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

#Censorship #RedLine
Hong Kong Film Censorship Authorities reject two student movies citing national security violations

Two movie screenings in the 4th Ground Up Student Film Festival have been cancelled after the films failed to obtain a Certificate of Approval from Hong Kong’s Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (#OFNAA).

The news came shortly after the amended Film Censorship Ordinance came into effect on 5 November 2021. The amended ordinance sets out the need to put an end to acts and activities that may endanger national security and it also allows the Chief Secretary of Administration to withdraw already-issued screening permits.

On November 19, 2021, Hong Kong Film Censorship Authority first turned down approval for #TheCage, a short film directed by Hong Kong Baptist University (#HKBU) graduate Tsoi Wing-chau. The film depicts totalitarian rule, capitalism, freedom and resistance.

Two days later, another film Piglet Piglet that sets around Taiwan's Presidential election also failed to obtain an approval certificate. The screening of #PigletPiglet was cancelled just over five hours before it was set to be held.

Director of the film, Lin Tsung-yen, wrote on his Facebook page, saying that “local authorities expressed disapproval. They asked me to cut all scenes and information linked to Taiwanese Presidential election and Tsai Ing-wen.”

#GroundUp #FilmFestival #FilmCensorshipAmendment #NationalSecurityLaw #TsaiIngWen #Cinema

Source: Stand News, #Nov21
https://thestandnews.page.link/CgCJg1s5p4D1XvFF8

#LegCoElection #Censorship
Hong Kong Authorities Ban Citizens from Displaying "Hong Kong Add Oil" on Outfits

The postponed Hong Kong Legislative Council elections will take place on December 19, 2021, despite the majority of the pro-democracy camp was detained or sentenced to jail.

On December 14, 2021, #BarnabasFung, the chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (#EAC), said voters who have the words "Hong Kong Add Oil [Hang On]" on their outfit might be asked to cover them.

On a side note, staff at polling stations are not allowed to wear, in particular, yellow facemasks.

Source: InMedia #Dec14
https://bit.ly/3dLh4pX

#Regime #LegCo #Election #WhiteTerror

#Court #Censorship
Hong Kong Court Asks Man to Change Mask With Suspected Protest Iconography

#CarolNg, former chairperson of Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (#HKCTU) and one of the “#NSL47”, has been remained under custody. She has requested bail on #Dec20, 2021 to the High Court, and the application was processed by Esther Toh Lye Ping, one of the designated judges for any #NationalSecurityLaw-related cases.

A court observer have worn a yellow and black mask with the #Bible verse (Amos 5:24), “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” embroidered on it.

He was denied entry by security and court personnel under orders of the judge, and demanded that he change his mask before he would be allowed entry. They have not explained their reasons behind this act.

The observer was disgruntled by the request, and questioned, “If my clothes were not allowed in court, do I have to take them off them too?”

A similar incident also happened on #Dec17, 2021, when former head of the English edition of Apple Daily #LoFung (Fung Wai-kwong) requested bail.

Before the hearing began, Toh, through her secretary and Bailiffs, required observers wearing yellow masks or wearing hoodies with yellow umbrella insignias to change into “more appropriate” clothing, or be led away from the courtroom.

Some observers have questioned the requirement, questioning that those were “unsuitable” clothing, to which the Chief Bailiff stated, “it is inappropriate,” without further explaination.

Source: InMedia #Dec20

https://bit.ly/3slkoAG

#Mask #Injustice #Save47

#WhiteTerror #Censorship
Newspaper in Hong Kong States in Editorial: "No Intention to Incite Hatred"

In late December 2021, six former and current senior staff members of Stand News were arrested for "conspiracy to publish a seditious material". The authorities said that it contravened sections 9 and 10 of the Crimes Ordinance.

The former chief-editor Chung Pui-Kuen and the former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam Shiu-Tung were both detained and denied bail. Stand News immediately announced to cease operation.

On January 6, 2022, #MingPao, a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong, stated in its editorial that the newspaper has no intention to "incite hatred, dissatisfaction, and hostility" and they are only "pointing out the wrongdoings and suggesting a legal improvement to the society".

Following #StandNews, #CitizenNews and other 5 media have been recently closed down.

The chief-writer in Citizen News Chris Yeung Kin-Hing worried about the unpredictable redline. He was not comfortable to be a journalist as any article, report and interview can be classified as incitement.

Chief Executive #CarrieLam, however, claimed that the number of media registered on the information service department has increased in the past year, when she was asked whether press freedom has declined.

"The shut down of the media is their personal choice that we should not directly connect it with #FreedomofPress. The government and the police force only act in accordance with the law."

The editorial posted by Ming Pao reads:

"Criticism in the journal was to point out the mistakes or weaknesses of the related systems, policies or regulations and aim to correct or to eliminate them with legal improvement. There are no hatred, dissatisfaction, or hostility incitement to the government or other social groups."

Source: InMedia #Jan6
https://bit.ly/3JLmArq

#CarrieLam #YeungKinHing #ChungPuiKuen #LamShiuTung #NSL #CrimesOrdinance #PressFreedom #MediaLandscape

#Censorship #Smear
CCP mouthpieces in HK attempt to smear HKPORI for contravening National Security Law

On March 11, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (#HKPORI) announced its decision to cancel a press briefing initially scheduled in the afternoon on "Russian-Ukraine Invasion".

Dr Kim-Wah Chung, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of HKPORI explained that a fake draft questionnaire of the survey has gone vital since morning.

The fake questionnaire has sparked off a wave of criticisms among pro-establishment media outlets, including CCP mouthpiece in Hong Kong. Some alleged that the questionnaire could risk violating the National Security Law.

Chung, however, rebuffed that the draft questionnaire circulated online was fabricated and it did not exist. He called these news reports deliberate smear attempts targeting HKPORI.

Chung went on challenged integrity of SpeakOut.HK, a pro-government online media, which was the first one that started the chain of media reports surrounding the fake questionnaire.

Chung asked, "isn't fact-check fundamental to any press reports."

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar11
https://bit.ly/369gPEq

#PressFreedom #Censorship
Pro-democracy media rejected at government funded events

A Hong Kong government funded community group, newly established to combat COVID-19 outbreak extended invitation to local media to publicise their attempts to relief supply shortage of anti-epidemic items in elderly homes.

Reporters from Inmediahk, a pro-democracy online media were among those being invited.

Unfortunately, when reporters from Inmediahk showed up at the press briefing, they were stopped at the door and rejected.

A staff member said only those "friendly media" are invited. Without providing any convincing reasons, they were barred from entering the venue and asked to leave.

Source: inmediahk; #Mar10
https://bit.ly/363rmRx

#CCPcontrol #Censorship #Silencing
Furious Chinese Netizens over City Lockdown posts National Anthem "Rise Up" to Protest, and are Promptly Blocked on Weibo

With the widespread of #Omicron in Shanghai, the Chinese government is responding with a tougher stain on the lockdown of the city, leading to public discontent and resistance.

Many Chinese netizens used the first line of the national anthem, "Rise up! Those refuse to be slaves", as a hashtag and posted it on #Weibo to express their anger. This was blocked by Weibo later on, which is ridiculously tantamount to making the national anthem a forbidden word.

It was found later, after searching on Weibo, that the national anthem is still searchable, but the search results would be blanked if the keyword is a hashtag of the national anthem.

This is not the first time China has banned its national anthem. Back in the early days of the #COVID19 outbreak in #Wuhan, when 'whistle blower' Dr. Li Wenliang died, Douban.com banned the lyrics of the same song for "containing radical current affairs or ideology".

Source: Whats News Media; #Apr21
https://www.whatsnewsmedia.com/8796/16/08/45/

---
Related article
National Flag Guard – Doctor LI Wenliang was died due to the systematic speech controls, which he believed in and supported
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/16978?single
.

#Censorship #PressFreedom
Hong Kong Public Broadcaster cuts pro-democracy representation in Advisory Panel overseeing programme quality

A Hong Kong public broadcaster, Radio & Television Hong Kong (#RTHK), announced on May 10 that it is set to streamline its consultation framework.

Under the new framework, the advisory panel on programme standards that comprised several members of pro-democracy parties have ceased operation since April 2022. However, panellists from the pro-establishment camp can be retained.

Although Tik Chi-yuen, a member of the Advisory Panel, told the reporters that he was surprised by the RTHK's action, he defended it and said that it doesn't mean RTHK is not listening to public opinion.

Another member Fung Ying-him, a representative of Our Hong Kong Foundation supporting the new framework, said such an arrangement was "fine", as the Advisory Panel did not have an active role, but only met once a year.

Source: Inmediahk, #May12
https://bit.ly/3sviEny

#TikChiYuen #FungYingHim

#Censorship #Education
Authorities Remove Teaching Materials on Human Rights and Protesting in Hong Kong

The Education Bureau (#EDB) in Hong Kong has been promoting values education in recent years, and it is rating the "National identity" and "law-abiding" as one of the most important values.

It is also found that some learning and teaching resources under the "Human Rights Education" category have been chopped with the latest website update, including group projects to collect press clippings for demonstrations, studying "why protesters have their demands", etc.

As the 33rd anniversary of the June Fourth Incident approaches, the timing of this update becomes sensitive, though the Education Bureau said yesterday that the recent update "has nothing to do with the June Fourth Incident, so there's no need to make unnecessary speculations".

In the Education Bureau's original framework, students are expected to "respect human rights". These wordings were removed in the pilot version of the "Values Education Curriculum Framework" launched last year.

In addition, the recommendation to students to "cherish freedom and respect the freedom of others" through the #RTHK programme "City Forum" was also removed.

A primary school principal, who did not wish to be named, said she felt helpless about the change in the teaching resources. She said that despite the clear new content, some of the removed items should be available for teaching, but becoming a grey area after the #NationalSecurityLaw came into effect. She worried that teaching such materials might touch on sensitive topics and lead to "consequences".

"For example, teachers should have taught the June 4 incident on June 4, but now they feel that they could no longer teach it under the National Security Law. There's a lot of pressure on the schools and the teachers, that we don't know if anyone would complain about what we teach to the authority," she said.

Source: Mingpao #Jun04

#NSL #Education #June4

https://bit.ly/3yiZ0yo

#MadeinChina
China's WPS Office Software Accused of #Censorship and Lockup Users' Files

#WPSOffice, a Microsoft Office-like software released by China's company #Kingsoft, has recently been exposed for allegedly censoring content and locking users' files for sensitive words, prompting criticism.

Users have reported that WPS Office actively detects the contents of documents stored on computer drives and in the cloud. A file will be locked whenever sensitive words are found, which would be released only if the user files official complaints to the developer. The software locked a novel of more than 1 million words in one case. The author said the pieces have never been shared with anyone, questioning whether the WPS official had been peeking it without permission.

The official response from WPS was that the file contained illegal links, which is why it was banned, stressing that the user's privacy always comes first.

However, the WPS statement seems to make matters worse, and the general public is not at all convinced, with some questioning, " How do you know the document has an illegal link? Only if you peek at it!"

Source: The Liberty Times #Jul12

https://3c.ltn.com.tw/news/50087

#China #ChineseSoftware #PrivacyBreach

#HongKong Bashes #GlobalMedia With Hundreds of Complaint Letters

//From Slovakia to Japan, top Hong Kong officials have fired off at least 500 letters in 2022 blasting critical foreign media coverage, as the city wages a global battle to safeguard its reputation as a liberal financial hub.

At least 174 media outlets in almost 30 countries received missives from city leaders -- including its now chief executive, #JohnLee -- since China announced in May 2020 that it would impose a national security law on the former British colony. The correspondence, often written both in English and the publication’s native language, was uploaded to the “Clarifications” tab of the government’s communications platform known as Brand Hong Kong.

About half of the letters, which responded to a mix of reports and editorials, hit back at criticism of Beijing’s sweeping security law, while roughly a third defended a mandate that only Communist Party loyalists can hold office in the city. Neighboring Asian nations got 42% of the complaints, led by Japan and South Korea, while business publications including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Economist got the most letters. Bloomberg received seven...

Hong Kong’s crackdown on freedoms has eroded the city’s reputation among many foreign governments...

Hong Kong’s press freedom ranking has plummeted since the security law clamped down on free speech. The city came 148 in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 World Press Freedom Index, representing a fall of 68 places from last year.//

Source: Bloomberg #Jul25
https://t.co/OHZN4fVjye

#Whitewash #Censorship #PressFreedom #NationalSecurityLaw #PoliceState #Authoritarianism

#Court
Man who Posted Video of Olympic Gold Ceremony with "Glory to Hong Kong" Now Charged with "Insulting National Anthem of China"

When Hong Kong fencer #CheungKaLong won a #GoldMedal at the #TokyoOlympics in July 2021, many Hongkongers were overjoyed. Among them, a 27-year-old man published a video of the medal ceremony on the Internet, replacing the audio of China's national anthem with "Glory to Hong Kong," an anthem of the 2019 #AntiELAB movement.

One year later, the man was now charged with "insulting the national anthem of China" and "insulting the emblem of the Hong Kong SAR."

The case was heard in the Eastern Magistrates on July 22, 2022. The man was not represented by any counsel. The magistrate accepted the man's request to postpone the hearing to September 2, 2022, so that the man can look for a lawyer.

Source: InMedia #Jul22
https://bit.ly/3aVGjYS

#NationalAnthemOrdinance #PoliceState #Censorship #GlorytoHongKong #Sport #OnlineVideo #HongKongAthlete

"Will of the People": Hong Kong Woman Describes Large Turnout of Mourners at British Consulate, but NowTV Quickly Deletes Interview

The British Consulate in Hong Kong had seen long queues of Hongkongers coming to pay tribute and sign the book of condolence for the late Queen Elizabeth II. On Sept 12, #NowTV News interviewed citizens waiting in the line; one of them, Ms. Chung, said, "I'm here to remember this great leader. Look how many people came; this is the will of the people."

The news clip was aired on the station's TV channel as well as its Facebook page. The post quickly received hundreds of likes.

Merely half an hour later, however, the post was taken down, and the station had also cut Ms. Chung's interview from the TV news segment.

The edit was reportedly ordered by NowTV News director Chan Tit-biu, who had the day off. Chan was a former news director at the pro-Beijing TVB News.

However, screenshots and video clips of the interview spread quickly, and the phrase "will of the people" (民心所向) soon became viral on social media. Netizens sarcastically commended Chan for making Ms. Chung's words of praise for the late Queen even more widely heard. "Receive our gift, Your Majesty!" one comment reads.

source: ReNews #Sep12

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=129455019839797&set=a.128212953297337

#PressFreedom #Censorship #WillOfThePeople #RIP #QueenElizabethII