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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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#Regime #WhiteTerror
Hong Kong Authorities Allegedly Threaten International Media on Election Reportage

On November 29, 2021, the Wall Street Journal (#WSJ) published an editorial titled "Hong Kong Says Vote—or Else."

It refers to the Legislative Council (#LegCo) Election which has been postponed by the Hong Kong government for a year. With the majority of the pro-democracy camp jailed and detained, the election will now take place in December. The newspaper described the situation as how "China fears a boycott of the sham vote it will hold next month."

The newpaper wrote:
"We bring you this message from Hong Kong because China’s Communist Party wants the world to forget how it crushed the autonomy it promised to the territory. On Monday authorities issued arrest warrants for two pro-democracy exiles who used social media to recommend that Hong Kongers boycott sham legislative elections scheduled for December."

4 days after the release of the editorial, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, #TsangKwokWai, of the Hong Kong government sent a letter to the newspaper, denying all the claims.

On December 5, 2021, Wall Street Journal published the letter as a reader's opinion article, with the caption "Hong Kong Issues a Threat to the WSJ: We reserve the right to take necessary action,’ writes the regime, flagging an editorial for ‘incitement'."

While the Election is scheduled on December 19, 2021, Tsang's letter issued in December said the election will take place "next month".

#ErickTsang #FailedState #LegCoElection

Source: Stand News; Wall Street Journal #Dec5

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-china-wsj-threat-election-legco-democracy-freedom-protest-ccp-11638575014

https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E8%8F%AF%E7%88%BE%E8%A1%97%E6%97%A5%E5%A0%B1%E7%A4%BE%E8%AB%96%E6%8F%90%E6%9D%AF%E8%91%9B%E9%81%B8%E8%88%89-%E6%9B%BE%E5%9C%8B%E8%A1%9E%E5%8E%BB%E4%BF%A1%E8%AD%A6%E5%91%8A%E7%85%BD%E5%8B%95%E4%B8%8D%E6%8A%95%E7%A5%A8%E9%81%95%E6%B3%95-%E4%BF%9D%E7%95%99%E6%8E%A1%E5%8F%96%E5%BF%85%E8%A6%81%E8%A1%8C%E5%8B%95%E6%AC%8A%E5%88%A9
#LegCoElection #Censorship
Hong Kong Authorities Ban Citizens from Displaying "Hong Kong Add Oil" on Outfits

The postponed Hong Kong Legislative Council elections will take place on December 19, 2021, despite the majority of the pro-democracy camp was detained or sentenced to jail.

On December 14, 2021, #BarnabasFung, the chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (#EAC), said voters who have the words "Hong Kong Add Oil [Hang On]" on their outfit might be asked to cover them.

On a side note, staff at polling stations are not allowed to wear, in particular, yellow facemasks.

Source: InMedia #Dec14
https://bit.ly/3dLh4pX

#Regime #LegCo #Election #WhiteTerror
#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 #釋放我的候選人, 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 voters’ power is 7,200 times a single-vote holder’s under new #LegCo electoral system

Source: FactWire #Dec15

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31646
#LegCoElection #CCPCharacteristics
In Hong Kong: 41 Privileged voters’ power is 7,200 times a single-vote holder’s under new #LegCo electoral system

//At least 41 ‘privileged voters’ will be able to influence 1.47% of LegCo seats in Sunday’s ‘improved’ 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 ‘improved electoral system’, 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 FC’s composition will also see changes. The District Council sector has been abolished, and three new sectors introduced: namely, ‘Commercial (third)’, ‘Technology and innovation’, and ‘HKSAR deputies to the NPC, HKSAR members of the National Committee of the CPPCC, and representatives of relevant national organisations’. 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 ‘block vote’ 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
#Regime #WhiteTerror
HK Government Arrest at least 10 Civilians for 'Inciting'
#BlankVotes in “Patriots-only” #LegCoElection

As of December 16, 2021, the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (#ICAC) has arrested a total of 10 civilians suspected of "inciting" others not to vote, or to cast invalid votes.

The latest two civilians were arrested and accused of sharing a social media post by democrat and former lawmaker #TedHui, who is in self-imposed exile in Australia. In the post, Hui called for Hongkongers to cast blank votes in the upcoming “patriots only” legislative election as a form of “silent protest.”

Responding to the arrest, Hui wrote on his Facebook page that “I’m confident and I believe, HongKongers, who know the true meaning of ‘#BeWater’, would know what to do on election day.”

This time, Hui added a prominent disclaimer to this facebook post, which wrote “the tyranny has been making rampant arrests. Avoid public dissemination, but please share the post privately.”

Source: Inmediahk.net; #Dec16
https://bit.ly/3Fd6nZ2

#Elections #CCP #LegCo #Protest #SocialMedia #Censorship
#Court #AntiELAB
Pro-democracy Engineer tells Hong Kong Court to "Return the Power to the Citizens"

Part 1:

[Editor's notes: On July 28, 2019, the police fired numerous #teargas canisters and #rubberbullets in #SheungWan in order to disperse the crowd. 44 people were arrested, 21 of them were charged for rioting. The Court extended the trial from November 13 to December 4, 2021.]

In Hong Kong, 20 civilians, including an 26-year old engineer who pleaded guilty earlier, were accused of the riot at the police-citizen conflict at #SheungWan on July 28, 2019.

On December 4, 2021, Kun Kit-Wang, a 26-year-old engineer, defended himself in court in Hong Kong over rioting charges in the 2019 AntiELAB Movement.

Kun pleaded guilty before the trial and was under detention since May when he revoked his bail.

In court, Kun thanked the magistrate for reminding him to find a legal representative in the previous trial, but he still hoped to defend himself.

Kun said that during the 2019 #AntiELABmovement, #July28 was nothing special originally, but because of the Police’s indulgence of the #July21 indiscriminate attack in #YuenLong, that night triggered the most anger from citizens, and resulted in much anger on the rally on July 28.

He used a quote from #MartinLutherKing, "Riot is a language of the unheard", saying that the #riot classification reflects the government’s negligence of the citizens' opinion.

As a result, he admitted to being part of the riot with no hesitation and indicated that the government should feel ashamed of their actions, not the citizens.

He said there were two #rallies with a million people on #Jun9 and #Jun16, 2019, demonstrating the vox populi. Although the peaceful demonstration gained international accreditation, the Hong Kong government still ignored the backlash and made the decision on their own.

He recalled a quote painted on the wall of the #LegCo chsmber on #Jul01, 2019, "It's you who taught me a peaceful rally can't change anything." It expresses the hopelessness, frustration and anger felt by #Hongkongers at the time.

As there had been magistrate that were unknowledgable concerning the protesters' demands, Kun said that the protesters only hoped for having a chance to participate in policy advocacy, which some regard as "returning the power to the people".

If the #HongKongLegCo does not gain authorisation of the people or does not have a peaceful system to resolve problems, it is suppression. #MaoZedong has said, "fight as there is suppression".

He also pointed out that the #ProvisionalLegislativeCouncil (#PLC) installed by the post-handover government in 1997 was not authorised by the citizens. The handpicked council revived the #PublicOrderOrdinance, which became the law behind the prosecution of many dissidents.

As a person bound by the law, he would like to ask, "do I have the responsibility to obey a contract that I disagree with to begin with?”

Continue with Part 2:


Source: Inmedia #Dec04
https://bit.ly/3ozeOIm

#Defence #PoliticalOppression
A year ago, 55 democrats from the LegCo primary election were accused of violating the #NSL. In this year, Hong Kong has changed a lot...

#LegCo #PrimaryElection #Democrats47 #GoHKgraphics
#Court #PoliceState
2 handed suspended 2-month sentences for inciting others to cast invalid votes in Hong Kong’s ‘patriots only’ election

//Two people who were convicted of inciting others to cast invalid votes in Hong Kong’s “patriots only” legislative election last December have been given suspended sentences of two months’ in prison.

...The pair were accused of sharing a Facebook post by self-exiled pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui calling on Hongkongers to cast blank or invalid votes in the Legislative Council (#LegCo) election. As part of Beijing’s sweeping electoral overhaul, the authorities amended electoral laws last year, making it illegal to incite others to cast invalid votes and obstruct others from voting.//

Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/04/19/2-handed-suspended-2-month-sentences-for-inciting-others-to-cast-invalid-votes-in-hong-kongs-patriots-only-election/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Apr19

#Election #ICAC
#NationalSecurity
HK Government Proposes System to Screen Arrivals who might "Endanger National Security"

The Hong Kong government suggests at a Legislative Council (#LegCo) meeting to set up system to report passenger information for incoming flights, requiring airline companies to provide the information at least 40 minutes before take-off.

Sonny Au Chi-Kwong, Undersecretary for Security, stated at the meeting that the government will assess the risk of those entering the city, "to filter people who are disadvantageous for Hong Kong and at high risk". Factors include national security and potential non-refoulement claimants.

He also indicated that when considering companies tendering bids for building the system, the government will also consider whether they are related to countries with sanctions against Hong Kong.

In a submitted document, the Security Bureau explains that setting up this system and amending the relevant laws under the Immigration Regulation satisfies the requirement of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, allowing airline companies and the border control department to have real-time, two-way communication.

Au stated that more than ten thousand people were being banned from entering the Hong Kong border in the past three years. He emphasises that the immigration officers will also check whether passengers can enter Hong Kong.

#SonnyAu #AuChiKwong #Immigration #SecurityBureau

Source: Inmedia #May03
https://bit.ly/39nhKmg
Former Student Union President Arrested for Sharing Post in Social Media

In Hong Kong, former president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong student union Owen Au Cheuk-hei was arrested by officers of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). He was accused for sharing a post on social media urging people to cast a blank vote in the Legislative Council (LegCo) election in 2021.

In response to an inquiry from Hong Kong In-Media, the ICAC confirmed the arrest of a person on July 12, 2022 for sharing a post on social media, allegedly inciting others to cast blank votes or not to vote in the 2021 Legislative Council general election, breaching section 27A of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.

Source: Hong Kong In-media (#Jul12)

#CUHK #StudentUnion #SocialMedia #ICAC #LegCo #Election #FreedomOfSpeech #PoliticalPrisoner #Censorship

https://bit.ly/3OZ23lm
25th Anniversary of the Transferral of Hong Kong's Sovereignty: "Huge fallback of democracy"

In 2022, the sovereignty over Hong Kong has been transferred from Britain to the PRC for 25 years but with no plans for universal suffrage. The currrent electoral system is a "huge fallback of democracy".

With the enactment of Hong Kong National Security Law (#NSL) since 2020, the #CentralGovernment largely changed Hong Kong's electoral system, as the city's #LegislativeCouncil (#LegCo) no longer has an opposite voice.

With the enormous change in the political system and the environment in Hong Kong, what hapened to the promise of "High Degree of Autonomy" and "Hong Kong ruled by Hong Kong people"?

"When I was in Hong Kong, I saved my diary for the first time in my life. I hope it can be the evidence of Hong Kong being a British colony with a democratic society." said former and the last Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten.

Hong Kong once experienced a higher level of democracy and more freedom. However, the circumstances have changed a lot in the last 25 years. The promise of a "real universal suffrage" has never been fulfilled. Worse still, the electoral system had been changed.

Source: RFA #July01
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/features/hottopic/feature-71-07012022024423.html

#HighDegreeofAutonomy #ChrisPatten #ElectoralSystem #Handover
#HKParliament
Overseas activists launching Hong Kong Parliament in exile are suspected of violating national security law : Hong Kong Security Bureau

A group of overseas #Hongkongers announced their proposal of "Hong Kong Parliament", and plan to have the first election next year.

In response, the Security Bureau published a statement to condemn the organisers, including Victor Ho Leung-Mau, Elmer Yuen Gong-Yi, Baggio Leung Chung-Hang, claiming that their actions may violate the 22nd Ordinance under #NationalSecurityLaw (#NSL) -- Subversion of the State, and will arrest them.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/33055

Elmer Yuen Gong-Yi, aged 73, is the father of former People Power Chairperson #EricaYuenMiMing and current-issue commentor #DerekYuenMiChang whose wife is a #LegCo member #EuniceYungHoiYan. Elmer Yuen has been commenting social and political issues since the 2019 #AntiELAB movement.

Victor Ho Leung-Mau was an editor-in-chief at Sing Tao Daily Canada. #BaggioLeungChungHang is a former LegCo member who was disqualified from his seat in the vow-taking incident in 2016, and had announced that he was exiled to overseas in 2020.

source: In-Media HK #Aug03
https://bit.ly/3vBMYOL
Althea Suen: I never regret fighting for freedom, justice, and democracy

Former #HKUSU president, Althea Suen (#SuenHiuNam), pleaded guilty before trial. She admitted to being weak and powerless in her FaceBook post because she could not stand a predictably long sentence. She felt sorry and sad for not being able to show different perspectives of protesters in the 71 LegCo case, and she "cowardly accept libels and lies from the authority".

She said she will take care of herself in prison, "I never regret fighting for freedom, justice and democracy from the beginning. In 2023, I am in Hong Kong, trapped in prison, but my mind remains free".

#CourtNews #AltheaSuen #LegCo

Source: Inmedia #May29
https://bit.ly/3MABrXT
Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Movement Marks the Fourth-Year Anniversary

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Pro-democracy anti-extradition bill movement in Hong Kong, which began with a massive demonstration of 1.03 million people taking to the streets.

On this day four years ago (June 9, 2019), the #CivilHumanRightsFront organized the "Defend Hong Kong, Protest against Extradition Bill" to express opposition to the proposed amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, also known as the anti-extradition amendment bill (#AntiELAB). The amendments were set to be deliberated in the Legislative Council (#LegCo) on June 12. The protest garnered widespread support, with an estimated 1.03 million Hong Kong citizens participating.

However, the Hong Kong Police reported a much lower turnout, stating that only approximately 153,000 individuals joined the demonstration at Victoria Park, with a peak attendance of 240,000.

In response to the demonstration, the government issued a statement at 11 p.m. that evening, affirming its intention to proceed with the amendments. This refusal to heed public demands resulted in clashes between protesters and the local police force at the Legislative Council.

Subsequent weeks witnessed a series of demonstrations and confrontations, during which the Hong Kong police employed tactics such as tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, and pepper ball guns. These actions were met with accusations of police brutality while the government denounced the protesters, labelling their actions as "black violence" and drawing parallels to a "colour revolution."

The Civil Human Rights Front later put forward five major demands:
1. The withdrawal of the extradition bill
2. The retraction of the "riot" designation
3. The release of arrested individuals
4. An independent investigation into alleged police misconduct
5. The resignation of Chief Executive Carrie Lam

From June 2019 to early 2020, the demonstrations and conflicts persisted, shaping the course of the pro-democracy movement.

Throughout the entirety of the pro-democracy movement, a total of 10,297 individuals were arrested. Up to now (June 9, 2023), over 70% (7,369 people) of the cases remain unresolved. This figure excludes over 800 individuals accused of more severe crimes, which were claimed to have further investigation. Consequently, nearly 6,500 people have yet to face formal charges.

As of December 31, 2022, 2,928 people have either undergone or are currently in the judicial process. Among them, 1,475 people have been convicted, 304 have signed behaviour bonds, six have been issued care or protection orders, and four have been found in contempt of court (in civil proceedings). Fifty-seven people had their charges withdrawn, 387 people were acquitted after trial, and the cases of the remaining individuals are still ongoing. Additionally, 25 people were released after receiving a warning from the police.

Source: The #Collective HK; #Jun09

https://www.facebook.com/100090517773995/posts/pfbid0xpvHFiy91jR5c6qkuXvn6FMD8mfwSYnKjGPvcajPWLUMEcE9dKoNQZDwMv4UTTTml/?mibextid=cr9u03

#CourtCaseStatistics #Arrested #5Demands #Fouryears #Jun09 #Jun12 #Review