Jessie Pang

Hong Kong Ousts Four Legislators in Blow to Pro-Democracy Opposition

Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, later told a briefing she welcomed diverse opinion in the 70-seat legislature but the law had to be applied.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong expelled four opposition members from its legislature on Wednesday after Beijing gave city authorities new powers to curb dissent, raising the prospect of a walk-out in protest by pro–democracy legislators.

Just before the expulsions, China’s parliament adopted a resolution allowing the city’s executive to expel legislators deemed to be advocating Hong Kong independence, colluding with foreign forces or threatening national security by other means, without having to go through the courts.

The four assembly members had previously been disqualified from running for re-election as authorities deemed their pledge of allegiance to Hong Kong was not sincere.

Opposition members of the city assembly say they have tried to make a stand against what many people in the former British colony see as Beijing’s whittling away of freedoms, despite a promise of a high degree of autonomy.

“My mission as a legislator to fight for democracy and freedom cannot continue but I would certainly go along if Hong Kong people continue to fight for the core values of Hong Kong,” one of the disqualified assembly members, Kwok Ka-Ki, told reporters.

China denies curbing rights and freedoms in the global financial hub but authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing have moved swiftly to stifle dissent after anti-government protests flared in June last year and plunged the city into crisis.

The city government said in a statement the four legislators – Kwok, Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung – were expelled from the assembly for endangering national security.

Hong Kong‘s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, later told a briefing she welcomed diverse opinion in the 70-seat legislature but the law had to be applied.

“We could not allow members of a Legislative Council who have been judged under the law that they could not fulfil the requirement and the prerequisite for serving on the Legislative Council to continue to operate,” she said.

On Monday, the then 19 democratic members of the city legislature threatened to resign en masse if any of them was disqualified.

Pan-democratic legislators including Wu Chi-Wai, Claudia Mo and Lam Cheuk-ting announced to resign from the Legislative Council after Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Kwok Ka-ki, Kenneth Leung and Dennis Kwok were disqualified when China passed a new resolution in Hong Kong, China. Photo: Reuters/Tyrone Siu

While the Legislative Council is controlled by a pro-Beijing camp, the resignations of its pro–democracy lawmakers would turn it into a rubber stamp, analysts say. Lam disputed that notion, saying even pro-establishment lawmakers disagree at times with government proposals.

Shortly after the disqualifications, China’s representative office in the city said Hong Kong had to be ruled by loyalists.

“The political rule that Hong Kong must be governed by patriots shall be firmly guarded,” the Liaison Office said in a statement.

‘Ignores rights’

The disqualifications are likely to add to concern in the West about Hong Kong‘s autonomy, promised under a “one country, two systems” formula when Britain handed it to China in 1997, as Joe Biden prepares to take over from Donald Trump as U.S. president, promising to promote democracy around the world.

Also read: Hong Kong Press Body Says New Police Media Rules Could Limit Scrutiny

“This completely violates the ‘one country, two systems’ proper procedures and ignores basic human rights,” another of the disqualified legislators, Dennis Kwok, told reporters.

Concern about Hong Kong‘s autonomy, which underpins its role as an international financial centre, has grown since June 30, when Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on the city, setting out punishment for anything China considers subversion, secessionism, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Since then, authorities have removed some pro–democracy books from libraries, banned certain songs and other activities in schools, declared some slogans illegal and raided the newsroom of an anti-government tabloid.

This month, eight other opposition politicians were arrested in connection with a meeting in the Legislative Council in May that descended into chaos.

Critics say the authorities are trying to kill the momentum of the pro–democracy movement. Government supporters say the authorities are trying to restore stability in China’s freest city after a year of unrest.

(Reuters)

Amidst Health Crisis, Mass Detentions of Veteran Democracy Activists in Hong Kong

Among those detained in the swoop were prominent Democratic Party founder and senior barrister Martin Lee.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong police arrested 14 activists in raids on Saturday on charges of illegal assembly, in the biggest crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement since the outbreak of mass protests last year.

Among those detained in the swoop were prominent Democratic Party founder and senior barrister Martin Lee, 81, millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, 71, and former legislator and barrister Margaret Ng, 72, according to media and political sources.

In all, nine former legislators were arrested.

Democratic legislator Claudia Mo, who was not among those arrested, said the city government, led by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, was trying “into introduce a ring of terror in Hong Kong”.

“They are doing whatever they can to try to silence, to take down, the local opposition,” Mo said, pointing to upcoming legislative elections in September in which democrats hope to win back veto power in the city assembly.

Hong Kong police superintendent Lam Wing-ho told reporters that 14 people aged between 24 and 81 were arrested on charges of organising and participating in “unlawful assemblies” on August 18 and October 1 and 20 last year. He did not identify the 14.

Those days saw big and at times violent protests across the city.

Five of the 14 were also arrested for publicising unauthorised public meetings on Sept. 30 and Oct. 19, Lam said.

They were all due to appear in court on May 18, but Lam said more arrests were possible. It is not known whether any of those arrested on Saturday were being held in detention.

The raids mark the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the beginning of the anti-government protests across the former British colony in June last year.

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New Push For Security Law

Marchers initially targeted a now-scrapped bill proposing to send suspects to mainland China for trial but protests broadened into demands for full democracy and a public investigation of the use of force by police.

Lai was arrested on similar charges in late February, along with veteran activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum, who were also arrested on Saturday.

After his release on Saturday afternoon, Martin Lee said he felt “relieved to be listed as a defendant because I have seen many brilliant young people being arrested but I didn’t.”

“I don’t regret what I have done,” he added. “I’m proud to have the chance to walk our democracy road with Hong Kong’s excellent young people.”

A spokesman for the government’s Security Bureau said that regardless of background or status, “in Hong Kong, everyone is equal before the law”.

“No-one is above it nor can anyone break it without facing consequences … The police will handle the case in a fair, just and impartial manner,” the spokesman said.

The arrests come after several months of relative calm amid a partial coronavirus lockdown but just as Chinese and city government officials launch a new push for tougher national security laws for Hong Kong.

The Asian financial hub returned to Beijing in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees it broad freedoms not seen in mainland China, and a high degree of autonomy.

A previous attempt to draft a national security law for Hong Kong, known as Article 23, was met with mass protests in 2003 and abandoned.

Hong Kong government and security officials have recently described some of the democracy movement’s actions as being close to terrorism.

Authorities are increasingly using the threat of terrorism to justify the need for new national security laws, a requirement under the Basic Law – the mini-constitution that guarantees Hong Kong’s broad freedoms and outlines its relationship with Beijing.

Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested more than 7,800 people over their involvement in the last year’s protests, including many on rioting charges that can carry jail terms of up to 10 years.

It is not clear how many of them are in custody. China’s state media has repeatedly demanded Hong Kong’s independent judiciary take tough measures against protests.

Hong Kong: Amidst Widespread Protests, Police Shoot Teen in Chest

Thousands of black-clad protesters, some wearing Guy Fawkes masks, marched on Admiralty, ignoring a police ban.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon at petrol-bomb throwing protesters and shot a teenage demonstrator, as pro-democracy activists defied the city’s Chinese rulers on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.

Cat-and-mouse clashes spread from the upmarket district of Causeway Bay to the Admiralty area that is home to government offices on Hong Kong island, with police vans chasing down pro-democracy protesters in the key drag of Hennessy Road.

Thousands of black-clad protesters, some wearing Guy Fawkes masks, marched on Admiralty, ignoring a police ban. Violence escalated across the harbour to Kowloon and beyond to the New Territories in the most widespread unrest in nearly four months.

“There are rioting acts across Kowloon, Hong Kong island and the New Territories,” police said in a statement.

Police said they shot an 18-year-old man in the shoulder in the Tsuen Wan area of the New Territories.

“A large group of rioters was attacking police officers in Tsuen Wan,” police said in a statement. “Police officers warned them, but they were still attacking police. A police officer’s life was seriously endangered. In order to save his and other officers’ lives, they fired at the attacker.”

Also read: Hong Kong Police Expect ‘Violent Attack’ on Sensitive Chinese Anniversary

Nearly four months of street clashes and demonstrations have plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis in decades and pose the most serious popular challenge to President Xi Jinping since he came to power.

Protesters had vowed to seize the opportunity on China’s National Day to propel their calls for greater democracy onto the international stage, hijacking an occasion Beijing sees as an opportunity to showcase China’s economic and military progress.

“I’m not young, but if we don’t march now, we’ll never have the chance to speak again, it’s as simple as that,” said one marcher near Causeway Bay, a 42-year-old woman with her own logistics company who identified herself as Li.

Police said 31 people had been wounded across the territory on Tuesday, two critically, without giving details.

Chinese businesses targeted

Police fired water cannon and volley after volley of tear gas to disperse protesters throwing Molotov cocktails outside central government offices in the Admiralty area and ordered the evacuation of the Legislative Council building next door.

Petrol bombs were also thrown at MTR metro stations, including at Causeway Bay and Admiralty. Many stations were closed to stop protesters moving around. Shutting stations has made them a common target for attack during the weeks of unrest.

Tai Wai station, in the New Territories, was trashed, with a fire hose left turned on, flooding the tiled floors.

Police said “rioters” had used corrosive fluid in Tuen Mun in the west of the New Territories, “injuring multiple police officers and reporters”.

Chinese banks and Chinese-backed businesses were targeted with petrol bombs and anti-China graffiti. Local broadcaster RTHK said it was pulling all its reporters away from the violence after one was hit on the head.

Birthday parade

The territory has been tense for weeks, with protests often turning violent, as authorities tried to avoid activists spoiling Beijing’s birthday parade at a time when the central government is already grappling with a US-China trade war and a slowing economy.

Hundreds of officials and members of Hong Kong’s pro-establishment elite began the day with a flag-raising ceremony and National Day reception at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, held early and moved behind closed doors. Roads to the centre were closed and tightly policed.

Hong Kong had benefited from China’s support under the “one country, two systems” policy, Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung told the assembly, referring to guarantees of political freedoms after the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

But he said escalating violence was disrupting social order and hurting the economy.

The government of embattled leader Carrie Lam has already cancelled an annual Oct. 1 fireworks display over the city’s Victoria Harbour, citing public safety.

Lam, who was trapped in a stadium for hours last week after attending the “open dialogue”, left for Beijing on Monday to celebrate China’s birthday on the mainland. She will return on Tuesday.

In contrast to events in Hong Kong, Beijing’s carefully choreographed anniversary festivities included troops marching through part of Tiananmen Square with new missiles and floats celebrating the country’s technological prowess.

Lam was shown on television smiling as a float celebrating Hong Kong went past as she sat with Chinese officials.

The Communist Party leadership is determined to project an image of national strength and unity in the face of challenges including Hong Kong’s unrest.

“On our journey forward, we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems; maintain lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau … and continue to strive for the motherland’s complete reunification,” Xi said in a nationally televised speech in Beijing.

Hong Kong protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in the Asian financial centre.

China dismisses the accusation and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning anti-China sentiment.

(Reuters)

Hong Kong Students Boycott Classes In Protest Against Police Brutality

Images posted on social media showed rows of teenagers lined up outside secondary schools holding banners.

Hong Kong: Hundreds of Hong Kong university and school students swapped classes for democracy demonstrations on Monday, the latest act of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its biggest political crisis in decades.

The boycott follows a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.

Riot police on Monday patrolled the subway, known as the MTR, where some of the most violent clashes have erupted.

Hundreds of students gathered outside the Chinese University of Hong Kong, one of the city’s largest, taking turns to make speeches from a stage with a black backdrop embossed with “Students in Unity Boycott for our City”.

Also read: Messaging App Telegram to Protect Identity of Hong Kong Protesters

“I come here just to tell others that even after summer holidays end we are not back to our normal life, we should continue to fight for Hong Kong,” said one 19-year old student who asked to be identified as just Chan.

“These protests awaken me to care more about the society and care for the voiceless.”

Images posted on social media showed rows of teenagers lined up outside secondary schools holding banners. Many primary schools were closed because of a typhoon warning. Monday was the first day back after summer holidays.

Matthew Cheung, Hong Kong government chief secretary, told reporters that schools were no place for protests.

Protesters had called for a general strike but most people appeared to return to their daily lives with shops open, trains operating and workers making their way to offices across the global financial hub.

Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to the Hong Kong airport on Sunday in a bid to draw world attention to their attempt to force Beijing to give greater autonomy to the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Airport authorities said 25 flights were cancelled on Sunday but transport services were largely back to normal.

Anger at China

After leaving the airport on Sunday, some demonstrators targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung district, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras and lamps with metal poles. Police moved in and made several arrests.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, a lightning rod for protesters’ anger at a city government they say is controlled by Beijing, said on her Facebook page on Monday that 10 subway stations were damaged by “violent offenders”.

Also read: Hong Kong Protesters Plan to Disrupt Airport After Night of Chaos

Police and protesters had clashed on Saturday night in some of the most intense violence since unrest escalated in mid-June over concerns Beijing is eroding the freedoms granted to the territory under a “one country, two systems” agreement, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.

John Lee, government secretary for security, told media that nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown in various locations on Saturday with two found on a 13-year-old boy who was arrested inside an MTR station.

The unrest began over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party, the latest example of what many residents see as ever-tighter control by Beijing, despite the promise of autonomy.

The turmoil has evolved over 13 weeks to become a widespread demand for greater democracy. China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1.

China denies meddling in Hong Kong‘s affairs and accuses Western countries of egging on the protests. It says Hong Kong is an internal affair.

With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, China has also warned of the damage the protests are causing to the economy.

Shares of Hong Kong rail operator MTR Corp Ltd fell as much as 3.9% to HK$43.65, their lowest since Feb. 15 and on track for their third consecutive session of decline.

With protesters and authorities locked in an impasse, speculation has grown that the city government may impose emergency law, giving it extra powers over detentions, censorship and curfews.

Lam has said the government would consider using all laws at its disposal to bring unrest to an end.

(Reuters)