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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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#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/
#Court #Justice #AntiELAB
19-year-old student files a civil claim against HK Police Force: It's a fight for justice

Source: Stand News; #Dec1

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#Court #Justice #AntiELAB
19-year-old student files a civil claim against HK Police Force: It's a fight for justice

During the anti-ELAB movement in Hong Kong two years ago, a 19-year-old pro-democracy student, Pang Yue-him (å½­č£•č¬™) was arrested in #MongKok in November 2019 for possessing a #LaserPointer. Pang plead not guilty.

Without seeking legal representation, Pang took defence for himself in prosecution, reviewed the evidence, and cross-examined the witness in English. In June 2021, he won the court case and was acquitted.

Five months later, Pang filed a civil case at the #DistrictCourt on December 1, accusing the Hong Kong Police Force of disclosing incomplete, misleading and incorrect information which could be deemed ā€œmisrepresentationā€. He claimed a remedy amounted to HK$520,000.

Handling the #CivilClaim case unrepresented, Pang openly acknowledged that the chance of winning the case is slim. He intended to carry on the court case as a fight for justice.

Source: Stand News; #Dec1
https://thestandnews.page.link/pAtu6jwoKW9TiHgJ8
Pillar of Shame placed outside Chinese Embassy in Rome. Nathan Law: China government's atrocities must be exposed to the world

Source: Stand News #Oct28

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Pillar of Shame placed outside Chinese Embassy in Rome. Nathan Law: China government's atrocities must be exposed to the world

As the G20 summit is to be held in Rome for two days from Saturday (30 October), exiled Hong Kong legislator Nathan Law Kwun-Chung took the "Pillar of Shame" to the Chinese Embassy there yesterday (27 October) to protest. He said he might not be able to stop the Chinese Communist Party (#ccp) from committing atrocities, but he hoped to draw public attention to human rights issues in China.

Joint with Luke de Pulford, a British member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), and others, Nathan Law erected a three-metre-high "Pillar of Shame", a replica of the original "Pillar of Shame" status made by the same Danish sculptor Jens GalschiĆøt, outside the Chinese Embassy in Rome yesterday.

"We may not be able to stop the Chinese Communist Party's atrocities, but with the G20 summit around the corner, there is something we can do to get the media's attention and to direct some of the public opinions towards the human rights of the Chinese Communist Party," he said. He would also meet with parliamentarians from different countries in Rome in the coming days, hoping to remind them of the importance of fighting the expansion of Chinese Communist authority when they gather.

Source: Stand News #Oct28

#PillarOfShame #NathanLaw #G20 #Summit #Rome #LukeDePulford #IPAC #China

https://bit.ly/33ptQZ7

[Translator note: According to the Stand News video, Nathan Law said, "it is a statement about the atrocity and the massacre that the Chinese Communist Party did to its people, its crushing of democratic pursuit, and the pursuits of its people to decide the future of their own country", which is not quite the same as what the news article say]
#RecordBreaking
Hong Kong Olympic hero Siobhan Haughey makes swimming history

#SiobhanHaughey became the first-ever swimmer from the Asian nation to break a world record as she won gold at the 2021 #FINA short course world championships.

The 24-year-old broke world record in the 200m freestyle final on December 16 to win gold at the 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Haughey clocked 1:50.31, 0.12 seconds faster than previous mark from 2017: That's the first-ever swimming world record set by an athlete from Hong Kong.

She is also the first swimmer from Hong Kong to win a world title or any medal at the championships.

ā€œThis is a huge moment for me and my country,ā€ she said. ā€œIā€™m Hong Kongā€™s first-ever world champion & world record holder. I hope this is just the start for me and other swimmers in my country.ā€

Source: Stand News, #Dec16

#Sportsmanship #WorldRecord #Swimmer
Hong Kong Pro-democracy Activist #RayChan Gets Married in Face of #PoliticalProsecution

Activist and former legislator Ray CHAN Chi-chuen is one of the 47 pro-democracy figures who were charged over national security violations for participating in the Primary Election of the pro-democracy camp in July 2020.

In face of political prosection, Chan, while on bail, decided to get married. Chan thanked his partner for supporting him during his arrests, trials, and detention.

The ceremony took place in Hong Kong on December 15, 2021. Since Hong Kong's law does not recognise same sex marriage and Chan's passport has been confiscated by the authorities, Chan and his partner registered their marriage virtually in Utah of the United States.

Chan is the first #LGBTQ legislator in Hong Kong. He has been detained for half a year before his bail was granted in September 2021.

Source: Stand News #Dec16
https://thestandnews.page.link/LQ5BCkoEfqDpFsFm7

#Save47 #PoliticalProsecution #Pride #SameSexMarriage
#UKParliament Denies Amendments to Expand #BNO #Visa to Hong Kong Youths

Source: Harbour of Freedom, #Dec6; Stand News, #Dec8

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#UKParliament Denies Amendments to Expand #BNO #Visa to Hong Kong Youths

On December 6, 2021, pro-democracy activists - who fled Hong Kong amidst National Security threat and are now residing in UK - gathered outside the government house on Downing Street in London.

The group urged the passage of proposed amendments to the Borders and Nationality Bill to extend the eligibility of BNO visas to cover youngsters in Hong Kong who were bornafter the 1997 Handover.

Initiated by former Deputy Prime Minister #DamianGreen and supported by more than 20 cross-party MPs, the amendment bill aimed to allow those between the ages of 18 to 24 who have at least one parent with BNO status to claim that status in the UK, without being accompanied by their parent.

Several members of the Parliament and high-profile public figures attended the gathering to show their support. They include #AlynSmith MP, #AfzalKhan MP, #NusGhani MP, author and media veteran #EdwardLucas, #HongKongWatch CEO #BenedictRogers and Hong Kong Watch Senior policy advisor #SamGoodman.

Deliberated in the Parliament, the proposed amendment, unfortunately was rejected on December 8, 2021, as UKā€™s immigration minister #KevinFoster considered the expansion "too broad".

Foster claimed that alternative ways for those ineligibles to apply for BNO include student visa or working holiday.

Source: Harbour of Freedom, #Dec6; Stand News, #Dec8

https://thestandnews.page.link/My2AEzNN2yisKFEG8
A Chinese student in Canada had two followers on Twitter. He still didnā€™t escape Beijingā€™s threats over online activity

In ā€œChina Unbound: A New World Disorder,ā€ Toronto Star reporter Joanna Chiu examines Chinaā€™s growing influence around the world, including in western countries, and its surveillance and human rights abuses that increasingly extend beyond its borders.

Dear Joanna Chiu,
I am (Dan). I am from China. I just graduated from (a Quebec university). I hesitated for a whole night before deciding to write this email ā€¦

Source: The Star #Sep18

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/09/18/a-chinese-student-in-canada-had-two-followers-on-twitter-he-still-didnt-escape-beijings-threats-over-online-activity.html

#Chinese #Student #Canada #Twitter #Beijing
#CallforAction
#HongKongWatch: Elections in Hong Kong Do Not Represent the Vox Populi of #Hongkongers

Hong Kong Watch is organising a social media campaign to call for people's attention to Hong Kong political issues, which include the upcoming #LegCoElections on #Dec19 2021 and the 47 pro-democracy activists and legislators imprisoned or under trial due to the pro-democracy primaries in 2020.

The organisation called for people to upload photos onto social media with the hashtags #ReleaseMyCandidate and/or #é‡‹ę”¾ęˆ‘ēš„候éøäŗŗ, stating that it could not represent the vox populi of Hongkongers.

Shortly after the campaign, many activists and politicians have started their participation, including Lord Alton of Liverpool, MEP Engin Eroglu, human rights activist Laura Harth and Hong Kong artiste Joe Tay.

To learn more about the campaign: https://twitter.com/hk_watch/status/1470428393057488903?s=21

Source: Hong Kong Watch
#Dec17
#Campaign #LegCo #Election #Primaries #NSL
#LegCoElection #CCPCharacteristics
In Hong Kong: 41 Privileged votersā€™ power is 7,200 times a single-vote holderā€™s under new #LegCo electoral system

Source: FactWire #Dec15

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31646
#LegCoElection #CCPCharacteristics
In Hong Kong: 41 Privileged votersā€™ power is 7,200 times a single-vote holderā€™s under new #LegCo electoral system

//At least 41 ā€˜privileged votersā€™ will be able to influence 1.47% of LegCo seats in Sundayā€™s ā€˜improvedā€™ election, finds a FactWire analysis. The voting power of each of these 41 four-vote holders is comparable to that of 7,215 Geographical Constituency voters who hold one vote each.

The #LegCoGeneralElection, scheduled for Sunday, December 19, will be the first one under the ā€˜improved electoral systemā€™, relevant amendments having been passed in May of this year. 

Under the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill of 2021, the total number of seats in LegCo has been increased from 70 to 90. The numbers of seats in Geographical Constituencies (#GC) and Functional Constituencies (#FC) have been reduced from 35 to 20 and 30 respectively, while the newly-formed Election Committee Constituency will comprise 40 new seats.

The FCā€™s composition will also see changes. The District Council sector has been abolished, and three new sectors introduced: namely, ā€˜Commercial (third)ā€™, ā€˜Technology and innovationā€™, and ā€˜HKSAR deputies to the NPC, HKSAR members of the National Committee of the CPPCC, and representatives of relevant national organisationsā€™. In some sectors, individual electors have been replaced by corporate electors.

The electorate of the Election Committee Constituency comprises 1,500 Chief Executive Election Committee (#EC) members, each assigned a ā€˜block voteā€™ to select 40 candidates, albeit there are only 1,448 EC members in the current term, owing to vacancies in its LegCo members subsector and the fact that certain members have,ex officio, dual eligibilities.

Under the new electoral system, EC members will be significantly influential as some of them are qualified to vote in the EC Constituency, their own GC districts and two FC sectors (as individual and corporate electors respectively) at the same time, adding up to as many as four votes per person.//

Read the full article:
https://bit.ly/3s87FRI

Source: FactWire #Dec15

#Regime #AuthoritarianRule #CCPRules #PoliceState #MadeinChina

Related news:

Hong Kong Authorities Ban Citizens from Displaying "Hong Kong Add Oil" on Outfits

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31621
The European Parliament discusses further measures to counter foreign intervention, focusing on China and Russia

Source: Stand News #Nov10

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The European Parliament discusses further measures to counter foreign intervention, focusing on China and Russia

Europe is considering implementing an ā€œAnti-Foreign Intervention Law", like Australia, to contend against foreign political propaganda and to influence the development of local democracy.

The European Parliamentā€™s Special Committee on Foreign Interference and Disinformation (#INGE) discussed a 33-page draft report in Brussels on Tuesday (9th November). Among them, 40 mentions of China, more than twice of Russia. Participants urged the EU to set up a special task force to monitor the intervention from China.

After the INGE delegation composed of transnational members of the European Parliament visited Taiwan last week, the European Parliament this week immediately discussed that the #EU should take further measures to deal with foreign intervention and threats such as China and Russia.

A draft report mentioned that some authoritarian powers try to penetrate Europe, especially the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (#CCP). The report stated that the counteraction could take Australia and New Zealand as a reference, and it will be submitted to the European Parliament for a non-binding vote early next year.

Source: Stand News #Nov10

https://bit.ly/3m0TMAW

#EuropeanParliament #EuropeanUnion #China #Russia #Intervention