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#Censorship #Suppression
Hong Kong Students Organize Exhibition to Commemorate #CUHKSiege; Authorities: University has the Right to Refuse Visits

At the one-year mark of the police siege of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK), the Students' Union (#CUSU) organizes events including photo exhibition to commemorate the pro-democracy Hongkongers' defense of the campus.

The university's security office, however, placed a notice at the campus' entrance, stating 'Depending on overall risk assessment and pandemic control, the university has the right to decline entry of non-CUHK identity holders or individual visitors into the campus."

Jacky So Tsun-fung, a member of the Students' Union, said the notice was placed by the university management probably in the afternoon. He believed that the university authorities saw the anniversary of the "CUHK Battle" a "sensitive period".

Earlier, the authorities censored the commemorative events:
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/26440

Source: Stand News #Nov10
Hongkongers' Book Fair Cancelled, but Presses On with Online Store: "We'd Rather Be Naive than Give Up"

The annual Hong Kong Book Fair is set to take place in late July this year. However, many books that had political undertones or highlighted local culture had been banned from the book fair by local the government's Trade Development Council, who refused to explain the ban or give a list of exhibitors that they have turned away.

In light of this, local publisher Hillway Culture partnered with other like-minded exhibitors to organize the first-ever "Hongkongers' Book Fair," set to take place on July 14 in Causeway Bay.

The day before the fair was set to take place, however, the organizers received a notice from the venue owner saying that the book fair may be in breach of the fair's lease agreement, and they may need to terminate the lease, explained Hillway Culture's spokesperson Raymond Yeung during a press conference on the same afternoon.

Yeung explained in tears that he had expected all kinds of unexpected complaints against the book fair, including fire ordinances, anti-pandemic ordinances, or even the #NationalSecurityLaw. They had expressed willingness to fully cooperate with the venue owners, only so that #Hongkongers can have a book fair that belonged to themselves.

A journalist at the press conference mentioned that the pro-Beijing group "Politihk Social Strategic" had called on citizens to visit the book fair and "inspect the books for law violations". Plain-clothes officers were also said to have visited the venue, and inquired about the fair at the mall's management office.

By 9pm, the organizers announced that the venue owner had terminated the lease. The owner claimed that the book fair violated the venue's usage agreement by "sub-letting" booths to exhibitors - despite the venue having been previously used to host bazaars in a similar setup. The owner had even provided photos and promoted contractors who had previously provided booth setup works. Though the fair organizers expressed that they were willing to make any adjustments necessary, the owners insisted on terminating the contract, forcing the event to be cancelled.

News of the sudden shutdown was met with quick responses from Hongkongers who looked forward to the book fair. Many commenters pledged not to refund their VIP tickets and to visit the participating bookstores. In a subsequent Facebook post, the organizers thanked Hongkongers for their "encouragements, comfort, affirmations, and suggestions. This is an unexpected gift that came after such terrible news."

The organizers have continued on with the online version of the book fair, letting Hongkongers everywhere participate despite the lack of a physical venue. They had also secured a distributor in Manchester to ship out orders made in the UK.

Borrowing a quote from the participating Boundary Bookstore, the organizers wrote: "You can mock our naivete for staying behind, but we'd rather be naive than give up."

Source: #FirstHand #Jul13

Hongkongers' Book Fair Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/hkersbookfair/

#HKersBookFair #Suppression #Culture #BookBanning
Hong Kong Civil Servants Arrested for "Seditious" Social Media Posts

On Aug 9, national security police arrested 4 men, two of whom are civil servants, for allegedly publishing seditious posts online, Hong Kong Police said. 

Sources claim that the two civil servants are the administrators for the "Civil Servants Secrets" Facebook page, which publishes stories submitted anonymously by civil servants of the city.  The relevant Facebook page and Instagram are both currently down.

Police said that the two, aged 28 and 29, published seditious posts that "promoted feelings of hostility between different classes of the city's population".

Police had further investigated 5 other men, two of whom were arrested for allegedly committing fraud.  Police searched their homes and workplaces, and confiscated electronic communication devices.  Police said that the operation is ongoing, and there may be more arrests connected to the case.

Oscar Kwok, Head of the Hong Kong Civil Service College, spoke to reporters from HK01 last Friday that he reads the "Civil Servants Secrets" page to understand their feelings.  Kwok had served in the police force for 32 years, and said that he hopes the public - particularly the media - would speak more positively of civil servants and show gratitude for their work, so that they could be more motivated to serve the public.

A message from someone who claimed to have witnessed one of the arrests at a government office quickly circulated online.  The message said that police arrived at their office in large numbers, and the staff was told not to touch their computers.  Several computers were confiscated, including one that was said to contain very sensitive data.  The whole office was shocked. The source said: the managers looked sombre, and the rest of the staff kept their heads down as they quietly went back to work.

Source:
Channel C, HK01 #Aug09

https://bit.ly/3vQxSVQ

#CivilServants #Suppression #FreedomOfSpeech #NationalSecurityLaw
#FacebookPage #CivilServantSecret #Seditious
China Consulate in Manchester Drags Hong Kong Protesters Inside Gate and Assaults Them, Damaging Props and Tearing Out Hair

At the China Consulate in Manchester, UK yesterday (Oct 16), a group of Hongkongers gathered for a peaceful protest as the Chinese Communist Party (#CCP) Congress begins in Beijing.

Less than 2 minutes after a protester began a speech, however, several consulate staff, dressed in riot helmets and body armor, rushed out at the gathered crowd. The staff began destroying protest props and posters, and dragged at least one protester into the consulate grounds from outside the gate. A scuffle quickly developed.

Several consulate staff was seen surrounding and beating one protester that they pulled inside the consulate gates, holding down the victim and apparently tearing out a handful of hair, discarding it in a pile of signs that they had snatched from protesters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj45YCaF4yE

Police officers quickly intervened, rescuing several protesters that had been dragged into the consulate grounds. They quickly formed a line to prevent consulate staff from any further attempts at abducting protesters.

Bob, a Hongkonger at the protest, had several cuts on his face from the altercation with consulate staff. He told Chaser News that he saw at least 6 men came out "looking to beat up people". Sensing trouble, he stepped up to stop them, "but they dragged me inside and beat me up."

He said he was punched and kicked by the men, with injuries all over his body, and thought that he might die there. Fortunately a police officer went inside the consulate grounds and rescued him. The officers later told him that once the gate was closed, they wouldn't be able to do anything.

The man in the trench coat and face mask who came out to kick down the protesters' banners caught the attention of netizens, who noted his similar appearance to Consul-General Zhen Xiyuan in multiple pictures. He was also seen patting the back of one staff member in an armor vest as they retreated after their assault.
https://twitter.com/McWLuke/status/1581705603100995584?s=20&t=ZcjB2FgQiGzvQGyDxE-7iw

https://twitter.com/McWLuke/status/1581705603100995584?s=20&t=ZcjB2FgQiGzvQGyDxE-7iw
In a tweet sharing the video of the beating, Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, calls for the UK government to urgently investigate their violence on British soil and their violation of free speech. "Chinese Ambassador should be summoned and if any officials has beaten protesters, they must be expelled or prosecuted."
https://twitter.com/aliciakearns/status/1581703837915971585

The activist group Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force sharply criticized the Chinese Consulate's actions. As consulates are sovereign territory of its represented state, if they were allowed to drag citizens into the consulate grounds, then it meant they could forcibly abduct and detain anyone in Britain who displeased them. The group urges the world to "seriously re-examine the legitimacy of the CCP's overseas consulates".

source #Oct16:
WinAndMac
https://www.winandmac.com/2022/10/hong-kongers-are-beaten-up-by-the-chinese-people-in-uk/

The Chaser News
https://www.facebook.com/the.chaser.news/posts/pfbid02eU6UCXSm5hXRvikq2gFEePA8f5ZnJ1VnELnmEY7GVq8NzyCT4xGYkq5gwGfpAHfjl

Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force
https://www.facebook.com/100078098827369/posts/pfbid0289p53aDGLEBEAC813VMetGwYwGLaH1tJqwZPcJNiyFDRJWPNrTsTo3vvYKQruczxl/

#Manchester #HongKongProtest #CCPCongress #Suppression
"Glory to Hong Kong 2023 Edition" Re-Released; Production Team Echoes Sentiments of "Not Wanting to Lose Freedom to Choose Music"

Hong Kong's protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" was suddenly taken offline across multiple streaming platforms after the government filed an injunction to ban the song earlier this month. At the time, the production team cited "technical issues" unrelated to the streaming platforms, not political reasons, as the cause for the takedown.

Within a week, the team has re-released a "2023 Edition" of the anthem on KKBox, Spotify, YouTube Music, and other platforms. The newer version is labeled "remastered" in the title. The melody and lyrics have remained unchanged.

Prior to the takedown, the anthem had taken over the top spots on multiple streaming services within 24 hours of the government's injunction filing. The song's unannounced disappearance was met with reactions of dismay by netizens, as well as anger at what appeared to be the streaming platforms bowing to government pressure to silence the song.

Dgxmusic, the team behind the anthem, responded to the public's concerns through a Facebook post, expressing that they understand the sentiment of "not wanting to lose even the freedom to choose music", and will strive to uphold this aspiration. They also "firmly oppose any attempts to restrict freedom of thought and speech."

The High Court has scheduled the hearing for the injunction on July 21.

Source: In-Media HK #Jun19

#GloryToHongKong #FreedomOfSpeech #Suppression