#Photography
What can you see in the photo?

A graffiti in Mongkok writes “dog-like officials”, referring government officials as corrupt and incompetent.

Source: Kevin Cheng #May31
#PoliceState #StateTerrorism #HongKong

#StateTerrorism #June12
Government Gazettes Anthem Law, Pro-Beijing Camp Dominates Legislative Council on One Year Mark of Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Movement

1440 | #LegCo
In the Legislative Council, Starry Lee, the pro-Beijing chairperson of the House Committee, expelled the pro-demoracy lawmakers who displayed placards and shouted "Lest we forget 612" from the chamber.

Today is one year after June 12, 2019, where citizens protested outside the Legislative Council to oppose the second reading of the Extradition Bill and were later suppressed by violent police operation.

On the same day one year after, the government gazetted the equally controversial Anthem Law and Beijing has passed plans to impose the even more draconian National Security Law.

Source: RTHK
#AnthemLaw #AntiELab #NationalSecurityLaw

#AnthemLaw #StateTerrorism
One Year After Anti-Extradition Bill Protest, Government Enforces Another 'Evil Law' Anthem Law

On 11 June, Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, signed the "National Anthem Ordinance" passed by the Legislative Council last week. The relevant regulations will be gazetted on 12 June and will take effect immediately.

Lam claimed that the national anthem, much like the national flag and the national emblem, is symbol of the People's Republic of China, and that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inseparable part of China. Safeguard the dignity of the national anthem is what Hong Kong should do. She also said that with the official enactment of the "National Anthem Ordinance" coming into effect marks the Special Administrative Region's fulfillment of its constitutional responsibilities, embodying the spirit of "One country, Two systems".

The National Anthem Ordinance criminalizes the improper use or insult to the national anthem. In the past, fans at football matches that involved Hong Kong were often heard booing whenever the national anthem was played.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBS-udzJSRZ/?igshid=1e3hvajp0xse6

#LastYearToday #HongKongChronicles #PoliceBrutality
11.11: One year after Police Shooting Pro-democracy Students in Sai Wan Ho

On Nov 11, 2019, Hong Kong citizens launched "three strikes" during the Anti-ELAB Protests. Road blockage occurred in many districts.

At 7am that day, a traffic police officer fired live rounds at two unarmed youths, who were wearing black, at close range, causing critical injuries. The incident brought to a citywide discontent toward the police brutality.

Moving on to the one-year mark of the police shooting, citizens sprayed graffiti at the scene of incident.

Phrases like "ideas are bulletproof" could be seen at the neighbouring footbridge.

The 21-year-old wounded student has been charged for obstructing or resisting a police officer, attempted robbery and escaping from legal custody.

Former legislator Ted Hui Chi-fung tried conducting private prosecution against the police officer who shot the student with live round. However, the Department of Justice intervened and ordered to withdraw the prosecution.

Source: United Social Press #Nov11

#Graffiti #HongKongProtests #StateTerrorism #PoliceState
#Shooting #LiveRounds #OperationDawn

=====
Read more:

What Happened Last Year:
State Terrorism At Its Worst? Police move gunshot victim after firing
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/10307

#HongKongChronicles #CUHKBattle
"We Love the Young People of Hong Kong Even More"

On the evening of November 12, 2019, thousands of Hongkongers and alumni of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) rushed to protect the campus, as the police tried to siege the university with force.

As the police sealed off the roads, the closest one can get was Foo Tan. Some people walked from Ma On Shan while carrying bags of supply. Those who could not reach the campus cried helplessly before the live broadcast.

We love CUHK.
We love Hong Kong.
We love the young people of Hong Kong even more.

[Editor's note: The photo captured the civilian-police stand off on Bridge No. 2 on campus during the Battle of CUHK. Civilians were defending the university from the police's firing of thousands of tear gas grenades, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds with umbrellas.]

Photo: Raymond L

Source: Studio Incendo #Nov12
https://www.facebook.com/1474101479504603/posts/2759208560993882/

#LastYearToday #CUHKSiege #StateTerrorism

#StandwithMyanmar #FightforFreedom
Burmese model and actor condemns military junta as "terrorist"

Burmese model and actor Paing Takhon condemns the military junta in Myanmar in social media. In support of the anti-coup protests, Takhon said the military police force has become "terrorists" for shooting peaceful protesters and voluntary first aiders on purpose.

He pointed out that the military force opened fire at ambulance and near residential area.

He calls on the international society can protect the people of Myanmar.

Source: Stand News #Feb21 https://bit.ly/3aBhyhx

#StateTerrorism #PoliceState #MyanmarProtest #PaingTakhon

=====
Read more:
Myanmar Riot Police Shot Live Bullets Again, Killing at Least 2 Civilians
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28699

#HumanitarianCrisis #Regime
Authoritarian government in #Belarus uses bomb threat to divert a plane and arrest an opposition blogger in exile

On 23 May 2021, a #Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuani was forced to perform an emergency landing in Minsk, located in Belarus, after the #Belarus ATC claomed that there was a 'bomb threat' on board.

By doing so, the Belarus police arrested a pro-democracy activist-in-exile #RomanProtasevich, who was a former editor of the Telegram channels #Nexta and Nexta Live.

Protasevich was wanted in Belarus for being critical of and having organized a protest in 2020 against the authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko.

The Lukashenko’s authoritarian government has launched a broad crackdown on opposition leaders and independent media. All editors at Nexta who mostly live in exile have said they have been threatened with extraordinary rendition in the past.

The Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said the plane had been “hijacked” and accused Lukashenko of a “reprehensible act of #StateTerrorism”.

In a joint statement, the US, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic condemn Lukashenko's action as “an act of piracy”: “This act of state terror and kidnapping is a threat to all those who travel in Europe and beyond. It cannot be allowed to stand."

Protasevich was reportedly trembling on the plane, telling a fellow passenger that "I’m facing the death penalty here", as the plane was diverted to Belarus. His current whereabouts are unknown after being taken away by the Belarusian police.

It was confirmed that Lukashenko ordered his military to use a Mig-29 fighter to escort the plane.

Image: Twitter @franakviacorka
Source: The Guardian #May23

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/23/belarus-diverts-ryanair-plane-to-arrest-blogger-says-opposition

#Hijack #Kidnap #Military #PoliceState #Crackdown #ICAO #TelegramChannel

#NeverForget #NeverGiveUp
Hong Kong Pro-democracy Trade Unions Commemorate CCP-'Suicided' #LiWangYang for Fighting Against Totalitarian Power

Video: https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29988

On June 6, 2021, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (#HKCTU), a pro-democracy labour rights group, held a memorial for Chinese dissident Li Wangyang (1950-2012) who passed away on the day 9 years ago in 2012.

After being jailed by the Chinese authorities for 21 years, Li who had become blind and nearly deaf by then was found dead in a hospital room. The #ChineseCommunistParty (#CCP) government initially claimed that Li had "committed suicide".

Li's sudden death -- which took place just a few days after he in an interview called for the vindication of the 1989 June 4th #TiananmenMassacre -- had stirred up outcry in Hong Kong and abroad. The real cause of his death remained in the shadow.

The HKCTU organized a commemorative event to pay tribute to Li's perseverance in fighting against the regime.

#ChowHangTung, vice chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China who was arrested by the Hong Kong police on the morning of June 4, 2021, joined the memorial on bail.

Chow said, "The regime does not win even by imprisoning us. As long as we manage to reinforce the movement during the process, we are not losing."

Source: HKCTU; InMedia;
#FirstHand #Jun6
https://bit.ly/3ghbIDu

#Dissent #Death #Suicide #StateTerrorism #Memorial
#Video

#GreatFireWall #WhiteTerror
HK Security Secretary Connects Sympathy to Participation; LIHKG to be probed

In a meeting in Hong Kong's Legislative Council that is dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers on July 6, 2021, Secretary for Security #ChrisTang referred the 2019 pro-democracy movement to "color revolution" that aimed at subverting the regime. The former police commissioner also urged citizens to condemn and report.

Tang said, "We will make not only the terrorists, but also the supporters and those who attempt to tone it down, live like rats."

On July 1, 2021, a 50-year-old Hong Kong man called #LeungKinFai died after knifing a police officer and stabbing himself reportedly on the chest. In following days, many Hongkongers mourned the man and brought flowers to the site.

The authorities claimed that mourning as well as posting comments about the man's death could breach the #NationalSecurityLaw.

Law professor #JohannesChan at the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) disagreed and pointed out that mourning the deceased out of sympathy is not a criminal act. Chan criticized that the "red line" drawn by the government is "way too unreasonable".

Secretary for Security Chris Tang, however, insisted that sympathy is a form of support and support is a form of participation.

Tang said, "depending on individual cases, we will see whether we have evidence to make arrests and take our prosecutions."

With reference to Prof Chan, Tang said, "I hope this legal scholar can sleep at night. because you might have painted Hong Kong in blood."

In addition, Tang said that the next target is the Internet Forum #LIHKG because it is "filled with illegal information". Tang claimed that authorities will make arrests and force the websites and the users to remove their messages.

Source: Stand News; RTHK #Jul6

https://thestandnews.page.link/WGcVhQPd8JEWUhrK6

#StateTerrorism #Article23 #Censorship #HongKongProtests #Mourning #Death #Martyr

#WhiteTerror
#CarrrieLam Insists Actions Against HKU Students; University Management Deregisters Students' Union

On July 13, 2021, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam demands the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) to take action against students. This is followed by the #StudentsUnion Council passing a motion on July 8 to express condolences to a Hong Kong man who died after knifing a policeman and stabbing himself on July 1.

Even the Students' Union's Council has already apologized by resigning on July 9, Lam insisted disciplinary actions on students.

On the same day, the University Management announced that the Students' Union would no longer be recognised as an independent registered association.

Previously, the government, the police and pro-Beijing figures have condemned students for breaching the #NationalSecurityLaw and claimed to invite the National Security Police for investigation.

Source: RTHK; InMedia #Jul13

#Education #University #FailedState #FreeSpeech #StateTerrorism

#PoliceState
#Taiwan #Scholar refutes HK government's labelling of police knifing incident as “local terrorism”

In less than 4 hours after the police knifing incident took place in Causeway Bay on 1 July, 2021, the Hong Kong government's Secretary for Security #ChrisTang, hastily concluded the attack as a “lone-wolf terrorist act”.

Tang further condemned those attempted to pay tribute to the deceased man, calling such action as “glorifying terrorism and encouraging violence."

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary #JohnLee warned citizens against what he called "local terrorism" in his first blog post as the city’s second ranking official.

Taiwan scholar, #ShihChienGu who specializes in global counter-terrorism, however, considered such allegations unfounded.

He did not agree that public mourning advocates terrorism. Instead, he asked the Hong Kong Government to investigate reasons for the incident to render public sympathy.

Shih further explained that there are two basic concepts to Terrorism, one is whether it causes panic in society and the other is whether it has a political purpose.

The man who knifed the police officer didn’t cause social alarm. If the action was out of the man's discontentment, it is neither politically driven.

Shih opined that the assault against pro-democracy protesters in Yuen Long on 21 July 2019 was a terrorist attack as it shocked and provoked panic in local community. If the collusion between assailants and police is evident, the attack could be deemed a “state terrorism”. That is to say, the regime is using illegal means to intimidate its own people.

Shih Chien-yu is a guest professor in the Taiwan Tsinghua University.

Source: HKCnews; #Jul7

https://bit.ly/3wEWRZT

#StateTerrorism #Propaganda #WhiteTerror #Censorship

#PoliceState #Arrest #NSL
Hong Kong Police Arrest 3 University Students under #NationalSecurityLaw

At 9:40am on August 18, 2021, Hong Kong police arrested at least three members of the students' union of the University of Hong Kong under the National Security Law.

They include the elected president of the Students' Union #KwokWingHo; the Faculty of Arts Student's Union representative #YungChungHei ; and the president of the students' union council #CheungKingSun.

The police accused the three university students of "promoting terrorism".

According to sources, it is related to a withdrawn motion of the students' union council in July 2021. The Union has passed a motion to extend condolences to the 50-year-old Hong Kong man #LeungKinFai who passed away after stabbing himself and knifing one policeman.

Image: #FirstHand
Source: Now News; Stand News #Aug18

https://thestandnews.page.link/6fuSBWh3LsdKkm178

#StateTerrorism #StudentsUnion #HKU

September 11, 2021: Blatant Crackdown on Civil Society Continues in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the organizer of the annual candlelight virgil commemorating the 1989 June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre, has been the target of the Hong Kong authorities.

On September 9, 2021, the #NationalSecurityPolice raided the June 4 Museum, formerly operated by the group.

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31004

One day later, the Department of Justice (#DoJ) charged the chairpersons of the group, including #LeeCheukYan, #AlbertHo and #ChowHangTung, of "state subversion" under the #NationalSecurityLaw.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31008

On the same day, the Hong Kong government tried to remove the group from the register.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31012

Image: vawongsir #Sept11

#StateTerrorism #911 #NationalSecurityLaw #Injustice

#Court #TongYingKit
Inside the Surreal Trial of the ‘Most Benevolent Terrorist in the World’

[Editor's note: A 24-year-old Hongkonger Tong Ying-kit was the first person charged with the National Security Law, after he rode a motorbike towards the police. He was convicted on July 27, 2021 of "terrorism and inciting secession". The court sentenced him to nine years in jail.]


//A Hong Kong judge has now spoken candidly with VICE World News about what they considered to be an alarming outcome in Tong’s case. As the de facto test case of the new law, Tong was found guilty of terrorism and inciting secession, for which he was sentenced to nine years in jail. 

“Privately, I felt this case was unfair. This is not how the law should work,” the judge said during an exclusive interview.

Tong’s case offered a glimpse of a once-proud institution in a crisis of confidence. 

The judge, who spoke to VICE World News anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that the court relied on a “questionable” understanding of criminal law concepts and sentenced Tong too harshly. That assessment was based on the judge’s prior experience, though they had no involvement in Tong’s trial.

“[Tong] didn’t do much of anything—he didn’t commit murder or arson,” the judge said wryly. “He is the most benevolent terrorist in the world.”//

Source: Vice #Sept20

Read the full article:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/93y47p/hong-kong-national-security-trial-tong-ying-kit

#NationalSecurityLaw #StateTerrorism #Judiciary