27 May - 2 June 2019 | 326 comments (326 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Hong Kong Authorities Bow to Beijing, Determined to Ignore a Million Protesters, A/V (EN), transcript

SEAN STARRS: Well, so I mean, they're protesting erosion of their basic freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and so on, as you mention. But you know, the immediate rationale for this extradition law is in reference to Taiwan. So I mean, Hong Kong has extradition agreements with about 20 countries, but not with Taiwan or mainland China. So a Hong Konger, Tong Kai Chan, admitted to killing his girlfriend, his pregnant girlfriend, in Taiwan, and then he escaped back to Hong Kong. And so the immediate rationale for this bill is to allow Taiwan to extradite Chan. But actually Taiwan has said that they don't want to extradite Chan, and president Tsai Ing Wen of Taiwan yesterday, Monday, said that this extradition bill represent means that we should not have one country, two systems in Taiwan. So they're using this actually to harden their pro-independence sentiments in Taiwan.
So obviously this is about Beijing's increasing encroachment on Hong Kong's basic freedoms, which is supposed to be enshrined in the the Basic Law until 2047.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 12:21:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

not Macron (none / 0)

Hong Kong slams brakes on extradition bill amid ["excessive police force"]

Amid the chaos, government officials delayed the opening of debate on the bill, which has drawn massive protests from students and other pro-democracy advocates in the economically free-wheeling city of more than 7 million people.
The legislation, if approved, would allow Hong Kong to extradite suspected criminals to jurisdictions outside the former British colony without a prior agreement - most notably mainland China. It was not immediately clear when formal consideration of the bill would take place.
Lawmaker Charles Mok visited the protest Wednesday, defending the crowd as "well-meaning citizens" exercising freedom of expression.
[...]
The U.S. State Department this week expressed "grave concern" over the extradition proposal, saying it could threaten Hong Kong's "special status" with the mainland. That brought a sharp response from Beijing on Wednesday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang saying no country has a right to interfere in its internal affairs.
[...]
"All of this promises a similarly more determined response from the protestors," [Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Michael C.] Davis told USA TODAY. "The government has shown no interest in trying to mitigate this evolving situation. If blocked from protesting around LegCo the protesters may resort to strikes and boycotts. The government holds the cards to pull back and reconsider the bill but has shown no inclination to do so."

Today -100: June 12, 1919: Of treaties and "stolen goods."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 12:59:39 AM EST
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Re: not Macron (none / 0)

"postponed"

The bill is scheduled to be voted on June 20. Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, has said she plans to sign it.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 08:20:59 PM EST
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not USA (none / 0)

What [American] Citizens Have Learned About Hong Kong's Protests

"The reports are mostly intended for domestic readers," said Cheung Siu Wai, a senior lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University. "It's impossible to completely to censor all information, so they still need an official interpretation of the events for Chinese readers."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 11:12:18 AM EST
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27 May - 2 June 2019 | 326 comments (326 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)