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Civil society teams in Hong Kong proceed to crumble below the load of the Nationwide Safety Regulation. The most recent set of victims come from the spheres of media, civil rights, politics, and training, additional proving President Xi’s intent to root out “hostile forces” from each a part of society.
On Wednesday, police arrested 4 leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Help of Patriotic Democratic Actions of China and charged them with inciting subversion towards state energy. The alliance was accountable for organizing the annual Tiananmen Sq. vigil in Hong Kong. Authorities have accused the alliance of colluding with international governments and have frozen HK$2.2 million (US$282,050) of its property, whereas its members have brazenly defied police calls for for info below a nationwide safety probe. Chow Dangle-tung, Vice-chair of the Hong Kong Alliance, emphasised that the alliance wouldn’t be cowed: “We need to make it clear that the intimidation stops with us. We won’t enable you unfold this terror.” Helen Davidson on the Guardian described how police additionally raided the June 4th Museum, which was run by the alliance:
On Thursday morning law enforcement officials have been pictured carrying dozens of blue steel tubs into the museum’s Mong Kok constructing. Native media filmed officers eradicating gadgets and loading them right into a truck, together with exhibit show panels and huge cardboard cutouts.
The museum first opened a everlasting exhibit in 2014 and closed somewhat over two years later, reportedly attributable to strain from the constructing’s homeowners. In April 2019 it reopened at a brand new location in Mong Kok.
However it has been shut since June, when police introduced an investigation into claims it was working with out the suitable license, three days after it had opened a brand new exhibition attended by lots of of individuals. On the time, the Alliance mentioned it was closing to make sure the protection of the general public and its employees, and that if it reopened it might be separated from the Alliance to function independently. [Source]
警方在六四紀念館撿走多個展板，包括支聯會已故創辦人司徒華、前中共領導人趙紫陽及民主女神像的展板。 pic.twitter.com/eeorO5Ot9j
— 眾新聞 CitizenNews (@hkcnews_com) September 9, 2021
眾新聞 CitizenNews @hkcnews_com
The Nationwide Safety Division of the Hong Kong Police Pressure search the June Fourth Museum in Mong Kok. Ranging from 10:30 this morning, Nationwide Safety Division officers could possibly be seen arriving on the June Fourth Museum with a lot of plastic containers. Senior Superintendent Li Guihua of the Nationwide Safety Division was additionally current. The police blocked all entrances and exits to the constructing, proscribing the motion of constructing employees and personnel.
The police carried away plenty of show panels from the June Fourth Museum, together with cardboard cutouts of Szeto Wah, the late founding father of the Hong Kong Alliance; former CCP chief Zhao Ziyang; and the Goddess of Democracy. [Chinese]
As Hong Kong police raided the June 4 Museum on Thursday, a gaggle of 12 democracy campaigners and activists together with Albert Ho and Figo Chan have been in District Courtroom pleading responsible in a separate case to inciting others to attend the banned Tiananmen vigil final 12 months pic.twitter.com/1sCA6SElb9
— Austin Ramzy (@austinramzy) September 9, 2021
2. It’s absurd that, with out offering any proof nor court docket approval, the police can arbitrarily label an organisation of being a “international agent”. Even earlier than a trial begins, Hong Kong Alliance is presumed responsible. It fully violates the presumption of innocence previously.
— Nathan Regulation 羅冠聰 (@nathanlawkc) September 8, 2021
The whole closing of civil society isn’t summary or merely educational. For me & many Hong Kongers, Hong Kong’s civil society, the rise & fall of teams just like the Hong Kong Alliance, is private and generational. It’s how we mark the passage of time and historical past as Hong Kongers. pic.twitter.com/6JdCGsmHjn
— Samuel Chu 朱牧民 (@samuelmchu) September 8, 2021
Requested ystd what she want to say to HK folks in case of arrest, Chow Dangle-tung mentioned, “I want to say to HK folks: don’t quit your struggle, not so quick…don’t give up to the unreasonable energy, don’t give up to a life that calls for you to lie day after day… pic.twitter.com/G5TC0IIuLG
— Xinqi Su 蘇昕琪 (@XinqiSu) September 8, 2021
Within the media sphere, the remaining board members of Subsequent Digital introduced on Sunday their intention to resign and liquidate the corporate. The corporate’s flagship newspaper, Apple Day by day, shut down in June after police raided its headquarters, the fruits of an extended marketing campaign to pressure the newspaper out of enterprise. Its founder, Jimmy Lai, is at present imprisoned on a number of expenses of unlawful meeting in reference to the Hong Kong protest motion, and is going through three extra expenses below the Nationwide Safety Regulation. Subsequent Digital’s board hopes that its liquidation will enable over 700 employees members to obtain paychecks which have been withheld since authorities froze the corporate’s financial institution accounts in June. In its assertion, the board expressed indignity over the shortage of due course of:
We observe that the occasions affecting the Firm and its folks following the invocation of the Nationwide Safety Regulation occurred regardless of there having been no trials and no convictions. Beneath this new regulation, an organization could be compelled into liquidation with out the involvement of the courts.
We’ve concluded that one of the best pursuits of shareholders, collectors, workers and different stakeholders will probably be served by an orderly liquidation…
The Hong Kong authorities has by no means indicated which articles printed by Apple Day by day allegedly violated the Nationwide Safety Regulation. This uncertainty created a local weather of concern, leading to many resignations among the many remaining employees on the Firm in Hong Kong, together with these accountable for the regulatory compliance duties of a publicly traded firm. [Source]
The board of Subsequent Digital has stepped down and referred to as for the corporate to be liquidated. The corporate’s founder, Jimmy Lai, is in jail together with high editors and execs, its financial institution accounts frozen and its flagship newspaper, Apple Day by day, was compelled shut in June https://t.co/OU28Ty0kGv
— Austin Ramzy (@austinramzy) September 5, 2021
On the identical day that Subsequent Digital introduced its liquidation, Radio Tv Hong Kong (RTHK) axed its longstanding present affairs tv present Metropolis Discussion board, within the newest instance of the public broadcaster’s mutilation. Because the South China Morning submit reported, pro-establishment figures claimed that the 41-year-old present—which introduced collectively politicians, teachers, and different opinion leaders—was biased towards Beijing, whereas critics considered its termination as an try to silence dissenting voices. Metropolis Discussion board will probably be changed in its Sunday night time time slot by a mainland historic drama highlighting Communist victories within the Chinese language Civil Conflict. Rhoda Kwan of the Hong Kong Free Press recounted how RTHK has been gutted since Beijing compelled in new management:
Metropolis Discussion board is the most recent RTHK present affairs programme to be cancelled since a brand new Director of Broadcasting with no earlier media expertise took the helm in March. Since then, it has additionally scrubbed its on-line archives, purged its Twitter account, launched a chat present hosted by Chief Government Carrie Lam, and issued directives to employees to make use of Beijing-approved wording.
Lam has additionally introduced a partnership between the broadcaster and Chinese language state media CCTV to air extra mainland-produced reveals to instil a way of patriotism amongst Hong Kong viewers.
RTHK has seen an exodus of senior editorial staffers for the reason that change in management, with ex-TV host and veteran journalist Steve Vines fleeing town final month. [Source]
#CityForum (“shitty discussion board”) all the time allowed folks holding completely different opinions to talk up, whether or not they have been talking and even protesting for the institution or the other. And it used to broadcast stay at Victoria Park = a actually open, public discussion board. https://t.co/yAriUfIhz1
— Ting G 🈚️ (@tingguowrites) September 5, 2021
Within the civil rights sphere, the 612 Humanitarian Reduction Fund additionally halted its operations on the exact same day. Whereas it had beforehand acknowledged its intention to stay open till the tip of October, organizers determined to stop accepting donations sooner than anticipated, when the corporate processing the fund’s funds summarily froze its checking account. Since its creation in 2019, the group has offered protestors with authorized help and funds for medical remedy, psychological counseling, and emergency reduction. In early September, police opened a nationwide safety investigation into the fund. Chris Lau from the South China Morning Publish tallied the vital monetary help the fund has obtained from and offered to Hong Kong residents:
In line with the fund’s annual report for 2021, some 2,500 folks donated to it each month.
[…] The fund’s stability was HK$5 million as of August 19. However by Monday, the determine had climbed to HK$7.2 million.
[…] Because it was based in 2019, the fund has distributed greater than HK$243 million (US$31.2 million) to protesters going through prosecution or monetary hardship because of the 2019 social unrest. [Source]
“Accompanying you a thousand miles but parting should come finally,” mentioned barrister and 612 Fund trustee Margaret Ng at first of presser.
“We’ve remained vigilant within the unpredictable political setting, the day has come that the fund is compelled to shut down.” pic.twitter.com/TiwDF9AiJq— Xinqi Su 蘇昕琪 (@XinqiSu) August 18, 2021
The Hong Kong Civil Human Rights Entrance (CHRF) is one other civil society group that has just lately disbanded. Based in 2002, the group rallied over half 1,000,000 folks to protest the unique nationwide safety draft regulation in 2003, and it has remained a robust organizing pressure ever since, incomes it the label “radical opposition pressure” from the World Instances. Regardless of preliminary assurances that the present nationwide safety regulation wouldn’t be utilized retroactively, authorities are investigating the group for rallies held final 12 months; although the group has disbanded, authorities have acknowledged that it might be “daydreaming” to suppose that the group may nonetheless escape prosecution. Its convener, Figo Chan, has been detained since Might for “organizing an illegal meeting.” Amnesty Worldwide’s China Director Joshua Rosenzweig described CHRF’s dissolution as a part of the Nationwide Safety Regulation’s domino impact crushing civil society:
“The Hong Kong authorities’ assault on human rights has ramped up with these assaults. Together with political events, media retailers and unions, we sadly now should add NGOs to the checklist of these focused merely for doing their official work.
“The sample of self-censorship seen this week additionally alerts a regarding domino impact, as Hong Kong’s draconian nationwide safety regulation has triggered an accelerating disappearance of unbiased civil society teams from town.
“The CHRF has organized, typically in shut collaboration with the police, large-scale peaceable rallies in Hong Kong for 20 years with out being accused of breaking any regulation. Its demise is but extra proof that Hongkongers’ rights to freedom of affiliation, expression and peaceable meeting can now not be taken with no consideration below the authorities’ obsession with ‘nationwide safety.’” [Source]
Civil Human Rights Entrance is an umbrella group that encompasses orgs that serve ethnic minorities, intercourse employees, ladies, and queer folks. Its dissolution will probably be an enormous blow to Hong Kong’s civil society. https://t.co/xAs0U5SvRV
— Sharon Yam (任萃言) (@sharonyamsy) August 13, 2021
Within the political sphere, the Hong Kong Democratic Get together has discovered itself in a worsening bind. Reforms to the electoral system imposed by Beijing in March now be certain that solely “patriots” who “respect” the Chinese language Communist Get together rule can run for workplace, and the Nationwide Safety Regulation has been interpreted to ban genuinely free political speech. Nevertheless, the opposition celebration could not even be allowed to boycott the upcoming legislative elections with out going through punishment below the exact same regulation. A outstanding pro-Beijing determine printed an op-ed on Sunday warning the celebration that “in the event that they forcefully cease members from operating in elections, it’s equal to difficult and destroying the brand new election system, and can probably violate the Hong Kong nationwide safety regulation.” To be able to paint the elections as official, authorities could pressure some democrats to take part, whether or not they need to or not.
Good grief
In the event that they run they get disqualified & prosecuted below the insane #NationalSecurityLaw
If they do not run, they get prosecuted too#FFS
Hong Kong Democratic Get together could breach safety regulation if it tells members to not run in election https://t.co/ZZhiFattou
— Benedict Rogers 羅傑斯 (@benedictrogers) September 6, 2021
To summarize, Beijing says you violate nationwide safety regulation if you happen to do not do because it says: https://t.co/P8dQugUdVD
— Maya Wang 王松莲 (@wang_maya) September 7, 2021
Within the training sphere, the Hong Kong Skilled Lecturers Union disbanded in mid-August, opening the floodgates for extra drastic adjustments to Hong Kong’s training system. Chinese language state-media referred to as the 95,000-member union a toxic “tumor” that have to be eradicated, thus hastening the tip of the group and its 48-year historical past. A latest survey, carried out by the union earlier than it disbanded, revealed that 40 p.c of main and secondary faculty lecturers had expressed the intention to stop their jobs attributable to growing political strain. In the meantime, authorities have launched new workshops and curricula devoted to the nationwide safety regulation. The Hong Kong Secretary of Training defined that these would encourage “studying actions, comparable to elevating the nationwide flag and the regional flag in addition to enjoying and singing the nationwide anthem” with the intention to “assist develop college students into good residents who’ve a way of nationwide id.” On the college stage, a number of universities have made new, obligatory nationwide safety programs for all incoming college students.
“…instructor loyalty oath necessities are coming quickly.” Imagining the Peel St. worldwide faculty instructor crowd going by means of this. And the way for much longer will college professors get a cross on this? https://t.co/0NeAelU7ya
— Timothy McLaughlin (@TMclaughlin3) September 2, 2021
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