Forwarded from 📡Guardians of Hong Kong
"Sing with U" in Tuen Mun - Heavy police force charged into malls and dispersed shoppers as happened in the past few weeks
Netizens initiated a "Sing with U" event at Tuen Mun Town Plaza in the evening. Some citizens displayed flags, chanted "Five Deamnds, Not one less" and other slogans, and sang anti-ELAB songs.
1847 | #TuenMun
In Tuen Mun Town Plaza, plainclothes officers randomly stopped and searched citizens. Heavy police force was deployed near Tuen Mun Town Square, likely due to the event, and there were high-profile patrols by police in riot gear.
1905
There were a large number of plainclothes police patrolling and setting up cordon lines in Tuen Mun Town Plaza.
1927
A large amount of riot officers entered the Plaza to disperse the crowd.
Source: Real Time News Broadcast, Apple Daily
Graphic: #FirstHand
#May5 #HongKongProtest #PoliceState
Netizens initiated a "Sing with U" event at Tuen Mun Town Plaza in the evening. Some citizens displayed flags, chanted "Five Deamnds, Not one less" and other slogans, and sang anti-ELAB songs.
1847 | #TuenMun
In Tuen Mun Town Plaza, plainclothes officers randomly stopped and searched citizens. Heavy police force was deployed near Tuen Mun Town Square, likely due to the event, and there were high-profile patrols by police in riot gear.
1905
There were a large number of plainclothes police patrolling and setting up cordon lines in Tuen Mun Town Plaza.
1927
A large amount of riot officers entered the Plaza to disperse the crowd.
Source: Real Time News Broadcast, Apple Daily
Graphic: #FirstHand
#May5 #HongKongProtest #PoliceState
Forwarded from 📡Guardians of Hong Kong
#PoliceState #PoliceBrutality
Police Darken Glass on Vehicle, Fear Over Further Loss of Rights of Arrestees
Some netizens found that the police recently introduced a new type of police car with black glass in the center and rear windows.
The police confirmed that the designed police car is in the approval stage. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) will ensure that the vehicle is suitable for driving on the road before it is delivered to the police.
Some in the automobile industry said that tinted glass can reduce the amount of air-conditioning, but human rights organizations said some arrested persons claimed that they were beaten in police cars in the past. They worry that darkening the police car glass would lead to further loss of the rights of the arrestees.
The police said it was being approved; Group: Many complained about being beaten in a police car
Recently, some netizens uploaded pictures on Facebook, showing that the middle and rear glass of a police car were black, different from the common transparent glass. Last week, the newspaper asked the police if tinted glass was being phased onto police vehicles.
The police responded last night to confirm that the police car in the photos circulating on the Internet is still in the approval stage and has not been delivered to the police. The police said that all vehicles of the Police Force were purchased, inspected, repaired, and maintained by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). The Department will refer to the requirements of the Transport Department to confirm that the vehicles are suitable for driving on the road before delivering them to the Police Force.
The police have not provided explanations regarding how many police cars will use black glass and why they made the switch.
Promote consultation with the Legislative Council first
Human Rights Watch spokeswoman Ms. Claudia Yip said that there have been complaints about being beaten in police cars, such as the case of social activist Chow Nok Hang. In many cases, the police will pull the curtains or turn off the lights so that people outside the car cannot observe inside. There were no witnesses in the car, making it impossible for the victims who complained of being beaten in the police car to follow up with investigations. Yip believes that blackening the glass may cause even more complaints, and that the police should first consult the IPCC and the Legislative Council.
Yip also said that the Coroner’s Court had recommended that the police install CCTV in police cars. The IPCC also supported the proposal, but the police did not follow up and instead, turned the window glass to black. This is a "big step backwards" for transparency and accountability of the police force.
According to the "Road Traffic (Vehicle Construction and Maintenance) Regulations" and the regulations of the Transport Department, the minimum light transmittance of a car windshield is 70%, and that of a rear window glass is 44%.
Lee Yiu-pui, President of the Automobile Industry Association, said that the relevant regulations do not apply to police cars. As for private cars, many are manufactured with tinted glass to block direct sunlight and reduce air conditioning costs; however, the rear glass must not be too dark, because the drivers must look through the car’s rear glass to check for “blind spots".
Source: MingPao #May5
Further reading:
Protesters were violently abused and humiliated by Hong Kong Correctional Services Department staff during detention
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/20614
Policing and accountability: the working of police authorities
https://bit.ly/2SI9diB
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 5 to 9
https://bit.ly/3cbCnyq
#PoliceVehicle #ArresteesRights
Police Darken Glass on Vehicle, Fear Over Further Loss of Rights of Arrestees
Some netizens found that the police recently introduced a new type of police car with black glass in the center and rear windows.
The police confirmed that the designed police car is in the approval stage. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) will ensure that the vehicle is suitable for driving on the road before it is delivered to the police.
Some in the automobile industry said that tinted glass can reduce the amount of air-conditioning, but human rights organizations said some arrested persons claimed that they were beaten in police cars in the past. They worry that darkening the police car glass would lead to further loss of the rights of the arrestees.
The police said it was being approved; Group: Many complained about being beaten in a police car
Recently, some netizens uploaded pictures on Facebook, showing that the middle and rear glass of a police car were black, different from the common transparent glass. Last week, the newspaper asked the police if tinted glass was being phased onto police vehicles.
The police responded last night to confirm that the police car in the photos circulating on the Internet is still in the approval stage and has not been delivered to the police. The police said that all vehicles of the Police Force were purchased, inspected, repaired, and maintained by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). The Department will refer to the requirements of the Transport Department to confirm that the vehicles are suitable for driving on the road before delivering them to the Police Force.
The police have not provided explanations regarding how many police cars will use black glass and why they made the switch.
Promote consultation with the Legislative Council first
Human Rights Watch spokeswoman Ms. Claudia Yip said that there have been complaints about being beaten in police cars, such as the case of social activist Chow Nok Hang. In many cases, the police will pull the curtains or turn off the lights so that people outside the car cannot observe inside. There were no witnesses in the car, making it impossible for the victims who complained of being beaten in the police car to follow up with investigations. Yip believes that blackening the glass may cause even more complaints, and that the police should first consult the IPCC and the Legislative Council.
Yip also said that the Coroner’s Court had recommended that the police install CCTV in police cars. The IPCC also supported the proposal, but the police did not follow up and instead, turned the window glass to black. This is a "big step backwards" for transparency and accountability of the police force.
According to the "Road Traffic (Vehicle Construction and Maintenance) Regulations" and the regulations of the Transport Department, the minimum light transmittance of a car windshield is 70%, and that of a rear window glass is 44%.
Lee Yiu-pui, President of the Automobile Industry Association, said that the relevant regulations do not apply to police cars. As for private cars, many are manufactured with tinted glass to block direct sunlight and reduce air conditioning costs; however, the rear glass must not be too dark, because the drivers must look through the car’s rear glass to check for “blind spots".
Source: MingPao #May5
Further reading:
Protesters were violently abused and humiliated by Hong Kong Correctional Services Department staff during detention
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/20614
Policing and accountability: the working of police authorities
https://bit.ly/2SI9diB
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 5 to 9
https://bit.ly/3cbCnyq
#PoliceVehicle #ArresteesRights
明報新聞網 - 每日明報 daily news
新警車轉黑玻璃 人權組織憂損被捕者權利 - 20200505 - 港聞
【明報專訊】有網民發現,警方近日引入新款警車,車身中排及後排玻璃為黑色,警方證實該款設計的警車正在驗收階段,機電署會確保車輛適宜在道路上行駛才交付警務處使用。有汽車業人士稱,有色玻璃可減少冷氣用量,但有人權組織稱過去有被捕者投訴在警車被毆打,憂慮將警車玻璃轉為黑色會有損被捕者權利。
Forwarded from 📡Guardians of Hong Kong
‘I’m Very Anxious’: China’s #Lockdowns Leave Millions Out of Work
//Migrant workers and recent college graduates have been hit hardest by shuttered factories, closed construction sites and an anemic job market.
As China battles its worst coronavirus outbreaks, its uncompromising determination to eliminate infections has left millions unable to work. Stringent lockdowns, hitting city after city, have forced factories and businesses to shut, sometimes for weeks, including in some of the country’s most important economic centers.
Two groups have been especially hard-hit: migrant workers — the roughly 280 million laborers who travel from rural areas to cities to work in sectors such as manufacturing and construction — and recent college graduates. Nearly 11 million college students, a record, are expected to graduate this year...
Yang Jiwei, a 21-year-old from Anhui Province, worked as a waiter in Shanghai when the lockdown began. His residence, shared with four other people, had no kitchen supplies, so they could not cook the few packages of vegetables and meat that local officials had provided. He had been eating a dwindling supply of instant noodles...
But the official unemployment figures are widely considered an undercount. They do not capture many migrant workers, and they also count people as unemployed only if they are able to start working within two weeks. That would exclude people under extended lockdowns or the growing numbers of young people deferring job searches...//
Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/business/china-shanghai-covid-lockdown-economy.html
Source: New York Times #May5
#Unemployment #Discontent #Pandemic #ShanghaiLockdown #Covid19
//Migrant workers and recent college graduates have been hit hardest by shuttered factories, closed construction sites and an anemic job market.
As China battles its worst coronavirus outbreaks, its uncompromising determination to eliminate infections has left millions unable to work. Stringent lockdowns, hitting city after city, have forced factories and businesses to shut, sometimes for weeks, including in some of the country’s most important economic centers.
Two groups have been especially hard-hit: migrant workers — the roughly 280 million laborers who travel from rural areas to cities to work in sectors such as manufacturing and construction — and recent college graduates. Nearly 11 million college students, a record, are expected to graduate this year...
Yang Jiwei, a 21-year-old from Anhui Province, worked as a waiter in Shanghai when the lockdown began. His residence, shared with four other people, had no kitchen supplies, so they could not cook the few packages of vegetables and meat that local officials had provided. He had been eating a dwindling supply of instant noodles...
But the official unemployment figures are widely considered an undercount. They do not capture many migrant workers, and they also count people as unemployed only if they are able to start working within two weeks. That would exclude people under extended lockdowns or the growing numbers of young people deferring job searches...//
Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/business/china-shanghai-covid-lockdown-economy.html
Source: New York Times #May5
#Unemployment #Discontent #Pandemic #ShanghaiLockdown #Covid19
NY Times
‘I’m Very Anxious’: China’s Lockdowns Leave Millions Out of Work
Migrant workers and recent college graduates have been hit hardest by shuttered factories, closed construction sites and an anemic job market.