#FreeJimmyLai #AppleDaily
Mike Pompeo and Mike Pence go to bat for imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon #JimmyLai

Top US officials are speaking out against the arrest and imprisonment of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily.

U.S. Secretary of State #MikePompeo tweeted on the morning of Dec 12, 2020 (Asia time) that the Hong Kong's national security law “makes a mockery of justice.” He called for Lai's release, saying his only crime is speaking the truth about China's authoritarian Communist Party government.

Separately, US Vice President #MikePence also tweeted in support of Lai, “Today’s charges against Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong are an affront to freedom loving people around everywhere.”

Pence wrote. “Jimmy Lai is a hero and I remain inspired by his stand for democracy & the rights that were promised to the people of Hong Kong.”

Sources: Pompeo’s Twitter; New York Post #Dec12
Image: Stand News

https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1337577721048784896?s=09

https://nypost.com/2020/12/12/us-officials-go-to-bat-for-imprisoned-hong-kong-tycoon-jimmy-lai/

#NationalSecurityLaw #PoliticalProsecution #CCP

#PoliceState #PoliticalProsecution
HK Police Arrests More #AppleDaily Editors

On the evening of June 27, 2021, Hong Kong Police arrested one more editor who used to write in the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

#FungWaiKong, aged 57, was the editor-in-chief of the English news of Apple Daily and a columnist for the Chinese-language edition under thd pen name Lo Fung.

The police accused of him "conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security". The arrest was made at the airport.

Fung Wai-kong is the seventh employee of the now-closed Apple Daily who was arrested under #NationalSecurityLaw. The founder #JimmyLai, a pro-democracy media tycoon, has been jailed since Janurary 2021.

The 26-year-old Apple Daily was forced to shut down on June 23, 2021 after the police raided the headquarters, arrested 3 editors and 2 executives, and froze the key assets and bank accounts of the newspaper. On the day when the last edition was announced, police arrested one more new commentator.

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (#HKJA) condemned the police for targeting journalists.

Source: Stand News #Jun27
https://bit.ly/2SAUrgY

#Journalism #PressFreedom #SupportAppleDaily #PoliticalPrisoner

===
Related news:

Hongkongers Stay Up Overnight to Buy Apple Daily for One Last Time

https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/30233

#ReportersWithoutBorders and 44-NGO coalition urge Chinese President #XiJinping to release #Covid19 reporter on #hungerstrike

//On September 17, 2021, Reporters Without Borders (#RSF) and a coalition of 44 human rights NGOs urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to exonerate and release Covid-19 reporter #ZhangZhan, who has been on hunger strike since May 2020, for which she was forced-fed.

“Zhang Zhan did not commit any crime but instead courageously risked her life to inform the public on the health crisis. She should never have been arrested, let alone subjected to a harsh prison sentence”, says the head of RSF East Asia bureau, Cédric Alviani, who urges President Xi Jinping to “ensure that Zhang Zhan is released before it’s too late.”//

Source: RSF #Sept17

https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-and-44-ngo-coalition-urge-chinese-president-xi-jinping-release-covid-19-reporter-hunger-strike

Related news:
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/28615

#PoliticalProsecution #PressFreedom #Regime #CCPRules

#Taiwan Condemns Hong Kong Authorities' Crackdown on #StandNews

On December 29, 2021, Taiwan's three major political parties all issued statements in response to Hong Kong Police's crackdown on Stand News, expressing their concern and condemnation.

Taiwan's ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party (#DPP), expressed "indignation and resentment" at the Hong Kong police's flagrant actions, searching media offices and arresting promoters of freedom and democracy. They consider these acts as strangling Hong Kong's freedom of expression and creating a chilling effect among media and public opinion. The DPP calls on the international community and Taiwan to continue observing Hong Kong's development.

The statement by New Power Party (#NPP) calls the actions by Hong Kong's national security police "disproportional", causing serious damage to the freedom of press, and effectively nullifies the rights laid out in the Basic Law: "Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike."

#Kuomintang, Taiwan's current opposition party, expressed deep concern that the authorities shut down a media company that spoke up for different public opinions and upheld principles of democracy, freedom, and human rights. They called on Chinese authorities to respect the younger generation's view of democratic values and freedom of speech. As Hong Kong had been the revolutionary headquarter of Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China, Hong Kong's democracy and freedom are deeply tied to the pursuit of democracy and freedom on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Source: Citizen News; Liberty Times #Dec29
https://www.facebook.com/366243453719070/posts/1618965958446807/

https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3784313

#Media #PoliticalOppression #PressFreedom #Arrest #Regime #PoliceState #PoliticalProsecution

#CCP
Crackdown on Stand News is China's First Step in Controlling the World's Narrative, says Former #NextDigital Director

The day after Stand News was forced to shut down by Hong Kong Police, Hong Kong Democracy Council (#HKDC) held a rapid response virtual briefing on December 30, 2021, in which the speakers urged the international community to closely monitor the developing situation.

Not only is freedom of press under attack in Hong Kong, they said, the incident also signifies important future challenges, such as the possibility of China manipulating the world in the future.

The invited speakers were #ThomasKellogg, executive director of the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University; and #MarkClifford, former independent non-executive director of Next Digital.

As a former director of Next Media, Clifford saw firsthand the government's oppression against Apple Daily, which began even before the National Security Law (#NSL) took effect on June 30, 2020. The crackdown against Stand News had been rumored to be coming for some time; even so, when it finally became reality, Clifford felt it deeply.

"What's happening at Stand News is tragic," Clifford said, "Perhaps not a complete surprise, because we have seen what happened at Apple Daily. It's extraordinary when you're on the other end of state power - unchecked state power. In a city like Hong Kong, it's hard to believe."

The arrests and forced closure of Stand News happened soon after the conclusion of the legislative elections. Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang had twice written to the Wall Street Journal to criticize their reporting of the Hong Kong Elections, even calling its editorials "sickening".

Clifford said that this had not been a coincidence; rather, it reflects the Chinese Communist Party's ambitions to control the world's narrative.

Source: VOA Chinese #Dec30
https://www.voachinese.com/a/experts-analysis-on-hong-kong-standard-news-forced-closure-20211230/6376727.html

Video of the HKDC Rapid Response Virtual Briefing:
https://www.facebook.com/hkdc.us/videos/958932114740331/

#StandNewsCrackdown #NationalSecurityLaw #FreedomOfPress #Media #PoliticalProsecution