China warns US-UK-Australia pact could ‘hurt their own interests’

China has told the US, the UK and Australia to abandon their “cold war” mentality or risk harming their own interests after the three countries unveiled a new defence cooperation pact.

The trilateral security partnership, named Aukus, was announced on Thursday by the three nations’ leaders via video link, and will include an 18-month plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

It drew strong political reaction domestically in Australia and the UK, and from France, whose existing $90bn (£65bn) submarine contract with Australia has now come to an abrupt end.

Source: The Guardian #Sep16

https://t.co/BNrgTIE3rU

#China #US #UK #ColdWar #Australia

2 Years After PolyUsiege, 19-year-old HongKongers in Exile: "I Earnestly Want to Return to Hong Kong"

On November 17, 2019, a fierce police-civilian collision broke out at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU). The campus were surrounded by armed police. It is the most tragic fight in the #AntiELAB movement in 2019, carving an indelible wound in countless Hongkongers' hearts.

Two years have passed, a large number of pro-democracy #protesters were subjected to reprisal one after another. As a result, some of them were #exiled #overseas without a returning date, including the 19-year-old Ivan

After escaping from the #PolyUSiege, Ivan, like many young protesters, has been facing the "guilt of survivors" and the unknown future.

"I have been thinking for a long time and finally decided to speak out as I would like to overcomd the fear with everyone," Ivan said.

After s year of exile in the #UK, Ivan chooses to "come out of the closet politically", which is different from when he first arrived.

In the past, he participated in the UK rallies anoymously by donning black. Today, he would not cover his face, rather, he would speak in front of a camera in order to let the world hear their voice.

Ivan said, "I would like to tell the world what we are thinking and what we are doing in a new perspective, as well as the reasons behind, including Why I need to taje it to the street, instead of being a "#HongKongPig" [the one who does not care about politics]?"

So "Hong Kong Pig" went on the street.

Before the movement, Ivan was a "Hong Kong pig", who did not care about the happenings in societyn. But then he chose to protest on the street, entering PolyU campus during the siege, even when he was still a secondary school student.

Ten hours later, he tried to escape from the campus but was arrested.

Although he refused to enter into further bail and was released unconditionally, due to the further reprisal by the Hong Kong Police Force, Ivan had been living in fear before leaving HK.

He then left for the UK with his HKSAR Passport and a single flight ticket on November 5, 2020, going on an exile on his own. At the time of leaving, his parents were also kept in the dark.

He avoids mentioning his family and denies recalling the experiences in the protests, but emphasising "not to get the light spot".

Struggling at the edge of the political #asylum after the exile

Not long after Ivan's departure, the police went to his home to arrest him, accusing him of "perverting the course of public justice".

Just a line to the imprisonment, he becomes a #fugitive at the age of19, struggling to survive alone in a new country.

Source: RFA #Nov17
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/hk-polyu-11172021060537.html

Continue Part 2

#Solidarity
Hundreds of Hongkongers in UK protest against clampdown of press freedom in Hong Kong

On January 8 and January 9, 2022 Hongkongers in the United Kingdom assembled in 7 cities to protest against Hong Kong authorities' crackdown on press freedom.

Clad in black, many Hongkongers were seen holding homemade handbills and banners calling for international community's attention over the deterioration of freedom in Hong Kong.

Holding hands and singing the protest song, "Glory to Hong Kong", long human chains were seen in Newcastle, Birmingham, Kingston, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to show solidarity and support for journalists arrested by national security police in Hong Kong.

Sources: Apple Daily HK, Whats News Media; Harbour of freedom, and Free HK; #Jan9

#PressFreedom #StandNews #CitizenNews #AppleDaily #UK
#HumanChain

#UK #CCPThreat
#MI5 accuses lawyer of trying to influence politicians on behalf of China

Source: Guardian #Jan13

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#UK #CCPThreat
MI5 accuses lawyer of trying to influence politicians on behalf of China

An unprecedented security warning from MI5 was circulated to MPs and peers on Thursday that accused a lawyer, Christine Lee, of seeking to improperly influence parliamentarians on behalf of China’s ruling Communist party.

It is the first time that MI5 has issued an “interference alert” relating to China and concerns a high-profile Anglo-Chinese lawyer who received an award from Theresa May and who has donated £584,177 to the office of Labour MP and former shadow cabinet member Barry Gardiner.

The alert names and pictures Christine Ching Kui Lee, who has allegedly “knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Chinese Communist party”.

It added that the UFWD was “seeking to covertly interfere in UK politics through establishing links with established and aspiring parliamentarians across the political spectrum” and to “cultivate relationships with influential figures”.

Read the full article:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/13/chinese-national-trying-to-improperly-influence-politicians-says-mi5

Source: Guardian #Jan13

#SecurityBreach #Espionage #Lawyer

#UK #Migration #Hongkonger
Hong Kong Immigrants in Britain are showing a flair for protest

Source: Economist #Feb22

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#UK #Migration #Hongkonger
Hong Kong Immigrants in Britain are showing a flair for protest

//Between January and September last year [2021] 88,000 Hong Kongers applied to move to Britain under the British National (Overseas) visa route, which was created by the government in response to the crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong. Many of them have been quick to stage in their adopted home the traditions of their old one.

The protest in Edinburgh was one of at least ten held across Britain in January alone. Some demonstrations in London have attracted almost 1,000 people. For a modest-sized group of new immigrants, the speed and scale with which the Hong Kongers have taken to the streets is striking.

Hong Kongers say that the main reason they keep protesting is because objectionable things keep happening. January’s protests have been focused on the issue of press freedom: in December and January two of Hong Kong’s last remaining independent news outlets closed after their offices were raided by police and journalists were arrested. Further protests will probably be held in February to call for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which start on February 4th...

Hong Kongers who have fled the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on the city were specifically driven to leave by sudden restrictions on their rights of free speech and free assembly. The point of moving was to regain those freedoms for themselves and their children. Although many Hong Kongers in Britain still fear the Communist Party, failing to protest in Britain would be cowardly, argues Ken: “If I am silent here I am just helping them.”//

Read the full article:
https://t.co/u1j42pubny

Source: Economist #Feb22

#BNO #Protest #AntiELAB

#LifeBoat
UK Government considering proposals to expand #BNO scheme for Hong Kong youngsters born after 1997

#ChrisPatten #BNO #UK

Source: Radio France Asia Cantonese; #Feb11

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#BNO
UK allows young Hongkongers a pathway to British citizenship

#UK #Citizenship #NationalSecurityLaw #Emigration

Source: RFA; #Feb25

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#BNO
UK allows young Hongkongers a pathway to British citizenship

The British government announced new amendments to the British National (Overseas) immigration route on February 25, 2022, which allows Hong Kongers who were born on or after 1997 and who have parents with BNO passports to access it independently of their parents.

The BNO scheme, designed to offer a path to citizenship for Hong Kong nationals in the wake of Beijing’s national security law being imposed, required that applicants hold a BNO passport.

While the scheme allows applicants to bring relatives, including adult children, with them to the UK, many young people who have taken part in pro-democracy protests in 2019 have had to flee alone because their parents wish to remain in Hong Kong.

Acknowledging that this was creating “unfair outcomes”, Immigration minister Kevin Foster said it was “right and important” that the government change the policy to enable individuals aged 18 or over who were born on or after 1 July 1997 and who have at least one BNO parent to apply to the route independently.

He said the government intended to lay the changes to the immigration rules in September, with the changes expected to go live in October.

#UK #Citizenship #NationalSecurityLaw #Emigration

Source: RFA; #Feb25
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/uk-visa-02242022121049.html

China ‘threatens families to silence Uighur exiles in Britain’

Uighurs in the UK are being intimidated into silence by Chinese authorities as the “long arm” of the repressive regime reaches exiles in Europe, a report has found.

Thousands of members of the minority group who left China to live in western democracies are feared to be censoring themselves out of concern for the safety of their families. Those who dare to speak out about human rights abuses in their home country say they face threats from officials as well as pressure to inform on their expatriate communities.

Source: The Times #Feb10

https://t.co/e7Rx2MRJMF

#China #UK #Uighur #Longarm

Cabinet ministers voice security fears as Boris Johnson seeks closer ties to China

A cabinet split over UK-China relations has deepened after it emerged the prime minister is seeking to boost trade with the economic superpower.

Boris Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak are looking to form what sources close to them describe as a more pragmatic and balanced approach to ties with Beijing.

The tone adopted by No 10 and 11 is at odds with what some cabinet figures view as a mounting threat to British security from the world’s second-largest economy.

Source: Independent #Feb13

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-china-security-cabinet-b2014060.html

#China #UK #BorisJohnson

"Ten Years" Director Organizes #HongKongFilmFestival in the UK

Ka-Leung Ng, a Hong Kong director who produced the dytopian film #TenYears, has moved to the UK for almost a year; however, he did not announce his whereabouts until September 2021. When asked about the reason, Ng said, "I don't even know how to explain."

Being away for a year, #KaLeungNg still has his mind on Hong Kong, like many other Hong Kong people. Therefore, he organized the 1st Hong Kong Film Festival (UK) with fellows. It was held between March and April in #London, #Manchester, #Bristol and #Edinburgh.

Among his 16 film productions, there are videos related to social movements which are not allowed to be screened in Hong Kong. However, even more are small-scaled independent movie productions that even Hongkongers may not know them.

He knows that it is difficult to produce a movie freely in Hong Kong's current situation. Therefore, he hopes to promote Hong Kong movies in the #UK in various areas, topics and presentation ways throughout the Film Festival. He added, "Even if Hongkongers are emotionally eager to watch some of the movies, we have the responsibility to promote a breadth of movies. Therefore, more people can understand Hong Kong culture and stories... How Hong Kong films move further depends on how we continue to promote overseas."

Since people in the UK would like to watch HK movies but he does not have relevant experience, he and #ChingWong, with the aid of other people such as local film festival hosts and professors for HK movies, organise the event, titled "Rupture and Rebirth". "Rupture" can be understood as the change of not only interpersonal relationships due to imprisonment and being apart, but also the identity of #HKers and movie cultures. "Rebirth" indicates hope -- people try to find a way out of a bad situation. "Good artworks can still be seen in bad times". He emphasises that he does not intend to choose banned movies to screen, "when a place becomes abnormal, normal actions will be treated as weird".

Source: Inmedia #Mar12
https://bit.ly/3MLcRTa

#HongKongCinema

#FirstHand #Jun4
#Hongkongers, #Tibetans and #EastTurkestans Join Assembly Outside of ChineseEmbassy in #London

On June 4, 2022, more than 200 people gather outside the Chinese Embassy in London for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the victims of the #TiananmenMassacre back in 1989.

#IsaacCheng Ka-Long, the former Vice-Chairperson of #Demosisto, and #YauManChun, a former Shatin District Councillor, were the moderated the event. Speakers representing the #UK, #HongKong, #Tibet and #EastTurkestan took turn to speak. The pre-recorded speech of #ZhangXianLing, one of the "#TiananmenMothers", were played after a minute of silence was observed.

Zhang Xianling's son was massacred at Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4 1989. Her son was 19 years old when killed. Zhang sent blessing to Hongkongers. Despite the suppression of demonstration and commemorative events in Hong Kong, Zhang encouraged the people of Hong Kong not to give up.

#BenedictRoger, the founder of #HongKongWatch, brought a yellow umbrella to the event, saying the umbrella were only used in rainy weather but it also symbolised the sovereignty and the power of the people who suffer suppression. He hopes people would see the UK as a shelter.

#LeeWingTat, a former legislator from Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, also gave a speech, urging people not to give up. Under the National Security Law (#NSL) and other regulations, he foresaw the arrival of more and more Hong Kong immigrants to the UK. He encouraged those who arrived early to help others to settle and hoped to spread the situation in Hong Kong to the world.

#TserinPassang, a British-born Tibetan talked about how his parents went in exiled due to the high-pressure suppression in Tibel such as re-education camps and forced labour. He said that over hundred Tibetans conducted self-immolation to express their discontent, but the suppression by Chinese Communist Party (#CCP) regime does not cease. He expressed his will to go to his homeland hopefully in a not so distant future.

After that, a representative from East Turkestan spoke on the genocid and the need to raise people's awareness on all humanitarian crises.

Although it is no longer possible to continue the tradition of holding an annual candlelight vigil at Hong Kong's #VictoriaPark, the commemorarive event is carried out overseas and is joined by not just Hongkongers.

The assembly in London ended with three songs: "The Flower of Freedom" (自由花), "The Internationale", and "Glory to Hong Kong". The participants chanted pro-democracy slogans to voice their demands outside the Chinese Embassy.

#Remembrance #Solidarity #Overseas #Resistance #Diaspora #Hongkongers

#Whitewashing
New Hong Kong Textbooks Claims that Hong Kong has Never Been a Colony

#MingPao, a newspaper in Hong Kong, recently found four textbooks from three publishers that claim "Hong Kong is not a colony" in the module "Citizenship and Social Development".

One textbook even stated, "China has always had sovereignty over Hong Kong, while Britain only exercised colonial rule in Hong Kong."

Commons, a media outlet, confirmed the constitutional and historical status of Hong Kong as a former British colony, after researching historical documents and materials from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and the United Nations.

The media outlet also interviewed Dr. Yeung Wing-yun, who was a former Manager of Assessment Development in the History Division of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and had taught high school and universities in Hong Kong.

Source: Commons #Jun16

#HKEAA #Colony #UK #YeungWingYun #FactCheck

http://cmmns.co/vYKBV

U.K. spy chief warns China’s use of technology threatens global security

From satellite systems to digital currencies, China is seeking to use new technologies to repress dissent at home and dominate its adversaries abroad, according to a U.K. intelligence chief.

Unlike Britain or its democratic allies, China views technological advances as a “tool to gain advantage through control of their markets, of those in their sphere of influence and of their own citizens,” according to excerpts of a speech by Jeremy Fleming, head of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), U.K.’s electronic spy agency.

Source: NBC News #Oct11

#UK #China #Spy #GCHQ

https://t.co/k7gWQogg3e

HKers were Attacked in Southampton after Attending 612 Assembly

There was an assembly at Southampton marking the 4th year of the #June12 incident on Sunday (11th) in Southampton, UK. Some participants were injured by some #LittlePink, shocking the overseas HongKongers' group.

Tom, one of 4 victims, expressed in an interview at #ChaserNews that he could not imagine being attacked after joining a rally with his friends in the UK, given that the UK is a country that values ​​freedom of speech and assembly.

The British police indicated in a media inquiry that the case has been classified as a "hate crime".

Tom said that the police force is gradually taking statements from them.

#UoS #UniversityofSouthampton #UK #Southampton #Bargate #ChineseOverseasStudent

Source: The Chaser News #Jun12

https://thechasernews.co.uk/612%E5%9B%9B%E5%91%A8%E5%B9%B4%EF%BD%9C%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA%E4%BF%AE%E5%92%B8%E9%A0%93%E9%81%87%E8%A5%B2%E6%B8%AF%E4%BA%BA/