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  

“Never Kneel Before the Military Boots”: A #Flashmob Protest in
#Myanmar Commemorating Deceased Student Movement Leader

Myanmar has experienced a coup for five months. A flash protest occurred around Yangon on 26 June, 2021 to oppose the military’s seizure of power.

It was a Saturday when some civilians participated in the flashmob protest, flashing torches and holding signboards. Some of them raised three fingers, and then left very quickly.

That was also the 45th year of the death of Salai Tin Maung Oo, a student movement's leader who was hanged on 26 June 1976 when he was in jail.

In 2021, protesters held the sign “I’ll never kneel before your military boots”, which was the last words of Salai Tin Maung Oo. It also indicated that they would not yield to the military government.

Source: Stand News #Jun27

https://bit.ly/3eQTN6C

#Myanmar #WhatsHappenedInMyanmar #Yangon #Protest #Democracy #MilitaryGovernment #Legacy #SalaiTinMaungOo

The UN General Assembly Condemns the Myanmar Military for Launching a Coup”, and Calls to Stop the Import of Weapons

The UN General Assembly rarely passed a non-legally binding resolution yesterday (18 June), condemning that the Myanmar military launched a coup and called for an arms embargo on Myanmar. The resolution indicates the international opposition to the junta government and demands Myanmar to resume the democratization process. After Belarus requested a recorded vote, resolution finally was passed with 119 agreed, one opposed, and 36 abstained. Belarus is the only one who voted objection.

The resolution requires the Myanmar military government to restore the democratization process and condemns their “excessive and deadly violence” since the coup. At the same time, the resolution calls on all countries to prevent the import of weapons into Myanmar and urges the military to respect the election result from November last year. It also requests that the military immediately release political figures, such as former President Win Min and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and all people who had randomly been arrested. Moreover, the resolution demands that the military should stop treating peace protesters with violence and limiting the network and social media.

Source: Stand News #Jun19

https://bit.ly/3hUujr6

#UnitedNations #UN #Myanmar #Military #Belarus #Democracy #Violence #WinMin #AungSanSuuKyi

Hong Kong protest leaders poised to give up fight
 
A Hong Kong civil rights group that helped organise the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019 is preparing to disband, according to local media.

The Civil Human Rights Front is understood to be meeting tomorrow to decide whether to fold. If it does so, it will deal another blow to the city’s pro-democracy camp, which has been crumbling since Beijing imposed a tough national security law on the territory in June last year.

The front, established in 2002 by more than 50 groups campaigning for human rights, labour rights and women’s rights, is facing a police investigation into its activities. Most of its member groups have withdrawn or dissolved since the law took effect.

Source: The Times #Aug12

https://t.co/1sFSnLyJrb?amp=1
 
#HongKongCivilRightsGroup #Mass #Democracy

Hong Kong crackdown: Thousands flee city amid surge in terrorism charges

Early last week, Michael Mo nervously set off with just two suitcases to Hong Kong’s airport.

Fearing imminent arrest for his pro-democracy political views under Beijing’s sweeping National Security Law, the 35-year-old local politician had taken a snap decision to leave home forever and flee to London.

He had altered his hairstyle and removed his glasses to disguise his regular appearance, but he was still on alert for plainclothes police officers right up until his flight took off.

Source: The Telegraph #Jul21

https://t.co/clfA1tq6cO

#HongKong #MichaelMo #Democracy #NationalSecurityLaw

Largest HK Trade Union Group Said to be Preparing to Disband

#WongLaiYuen #WenWeiPo #autonomy #democracy

Source: Stand News #Sep17

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Largest HK Trade Union Group Said to be Preparing to Disband

Sources claim that the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has begun preparations to disband, following a committee meeting last night (Sept 16).

Responding to Stand News' inquiry, Chairperson Wong Nai-yuen says he has no comment regarding the claims, published by Pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po this morning (Sept 17). "I think everyone understands," He adds.

He further confirms that the union group will hold a press conference on the 19th to give further details to the public.

The HKCTU was founded in 1990. It is the first labor organization in Hong Kong to emphasize autonomy and democracy. Aiming to break the pattern of past labor unions having close ties to the regime, the union sought to dedicate itself to the labor sector, staying clear from the control of outside forces.

The CTU has 97 affiliated unions with 145,000 members in total. Affiliated unions represent various occupation sectors, including property management, cleaning, transportation, aviation, household and personal services, catering, construction, retail, business services, theme parks, beauty, education sectors, social welfare industries, civil servants, and more.

#WongLaiYuen #WenWeiPo #autonomy #democracy

Source: Stand News #Sep17
https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E6%B6%88%E6%81%AF-%E8%81%B7%E5%B7%A5%E7%9B%9F%E9%80%9A%E9%81%8E%E5%95%9F%E5%8B%95%E8%A7%A3%E6%95%A3%E7%A8%8B%E5%BA%8F-%E4%B8%BB%E5%B8%AD%E9%BB%83%E8%BF%BA%E5%85%83%E6%98%9F%E6%9C%9F%E6%97%A5%E9%96%8B%E8%A8%98%E8%80%85%E6%9C%83%E4%BA%A4%E4%BB%A3

#Disband #HumanRights
Amnesty shuts offices in Hong Kong as freedom meltdown in this once most free city in the world

#Amnesty #NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #Democracy #Freedom #PoliticalOppression

Sources: Stand News, Reuters, Amnesty; #Oct25

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#Disband #HumanRights
Amnesty shuts offices in Hong Kong as freedom meltdown in this once most free city in the world

International rights group Amnesty International said on October 25 that it would close its Hong Kong offices due to the China-imposed national security law.

Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, the chair of Amnesty’s international board, said in a statement that the two offices in Hong Kong would close by year-end, noting an intensification of a crackdown forcing at least 50 groups to disband under the law this year.

"This decision, made with a heavy heart, has been driven by Hong Kong’s national security law, which has made it effectively impossible for human rights organisations in Hong Kong to work freely and without fear of serious reprisals from the government,” said Singh Bais.

"The environment of repression and perpetual uncertainty created by the national security law makes it impossible to know what activities might lead to criminal sanctions," she added.

In the past, Hong Kong had served as one of Asia's leading NGO hubs, with groups drawn to its robust rule of law and wide-ranging autonomy -- guaranteed for Hong Kong when control over the former British colony was returned to Beijing in 1997.

Among the groups to have disbanded this year are several leading trade unions, NGOs and professional groups, while a number of other NGOs, including the New School for Democracy, have relocated to the democratic island of Taiwan.

Sources: Stand News, Reuters, Amnesty; #Oct25
https://thestandnews.page.link/H9RZt5adP9FKugXA7
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/hong-kong-amnesty-international-close-offices-amid-rising-threat-government

#Amnesty #NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #Democracy #Freedom #PoliticalOppression

#Court #PoliticalOppression
"It was Conscience that Drove Hongkongers for 32 years to Mourn June 4th": Tonyee Chow Defends Herself in Court Against June 4 Unlawful Assembly Charge

#June4 #HongKong #Democracy #Protest

Source: Stand News; #Oct25

Read more
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#Court #PoliticalOppression
"It was Conscience that Drove Hongkongers for 32 years to Mourn June 4th": Tonyee Chow Defends Herself in Court Against June 4 Unlawful Assembly Charge

Tonyee #ChowHangTung, former Vice-Chairperson of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (#HKASPDMC), was accused of promoting and calling on others to participate in the June 4 rally, and had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge of inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly. The case was resumed in the West Kowloon Magistrates Court on Oct 25th.

Tonyee, who is herself a barrister, represented herself in court. She mentioned that all the cases brought against her are related to the Alliance and June 4th. The authorities are piling on these charges, showing that the regime is attempting to suppress and eliminate the memory of June 4th step by step.

She reiterated that after the police banned the rally this year, the Alliance had publicly announced that it would not hold a candlelight rally in Victoria Park. She has since written articles and taken interviews, in which she had simply appealed to the public to overcome their fears and continue to mourn June 4 through personal actions. She questioned how a call for action with no specified location could incite an unauthorized assembly, saying that the regime "might as well admit directly that what is forbidden is the June 4 memorial itself".

Tonyee stressed that it was not anyone's incitement that drove the people of Hong Kong to mourn June 4th for 32 years; rather, it was every person's conscience. "If the court wants to use the word 'incite', it ought to say that it was the people of Hong Kong who had incited me to do this."

And if she were to be punished for it, she would have no regrets, she said.

Source: Stand News; #Oct25
Full account of Tonyee's defense speech (in Chinese) : https://thestandnews.page.link/o3zrFQwM34J6m8ky9

#June4 #HongKong #Democracy #Protest #Court

#SummitforDemocracy
Nathan Law: I will continue to do what I think [is] good for the city’s freedom

Self-exiled activist #NathanLaw announced that he had been invited by the #US President #JoeBiden to speak at the Summit for Democracy on Human Rights Day. Soon afterwards, Hong Kong’s #SecretaryforSecurity condemned his action, calling it shameful and using ‘#democracy’ as a façade.

In response, Law mocked Tang’s comment on the US Summit for Democracy, saying, “from #China’s standards, it’s already ‘interfering [with] other country’s internal affairs.”

Law stressed that “I am campaigning for a democratic and free Hong Kong. If it’s considered ‘secession’ and ‘subversion’ by #Beijing, it only shows the political #suppression from them.”

He added, “It does not embarrass or stigmatise me. I will continue to do what I think [is] good for the city’s freedom.”

#TangPingKeung #HumanRightsDay

Source: Inmediahk; #Dec8
https://bit.ly/3IvR1RA

The Australian Senate unanimously passed the Australian version of the Magnitsky Bill, which can sanction human rights violators and hackers

The #AustralianSenate unanimously passed the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and other Thematic Sanctions) Bill 2021.

This bill empowers the Australian government to sanction #HumanRights violators, corrupted officials, and hackers by the entry prohibition and freezing of assets.

#MarisePayne, Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, states that they have to ensure the evildoers not to gain benefit from a democratic free world.

In the past, in addition to the mandatory #UnitedNations sanctions, #Australia will also follow its own diplomatic policy through Autonomous Sanctions Amendment Bill 2011.

As the bill uses “country” as a unit for sanction, the sanctions are distinct.

A human rights organization, #HumanRightsWatch, criticizes the current sanctions are “vague and non-permanent” and does not need the Australian government to examine human rights considerations.

The Australian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defence and Trade Committee issued a report at the end of last year discussing whether Australia should establish the Magnitsky Bill.

Payne indicated in August this year that Australia would strengthen the laws of sanctions by empowering the government to impose economic sanctions and travel bans on individuals or entities that cause the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, major human rights violations, malicious network activities, and serious corruption. The bill is no longer setting up separate sanction plans on a national basis.

Source: Stand News #Dec02

https://bit.ly/3ebfCNB

#Australia #Sanction #HumanRights #Democracy

Why China Is Freaking Out Over Biden’s Democracy Summit

The Chinese government is furious about U.S. President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy, and it wants the world to know.

A week before the summit was to take place, the Chinese government hastily convened its own democracy forum and published a white paper called “China: Democracy That Works,” as well as a report titled “The State of Democracy in the United States,” in which it claims to “expose the deficiencies and abuse of democracy” in the United States. These actions have been accompanied by countless articles, press conferences, and, of course, tweets about China’s “democracy” and its alleged superiority to U.S. democracy.

So why is the Chinese government reacting so strongly to Biden’s virtual summit?

Source: Foreign Policy #Dec11

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/10/china-response-biden-democracy-summit/

#WHO #China #Biden #Democracy

Sculptor of dismantled Tiananmen statue says damage symbolic of Hong Kong struggle

The sculptor of a statue commemorating the victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown said on Friday that its removal from a Hong Kong university was "brutal" but any damage would be symbolic of recent changes in the city under Chinese rule.

The eight-metre (26-foot) sculpture of anguished human torsos was one of the few remaining public memorials in the former British colony to remember the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters - a taboo topic in mainland China, where it cannot be publicly commemorated.

Source: Reuters #Dec25

https://reut.rs/32ApwFS

#HKU #Tiananmen #Democracy #Protester #Taboo #China

Two more Tiananmen monuments removed from Hong Kong universities

Two more Hong Kong universities removed on Friday public monuments to the 1989 Tiananmen protests in Beijing, following the dismantling of a sculpture commemorating victims of the crackdown at another university this week.

The removals at Chinese University and Lingnan University in the global financial hub came as authorities have been clamping down under a national security law imposed by China.

Human rights activists say the law is being used to suppress civil society, jail democracy campaigners and curb basic freedoms, but authorities say the security laws have restored stability after mass protests in 2019.

Source: Reuters #Dec25

https://reut.rs/3qkOcuo

#HKU #Tiananmen #Democracy #Protester #Taboo #China

Taiwan ranks 8th in the global democracy index, making it the best in Asia, with Hong Kong plunging to 85th and China near the bottom.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its Global Democracy Index 2021 report, which surveys the political status of 167 countries or regions. However, Hong Kong dropped significantly to 85th place and China reached a new low of 148th place, near the bottom of the list.

The EIU Global Democracy Index uses five factors as indicators, including electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties; and the ranking scale is 10 marks, with 4 levels of ranking, namely, full democracy (8-10 marks), flawed democracy (6-7.99 marks), and hybrid regime (4-6.99 marks). Taiwan, the top Asian country, scored 8.99 marks for full democracy, with full marks of 10 for election process and pluralism.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, ranked 85 with a passing score of 5.6, dropping from a flawed democracy in the past to a hybrid regime. The scores of electoral process and pluralism plummeted to 2.75, government operation only scored 3.64, and political culture scored 5.56 just passing. These three factors contributed to the sharp drop of Hong Kong in the Global Democracy Index.

Source: WhatsNewsMedia #Feb12

#democracy #EconomistIntelligenceUnit #GlobalDemocracyIndex #Asia #HongKong #Taiwan #China #electoralprocess #fulldemocracy #pluralism #flaweddemocracy #hybridregime #authoritarianregime

Non-jury trial ordered for Hong Kong’s 47 democrats national security case

Hong Kong’s justice minister has ordered a non-jury trial for the city’s largest national security case to date in which dozens of pro-democracy politicians face up to life in prison, according to documents seen by AFP.

Trial by jury has been used by Hong Kong’s common law legal system for 177 years but legislation imposed by China in 2020 to curb dissent allows cases to be heard by dedicated national security judges.

Source: HKFP #Aug16

https://hongkongfp.com/2022/08/16/non-jury-trial-ordered-for-hong-kongs-47-democrats-national-security-case/

#Jury #NationalSecurity #Democracy

Judicial repression becomes the norm in Hong Kong

On 26 September 2022, a university professor, two former lawmakers, a Cantopop singer and a Catholic cardinal were charged by the Hong Kong government for failing to register a humanitarian aid fund with the police. The five defendants — 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, singer Denise Ho, cultural studies professor Po-Keung Hui and former lawmakers Margaret Ng and Cyd Ho — are well-known supporters of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.

The five founded the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund in 2019 to assist protestors who faced financial difficulties in seeking legal and medical assistance during the six-month-long anti-extradition bill movement. The Fund also sponsored various civil society activities, including peaceful rallies and international advocacy…

Source: Eastasiaforum #Oct26

#HumanitarianReliefFund #NSL #Democracy #Movement #HongKong

https://t.co/mHhmJ3Wc17

Italian Health Secretary: China Teaches the World What Not to Do in a Pandemic

Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci sharply criticised China's anti-pandemic measures in a presentation at the Italian Parliament on Thursday.

He said that China has taught a lesson to the world on what not to do when fighting against the virus. He calls on all countries to never use China-style measures to fight a virus.

Schillaci also indicates that no new variant was found from the import cases from China as of 30/12. However, Italy has to be aware of the risks posed by China's pandemic, but there is no need to panic.

The health minister also commented on the anti-pandemic policy of China, calling it an exercise in self-contradiction. He added that the recent situation in some Chinese mega-cities would be unacceptable in democratic countries.

#Italy #China #OrazioSchillaci #COVID19 #Pandemic #Lockdown #Democracy

Source: Europe Chinese #Dec30

http://europechinese.blogspot.com/2022/12/blog-post_99.html