Protests In Hong Kong

[BansheeOne]

Meanwhile back in Hong Kong:

Quote

Date 25.06.2021

Promotion for Hong Kong security chief in Cabinet reshuffle

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the promotion of the current secretary of security was "to improve national security." It comes after pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily closed this week.

A former police chief will take over as number two in Carrie Lam's Hong Kong government as China continued its push for central government control of the former British colony on Friday.

Secretary for Security John Lee takes the place of Matthew Cheung as the city's Chief Secretary, in what Hong Kong leader Lam described as a move "to improve national security."

The changes come after pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily published its last edition this week and a year since protests against a proposed extradition law which was later canceled.

What are the main changes to the government?

With John Lee moving to take the number-two role in government, the current chief of police, Chris Tang, is now being appointed secretary for security. Tang's deputy in the Hong Kong police force, Raymond Sui, will now become its head.

[...]

In his new role as chief secretary, Lee will be in charge of key departments such as education, welfare, health, transport and housing.

The changes were announced by Carrie Lam in a press conference Friday morning after a decision by the Chinese government on Wednesday, according to its state-run Xinhua news agency.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/promotion-for-hong-kong-security-chief-in-cabinet-reshuffle/a-58040463

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 27.06.2021

Hong Kong: Police arrest Apple Daily editorial writer at airport

Fung Wai-kong is the seventh executive at the shuttered pro-democracy newspaper to be arrested under the auspices of a national security law in recent weeks. He was reportedly trying to board a plane to the UK.

Hong Kong police arrested a senior editorial writer at the now-closed Apple Daily pro-democracy newspaper on Sunday night, local media reported.

Fung Wai-kong was detained at Hong Kong international airport for allegedly violating Hong Kong's national security law, which was handed down from Beijing and enacted in the semi-autonomous city last year.

The writer's arrest comes after Apple Daily printed its last copy on Thursday. It was forced to close Hong Kong when authorities froze the paper's assets and detained its editor in chief and top executives. 

Fung is the seventh staffer at the newspaper to be arrested for alleged violation of the national security law in recent weeks.

Why was Fung Wai-Kong arrested?

Fung is believed to have been leaving Hong Kong for Britain at the time of his arrest on Sunday night, Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

He was arrested on suspicion of foreign collusion to endanger national security, reported SCMP and online news outlet Citizen News, citing unidentified sources.

He was being held at the airport police station and had not been charged, the SCMP reported.

The Hong Kong police said in a statement that a 57-year-old man had been arrested at the airport for "conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security."

They added that investigations were ongoing.

Fung, who is 57 years old, had been an editorial writer for Apple Daily since 1997, as well as a columnist at CitzenNews, a local news portal.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/hong-kong-police-arrest-apple-daily-editorial-writer-at-airport/a-58069995

[rmgill]

On 6/25/2021 at 7:58 AM, seahawk said:

Every country was devastated, most adjusted their policy to this reality

Yes. And between the Marshall plan and US taxpayers it was us (plus my parents and my grandparents) who forked out for the next 50 years to insure you didn't get to experience hard socialism. And given how the loan/finance stuff goes, I'll bet I'm paying taxes on debt incurred when I was a kid or when my mom was a kid. 

So, 1 saying that socialism light was fine when you currently have a poor economic situation doesn't see the long term effect. You had chemo to deal with the cancer. Great. The cancer is over, get off the chemo. It's not good if you don't have the problem. 

and 2. Denying the role of the us taxpayer in funding that recovery and worse demanding that we continue doing so while being highly critical of our lead role in a stage where your nation is basically a supporting voice at best while wondering why we stick our noses into your affairs is curious. 

Again, I'll point to the metaphor of you have a friend who has a car and gives you rides. You hardly ever pitch in for gas let alone anything more expensive, you never pay for tires or crap but you constantly demand to have a choice over what's on the radio AND bitch that we're going to fast, or slow, or didn't stop for bathroom breaks with enough regularity. This is why Trump, his base and other folks are kinda testy when it comes to Europeans and the international geopolitics. 

 

[seahawk]

I said before, imho NATO is something of the past an not in the best interest of the US.

[rmgill]

I think it could be in the interest of the US still but Europe either needs to be willing to take do more than occasionally pay for some gas money. Especially when they don’t pay what they promised already. 

[seahawk]

They are used to free riding it, since the 1950ies. That will never change, it is time to pull the plug.

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Hong Kong: First guilty verdict under national security law

3h ago

A former waiter was found guilty of secession and terrorism under Hong Kong's national security law. The trial, a test for free speech in the territory, showcased the limits of Beijing's tolerance for dissent.

The first person charged under Hong Kong's national security law was found guilty of inciting secession and terrorism on Tuesday.

Former waiter Tong Ying-kit, 24, stood accused of driving his motorcycle into police on July 1 of last year, the day after the national security law was imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing.

He carried a protest flag with the popular slogan of the 2019 protest movement against China's increased authoritarian influence in the city which read, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times."

He faces a possible prison term of seven years to life.

An alternative charge of dangerous driving, which would have carried only seven years, was not considered.

From common law to Beijing's special rules

Rather than a jury, which would be custom in Hong Kong's common law system, Tong's case was heard by three judges chosen by Carrie Lam, the Beijing-backed Hong Kong chief executive. This is possible because cases that are deemed to involve state secrets are subject to special rules.

More than 60 people have been charged under the draconian national security law. Many of them are awaiting trial in jail.

The verdict is being closely watched as a harbinger of how future national security law cases will be tried.

[...] 

https://m.dw.com/en/hong-kong-first-guilty-verdict-under-national-security-law/a-58655014

[DB]

One wonders what state secrets were involved here.

Not that a jury trial would have found a different verdict. As a juror one wouldn't want to foolishly degrade your social credit score.

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 30.07.2021

Hong Konger gets 9 years jail in first national security case

The former waiter is the first person to be convicted under the controversial national security law. He isn't the only one falling foul of Hong Kong's tightened grip on civil liberties.

Judges in Hong Kong sentenced on Friday the first person convicted under the controversial national security law in a watershed ruling that will have long-term implications for the city's judicial landscape.

The legislation was passed as part of a prolonged government clampdown on Hong Kong's mass pro-democracy movement. But critics argue that the measure has been used to restrict civil liberties.

Former waiter Tong Ying-kit will face nine years in prison for terrorist activities and inciting secession.

The 24-year-old was accused of driving his motorcycle into three riot police last year while carrying a flag with the protest slogan, "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our times."

Judges decided this week that the act was "capable of inciting others to commit secession."

Hong Kong probes Olympics China anthem booing

Meanwhile, Hong Kong police said on Friday that they are investigating another incident of dissent. They said they fielded complaints that some fans had booed China's national anthem during a public screening of an Olympic award ceremony.

Since June 2020, disrespecting China's national anthem and flag has been criminalized by law in the semi-autonomous territory.

More than 100 people gathered briefly on Monday night in a shopping mall to watch a screening of Hong Kong's Cheung Ka Long claiming the Olympic men's individual fencing title.

At the subsequent medal ceremony, some fans initially booed China's national anthem and then chanted "We are Hong Kong."

"The police have launched an investigation into the incident and will collect relevant evidence," police told news agency Reuters in a statement.

A senior police source told news agency AFP that the investigation would cover "any insulting acts" toward the national anthem.

Anyone found guilty of misusing or insulting the anthem could be jailed for up to three years and fined.

A history of booing the Chinese anthem

"We are Hong Kong" is often chanted by Hong Kong football fans, many of whom revel in the city's unique identity and Cantonese culture.

It was often chanted by football fans when China's national anthem played ahead of matches.

Officials have singled out football fans as one of the reasons for passing the law banning disrespecting China's anthem and flag.

https://www.dw.com/en/hong-konger-gets-9-years-jail-in-first-national-security-case/a-58701664

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 05.08.2021

US announces temporary 'safe haven' for Hong Kong residents

US President Joe Biden said the "significant erosion" of rights and "politically motivated arrests" were behind the move. Hong Kong residents in the US can now extend their stay.

President Joe Biden on Thursday offered Hong Kong residents living in the United States an 18-month extension to their visas to provide them with "a safe haven" from Beijing's crackdown in the territory.

In a statement, the White House said the "politically motivated arrests" of politicians, activists and journalistsshowed a "significant erosion" of rights and freedoms.

Last week, Tong Ying-kit, 24, became the first person to be convicted in Hong Kong under a controversial national security law. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

What did Biden say?

Under the new measure, most of the Hong Kongers living in the US will be able to apply for visa extensions that will also give them the right to work.

Biden cited Beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2019 and erosion of rights in Hong Kong as a reason for the measure. 

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/us-announces-temporary-safe-haven-for-hong-kong-residents/a-58773282

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Hong Kong: 'Patriots only' election starts without pro-democracy candidates

6h ago

The first vote under Hong Kong's newly revamped election system will ensure that "patriots rule Hong Kong," by keeping out any "anti-China" elements.

Fewer than 5,000 people, mostly belonging to Hong Kong’s pro-establishment circles, are voting on Sunday to send candidates to an election committee that will pick the city’s next leader as well as determine half of the legislature.

The newly revamped electoral system has been put in place with legislative changes to guarantee that "patriots rule Hong Kong," keeping out any "anti-China" elements and ensuring the election of pro-Bejing politicians.

"The whole objective of improving the electoral system is to ensure patriots administer Hong Kong," the city's chief executive Carrie Lam said on Sunday. 

"I doubt very much that another government or country will allow the public election to their local legislature of people whose mission is to undermine the national interest or national security," she said.

[...] 

Sunday’s poll is the first under the new system for Hong Kong.Voting on Sunday will determine members of a committee will go on to appoint 40 of the city's 90 legislators in December this year. Thirty other legislators will be chosen by special interest groups and 20 will be directly elected. 

Next year, the committee will also choose the city’s next Beijing-approved leader, a position that is currently held by Lam.

Conspicuous absence of pro-democracy candidates

In line with the new electoral system that allows "only patriots" to govern Hong Kong, pro-democracy candidates were nearly absent from this election.

As China regulates the political processes taking place in Hong Kong, most prominent democratic activists and politicians have been jailed or have fled the city.

[...] 

https://m.dw.com/en/hong-kong-patriots-only-election-starts-without-pro-democracy-candidates/a-59228474

[Ssnake]

Democracy, at last.

[DB]

There seems to be no publicly available data on the number of people taking advantage of the new route to full British Citizenship at the moment, at least none that I could find easily.

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 16.10.2021

Author Kevin Tschierse

China pressures Hong Kong in dispute over Tiananmen sculpture

Voices critical of the Chinese government are increasingly being silenced in Hong Kong. The city's university wants to remove Pillar of Shame, a monument to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.

Nightmarish, with images of dozens of bodies and faces contorted in pain, Pillar of Shame towers some 8 meters (26 feet) over the campus of the University of Hong Kong. The less-than-subtle monument, like a scene from Tartarus, is meant to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in which hundreds, and by some estimates more than a thousand, pro-democracy protesters were killed by Chinese military violence.

Now, after more than 20 years, the university wants the statue removed. The sculpture's Danish artist, Jens Galschiot, is shocked by the decision.

"I am the rightful owner of the sculpture. And I think the Hong Kong University must respect that. Because they believe it belongs to the alliance people, the democracy movement, and the students. I have only lent it out permanently for exhibition there," Galschiot told DW.

Pressure from mainland China 

The statue was erected in 1997 in Hong Kong's central Victoria Park. Since 1990, tens of thousands of people have gathered there every year for a vigil to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4.

After students moved the sculpture to the university campus, commemorations continued. But in 2020, authorities banned the event for the first time— with Beijing citing COVID-19 measures as an excuse to further restrict any mass remembrance of the massacre.

"The university administration has basically always just tolerated the sculpture. Now it has come under so much pressure from the mainland that it can no longer tolerate it," said Klaus Mühlhahn, a China expert and president of Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen, southern Germany.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has said it was ordered to remove the sculpture on "legal advice." Until recently, it was represented by the Chicago-based law firm Mayer Brown, which is known in the United States for its civil rights work. But after numerous NGOs criticized the firm for contradicting its mission to "make a positive difference in the lives of others," Mayer Brown has since withdrawn, according to a report in The Washington Post on Friday.

Removal postponed, for now

Initially, the university said the sculpture would be removed by 5 p.m. (local time) on October 13. But after the deadline came and went, HKU told the Hong Kong Free Press that it is "still seeking legal advice and working with related parties to handle the matter in a legal and reasonable manner."

[...]

'Important that the history of Tiananmen is kept alive'

If his sculpture is damaged while it is being dismantled, Galschiot has threatened to seek compensation from the university. At the moment, however, he is working on getting the statue out of Hong Kong, a process that may take several more months.

"I have hired a lawyer. My previous lawyer was put in jail because he was a member of the democracy movement," said Galschiot.

He hopes his memorial can stay in Hong Kong, but the outlook isn't very promising. Few countries around the world have been able to come to terms with their past. Germany, he said, is an exception in that regard.

"There are four Pillars of Shame — one in Hong Kong, one in Mexico and one in Brazil. And I have another one in my workshop," he said. "All the sculptures are about a shame to be overcome. They are about massacres, about people that got killed — in the fight for democracy, in the fight for their lives. Shames that no one wants to or can talk about."

That's precisely why his sculpture belongs in China, he said. If it's not allowed to stay in Hong Kong, Galschiot at least wants to try to have it placed in Taiwan. "It's really important that the history of Tiananmen is kept alive. If you don't have this kind of memorial, the memories of it will be forgotten."

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/china-pressures-hong-kong-in-dispute-over-tiananmen-sculpture/a-59521711

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Amnesty International says will close Hong Kong offices over security law

By Timothy Jones | 6h ago

The rights group says a security law imposed by Beijing is stopping it from working freely in Hong Kong. It also said the law poses a threat to its staff.

Amnesty International said on Monday that it plans to close its offices in Hong Kong by the end of this year because of the danger posed to its staff by a national security law imposed on the city by Beijing.

"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 organizations in Hong Kong to work freely and without fear of serious reprisals from the government," Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, chair of Amnesty's board, said in a statement.

"Hong Kong has long been an ideal regional base for international civil society organizations, but the recent targeting of local human rights and trade union groups signals an intensification of the authorities' campaign to rid the city of all dissenting voices," the statement went on. "It is increasingly difficult for us to keep operating in such an unstable environment."

Under the law, which came into effect in July 2020, authorities have clamped down on dissent in the city, effectively putting an end to Hong Kong's exceptional status under the "one country, two systems" principle that was agreed when it became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China in 1997.

Amnesty said its Hong Kong officeaddressing human rights and campaigns in the city would close on October 31, and that its second office — tasked with research and advocacy work across east and Southeast Asia and the Pacific — would be shuttered "by the end of 2021."

[...] 

https://m.dw.com/en/amnesty-international-says-will-close-hong-kong-offices-over-security-law/a-59614145

[chino]

In Capitol riots a guy is put in jail for throwing a chair.

But in HK it is a travesty to put behind bars people who ram riot police with a motorcycle, threw petrol bombs etc?

On 7/27/2021 at 9:08 PM, DB said:

One wonders what state secrets were involved here.

Not that a jury trial would have found a different verdict. As a juror one wouldn't want to foolishly degrade your social credit score.

What's with the snide remark? In your country violence is not prosecuted?

[futon]

HK has been part of China for 2000 years or so. It some ways, it is very fitting for HK to be more like and more integrated into the rest of China. Too bad its CCP China though. 

[rmgill]

Which part of China? the one possessed by Manchuria? The one possessed by one of the three Kingdoms? Or the 16 Kingdoms? 
Or the Northern and Southern Dynasties? 
OR the 5 Dynasties? 
the Liao? the Song Or the Jin?
Ming? Yuan?
The Qing? 

Why does the Conquest dynasty get preference? 

[futon]

1 hour ago, rmgill said:

Which part of China? the one possessed by Manchuria? The one possessed by one of the three Kingdoms? Or the 16 Kingdoms? 
Or the Northern and Southern Dynasties? 
OR the 5 Dynasties? 
the Liao? the Song Or the Jin?
Ming? Yuan?
The Qing? 

Why does the Conquest dynasty get preference? 

Well those questions bring up the valid point about how the conquest dynasty isn't really so entitled to some special rhetoical rights on territory for areas like inner and outer Manchuria, inner Mongolia, Mongolia itself, Formosa, Tibet, Xinjiang, Northern Vietnam. If doing so, then it lends the same rhetorical support for most other colonization/conquest examples. 

But HK really was part of the heart of China so I could sympathize in that regard. But HKers themselves don't have the option to exit successfully so there is still that matter mixed into a full rhetoic argument. 

In extension since I suspect its lurking in the back, I don't find it realistic for the UK to have maintained possession of HK unless the UK was not just a small shadow of its former self like it has been for decades. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by futon

[rmgill]

So, is the legitimacy is based on historical ownership by the Han Ethnicity? What of the other ethnicities? Why not the Mongols? Why no the Manchus? Why not the Min, etc? 

Does self determination by a given region matter? If conquest matters alone should the US have left China to Japan's possession? How would that have sat with Chinese?

[futon]

1 hour ago, rmgill said:

So, is the legitimacy is based on historical ownership by the Han Ethnicity? What of the other ethnicities? Why not the Mongols? Why no the Manchus? Why not the Min, etc? 

Does self determination by a given region matter? If conquest matters alone should the US have left China to Japan's possession? How would that have sat with Chinese?

Well its speaking in terms of an opinion and/or sentiment. The word legitimacy could still be used but there's a nuance difference. 

I think there is a general sentiment that a given patch of land is most suitable to be viewed for belonging to a group/nation. The greater the departure from as things had been, the greater the degree of discontent to an opinion may be. If a very great departure, like saying the Chinese are not entiled to Shanghai, or the Americans are not entitled to NY, and so on with London, Osaka, Moscow, etc., then the lash back will be very great and so its not in the intetest to cause such a grear lashback with an opinion. So pragmatism is mixed in. Idealism can be a factor that can modify a view to be biased for groups/nations seen to be as bettering the human condition for expansion. Such as US expansion across to the west coast. So all those factors mix into the sentiment. So it gets pretty complex. Self-determination is another idealism that gets mixed into the sentiment.

HK had always been Chinese even if a different subset of Han with Cantonese and whatever minor mix of other ethnicities there may be such as Hakka. 

Mongols and Manchus actyally just got absorbed into the Han body so weak to get supportive sentiment for those.

If conquest matters alone, then  maybe it can be assumed that conquest is part of a global power competition thinking that a nation should strive to win being the guiding factor for determining a sentiment. If so, then the US probably did the correct thing to prevent Japan from winning against the Nationalist and Communists Chinese because that guidance would assume a more powerful Japan with domination of China under its wing would reduce the chance to win in a global power competition. 

 

[bojan]

6 hours ago, rmgill said:

...Does self determination by a given region matter?...

It matters if backed by enough military might. Otherwise "it is foolish to separate, why can't they live like a good citizens".

Edited November 17, 2021 by bojan

[rmgill]

7 hours ago, futon said:

Well its speaking in terms of an opinion and/or sentiment. The word legitimacy could still be used but there's a nuance difference. 

I think there is a general sentiment that a given patch of land is most suitable to be viewed for belonging to a group/nation. The greater the departure from as things had been, the greater the degree of discontent to an opinion may be. If a very great departure, like saying the Chinese are not entiled to Shanghai, or the Americans are not entitled to NY, and so on with London, Osaka, Moscow, etc., then the lash back will be very great and so its not in the intetest to cause such a grear lashback with an opinion.

Which people though. The people of Shanghai or in this case Hong Kong do they have a right to Hong Kong or do the Chinese in Beijing have a right to Hong Kong. Because there's not one mono-block of Chinese who think as one. 

The Chinese in Beijing claim a right to Taiwan. What about the Chinese in Taipei? 
 

 

[bojan]

They claim right to the rest of China.

[urbanoid]

2 hours ago, bojan said:

They claim right to the rest of China.

And a lot of other territories, at least officially. De facto they claim the right to Taiwan and nothing else, but they can't say that, as that would mean they violated One China principle, which would mean war.