#NationalSecurityLaw
Agnes Chow Released on Bail: Hope HKgers Can Persist

2315 | Tai Po Police Station
Agnes Chow stated that she was released on bail of HKD$180,000 as surety and HKD$20,000 in cash. She needs to report to Police station on September 1 and her passport has been confiscated.

She reckoned that the police arrested her on speech crimes, which is absurd and an act of political suppression. She said that police searched every corner of her house without specifically pointing out the reasons of her arrest. The police also failed to indicate which post Chow made on the social media was connected to the allegations.

Despite being arrested 4 times, she said she felt the most scared this time. Thanks to the support she received from many Hongkongers, she hopes that everyone will persist.

Source: Stand News
#Aug11 #AgnesChow #FreeAgnes #SpeechCrime #FreedomOfSpeech

#Music
Japanese Hardcore Punk Band FORWARD Dedicates Song ‘ACAB’ to Hongkongers

Japanese hardcore punk band FORWARD released a music video for their song "ACAB", which stands for "All Cops Are Bastards". They included large amount of scenes of police brutality in Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.

Watch the music video:
https://youtu.be/4PQ7IoF3SAk

Featuriing members of legendary Japanese 80’s hardcore band Deathside, the band dedicated this song to Hongkongers in pursuit of freedom and democracy.

In an interview with Unite Asia on September 18, 2020, the band said,

“It was very encouraging to see Hong Kong people stand up and fight for freedom in Hong Kong. Though we in Japan might not be in the same boat as Hong Kong, we felt it very much in our hearts. Police violence is absurd and ridiculous. With the ferocity of the assault on victims every day, we felt sorry for not being able to do anything. We are also extremely upset and saddened at the arrest of Miss Agnes Chow in August, and we became more enthusiastic about the people of Hong Kong. So we thought maybe the least we can do for the people of Hong Kong is something through our music.

We dedicate this song to the people who fight against brutality, and people who believe in humanity. There must be something that can be done and impact change by connecting with humanity wholeheartedly.

We are always with you.

香港加油！”

The use of the acronym A.C.A.B can be traced as early as to 1920. In the 1980s, the British punk band The 4-skins popularized the term in their song of the same name.

Source: Unite Asia; Stand News #Sept19
#Solidarity #Punk #Deathside #Forward #ACAB #HongkongProtests #FreeAgnes #AgnesChow

#FreeAgnes
#AgnesChow Shares her Feelings on Social Media Before Trial

A couple hours before midnight on November 22, 2020, Agnes Chow Ting shared her thoughts on facebook before a court appearance on the next day with Joshua Wong Chi-Fung and Ivan Lam Long-yin.

Chow revealed that both Wong and Lam have decided to plead guilty and the trial would probably be closed soon. It also means that the three could be sent immediately to jail.

Facing impending imprisonment, Chow wrote, "Although I'm prepared, I still have fear. Nevertheless, what I am facing is not that huge compared to many friends. Thinking of this, it makes me work harder and be braver."

Chow mentioned another challenge laying ahead on December 2, 2020 when she has to report to police station for suspected violation of the National Security Law.

She closed her post with words of encouragement to overcome foreseeable challenges and stay strong.

Chow was previously hailed as the #RealMulan.

Source: Chow Ting's FB #Nov22

#JoshuaWong Reveals Abuse of Pro-Democracy Student in HK's Prison Before Own Trial

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong will stand trial on November 23, 2020 with fellow activists Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. The three might face immediate imprisonment after appearing in court.

One day before the trial, Wong continued to call on the public and the international community to pay attention to the fight for democracy in Hong Kong.

In a Facebook post, Joshua Wong revealed an abuse case of a pro-democracy student in prison by a correctional officer.

Wong was informed that Tony Chung Hon-lam, a student activist and convener of #StudentLocalism who was arrested on National Security charges, went through unreasonable corporal punishment while detained in Pik Uk Correctional Institution. 

Without any explanation, the staff demanded him to march for over four hours. Chung was exhausted to a point of having stomach cramps, and yet was still ordered to continue marching.

The correctional services officer Hyun Nga-tat, a Grade One Correctional Officer, is known to have commiited similar abuses. Hyun was infamous for abusing pro-democracy protesters under detention: He once forced those singing "Glory to Hong Kong" to slap themselves.  

Joshua Wong ended the post by writing:

"Although there's a chance I could be imprisoned starting from tomorrow, my Facebook page will continue running. 

I encourage whistleblowers to supply further information, and hope Yuen Long District councillors could arrange visits to Tony Chung. I believe his lawyer would also be visiting him at a later time.

I solemnly call on the Correctional Services Department to handle the matter seriously.  Tolerating intentional abuse by lower-level correctional staff against political prisoners will only bring public condemnation.  It has been half a year since abuses in prison came to light. Having it happened again would certainly reignite public anger, and may even lead to legal consequences."

Source: Joshua Wong's Facebook #Nov22
https://www.facebook.com/200976479994868/posts/3528039040621912/

#CorrectionalServices #PikUk #Torture #PoliceState #HongKongPrison
=====
Related News:

Correctional Officers Abuse Pro-Democracy Protesters in Prison
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/20575

#FreeAgnes
#AgnesChow Shares her Feelings on Social Media Before Trial
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/26866

#HongkongersVoice #Court
Hong Kong Young Pro-democracy Activists #JoshuaWong, #AgnesChow and #IvanLam Tell Fellow Hongkongers Not to Be Afraid Before Their Trial

Pro-democracy activists Agnes Chow Ting, Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Ivan Lam Long-yin, who were former members of the now-disbanded Demosisto, will face trial at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on November 23, 2020.

Ivan Lam, aged 26 years old, is two years older than the 1996-born Agnes Chow and Joshua Wong.

Seven years ago, the trio were featured in the cover story of City Magazine, under the title "The Reflection of Scholarisn: Young Power: Post-1990s in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China". As the founding members of Scholarism, the trio were interviewed by the magazine for their roles as secondary school students in rejuvenating social activism in the city.

Seven years later, the trio, like their fellow Hongkongers, faced great adversities in the fight for freedom and democracy. In addition to this case regarding a protest outside the police headquarters in June 2019, Agnes Chow is facing another charge of violating the national security law.

As the three planned to plead guilty in court on November 23, 2020, immediate detention might follow.

Image: City Magazine, Jan 2013
Source: Joshua Wong's FB; Agnes Chow's FB #Nov22

======
Read more:

#FreeAgnes
Agnes Chow Shares her Feelings on Social Media Before Trial
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/26866

#JoshuaWong Reveals Abuse of Pro-Democracy Student in HK's Prison Before Own Trial
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/26869

#FreeAgnes
Happy Birthday, Agnes Chow

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow turns 24 years old on Dec 3, 2020; however, just one day ago, she was sentenced to 10 months in jail for "inciting, participating and organizing unauthorized assembly" near the police headquarters on June 21, 2019.

In the same case, former Demosisto members Ivan Lam and Joshua Wong were sentenced to 7 months and 13.5 months in jail.

After the verdict, Wong told Hongkongers, "it's hard to bear but we must go on." Chow broke into tears.

Chow joined social activism at the age of 15. From the 2012 Anti-National Education Campaign and the 2014 Umbrella Revolution to the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Movement, Chow has always fought on and never given up her city.

In 2018, Chow even renounced her British citizenship to run in the Legislative Council By-election; however, her candidiacy was 'disqualified' by the authorities.

Image: Reuters
Source: Agnes Chow's Instagram
https://instagram.com/chowtingagnes

#FreeAgnes #Japan
Agnes Chow Mentioned in the Entrance Exam of a Prestigious Japanese Junior High schoo

Recently, many private junior high schools in Japan are holding entrance exams. An exam question at the Seiko Gakuin Junior & Senior High School, a prestigious school in Yokohama, sparked discussions between netizens in Hong Kong and Japan because the question mentioned Agnes Chow, the National Security Law and Keyakizaka46’s song “Fukyōwaon”.

The question appeared in the Social Studies paper, where an Asahi Shimbun newspaper article published on August 2020 was chosen and the candidates needed to answer questions accordingly. The article narrates how Agnes Chow was arrested and released, and the fact that she mentioned the song “Fukyōwaon” (means discordant sound) kept coming to her mind when she was held in custody, making her determined to protect her home. This article has attracted a lot of attention at that time.

Apart from asking where it happened and who was involved in the exam question, it also mentioned “be water”, one of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement slogan, quoting Xunzi (a Chinese Confucian philosopher) on his saying “water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn a boat”, subsequently asking the student candidate to define the meaning of “water”. The fourth question asked the candidates to answer in one sentence how they have experienced having denied their freedom. The last question linked Agnes’s arrest to Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution and asked the candidate to fill in what freedom is protected under this law.

Source: Stand News #Feb6

#AgnesChow #BeWater #EntranceExam

#FreeAgnes #PoliticalPersecution
#AgnesChow: Trying Hard to Adapt to Life in Prison

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow, a former member of #Demosisto, was arrested and imprisoned for 10 months on charges of inciting, organizing and partaking illegal assembly.

A friend of her visited Chow during the Lunar New Year and wrote on her Facebook afterwards. She said Chow’s life in prison was mostly about reading, listening to the radio and looking forward to receiving letters.

She said Chow has just finished reading #NorwegianWood and wanted to carry on reading books by Japanese authors #HarukiMurakami and #KeigoHigashino.

Chow told her friend to send gratitude to her supporters, saying that she is working hard to adapt to prison life.

"During the time in prison, my mental and health conditions have not been well. I hope I can take a break and regain my health once being discharged in June," said Chow.

Source: Stand News; #Feb16
https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E5%91%A8%E5%BA%AD-%E4%BB%8D%E5%9C%A8%E5%8A%AA%E5%8A%9B%E9%81%A9%E6%87%89%E7%9B%A3%E7%8D%84%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB-%E6%9C%9F%E5%BE%85%E6%94%B6%E4%BF%A1%E8%A7%A3%E6%82%B6/

#Prison #Reading #HongKongProtest