A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Cambodia to Peru
Category Archives: Hong Kong
Hong Kong woman, 90, conned out of $32m in phone scam
The elderly millionaire fell prey to con artists posing as Chinese security officials who told her she was the victim of identity fraud
A 90-year-old Hong Kong woman has been conned out of US$32m by fraudsters posing as Chinese officials, police have said, in the city’s biggest recorded phone scam.
Police said on Tuesday that scammers had targeted an elderly woman living in a mansion on The Peak, Hong Kong’s ritziest neighbourhood.
Continue reading...Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai and his media empire face uncertain future
Analysis: Tycoon and pro-democracy activist’s 14-month jail sentence is only the start of his problems
The sentencing of the high-profile Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai may offer a foretaste both of his own future and of the media empire he built.
For the 73-year-old tycoon, the 14-month prison sentence handed down on Friday is only the start. He faces six remaining charges, two of which relate to the new national security law, which is deemed draconian by pro-democracy activists but which Beijing argues is necessary.
Continue reading...Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are handed suspended sentences – video
A group of high-profile activists including the media mogul Jimmy Lai have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 18 months for organising or attending ‘unauthorised assemblies’.
In the latest blow to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, Lai and the veteran activist Lee Cheuk Yan were each sentenced to 12 months in jail
- ‘I won’t give up’: four of the politicians and activists sentenced in Hong Kong
- ‘Stand tall’: Jimmy Lai writes letter to Hong Kong journalists before sentencing
Hong Kong pro-democracy figures given jail terms of up to 18 months
Media mogul Jimmy Lai and veteran activist Lee Cheuk-yan each sentenced to 12 months over protests
Ten of Hong Kong’s most senior pro-democracy activists including the media mogul Jimmy Lai have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 18 months for organising or attending “unauthorised assemblies” during mass protests that rocked the city in 2019.
In the latest blow to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, the individuals were either ordered to jail or given suspended sentences in relation to two separate rallies held on 18 and 31 August 2019.
Continue reading...‘Kill the bill’ and trans visibility: human rights this fortnight in pictures
A round-up of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Mexico to China
Continue reading...China blasts UK for granting asylum to Hong Kong activist Nathan Law
UK grants protection to pro-democracy figure who is regarded by Beijing as ‘criminal suspect’
Chinese authorities have accused the UK of sheltering a “criminal suspect” after it granted asylum to Hong Kong activist and former politician Nathan Law.
Law, who fled Hong Kong in 2020, said on Wednesday he had been granted political asylum by the Home Office and the warrant for his arrest under the Beijing-imposed national security law showed he was “exposed to severe political persecution”. At least 100 pro-democracy figures have been arrested under the law.
Continue reading...Hong Kong police seize record 700kg of cocaine
Authorities say collapse of travel during Covid has forced smugglers to make bulk shipments instead of using drug mules
Hong Kong police have announced a record-breaking 700kg cocaine seizure with officers suspecting the huge shipment was smuggled into the city on speedboats.
The bust is the largest in the territory in nearly a decade and netted some HK$930m-worth ($119.6m) of cocaine.
Continue reading...Hong Kong democracy leaders found guilty over peaceful 2019 protest
Seven figures including Martin Lee and media tycoon Jimmy Lai convicted over unauthorised march
Seven of Hong Kong’s most senior and prominent pro-democracy figures, including the lawyer and former legislator Martin Lee and the media tycoon Jimmy Lai, have been found guilty over their involvement in an unauthorised protest rally.
After a four-week trial, the defendants were convicted on Thursday of organising and participating in the rally in 2019, joining two others who pleaded guilty earlier. They could face up to 10 years in prison, though their sentences are likely to be shorter than that.
Continue reading...Raymon Anning obituary
My father, Raymon Anning, who has died aged 90 from pneumonia aged 90, was a police officer who rose through the ranks to become the last British commissioner of the Hong Kong police force, commanding more than 30,000 police officers.
He was not particularly well educated, having left school at the age of 15, but Ray was always extremely ambitious. This was partly due to his desire to do better than his father, who was also a police officer.
Continue reading...Hong Kong’s arts scene shudders as Beijing draws cultural red line
Pro-Beijing politicians accuse newly built M+ Museum of breaching the sweeping national security law
After successfully muzzling Hong Kong’s democracy protests and opposition, Beijing’s loyalists have warned art institutions about their collections as they seek to impose mainland-style orthodoxy on culture and purge the city of dissent.
Newly built on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, M+ Museum aims to rival western contemporary heavyweights like London’s Tate Modern and New York’s MoMA.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: UK accuses China of breaching joint declaration
Beijing guilty of ‘ongoing non-compliance’ with 1984 deal, says foreign secretary Dominic Raab
Dominic Raab has accused China of breaching the legal deal over the governance of Hong Kong, amid criticisms of Beijing’s attempts to tighten its control over the territory.
In a major escalation of diplomatic tensions, the foreign secretary said the UK considered China to be in a “state of ongoing non-compliance” with the Sino-British joint declaration as he condemned Beijing’s decision to reduce the role of the public in picking Hong Kong’s leaders. China has instead handed power to a pro-Beijing committee, which will appoint more council members.
Continue reading...China adopts new laws to ensure only ‘patriots’ can govern Hong Kong
UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab accuses Beijing of hollowing out the space for democratic debate
China’s rubber stamping parliamentary body has unanimously – bar one abstention and to sustained and loud applause – approved new laws ensuring that only people it deems “patriots” can govern Hong Kong, in a move critics say signals the end of the city’s remaining autonomy.
The final meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the annual “two sessions” political gathering also approved new domestic amendments and budgets, and the 14th five-year-plan, intended to strengthen and expand China’s domestic technology industry and market, and reach new GDP and population targets amid economic uncertainty and declining birth rates.
Continue reading...China calls on US to drop Trump-era sanctions and warns against ‘bullying’
Foreign minister Wang Yi calls for cooperation and signals that Beijing will stand firm against criticism
China’s top diplomat has called on the US to drop the sanctions and restrictions introduced by Donald Trump and warned against international “hegemony and bullying” and interference in what Beijing considers internal affairs, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea.
On day three of China’s annual National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, signalled that Beijing intended to hold firm against growing international criticism of its perceived expansionist and hostile activity and domestic human rights abuses.
Continue reading...Hong Kong activists and plight of the Uighurs: human rights this week in photos
A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Colombia to the Sahara
Continue reading...‘Hong Kong is crumbling’: seven days that crushed city’s last resistance
Dozens of pro-democracy politicians and activists have been rounded up, charged and denied bail in fresh crackdown on opposition to China
The phones rang on Friday, one month earlier than expected. More than 50 pro-democracy politicians and activists across Hong Kong received a call from the authorities: they were to report to police on Sunday.
Expecting to be charged and held for lengthy jail terms, many spent the weekend making last-minute preparations. They picked out books to take into custody, arranged for pets to be taken care of, said goodbye to their loved ones. Tiffany Yuen, 27, spent the day at home, where she was photographed cuddling a Buzz Lightyear toy, before visiting constituents in Tin Wan.
Continue reading...Protesters swamp Hong Kong court after pro-democracy figures charged
British consulate general among crowds outside court voicing their opposition to latest crackdown
About 1,000 people gathered outside a Hong Kong court where 47 pro-democracy candidates, campaigners and activists faced charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law on Monday.
The group are accused of organising and participating in an unofficial primary poll in July last year aimed at selecting the strongest candidates for a legislative council election that the government later postponed, citing the coronavirus. Authorities said the informal poll was part of a plan to “overthrow” the government.
Continue reading...‘Endure, everyone’: final messages from Hong Kong democracy figures before detention
Politicians and campaigners - facing up to life in prison - sent messages of hope, justice and unity before reporting to police
On Sunday, 47 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion over accusations they organised unofficial primary elections aiming to “paralyse” the government by winning a majority and blocking legislation. The election was ultimately postponed for a year, purportedly because of the pandemic. All face terms of up to life in prison if convicted. Before they reported to police stations across the city to be detained, some sent messages to their supporters about justice, hope and endurance.
Here are some of their messages, translated and compiled by independent researcher Eliot Chen:
Continue reading...Hong Kong: 47 key activists charged with subversion and face life if convicted
Pro-democracy group accused of organising unofficial election last July in largest crackdown on campaigners
Nearly every main voice of dissent in Hong Kong is now in jail or exile, after Hong Kong police charged 47 pro-democracy campaigners and politicians with conspiracy to commit subversion. All face life in prison if convicted.
The group comprises most of the 55 people arrested last month, over primary polls held last year, in a dawn raid that marked the single biggest operation conducted under the controversial and draconian national security law.
Continue reading...Number of Hong Kong residents moving to Taiwan nearly doubles in 2020
Wave of migration comes amid worsening crackdown on freedoms following the introduction of Beijing’s national security law
Taiwan issued nearly twice as many residence permits to Hongkongers in 2020 compared with the previous year, new government data have shown, further evidence of the continued exodus of people from the city that is under a worsening crackdown.
Pro-democracy supporters and basic freedoms in Hong Kong have been under pressure since the introduction of a national security law by Beijing in late June.
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