#HumanitarianCrisis
#UN human rights chief: Civil and Democratic Space in Hong Kong is rapidly shrinking

In Dec 2020, Hong Kong police launched political crackdown on pro-democracy civilians everyday.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet voiced concern at the “rapidly shrinking” civil and democratic space in Hong Kong and urged judicial authorities to uphold the right to due process and fair trial.

“Recent convictions of activists for protests that took place last year risk causing a wider chilling effect on the exercise of fundamental freedoms,” Bachelet told a news conference in Geneva.

Bachelet also voiced concern at “a range of serious human rights violations” in China’s Xinjiang region and said she hoped that a team from her office could go to China in the first half of 2021 to prepare for her visit there, being discussed with Beijing.

Source: Reuters #Dec10
https://uk.reuters.com/article/hongkong-security-bachelet/un-rights-boss-urges-hong-kong-to-uphold-due-process-fair-trials

#Solidarity
Protesters' Painting is "the Best Advertisement", Says #Chickeeduck's CEO

Chickeeduck has a new branch in Tin Hau slated to open soon, with a painting of a protester boldly displayed on its shutters. CEO Herbert Chow said the painting was his favorite part of the new store; since the painting faces the on-ramp to the Central-Wan Chai Bypass, "This is our best advertisement."

He wanted it to be a constant reminder to the government and the people of Hong Kong: "If they hadn't tried to ram the extradition bill through #LegCo last year, would these people have been on the streets?"

He also wanted to challenge the pro-Beijing camp's denigrating description of the pro-democracy protesters as "evil rioters". "If they withdrew the bill on June 12 [when LegCo was scheduled to vote on the extradition bill], no one would need to wear all this gear to protect themselves."

Chickeeduck had caught the attention of Hongkongers when they displayed a statue of Hong Kong's Lady Liberty in one of their branches earlier.

Originally a children's clothing store chain, the new branch will also carry products related to the anti-ELAB movement, such as T-shirts and small replicas of the Lady Liberty statue.

Chow said the store will present more merchandises with artwork from local artists.

Source: InMediaHK.net #Dec10
https://bit.ly/3r3b5ly

#HerbertChow #LadyLiberty #AntiELAB #HongKongProtests #ProtestArt #HongKongBrand #YellowEconomy

Citizen journalist detained over Wuhan reporting 'restrained and fed by tube'

Source: The Guardian #Dec10

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Citizen journalist detained over Wuhan reporting 'restrained and fed by tube'

Zhang Zhan, a citizen journalist and 37-year-old former lawyer, has been on a hunger strike at a detention facility near Shanghai. Zhang was arrested in May and accused of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble”, an accusation frequently used against critics and activists inside China, after reporting on social media and streaming accounts.

Zhang has been detained for more than six months after reporting on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Last month she was formally indicted on charges of spreading false information.

Zhang was previously detained on similar accusations by Chinese authorities in 2018, and again in 2019 for voicing support for Hong Kong activists. She denies the charge of falsifying information, telling her lawyer that all the information was gathered firsthand through interviews with Wuhan residents.

Source: The Guardian #Dec10

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/10/citizen-journalist-detained-over-wuhan-reporting-restrained-and-fed-by-tube?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#Wuhan #Covid19 #CitizenJournalist #China #ChinaDetention

Griezmann cuts ties with Huawei citing fears over treatment of Uighurs

On December 10 (Thursday), the France and Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann ended his affiliation with Huawei. Griezmann was a global brand ambassador for Huawei

“Following strong suspicions that the Huawei company has contributed to the development of a ‘Uighur alert’ thanks to facial recognition software, I am announcing the immediate termination of my partnership with the company,” Griezmann said in an Instagram post.

Source: The Guardian #Dec10

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/10/griezmann-cuts-ties-with-huawei-citing-fears-over-treatment-of-uighurs

#AntoineGriezmann #Huawei

Chinese officials linked to Hong Kong arrests escape UK sanctions


The UK Foreign Office announced to place travel bans and asset freezes on 10 politicians, officials and others responsible for gross human rights violations in Gambia, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela.

Backbench MPs had pressed the Foreign Office minister Nigel Adams to impose sanctions on Chinese officials involved in arresting pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. He said the issue was under consideration.

It is expected that the UK will present a new set of sanctions in January and that these will be focused on individuals thought corrupt – the first time the country will cite corruption as a reason to impose asset freezes under the legislation.

Source: The Guardian #Dec10

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/10/chinese-officials-linked-to-hong-kong-activist-arrests-escape-uks-new-sanctions?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#UKSanction #UK

Pompeo Urges U.S. University To Scrutinize Chinese Students To Avoid Stealing And Brainwashing

Source: Apple Daily #Dec10

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Pompeo Urges U.S. University To Scrutinize Chinese Students To Avoid Stealing And Brainwashing

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday urged U.S. universities to scrutinize China's assistance and students, warning that Beijing was set on to steal American innovations.

Speaking at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Pompeo said the United States welcomes Chinese who "genuinely" want study in the country, but also cited two cases of Chinese students who were charged with spying and some cases of Beijing harassing of students abroad. “If we don’t educate ourselves, if we’re not honest about what’s taking place, we’ll get schooled by Beijing,” he said. “The Chinese Communist Party knows it can never match our innovation, that’s why it sends 400 thousand students a year to the United States of America to study,” he added.

Once again, he called on U.S. universities to shut down all Confucius Institutes, “We cannot allow this tyrannical regime to steal our stuff, to build their military might and brainwash our people, or buy off our institutions to help them cover up these activities… We need administrators to close Confucius Institutes and investigate what so-called ‘student groups’ backed by the CCP money are actually up to on their campuses,” he declared.

Source: Apple Daily #Dec10

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201210/OQD4ET54EZF6BIRJZHCSJUGAJY/

#US #China #MikePompeo #ConfuciusInstitutes #University #USChinaRelation #ChineseStudents

Canada says citizens held in China have not been tried in case linked to Huawei

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been confined by China since December 10, 2018, just days after Canada detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

In Dec 2020, Canada said it had confirmed with China that a pair of Canadians held for two years in China in a case linked to a Huawei executive have not been put on trial.

Chinese prosecutors announced earlier 2020 that Kovrig had been charged on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence, and Spavor on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets.

Source: NBCN News #Dec10

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/two-canadians-have-been-indicted-tried-case-linked-huawei-executive-n1250677

#Canada #TwoMichael #ChinaHostageDiplomacy #China

#NobelPeacePrize Laureate Pays Tribute to #AppleDaily Founder #JimmyLai Among Other Media Workers

Source: Rappler #Dec10

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#NobelPeacePrize Laureate Pays Tribute to #AppleDaily Founder #JimmyLai Among Other Media Workers

The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize was award to #MariaRessa and #DmitryMuratov, independent journalists in the Philippines and Russia respectively, for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.

In the award ceremony on December 10, 2021, Ressa and Muratov paid tribute to all those media workers who were murdered or detain, upon receiving the Peace Prize in Oslo.

Ressa is a journalist and the CEO of Rappler, a news outlet
in the Philippines that is critical of the government. In her acceptance speech, Reesa called to attention the press freedom at stake in different parts of the word:

"I remember he brutal dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta, my friend, Luz Mely Reyes in Venezuela, Roman Protasevich in Belarus (whose plane was literally hijacked so he could be arrested), Jimmy Lai languishing in a Hong Kong prison, Sonny Swe, who after getting out of more than seven years in jail, started another news group and now is forced to flee Myanmar."

Source: Rappler #Dec10

https://www.rappler.com/world/global-affairs/full-text-maria-ressa-speech-nobel-peace-prize-awarding-ceremony-2021/

#Interview #StandNews
#EU ambassador in Hong Kong : Impact of #NationalSecurityLaw ripples beyond political groups to civil rights groups for women and labour

Source: Stand News #Dec10

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#Interview #StandNews
#EU ambassador in Hong Kong : Impact of #NationalSecurityLaw ripples beyond political groups to civil rights groups for women and labour

On the World Human Rights Day (December 10, 2021), Ambassador #ThomasGnocchi, Head of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao, told now-defunct online media outlet, Stand News that many civil rights groups in Hong Kong, which used to have close contact with the office, have been avoiding meetings with them for fear of being accused of "colluding with foreign forces”.

In 2021, many of the civil rights groups in Hong Kong disbanded and some left. Gnocchi admitted that it has become ever more difficult to seek partnership even with non-political groups for advocacy on issues like woman’s rights and labor rights.

We’ve seen, really, our ability to reach out diminished. We’ve had much less contact than we had in the past,” Gnocchi said.

“There are much less stakeholder groups, across political and civil spectrums, that are still willing to meet with us. These groups normally don’t have any national security concerns, but none wants to take any risk,” Gnocchi said many of these groups cited “play it safe” when declining meeting invitation.

Gnocchi indicated that the office is conscious of the situation in Hong Kong and it does not want to put anyone at risk. However, he emphasized that meetings with non-profit organisations are normal diplomatic activities, which shouldn't be restricted.

Having worked in Serbia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kosovo and other places, Gnocchi has witnessed the shrinking spaces in civil society in different places. He believes that the loss of civil society will throw negative impact on the entire country.

“Civil rights group has a vital role to play in raising public awareness [on various societal issues] and holding authorities accountable for their policies.” Not only those civil groups providing food, education, and medicine at the grassroots level should be protected, the authorities should also create space for policy advocacy groups.

Gnocchi stressed that, “in the EU, there are many groups that always criticize us, but their role is important.” He continued saying, “if civil society disappears, you lose one pillar of accountability. I think this is why we are so vocal about the role of civil society. I can only stress how important it is to maintain this space alive.”

Gnocchi acknowledged that he has witnessed many “inevitable changes” after the change in sovereignty in Hong Kong. Taking office after the implementation of National Security Law, Gnocchi regretted seeing growing oppression in this once the world’s freest society.

Continue with Part 2

#InternationalConcern

Source: Stand News #Dec10

#Interview #StandNews
#EU Ambassador to Hong Kong: #NationalSecurityLaw has inhibited specific political rights and civil society in Hong Kong

Source: Stand News #Dec10

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#Interview #StandNews
#EU Ambassador to Hong Kong: #NationalSecurityLaw has inhibited specific political rights and civil society in Hong Kong

[Editor's notes: On the World Human Rights Day (December 10, 2021), Ambassador #ThomasGnocchi, Head of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao, told now-defunct online media outlet, Stand News that he witnessed many changes in thr city after the change of sovereignty in 1997.]

Read Part 1:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31885

In January, 2021, the Hong Kong national security bureau arrested #47Democrats over their organisation and participation in a Legislative Council election primaries, which marked one of the largest crackdowns on civil society by the Hong Kong authorities.

Thomas Gnocchi, EU Ambassador to Hong Kong and Macau, said he is aware of the cases linked to national security violations and extended detention period before a trial actually took place.

Although he declined to comment on these on-going cases, Gnocchi reiterated EU’s stance, “the National Security Law has inhibited specific political rights.” “We see some issues are in a way quite problematic,” he added.

When talking about the relationship between Hong Kong government and media, Gnocchi agreed that it has become worrying. He said, “We’ve put forth our concern on this matter to Hong Kong authorities. This is what we can do on our side.”

China has been the EU's largest trading partner since 2020. During the 7-year-long negotiation over the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement, human rights issues in China has always been an obstacle. In May 2021, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a freeze on the ratification process of the Agreement, saying that the move is aimed at Beijing's sanctions on EU personnel and Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other human rights issues.

On China-EU political conflicts and economic cooperation, Gnocchi claimed that, “It's a matter of trade-offs.” “For us, we have put forward a wide range of topics for discussion, and we hope that a complete set of topics can be discussed. These issues are all interconnected to us, and you are unlikely to separate them.” Gnocchi said.

On December 10, 2021, the EU made its latest Declaration of Human Rights, stating that it has been strengthening human rights protections around the globe during 2021. For the first time, the EU imposed sanctions on people or regimes involved in serious human rights violations and abuses, including China, North Korea, Libya, South Sudan, Eritrea and Russia.

In 2021-2027, the EU will invest over €1.5 billion in support of development of civil rights groups and human rights groups. The declaration concluded by stating that "the realization of human rights is not only a priority for the dignity of mankind; it is the cornerstone of democracy, peace and security and sustainable development".

Source: Stand News #Dec10

Reuters: China puts pressure multinational firms to break ties with Lithuania or be driven out of China market

Source: StandNews #Dec10

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Reuters: China puts pressure multinational firms to break ties with Lithuania or be driven out of China market

The relationship between China and Lithuania is still poor. Chinese customs recently removed Lithuania from its list of "countries of origin", making it impossible for Lithuanian goods to enter China, and Lithuania's foreign minister asked the European Union to intervene with China.

The Reuters news agency on Thursday (9 December) quoted Lithuania's deputy foreign minister and representatives of local industry that China had asked a number of multinational companies to cut ties with Lithuania or else drive them out of the Chinese market.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded on Thursday that he did not understand the situation reported by Reuters, but stressed that China has always acted in accordance with WTO rules, criticizing "Lithuania's betrayal of trust and justice, blatantly violating the political promises made to China when the two countries established diplomatic relations, creating ‘one China, one Taiwan’ in the world and seriously undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity", and that China is determined to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Reuters quoted Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomėnas as saying that China is putting pressure on multinational companies, saying that if they use Lithuanian-made components and goods, they can no longer sell in the Chinese market or get supplies in China, and some companies have already cancelled contracts with Lithuanian suppliers.

Source: StandNews #Dec10

#Reuters #Lithuania #ChinaLithuaniaRelation #EU #ChineseCustoms #Lithuaniangoods #ChineseForeignMinistry #WangWenbin #LithuanianForeignMinistry #MantasAdomėnas

Foreign media: Kosovo diplomatically boycotts Beijing Winter Olympics

Source: Stand News #Dec10

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Foreign media: Kosovo diplomatically boycotts Beijing Winter Olympics

Following the #UnitedStates, #Australia, #Britain, #Canada and other countries, foreign media said #Kosovo also expressed support for the US diplomatic boycott of the #Beijing #WinterOlympics and joined the boycott on Thursday.

According to the report from Alast, Kosovo President #VjosaOsmani supports the US decision on diplomatically boycotting #China, and she joined the boycott due to China's violation of #HumanRights.

Even though the Kosovo delegation will resist all official ceremonies and events during the Beijing Winter Olympics, the athletes will still participate in the game.

Source: Stand News #Dec10