#CoronavirusOutbreak Update as of HKT 13:00 #Jan26
Over 2,000 people infected worldwide, of which 1,975 are in China. Death toll in China rises to 56

At a glance:
- 16 cities are locked down in China, affecting over 60 million people.

- Canada comfirmed its first case.

-The United States and France will deploy planes to evacuate their citizens in Wuhan, China

-Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park will be closed tentatively starting from today until further notice.

- Kindergarten, primary Schools, Secondary Schools and multiple universities in Hong Kong are suspended.

- Andy Lau cancelled all his 12 concerts in Hong Kong.

-Shantou, about 300km away from Hong Kong, announced traffic restrictions from 14:00 on January 26. Ferries and trucks will be banned from entry started from 00:00 on January 27.

Source: New York Times; RTHK

Citizens call for shut-down of High-speed Rail to Stop Coronavirus Pneumonia From Spreading to Hong Kong

As Wuhan Pneumonia hastily spreading around the globe, citizens initiated “Seal the High Speed Rail Operation”, demanding the government to shut down the broader connecting China to prevent the virus from spread into Hong Kong.

It was sighted at West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station on January 26 that Police officers have put on filter masks and protective goggles.

Editor's note: Although Hong Kong raised its alerts to the highest level on January 25, the Chief Executive of HKSAR refused to close down the boarder connecting China, the most effective way to contain the deadly contagion as top microbiologists recommended. The high-speed rail is the most common way for Wuhan residents to travel to Hong Kong.

#Jan26 #ChinaPneumonia #Wuhan #GlobalOutbreak #HighSpeedRail

Wuhan woman - Suspected Coronavirus carrier fled to Osaka for Onset of Symptoms and Speedy Medical Tteatment

A Chinese woman, suspected of contracted Wuhan Pneumonia, fled from Wuhan by car to Guangzhou and then to Osaka. She was interviewed at Japan Kansai International Airport and said that she was not going to Osaka for pleasure tour, instead she was intended to wait for the onset of symptoms, so that she could be admitted into a Japanese hospital for treatment without further waiting and without infecting her family. Her remarks were heavily criticized by both Chinese and Japanese netizens for villainous which could possibly spread the virus to many Japanese.

Source: Travel News Hong Kong
Link #Jan26 #ChinesePneumonia #GlobeOutbreak #Wuhan

#Sanction #InternationalCommunity
HK Pro-democracy Activists urge #GermanParliament to Sanction Hong Kong and Chinese Officials

A pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong, #GlacierKwong, and a German student who studied in Hong Kong, #DavidMissal, led a petition in September 2020, calling on Germany to sanction Hong Kong officials over the national security law passed by Beijing in June 2020.

As the online petition reached the required 50,000 signatures, a parliamentary hearing was scheduled on January 25, 2021.

At the hearing, Kwong urged Germany to put in place “a real and robust policy on China” and “implement targeted sanction against individuals in Hong Kong and China… to hold China accountable and honour Germany’s commitment to democratic values.”

Kwong elaborated that under the National Security Law, initiating a petition or a signature campaign, attending a hearing overseas could be deemed “colluding with foreign forces” and therefore violation of the Law.

“Drastically, the national security law erodes the crumbling pillars of the city’s rule of law and democracy,” Kwong said in her opening speech. “Hongkongers now live in a quasi-police state and mass surveillance. The vaguely-termed law overrides the Basic Law and the Common Law system.”

She also cited prevailing oppressions in Hong Kong such like mass arrests, city-wide surveillance as pro-establishment legislators proposed installation of surveillance camera in classrooms to monitor teachers' speech and freezing of dissident bank accounts and blocking of websites.

Source: Stand News, #Jan26

#MassSurveillance #PoliceState #Authoritarianism #NationalSecurityLaw
#OnlinePetition #Germany