multiple origins, such as Chinese or Taiwanese.

Source: SCMP #Apr16

#Hongkonger #Canada #Campaign

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3129745/declare-yourself-hong-konger-not-simply-chinese-canadian

Australia and New Zealand welcome sanctions on China over Uighur abuses but impose none of their own

Australia and New Zealand have raised “grave concerns” about human rights abuses against Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang region, citing “the growing number of credible reports” of severe violations.

But while both countries have welcomed new coordinated sanctions announced by the UK, US, the EU and Canada, they have not announced any such measures of their own.

The Guardian understands this is because Australia and New Zealand lack Magnitsky-style laws that would allow the swift rollout of targeted sanctions against individuals for human rights abuses – but the Morrison government is expected to table draft legislation later this year.

Source: Guardian #Mar23

#Australia #NewZealand #Sanctions #China

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/23/australia-and-new-zealand-welcome-china-sanctions-over-uighur-abuses-but-impose-none-of-their-own?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The Alarming Human Toll of Cheap Stuff ‘Made in China’

Source: Times #Feb02

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The Alarming Human Toll of Cheap Stuff ‘Made in China’

In the aftermath of 2020 — a year that saw both the expansion of a vast detention and forced labor system in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang and a homebound global population increasingly reliant on goods delivered anonymously to their doorstep — Pang’s book feels timely and urgent. Her argument starts here, in the room with the mushrooms, and goes like this: that the way we consume is unsustainable; that things as seemingly trivial as paper mushrooms and Halloween decorations are entangled in a system that hides atrocity by design and makes complicity — with authoritarian governments, with dangerous working conditions and even with religious persecution — part of modern life. Pang, a freelance journalist who grew up in a Mandarin-speaking household, is most effective when she is drawing out these juxtapositions, putting production and torture matter-of-factly side by side.

Source: Times #Feb02

#China #Labor #Xinjiang #Human

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/books/review/made-in-china-amelia-pang.html?referringSource=articleShare