Foreigner Cosplayed as Joker in Support of Pro-democracy Demonstration (1)

1518 | The Civil Right Human Front initiated the New Year Rally today. Two foreigners showed up in Causeway Bay holding banners like “Is it just ME or is it getting CRAZIER out there” and ”Uphold Joint Declaration”. Peter, one of the two men, cosplayed as “Joker”, attracting many citizens to take photos with him.

Continue with the second part: https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/14606

Source: StandNews
#1Jan #Joker #NewYearRally #CausewayBay #JointDeclaration

#OneCountryOneSystem #HumanitarianCrisis
Parliamentarians and Policymakers from 23 Countries Condemns Beijing for "flagrant breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration"

Led by Hong Kong's last governor Chris Patten, a cross-party international coalition of 201 parliamentarians and policymakers from 23 countries on May 23 issued a statement decrying Beijing’s ‘unilateral introduction of national security legislation in Hong Kong,’ and calling for sympathetic governments to act.

Hong Kong Watch’s co-founder and Chair, Benedict Rogers said that “the death of democracy in Hong Kong" is a grave concern to countries worldwide.

The joint statement warned that "If the international community cannot trust Beijing to keep its word when it comes to Hong Kong, people will be reluctant to take its word on other matters."

The list of signatories can be found on Hong Kong Watch's page.

Source: Hong Kong Watch #May23 #Petition #NationalSecurityLaw
#JointDeclaration #ChrisPatten

#Britain: China Breaches #JointDeclaration; #EU: China Contradicts its International Commitments

Britain released a second #statement in response to "Beijing’s imposition of new rules to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong".

British foreign minister Dominic Raab called it "a clear breach of the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration".

The statement said, "China has once again broken its promises and undermined Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy. The UK will stand up for the people of Hong Kong, and call out violations of their rights and freedoms. With our international partners, we will hold China to the obligations it freely assumed under international law."

The European Union also comdemned China for "further significantly undermin[ing] Hong Kong’s autonomy under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, contrary to China’s international commitments."

Source: UK Foreign Secretary; EU #Nov12

Image: InMedia

British Embassy in China Rebuts Beijing’s Allegations Against BNO that the Immigration Policy has Always been Transparent, even Chinese can also Apply for Naturalisation

The UK announced earlier that Hongkongers who hold BNO passport can apply for a five-year visa from late January this year, then they can apply for British citizenship for staying another year. However, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised that this announcement violated the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The British Embassy in China criticised spokespersons of China Zhao Lijian and Wang Wenbin in a document on Jan 21 that China is the party to violate the promise due to the Minato National Security Law implementation. If China does not recognise BNO, it will directly break the commitment of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Regarding a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Sino-British Joint Declaration does not have any words or clauses empowering the United Kingdom to intervene in Hong Kong’s internal affairs after the handover in 1997. It refers to the United Kingdom as “no sovereignty, no governance power, and no supervision power”, describing the British side as “the promise made to Hongkongers is completely dreaming and nonsense”. In an article, British Embassy indicates that the United Kingdom will accept China exercise sovereignty over Hong Kong “without hesitation”, and not support or encourage Hong Kong independence. However, they emphasised that the Sino-British Joint Declaration is still a legally binding international agreement.

The article continued that China signed the agreement in 1984 to ensure the rights and freedom of Hongkongers to the United Kingdom, to continue upholding Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, and to maintain all the lifestyle, social and economies for 50 years from 1997. According to the agreement, the United Kingdom has the rights to claim China fulfil the promise.

Source: Stand News #Jan21

https://bit.ly/3rVJwuj

#China #UnitedKingdom #HongKong #Beijing #Independent #Freedom #HumanRights #JointDeclaration #Autonomy #BNO

Australian Foreign Minister: Stand with those who care about freedom of the press 
 
The 26-year-old Hong Kong “Apple Daily” was forced to cease operations on 24 June,2021 due to the freezing of many senior executives and assets. This has drawn many foreign countries’ attention.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne indicated through the post, “Sith the closure of the Apple Daily, Australia stands with those raising legitimate concerns about the future of press freedoms in Hong Kong. She especially mentioned those attentions are legitimate.  
 
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has posted on Twitter and demonstrated the concern at the arrest of journalists from Apple Daily. The impact will have on freedom of expression in Hong Kong, as provided in the Basic Law underpinned by the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Since the closure of Apple Daily, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne retweeted the post of DFAT, and posted to indicate, Australia will stand with the people who care about freedom of press.  
 
Source: Stand News #Jun25 
 
 https://bit.ly/3zpeuyD

#AppleDaily #FreedomOfPress #FreedomOfSpeech #Australia #HongKong #China #CCP #Democracy #BasicLaw #JointDeclaration #DFAT #Twitter #StandWithHongKong