MCLC Resource Center

Source: Sup China (9/7/17)
Woman confronted by Hong Kong students after ripping off pro-independence posters at CUHK
By Jiayun Feng

After days of escalating tensions between the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s (CUHK) student union and school officials over pro-independence banners and posters spotted on the campus, a video surfaced on the internet on September 6 showing a woman being confronted by several Hong Kong students in front of the Democracy Wall, where controversial posts were clustered.

At the beginning of the three-minute video clip, the female student seemed surprised to find she was being filmed while holding a few torn posters, which read, “Fight for our homeland. Fight for Hong Kong independence.” Questioned by a male student in Cantonese, the woman replied in Mandarin, “I don’t understand what you are saying, but I know these things are not allowed to be posted.” Another female Hong Kong student then approached, explaining that they are members of the student union, and that Cultural Plaza, where the wall is located, is managed by the student organization. “If you don’t agree with the stuff we put on, you should put something that is against this on the wall,” she said in English. Continue reading →

Dear all,

Please note the signature campaign, titled “Heavy Prison Sentences for Social Activists Regrettable, Beware of the Arrival of Authoritarian Rule in the SAR” (遺憾重判社運人士入獄　警惕特區威權管治來臨) has been launched.  Please visit this link (https://sites.google.com/site/hksaaf/) for details, including the names of initiators and signatories.

Please join and help spread this among your colleagues. This signature campaign targets local and international academics only instead of students or administrative staff.

Regards,

學術自由學者聯盟
Scholars’ Alliance for Academic Freedom

Heavy Prison Sentences for Social Activists Regrettable
Beware of the Arrival of Authoritarian Rule in the SAR
(Joint Statement by Tertiary Institution Teaching Staff on the Appeal Court’s Ruling)

On appeal by the government, the Court of Appeal recently handed down heavier punishments in a row for two groups of young social activists, totaling 16, changing their sentences from suspended imprisonment and community service to immediate imprisonment for variously between six and thirteen months. We think the matter is very serious and are deeply disturbed. The following is our joint statement to set the record straight: Continue reading →

Source: Reuters (8/17/17)
Critics cry foul as Joshua Wong and other young Hong Kong democracy leaders get jail
By Venus Wu and James Pomfret

Student leaders Nathan Law and Joshua Wong walk into the High Court to face verdict on charges relating to the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement, also known as Occupy Central protests, in Hong Kong, China August 17, 2017.Tyrone Siu

The recent abduction case/claim in Hong Kong has taken an interesting turn: The HK police arrested the man, and seem to be accusing him of fabricating the incident. (But why would he do that? The whole case is unclear. There is of course no dearth of evidence on torture and mistreatment of people abducted by the Chinese authorities, on the mainland. Fabricating some, in HK, would seem to serve only to sow doubt about such matters, including about the recent several abductions from HK. So the possibility that generating such doubts itself is the purpose, should probably not be discounted. ). See too: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40932772 –Magnus Fiskesjö, nf42@cornell.edu

Source: Hong Kong Free Press (8/16/17)
Democrat ‘abduction’: Police consider formally charging activist Howard Lam with misleading officers
By Kris Cheng

Acting Police Commissioner Alan Lau. Photo: RTHK screenshot.

Acting Police Commissioner Alan Lau has said the police will consider charging Democratic Party member Howard Lam with misleading police officers.

Last Friday, Lam said he was abducted and assaulted by suspected mainland agents in Hong Kong. He claimed that he was falsely imprisoned, interrogated and assaulted by men who inserted 21 staples into his legs. Continue reading →

See the BBC article online, for pictures of the staples inserted into Mr Lam’s legs. (Also see: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/world/asia/hong-kong-democracy-activist-attack-china-.html). The identity of his assailants is unknown but it fits the general pattern of the well-known mainland police-hired thug enforcers who operate in civilian clothes to harrass people, close down events, beat up journalists, and so on. Fwd by: Magnus Fiskesjö <nf42@cornell.edu>

Source: BBC News (8/11/17)
Hong Kong activist ‘abducted by Chinese agents’
By Juliana Liu, Hong Kong correspondent, BBC News

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Howard Lam (L), who claims he was abducted, blindfolded and beaten by mainland China agents, shows his stapled thighs and injuries to the media in Hong Kong on 11 August 2017. Image copyright AFP.

A veteran democracy activist in Hong Kong says he was kidnapped, beaten and tortured by agents of mainland China after trying to get in touch with Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.

The activist, Howard Lam, said on his Facebook page in late July that he had obtained a signed photo of the Barcelona football player Lionel Messi, and that he intended to send it to Ms Liu as a condolence gift. Continue reading →

Posted by Jeff Wasserstrom <wasserstromjeff@gmail.com>
Source: Dissent (7/4/17)
Freedom of Expression Under Attack in Hong Kong
By Louisa Lim

“Enthusiastically Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to the Motherland…” (courtesy Sampson Wong)

Late last week, as Hong Kong celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty, pixels of white flickered on the slick glass façade of Hong Kong’s second-tallest skyscraper. The Chinese characters gliding up the building’s 108 stories bore a staunch Communist-style exhortation: “Enthusiastically Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to the Motherland, Fervently Welcome President Xi Jinping’s Inspection of Hong Kong.” This greeting—coinciding with President Xi’s first visit to Hong Kong since taking power—is now raising fears about the freedom of artistic expression in Hong Kong, calling into question its future as an international arts hub. Continue reading →

Source: SCMP (6/25/17)
Beijing cannot wish away the growing sense of hopelessness in Hong Kong
Alice Wu says rather than the big political rows, it is the day-to-day frictions with the mainland that lead many Hongkongers to feel a sense of alienation in their own hometown, and the central government must address this problem
By Alice Wu

Commercial buildings in the business district of Central in Hong Kong. Runaway home prices exacerbated by cross-border capital flight have made home ownership an increasingly unattainable dream for many Hongkongers. Photo: EPA

Calls for Hong Kong independence are a non-starter. But here we are being hammered by a seeming avalanche of talk on the subject by those who don’t want us to talk about it. This isn’t exactly how I imagined we would be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the handover.

Such tough talk is worrisome. It widens the already wide gulf of distrust between Beijing and Hong Kong. With emotions running high, it is time to call for pause and caution. Continue reading →

Source: SCMP (6/30/17)
Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong ‘no longer has any realistic meaning’, Chinese Foreign Ministry says
Ministry spokesman issues retort to foreign countries’ statements on the political condition of the city, as it marks 20 years since the handover
By Joyce Ng

Lu also said that what made Hong Kong a success ‘was not up to any outsider to comment on’. Photo: Kyodo

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has declared the Sino-British Joint Declaration, that laid the groundwork for Hong Kong’s handover, a “historical document that no longer has any realistic meaning”, after Britain and the United States spoke of the binding effect of the 1984 treaty on China and the city.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang hit back at remarks from the two countries on Friday, hours after they issued statements on the political condition of the city, as it marks 20 years since that handover, from British rule to Chinese. Continue reading →

Source: SCMP (6/29/17)
All the president’s men – the key players at Xi Jinping’s side in Hong Kong
The handful of trusted officials include party big shots and close companions, such as the PLA’s top general, who are rarely seen during the leader’s trips
By Jun Mai

President Xi Jinping waits to meet Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying after arriving in the city on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

As President Xi Jinping landed in Hong Kong for the first time as the country’s top leader on Thursday, he and his wife were accompanied by a pool of officials in charge of Beijing’s policies for the city.

The handful of officials, most of them Xi’s trusted aides, include party big shots involved in top-level policymaking, government and foreign affairs. They include companions rarely seen in Xi’s domestic and overseas trips, such as the PLA’s top general, and those who run the nerve hubs of China’s legislature and consultation body that ensure the loyalty of social elites.

The offices involved cover all channels of command between Beijing and Hong Kong. So who are they and what do they do? Continue reading →