Tag: Hong Kong

Censorship regime expands in Hong Kong

ZunziHong Kong newspaper Ming Pao ended the decades-long run of popular satirical cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan, known by his pseudonym "Zunzi," after his work drew fire from government authorities. Since 1983, Zunzi's work had lampooned city officials over corruption, authoritarianism, rights abuses, and subservience to Beijing. His drawings had recently been publicly criticized by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and Security Bureau chief Chris Tang. Meanwhile, books about Hong Kong protest movements, the Tiananmen Square massacre and other subjects deemed politically sensitive by Beijing are being removed from the city's public libraries. A government audit stated that the Cultural Services Department needed to "step up efforts in examining library materials for safeguarding national security." (Image: Zunzi cartoon depicting a monk, representing the Chinese government, controlling the rebellious Monkey King, representing Hong Kong, by a magic incantation—China's national anthem. Photo credit: Bill Weinberg/The Village Sun)

Hong Kong sees first protests since 2020

Hong KongThe first protest since the introduction of the 2020 National Security Law in Hong Kong was held in Tseung Kwan O, an eastern area of the city. A small number of protestors marched against a land reclamation plan and construction of a waste disposal facility. The marchers complied with restrictions imposed by authorities. The protest was limited to a maximum of 100 participants, whose banners and placards were pre-screened. Protestors were required to wear numbered tags. However, two days later, a smaller but seemingly unauthorized protest was held outside Hong Kong's Central Government Offices. Some 40 residents from Yau Tong squatter community in Kowloon, which is set to be razed to make way for a public housing project, gathered to voice opposition to their impending eviction. (Photo: HKFP)

China: nationwide protests challenge dictatorship

NanjingFollowing weeks of sporadic protests against the recurrent draconian COVID-19 lockdowns in China, spontaneous demonstrations broke out in cities across the country. Street demos were reported from Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu and Wuhan as well as Beijing. In addition to slogans against the lockdowns and for freedom of speech and assembly, such verboten chants were heard as "Xi Jinping, step down" and "Communist Party, step down." The spark was an apartment block fire in Urumqi, capital of western Xinjiang region, that killed at least 10 who were under lockdown orders and unable to flee. Hong Kong-based Borderless Movement left-dissident website has issued a list of "Demands from Chinese and Hong Kong Socialists" in response to the outburst, calling for an end to lockdowns and forced testing, provision of multiple vaccines, and the right to citizen and worker self-organization. The statement calls for "marginalized groups in the mainland and abroad, including Hongkongers, Taiwanese, Uyghurs and Tibetans to continue building a long-term strategic program for democratic struggle in China." (Photo of student protest in Nanjing via Twitter)

Hong Kong: first conviction under Anthem Ordinance

Hong KongA Hong Kong court sentenced citizen journalist Paula Leung to three months in prison—the first conviction under the territory's National Anthem Ordinance. The law was enacted in Hong Kong on June 12, 2020, pursuant to an act passed by the People's Republic of China in September 2017, which mandated that the semi-autonomous city bring its legal code into conformity. According to regional news outlets, Leung attended a mall screening of Olympic fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long receiving his gold medal on July 30, 2021. During the playing of the Chinese national anthem, attendees waved the colonial-era Hong Kong flag. This was found to be in violation of Article 7 of the law, which makes it a criminal offense to "insult the national anthem," punishable by up to three years imprisonment. (Photo: VOA via Jurist)

East Asia
Tiananmen

‘Great Leap Backward’ for press freedom in China

TalibanInternational Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim AA Khan announced that his office has filed applications for arrest warrants before the Pre-trial Chamber against two leading Taliban officials accused of committing crimes against humanity. Khan stated that his office collected solid evidence suggesting that the "supreme leader" of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the chief justice of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Abdul Hakim Haqqani, committed the crime of persecution on the basis of gender, violating Article 7 (1) (h) of the Rome Statute. He said that these Taliban officials have been persecuting Afghan women and girls, as well as any persons who don't follow their ideology, over the last four years. He said that the requested warrants are based on a wide range of evidence, including testimonies, official statements, and forensic reports gathered by a specialized investigation team. (Photo: VOA via Wikimedia Commons)

Planet Watch
countervortex

Podcast: the countervortex of global resistance II

mineralsAs Trump and Hegseth explicitly broach the surrender of Ukrainian territory to Russia, a poorly positioned Zelensky is acceding to demands that he turn a large portion of his country's strategic mineral wealth over to the US in compensation for military aid. Especially at issue are Ukraine's significant reserves of lithium—critical to de facto "co-president" Elon Musk's e-vehicle interests. In announcing a new lithium refinery in Texas, Musk called the mineral "the new oil." The premium on Ukraine's strategic minerals is elevated by China's perceived design to establish control over the planet's rare earth elements. However, as Zelensky is quick to emphasize, nearly 20% of Ukraine's mineral resources are in areas under Russian occupation. (Map: ResearchGate)