Hong Kong news updates
2.25K subscribers
6.65K photos
214 videos
9 files
12.1K links
Provide instant updates esp for English speakers (news/important notice/traffic,etc)
Download Telegram
#WhiteTerror #Censorship
Would Karaoke become a crime?: Hong Kong School Politicizes Cantopop Lyrics and Censors Singing Contest

In Hong Kong, two students from the ELCHK Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School decided to perform a Cantonese pop song titled "銀河修理員” (Translated as: Galatic Repairman) at the school's singing contest.

The song was originally performed by the local band #DearJane.

The school, however, rejected the song, calling certain lyrics "political". The students were forced to modify their performance and only allowed to perform a makeover version call 疫情加油(Translated as: Pandemic Add Oil").

In the end, the two students entered the finals and performed on stage. They sang the song with the original lyrics and chanted "HongKongers Add Oil" after the performance.

The two were disqualified for performing the song without the school's approval and each were given a demerit. They were also banned from performing for the school in the future which could affect their chances of going to college.

Stand News made inquiries to the school about the incident, but the vice principal, Tam refused to give a response.

Source: Stand News #Jul7

https://thestandnews.page.link/eVu9qPBVGz6S9cvq6

#Karaoke #School #Cantopop #SingCon
#WhiteTerror #Censorship
5 Universities in Hong Kong Crackdown on Students' Unions


In the past year, multiple students' unions in Hong Kong have been targeted and oppressed by the university management for their pro-democracy stance.

On July 15, 2021, the Hong Kong Lingnan University announced thst they would no longer collect the member fees on behalf of the Students' Union. This makes the 5th Students Union being targeted in Hong Kong universities-- after CityU, CUHK, HKU and PolyU.

After the HKUSU committee passed the proposal to mourn Leung Kin Fai's death, the university was critized heavily by Carrie Lam and other pro-establishment parties. The university responded immediately by reprimanding the SU and claimed that they would no longer acknowledge the SU, and demanded the SU to leave the building before July 21st. On the 11th of July, the university took down all the posters in the building, democratic wall and notice boards.

CUHK also stated that their SU made false claims about the university and urge the SU to take legal responsibility for their actions. The SU stepped down after only being elected for one day.

Source: Stand News #Jul15
https://thestandnews.page.link/LercnyuR77m3Sk6w6
#Conscience #Professionalism
HK Journalist Reporting Police Brutality Does Not Back Down Despite Threats

Wanchai district councilor #LeungPakKin was a journalist for #RicePost on the scene of the 8.31 Prince Edward Attack, and had recorded video of the attack as it unfolded in 2019.

Earlier in August 2021, someone had mailed him a box cutter blade, along with a threatening letter: "Shut up about 8.31, and your family will stay safe".

In response to inquiries by Stand News, Leung saif that he will not keep quiet because of the letter. He says that the attack had been a collective memory of everyone, and it will not disappear simply because he stopped talking.

He elaborates on his thoughts on the letter on his Facebook page, stating that it didn't have to be him talking about the 8.31 attack by the police. "The video already showed everything. The people and events in the video are the most important [proof]. The violence dealt by the armed men in the video, whether they're reasonable, whether they're proportional - there's no need for me to say more."

Leung said that he had turned down all interviews since last year.

Source: Stand News #Aug30

https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E6%9B%BE%E6%8B%8D%E7%89%87%E7%B4%80%E9%8C%84-831-%E5%A4%AA%E5%AD%90%E7%AB%99%E5%85%A7%E6%83%85%E6%B3%81-%E6%A2%81%E6%9F%8F%E5%A0%85%E6%94%B6%E5%88%80%E7%89%87%E6%81%90%E5%9A%87%E4%BF%A1

#831PrinceEdward #WhiteTerror #Censorship #Threat #DistrictCouncillor #Journalism
Hong Kong's Largest and Oldest Teachers' Union Disbanded After Being Attacked by Pro-Beijing Forces

The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (#HKPTU) announced its disbandment on September 11, 2021. Established in 1973, the group has been the largest and oldest teachers' union in the city.

The group's pro-democracy stance has been attacked by pro-Beijing media funded by the Chinese Communist Party government and was picked up by the Hong Kong government.

Source: Stand News #Sept11

#PoliceState #WhiteTerror #Censorship #Attack
#Academia #Oppression #FreedomOfSpeech #University
Lingnan University Terminates Adjunct Appointment of 2 Outspoken Professors

In response to inquiries by Stand News, the Hong Kong Lingnan University (#HKLU) indicated the adjunct appointment of Law Wing-Sang and Hui Po-Keung have ended in September 2021, and their names have been removed from the school website's list of faculty members. They were professors of Cultural Studies.

The university did not mention the reason for not renewing their contracts.

Law and Hui are scholars active in pro-democracy protest movements, commenting often on current affairs. At the beginning of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, after the police fired tear gas on the gathering crowds, the two publicly condemned the government's actions and went on strike as teachers.

Hui is also a trustee of the “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund”, a fund supporting those injured or arrested during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement.

After the implement of National Security Law, Law continued to comment on newspapers. He published an opinion piece in MingPao on September 3, 2021, saying that the implementation of the National Security Law had 'perfected' Hong Kong's democratic 'election' system overnight. It also put an end to the ongoing controversy over the pace of democratization since the city's “return to China”: “Hong Kong strides into the era of “authoritarian rule”.

Source: Stand News; #Sept30
https://www.thestandnews.com/society/a_%E5%B6%BA%E5%A4%A7%E8%88%87%E7%BE%85%E6%B0%B8%E7%94%9F%E8%A8%B1%E5%AF%B6%E5%BC%B7%E5%90%88%E7%B4%84%E7%B5%82%E7%B5%90-%E6%95%99%E8%81%B7%E5%93%A1%E5%90%8D%E5%96%AE%E5%B7%B2%E9%99%A4%E5%90%8D

#LingnanUniversity #HongKong #TearGas #NationalSecurityLaw #Censorship #Professor #LawWingSang #HuiPoKeung
#Censorship #CCP
#Quran App Removed in China

//#Apple has taken down one of the world's most popular Quran apps in China, following a request from officials.

Quran Majeed is available across the world on the App Store - and has nearly 150,000 reviews. It is used by millions of Muslims.

The Chinese Communist Party officially recognises Islam as a religion in the country.
However, China has been accused of human rights violations, and even genocide, against the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang.

Earlier this year the BBC reported that Uyghur imams had been targeted in China's Xinjiang crackdown.

Apple declined to comment, but directed the BBC to its Human Rights Policy, which states: "We're required to comply with local laws, and at times there are complex issues about which we may disagree with governments."

However, it is not clear what rules the app has broken in China.//

Source: BBC #Oct15
HK Protest-themed Movie Receives Multiple Nominations in Taiwan's #GoldenHorseAwards but Cannot Be Screened At Home

"May You Stay Forever Young" is a Hong Kong film which portrays the "suicide rescue team" during the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement.

The movie is nominated for Best New Director and the Best Film Editing in the 58th Taiwan Golden Horse Awards.

On October 11, 2021, the film publishes its first promotional video. At the end of the clip, there is no screening date but the line "Cannot be screened in Hong Kong".

The trailer is 2 mins 33 seconds long, filled with protest related images. The video starts with a confrontation between police and citizens on Queensway and ends with a scene filled with umbrellas. Images of guns and incendiaries are also featured in the clip.

#AntiELAB #Protest #HongKongMovie #Taiwan #Censorship

Source: Stand News #Oct14
https://thestandnews.page.link/Arx5aymZG6KMJt9y9
#PopMusic #Censorship
Top Ranking Song Mocking Chinese nationalists Banned in China and Delisted from HK-based streaming app


Malaysian rapper #Namewee and Taiwan-based Australian singer #KimberlyChen Fang-yu rolled out a Mandopop song titled "#Fragile" (玻璃心, or literally meaning "#GlassHeart"), on Youtube in mid-October 2021.

The term "glass heart" is commonly used to describe nationalist Chinese netizens who become easily upset when a social media post attacks the Chinese Comminist Party (#CCP).

While the song can be interpreted as a love song, the music video satirizes the CCP and nationalist Chinese netizens
(aka "#LittlePinks") through the extensive use of the color pink, simplified Chinese subtitles, and a giant and clumsy panda.

References are made to China's claims to Taiwan, bat soup representing COVID19, the Great Firewall, and #XiJingping's latest political campaign Common Prosperity.

The song hit the internet with an overwhelming popularity, receiving over 10 million Youtube views in just first few days.

The pro-China netizens criticized the lyrics for "inflicting insults on China", leading to both the ban of the singers in China and the removal of their #Weibo accounts.

In response, Namewee wrote on his Facebook page pointing out that the song has reflected a general trend as more people are realizing CCP's oppression and encroachment. The artist said, "[this song is] not so amazing, it's just a mirror."

Commenting on the freedom of expression in artistic creation, Namewee said, "If I have to give up creative freedom and my ideals, this goes against any artististic pursuit.  I would rather stop creating."

Namewee added in his comment that with the growing number of supporters, he would consider leveraging their influence to resist and protest against authoritarianism.

He said, "I believe if one remains silent in the face of iron fist, it would foster and reinforce them [authoritarianism]. Until one day, the iron fist hits your head as it spares no one."

On October 27, 2011, the Hong Kong-based music app, #MOOV, was found delisted the song from its app. Netizens slammed the music app, calling it "#FragileMOOV".

Source: Stand News #Oct25; as1 entertainment #Oct27

https://thestandnews.page.link/v8e74czAgLL9oV6Z8/

#PopCulture #PopSong #MandoPop #MOOV #Delist #Creativity #Art #Culture #MusicVideo #Ban
#Censorship
Sports Event Organisers in Hong Kong Ban "Hong Kong Add Oil" in Upcoming Events

The Hong Kong Cycling Festival and the Cross-harbour Swimming Competition announced on November 16, 2021 that their events will resume after the cancellations due to the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement and the subsequent #COVID19 pandemic in 2020.

However, the organizers are banning the participants from displaying slogans such as “Hong Kong Add Oil” (meaning, "Go for it, Hong Kong") at the upcoming events. They called it a "political slogan."

The organisers warned they will involve the police if people refuse to cooperate.

Manson Hung, director of event & product development at the Hong Kong Tourism Board said that, if the cyclists show political slogans on their outfit or bicycles, the organisers will demand them to remove them. If this is to no avail, then the organizer will involve the “appropriate law enforcement departments.”

When asked if "Hong Kong add oil” was a so-called "inappropriate" Cantonese phrase, Hung gave a vague response, “I think you understand.”

Source: Stand News; #Nov17
https://thestandnews.page.link/7FWZmNQ6j69MdtbY8

#CrossHarbourSwim #CyclingFestival #HongKongTourism #FailedState #NationalSecurityLaw #Oppression #AddOil
#Award
Director of Drifting Petals – a film takes anti-ELAB movement as background – clinches Golden Horse Best Director Award

The Kong Kong raised Melbourne film maker Clara Law snatched Best Director at the 58th Golden Horse Awards, after being nominated for a Golden Horse award for the seventh time.

The film, Drifting Petals, took 2019 anti-ELAB movement in Hong Kong as background. With protest scenes and images intertwined in the film, Law illustrated not only changes that Hong Kong has undergone, but also the fear and anxiety among Hong Kong people.

The jury praised Law for using a "poetic" way to examine history and reality, showcasing her talent and vision.

Now residing in Australia, Law thanked the jury for bringing the film to Taiwan. Actress Lin Lai received the best director award for Law and spoke on her behalf in the ceremony.

Lai quoted Law that “perhaps, Taiwan and European countries are the only places in the world where her work could be officially shown.”

Lai carried on saying, “She (Clara Law) is a Hong Kong Director. She made this film in Hong Kong but it remains unclear whether the film can be shown there.”

#GoldenHorse #HKProtest #HKmovie #Censorship

Source: Stand News; #Nov27
https://publielectoral.lat/thestandnews/6611