December 29, 2020
When 12 Hong Kong democracy activists fled the city by boat to escape what they feared would be targeted prosecutions for their role in last year’s protests, they ended up in a far worse situation: on trial in mainland China.
For months their families in Hong Kong have lobbied to bring the twelve back home to a judicial system that still commands a deep level of trust for its independence even as it’s become ever clearer that the other institutions of Hong Kong’s government its executive and legislature are now fully aligned with Beijing.
“I honestly never thought we would get to this stage,” said one member of the legal community in November
Representative Image ANI | Updated: Dec 21, 2020 21:34 IST
Hong Kong [China], December 21 (ANI): Hong Kong s High Court on Monday threw out a bid from the area s oldest journalists union which sought to formally label the police force s treatment of industry workers during last year s anti-government protests as unconstitutional.
According to South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) had sought two court declarations that the police conduct last year represented an unlawful breach of freedoms of the press, opinion and expression guaranteed by the Basic Law.
Numerous examples of the ill-treatment included journalists being shot with rubber bullets and beanbag rounds, protesters targeted with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons, arrested or threatened with arrest and being repeatedly and systematically met with police officers refusal to identify themselves.
A Hong Kong court’s December 3rd decision to deny bail to
Apple Daily founder and government critic Jimmy Lai, followed by his December 12th court appearance over charges levied under the National Security Law, made international headlines. The charges against Lai on both fraud and “colluding with foreign forces” are spurious at best and examples of politically motivated prosecution at worst. The denial of bail means the 73-year-old will remain in detention for months, as he awaits a trial scheduled for April 2021.
The National Security Law charges center on Lai’s public calls, made via media interviews and posts from his personal Twitter account since July, for foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and on the Chinese officials responsible for violating rights and freedoms in the territory. That Lai could face life in prison for such actions typical examples of nonviolent rights advocacy realizes the worst fears many, in Hong Kong and around the world, expre
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