#ProtestArt
#Hongkongers in #Switzerland Protest Outside #UnitedNations Headquarters

On June 12, 2021, Hongkongers in Switzerland rallied in front of the United Nations headquarters in #Geneva.

On the second anniversary of the #AntiELAB protests, they displayed multilingual signs, calling on the United Nations and the world to support Hongkongers' fight for freedom.

June 12 was the day when the first large-scale police-civillian took place. The police excessive use of force has been condemned by the local as well as international bodies.

Source: #FirstHand #Jun12

#GlobalSupport #OverseasHongkongers #HongKongProtests #FightForFreedom

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Related Stories:

Two Years into Hongkongers' #FightForFreedom: "Keep the Faith, Until Darkness Gives Away to the Glorious Dawn and Freedom Returns to Our Land"

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30108

Hongkongers in #Nottingham, #UK Commemorate #AntiELAB Protest Anniversary

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30121

#PoliceState
#July1 protest organiser: As long as Hongkongers refuse to forget, echoes will reach us one day

For the first time in 18 years, the Civil Human Rights Front (#CHRF) will not submit an approval request to the Hong Kong police regarding the annual pro-democracy July 1 march.

According to the acting convenor Chung Chong-fai, the Civil Human Rights Front has stopped operating since its convenor Figo Chan has been jailed in May concerning a pro-democracy protest on October 1, 2019.

Chung said the Front will elect a new convenor in September 2021.

Chung added, many groups will organize street booths on July 1: "Even if the Front has finished its historical mission, it doesn't mean Hongkongers will stop speaking up."

"As long as Hongkongers refuse to forget, echoes will reach us one day," Chung reminded his fellow citizens.

Source: Stand New #Jun20
https://bit.ly/3qapvQZ

#HongKongProtests

#GreatFireWall #WhiteTerror
HK Security Secretary Connects Sympathy to Participation; LIHKG to be probed

In a meeting in Hong Kong's Legislative Council that is dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers on July 6, 2021, Secretary for Security #ChrisTang referred the 2019 pro-democracy movement to "color revolution" that aimed at subverting the regime. The former police commissioner also urged citizens to condemn and report.

Tang said, "We will make not only the terrorists, but also the supporters and those who attempt to tone it down, live like rats."

On July 1, 2021, a 50-year-old Hong Kong man called #LeungKinFai died after knifing a police officer and stabbing himself reportedly on the chest. In following days, many Hongkongers mourned the man and brought flowers to the site.

The authorities claimed that mourning as well as posting comments about the man's death could breach the #NationalSecurityLaw.

Law professor #JohannesChan at the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) disagreed and pointed out that mourning the deceased out of sympathy is not a criminal act. Chan criticized that the "red line" drawn by the government is "way too unreasonable".

Secretary for Security Chris Tang, however, insisted that sympathy is a form of support and support is a form of participation.

Tang said, "depending on individual cases, we will see whether we have evidence to make arrests and take our prosecutions."

With reference to Prof Chan, Tang said, "I hope this legal scholar can sleep at night. because you might have painted Hong Kong in blood."

In addition, Tang said that the next target is the Internet Forum #LIHKG because it is "filled with illegal information". Tang claimed that authorities will make arrests and force the websites and the users to remove their messages.

Source: Stand News; RTHK #Jul6

https://thestandnews.page.link/WGcVhQPd8JEWUhrK6

#StateTerrorism #Article23 #Censorship #HongKongProtests #Mourning #Death #Martyr

Documentary About Hong Kong Pro-democracy Activists Wins Best Cinematography Award in #LibertyMovieFestival in #SouthKorea

#BlackBauhinia, a documentary featuring Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and social movements in Hong Kong since 2016, won the Best Cinematography Award at the Liberty Movie Festival in South Korea on November 24, 2021.

The film was directed by #MaltePhilippKaeding, a lecturer in international politics at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. Now-exiled Ray Toi-yeung Wong and now-jailed Edward Tin-kei Leung, who were representative localists and the founders of #HongKongIndigenous, were among those interviewed by the director.

The documentary also shows footages of the Prince Edward Station Attack by the Hong Kong Police on August 31, 2019, where the police assaulted train passengers indiscriminately.

In the trailer, pro-democracy activist Edward Leung talked about his utopia before going to jail -- a Hong Kong that is free and enjoys automnomy.

Watch the official trailer of Black Bauhinia:
https://youtu.be/HgNriD6U004

Source: Liberty Movie Festival #Nov24

#FilmFestival #Award #HongKongProtests #Documentary

#Court
21 Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protesters Jailed for Up to 42 Months for Rioting

In the largest rioting case related to the 2019 Anti-ELAB protests, 21 citizens have been sentenced to jail terms between 30 months and 42 months for rioting. They were charged for taking part in the clashes that took place in Sheung Wan on July 28, 2019.

The defendants are aged between 19 and 40, seven of whom were students.

District Court judge Johnny Chan handed down the sentences on Jan 8, 2022 on the 21 defendants.

Chan said protesters’ gear and equipment demonstrated that they had come prepared, and so a riot was not unexpected.

[Editor's note: On July 28, 2019, crowds gathered in Sheung Wan to protest the police inaction during the previous week's 7.21 Yuen Long Attack, which was widely seen as tolerating and even condoning the mob violence against civilians. In contrast, police in Sheung Wan fired numerous tear gas canisters and rubber bullets in order to disperse the protesters. 44 people were arrested, including the 21 convicted for rioting.]

Source: Inmediahk.net; #Jan8
https://bit.ly/3f06EDx

See also: Kun Kit-Wang, a 26-year-old engineer who was charged in this case, defends himself in court

part 1:
Pro-democracy Engineer tells Hong Kong Court to "Return the Power to the Citizens"
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31827

part 2:
Pro-democracy Engineer tells Hong Kong Court: We would not be in court if we have democracy
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31833

#SheungWan #HongKongProtests #721YuenLong

Three Years Since First Police Suppression of Pro-Democracy #AntiELAB Protests in Hong Kong

On June 12, 2019, tens of thousands of pro-democracy Hongkongers gathered outside of the Legislative Council building and the Government Headquarters in Admiralty -- after over 1 million citizens took to the streets three days ago to protest the proposed bill that would allow extradition to China. Their message seemed all but ignored by the Hong Kong authorities.

The controversial Extradition Law Amendment Bill (ELAB) was slated to go through second and possibly third reading that day in the city's legislature, in which the pro-Beijing camp secured a firm majority by disqualifying a number of pro-democracy lawmakers. Without representation in the chamber, pro-democracy citizens occupied Tamar Park and spilled over to Harcourt Road and nearby areas, hoping a clear display of their disapproval would stop the passing of the extradition bill.

However, the peaceful protests were met with tear gas and violent police suppression. The authorities claimed that the unarmed citizens, expressing their pro-democracy demands, were rioting in the area.

In addition to arrests, the aggressive police response many civilians were injured and terrified. At one point, the police nearly caused a stampede as they teargassed both ends of the street outside Citic Tower, trapping a panicked crowd of hundreds as they sought refuge through the narrow doors of the commercial building.

The police aggression on that day had alarmed local and international observers, and drew widespread condemnation. On the other hand, the shared horrors that day united Hongkongers as they stood together against the CCP-backed regime, which finally showed its true, oppressive colors.

The day was only the beginning of the year-long #AntiELAB protests in Hong Kong.

Source:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=8297021216990419&id=648757011816916

#Remembrance #3yearsago #NeverForget #HongkongProtests #Solidarity

"Amendment Bill Crisis" Involved Terrorist Acts, Says New Hong Kong Textbooks

June 2022 marks the third anniversary of the beginning of the 2019 protests against the Extradition Law Amendment Bill (ELAB). In Hong Kong, since the 2021/2022 school year, Liberal Studies has been replaced by the subject Citizenship and Social Development.

It was found out that the secondary school textbooks of Citizenship and Social Development has omitted many important social events, including the protest and police-civilian clashes that took place on June 12, 2019.

Ming Pao reviewed four newly released textbooks from three publishers, and found that they mentioned these protests as background information for the enactment of the #NationalSecurityLaw. The textbooks only said that "severe, violent incidents" took place in 2019, and asserted that the "amendment bill crisis" involved "violent acts of terrorism involving various illegal acts".

Two textbooks further alleged that "the Central Government considered it involved interference by foreign forces", that opposition forces and organizations inciting Hong Kong independence invited foreign interference, and so on.

Leo Chu, Democratic Party spokesperson on education policies, commented that these descriptions ignored the deeper causes that triggered the widespread protests at the time.

All four textbooks extolled the importance and purpose of the National Security Law, and claimed that it ensures that "One Country, Two Systems" is implemented, protects human rights, and ensures Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. Other social issues and controversies were not mentioned.

Source: Ming Pao #Jun13
https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20220613/s00002/1655058002382/

#Education #Textbook #Brainwashing #AntiELAB #HongKongProtests

#Court
High Court Judge Claims First Aiders "Encourage" Fighting, as First Aider Appeals 4-Year Rioting Sentence

In Hong Kong, the High Court has heard an appeal against the conviction of a 26-year-old man sentenced to four years for rioting in a 2019 #AntiELAB protest.

The man is one of 16 charged with rioting in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai on 31 August 2019, the fifth anniversary of the Chinese congress’ ’31 August decision’ to limit candidacy and representation in Hong Kong’s elections.

While six of the accused were acquitted, the man, who maintained that he was volunteering as a #FirstAider on the scene, was found guilty and handed a four-year sentence in 2021. He has now been incarcerated for over two years.

Citing the Lo Kin-man case, the appellate judge Derek Pang said on 28 July that a first aider can still be considered to have had a part in the riot.

“[Let’s say] you show up in a battle in a certain country’s military uniform. You have a red cross on your arm, and you’re a medic. Does that mean you’re not part of the frontline fighting? Isn’t that still a kind of support or encouragement?” Mr Pang said.

He added that helping someone of the same side in a riot to wash tear gas out their eyes is also a form of support. The appellant, he said, must have acted with the same purpose in mind as the rest of his camp.

“Why is it that you can’t possibly be one of the rioters if you’re a first aider? It’s not like you were with St John [Ambulance], is it?” Mr Pang said.

The prosecutor said it is for the court to decide if the appellant was a genuine first aider.

“A mere claim of having been a first aider [on the scene] doesn’t give one immunity,” she said.

Source: InMedia #Jul28
https://bit.ly/3S4TFTh

#HongKongProtests #PoliceState #FirstAider #PoliticalPersecution #Crackdown