#AcademicFreedom #1C1S #Censorship #WhiteTerror
"The universities are being "cleaned up": reflection from an assistant professsor who was rejected for "substantiation"
Dr. Ip Iam-chong is an assistant professsor in Cultural Studies at Hong Kong Lingnan University and a founder of InMediaHK, an online news agency in Hong Kong. The university recently reduced his employment to a one-year contract. He wrote the following reflection on the supplementary section of the newspaper MingPao:
//This kind of "extraordinary" means is used particularly explicitly to Joannes Chan Man-mun and Benny Tai Yiu-ting, but it is not an isolated case.
In the past few years, I have constantly heard news from the academic circle that somebody was not renewed, especially those who are politically active, have more social participation, and have sharper speeches.
I also received a notice from the university this year that my application for "substantiation" was rejected, and only got a one-year contract. I will have to say goodbye next year. Of course, these cases are not as outrageous as what Benny Tai encountered, and scholars involved do not need to be imprisoned. They are not so "extraordinary", but there are many "unusual" reasons.
It’s a bit sad that in addition to those politically popular cases, most of the stories of being kicked out by universities may not receive sympathy or support from peers. I have heard of colleagues, who have similar political views, think that those cases had nothing to do with politics, but the academic level of the parties is not enough. I hope that Benny Tai's case can make them more sensitive to college politics. Of course, no one can find evidence to prove that there is a big conspiracy behind cases, but there is reason to believe that the senior officials of the university, as well as the SAR and Beijing government, really want to "clean up" the university.
There may be people from the administrative level of the university receiving political orders. Some people want to please the Liaison Office or the Beijing government, but more of them may just want to eliminate college teachers who are not doing their jobs properly, so that universities can have less politics and free up job vacancies for "non-political" international scholars who are committed to university and their own rankings. Some people may just want to have more "international" level research and publications in universities in Hong Kong, and don't want the staff to be busy taking the streets to engage in joint signing, or like me, writing this kind of newspaper comment. //
Source: Ming Pao #Aug2
#IpIamChong #InMedia #LingnanUniversity
"The universities are being "cleaned up": reflection from an assistant professsor who was rejected for "substantiation"
Dr. Ip Iam-chong is an assistant professsor in Cultural Studies at Hong Kong Lingnan University and a founder of InMediaHK, an online news agency in Hong Kong. The university recently reduced his employment to a one-year contract. He wrote the following reflection on the supplementary section of the newspaper MingPao:
//This kind of "extraordinary" means is used particularly explicitly to Joannes Chan Man-mun and Benny Tai Yiu-ting, but it is not an isolated case.
In the past few years, I have constantly heard news from the academic circle that somebody was not renewed, especially those who are politically active, have more social participation, and have sharper speeches.
I also received a notice from the university this year that my application for "substantiation" was rejected, and only got a one-year contract. I will have to say goodbye next year. Of course, these cases are not as outrageous as what Benny Tai encountered, and scholars involved do not need to be imprisoned. They are not so "extraordinary", but there are many "unusual" reasons.
It’s a bit sad that in addition to those politically popular cases, most of the stories of being kicked out by universities may not receive sympathy or support from peers. I have heard of colleagues, who have similar political views, think that those cases had nothing to do with politics, but the academic level of the parties is not enough. I hope that Benny Tai's case can make them more sensitive to college politics. Of course, no one can find evidence to prove that there is a big conspiracy behind cases, but there is reason to believe that the senior officials of the university, as well as the SAR and Beijing government, really want to "clean up" the university.
There may be people from the administrative level of the university receiving political orders. Some people want to please the Liaison Office or the Beijing government, but more of them may just want to eliminate college teachers who are not doing their jobs properly, so that universities can have less politics and free up job vacancies for "non-political" international scholars who are committed to university and their own rankings. Some people may just want to have more "international" level research and publications in universities in Hong Kong, and don't want the staff to be busy taking the streets to engage in joint signing, or like me, writing this kind of newspaper comment. //
Source: Ming Pao #Aug2
#IpIamChong #InMedia #LingnanUniversity
Universal Testing and Election
The HKSAR government has postponed the Legislative Election that was originally scheduled on 5 Sept 2020, claiming that gathering should be avoided.
However, the government has been pushing universal COVID-19 testing which would be run by China-owned companies in Hong Kong.
114 locations including 24 schools will be used for sample collection. Reporters questioned that the high-risk sample collection in the community may infect more people in the process. Moreover, if the authorities allow civilians to remove mask and swap throat, queries were raised on the decision to delay election.
The media contested the government had a double standard which allows community COVID-19 test for at least 7 days but postpones #LegCo election for a year.
Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip claimed that universal testing is an essential anti-pandemic measure and the government priority. “You can’t make comparison like that" is his answer.
Source: #InMedia #Aug28
https://bit.ly/3hwXLAO
The HKSAR government has postponed the Legislative Election that was originally scheduled on 5 Sept 2020, claiming that gathering should be avoided.
However, the government has been pushing universal COVID-19 testing which would be run by China-owned companies in Hong Kong.
114 locations including 24 schools will be used for sample collection. Reporters questioned that the high-risk sample collection in the community may infect more people in the process. Moreover, if the authorities allow civilians to remove mask and swap throat, queries were raised on the decision to delay election.
The media contested the government had a double standard which allows community COVID-19 test for at least 7 days but postpones #LegCo election for a year.
Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip claimed that universal testing is an essential anti-pandemic measure and the government priority. “You can’t make comparison like that" is his answer.
Source: #InMedia #Aug28
https://bit.ly/3hwXLAO
#Harrassement
China-funded Media Journalist Caught Photographing #InMedia Journalist's Computer in Court, Claims She Was Not Aware It's Prohibited
Source: InMedia #Jul27
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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
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#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
#PoliceState #LegCoElection
HK Police Intimidates Reporter and Warns of "Loitering" Charges in Polling Station
On December 19, 2021, the Legislative Council Election took place in Hong Kong, after being postponed by the authorities for over a year.
In the Tin Sui polling station in Tin Shui Wai, very few voters turned up, unlike the long queue and the crowd during the Pro-democracy Primary Election in the summer of 2020.
Back then, the average waiting time of the polling station is one hour where the queue always consists of several hundreds of citizens.
In the 2021 LegCo Election, there were at least 4 uniform police patrolling the area. An InMedia reporter was confronted by the patrolling officers outside and the police inside the polling station.
Not that the police recorded the personal details of the reporter, an officer accused the reporter of being a "fake reporter." "Never heard of InMedia. Who is your boss?" the police said.
The police ordered the reporter to show the photos that were taken. The police also claimed that they have already arrested some people who took photos in other polling station for "loitering".
In another polling station in Wanchai, the police forbade a InMedia reporter from conducting interview in the unrestricted area outside the polling station. The police claimed that "only iCable and another outlet" can cover the election news.
Source: InMedia #Dec19
https://bit.ly/321XJyx
https://bit.ly/3EbtYZ5
#PressFreedom #InMedia
HK Police Intimidates Reporter and Warns of "Loitering" Charges in Polling Station
On December 19, 2021, the Legislative Council Election took place in Hong Kong, after being postponed by the authorities for over a year.
In the Tin Sui polling station in Tin Shui Wai, very few voters turned up, unlike the long queue and the crowd during the Pro-democracy Primary Election in the summer of 2020.
Back then, the average waiting time of the polling station is one hour where the queue always consists of several hundreds of citizens.
In the 2021 LegCo Election, there were at least 4 uniform police patrolling the area. An InMedia reporter was confronted by the patrolling officers outside and the police inside the polling station.
Not that the police recorded the personal details of the reporter, an officer accused the reporter of being a "fake reporter." "Never heard of InMedia. Who is your boss?" the police said.
The police ordered the reporter to show the photos that were taken. The police also claimed that they have already arrested some people who took photos in other polling station for "loitering".
In another polling station in Wanchai, the police forbade a InMedia reporter from conducting interview in the unrestricted area outside the polling station. The police claimed that "only iCable and another outlet" can cover the election news.
Source: InMedia #Dec19
https://bit.ly/321XJyx
https://bit.ly/3EbtYZ5
#PressFreedom #InMedia
#Save12
Chinese Prison Penalises Hongkonger for "Failing" Mindset, Lawyer: May Loss Communication Right
#TangKaiYin, one of the 12 pro-democracy Hongkongers who tried to flee to Taiwan but was captured by the Chinese authorities, is serving a prison sentence in Conghua in China.
His family in Hong Kong said they had not received any letters from him since February, 2022, and he did not collect letters sent to him.
Tang's brother checked the prison's online system yesterday and found that Tang still has a few transactions in June and July, 2021. But his prison score was deducted twice for "violating the rule," including "failing to pass the ideological, cultural and technical learning assessment for that month."
A China human rights lawyer, who has assisted these 12 Hongkongers, told #InMedia that prisoners who are not willing to plead guilty or "accept the mind conversion" might be forbidden from receiving letters and may be further deprived of consumption or communication rights.
According to the lawyer's analysis, not receiving letters, in this case, may not be related to plead of guilt, as Tang had already been sentenced earlier. It is more likely because he doesn't change his mind, "something like indoctrination, perhaps some kind of non-cooperation," he said.
In addition, prisoners sent to prison hospitals due to illness or physical punishment would not be allowed to receive or write letters, "It is also possible that he cannot write letters because of his health condition," the lawyer explained.
Source: InMedia #Jul28
https://bit.ly/3Jcs6mL
#12Hongkongers #China #PoliticalPrisoner #PoliceState #HumanRights #ThoughtPolice
Chinese Prison Penalises Hongkonger for "Failing" Mindset, Lawyer: May Loss Communication Right
#TangKaiYin, one of the 12 pro-democracy Hongkongers who tried to flee to Taiwan but was captured by the Chinese authorities, is serving a prison sentence in Conghua in China.
His family in Hong Kong said they had not received any letters from him since February, 2022, and he did not collect letters sent to him.
Tang's brother checked the prison's online system yesterday and found that Tang still has a few transactions in June and July, 2021. But his prison score was deducted twice for "violating the rule," including "failing to pass the ideological, cultural and technical learning assessment for that month."
A China human rights lawyer, who has assisted these 12 Hongkongers, told #InMedia that prisoners who are not willing to plead guilty or "accept the mind conversion" might be forbidden from receiving letters and may be further deprived of consumption or communication rights.
According to the lawyer's analysis, not receiving letters, in this case, may not be related to plead of guilt, as Tang had already been sentenced earlier. It is more likely because he doesn't change his mind, "something like indoctrination, perhaps some kind of non-cooperation," he said.
In addition, prisoners sent to prison hospitals due to illness or physical punishment would not be allowed to receive or write letters, "It is also possible that he cannot write letters because of his health condition," the lawyer explained.
Source: InMedia #Jul28
https://bit.ly/3Jcs6mL
#12Hongkongers #China #PoliticalPrisoner #PoliceState #HumanRights #ThoughtPolice
#47Democrats #PrimaryElection #SubvertionofStatePower
As the restrictions on reporting got lifted, #Inmedia revealed how 47 democrats in Hong Kong plead guilty in June, 2022.
Source: Inmediahk, #Aug18
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As the restrictions on reporting got lifted, #Inmedia revealed how 47 democrats in Hong Kong plead guilty in June, 2022.
Source: Inmediahk, #Aug18
Read more
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