Oppression of People in Hong Kong by Chinese Communist Government

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Please post all news related to oppression of people in Hong Kong by Chinese Communist government here.
 

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🔴 Exiled Chinese Billionaire's Accusations of China (w/ Guo Wengui & Kyle Bass) | RV Classics

Kyle Bass sits down with infamous Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, also known as known as “Miles Kwok,” to hear a series of shocking accusations and predictions revolving around the Chinese government. Kwok provides his perception of the backstory behind several recent high-profile news items, and touches on the Chinese government’s management of the economy. He also unfurls an alarming forecast about Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma. Filmed on October 5, 2018 at an undisclosed location.
 

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Hong Kong: Hundreds arrested over China security law protests
Hundreds of people have been arrested in Hong Kong as protesters rallied against the new national security law which criminalises actions against China. Critics say the new law is the greatest threat to the identity and freedoms of the former British territory and deepens fears of oppression. But Hong Kong's leader says the legislation is necessary to end more than a year of protests which continue to paralyse the city. Al Jazeera's Sarah Clarke reports.
 

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Hong Kong’s huge protests, explained
The people of Hong Kong are protesting in record-breaking numbers. Become a Video Lab member! http://bit.ly/video-lab Correction at 7:48: The protester says “They are not doing this for themselves, but for the future of Hong Kong.” Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers have taken to the streets to protest a controversial extradition bill that could send Hong Kong residents to mainland China to be tried in court. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, says the bill is meant to prevent Hong Kong from becoming a safe haven for fugitives. But its opponents fear that Hong Kong would be exposed to China’s flawed judicial system, which would lead to further erasure of the city’s judicial independence. At first Lam was determined to move forward with the bill. But after a series of massive protests, she announced she would “indefinitely suspend” the bill. But protesters aren't accepting the suspension, and have started demanding its complete withdrawal. They've also begun calling for Lam’s resignation. But this rise in tensions is about a lot more than a bill. To understand why this bill hits a nerve with Hongkongers, it's important to understand Hong Kong’s relationship with China - and exactly how the bill would tip the scales in China’s favor. Watch this video to understand the news coming out of Hong Kong and the history that led up to this moment. For more watch Episode one of our Vox Borders Hong Kong episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQyxG... And for even more context on Hong Kong’s history with Britain you can watch another one of our Vox Borders Hong Kong episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StW7o... If you want to get real nerdy you can read Hong Kong’s Basic Law (their mini Constitution) here: https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/basicl... You can also read the Sino-British Joint Declaration that defined Hong Kong when the British handed it back to China in 1997 here: http://www.gov.cn/english/2007-06/14/... And the extradition law introduced in Hong Kong that has sparked massive protests here: https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr18-19/engl... Here is a piece reported by the New York Times on the latest from Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's leader: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/10/wo... Here are some additional resources regarding Hong Kong’s democracy and political make-up: https://sites.duke.edu/corporations/2... https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demo... https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDu... And finally, you can also find our latest articles covering the most recent developments here: https://www.vox.com/2019/6/18/1868358... https://www.vox.com/world/2019/6/16/1... https://www.vox.com/world/2019/6/9/18...
 

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‘Citizen X’ and Hong Kong protesters’ battle for freedom | Nightline
Hong Kong’s youth believe they are engaged in an existential struggle for the future of their region. A student, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, talks to “Nightline.”
 

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The Hong Kong protests explained in 100 and 500 words
Anti-government protests have rocked Hong Kong for months and the situation shows no sign of dying down.

Here's all the background you need to know in 100 or 500 words - you can read each individually or in turn.

Hong Kong's protests started in June against plans to allow extradition to mainland China.
Critics feared this could undermine judicial independence and endanger dissidents.
Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by Britain as a colony but then returned to China. Under the "one country, two systems" arrangement, it has some autonomy, and its people more rights.
The bill was withdrawn in September but demonstrations continue and now demand full democracy and an inquiry into police actions.
Clashes between police and activists have become increasingly violent, with police firing live bullets and protesters attacking officers and throwing petrol bombs.

The extradition bill which triggered the first protest was introduced in April. It would have allowed for criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China under certain circumstances.
Opponents said this risked exposing Hongkongers to unfair trials and violent treatment. They also argued the bill would give China greater influence over Hong Kong and could be used to target activists and journalists.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. After weeks of protests, leader Carrie Lam eventually said the bill would be suspended indefinitely.
How did the protests escalate?
Protesters feared the bill could be revived, so demonstrations continued, calling for it to be withdrawn completely.
By then clashes between police and protesters had become more frequent and violent.
In September, the bill was finally withdrawn, but protesters said this was "too little, too late".
On 1 October, while China was celebrating 70 years of Communist Party rule, Hong Kong experienced one of its most "violent and chaotic days".
An 18-year-old was shot in the chest with a live bullet as protesters fought officers with poles, petrol bombs and other projectiles.
The government then banned protesters wearing face masks, and in early November a pro-Beijing lawmaker was stabbed in the street by a man pretending to be a supporter.
One week later, a policeman shot one protester at close range when activists were trying to set up a road block. Later that day another man was set on fire by anti-government protesters.
In November, a standoff between police and students barricaded on the campus of Hong Kong's Polytechnic University became another defining moment.
Later that month, the territory held local council elections that were seen as a barometer of public opinion.
The vote saw a landslide victory for the pro-democracy movement, with 17 of the 18 councils now controlled by pro-democracy councillors.
What do the protesters want?
Some protesters have adopted the motto: "Five demands, not one less!" These are:
  • For the protests not to be characterised as a "riot"
  • Amnesty for arrested protesters
  • An independent inquiry into alleged police brutality
  • Implementation of complete universal suffrage
The fifth demand, the withdrawal of the bill, has already been met.
Protests supporting the Hong Kong movement have spread across the globe, with rallies taking place in the UK, France, US, Canada and Australia.
In many cases, people supporting the demonstrators were confronted by pro-Beijing rallies.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has warned against separatism, saying any attempt to divide China would end in "bodies smashed and bones ground to powder".
What is Hong Kong's status?
Hong Kong is a former British colony handed back to China in 1997.
It has its own judiciary and a separate legal system from mainland China. Those rights include freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.
But those freedoms - the Basic Law - expire in 2047 and it is not clear what Hong Kong's status will then be.
 

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Hong Kong breached bill of rights over police scrutiny, court rules
Amid ongoing unrest, judge calls for establishment of independent complaints system
Riot police officers stop and search a protester during a protest in Hong Kong at the beginning of October.

Riot police officers stop and search a man during protests in Hong Kong at the beginning of October. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The Hong Kong government breached its bill of rights on protection from torture and cruel treatments by failing to provide an independent mechanism for complaints about police, the region’s high court has ruled.
The finding comes as a report by international experts who quit a Hong Kong police brutality inquiry last year said officers’ crowd-control tactics had radicalised protesters and worsened perceptions of the force’s legitimacy.

Hong Kong’s police force was once one of the most respected in Asia, but its reputation was vastly diminished as the rolling protests last year descended into violence, including numerous instances and allegations of police brutality that went unpunished.
Thursday’s case was brought by the Hong Kong Journalists Association after the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, said there was no need for any complaints system outside the existing one overseen by the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).
The high court court ruled that system was inadequate to discharge the government’s obligations under the bill of rights, and the government was duty-bound to establish one that was independent.
The judge Anderson Chow said the police complaints department (Capo) was an unsegregated part of the police force, and could not be regarded as practically independent. The IPCC was practically independent but lacked the powers to investigate and could not overturn Capo’s decisions, he said.
Chow’s ruling also found that the failure of some officers to display their ID badges also violated the bill of rights by preventing investigation into allegations that they had breached its “absolute and non-derogable” protections against torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
While he appreciated the concerns of officers being targeted, Chow said: “As a matter of principle, such concern cannot of itself override the duty to maintain an adequate system to investigate suspected cases of breach.”
The chair of the IPCC, Anthony Neoh, disputed the ruling, saying Capo was independent. But he would not be drawn on whether the IPCC should be given greater powers, RTHK reported. “In an ideal world, of course it’s good to have independent investigations for everything, but we’re not in an ideal world,” Neoh said.
A report by the IPCC watchdog in May was criticised as a whitewash as its inquiry largely cleared officers of any wrongdoing. International experts drafted on to the IPCC’s panel, including the British academic Prof Clifford Stott, had quit months earlier, saying it lacked the powers necessary to meet the standard of investigation needed and their attempts to seek improvements from the IPCC had failed. Stott was critical of the report’s independence and said the final report had gaps and was missing key stakeholders.
A research study published on Wednesday led by Stott on the dynamics of last year’s protests found that the actions of Hong Kong police amplified perceptions of their illegitimacy and radicalised pro-democracy protesters.
Hong Kong’s protests began in opposition to a proposed extradition bill but quickly became a broader pro-democracy movement. By the time the Hong Kong government withdrew the bill, protesters had developed four additional core demands, which the government refused to address.
Stott’s report found that the protests’ diverse participants united as a result of “illegitimate and undifferentiated” police action over time, and that “police inaction at other critical moments helped amplify perceptions of police illegitimacy that further radicalised protesters”.
It found “ample evidence” of indiscriminate dispersals by police, with people subjected to high levels of force and exposed to munitions.
The court ruling and report come amid a worsening crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, including pressure on the judiciary. On Tuesday a senior Chinese official said “reforms” were under way. Since the introduction of the national security law, dozens of activists and political figures have been arrested and pro-democracy legislators disqualified.
 

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Why We Protest: Hong Kong
On June 30, 2020, China imposed a national security law in Hong Kong that criminalizes secession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign powers. The law was seen as a direct threat to freedom of speech and people's right to protect against the Chinese government. VICE was with a group of protesters on June 30th as they prepare for the next day's protest and the impact the new security law might have.
 

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Crackdown in Hong Kong continues; eight more arrested
Arrests of pro-democracy activists are latest since China imposed the National Security Law earlier this year.
Activist Eddie Chu (left), pictured in October, says he was among those detained on Tuesday morning [Anthony Wallace/AFP]

Activist Eddie Chu (left), pictured in October, says he was among those detained on Tuesday morning [Anthony Wallace/AFP]
8 Dec 2020

Hong Kong police arrested eight more activists on Tuesday, as the Chinese territory expanded a crackdown on the territory’s beleaguered opposition forces.
The police did not identify the people, saying only that they were aged between 24 and 64. Local media said former pro-democracy legislators and veteran activist Leung Kwok-hung, known as Long Hair, was among them, while a post on the Twitter account of former legislator Eddie Chu said he too had been arrested.
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“Chu Hoi Dick was arrested and searched by the police at 0640am this morning,” the post read. “He was charged with two crimes related to July 1st: holding or organizing an unauthorized assembly, and knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly.”
The arrests come a day after eight people aged between 16 and 34 were detained over a protest they held on a university campus last month. Three of them were picked up on suspicion of violating the national security law, sweeping legislation that was imposed by Beijing on June 30.
“This seems to be part of an unrelenting crackdown on opposition voices here in Hong Kong,” Al Jazeera’s Divya Gopalan said, noting that the July 1 demonstration has been held every year in the territory since the 1997 handover.

Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily, was denied bail and taken to the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre by prison van last week in relation to fraud charge over misusing a property lease [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]China has argued the security legislation, which punishes what Beijing broadly defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison, was crucial to restoring stability after mass protests last year that evolved into calls for greater democracy.

Opposition politicians and Western governments fear the law is being used to suppress dissent and erode the wide-ranging freedoms guaranteed to Hong Kong when it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 after more than a century as a British colony.
Last week three pro-democracy activists including Joshua Wong were jailed for taking part in a protest last year, while media tycoon Jimmy Lai was denied bail over a charge of using his office for purposes other than stated on the lease. The 71-year-old has already been arrested under the National Security Law and accused of “colluding with foreign forces”.
On Monday, the United States announced further sanctions on Chinese officials over the law. It has already imposed sanctions on officials including Chief Executive Carrie Lam who complained it had made it difficult for her to use her credit card.
 

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Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai charged under security law
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been charged under the city’s national security law as authorities step up a crackdown on dissent, local media reported.
 

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Trump's Fans in Hong Kong Worry About Their Future Under Biden
Outgoing US President Donald Trump’s tough approach to China won him fans among Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists. For years, the city’s protesters saw Trump as an important ally in their fight. Now, with US-China relations potentially shifting once again under a Biden White House, some activists worry that their days of finding a friendly ear in the US are numbered.
 

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Violent arrest of 12-year-old girl in Hong Kong
Police in Hong Kong have come under fire over the rough arrest of a 12-year-old girl whose family says was caught in a protest crowd while out buying art supplies.
 

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From Beijing to Hong Kong, China cracks down on dissent | DW News
China has banned commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Social media users are even reporting that the candle emoticon cannot be used. For several weeks leading up to June 4, 1989, the Tiananmen Square had become a focal point for protests against economic hardship and corruption. Students also gathered to demand democratic rights and freedoms from the Communist government. But by June 4, Chinese leaders sent in troops to crush the demonstrations. Footage of a lone protester standing in front of a line of tanks has become one of the most enduring symbols of the crackdown. No one knows exactly how many people were killed on June 4, 1989 - some say hundreds, others thousands. DW speaks to Wu’er Kaixi who was one of the leaders of the student pro-democracy movement in China in 1989. Meanwhile, authorities in Hong Kong have arrested lawyer and activist Chow Hang Tung. Usually, Chow would be leading a mass vigil for the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, but Hong Kong authorities have banned the commemoration for a second year in a row.
 

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