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【Press Release (FOR PRESS CONFERENCE RELEASE) 】 17th October, 2019

The High and Feeble:
Returning political power to the people

At the 20th Citizens’ Press Conference, themed ‘The High and Feeble: Returning political power to the people’, our speakers and multi-sectoral expert representatives on the panel provided their commentary on Carrie Lam’s Policy Address for 2019 (derided by our speakers as more aptly a ‘Fallacy Address’) which she delivered through a video address yesterday. The panel criticised Lam for completely missing the point in her Policy Address and losing touch with the current situation and any deep-rooted societal problems that plague and have been plaguing Hong Kong. Aside from critiques, our guests suggested alternative policy directions that may better address Hong Kongers’ demands. The press conference concluded with our speakers illustrating in detail the significance and relevance of the Five Demands to the socioeconomic life in Hong Kong, the precise ways in which they could have been integrated into the Policy Address, and how they lay the path out of the current impasse for Hong Kong at present.

Our speaker, Mr Chan, opened with three questions on the most immediate needs of Hong Kongers and how Hong Kong should progress from now, and challenged Carrie Lam’s position to devise policies to address her people’s lives because ‘there is no “daily life” to be spoken of anymore - our lives have been ruined by our own government’. He observed that ‘this present resistance movement has stripped the last mask off our government’s face: not one of its policies was ever in place to serve its people, but its Chinese Communist masters. Our daily lives have been sold to Beijing’. Chan continued, ‘at the peak of her people’s suffering and grievances, Lam and her cabinet were still determined to buy us off with their sops’.
Mr Chan asserted strongly that ‘problems have long been accumulating in every area of our society. We have been aggrieved for years’, and that Lam’s ‘policies are all the wrong prescriptions for the current situation’, as he then introduced the guest speakers, professionals from a variety of sectors in society, to ‘put forward their own solutions which genuinely honour the people’s hopes and ideals: power to the people, Hongkongers first, and the restoration of social equity’. A summary of our guest speeches will be provided to the press separately through email.

On the irony of how ‘our outcry has been heard by even the US Congress’ and yet ‘Carrie Lam, physically HERE, has sidestepped the loudest of words in her Fallacy Address’, and mocked this phenomenon as a ‘brilliant exemplification of the protest slogan “There are no rioters, only tyranny”’. Chan then explained that ‘the actualisation of the Five Demands is the quintessential first step to the ideal society in Hongkongers’ minds’ and to release Hong Kong from ‘this indefinite cursed loop’.
On the ‘rule of law’ being turned into the ‘rule by lies’, Chan suggested that the government addresses the fact that Hong Kong now fulfills the broad definition of a ‘police state’, by establishing an independent committee of investigation into police brutality, following Chris Patten’s example with the Northern Irish police force in 1999. Chan brought up the statistics on the sheer number of crime profiles being destroyed each year, and demanded the Government to not evade the enactment of the Archive Act any further, and ensure information access to police crimes for citizens. Chan also elucidated that the Public Order Ordinance and the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, both being colonial legacies, are no longer applicable to contemporary Hong Kong or compliant with international human rights protocols, and are being abused by the current Government to oppress its people, and must thus be amended or revoked.

As per universal suffrage, Mr Chan, describing Hong Kong as a ‘pseudo-democracy’, recounted the fact that the current electoral system is under the designated framework by the National People’s Congress, and the political screening and even bodily attacks on pro-democracy candidates, alluding to the attack on Jimmy Sham, the convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, yesterday. Chan expressed his worries that without universal suffrage, ‘Hong Kong would only be airdropped more Carrie-Lams, officials with not an ounce of political wisdom to offer... officials who are just puppets to Beijing, officials who butcher up Hongkongers and pay our meat to the CCP as tribute’.
The press conference concluded on the note that the behaviour of the Government since June has proved that it ‘has not changed’, and will ‘never be willed’ to solve any of our fundamental problems. Chan posited that ‘for each day that passes in which the government does not implement the Five Demands, they will continue to lose the battle for public opinion; their administration will continue to lose legitimacy’, and ended with a call-to-action on 20th October in Tsim Sha Tsui, promising to meet Hong Kongers on the streets there.

Hong Kong Government Official: It is difficult for the police to make decisions according to rules in a split second

[Editor's Note: On 21 July, Yuen Long residents and passers-by in the area were indiscriminately attacked by gangsters on the streets and in public transport. The police did not intervene until late.]

Mathew Cheung, the Chief Secretary for Administration claimed that people should stop bothering him about apologizing for the 7.21 Yuen Long incident. He also explained the police force have done everything they could in the past few months and it is understandable if they cannot follow every rules when making split second decisions. He also emphasised that there is an existing system to handle their complaints.

Source: NOW TV

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Hong Kong police lost all credibility in the eyes of HongKongers since June.

Update on Oct 18 HKT05:24

MTR will terminate the servicr of all lines, apart from the Airport Express, at 22:00 on October 18.

Source: RTHK

[#rebelpepper from RFA]
"Hong Kong Protesters: A Tsunami For Authorities"

Be Water/ In Water

Source: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/biantailajiaomanhua/lj-10172019122322.html

Hong Kong Bar Association Chairman: "nothing more corrosive to the rule of law than violence inflicted on members of the public by apparently unaccountable state agents”

Philip Dykes SC, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association wrote to the barristers in the city on October 16:

“The reason why the Bar Council spoke out about the use of excessive police force and failure to protect citizens when required is that it is axiomatic that rule of law embraces the notion that all governments’ acts must comply with the law"

“There is nothing more corrosive to the rule of law than violence inflicted on members of the public by apparently unaccountable state agents.”

Source: Ming Pao, Oct 17

Suspected Girlfriend Murderer Chan Tong-kai is Willing to Turn himself in to Taiwan to Face Trial

(SingTao Daily) Chan knew that he have made a grave mistake and needed to face legal consequences. He hoped that society would give him a chance for redemption. He also expressed his deepest apologies to family members of the deceased, and his regret for causing the current social upheaval. Chan would spend some time with his family after being released, then he shall head to Taiwan, depending on how Taiwan Authorities handle the case.

Murder suspect Chan Tong-kai who triggered the Hong Kong government to amend the extradition bill for Taiwan, would have complete his sentence for money laundering and be released from prison on 23rd this month. Sources revealed that a pastor had convinced Chan to agree to surrender to Taiwan after his release, to face legal proceedings, and bear the responsibility for his actions.

Chan was sentence for a 29-month imprisonment for money laundering and was currently detained in Pik Uk Prison. He shall be a free man again next week. The government originally planned to amend the extradition bill to extradite Chan to Taiwan to face trial, but as the bill is "dead", the government had not raised any proposals to handle this Taiwan Murder situation, and had banned alternative proposals such as "extraterritorial jurisdiction" or an "executive order" type one-off transfer of suspect, claiming that these proposals are not feasible.

Dependable sources of the newspaper had revealed that pastors had been repeatedly visiting Chan in Pik Uk Prison as a clergy capacity, suggesting that he return to Taiwan to face trial. In the end the pastor was successful in convincing Chan to surrender himself to Taiwan for trial, but he hope that Taiwan would not sentence a capital punishment. Sources had also revealed that Chan was worried that he might have to serve his Taiwan sentence in a strange land, and he was not familiar with Taiwanese law. Taiwanese lawyers had come to Hong Kong to discuss Chan's case with him and briefed him on Taiwanese law and Prison environment.

Sources pointed out that Chan was only nineteen years old when he committed the crime, and it was an accident that the death happened; if he voluntarily return to Taiwan to face trial, it would show that he had wholeheartedly repented and is willing to bear responsibilities, "he could walk unashamed after everything is settled and over". It was quoted by sources that Chan had expressed his deepest apologies to the parents of the victim, Poon Hiu-wing, begging for forgiveness. He had also expressed his regret when he was informed in prison, of the social upheaval he caused. He hoped that his decision to surrender to Taiwan for trial would alleviate the anger in the society.

Sources had also revealed that Chan's father was originally reserved to his son’s decision, particularly on the possibility of capital punishment. However, after several discussions with lawyers and his son, he agreed to the decision of turning himself in. After Chan is released on next Wednesday, he shall spend a short duration of time with his family and then head off to Taiwan. Taiwan is currently discussing over receiving the suspect, hence the actual date of Chan's journey to Taiwan is still unconfirmed.

Father of the Taiwan Murder Case's victim Poon Hiu-wing had written a letter to Carrie Lam in June, suggesting four methods to bring justice for his daughter, including "one-off case handling" method to confer Courts of Hong Kong with the authority to hold trial, using "executive order" to transfer the suspect with one-off arrangements, confer Courts of Hong Kong with extraterritorial jurisdiction powers, and persuading the suspect to go to Taiwan to face trial. The DAB had met with Carrie Lam in July, requesting the government to convince the suspect to surrender himself to Taiwan, Legislative Council member Chiang Lai-wan, Ann of DAB had visited Chan in prison to persuade him to surrender himself to Taiwan.

Source: SingTao Daily:
https://bit.ly/32pPMxR

#PoliceState #PoliceBrutality

No National Day, Only National Mourning
(Recap of police brutality not known by the public)

On 1 October, there was no celebration in Hong Kong. Joyful performance and parade took place in Beijing, but what Hong Kong protestors could see and hear were 22 consecutive resounding gunshots in the air, within just 15 seconds in Shatin.

https://youtu.be/tJwt-swPmKY

#GlobalSupport #Italy #Nationalism

[Worldwide Support for Hong Kong 1/4]

(13 Oct) Today, our #FreeHongKong initiative was a great success. We were deeply impressed by the extraordinary participation, at Piazza Cairoli in Milan, in our solidarity "Sit In" for Hong Kong.

We owe an incredible gratitude to @imenjane for spreading the subject matter, the information, the event with so much passion; We also thank @ lia.quartapelle for the support, the Israel association "Amici" and the @comitatoventotene.

Nevertheless, today some counter-demonstrators were present, who expressed their view that they did not enjoy freedom even outside their own country. We hope that they too will understand and appreciate the freedom we enjoy in the West one day.

It was a great day because we voiced out to a special cause, with the hope that tomorrow, even in Hong Kong, we can breathe the air of freedom.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B3h77jJiH6J/?igshid=1b8i13fv0mv0w

#GlobalSupport #PoliceBrutality

[Worldwide Support for Hong Kong 2/4]

Interview with Japnese Photographer 1 of 2

Rie Nishinaka (Raylie) is a Japanese street photographer based in Tokyo and Hong Kong. She holds an M.A, degree in History. She was deeply touched by Hong Kong during her visit in 2013. "I was under heavy pressure in Japan, but the optimistic mindset and the cheerfulness of HongKongers have provided me with salvation. This time, I would be standing with Hong Kong."

Because of her love for Hong Kong, Rie used her lens to capture different aspects of Hong Kong. For example, the evolution of the City, the life of the grass-root families, and the recent protest to the extradition law. Based on what she has seen, the protests were peaceful. Rie wants to bring the truth about Hong Kong to the Japanese people, with a first person viewpoint. For this reason, she organized a photo exhibition, "The Oratorio of Hong Kong" in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in August. Half of the photos in this exhibition are taken in Japan and the other half in Hong Kong. There is a story in each photo, for example, the life of people living in public housing, the evolution of the City, and the Anti Extradition Law Protests which started in June. The exhibition was very successful and the numbers drawn by it had reached the second highest for the galley. Visitors from Hong Kong burst into tears after the visit. Japanese patrons who lived in Hong Kong thanked Rie for bringing them the truth of the protest. "They said that they could not grasp the truth solely based on Japanese News Stations." Rie said.

Rie brought up her last visit to Hong Kong, during the campaign "Hong Kong Way" in August. She had the opportunity to talk to participants and urged the participants to go home safely. She was heartbroken when one of the participants told her it is safe here because there is no police nearby." She shared the same feeling as the protestors, "as a visitor, I too am afraid of the police in Hong Kong, because I saw them randomly attacking people in the news."

Excerpt: AppleDaily
http://bit.ly/2B7M1RL

#GlobalSupport #Cantonese #CultureGenocide

[Worldwide Support for Hong Kong 3/4]

Interview with Japnese Photographer 2 of 2

Rie Nishinaka had learnt Cantonese for 2 and a half year, and when she was being interviewed by the reporter, she insisted in using Cantonese. For someone whose mother language is Japanese, the most difficult part about Cantonese is how to distinguish the tone and the subtle changes in choice of diction. Therefore, she made a booklet to help her distinguish the differences of tones, so as to help her improve her Cantonese. Rie learns Cantonese from her Hong Kong friends, “many HongKongers find it complicated, or maybe they do not know about specific details. They said after I ask them questions about Cantonese, they started to think more about their own language.”

Rie believes that one must learn Cantonese in order to directly understand HongKongers’ culture and thoughts. “I know that HongKongers can use English to communicate, but only by using Cantonese can one truly understand Hong Kong. It is rumoured that Cantonese is being suppressed by the authorities and the government does not support Cantonese. I feel sad about it, I believe my act in learning Cantonese is safeguarding Hong Kong culture.”

When Rie first started learning Cantonese, she focused on the pronunciations, “when I first started learning Cantonese, I thought the pronunciation is very difficult. But no, it is not that difficult at all.” Rie learns Cantonese in different areas, she takes initiative in learning Netizens’ slangs and foul language. For example, when she tweet about Hong Kong affairs in her twitter account, she will use the most “down-to-earth” intonations to express her anger, standing by the side of the Hong Kong protestors. She believes the foul language culture in Hong Kong is very direct, “When I go to Hong Kong, I visit the bookstore to buy Ben Sir’s (a famous Chinese professor in Hong Kong) book on foul language. Then I learn from it, and now when I am watching YouTube live, many people will use foul language, and I learn when to use that foul language. For example, from the recent 'Mr. Barbeque pork and Chicken rice' (a recent video in Hong Kong showed a man using 'Barbeque pork and Chicken rice' as a word to insult the Hong Kong police) video, I understand the feeling of speaking foul language.”

During Rie’s journey in learning Cantonese, she felt the deepest when HongKongers tell her that Cantonese is a difficult language to learn. She hoped that HongKongers will stop using the word “difficult” to describe Cantonese, “I truly believe this is not a good thing to say, when you are denying your language, you are denying your own culture. HongKongers should teach Cantonese to more people, so as to let more people know Cantonese.”

Excerpt: AppleDaily
http://bit.ly/35wTI1N
#GlobalSupport #Japan

#GlobalSupport #Japan #831Attack

[Worldwide Suport for Hong Kong 4/4]

Witness of 831 Indiscriminte Attack from a Japanese

The people of Hong Kong (HongKongers) who live in Japan also pay close attention to the Anti Extradition Law movement in Hong Kong. Many of them contributed in different ways, e.g. be a translator, coordinated for marches and assemblies, etc, to convey what is happening in Hong Kong to the Japanese and hope to get the international attention. Seiya Hakugawa, who is of half Japanese and half Hong Kong descent, recently received an invitation from Fuji Television Network to follow a Japanese journalist to Hong Kong for interviews, and to broadcast the 831 incident to the Japan medias. He unfortunately was affected by the tear gas, “this is the very first time that I think I may die”. When he was back to Japan, he decided to organize event and fight for international support.

Hakugawa saw that when reported the Hong Kong’s Anti Extradition law, many of the Japan media were not accurate. “They reported a lot of peaceful scenes, all the violence scenes were glossed over, the violence problems from the Hong Kong police are glossed over too.” He, who speaks fluent Japanese, was invited in August, to translate for the Fuji Television Network journalist and interviewed at the scene of Hong Kong. He could still remember on 31st of August, he was on the footbridge of Harcourt Road, saw the water cannon truck for the very first time and how it shot blue water to the crowds, “all in a sudden there was a tear gas bomb, exploded right at the driveway behind me. I live in Hong Kong for 18 years and this is the first time I think I'm going to die”. He recalled, at that time, he was taking the journalist to hide from the police, “I heard that someone was screaming that the Special Tactical Contingent were coming, I had never experience such a great danger, I was scared from the very bottom of my heart.”

He said, “this is no longer the Hong Kong that I am familiar with.” But he also witnessed the unity of the protestors in the front line, “many people were helping me to escape and I truly believe Hong Kongers deserve to win this time.” When he was back to Japan, he decided to organize events in Japan, and wrote articles in Japanese, etc., let the Japanese know what is happening in Hong Kong. He also mentioned, the Japanese journalist that went to Hong Kong with him, as he witnessed the violence of Hong Kong police himself, reported the situation of 831 in the Japanese television news accurately.

Excerpt: AppleDaily
http://bit.ly/2qbfBUi (https://bit.ly/2qbfBUi)