📡Guardians of Hong Kong
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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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Stalking, Surveillance, Blocking, Capturing - Experience of Chinese Human Rights Activists (and The New Norm in Hong Kong)

"I haven't had any visitors at my house for years, because they're downstairs, not allowing any diplomat, media worker, journalist, or so-called 'unstable individuals', to come to my house." Hu Jia said in a video interview with Stand News from her home in Beijing, while wearing a black blouse with the words "I want true universal suffrage".

Read our full translated article:
https://telegra.ph/Stalking-Surveillance-Blocking-Capturing---Experience-of-Chinese-Human-Rights-Activists-and-The-New-Norm-in-Hong-Kong-01-11

Source:Stand News #Oct21

#Stalking #Surveillance #Blocking #Capturing #ChineseHumanRights 
#PoliticalOppression #Disqualification
16 More District Councillors Disqualified over Oath-Taking; Total of 326 Pro-Dem Seats Lost

#DistrictCouncil #DQ #Oath

Source: Stand News; #Oct21

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#PoliticalOppression #Disqualificafion
16 More District Councillors Disqualified over Oath-Taking; Total of 326 Pro-Dem Seats Lost

16 pro-democracy district councillors have been disqualified from office after authorities ruled that their government-required oaths were invalid.

They are from New Territories West, and are the last batch of councillors to take their oaths, a new requirement created after the pro-democracy camp's landslide victory in 2019.

Across all 18 districts in Hong Kong, a total of 49 pro-democracy district councillors have been ousted due to their oaths being ruled as invalid. 6 councillors directly lost their seats.

In the district council elections in 2019, the democrats had won a historic victory, winning 389 seats among the 452 elected seats in the 18 districts.

However, the number of members of the Democrats has gradually decreased in the past 2 years, some due to prison sentences longer than 3 months, some due to the councillors themselves leaving Hong Kong.

It was the government's oath-taking requirement, however, that led to the largest drop in numbers of democratic councillors.

In July this year, the government made use of the media to indicate their intention to disqualify large numbers of district councillors, and those disqualified would have to pay back all of their salaries since taking office in 2020, a sum exceeding $1M HKD. In light of this threat, 260 district councillors have resigned.

#DistrictCouncil #PoliticalOppression #Oath #DQ

Source: Stand News; #Oct21
https://thestandnews.page.link/hnKqV2DR8Ev7wBVp6

see also:
District Council election results, Nov 25, 2019
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/12233
https://www.facebook.com/BeWaterHongKong/posts/2519661708255300
#MassSurveillance
All Government buildings Will Require LeaveHomeSafe Starting November

#LeaveHomeSafe #COVID19 #Surveillance #HomelessPeople #StreetSleepers

Source: Stand News #Oct21

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#MassSurveillance
All Government buildings Will Require LeaveHomeSafe Starting November

The Hong Kong government announced yesterday that all citizens are required to record their visit with LeaveHomeSafe before entering government buildings and offices, such as public libraries, sports centres, museums, etc. It will be strictly enforced starting from November.

The Hospital Authority (HA) and the Police Force said that the new rule covers the HA Headquarters, public hospital administrative buildings, police headquarters, and police stations.

The Society for Community Organization said that many homeless people rely on the drinking water and showering facilities in government sports halls, and sometimes need to visit government offices for various procedures. However, most of them do not have a smartphone or even a mobile phone. As a result, many had expressed anxiety about making LeaveHomeSafe mandatory for these facilities.

When LeaveHomeSafe was first released in November last year, government officials said using it would be voluntary, and only a convenience for one's own visits electronically. However, days afterwards, officials stated on a radio programme that they would not rule out making it compulsory.

Updates: The government has announced that cemeteries, public toilets, public bathhouse and rubbish collection points are exempted.

Editor's note: LeaveHomeSafe is a digital contact tracing app launched by the Hong Kong Government in response to the pandemic, for recording visit history (eg. date, time, and venue). Unlike many countries who made their app open-source and welcomed public scrutiny, Hong Kong's app is proprietary, and its privacy statement acknowledges that user records would be uploaded and stored by the government.

#LeaveHomeSafe #COVID19 #Surveillance #HomelessPeople #StreetSleepers #BigData #Privacy

Source: Stand News #Oct21
https://bit.ly/3ErUfCS

see also: HK Gov't's COVID-tracing App Keeps Visit Records For Up to 7 Years and Shares Data with Enforcement Personnel
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29224
#US Government Condemns the Beijing and the Hong Kong Authorities for the Continued Erosion of Freedoms in Hong Kong

#NedPrice #SinoBritishJointDeclaration

Source: US Department of the State #Oct21

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#US Government Condemns the Beijing and the Hong Kong Authorities for the Continued Erosion of Freedoms in Hong Kong

On October 21, 2021, the Department of the State of the United States issued a press release, condemning the "continued erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms" in Hong Kong.

The US government expressed concerns over the "increase in politically-motivated prosecutions, including through the National Security Law, targeting Hong Kong’s teachers, labor unions, lawyers, journalists, health care workers, student unions, and individual citizens."

Ned Price, the department spokeperson, called on "the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to release those unjustly detained and cease their crackdown on peaceful civil society organizations," and urge Beijing to "abide by its treaty obligations in the Sino-British Joint Declaration."

Source: US Department of the State #Oct21
https://www.state.gov/on-the-continued-erosion-of-freedoms-in-hong-kong/

Related article
16 More District Councillors Disqualified over Oath-Taking; Total of 326 Pro-Dem Seats Lost
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31310

#NedPrice #SinoBritishJointDeclaration