Tag: antiELAB

1672 – Yuli Riswati: Domestic Worker and Citizen Journalist

https://youtu.be/pNTykPfp0fU

“If I can do something small to help Hong Kong people and Indonesians to put the truth in front of them to see, then it’s worth it.”

Yuli Riswati worked in Hong Kong as a domestic helper and on her days off covered news and events for Indonesians in Hong Kong on Migran Pos –  a website she launched with her friends.

“Suddenly, not only was my connection with the outside world severed the connection between my name and myself was gone. My existence as a human instantly turned into a string of numbers. 1672.”

After a month in detention, Yuli was deported by Hong Kong Immigration in 2019 – even though she had a valid work visa and her employers were happy with her work.

yuli riswati -1672

Picnic at Tamar Park – 3rd Anniversary

Deported lawyer Samuel Bickett has published an article about what he witnessed and photographed when the Hong Kong Police attacked a peaceful anti-extradition law protest on 12 June, 2019.

June 12, 2019: What I witnessed on the Hong Kong protest movement’s first violent day

Hong Kong’s protest movement is often referred to abroad as a democracy movement. It is true that universal suffrage was, and is, one of Hongkongers’ goals. But democracy was never the primary focus of the 2019 protests. After initial protests against an onerous bill that would have allowed Hongkongers to be extradited to the Chinese Mainland, attention shifted to police brutality and justice for its victims. Of the five demands made by the protesters, three were related to police and prosecutorial abuses, and all three initially stemmed from a single day of violence: June 12, 2019.

Sunday is the third anniversary of that day. Known in Hong Kong simply as 612 (luk-yat-yi in Cantonese), that afternoon the Beijing-controlled Legislative Council (or LegCo) was planning to force through the deeply unpopular extradition bill. In response, Hongkongers staged a general strike and organized a protest in front of the LegCo Building. The demonstration was authorized and largely peaceful, but police soon rushed in with batons and shields, and shot tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds into the crowd. Protesters were arrested, and countless people were injured. The police declared the event a riot, despite the fact that they instigated the violence themselves.

I was at the demonstration that day. This is what I witnessed…

Read the rest of the article here https://samuelbickett.substack.com/

image and text: Samuel Bickett

721 Yuen Long – Second Anniversary

Two years ago today… 721, as police turned their backs, hundreds of armed white-shirted men (alleged triads) attacked MTR passengers in Yuen Long station.

The police narrative of what happened in Yuen Long on the evening of 21 July, 2019 has morphed from an attack by white-clad men on ordinary people into a violent confrontation between men in white T-shirts and men wearing black.

Here’s the New York Times description of events.

HKCNews have a graphic with links and explanations of the attack.

The RTHK programme Hong Kong Connection: 721 Yuen Long Nightmare investigating the attack has been deleted as the censorship and coverup continues… The programme and a second collected CCTV footage dated 21 July from different cameras and interviewed several people there that night to reconstruct the attack’s timeline and take a closer look at the police’s action during Yuen Long’s ‘nightmare’.

https://youtu.be/mrHywuxPMV0

Laurel Chor Honoured by IWMF

Congratulations to Hong Kong women’s rugby international Laurel Chor who was named an honoree in the 2020 Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award.

Chor has been given an honourable mention in the International Women’s Media Foundation’s (IWMF)awards for her coverage of the Hong Kong protests and showing the region’s struggle for democracy, freedom and human rights.

The award was created to celebrate the courageous work of female photojournalists. Learn more about this year’s awardees on website.

image: hkrugby

+ 1, Lest We Forget

Thousands of Hongkongers queued peacefully for hours in Admiralty on the first anniversary of Marco Leung Ling-kit death during the antiELAB protests wearing a yellow raincoat bearing the Chinese words “Carrie Lam kills Hong Kong; the police are cold-blooded”.

The solemn memorial for the first person killed, on the 15 June 2019, during the antiELAB demonstrations saw people lay flowers offer prayers and numerous renditions of Glory to Hong Kong.

After six hours of peaceful remembrance as the last of the massive line of mourners laid their flowers the police, needing to intimidate rather than police, marched up in riot gear banging shields and shining bright lights.

photos: internet

Pro-democracy Arrests Condemned by International Legal Community

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) issued a statement of concern regarding the arrest of 15 leading pro-democracy leaders yesterday. Here is the statement in full:

The international legal community is seriously concerned by the arrest of 15 veteran pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong on Saturday 18 April 2020. In what appears to be a further clampdown on civil liberties and democracy following the 2019 protests, which began over the introduction of a controversial extradition bill, those arrested today include senior figures in the pro-democracy movement. These include lawmakers, party leaders and lawyers such as the democratic politician and legislator, Martin Lee QC who was also involved in the drafting of the Basic Law, the media owner, Jimmy Lai, and the barrister, Dr Margaret Ng. In October of last year, Margaret Ng and Martin Lee were jointly awarded the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Award for their lifelong defence of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

The arrests are purported to be based on suspicion of organising and taking part in ‘unauthorised assemblies’ on 18 August, 1 October and 20 October 2019, pursuant to the Hong Kong SAR Public Order Ordinance. No explanation has been reported for the apparent delay between those protests and the timing of today’s arrests. The leaders of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement have long argued for their rights to peaceful assembly and protest to be exercised without the need for consent from the authorities.

The right to peaceful protest is protected under the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. As part of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ policy, the Hong Kong Basic Law guarantees freedoms that are not available to those in mainland China until 2047. Hong Kong residents are guaranteed the rights to ‘freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration’. Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”) provides that “[t]he right of peaceful assembly shall be recognised.” The Basic Law expressly preserves the ICCPR as applicable to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The State has a duty to protect and facilitate such protest, and the Public Order Ordinance must be implemented in conformity with Hong Kong’s obligations under the ICCPR.

Following growing concerns of eroding civil liberties and the rule of law in Hong Kong, the 2019 protests have been unprecedented in their scale and reach and have led to physical violence by authorities, as well as a regrettable violent response by a minority of demonstrators. Excessive crowd dispersal techniques have been used by the authorities, including the dangerous use of tear gas, water cannons, firing of rubber pellets, pepper spray and baton charges by the police to disperse pro-democracy demonstrations, and there is reliable evidence of violence upon arrest. No proper investigation into excessive force has taken place and indeed calls from the international community, including the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, have been rejected.

Today’s arrests demonstrate the continued assault on the freedom of expression and right to assembly in Hong Kong. Indeed, we are gravely concerned that the arrests of senior lawyers and legislators who set out to protect human rights in a non-violent and proportionate manner, and pursuant to both rights granted in both domestic and international legal frameworks, represent an assault on the rule of law itself. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has repeatedly expressed concern that charges of ‘unlawful assembly’ against peaceful protesters in Hong Kong risks violating human rights. The arrest of a prominent media owner also sends a chilling message to those whose journalism is vital to a free society.

It is critical that authorities do not use their powers to encroach on fundamental human rights, and it is vital that legal systems continue to protect citizens from any abuse of power which may otherwise be unseen during the COVID-9 crisis in which the international community is submerged.

We strongly urge the Hong Kong authorities to immediately release the 15 individuals arrested and drop all charges against them. Moreover, we call on the authorities to discontinue such politicised and targeted prosecutions immediately and urge the Hong Kong government instead to engage in constructive dialogue with the leaders of the pro-democracy movement to foster a climate in which their legitimate concerns over democracy and human rights can be met.

Horacio Bernardes Neto
President, International Bar Association

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
Director, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute

Amanda Pinto QC
Chair, Bar Council of England & Wales

Schona Jolly QC
Chair, Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales

Saman Zia-Zarifi
Secretary General, Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales

2020 Sony World Photography Awards Take Down HK Photographer’s Work due to “Sensitive Nature”.

On February 12th, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards announced that Ko Chung Ming work Wounds of Hong Kong was a finalist in the Documentary photography category.

On the 4th of February Ko’s works were removed from the World Photography Organization’s website.

In the same category, David Butow’s Battleground Hong Kong and, in the Portraiture category, Adam Ferguson’s Hong Kong Protesters also disappeared.

As to the reason why these works were taken down, the WPO’s initial response was “A concern was raised about the sensitive nature of some of the images in the series which we must take into consideration. We have temporarily taken down the images as part of a standard process which we have put in place for these type of cases until we are able to review everything in further detail.” But “the list of finalists have not been changed” etc. etc. The competition results will officially be announced on April 17th.

Ko commented “The concept of Wounds of Hong Kong is very simple – it is to document police brutality and inform more people of the sufferings of the Hong Kong people in the last half year. Since the WPO is temporarily unable to publish these works related to the Hong Kong protests, I share them here, allowing all to enjoy the works and let them to be spread widely.”

“If there are any further developments, I will update here.” added photographer Ko Chung Ming

The Photographs: Wounds of Hong Kong

“The protests in Hong Kong show no signs of abating after months of violent fighting. What began as an objection to the extradition bill has evolved into a comprehensive protest regarding the future of the city. There have been numerous examples of police brutality: protestors have been beaten with batons (resulting in bone fractures), subjected to sexual harassment, and even shot with bullets. Some have since developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their experiences. This level of brutality does not only affect protesters, but also every ordinary Hong Kong citizen. Although the abuse of power by police has been recorded on video, up until now no officer has been investigated or punished. “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting”, suggested author Milan Kundera. Scars and bruises may fade, but we must remember what caused them. Here are the wounds of the casualties.” – Ko Chung Ming

Raymond Yeung, a school teacher, was hit in his right eye by a police projectile while participating in a lawful rally in Tamar, Hong Kong, on 12 June 2019. Despite receiving medical treatment, less than 30% of his vision remains.

Sonia Ng, a student at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), accused police of sexual violence when she was arrested and detained at Kwai Chung police station, Hong Kong, on 31 August 2019. She removed her mask in front of the university’s vice-chancellor at a public forum on the campus.

First-aider Ah Yan (alias, top photo), was hit by a tear gas canister while on duty in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on 2 November 2019. The attack resulted in third-degree burns. His fingers were also burnt when he tried to remove the canister, which landed between his back and backpack. Following a four-hour skin graft, he now has to dress the wound every day, causing him enormous pain. Ah Yan has been abandoned by his pro-government family after the injury, and is now living in a school dormitory.

Andrew Chiu, a district councilor, had his left ear bitten off by a man outside Cityplaza mall in Taikoo, Hong Kong, on 3 November 2019. The attacker had slashed several other people with a knife, and Chiu was trying to stop him. Just before the incident, riot police had stormed the mall to disperse the sit-in protests. The reconstruction of Chiu’s ear failed due to necrosis.