Authors of "Sheep Village" Illustrated Books Handed 19-Month Sentence; Judge Questions Lack of Mention that "Sheep Village is Part of Wolf Village"

Source: The Witness #Sep10

https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z

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Authors of "Sheep Village" Illustrated Books Handed 19-Month Sentence; Judge Questions Lack of Mention that "Sheep Village is Part of Wolf Village"

Five former committee members of the de-registered General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, accused of publishing three illustrated books of the "Sheep Village" series, were found guilty of conspiring to print, publish, distribute and display with seditious intent. After being detained for more than a year, they were sentenced in the District Court to 19 months imprisonment on Saturday Sept 10, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

It was the first case in which the defendant pleaded not guilty to seditious publication charges. Designated #NationalSecurityLaw judge Kwok Wai-kin set 21 months as the starting point of the sentence for each defendant, with a discretionary deduction of two months, resulting in a sentence of 19 months imprisonment.

The judge said that the audience of the illustrated books is children aged four and above, who are like "plain paper". He criticises the defendants' books for using sheep and wolves as an analogy for Hong Kong and China, respectively. He claimed that the books accused China of doing something illegal and improper, and "sowed the seeds of instability" for the Central government and Hong Kong by indicating that China had no sovereignty over Hong Kong and that Hong Kong was not part of China. He also accused the defendants of "brainwashing" younger readers, poisoning their minds, and mobilising parents to participate.

Before sentencing, the judge asked the defendant several questions: "When will you leave the prison of your mind?" "Did you put the truth in the illustrated books? Why didn't the books tell readers that the shepherds left because they had no right to continue to govern the place?" "Why not mention that the sheep village is part of the wolf village?" "Why is freedom of speech used to deny China's indisputable sovereignty over Hong Kong?"

The judge quoted the defense's plea that the defendants are "elite" and "smart people", and that they could understand what he meant.

As the five defendants entered the detention room, they waved to the bystanders. Someone in the gallery shouted, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"

They will still serve their sentences for about one more month, and are expected to be free by next month.

Source: The Witness #Sep10

https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z

#SpeechTherapists #SheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin

Head of Hong Kong journalist group Ronson Chan charged with obstructing police officers during reporting

source: Hong Kong Free Press #Sep19
photo: #firsthand

full article: https://hongkongfp.com/2022/09/19/head-of-hong-kong-journalist-group-ronson-chan-charged-with-obstructing-police-officers-during-reporting/

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Head of Hong Kong journalist group Ronson Chan charged with obstructing police officers during reporting

Ronson Chan, the chairperson of the city’s largest journalist group the Hong Kong Journalists Association (#HKJA), has been officially charged with obstructing police officers while reporting.

Speaking to reporters outside Mong Kok Police Station on Monday, the former Stand News reporter said that he had received a call from the force earlier in the day notifying him that he would be officially charged.

Chan said the charge would bring certain “disturbances and difficulties” for his planned departure to the UK on Wednesday to pursue a six-month fellowship programme at the Reuters Institute at Oxford University.

“Fortunately, the Oxford side says they will support me and they will see what will happen,” Chan said, adding that he will respect whatever decision the magistrate makes.

“If… I lost this chance, I will not [have] regret.” Chan added.

HKFP has reached out to the Reuters Institute for comment.

When HKFP asked what he thought the incident said about the status of press freedom in Hong Kong, Chan said “even in Beijing’s streets, you will never experience any charges for asking a policeman which unit he comes from or him to show his warrant card etc.”

“You can imagine how the environment Hong Kong reporters and journalists facing is – it’s not a very easy environment.” Chan added.

source: Hong Kong Free Press #Sep19
photo: #firsthand

full article: https://hongkongfp.com/2022/09/19/head-of-hong-kong-journalist-group-ronson-chan-charged-with-obstructing-police-officers-during-reporting/

#RonsonChan #PressFreedom

A year being in the US before returning, Bao Choy: Do my best to HK with my strength

Source: Inmedia #Aug29

https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO

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A year being in the US before returning, Bao Choy: Do my best to HK with my strength

Bao Choy, the director of TV programme Hong Kong Connection at RTHK, was told that she made false statement on Vehicle Registration in one of the episodes. She was convicted at a magistrate's court last year and was charged HKD6000.

Bao Choy applied for an appeal to the High Court. She indicated after the trial that searching for Vehicle Registration involves public right to know; but followed by her accusation, many news agencies no longer allow their journalist to search in the registration list. She hoped to do her best for the freedom of the press.

Choy received a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University last year and had studied for a year from last August. It is to investigate the independence, the future development and the survival of news agency.

She recently returned to Hong Kong. She answered, "Hong Kong is my home, where I love. I hope to do something for Hong Kong with my reachable power" when she was asked for the reason of returning.

She will wait for the judge to decide her case with peace in mind while she is not suitable to comment. "To do what I can do." The appeal not only is for her individual case but also involves public right to know, to let the court decide whether the registration aligns with Hong Kong legal spirit.

She believes the original judge has an extremely narrow interpretation to the law. The registration record has been very useful and valuable to the public interest for the past decades, including high officials getting vehicles before taking over the seat.

From her knowledge, the majority of the news agencies has stopped their journalists from searching the registration, having a negative impact to the industries. She hopes she can do something for the freedom of press with the case.

Source: Inmedia #Aug29

https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO

#BaoChoy #ChoyYukLing #RTHK #HongKongConnection #FreedomofPress #PublicRighttoKnow #July21WhohastheTruth

"Will of the People": Hong Kong Woman Describes Large Turnout of Mourners at British Consulate, but NowTV Quickly Deletes Interview

source: ReNews #Sep12

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=129455019839797&set=a.128212953297337

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"Will of the People": Hong Kong Woman Describes Large Turnout of Mourners at British Consulate, but NowTV Quickly Deletes Interview

The British Consulate in Hong Kong had seen long queues of Hongkongers coming to pay tribute and sign the book of condolence for the late Queen Elizabeth II. On Sept 12, #NowTV News interviewed citizens waiting in the line; one of them, Ms. Chung, said, "I'm here to remember this great leader. Look how many people came; this is the will of the people."

The news clip was aired on the station's TV channel as well as its Facebook page. The post quickly received hundreds of likes.

Merely half an hour later, however, the post was taken down, and the station had also cut Ms. Chung's interview from the TV news segment.

The edit was reportedly ordered by NowTV News director Chan Tit-biu, who had the day off. Chan was a former news director at the pro-Beijing TVB News.

However, screenshots and video clips of the interview spread quickly, and the phrase "will of the people" (民心所向) soon became viral on social media. Netizens sarcastically commended Chan for making Ms. Chung's words of praise for the late Queen even more widely heard. "Receive our gift, Your Majesty!" one comment reads.

source: ReNews #Sep12

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=129455019839797&set=a.128212953297337

#PressFreedom #Censorship #WillOfThePeople #RIP #QueenElizabethII

#Oct01 #TodayinHistory #LammaIslandFerry #NeverForget #GoHKgraphics

Lorie Lai Man-ling and Melody Yeung Yat-yee, two among five defendants of the case of "Sheep Village", dismissed their defence counsel in the morning and made their submissions.

Source: The Witness #Sep10

https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z

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Lorie Lai Man-ling and Melody Yeung Yat-yee, two among five defendants of the case of "Sheep Village", dismissed their defence counsel in the morning and made their submissions.

The first defendant Lorie Lai shared her reflections and experiences from the five-day trial and the 13-month remand over the court. She rebuttal the prosecutor, who took extremist terrorists as an example to argue that freedom of speech must not conflict with national security, and question whether "freedom with restrictions is freedom?"

She was interrupted by Judge Kwok Wai-kin, "If you continue that way, it would be a political statement. If you think I am wrong, then appeal my decision. If you think the prosecution's interpretation is wrong, then appeal theirs!" Kwok continues, "Hong Kong has the Court of Final Appeal, with foreign judges sitting there. I don't think we can single-handedly hide the sky."

The second defendant Melody Yeung said in pleading the case, “rather than judging us for seditious intent and spreading rumours, I think it’s about judging the correct view of history.” She said that Athens could judge Socrates, but not philosophy; The Catholic church could judge Galileo, but not heliocentrism, and that “in history, there’s no single, absolutely corrected view, but a diversity of perspectives. There’s no absolute correctness, only the ability to withstand repeated tests.”

She said only the people’s hearts could judge whether the illustrated books were a genuine reflection of Hong Kong’s social sentiment, a record of the community’s historical perspective, or a spread of rumours.

"If national security only means the security of the ruling group, without respect for personal freedom, then even peace and prosperity is an illusion based on fear," she said, "countless Hong Kong people have come and gone hoping to change uneven political power like this, but they were beaten and shot."

The judge again stopped her speech and said, "All right, all right, Miss Yeung, I think it's over."

Yeung responded, “now it's the relevant part.” Then she points out that the series of political offences affect only not a "handful of people" such as the case's defendants but would lead to a self-silencing civil society and a long-term regression in thought and civilisation.

Yeung was interrupted a second time as she explained the “interchangeable” roles of sheep and wolf in the story. This time she was interrupted by the prosecutor Ng Shuk-kuen, the acting Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, who stood up and said to the judge , “I believe [Yeung] has gone too far.”

Yeung said, "ok, last words. I never regret being on the side of the sheep. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't get more books done before I was arrested, or that I wasn't more obsessed with the quality of my books." provoking tears among some court spectators.

The third defendant Sidney Ng Hau-yi quoted the speech of Nobel Laureate Camus, who said, "A writer cannot serve today those who make history; he must serve those who are subject to it. Otherwise, he will be alone and deprived of his art."

"The essence of education should be inspiration and guidance, not intimidation and indoctrination, and the same is true when explaining the relationship between individual and country to children," she added.

"Rather than inciting hatred, the three illustrated books are meant to explain the source of these feelings and why they are intensifying so rapidly after 2019; Rather than inciting disobedience, the aim is to make children reflect on the basis of law-abiding, rather than blindly obeying out of fear; Rather than inciting anything, I would like to record acts of bravery."

Source: The Witness #Sep10

#SpeechTherapists #sheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin #NgShukKuen

https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z

Why are Chinese police operating in Canada, while our own government and security services apparently look the other way?

In China, the high-profile TV drama In The Name Of The People has become a smash hit. In that show, Chinese agents enter the U.S. posing as businessmen so they can repatriate a factory manager who had fled abroad with huge ill-gotten wealth.

But a new study by the European non-governmental agency Safeguard Defenders suggests that there might be some truth to the fiction. According to the NGO, the Fuzhou Public Security Bureau has established more than 50 “overseas police service centres” in cities around the world – including three publicly documented ones in Toronto, home to Canada’s largest Chinese diaspora.

Source: The Globe and Mail #Sep26

#Chinese #Police #Canada #Toronto

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-why-are-chinese-police-operating-in-canada-while-our-own-government/

How Global Public Opinion of China Has Shifted in the Xi Era

The Chinese Communist Party is preparing for its 20th National Congress, an event likely to result in an unprecedented third term for President Xi Jinping. Since Xi took office in 2013, opinion of China in the U.S. and other advanced economies has turned precipitously more negative. How did it get to be this way?

In the U.S., views of China experienced minor fluctuations in the years preceding Xi’s presidency. Throughout this period, around four-in-ten or more had positive views of China and only a minority had negative views of the country. Still, views ebbed and flowed somewhat alongside domestic and international events.

Source: Pewsearch #Sep28

#Global #China #US #Xi

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-why-are-chinese-police-operating-in-canada-while-our-own-government/

Kiwi Chow: Honesty Is My Bottom Line

By Translated by BeWater HK on Apr 4, 2022 • 18 May 2022

Host: The “Siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)” marked the waning of the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) Movement. We invite the Director for comments on how the failed encounter at PolyU affected the Anti-ELAB protesters.

Chow: The “Siege of PolyU” was covered in the documentary. They (the protesters) had persevered for an extended time. They were so exhausted, both physically and psychologically, that they had to leave, notwithstanding their unwillingness to give up or retreat. (Taking a deep breath) From June to November, for so many months they withstood tear gas and their bodies were telling them something.

Source: https://youtu.be/sMLeApx5wVY
#May18

#CHOWKwunWai #RevolutionofOurTimes

Full Story：

https://telegra.ph/Kiwi-Chow-Honesty-Is-My-Bottom-Line-05-18

Female Long Hair accused of incitement for carrying an elegiac poem that mourns the 10th year of Lamma IV ferry accident

Lui Yuk-Lin, also known as "Female Long-hair", who had witnessed the salvage process of the #LammaIV, mourned at the Central Ferry Pier No.4 (the pier for Lamma Island). She placed 39 sets of flowers, fruits, and cakes on the floor, along with an elegiac couplet "Hope to be reborn on the Pure Land, with the best lotus as their parents (九品蓮華為父母，願生西方淨土中)."**

At 8:24 pm, the moment of the collision, Lui stood silent for 10 minutes, then prayed walking. It suddenly started to rain heavily, but she insisted on kneeling to complete the memorial, despite being thoroughly soaked.

Before the mourning memorial, more than 10 police officers patrolled the pier, warning the surrounding people of the social distancing measure (which restrict group gathering with more than 4 persons) and dismissing surrounding citizens.

Lui told InMedia, after the silent prayer, that police had warned her of incitement for bringing an elegiac poem since her arrival at 3 pm. "I was speechless - how to incite? Weren't someone lost their life in this accident?" The officer then gave no more warning.

A 12-year-old child came mourning with his mother, bringing flowers, snacks, and two pieces of paper with words like "yet to be revealed (沉冤未雪)". He said he was only two at the time of the incident but knew that there were children who died, so he brought some snacks, including cookies, crisps, and snacks for the dead. "Hope they rest in peace," he said.

[**Editor note: A kind of Buddism elegiac couplet common among traditional Chinese believers]

#LuiYukLin #FemaleLongHair #LammaIV #Incitement #RuleByLaw

Source: InMedia #Oct03

https://bit.ly/3ft0leZ

Yesterday was Joshua Wong's Birthday, which also marked his 585th day in prison.

#HappyBirthday #JoshuaWong