Latest news with #HongKongProtests
Free Malaysia Today
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
HK to tighten prison rules, citing national security
Hong Kong arrested more than 10,200 people in connection with the 2019 protests. (AP pic) HONG KONG : Hong Kong proposed new rules today that could restrict prisoners from seeing certain visitors and lawyers, changes that officials say are needed to combat 'national security risks'. The city's prison population has swelled in recent years after authorities arrested more than 10,200 people in connection with the huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Beijing then imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 and city officials separately passed a homegrown security law last year. 'National security risks still exist. It is necessary to amend the (prison rules) as soon as possible to prevent and resolve relevant risks in a timely manner,' Hong Kong's security bureau wrote in a submission to the legislature. Officials argued that the current visiting system had been abused 'by some people using 'humanitarian relief' as a pretext to visit for influencing' prisoners to resist the authorities. The proposal would also allow prison authorities to apply for a magistrate's warrant to bar a prisoner from meeting specific lawyers to 'prevent any risks arising from the abuse of the legal visit system'. Officials said such restrictions are in line with those in the US, Britain and Australia. Jailed activist Owen Chow and his lawyer were found guilty last year of flouting prison rules after they failed to use the proper channels to deliver a complaint letter. The wide-ranging document presented to the legislature also proposed abolishing systems allowing for 'private clothes' and 'private diet', as well as amending rules on sending and receiving letters. Almost 10,000 people were in Hong Kong correctional institutions as of March, with a record 3,900 of them not formally convicted of any crime. Officials say the rule changes will be finalised soon for vetting in the legislature. Hong Kong authorities have for years put pressure on the small groups that offer material and emotional support to jailed demonstrators. One prominent organisation, Wall-fare, closed in 2021 after the city's security chief accused it of endangering national security in prisons.
CNA
01-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Hong Kong rights record under fire as it marks China handover anniversary
HONG KONG: Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Tuesday (Jul 1) the city has become safer and more competitive as it marks its 28th year under Chinese rule, although critics including the EU decried the use of a "repressive" security law. The former British colony was handed over to China in 1997 under a "One Country, Two Systems" governance model, which guaranteed key freedoms and a high degree of autonomy not enjoyed on the mainland. Jul 1 in Hong Kong had been marked in previous years by demonstrations but authorities have cracked down on dissent after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Lee said "high-level security to safeguard high-quality development" was a top priority for his administration, noting the need to integrate into China's economic blueprint. The city this week also marked the fifth anniversary of Beijing's imposition of a sweeping national security law, under which 76 people have been convicted so far, imposed after the 2019 protests. Lee's government enacted a separate security law of its own in 2024 that authorities say is needed to restore order. "We have rebuilt a safe Hong Kong," Lee said in a speech. However, the European Union said on Monday "the repressive use of the National Security Law has undermined confidence in the rule of law and Hong Kong's international reputation". "The European Union regrets that additional national security legislation ... introduced new offences, increased penalties and further empowered security authorities," it said in a statement. The League of Social Democrats, one of Hong Kong's last remaining opposition parties, disbanded on Sunday citing "immense political pressure" and concern for the safety of its members. It was the second pro-democracy party to announce plans to wind down this year, following the Democratic Party in February. Outgoing US consul general in Hong Kong Gregory May also criticised the Hong Kong government last week for using the security law to target overseas activists. Authorities say that Hong Kong residents continue to enjoy rights and freedoms guaranteed under its Basic Law constitution, although such rights are not absolute. Lee also said Hong Kong will speed up an ambitious plan to urbanise land near its border with China, a development known as the Northern Metropolis that will take up a third of Hong Kong's total area.
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
They Demanded Democracy. Years Later, They Are Still Paying the Price.
There was the software engineering major who crouched behind umbrellas to dodge rubber bullets. The social worker who marched with other pro-democracy protesters. And the student who handed out leaflets and made speeches. All three had joined the Hong Kong protests that erupted in 2019, hoping for more democracy. Instead, the movement was crushed, and they, like many others, were arrested, sentenced and sent to prison. More than 10,000 people were arrested during the monthslong uprising that began as peaceful mass rallies but grew sometimes violent as the police responded with force. Almost a quarter of those were convicted of crimes that include rioting and national security offenses. China's national security crackdown on Hong Kong, which began five years ago, has quelled protests and effectively outlawed public dissent. Many of the protesters have moved overseas or gone back to their lives. But for those convicted of crimes, moving on has been hard. Some have found themselves shut out from their former careers; others feel stranded as their peers have moved on. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
News.com.au
27-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Hong Kong's dragnet widens 5 years after national security law
Jailed pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong shrugged and shook his head after a Hong Kong court this month announced a fresh charge of breaching the city's national security law. The 28-year-old protest icon has spent more than four years behind bars and hoped to be let out in early 2027. Now, there is no end in sight. Monday marks five years since Beijing imposed a national security law after widespread and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub, which Chinese officials saw as a challenge to their rule. China sees former protest leaders such as Wong as "incorrigible troublemakers", said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong. "We have a daily drumbeat of national security on TV, in the media," Burns told AFP. The new charge against Wong, who was jailed for subversion and unlawful assembly, underscores how Hong Kong authorities are still widening the dragnet. The national security law criminalised for the first time secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion, with offenders facing up to life imprisonment. Since the law was introduced, 165 people have been convicted of various national security crimes, including under follow-up legislation in 2024 and colonial-era sedition laws. The most severely punished was legal academic Benny Tai, who was sentenced in November to 10 years in prison as part of a sprawling subversion case involving 47 opposition figures. A lawyer, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive cases, said five years spent defending security law clients had laid bare the limits of his role. Of all those charged with national security crimes, only two have been acquitted. "Our hands are tied," he told AFP. "Practically the only thing (lawyers) can do is argue for a lighter penalty." - 'Information gap' - Authorities have also warned against "soft resistance", a vague term introduced in 2021 and recently highlighted by Xia Baolong, China's top official overseeing Hong Kong. Regina Ip, convenor of the Hong Kong government's cabinet, told AFP: "I don't think the government is being paranoid. "Because of the increasingly complex and volatile international environment, we all need to be alert," she added. Beijing security officials in Hong Kong also took part in "interviews" this month with collusion suspects for the first time, authorities said. Eric Lai, a research fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said the city was adapting approaches from mainland China such as "invitation to tea" -- a practice associated with state security agents. Such informal methods "to regulate and to stabilise society" were favoured because they are "less visible", Lai said. Another local lawyer with experience in security cases also noted a worsening "information gap" that has kept the public in the dark. "There are fewer prosecutions now but more arrests, 'interviews' and operations where (people) are not brought to court," said the lawyer, who requested anonymity. High-profile legal battles have not ended: the case of media tycoon Jimmy Lai continues, while a trial involving organisers of Hong Kong's once-annual vigil marking Beijing's deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown has not yet begun. - Wave of departures - Scores of pro-democracy and civil society groups, including trade unions and media outlets, have closed since 2020 and the ouster of opposition lawmakers has had "massive consequences for accountability", said Burns. Hong Kong's Democratic Party has begun a process that will lead to its dissolution, while local media reported on Wednesday that the League of Social Democrats, the other remaining opposition party, could fold within days. The security law has prompted a wave of departures. Hong Kong independence advocate Tony Chung said he felt unsafe after finishing a prison sentence for secession and fled to the United Kingdom in 2023. Chung is among 19 people Hong Kong authorities deem to be national security fugitives. The 24-year-old has at times struggled to adapt while he waits in Britain for political asylum but insists on promoting his separatist views. "Many friends told me that I can start a new life here and leave politics behind," he told AFP.
South China Morning Post
26-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Former Hong Kong protester challenges travel ban in bid to study law
A former Hong Kong protester has lodged a judicial challenge against prison authorities' decision to bar him from studying law in the United Kingdom on national security grounds, even after he completed his prison sentence for offences committed during the 2019 anti-government unrest To Kai-wa on Wednesday sought a judicial review after the Correctional Services Department forbade him from leaving Hong Kong during his post-release supervision by citing his failure to 'demonstrate sincere remorse and reflection' or undergo 'full rehabilitation and deradicalisation '. The 28-year-old, who was not subject to a new legal restriction barring the early discharge of national security offenders, was released in October 2024 after serving two-thirds of his sentence. But he was placed under 22-month supervision and ordered not to leave the city without the approval of the department's supervision case review committee before the supervision period ended in August 2026. In January this year, the applicant asked for permission to travel after receiving a conditional offer to enrol in a law degree programme at the University of Birmingham.
