Riot police hit reporter with baton for 6 times at the hand

At around 21:30 on Dec 20, a man was arrested for the suspicion of firing gunshot. The incident attracted onlookers from the neighborhood and some were discontent about the police. In return, the police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

A police officer was found assaulting a Stand News reporter and his camera by hitting his hands rapidly for at least 6 times.

The video showed District Councillor-elect Wong Siu-kin was subdued by police, during which riot police hit the reporter. When a reporter who witnessed the incident shouted out, the riot police, then pointed his gun at reporters before returning to the cordon.

Source: Stand News #Dec20 https://bit.ly/2MgqOeh

#FirstHand #Dec20 #letter
District Council Members-Elect Urge HongKongers to Never Forget and Help Change Our Society for the Better

On Decenber 21 outside the Lai Chi Kok detention center, at least 6000 citizens gathered to show support for the detainees. In the ongoing pro-democracy movement, over 6000 people have been arrested by the police.

During the rally, a district council member-elect spoke of the bullet that fired into the chest of a youngster in her district Tsuen Wan on October 1st.  She mentioned that no Hongkonger would ever forget this gunshot:

“Political liquidation is beginning to creep into our lives, but let’s not forget that we also have a score to settle with this regime!  July 21, no police anywhere!  August 31, beaten to death!  October 1, murdered by gunshot!  We shall pursue until all police officers were accounted for their brutality!  This is the best way to support our arrested brothers and sisters!  Hongkongers, we shall never forget!”

Read the Letter from Arrestees to Hongkongers:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/13620

#Solidarity #US
Hongkongers in New York Protest Outside HSBC Headquarters, Condemning the Bank's Aid in Political Persecution

Source: Apple Daily #Dec20

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#Solidarity #US
Hongkongers in New York Protest Outside HSBC Headquarters, Condemning the Bank's Aid in Political Persecution

A group of Hongkongers in the United States protested in front of the #HSBC US headquarters on Dec 20, 2020 despite the cold weather.

The participating citizens criticised HSBC for freezing the accounts of pro-democracy dissidents in Hong Kong as requested by the Hong Kong government and Hong Kong Police Force. It was worried that with the assistance of financial institutions, the basic rights of Hongkongers will be further infringed.

The protest was organised by two groups #Lausan and #LionRockCafe. The New York Committee for Human Rights in Philippines also sent a representative to give a speech.Former Secretary General of the Hong Kong Federation of Students Alex Chow showed up for support.

The protest brought attentionto the accounts of former lawmaker Ted Hui and his family, the Good Neighbour North District Church, its head pastor Chan Hoi-hing and his wife.

Lausan spokesperson suggested that HSBC participated in the political persecution in Hong Kong, and this action not only helped the Hong Kong government to retaliate at pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong; freezing the church’s bank account also directly affected the church’s service to help those in need.

Source: Apple Daily #Dec20

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201220/ANLBAAOT3BHWPEO4W4B2NVRTEA/

Hong Kong's descent into darkness
Tiananmen without the massacre

Source: Nikkei Asia #Dec20

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Hong Kong's descent into darkness
Tiananmen without the massacre

Each week brings new reports of reprisals against activists. In December 2020, three twenties activists, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam started prison terms for taking part in nonviolent acts of civil disobedience. Ted Hui, a moderate member of the pro-democracy camp was driven into exile. The gadfly journalist Jimmy Lai is being held without bail ahead of an April trial date. All of which adds up to Hong Kong having experienced its own version of the post-Tiananmen crackdown.

After new National Security Law imposed by Beijing, singing "Glory to Hong Kong" is to risk arrest since Beijing sees it as potential evidence of subversive "separatist" tendencies.

There is a feeling in Hong Kong that changes for the worse are coming so fast that the overall experience is disorienting as well as distressing

Source: Nikkei Asia #Dec20

https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Hong-Kong-s-descent-into-darkness?fbclid=IwAR2ssWlEJwN4x8ud1W2dGu4QKf2LLhsMNZuOT03jzo9CJ_mGl7ktqk24zWk

#Dec20 #HongKong #HongKongProteste #DarkenssInHK #TiananmenMassacre

US said that the Navy should Combat China and Russia more Decisively as China has the Most Oppressive Threats to the US

Sources: Apple Daily #Dec20

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US said that the Navy should Combat China and Russia more Decisively as China has the Most Oppressive Threats to the US

A report from the US Department of Defense says that China and Russia are the “rivalry" of the US. The report also suggests that the US Navy combat China and Russia with a “more decisive stance” as China has adopted the “most pressing” approach, which strategically threatens the US.

Heads of the US Marines Corps, Navy and Coastal Guard warn in the report that “the rules of the international order has been attacked again”. The report describes that China and Russia are rivalries of the US as the safety environment has been changing drastically since 2015, especially when China posed a “most pressing long term strategical threat”.

The report further stated China as the US competitor in economic and military potential, causing “long term and holistic challenge to the US”. “China refuses to use a conventional logistic hub, restricts marine freedom, controls the use of key location, impedes US interventions of regional disputes, and replaces the US as the primary choice of marine partner in the globe.”

#China #Marine #US #Russia #USDiplomacy #ChineseDiplomacy #Military

Sources: Apple Daily #Dec20

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201220/EXPHFNI3LRAQ5KK2FLNXOUAWXQ/

Macau and Hong Kong different paths to China. Why? 

While Hong Kong seems to have resisted Beijing’s tightening control, Macau has embraced one country, two systems rule.

A tiny former Portuguese colony, Macau, has marked 21 years since its return to China.

It was agreed in 1999 the territory would be governed under the Chinese “one country, two systems” rule, as is the case with Hong Kong.

Source: Aljazeera #Dec20

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2020/12/20/different-paths-to-china-macau-and-hong-kong-why
 
#Macau #HongKong #China #OneCountry #TwoSystem

"Patriots-Only" #LegCoElection Causes Lowest Turnout in Hong Kong History: 3.12 Million Hongkongers Cast #NoVote

Source: Stand News; InMedia #Dec20

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31665

"Patriots-Only" #LegCoElection Causes Lowest Turnout in Hong Kong History: 3.12 Million Hongkongers Cast #NoVote

The Legistlative Council (LegCo) election ended at 10:33pm on December 19, 2021. The turnout in the geographical constituency, the only part of the Council that is generated by direct election, was recorded 29.28% at 9:30pm. At 3:30am in Hong Kong, the government announced that the turnout is 30.2%, which is the lowest in Hong Kong history. According to the government statistic, over 17,000 ballots came from three polling stations set up in the border between Hong Kong and China.

Among 4.37 millions of registered voters, 3.12 million Hongkongers did not cast any vote in the "patriots-only" election in 2021, and only around 1.3 million did. Some citizens who voted said they have never seen that the polling stations were such empty, especially when compared to the 2019 District Council Election, where the pro-democracy camp had a landslide victory. In 2021, there were no more young people using innovative ways to promote and support their candidates. Citizens who voted said voting is a civil responsibility but there was no choice in this election.

Even before the election closed, it was reported that Chief Executive #CarrieLam would go to Beijing the next day. It was unknown whether it was related to the election.

Source: Stand News; InMedia #Dec20
https://bit.ly/3mhWLow

#FailedState #CCPStyle #Regime #Election

===
Related News:

How Hongkongers Respond to "Patriots-Only" #Election
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31663

"Don't Vote" Banner Spotted on Lion Rock Mt. in Hong Kong
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31667

#Court #Censorship
Hong Kong Court Asks Man to Change Mask With Suspected Protest Iconography

Source: InMedia #Dec20

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#Court #Censorship
Hong Kong Court Asks Man to Change Mask With Suspected Protest Iconography

#CarolNg, former chairperson of Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (#HKCTU) and one of the “#NSL47”, has been remained under custody. She has requested bail on #Dec20, 2021 to the High Court, and the application was processed by Esther Toh Lye Ping, one of the designated judges for any #NationalSecurityLaw-related cases.

A court observer have worn a yellow and black mask with the #Bible verse (Amos 5:24), “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” embroidered on it.

He was denied entry by security and court personnel under orders of the judge, and demanded that he change his mask before he would be allowed entry. They have not explained their reasons behind this act.

The observer was disgruntled by the request, and questioned, “If my clothes were not allowed in court, do I have to take them off them too?”

A similar incident also happened on #Dec17, 2021, when former head of the English edition of Apple Daily #LoFung (Fung Wai-kwong) requested bail.

Before the hearing began, Toh, through her secretary and Bailiffs, required observers wearing yellow masks or wearing hoodies with yellow umbrella insignias to change into “more appropriate” clothing, or be led away from the courtroom.

Some observers have questioned the requirement, questioning that those were “unsuitable” clothing, to which the Chief Bailiff stated, “it is inappropriate,” without further explaination.

Source: InMedia #Dec20

https://bit.ly/3slkoAG

#Mask #Injustice #Save47

#Propaganda #CCP
Buying Influence: How China Manipulates #Facebook and #Twitter

Source: New York Times #Dec20

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#Propaganda #CCP
Buying Influence: How China Manipulates #Facebook and #Twitter

//...a new set of documents reviewed by The New York Times reveals in stark detail how Chinese officials tap private businesses to generate content on demand, draw followers, track critics and provide other services for information campaigns. That operation increasingly plays out on international platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which the Chinese government blocks at home.

The documents, which were part of a request for bids from contractors, offer a rare glimpse into how China’s vast bureaucracy works to spread propaganda and to sculpt opinion on global social media. They were taken offline after The Times contacted the Chinese government about them...

A separate document reviewed by The Times shows that the same local branch of Shanghai police purchased video-making services from a different company in November. The police asked the supplier to provide at least 20 videos a month and to distribute those on domestic and overseas social media. The document referred to the task as original video production that would be used to fight the “battle of public opinion.”

Earlier this year, a New York Times and ProPublica analysis showed howthousands of videos portraying members of the Uyghur ethnic minority living happy and free lives were a key part of an information campaign that Twitter ultimately attributed to the Chinese Communist Party...

Work like what Shanghai Cloud Link pitched is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Local governments and police across China have put out similar requests for services to influence overseas social media, but often in vague terms. Occasionally, specifics are revealed.

In 2017, for instance, the police in Inner Mongolia purchased software that allowed government trolls to post directly to multiple social media sites, inside and outside of China, according to documents reviewed by The Times.

In another case, a contractor had downloaded hundreds of access credentials for Facebook’s public feed, allowing it to collect data about who commented on which posts and when.//

Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/20/technology/china-facebook-twitter-influence-manipulation.htmlb

Source: New York Times #Dec20

#Manipulation #PublicOpinionManagement #SocialMedia #Meta #Disinformation #MadeinChina #CCPRules