#SupportAppleDaily #GlobalSupport
#ReportersWithoutBorders protests #AppleDaily closure at Chinese embassies in Paris and Berlin

The press freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (#RSF) marched through the streets of Paris and Berlin on June 25, 2021.

They protested the closure of the Hong Kong's pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, after Hong Kong's Beijing-backed authorities froze the paper's assets and arrested several executives.

The NGO said on their website that they held "funeral-style processions" to denounce the "killing" of Apple Daily by the Hong Kong government, and to "raise alarm of the threats" posed by the Beijing regime to press freedom globally.

In Paris, RSF placed a coffin and funeral flowers for the Hong Kong paper in front of the #ChineseEmbassy. At the same time, they buried copies of the newspaper in front of the embassy in Berlin.

RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said, "today's funeral is for Apple Daily, but tomorrow's may be for press freedom in China. It's time for the international community to act in line with their own values and obligations and defend what's left of the ,free press in Hong Kong before China's model of information control claims another victim."

Text: Deutsche Welle #Jun25

Photos: Reporters Without Borders
https://twitter.com/rsf_inter/status/1408397332190744579?s=21

#Paris #Berlin #Protests #NGO #Funeral

#NeverForget
"Tracing the Source" - 7.21 Yuen Long Attack Investigative Report by Stand News

Days ahead of the 2-year anniversary of the 7.21 Yuen Long Attack, Stand News published a video report investigating the allegations from the pro-Beijing camp that the conflict was initiated by pro-democracy protesters.

English captions have been added by Real Hong Kong News. Watch the video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gch5ikVyI80

The report found that pro-Beijing groups and Hong Kong police, and the #IPCC all cited a poster calling for a protest in Yuen Long on 7.21, during the height of the 2019 anti-ELAB protests.

Notably, the IPCC's special investigation report was quoted in the court case of 7 pro-Beijing men charged for rioting on 7.21, the only alleged white-shirt attackers who have been charged to date.

However, HKU research found that the poster had first gone viral on Chinese social media platform #Weibo and other pro-Beijing groups, instead of the #LIHKG forum frequented by pro-democracy protesters.

When the poster later reached LIHKG, it was mostly met with skepticism; eventually being treated by commentators as fake information.

Pro-Beijing groups, however, had used the poster to stir up fears of "rioters" coming to Yuen Long, even calling on people to bring canes and water pipes to repel the presumed "invaders".

During the evening of 7.21 when the incensed mobs struck indiscriminately at civilians, multiple pro-Beijing figures were seen on the streets with the white-shirts. Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho was also filmed encouraging and shaking hands with white-shirts.

Patrolling police officers were seen walking away from the sites where civilians were attacked.

Footage also showed Pak Heung Division Commander Li Hon-man mingling and thanking white-shirts who scuffled with pro-democracy citizens during the week leading up to the attack.

These, as well as other reports from that evening, contributed to public discontent and suspicion that the police force is colluding with the Triads.

Since then, Pro-Beijing groups have distanced themselves with the events of the night, and clung to the narrative that they were defending their homes from supposed incursion by the black shirts. When Stand News approached several leaders who had been identified in the night's footage, many declined to comment, or simply cut off the interview.

Some victims of the attack had sued the police force for reparations to cover the costs of surgery and long-term medications to treat their injuries; however, the Department of Justice called their claims "unreasonable". They had since withdrawn their case, since their lawyer - pro-democracy legislator Albert Ho - is now in jail, leaving them feeling helpless and deprived of justice.

Source: Stand News
Caption Translation: Real Hong Kong News

#YuenLong721 #StandNews #Documentation #Report

#Culture #Solidarity #Cantopop
Concert Tickets sold out in 2 minutes, Hong Kong pro-democracy singer #DeniseHO: every chance can be the last chance

Denise HO Wan Si, a Hong Kong popular pro-democracy singer, will have her 7-show concert in September at the Hong Kong Art Centre.

A total of 2,000 tickets were sold out within 2 minutes on 23 August, 2021. HO thanked all her fans in Facebook, "I will honor my soul to give a hug to each and every of you".

On the next day of HO's announcing her concert earlier, HO's closed fellow from the Hong Kong Shield Anthony WONG Yiu Ming, another popular pro-democracy singer, had been arrested for offence of "misconduct in election". Some fans of HO had commented on her social media pages asking her to "leave". HO thus shared her thought, "no one will know what's happening in the next second; in this messy age, we should be firm with ourself and our belief, don't be influenced by tons of things pass-by."

#hongkong #howansi #AnthonyWong #Conscience #hongkongshield #concert #belief

Source: Stand News #Aug13

https://bit.ly/37OadsJ

#PoliticalSuppression #DistrictCouncil
Former Democratic District Councillors Opt to Stay after Resignation and Open Stalls for Wine-Selling, “Want to Slow Down the Collapse of Civil Society”

In July 2021, the HKSAR Government claimed to disqualify democratic district councillors and would ask for a salary return from district councillors after disqualification, leading to the resignation of over half of these councillors. However, resignation does not mean leaving the area permanently. Instead, some of the resigned councillors continue their contribution to society in another way. For example, LAM Siu-Bun's office in Yau Tsim Mong becomes a miscellaneous stall; LEUNG Kwok-Ho's office in Cheung Chau becomes a wine shop; former Kwai Tsing District Councillor WONG Pit-Man returns to the community organisation Tsing Yi Islanders as a convener to organise different events.

The above three did not leave but having different perspectives. LEUNG admitted a struggle between being an “ordinary person” to take care of his family and staying for the community. However, many fellow co-fighters are in prison now, and he said, “I need to be here! With my ability. I don’t want to leave!”. LAM, was the assistant of IP Kin-yuen, strengthened his persistence to stay after the collapse of the HK Professional Teacher’s Union, “I don’t want to see a sudden collapse of civil society!”. WONG thought that she loaded down her identity as a district councillor, “returning” to her past, being a convener of an organisation concerning the community, doing what she should do.

Yet, what they all have in common, is, "Stay in the community even if they are no longer a district councillor".

#disqualify #hongkong #districtcouncil #LamSiuBun #LeungKwokHo #WongPitMan #IpKinYuen #TsingYiIIslander

Source: Stand News; #Aug13

https://bit.ly/3jW793q

#disqualification #DQ #DistrictCouncillor

#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

The Famous Reporter Jonathan Mirsky, being Beaten up in the June 4 Incident, has Passed Away at Aged 88

A famous reporter Jonathan Mirsky had passed away in Britain on September 5, at the age of 88. Jonathan had been concerning about China throughout his life. He once had a live report on the June 4th incident in Tiananmen Square. He was beaten by armed police until his left arm was broken and three teeth fell out. Jonathan has worked for The Times in Hong Kong since 1993 and resigned in 1998 due to the soft attitude to China from owner Rupert Murdoch.

During the Vietnam War, like many intellectuals at the time, Jonathan Mirsky, as a scholar, actively criticised the United States. He also opposed the United States for isolating the policies of China, which he used to believe the protest of Mao was beneficial to China. In 1972, he was invited to visit China for six weeks as a Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars member. He noticed that the organiser tried to hide a few terrible situations in China. Because of this, he changed his mind from a Mao fan to a counter-revolutionary.

Source: Stand News #Sep12

https://bit.ly/3kwVxFz

#JonathanMirsky #June4 #China #TiananmenSquare #HongKong #VietnamWar #UnitedStates #Mao #Protest