#Arrest #Suppression #PoliceState
75yo activist remains in custody until April on inciting subversion charge

Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu appeared before a national security judge in the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on February 5, the day after he was arrested for inciting subversion.

Read more on his arrest:
Hong Kong National Police arrested social activists before a planned Winter Olympics demonstration
https://publielectoral.lat/BeWaterHK/61

As Koo stepped into the defendant’s dock, he tried to wave and thank his supporters in the courtroom, but was immediately stopped by court security.

Later on when the magistrate asked Koo whether he understood the charges against him, Koo shouted, “Human rights rank above the right of states, and the people are more important than the state. I am not guilty.”

He was soon interrupted by the judge and ordered to cease shouting.

Without a legal representative, Koo applied for bail on his own, and was denied. He was not required to enter a plea as the Judge adjourned the case to April 1, 2022. Koo would be remanded in custody until then.

#KooSzeYiu #NSL #Subversion #BeijingWinterOlympics

Source: InmediaHK; #Feb6
https://bit.ly/3rsxwmp

Athletes competing in the #BeijingWinterOlympics are faced with a challenge. And it's more than just the competition. Many are now stuck in a #Dilemma between winning medals and keeping their morals.

In this special report, we look at the choice #Athletes competing in Beijing are forced to make, how the fear of speaking out has spread around the world, and what can be done to stem that threat.

⭕️ Watch the special report on @EpochTV👉https://ept.ms/MedalsOrMorals

⭕ @EpochTV EXCLUSIVES. Only $1 (Limited Time Offer) 👉https://ept.ms/1DollarNOW12

Athletes competing in the #BeijingWinterOlympics are faced with a challenge. And it's more than just the competition. Many are now stuck in a #Dilemma between winning medals and keeping their morals.

In this special report, we look at the choice #Athletes competing in Beijing are forced to make, how the fear of speaking out has spread around the world, and what can be done to stem that threat.

⭕️ Watch the special report on @EpochTV👉https://ept.ms/MedalsOrMorals

⭕ @EpochTV EXCLUSIVES. Only $1 (Limited Time Offer) 👉https://ept.ms/1DollarNOW12

Canadian and Taiwanese Artists Uses Music and Drawings to Show their Support on Human Rights

#BeijingWinterOlympics has begun since #Feb04 with boycotts voices circulating the world.

Some artists show their dissatisfaction with #HumanRightsViolation in China with paintbrushes and music notes. A Canadian painter creates "Genocide Games" to mock Beijing Winter Olympic while a Taiwanese band composes "The Times Looking After the Righteous (#時代看顧正義的人)" to criticise dictatorship.

Both works show support to the belief in democracy and freedom.

The Canadian artist, Ricker Choi, is originally from Hong Kong but emigrated to Canada when he was 13. Yet, he is always concerning the situation in Hong Kong. Ricker has created lots of artworks since 2019, supporting Hong Kong democracy movements.

When the winter Olympics was approaching, his heart was filled with emotions. As a result, he picked up his pen and produced a picture "#GenocideGames".

Ricker said, "China claimed to improve the human rights issues in 2008 #OlympicGames, to be free, democratic and open. In fact, the reality is, however, the opposite. They suppress #Uyghurs and #Tibetans, persecuting Hong Kong, threatening Taiwan. Letting them host the Olympic Games again is the greatest sarcasm."

Ricker Choi's Twitter post:
https://twitter.com/RickerChoi/status/1478919590520438785

Source: RFA #Jan17

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/lf-01172022161411.html?encoding=traditional

#Genocide

#Swedish winter Olympic champion gives #GoldMedal away to protest China’s human rights abuses

//Swedish athlete Nils van der Poel has given his gold medal from the #BeijingWinterOlympics to to the daughter of jailed bookseller #GuiMinhai, in protest against China’s “oppression” of free speech and human rights.

Gui, a Swedish citizen, was one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers affiliated with #CausewayBayBooks, which sold political gossip titles.

“I am not the voice of all Olympians, but me and my friends dedicated our lives to strive for excellence within sports, and the Chinese government chose to use our dreams as a political weapon to legitimise their regime. To me that was personal, and I felt exploited,” van der Poel told #AmnestyInternational.//

Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/02/28/swedish-winter-olympic-champion-gives-gold-medal-away-to-protest-chinas-human-rights-abuses/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Feb28

#NilsVanDerPoel #Sport

#China Asked #Russia to Delay #UkraineWar Until After #BeijingWinterOlympics, U.S. Officials Say

//A Western intelligence report said senior Chinese officials told senior Russian officials in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to senior Biden administration officials and a European official.

The report indicates that senior Chinese officials had some level of direct knowledge about Russia’s war plans or intentions before the invasion started last week. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia met with President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing on Feb. 4, 2022 before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Moscow and Beijing issued a 5,000-word statement at the time declaring that their partnership had “no limits,” denouncing NATO enlargement and asserting that they would establish a new global order with true “democracy.”//

Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/us/politics/russia-ukraine-china.html

Source: New York Times #Mar2

Chinese Mobile Phones May Send User Data to China, Belgium Warns

Belgian justice minister Vincent #VanQuickenborne has warned that mobile phones made by Chinese brands may pose spying risks to users, Le Soir reported.

Given the laws under which Chinese #smartphones are produced, Van Quickenborne said, the data they hold may be sent to the Chinese authorities or exposed to #espionage.

According to Le Soir’s report, Chinese law requires companies to store their data on Chinese servers and grant the Chinese authorities access to the IT system.

While #Europe has been slower than the US in its crackdown on Chinese telecom firms, Sino-European relations have become increasingly tense following #China ’s sanctions against Lithuania and as fears of espionage and data theft grow.

#Belgium had previously cautioned athletes attending the #BeijingWinterOlympics against hackers.

Source: Technews #Feb15

https://technews.tw/2022/02/15/huawei-xiaomi-china/

"For more than 20 years, we've been warned of the dangers of the Chinese Communist Party. But we didn't listen. Now the threat is here at our doorstep." Singer and songwriter James H. White planned to write a song protesting the #BeijingWinterOlympics.
https://ept.ms/CanariesInAColdWar