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#612HumanitarianFund #NationalSecurityLaw
612 Fund Trustees and Secretary Plead Not Guilty for "Non-registered organisation" Charge

Source: Inmedia #May24

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#612HumanitarianFund #NationalSecurityLaw
612 Fund Trustees and Secretary Plead Not Guilty for "Non-registered organisation" Charge


Five trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which stopped operation last year, was arrested by National Security police earlier and were accused of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces or foreign forces". They were were all granted bail, pending investigations.

The five trustees are: Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun (90 years old), a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, Dr. Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee (74), a practising barrister, Dr. Po-Keung Hui, a former Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departure of Cultural Studies at the Lingnan University, Cyd Ho Sau-Lan (67, currently serving another protest-related sentence), a former LegCo member, and singer Denise Ho (45).

The trustees, as well as Sze Ching-Wee, the fund’s secretary, were accused of "failing to apply for registration or exemption from registration within the specified time" under the Society Ordinance and were on trial at West Kowloon Magistrates' Court this morning (23th).

All six defendants pleaded not guilty, and a hearing is scheduled for Sept 19-23.

Barrister Robert Pang, who represented the six, criticized the persecution for expanding the list of witnesses from 9 to 17 at the last minute. He also raised the legal question of whether the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund could be considered a "society", and said that this is the crux of the entire case.

Margaret Ng, one of the accused and also a veteran barrister, criticized the prosecution's lack of preparation: "Could you give us another copy of the brief facts? There's five of us, and we're sharing one copy." She also criticized the Department of Justice (#DOJ) for such an unprepared prosecution: "They only sent these [documents] to us right before court!"

When Cardinal Zen stepped out of court afterwards, supporters shouted encouragements to him: "Cardinal, hang on!" "Cardinal, take care!" "Cardinal, peace be with you!"

Source: Inmedia #May24
https://bit.ly/39PI5JO
https://bit.ly/3MI5WtL
#Oppression #June4
Hong Kong authorities "blocked" venue booking for once-annual candlelight vigil for Tiananmen massacre victims for a third year running

Sources: Ming Pao; #May24, #May27

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#Oppression #June4
Hong Kong authorities "blocked" venue for once-annual candlelight vigil for Tiananmen massacre victims for a third year running

On May 24, a local daily, Ming Pao reported that the Leisure and Cultural Service Department (#LCSD), which administers the Victoria Park soccer pitches where the rally used to take place, has suspended any bookings on June 4, the 33rd anniversary of the #TiananmenMassacre, although bookings are available on other days in the same month.

Just 3 days afterwards, on May 27, the football pitches at Victoria Park were seen fully booked on June 4 from as early as 7am in the morning. No bookings, however, were seen for the rest of June. The same daily found. 

The vigil has been banned -- ostensibly for public health reasons -- for the past two years and the leaders of its organizing group, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, arrested for colluding with foreign powers under a national security law imposed by Beijing from July 1, 2020.

Sources:
Ming Pao; #May24

https://bit.ly/3avt8NF

Ming Pao; #May27

https://bit.ly/3M00GjM

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Related news
Hong Kong Catholic group will not hold Tiananmen crackdown masses citing fears over national security law
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/32764
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Xinjiang Police Files: Inside a Chinese internment camp

The highly coercive and potentially lethal systems of control used against minority groups in China’s internment camps have been revealed in a giant cache of secret documents shared with the BBC.

China insists the network of secure facilities built across its far western region of Xinjiang are simply “schools” for combatting extremism to which “students” sign up willingly. But the contents of the leaked Xinjiang Police Files suggest a different story.

Taking information from the leaked documents, the BBC has reconstructed one of the camps – the Shufu County New Vocational Skills Education and Training Centre - to reveal the methods used inside.

Source: BBC #May24

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-8df450b3-5d6d-4ed8-bdcc-bd99137eadc3?fbclid=IwAR0G6lCZ5J8OgJCy9O-taSz-8zjWZQRAh7eQVeTQw-2LzIWf3KECKZLVG0A&fs=e&s=cl


#Xinjiang #Police #Champ