Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #JimmyLai

Most recents (17)

UPDATE

The @ActonInstitute @tiktok_us has been partially restored.

TikTok told the @WSJopinion "the account was removed in error and is available again on platform."

But why have two of the videos been removed for violating "community guidelines?" We don't know.

🧵 1/ Image
There's no explanation here for why this video was removed."

Do people describing how determination, fearlessness, and never surrendering in the face of intimidation defining what makes them Hong Kongers violate @tiktok_us's "community standards?" 2/
There's no explanation why this video was removed.

Does describing how #JimmyLai has been arrested and persecuted and treated like a terrorist for the "crime" of practicing journalism violate @tiktok_us's "community guidelines?" 3/
Read 6 tweets
The @ActonInstitute's @tiktok_us account was suspended yesterday, without notice or explanation.

The reason?

We're telling the truth about how China is stripping Hong Kongers of their human rights and persecuting pro-democracy activist #JimmyLai and others.

🧵1/ Image
On April 18 we premiered our documentary feature film THE HONG KONGER: JIMMY LAI'S EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM online for the world to see.

In the two weeks since that premiere, more than 1.2 million people have watch the film. 2/ Image
We shared promotional videos for the premiere of the film on all our social media accounts: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and – yes – TikTok.

In just over a week, we had amassed 4+ million views of our TikTok content, 64K likes, and more than 27K followers. 3/ Image
Read 12 tweets
A #thread on what led to HK leader's propose of first interpretation of #NSL, what questions have arisen from his proposal, and what may be at stake as the matter continues to unfold.

It started with #JimmyLai hoping to engage veteran British lawyer Tim Owen KC for #NSL trial.
Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered #AppleDaily, is charged of 2 counts of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces" under the #NSL and 1 count of "conspiracy to publish seditious publication" under HK's Crimes Ordinance. The former can lead to life in jail.
While all the other individuals involved in Lai's case have pleaded guilty, Lai and 3 #AppleDaily companies were originally scheduled to stand trial from 1 Dec. The date was fixed by 3 designated #NSL judges although Lai's HK lawyer made it clear he would not be available.
Read 21 tweets
The degree of wishful thinking by companies is extraordinary. I was the director of a publicly traded company (Next Digital) that was crushed by the HK government, in a freezing letter signed by John Lee, effectively stealing a US$150 million company and costing 1000 jobs.
Businesses shrug it off, thinking it’s somehow OK or understandable that the company was killed and 7 colleagues jailed because we published pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily or because the #ccp regard #jimmylai as a troublemaker. But this establishes a precedent.
Next time it will be easier for the #HongKong government to kill a company and the third time it will almost start to seem normal.
Read 3 tweets
As Hong Kong marks 25 years since the handover from Britain, the rapid & undisguised transformation of Hong Kong just 2 years after the National Security Law was imposed sees the fears confirmed in this piece I wrote in 2020 for @prospect_uk. prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/why-h…
This is an excellent deep dive into how Hong Kong has been transformed by China into a landscape where journalists, lawyers, elected democrats, unions & civil society operate in a climate of fear or are silenced by the State in a harsh crackdown on rights and freedoms.
The pace of change has been sharp. Even as John Lee, former security chief is sworn in as Hong Kong’s new Chief Executive, the crackdown extends in all directions, even on labour rights. Whatever Xi Jinping claims about democracy in #HongKong today, the reality is undisguised.
Read 7 tweets
🔴 Under President Xi Jinping’s rule, the Chinese Communist Party has drastically increased its control over journalists. Read RSF’s investigative report “The Great Leap Backwards of Journalism in #China”.
rsf.org/en/reports/unp…
#1 ▶️ Journalists forced to be the Party’s mouthpiece.
To receive their press cards, journalists already have to download the “Study Xi, Strengthen the Country” propaganda app that can collect their data, and will soon have an annual 90-hour training on “Xi Jinping Thought”.
#2 ▶️ The world’s biggest captor of journalists.
127 #journalists are currently detained by the regime. Investigating a “sensitive” topic can result in years of detention in unsanitary prisons, where ill-treatment can lead to death. Read the report here: bit.ly/3GhdEau
Read 11 tweets
Given that the reporting restriction is lifted, I will detail the bail application proceeding that spans from ystd to this morning re the case of 5 #HKAlliance ex leaders charged for refusing to submit info demanded by #nationalsecurity police in this #thread.
The most significant point comes first, the play of bail under #NSL has evolved just now from blanket denial to undeniable bail with condition restricting the defendant's speech.

This morning, #NSL magistrate Peter Law granted bail to all 5 defendants in the case despite ...
...lack of applications from D3 Simon Leung and D4 Chan To-wai with the usual bail conditions (cash, surety, reporting requirements, deposit of travel docs etc) and an additional #NSL condition imposed by the prosecution.
Read 15 tweets
THREAD: Mr Tang: Wrong!

Your quisling government & its #CCP puppet masters are to blame

You, your police officers, your fellow quisling proxy zombies & the dictatorship you slavishly work for are covered in blood, Mr Tang

And in the next tweet in this thread I'll explain why/
Point by point:

1. If #CCP had kept its promise to allow "one country, two systems" & "#HongKong people running HongKong" & upheld basic freedoms, human rights & rule of law, we would not see the tragedy we see today/
2. If your quisling regime had not introduced the idiotic extradition bill in 2019, we might not be where we are today

3. If your quisling regime had listened to the millions of totally peaceful #HongKongers in 2019, we would not be where we are today
Read 18 tweets
#BREAKING A few changes - including some alarming ones - in the latest print of #NSL Reader Beijing gifted all HK teachers and schools to read. The book’s leading author is Wang Zhenmin, ex legal affairs chief of the Liaison Office.

Listing out in this #thread
1. Most alarming one - in the section about cases in HK’s jurisdiction, 1st print said other regulations in HK’s existing laws concerning national security “of course shall be followed” but the line is gone in 2nd print ...

(L: 1st print; R: 2nd print)
...instead 2nd print listed 3 ordinances in HK laws deemed “concerning national security offences” including the Crimes Ordinance, the Official Secrets Ordinance and the Societies Ordinance, and said if they contradict with #NSL, #NSL shall prevail.

(L: 1st print; R: 2nd print)
Read 6 tweets
#NOW Outside HK’s Court of Final Appeal queues have been growing since ystd for ppl waiting for a seat at DOJ’s appeal against High Court’s bail for #JimmyLai over his #NSL case. Whether #NSL assumes bail or no bail will be the crux of the debate. Hearing at 10am.
This group “Volunteer Association of Oriental Pearl” is protesting outside CFA, condemning #JimmyLai of engendering national security and advocating for Lai to be sent to mainland China for trial.
Two men dressed like coronavirus (?) to protest outside CFA against #JimmyLai and @appledaily_hk , which they called a “poisonous newspaper”.
Read 9 tweets
Bravo for Hong Kong Magistrate May Chung. Of course, this is only the first of many prosecutions brought against the dynamic and courageous publisher, #JimmyLai. I hope he will be successful in defending against all of them. 1/n
scmp.com/news/hong-kong…
Unlike most other people, he is wealthy enough to sustain the enormous legal costs of his trials. Perhaps at the end of this series of legal ordeals, he will be able to write a book similar to that authored by the late Ted Lamb, American publisher of a leading liberal...2/n
...national magazine and Ohio newspaper/TV complex, after successfully defeating McCarthy-era efforts to suppress him via the courts. The message of the book, cleverly titled “No Lamb for Slaughter”, was that you too can stand up to McCarthyism...3/4
Read 4 tweets
[HK asylum seekers could be sent to #China's secret courts]

1. Twelve #HKers, all involved in #hkprotests, were detained by #China’s coast guard today when fleeing to #Taiwan for political asylum. All of them are now detained in #China. Image
2. It reportedly includes Andy Li, who was previously arrested under #nationalsecuritylaw, on the same day when pro-democracy media mogul #Jimmylai was arrested.
3. The news broke out after #hkpolice's recent move to rewrite history and arrest pro-democracy lawmakers, visa denials of foreign correspondents, disqualification of young runners, election cancellation and censorship of textbooks in schools.
Read 6 tweets
[New clampdown on #HK press freedom]

1. While Beijing claims #nationalsecuritylaw won't affect #PressFreedom in #Hongkong, #HK Immigration Dept just denied w/o reason the work visa for a @HongKongFP reporter, who has been closely following #hkprotests

hongkongfp.com/2020/08/27/vis…
2. As the journalist is a non-American national working in a local news outlet, clearly nothing to do with #US-#China tension, it shows an alarming acceleration of #Beijing’s clampdown on the city’s media freedom, soon after the arrest of the pro-democracy media mogul #Jimmylai.
3. With the flow of information further blocked, #China is now effectively decoupling this international financial hub, as well as the major global media centre in the region, by weaponizing its visa system to stifle critical voices.
Read 3 tweets
[#China blocks MPs from meeting pro-democracy figures]

1. #Beijing exerted pressure on #Canadian MPs, urging them not to meet #HK democracy figures, incl recently arrested media mogul #JimmyLai and me during their tour to HK in 2017, per @globeandmail.

theglobeandmail.com/politics/artic…
2. The craziest thing was, when one of the MPs, @GarnettGenuis, raised human rights issues in #China during the meeting, Chinese officials “lectured” him at length for more than 45 minutes, from the end of the meeting and all the way through the dinner.
3. It is horrifying when the then-MP @LindaDuncanAB’s Ottawa office received from the Chinese embassy, who dissuaded her from meeting Dalai Lama, when she travelled to northern India in 2019.
Read 5 tweets
We do not know yet whether the Central Government will decide to try #JimmyLai and others recently arrested in HK for possible NSL violations in the Mainland or in HK’s now-truncated justice system for handling NSL cases. 1/n
If brought to trial in HK, many novel questions will have to be answered. If brought to trial in the Mainland, there is ample, daily precedent for fearing the worst, although perhaps special arrangements are being made for treating HK NSL suspects in less outrageous fashion. 2/n
Certainly, until now, most Hong Kongers detained in the Mainland for violations of the regular Criminal Law have not been exempt from the usual system of long incommunicado detention often featuring torture, both mental and physical, and denial of access to counsel, family...3/4
Read 4 tweets
Martin Lee, founder of @HKDemocrats and HK's no 1 senior counsel, is the first to be released on bail.

Lee said he had no regret and felt relieved to be arrested as so many young people were taken by the force in the past few months.

He will be mentioned in court on 5/18. Image
@HKDemocrats veteran Sin Chung-kai was also released on bail, pending court mention on May 18.

Meanwhile #JimmyLai has been sent from Kowloon City Police Station to Kowloon West Regional Headquarters. Image
Labour Party's Lee Cheuk-yan and League of Social Democrats' Raphael Wong are released on bail. Image
Read 14 tweets
#NOW HK police is at #JimmyLai’s doorstep again. Image
#RECAP Media tycoon #JimmyLai was last arrested on Feb 28 along with Labour Party's Lee Cheuk-yan and former Democratic Party leader Yeung Sum for "unlawful assembly" on 8.31 last year. They were granted bail and are set to be mentioned in court on May 5.
We are looking at perhaps the largest group arrest of pro-dem leaders/activists in a single day.

So far Figo Chan of @chrf_hk, League of Social Democrats' Raphael Wong, "Longhair" Leung Kwok-hung and Avery Ng, as well as former lawmaker Au Nok-hin are confirmed arrested...
Read 8 tweets

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