Latest news with #HongKongUnison
Malay Mail
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Ex-HK lawmaker Claudia Mo calls her national security jail term ‘Kafkaesque'
HONG KONG, May 2 — A former Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker today recounted her 'surreal' experience being jailed for more than four years under the city's national security law. Claudia Mo, 68, was among the 45 Hong Kong opposition figures imprisoned in the city's largest national security case, after they held an informal election in 2020 that authorities deemed a 'conspiracy to subvert the state power'. Mo and ex-lawmakers Jeremy Tam, Kwok Ka-ki and Gary Fan were each released on Tuesday after completing a jail term of four years and two months — the first batch of defendants to regain their freedom. 'Many thanks for all the concern and care expressed upon my release,' Mo wrote on Facebook today. 'Prison life was surreal, almost Kafka-esque to start with,' she added. 'But I didn't suffer the two major incarceration traumas, loneliness and boredom, thanks to the social arrangements inside.' Mo posted a photo 'taken (a) couple hours after getting home from prison' that showed her in front of a banner reading 'Welcome home mum'. The ex-lawmaker thanked her family and friends, including Cardinal Joseph Zen, Reporters Without Borders and the now-shuttered minority rights group Hong Kong Unison. 'My thoughts are with my co-defendants who remain in custody,' she added. Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub. The court last year jailed 45 pro-democracy figures under that law, including some of Hong Kong's best-known activists and figures from across the city's once-diverse political spectrum. Mo and the three other Hong Kong democrats released on Tuesday had pleaded guilty, which led to a reduced sentence. She said in her Friday Facebook post that she had read more than 300 books, mainly novels, and improved her French while behind bars. Mo previously worked as an AFP journalist and cited her experience covering Beijing's bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown as pivotal in her political awakening. On Tuesday, she was taken out of prison just before sunrise in a convoy of vehicles with curtains drawn. Hong Kong authorities said it made 'appropriate arrangements' based on factors including prison security and inmates' privacy and safety. Shortly after Mo returned home, her husband Philip Bowring said she was resting and not in a position to speak to media. — AFP
Straits Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Hong Kong ex-lawmaker Claudia Mo calls prison experience ‘surreal'
Ms Mo said she had read more than 300 books, mainly novels, and improved her French while behind bars. PHOTO: AFP HONG KONG - A former Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker on May 2 recounted her 'surreal' experience being jailed for more than four years under the city's national security law. Ms Claudia Mo, 68, was among the 45 Hong Kong opposition figures imprisoned in the city's largest national security case, after they held an informal election in 2020 that authorities deemed a 'conspiracy to subvert the state power'. Ms Mo and ex-lawmakers Jeremy Tam, Kwok Ka-ki and Gary Fan were each released on April 29 after completing a jail term of four years and two months – the first batch of defendants to regain their freedom. 'Many thanks for all the concern and care expressed upon my release,' Ms Mo wrote on Facebook on May 2. 'Prison life was surreal, almost Kafka-esque to start with,' she added. 'But I didn't suffer the two major incarceration traumas, loneliness and boredom, thanks to the social arrangements inside.' Mo posted a photo 'taken (a) couple hours after getting home from prison' that showed her in front of a banner reading 'Welcome home mum'. The ex-lawmaker thanked her family and friends, including Cardinal Joseph Zen, Reporters Without Borders and the now-shuttered minority rights group Hong Kong Unison. 'My thoughts are with my co-defendants who remain in custody,' she added. Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub. The court in 2024 jailed 45 pro-democracy figures under that law, including some of Hong Kong's best-known activists and figures from across the city's once-diverse political spectrum. Ms Mo and the three other Hong Kong democrats released on April 29 had pleaded guilty, which led to a reduced sentence. She said in her Facebook post on May 2 that she had read more than 300 books, mainly novels, and improved her French while behind bars. Ms Mo previously worked as an AFP journalist and cited her experience covering Beijing's bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown as pivotal in her political awakening. On April 29, she was taken out of prison just before sunrise in a convoy of vehicles with curtains drawn. Hong Kong authorities said it made 'appropriate arrangements' based on factors including prison security and inmates' privacy and safety. Shortly after Ms Mo returned home, her husband Philip Bowring said she was resting and not in a position to speak to media. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
South China Morning Post
28-02-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
NGO Hong Kong Unison disbands after 24 years advocating for ethnic minority groups
The NGO Hong Kong Unison has decided to disband after 24 years of advocating for the rights of the city's ethnic minority groups. Advertisement After a general meeting held among its members to discuss the dissolution on Friday, group chairwoman Alice Chong Ming-lin said the decision was made as the organisation had accomplished its mission, and dismissed any political or financial reasons. 'When the organisation was first established, the voices of members of ethnic minorities were not heard nor their difficulties, while now there are many organisations serving them and the government has allocated resources to them,' she said. 'We have achieved our objective.' Hong Kong was home to nearly 620,000 residents from ethnic minority groups in 2021, accounting for 8.4 per cent of the population. Advertisement Most were Filipinos and Indonesians – many of whom worked as domestic helpers – as well as Indians, Nepalis and Pakistanis.
