Taiwan government seeks to rectify country listing of Taiwanese films mis-labelled as "Chinese Taipei" at the Venice Film Festival

Source: Stand News #Aug11

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Taiwan government seeks to rectify country listing of Taiwanese films mis-labelled as "Chinese Taipei" at the Venice Film Festival

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (MOFA) said at a virtual press briefing yesterday (August 10) that it had asked the Venice Film Festival to correct the country listing of two Taiwanese films mis-labelled as "Chinese Taipei". The two films submitted to the 78th Venice Film Festival, which will be open on September 1, are Chung Mong-hong directed "The Falls" and Tsai Ming-liang's documentary "The Night". MOFA said the request is to ensure that these films are not "unreasonably suppressed" to diminish Taiwan's sovereignty.

The MOFA said that the two participating films were submitted to the organisers under the country name of Taiwan, but were altered to "Chinese Taipei" on the official website without the consent of the applicants, after China protested to the Italian organisers. The MOFA and its representative office in Italy had immediately request a correction upon awaiting of this, but have yet to get a response from the organisers.

Source: Stand News #Aug11

https://bit.ly/3Bpqi4H

#Taiwan #China #Italy #ChineseTaipei #MinistryOfForeignAffairs #VeniceFilmFestival #Sovereignty

China will soon surpass Russia as a nuclear threat –senior U.S. military official

China, in the midst of a rapid nuclear weapons buildup, will soon surpass Russia as the United States' top nuclear threat, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday, warning that the two countries have no mechanisms to avert miscommunication.

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas Bussiere, the deputy commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the country's nuclear arsenal, said China's development of nuclear capabilities "can no longer be aligned" with its public claim that it wants to maintain a minimum nuclear deterrent.

"There's going to be a point, a crossover point, where the number of threats presented by China will exceed the number of threats that currently Russia presents," Bussiere told an online forum.

Source: Retuers #Aug28

https://t.co/7KM4nfknwu

#China #Russia #Nuclear #US

During Latest Exchange, China Presents US With 2 Lists of Grievances

On July 25 and 26, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was in Tianjin, China. While the State Department read-out characterized the trip as “meetings with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other PRC officials,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry made it clear that Sherman’s primary interlocutor was Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, the official responsible for North American affairs.

According to Xinhua, China’s state media agency, Xie presented Sherman with two lists: the “List of U.S. Wrongdoings that Must Stop” and the “List of Key Individual Cases that China Has Concerns With.” The full lists were not made available publicly, but Xinhua provided a summary.

Source: The Diplomat #Jul26

https://t.co/B9SzLOWTyQ

#China #US #Grievances #Tianjin

#Solidarity
Hongkongers in Toronto Present Flowers at Prince Edward MTR Display in Memory of 8.31 Attack; Frontliner Shares Experiences of Protests, Encourages Supporters to Remain United

On August 31, 2021, Hongkongers gathered at Mel Lastman Square in Toronto, Canada to commemorate the #831PrinceEdwardAttack, which took place two years ago in Hong Kong.

The event was organized by Canada-Hong Kong Link (#CHKL), who had decorated a nearby wall to resemble an exit of Hong Kong's Prince Edward MTR station, and attendees presented flowers in memory of the terrifying attack by riot police officers against passengers inside the station that evening two years ago.

Also on display is a replica of a banner sign held up by a first-aider during the attack, demanding police to respect the humanitarian right for the injured to receive medical attention.

Videos of the first-aider pleading in tears with police - and the police ignoring him through locked gates - was among many that had gone viral on the night of the attack, stoking the city's anger against the escalating police brutality.

This video and others taken during the attack was also shown at the rally, as well as interviews with victims of the attack. CHKL president #GloriaFung said that they want to remind attendees of what happened in Hong Kong that night; more importantly, "We want to show all Hongkongers that we have never forgotten Hong Kong, and we will never give up speaking up for Hong Kong on the international stage."

In preparation for the upcoming Canadian federal election this month, CHKL had also organized a nationwide survey on foreign policy and national security issues, particularly towards China. The results is set to be announced next week, and Fung expects it to send a clear message to all political parties of the concerns shared among Canadian Hongkongers, as well as other groups under the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party.

Also speaking at the meeting was Hei, A frontline protester who had moved to Canada, shared stories of his experience in the protests. He said that he felt unity in the city that he never felt before, even though he was a construction worker and assumed that he belonged to the lower class of society.

"That year was when I began to really identify with the label 'Hongkonger'," he said. "Hongkongers are actually still full of love, especially since the events of 2019; we care very much about the people around us."

Since the regime crushed the protests, however, Hei felt that the peaceful protesters thought the frontliners had gone missing. He hoped that they are not forgotten, even though they're no longer in the spotlight. "I hope all organizations and supporters of the movement can remain united," he said.

The title "frontliner" is sometimes a glorification, he says, but more often it's a responsibility. "This responsibility follows us for the rest of our lives," he says, "because we'll always be Hongkongers. We'll always stand in the frontline for all Hong Kong."

Photos: netizens
Full video of the rally: https://www.facebook.com/CHKLink/videos/457215711939067

#Aug31 #831PrinceEdward #PoliceBrutality #hkdarkage #speakup4hk #831hk

#PoliceState #PoliticalSuppresion
Police "Investigates" Hong Kong Protesters' Fund of over National Security Breaches

Hong Kong Police cited the #NationalSecurityLaw to obtain a order of production from the court that demands the #612HumanitarianReliefFund and the Alliance for True Democracy to give out details on donors and recipients, its crowdfunding campaign and how the fund was used.

The police claim that it is to "investigate" the protesters fund over "suspected national security breaches" and "collusion with foreign powers".

Source: Stand News #Sept1
https://thestandnews.page.link/sYtr6a3i3WVV41bGA

#612Fund #HongKongProtesters

AP News: the family members of the dissidents claimed to have been secretly detained by Chinese government in Dubai; may be the first evidence to establish a “black site” outside of China  

Source: Stand News #Aug7

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AP News: the family members of the dissidents claimed to have been secretly detained by Chinese government in Dubai; may be the first evidence to establish a “black site” outside of China 
 
AP News reported, Chinese dissidents Wang Jingyu’s fiancée Wu Huan stated, she was arrested by the local police in Dubai, a major city in UAE in June this year. Ans she was jailed in a detention facility which operates by Chinese government. The report stated, this could be the first evidence to prove China has operating “Black Site” outside the country, which reflected that China will arrest dissidents and minority overseas.  
 
According to The Voice of Germany, Wu Huan’s fiancé Wang Jingyu was persecuted by police as he supports Hong Kong protest in 2019. Wang who was 17, was being sent oversea for security. Wang questioned the Chinese official media about the authenticity of reports on deaths and injuries in the Sino-Indian conflict in February this year, and criticized the CCP, which caused the wanted by Chinese police.  
 
Source: Stand News #Aug17

https://bit.ly/3mKap4N

#China #Dubai #DetentionCamp #CCP #Dissidents #BlackSite #HongKongProtest #HumanRight #Arrest  

Spies for Hire: China’s New Breed of Hackers Blends Espionage and Entrepreneurship

China’s buzzy high-tech companies don’t usually recruit Cambodian speakers, so the job ads for three well-paid positions with those language skills stood out. The ad, seeking writers of research reports, was placed by an internet security start-up in China’s tropical island-province of Hainan.

That start-up was more than it seemed, according to American law enforcement. Hainan Xiandun Technology was part of a web of front companies controlled by China’s secretive state security ministry, according to a federal indictment from May. They hacked computers from the United States to Cambodia to Saudi Arabia, seeking sensitive government data as well as less-obvious spy stuff, like details of a New Jersey company’s fire-suppression system, according to prosecutors.

Source: NY Times #Aug26

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/technology/china-hackers.html

#China #Spy #Hacker #UnitedStates #Cambodia #Saudi #Arabia

‘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

Pro-CCP organisation found in UK BNO policy Taskforce, triggering safety concerns for Hongkongers

#BNO #HongkongersInBritain #LOTR #immigration

Source: Stand News; #Aug18

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Pro-CCP organisation found in UK BNO policy Taskforce, triggering safety concerns for Hongkongers

British government's BNO policy consultation taskforce includes prominent members of the London China Town Chinese Association, says Hongkongers in Britain, a pro-democracy advocacy group for newcomers from Hong Kong.

The Chinese Association had pledged support to the implementation of National Security Law in Hong Kong, as well as having only the “patriots to rule Hong Kong.”

Hongkongers in Britain worried that involvement of pro-CCP organization members in these policies could cause safety concerns to Hong Kong people in the UK, many of whom had recently immigrated to the UK on their British Nationals Overseas (BNO) passports. The advocacy group urged the British government to prohibit those pro-CCP organizations from entering official BNO policy committees.

The London China Town Chinese Association, however, did not respond to media inquiry on this matter.

Hongkongers in Britain's website noted that Consultation Taskforce was formed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to tackle BNO-related policies. The Taskforce does not have representatives from new Hong Kong immigrants, but does include members of the pro-CCP Chinese Association.

#BNO #HongkongersInBritain #LOTR #immigration
Source: Stand News; #Aug18

https://bit.ly/3Bpqi4H

#PoliticalSuppression
#HongKongArtsCentre Cancels Concert of Pro-democracy Singer #DeniseHo

The Hong Kong Arts Centre announced on August 31, 2021 that it has cancelled the venue booking for the concert of singer Denise Ho, an artist known for her pro-democracy stance. The Centre accused Ho and her team for "breaching a clause of the terms and conditions of hire" by allegedly creating "circumstances where public order or public safety would be endangered during the course of the performance".

Ho released a statement the next day, telling Hongkongers that she will not give up holding the concert. She announced that she will perform her concert via online streaming at the originally-scheduled time of the concert, September 12, 2021 at HKT20:00.

"There might be limitations with the venue, but the Stage is limitless," she wrote.

Source: Goomusic #Sept1

#HOCC #Music #Cantopop

When newspaper becomes luxury

Source: Stand News #Jun22

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When newspaper becomes luxury

As I hold a copy of the paper, I think of the young people who just joined this family, their conviction of the truth, their conviction of the responsibility borne upon their shoulders. Yet in an instant, they were relieved of their duties. Not reasoned regarding their performance, but being told that “you are still young, there are certain troubles you shouldn’t get involved in”. When one's way to protect oneself is to run away, the valuable lesson in life would be to boldly accept one’s own weaknesses. If you manage to stay positive, then I’m happy for you; but at least for today, allow me to have a brief moment of despair.

May we meet again

I know full well that life must go on, so I made two wishes.
I could hardly expect people in a decade from now to understand the feelings of waiting for the publication of a newspaper overnight until daybreak, though I do hope that they would know that such a thing happened. I could also hardly expect karma after a decade to be repaid, but if the words “until we meet again” are written in this last newspaper, I hope that I could at least live until then to witness that day. Some people tell me not to romanticize the whole thing - I guess you could call me an old romantic.

Elements of youth

To take away a newspaper, and to declare some truth to be more "true" than others; some opinions to be more "neutral" than others; some lies to be more trustworthy than the truth. These have all become a part of the youth of this generation - a dash of depression in the dark corner of a soul and a piercing desire for justice in the back of the eyeballs. One can choose to tolerate pain, to choose joy over sorrow, or to risk over certain danger, but once all has come to an end, what follows is the struggle between memories and forgetting.

Source: Stand News #Jun22

https://bit.ly/3AWFwhD

#AppleDaily #LeeLamFung

State Media Calls on Hong Kong to Compensate For Tide of Emigration

Net departures from Hong Kong hit nearly 90,000 in the year following the imposition of the national security law by Beijing, according to recent figures from the city's census and statistics department.

In the biggest decline in the city's population since records began in 1961, Hong Kong saw a net outflow of 89,200 residents in June 2021. The departures have led to a 1.2 percent drop in the city's population, the Census and Statistics Department reported.

Until now, Hong Kong and Chinese officials have sought to play down the scale of the exodus, brushing aside the impact on the city's economic and professional life.

But on Monday, a Chinese state media organization, CRNTT, was the first to acknowledge that highly skilled people are leaving in large numbers.

Source: RFA #Aug20

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/emigrate-08302021135106.html

#HongKong #NationalSecurityLaw #Beijing #CRNTT