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☆ Who is Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon facing a life sentence in a national security trial?
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Now 77, he's facing a life sentence in a national security trial in Hong Kong. I would just relay to him what happened in Hong Kong when he asked me," Lai said in court, per Reuters. This mass sentencing of Hong Kong's activists was also based on charges under Hong Kong's national security law. Related storiesThe imposition of the national security law marked the effective end of Hong Kong's political autonomy from China. "Above all else, the implementation rules have the potential to radically criminalize online speech in Hong Kong," Woodhams said.

Persons: Jimmy Lai, Kong's, Lai, Hong Kong's, Mike Pence Organizations: Hong Kong, Apple, China, White House, Democracy Locations: Hong, Hong Kong, China, Northern California

☆ Hong Kong jails 45 democracy activists in landmark national security trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Police stand guard outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building before the sentencing against the 45 convicted pro-democracy activists charged under the national security law, in Hong Kong, China November 19, 2024. Hong Kong's High Court on Tuesday jailed 45 pro-democracy activists for up to 10 years following a landmark national security trial that has damaged the city's once feisty democracy movement and drawn criticism from the U.S. and other countries. A total of 47 pro-democracy activists were arrested and charged in 2021 with conspiracy to commit subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law and had faced sentences of up to life in prison. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the national security laws were necessary to restore order after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, and the democrats have been treated in accordance with local laws. Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was "gravely concerned" about the sentence, and called on China to "cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society," in Hong Kong.

Persons: Benny Tai, Gordon Ng, Owen Chow, Penny Wong, Joshua Wong, Chow, Gwyneth Ho, Hendrick Lui, Elsa Wu Organizations: Hong, Authorities, Kowloon Magistrates Locations: Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong's, U.S, Beijing

He was the founder of Apple Daily, a pro-democracy, anti-Beijing newspaper that was forced to shut down in 2021. The trial, which began in December 2023, is the most high-profile prosecution of a Hong Kong media figure since the city was handed over from British to Chinese control in 1997. Like all national security trials in Hong Kong, Lai’s trial does not have a jury and is presided over by three judges picked from a national security committee that is approved by Hong Kong’s leader. “Jimmy Lai is a key instigator of anti-China activities, and his collusion with external forces to disrupt Hong Kong and incite division is well-known,” China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said in a statement last week. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Hong Kong at 135 out of 180 places in its annual press freedom ranking.

Persons: Jimmy Lai, hasn’t, Hong Kong’s, Joshua Wong, “, Donald Trump, Lai, Keir Starmer, Xi Jinping, “ We’re, Jimmy Lai’s, ” Starmer, Xi, Daniel Suen, ’, Chiu Mei, “ Lai, ”, Chris Lau, CNN Lai, Trump Lai, Mike Pence, Trump, you’re, ” Lai, Hong, Anthony Kwan, John Lee, Lee, Trump’s, Hugh Hewitt, I’ll Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Apple, White, Apple Daily, Getty, Hong, CNN, “, ” Prosecutors, Kowloon Law, Trump, Beijing, Hong Kong . Police, ” Police, HK, Hong Kong Locations: Hong Kong, China, Britain, British, Brazil, AFP, Beijing, Kowloon, Washington, “ Hong Kong, China , Hong Kong, Hong

☆ Hong Kong 47: Democracy leaders sentenced to lengthy jail terms in largest national security trial as Beijing tightens grip
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Chris Lau | Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Benny Tai, a prominent legal scholar and veteran protest leader, received the longest prison term of 10 years – the toughest sentence to date handed down under the national security law. But since the national security law came into effect in 2020, Hong Kong’s political and legal landscape has been transformed. The administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden was also critical of Bejing’s crackdown in Hong Kong, even as it tried to recalibrate ties with Beijing. John Burns, emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong, said the cumulative changes have reduced the city’s autonomy and citizens’ participation in politics. “The new regime has restricted human rights in Hong Kong, rights that Hong Kongers used to enjoy.

Persons: Hong Kong’s, Joshua Wong, “, –, Benny Tai, Wong, Gwyneth Ho, Leung Kwok, Claudia Mo, teared, ” –, Chris Lau, Lee Yue, ”, Hong, Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden, Trump, Raphael Wong Ho, John Burns, Hong Kongers, Hong Kong, John Lee –, ” Lee Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, CNN Landmark, Police, Washington, Beijing, CNN, Legislative Council, University of Hong, Authorities, Communist Party Locations: Hong Kong, Kowloon, Beijing, British, China, University of Hong Kong, Hong

☆ Hong Kong plans to install thousands of surveillance cameras. Critics say it’s more proof the city is moving closer to China
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Hong Kong CNN —Glance up while strolling through parts of downtown Hong Kong and, chances are, you’ll notice the glassy black lens of a surveillance camera trained on the city’s crowded streets. Hong Kong police had previously set a target of installing 2,000 new surveillance cameras this year, and potentially more than that each subsequent year. Facial recognition gates at the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport. Tang and the Hong Kong police have repeatedly pointed to other jurisdictions, including Western democracies, that also make wide use of surveillance cameras for law enforcement. Protesters on the streets covered their faces with masks and goggles to prevent identification, at times smashing or covering security cameras.

Persons: Chris Tang, Budrul Chukrut, Tang, haven’t, Kong’s, ”, Samantha Hoffman, Hoffman, Joshua Wong –, –, “, Miguel Candela, Qilai Shen, ” Hoffman, Sing, Sing Tao, Steve Tsang, it’s, doesn’t, Normann Witzleb, Chan Long Hei, Witzleb, they’re, ” Witzleb Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Airport, Budrul, CNN, Hong Kong Police Force, National Bureau of Asian Research, New, London, Protesters, New Town, QR, New York Times, Bloomberg, Getty, SOAS China Institute, University of London, Chinese University of Hong Locations: Hong Kong, China, Hong, Singapore, United Kingdom, Tao, United States, Hong Kong Hong Kong, New York City, Beijing, Xinjiang, Bund, Shanghai, Sing Tao, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Victoria Harbour

Hong Kong CNN —Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate has a decades-long connection with China. “I remember waking up and seeing the news on June 4 that the unthinkable had happened,” Walz told Voice of America in an interview in 2014. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon taking students on two-week tours in China for sightseeing and classes on culture, education and history. In Chinese nationalist circles, which have an outsized voice on policy debates in China, there are no rosy illusions about Walz. The hashtag “Harris’ VP pick once taught in China” racked up 15 million views on microblogging site Weibo.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Kamala Harris ’, Tim Walz, Walz, ”, Dalai Lama, Joshua Wong, Shen Dingli, ” Shen, ’ Walz, “, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, ” Walz, Gwen, Cara Roemhildt, ” Roemhildt, Jeff Widener, ’ ”, Liu Dongshu, Liu Xiaobo, Lobsang Sangay, ” Tim Walz, X, Hong Kong’s, Wong, ” Jeffrey Ngo, “ Walz, ” Ngo, ” Shen Yi, “ We’re, ” Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley Asia, Harris, Eric Fish, Hong Kong's, Joshua Wang, George H, Bush, Bush’s, there’s, Liu, “ Harris, China ”, –, Xi Jinping, “ Heh, I’ve, they’re Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Democratic, United States ’, Republican, Communist Party, Star, Herald, CNN, Harvard University, Paramount, America, “, of, People, Associated, Congressional, Commission, City University of Hong, Hong, Hong Kong Human Rights, Democracy, White Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Minnesota, Tiananmen, Nebraska, Shanghai, Foshan, Guangdong, America, Congress, City University of Hong Kong, Tibet, Dalai, Washington, “, South China, Weibo

☆ 14 pro-democracy activists found guilty of subversion in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jennifer Jett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court on Thursday found 14 of 16 pro-democracy activists guilty of conspiring to subvert the state in the Chinese territory's single largest case under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing. Of those, 31 pleaded guilty in the hopes of a reduced sentence, while the remaining 16 pleaded not guilty. Hong Kong had had a 100% conviction rate in national security cases, which are prosecuted under rules that diverge from the city's legal norms, including presumption against bail. Almost 300 people have been arrested under the national security law, which came into force in the summer of 2020. The charges stem from an informal primary election held in July 2020 in which more than 600,000 voters selected pro-democracy candidates for a legislative election that was scheduled for that September.

Persons: Lau, Lee Yue, Critics, Eric Yan, Lai, Benny Tai, Claudia Mo, Joshua Wong, Leung Kwok, Raymond Chan, Gwyneth Ho, Hong Kong, Carrie Lam Organizations: Hong, Georgetown Center, Asian Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Beijing, Hong

☆ Hong Kong to Rule on Democracy Activists in Largest National Security Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Tiffany May | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Hong Kong court will begin issuing verdicts on Thursday in the city’s largest national security trial, as the authorities use sweeping powers imposed by Beijing to quash political dissent in the Chinese territory. Most of the defendants have spent at least the last three years in detention ahead of and during the 118-day trial. On Thursday, judges picked by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader were set to start handing down verdicts on 16 of them who had pleaded not guilty. Those who are convicted will be sentenced later, along with 31 others who had entered guilty pleas. The expected convictions and the sentences to follow would effectively turn the vanguard of the city’s opposition, a hallmark of its once-vibrant political scene, into a generation of political prisoners.

Persons: Benny Tai, Joshua Wong, Hong Kong’s Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing

The Hong Kong and Beijing governments have repeatedly denied the national security law is suppressing freedoms, arguing it has ended chaos and “restored stability” to the city. Since the national security law came into effect in 2020, civil groups have disbanded, and independent media outlets have been shut down. They are the first defendants to be acquitted in a national security law trial in Hong Kong. But that strategy is in doubt after another local national security law enacted earlier this year curtailed access to reduced sentences for guilty pleas. “It’s absolutely clear that the national security law reduced the independence and the autonomy of the judiciary.

Persons: Hong Kong’s, Hong, Gwyneth Ho, Leung Kwok, ”, Lawrence Lau, Lee Yu, –, “, Joshua Wong, Benny Tai, Claudia Mo, Eric Lai, John Burns, Hong Kong Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Beijing, British, Hong, Hong Kong’s Legislative, Georgetown Center, Asian Law, Communist Party, city’s, University of Hong Locations: Hong Kong, Hong, Beijing, Hong Kong’s, China, University of Hong Kong

☆ Agnes Chow: Hong Kong democracy activist reveals she has moved to Canada and plans to skip bail
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In her Instagram post, Chow said she decided to flee after “considering the situation in Hong Kong, my personal safety, my physical and mental health,” adding that she had faced sustained pressure from authorities. Chow said she received permission from Hong Kong authorities to pursue her master’s degree in Canada, on the condition that she returned to Hong Kong to report to police during school breaks. Chow was among the first pro-democracy leaders to be detained under the law in Hong Kong. In her Instagram post, Chow said she was admitted by a university in Toronto earlier this year. The Hong Kong police statement on Chow confirmed they had returned her passport to allow her to study overseas and prolonged her bail.

Persons: Kong’s, Agnes Chow, ”, . Chow, “, Chow, Chow’s, ’, Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Demosisto, Wong, you’re, ” Chow Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, Police, Critics, The Hong Locations: Hong Kong, Canada, ., Hong, China, Beijing, United Kingdom, The, The Hong Kong, Toronto, Shenzhen

Agnes Chow, 27 - a core member of a now-disbanded group of younger activists including Joshua Wong who helped drive Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement - said in posts on her Instagram account late on Sunday that she had left Hong Kong for studies in Canada. Their group, Demosisto, dissolved hours after Beijing passed a sweeping national security law in 2020. Beijing says the law has brought stability to Hong Kong after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019. There was no immediate response from the Hong Kong police. Chow was due to report to Hong Kong's security police later this month but decided not to return out of consideration for her personal safety and wellbeing.

Persons: Agnes Chow, Tyrone Siu, Hong, Joshua Wong, Chow, Jimmy Lai, hadn't, Chow couldn't, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Hong, Reuters, Hong Kong, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, Canada, Beijing, Toronto, Shenzhen, Hong

Owen Chow Ka-shing, one of the 47 pro-democracy activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law, arrives at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building, in Hong Kong, China November 29, 2021. On the first day of closing submissions, one of the handpicked national security judges, Andrew Chan, said a verdict would "tentatively" come in three to four months, with 10 days set aside for closing submissions. Beijing says the national security law brought stability to the city after monthslong pro-democracy protests in 2019. "Communication with the public is much easier, (it's) easy to manipulate those means in order to endanger national security," he added. Thirty-one of the 47 charged have pleaded guilty - which could qualify them for reduced sentences.

Persons: Owen Chow Ka, Lam, Andrew Chan, Hong, Jonathan Man, Man, Gwyneth Ho, Owen Chow, Gordon Ng, Leung Kwok, Helena Wong, Benny Tai, Joshua Wong, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Hong, Thomson Locations: Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, United States, Beijing

☆ Hong Kong’s pro-democracy leaders to give final defense as landmark national security trial nears an end
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Chris Lau | Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Those on trial say that plan was simply part of the pluralistic, oppositional politics that has long been permitted in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government has repeatedly denied the national security law is suppressing freedoms. They hail from multiple generations and a wide political spectrum - from moderate democrats to those who advocate for Hong Kong’s self-determination. Known as “Grandma Wong,” the 67-year-old had been a fixture of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. No national security cases in the city have been heard in front of a jury.

Persons: Hong, ”, Joshua Wong, Benny Tai, Claudia Mo, Alexandra Wong, Grandma Wong, Hong Kong’s, ” Alexandra Wong, Noemi Cassanelli, Gwyneth Ho, Leung Kwok, ISAAC LAWRENCE, John Lee, ” Lee, –, “ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Prosecutors, Hong, Kowloon Court, CNN, Getty, Communist Party, city’s, Hong Kong’s Legislative Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, Hong, Kowloon, Britain, China, AFP, Hong Kong’s

CNN —The US State Department said Friday it “strongly condemned” the Hong Kong authorities’ “ongoing harassment” of family members of pro-democracy activists living overseas. The US said it was “particularly concerned” about recent cases involving activists like Nathan Law, Joshua Wong and Elmer Yuen whose family members and acquaintances had been “detained and questioned by Hong Kong police.”“We call on the Hong Kong authorities to cease all harassment of the democracy activists’ family members,” said spokesperson Matthew Miller. In a statement provided to CNN, Hong Kong police said its national security department had taken away two men and a woman for investigation. The Hong Kong government has repeatedly denied the national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020, suppresses freedoms. Law and other activists have been accused of violating the national security law, with offenses ranging from collusion with foreign forces to subversion of state power.

Persons: “, ’, Nathan Law, Joshua Wong, Elmer Yuen, ”, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, Law, Hong Kong – Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Hong, HK, RTHK, Basic, Sino Locations: Hong Kong, ” Hong Kong, Britain, Beijing, British

HONG KONG, July 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong national security police on Wednesday arrested four men it accused of supporting overseas dissidents and of advocating for independence from China, two days after issuing warrants and bounties against several foreign-based activists. Local media, citing unnamed sources, connected the arrested men to an online platform known as "Punish Mee" that was allegedly used to provide financial aid to the eight wanted overseas activists. Two sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters Lam was among the four arrested men mentioned in the police statement. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday it was "unacceptable" that Hong Kong has put bounties on two Australian residents. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday that the eight would be "pursued for life".

Persons: Mee, Ivan Lam, Reuters Lam, Demosisto, Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Anthony Albanese, John Lee, Jessie Pang, Tyrone Siu, James Pomfret, Frank Jack Daniel, Toby Chopra Organizations: police, National Security Department, Hong Kong Police, Local, National Security Law, Central Authorities, Government, Hong, Administrative, Reuters, Kwai, Police, HK, Australian, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Hong, Kwai Chung District, United States, Britain, Australia

☆ Hong Kong activist Wong jailed for 3 months over information breach
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, April 17 (Reuters) - One of the most prominent democracy activists in Hong Kong over recent years, Joshua Wong, was sentenced on Monday to three months in prison over an information breach involving a police officer, according to a post on Wong's Facebook account. Wong attended the hearing but did not speak, a witness in the court said. Wong galvanized international support for the former British colony's pro-democracy movement, meeting politicians from the United States, Europe and elsewhere, and drawing the wrath of Beijing, which says he is a “black hand” of foreign forces. Western governments have criticized the law as a tool to crush dissent but Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say it has brought stability the semi-autonomous financial hub after months of sometimes violent protests in 2019. Reporting by Farah Master and Jessie Pang; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Forty-seven pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong have been accused of a conspiracy to commit subversion in a landmark political case. Benny Tai, 58, was a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. Pro-democracy primary Pro-democracy candidates held a primary vote ahead of the upcoming Legislative Council election. The 47 defendants helped organize or participated in this event. New election rules announced China announced new rules for Hong Kong elections, limiting candidates to only those deemed loyal to Beijing.

HONG KONG, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Sixteen Hong Kong pro-democracy figures face trial on Monday, more than two years after their arrest, in what some observers say is a landmark case for the city's judicial independence under a national security law imposed by Beijing. Thirteen of those arrested were granted bail in 2021, while the other 34 - including 10 who pleaded not guilty - have been in pre-trial custody on national security grounds. Western governments have criticised the 2020 national security law as a tool to crush dissent in the former British colony. The 31 who pleaded guilty, including former law professor Benny Tai and activist Joshua Wong, will be sentenced after the trial. The case will be heard by three High Court judges designated under the national security law: Andrew Chan, Alex Lee and Johnny Chan.

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