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Hong Kong Legislature Passes Tough New National Security Law

By LokMarg 19th March 2024

Further aligning it with mainland China, Hong Kong’s legislature unanimously passed a new national law on Tuesday that expands government power to crush dissent, Al Jazeera reported.

The Safeguarding National Security Law passed includes new measures on treason, espionage, external interference, state secrets and sedition.

“Today is a historic moment for Hong Kong,” said Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, who added that the law punishing five major crimes would go into effect on March 23.

It gives government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019. It comes on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub, Al Jazeera reported.

Critics say that the major piece of legislation, known as Article 23, further threatens the Chinese-ruled city’s freedoms.

The 90-seat council stacked with pro-China loyalists was first presented with the bill on March 8, following a monthlong public consultation, with Hong Kong’s leader calling for it to be enacted at “full speed”.

Eighty-eight lawmakers and the legislative council president voted unanimously to enact the legislation.

Coming into effect on Saturday, the law introduces 39 new national security crimes, adding to an already powerful national security law that was directly imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent democracy protests the year before, CNN reported.

That law has already transformed Hong Kong, with authorities jailing dozens of political opponents, forcing civil society groups and outspoken media outlets to disband and transforming the once freewheeling city into one that prioritises patriotism.

Known locally as Article 23, the new national security legislation covers a raft of new crimes, including treason, espionage, external interference and unlawful handling of state secrets, with the most serious offences punishable by up to life imprisonment, CNN reported.

“We…have completed a historical mission, lived up to the expectations of the country and did not let the central government down,” he said, referring to China’s Communist Party leadership in Beijing.

CNN reported that China and Hong Kong’s leaders say the new laws are needed to “plug loopholes” as part of their drive to “restore stability” following the huge 2019 protests. They argue that their legislation is similar to other national security laws around the world.

Critics counter that what China’s Communist Party views as national security offences are far broader and more sweeping, often ensnaring political criticism, dissent and even business activity that would not be criminalised elsewhere.

The new legislation also comes as Hong Kong’s government is embarking on a high-profile campaign this year to revive the city’s business credentials after the political crackdown – combined with nearly three years of strict coronavirus controls – sparked an exodus of local and international talent. (ANI)

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World Has No Faith In Chinese Covid Figures: Report

By LokMarg 26th January 2023

There is great skepticism about the COVID data released by China and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently accused it of underplaying the seriousness of the pandemic by concealing the true nature of the situation in the country, the Hong Kong Post reported.

A senior WHO official, as quoted by The Hong Kong Post, had said: “China’s COVID data is not giving an accurate picture of the situation there and it under-represents the number of hospitalizations and deaths from the disease.”

Emergencies Director of WHO Mike Ryan said: “We believe the current numbers being published from China under-represent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, particularly in terms of death.”

The WHO believes that the definition of death by the Chinese government is “too narrow”.

After Beijing authorities changed their definition of COVID deaths, there is a discrepancy in the death figures claimed by the government and reports from ground. Based on the new definition, the authorities have claimed five or fewer deaths in a day. But funeral homes and hospitals in China say they are overwhelmed.

This definition has met with the scepticism of experts around the world. The WHO has defined COVID-related deaths as those resulting from a clinically compatible illness in a patient with a probable or confirmed infection when no other unrelated cause of death is involved, according to a report in The Hong Kong Post.

The report said that it is not surprising that the rest of the world is not taking the claims of the Chinese authorities at face value and have clamped strict restrictions on people travelling into different countries from China, including suspension of flights and strict Covid-19 testing requirements.

The USA, the U.K., several other European countries, among them Germany, France and Sweden, and Australia, Canada, Japan, India and South Korea, have imposed tough COVID measures on travellers from China.

Israel, Malaysia, Morocco, Qatar, and Taiwan are also among the countries that have imposed restrictions on travellers from China.

Instead of appreciating the justified apprehensions of these countries, Beijing has described these measures as politically motivated and threatened countermeasures against the countries involved.

Chinese health authorities recently said that more than 12,000 hospitalized people infected with COVID died in seven days through January 19, NHK World-Japan reported.

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said that 12,658 patients died in medical institutions between January 13 and 19.

According to officials, 681 people died of respiratory failure and 11,977 others died of complications, according to NHK World-Japan report. It is the first time that the Chinese government has updated official death counts in seven days. (ANI)

Full Control Over Hong Kong Achieved: Xi Jinping

By LokMarg 16th October 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday told the 20th Communist party Congress that the country has gained full control over Hong Kong and turned it from chaos to governance, according to Reuters news agency.

Delivering a report to the twice-a-decade party meeting in Beijing, Xi said China has also waged a major struggle against Taiwan separatism and is determined and able to oppose territorial integrity.
Along with the crackdown on Hong Kong, Xi Jinping also defended the military aggression against Taiwan, saying he “safeguarded” the country’s “dignity and core interests” for ensuring security.

“In the face of turbulent developments in Hong Kong, the central government exercised its overall jurisdiction over the special administrative region as prescribed by China’s Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” state media outlet Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.

He said it was ensured that Hong Kong is governed by “patriots” after the “order” was restored in the region.

On the self-governed island of Taiwan, he said, “In response to separatist activities aimed at Taiwan independence and gross provocations of external interference in Taiwan affairs, we have resolutely fought against separatism and countered interference.”

He said that China has demonstrated their resolve and ability to safeguard “China’s sovereignty and to oppose “Taiwan’s independence.”

Faced with “changes in the international landscape”, the Chinese President said the country has “maintained firm strategic resolve and shown a fighting spirit. “Throughout these endeavours, we have safeguarded China’s dignity and core interests and kept ourselves well-positioned for pursuing development and ensuring security.”

During his speech, Xi also defended his flagship COVID policy by saying his government put the people and their lives above all else and tenaciously pursued a zero-COVID policy.

“In responding to the sudden attack of COVID-19, we put the people and their lives above all else and tenaciously pursued a dynamic zero-COVID policy,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.

Regional experts say that Chairman Xi Jinping will undoubtedly extend his term in power for another five years.

He will either be re-elected as general secretary of the CCP or will be newly elected as chairman of the CCP, a title that has lain dormant since 1982 and was once the highest position ever held by Mao Zedong.

The congress is taking place at one of the most perilous periods in international affairs in recent years. A war is raging in Ukraine as President Vladimir Putin attempts to burnish his credentials as a great Russian leader, and China remains a staunch supporter of this would-be tsar.

At the same time, Taiwan Strait tensions are at their highest in decades, as China attempts to pummel Taipei into acquiescence.

Besides this, diplomatic tensions with the US, the after-effects of a global pandemic, China’s own par and efforts to stamp out COVID-19, and all the ingredients for a brewing storm are present. (ANI)

Global Protests Mark China’s National Day

By LokMarg 2nd October 2022

As China prepares to hold the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CCP) which is widely expected to approve a third term for President Xi Jinping, anti-China protests were held all across the world to mark the National Day of China on October 1.

In Tokyo, hundreds of Japanese citizens came out on the streets to express solidarity with the oppressed people of Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Early morning joggers around the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo city were greeted by slogans criticizing China for its brutal crackdowns in all minority regions. This was the protest against the continuing denial of basic human rights that they promised even in the Chinese constitution.

Posters also spoke of the damage China has caused to Japan in the past fifty years, despite Japanese companies having helped establish China’s modern industrial foundations.

Later in the day, activists from across Japan, as well as representatives of the minority ethnic communities in China, walked to the center of Tokyo carrying banners, flags, and posters denouncing China.

They urged the rest of the world to wake up to the harm China is causing.

The demonstration was held around the twin themes of – ‘nothing to celebrate and ‘day of shame’, both sentiments that echo strongly not just in Japan, but increasingly across the world.

Just a couple of weeks ahead of the 20th National Congress of the CCP, such a gathering showed unequivocally that despite businesses continuing to rely on China, the people of Japan wanted to send out a strong message to China and the CCP: respect the people and their rights. Without these, your power has no legitimacy, and your leadership will have no legacy worth the name.

A small protest was also organized in front of the Chinese Embassy in Vienna, Austria. Protesters were carrying anti-CCP posters and the Tibetan flag.

The Tibetan Diaspora, along with President Nawang Lobsang Taglung of the Tibetan organization in Vienna, held a symbolic protest. Nawang said, “The fight for the freedom of Tibet will continue in the future.”

In Paris, multiple civil society organizations opposed to the Chinese government came together to protest against the Chinese government’s human rights violations and policy of aggression against various ethnic groups.

At a large demonstration near the Chinese embassy, more than 100 people from organizations like Students for Free Tibet (SFT), the Committee for Liberation of Hong Kong, and the Association of Uyghurs in France, as well as Mongolian, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese groups, joined this protest.

Marking the day as the Global Day of Action, the protesters carried placards with slogans against China and demanded that China end the Uyghur genocide and other violations against the people of Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

They also called on the global community to unite to prevent China from committing these crimes against humanity.

In Amsterdam city of Netherlands for the first time, several Chinese organizations-Chinese Democratic Party Overseas Committee, Netherland for Hong Kong, Southern Mongolian Congress, The Church of Almighty God, Stitching Nederland Service Centre Voor het verlaten van de Chinese Communistische (END CCP Service Center Netherlands), and Human Rights Watch in China participated along with Tibet Support Group in condemning the Chinese Communist Party.

Protests were witnessed in major States across the United States, including New York and California, as well as in Canada.

In Istanbul city of Turkey, the Uyghur community marked the 73rd National Day of China as the beginning of an era of occupation, persecution, starvation, and inhuman crimes against the peoples of East Turkestan.

Uyghur NGOs protested near the Chinese Consulate in the Sariyer district of Istanbul against the Chinese policies of assimilation and genocide.

Uyghur leaders spearheading the protest included Hidayetullah Oghuzhan – President of East Turkestan Education and Solidarity Association (ETESA), Abduselam Teklimakan – President of East Turkestan New Generation Movement (ETNGM), Nur Muhammad Majid – visiting representative/ lawyer from East Turkestan Australia Association, Rushan Abbas – noted Uyghur activist and Founder & Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs, members of Uyghur Academy and several others.

The protest started with the recitation of the verses of the holy Quran and the national song of East Turkestan. Protestors raised slogans against Chinese policies and Chinese President Xi Jinping, including ‘China Stop Genocide’, ‘Release our relatives’, “Where are our relatives?”, and ‘Stop Starvation’.

Protestors also displayed photographs of their family members missing in Chinese internment camps whom they have not been able to contact for many years.

A motorbike rally of around fifty Uyghur activists carrying flags of Turkiye and East Turkestan passed near the protest site. A signature campaign on a large banner appealing for the support of the United Nations was also showcased.

According to Amnesty International, the human rights situation across China continues to deteriorate. Human rights lawyers and activists reported harassment and intimidation; unfair trials; arbitrary, incommunicado, and lengthy detention; and torture and other ill-treatment for simply exercising their right to freedom of expression and other human rights.

In its 2021 report, Amnesty International stated that the CCP government continued a campaign of political indoctrination, arbitrary mass detention, torture, and forced cultural assimilation against Muslims living in Xinjiang.

The Amnesty report compiled data collected between October 2019 and May 2021. It relied on interviews with 128 people, including 55 former internment camp prisoners, and 68 family members of people either missing or presumed detained. (ANI)