#Breaking #PressFreedom
Hong Kong Citizen News announces its closure 5 years after its establishment

Below is the press’ open letter to its readers:

A farewell from Hong Kong Citizen News

Today is 2 Jan 2022, hkcnews has to say goodbye to all our readers 5 years after our establishment.

It is still in our vivid memory that on 1 Jan 2017, hkcnews was established. During the press conference for announcment, many experienced reporters had expressed their concerns over press freedom in Hong Kong, hoping that hkcnews could uphold the spirit of professionaism, stay true to the essence of journalism, and serve the public. During that time, we "hoped that this tiny step we take could gradually encourage the industry to protect the freedom of press".

Then, albeit facing extremely scarce resources, hkcnews slowly made our tiny stpes, paving our way into the news reporting world. We strove our best to cover exclusive news, data analysis, interviews, investigative reports, feature articles, court news, Chinese news, etc.. Although our coverage might not be the broadest, nor the fastest, but this little team of us has never stopped striving for depth and accuracies in our reports.

We started from having only 10 people in our team, now we are proud colleagues of dozens professionals, and from being a nobody, to hearing people saying they have been reading our articles.

It’s been 5 years. We truly thank all for your support.

─────────

The first news article of hkcnews, published on 1 Jan 2017.

"Hong Kong Citizen News was born on this special new year because we want you all to remember, regardless of situations, that 'This land we cherish, into our bones this love we’ve etched, happy or sad, in life or death, it's still Hong Kong, our land'."

We all love this place, yet with regret, we are not only facing a storm, but a tornado and tsunami.

We have never forgotten the reason we started. Unfortunately, with the radical change in our society, the environment for journalism has been deteriorating. We can no longer strive for our aim fearlessly.

Right in the eye of the typhoon, the little boat of us is in severe situation of waves and winds. We have to first make sure everyone in hkcnews is safe under such dangerous situation.

Therefore it is with utmost sadness that we announce:

Starting from 4 Jan 2022, Hong Kong Citizen News will cease operation. We will stop updating our websites, which will be shut down sometime later.

We sincerely thank our subscribers and readers for all of your support, which we will hold dearly onto, and remember, forever.

All those we have gone through in the past 5 years will be cherished memories of ours.

Hong Kong Citizen News

Source: Citizen News; #Jan2
#Media #CloseDown #Solidarity #Humanity #PressFreedom #PoliticalOppression #Readers #Hongkongers #WhiteTerror

#Solidarity #Resistance
Hong Kong Singers Respond to Difficult Times and Encourage #Hongkongers Not to Give Up Their Beliefs

In the annual Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation organized by Commercial Radio Hong Kong on January 1, 2022, several singers expressed words of encouragement to Hongkongers in their thank you speech, addressing the difficult times faced by the locals.

Vincy Chan whose song was named to one of the Top Ten in 2021, said on stage, "As long as we can cross over, there is a future. Uphold our beliefs, never give up -- we must hang on."

Stephanie Cheng, whose song titled "Drink more water" was named Top 4 in the 2021 music chart, expressed that the past year was a difficult one. She then said, "[we need to] be strong in order to overcome... It doesn't mean there is nothing one can do when in a fragile state. Take good care of ourself, then we will find hope. Hope everyone will not give up."

In response to the immigration wave out of Hong Kong, RubberBand, a local band, received the grand award for a song about farewell called "Ciao". While the drummer Ah Wai said the song is deidicated to all Hongkongers whenever they are, his fellow band member Lai Man added, "the truth will prevail." Ah Wai also expressed hope for reunion one day, despite having said goodbye. At last, vocal "no. 6" Mau Hou Cheong said, "We must live on, no matter you are staying in Hong Kong or you choose to leave. This song is dedicated to all Hongkongers. Thank you, Hongkongers. We are always Hongkongers."

At last, MC $OHO and KidNey, a two-men rapper group which was awarded the Silver Prize in the newcomer (band) catergory, said they need to thank the management of their agency. They continued, "because management is very important. There are so many problems in Hong Kong all because it is not well managed."

Source: CNews #Jan1

#Cantopop #HongKongMusic #HongKongSingers #NeverGiveUp #RubberBand #Trial&Error #VincyChan #StephanieChiang

Activist Edward Leung to be Released from Prison After 6-Year Sentence; Family Asks Hongkongers to Consider Personal Safety

Pro-democracy activist and former spokeperson of #HongKongIndigenous #EdwardLeung Tin-kei will be released from jail on January 19, 2022. He is expected to leave #ShekPikPrison on Lantau Island in the morning.

On January 18, 2022, Leung's family announced on his Facebook page that "there is no need to travel a long way to Shek Pik"; they "hope to soon reunite with Edward"; and fellow Hongkongers shall "consider their personal safety first." In order to better protect Leung, his famiky decided to shut down the Facebook page by midnight of January 19, 2022.

Before being jailed, Leung joined Hong Kong Indigenous, a political group founded by #RoyYeung, in 2015. In February 2016, Leung won 66,000 votes in the New Territories East By-election. His campaign slogan was "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times." The government disqualified his candidiacy in the Legislative Election in the same year.

In June 2018, he was convicted of assaulting an officer and riotting in the 2016 #FishballRevolution, and was sentenced to 6 years in jail.

During the 2019 #AntiELAB movement, Leung sent an open letter to #Hongkongers from the prison, telling his fellow citizens "not to be overtaken by hatred; and to stay alert and continue to think during difficult times".

Leung has been relocated to Cat. A in the prison and placed in isolated cell since last year.

Source: InMediaHK #Jan18
https://bit.ly/33LBsFn

#Release #PoliticalPrisoner

#FirstHand #June4
Assembly in #London: #Hongkongers and #Ulkranians In Solidarity

Photo album: https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/32822

At Downing Street, London on June 4th, 2022, Hongkongers and Ukrainians organized a fight against dictatorship assembly. The solidarity movement voices support for the fight for freedom across mainly Hongkongers and Ukrainians.

Exiled activist #NathanLaw, a former legislator in Hong Kong and the founder of #Demosisto, was the first guest speaker of the event. He said to the crowd, "no matter where we are from, we are all escaping from the dictatorship regime."

He said that not only Ukrainians but also Hongkongers have been following the Russian invasion news.

Carman Lau Ka-Man, a former Wong Tai Sin District Councillor in 2019, was the next one to speak, urging overseas Hongkongers to do more when they were able to and to help those in Hong Kong who are suffering in jail or under suppression.

"Perhaps 1989 seems quite long ago, but let's not forget what we did in the year of 2019."

#BenedictRoger, the founder of #HongKongWatch, brings a yellow umbrella to the event, saying the umbrella is not only for rainy weather, but also to symbolise the dignity of the people who fight for democracy and the movement against dictatorship regime.

A Ukrainian representative spoke and emphasised that Ukraine is a geographic buffer between Russia and Europe, protecting the whole Europe from Russia. She urged the world to stop using fuel supplied by Russia in order to stand with Ukraine.

Related News
Remembering June 4th in #Japan
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/32814

#Resistance #Solidarity #FightForFreedom #RussianInvasion #CCP

As Hong Kong clamps down, ‘burden of remembering’ #TiananmenMassacre shifts overseas

// In the decades since the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing on June 4, 1989, one of the most indelible images associated with the event, alongside “Tank Man” and the Goddess of Democracy statue, has been a sea of candles, lighting up the night.

Every year, tens of thousands gathered in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate the dead and echo their calls for democracy in China.

No more. The 30th anniversary of the massacre in 2019 was the last time it was marked by a mass gathering in Hong Kong. Memorials since then have been banned on coronavirus grounds, as is the case this year, with public gatherings still limited to four people...

“With the last symbol of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech in Hong Kong being taken away it is crucial for Hong Kongers and all persons of conscience around the world to pick up the torch and make sure that the flame of freedom and democracy remain burning,” said Mabel Tung, chair of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement (#VSSDM), a group founded by Chinese Canadians in support of the 1989 protests.

...Amnesty International said it is arranging events in more than 20 cities this year, and will call on participants not only to remember those killed in Beijing, but also “stand in solidarity with those in Hong Kong whose peaceful acts of commemoration are now criminalized.”

In Asia, one of the largest memorials will be in Taipei, where organizers plan to unveil a replica of the “Pillar of Shame,” a statue commemorating the Tiananmen victims that was forcibly removed from Hong Kong last year...//

Source: Globe and Mail #June3

Read the full article:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-as-hong-kong-clamps-down-burden-of-remembering-tiananmen-massacre/

#Remembrance #Solidarity #Overseas #Resistance #Diaspora #Hongkongers

"Glory HK": #Hongkongers Raise Glowing Signs amid Storm Clouds on Lion Rock

In Hong Kong, a group of pro-democracy citizens braved the heavy rain and hiked to the top of the #LionRock on the evening of June 9, 2022.

On the mountain, they displayed the light signs that spelled "Glory HK", to commemorate the third anniversary of the 2019 June 9 #AntiExtradition protest march.

When the group reached the summit, however, the hill was shrouded by dense clouds and heavy rain, with a thunderstorm warning from the weather observatory. After discussing their options, the group decided to carry through and set up the sign while they waited for the clouds to clear. Their patience was rewarded after waiting for over an hour; the clouds cleared for a brief moment, and Hong Kong's city lights come into view behind their glowing sign.

Speaking to a reporter, the organizer likened the weather atop the mountain to the outlook for Hong Kong's future: full of dark clouds, but there will be light for those who hold on to the end.

"The oppression keeps Hongkongers from speaking our minds, and even rational debates on the Internet risk violating the authority's red line; however, the beliefs of Hongkongers 3 years ago surely remain engraved in our hearts, and they will never change," said one of the participants.

Source: Boomhead #Jun9

#June9 #GloryToHongKong #AntiELAB #KeepTheFaith #NeverForget #3Years

See also:

Two Years into Hongkongers' #FightForFreedom: "Keep the Faith, Until Darkness Gives Away to the Glorious Dawn and Freedom Returns to Our Land"

https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/30108

June 9, 2019: 1 Million Pro-Democracy #Hongkongers in #AntiExtradition Protest

https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/32866

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