TOP NEWS
On Tuesday, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation brought together the five women targeted by the Hong Kong authorities with HK$1 million bounties for their pro-democracy advocacy, including CFHK staffers Chloe Cheung and Frances Hui, for an online panel event.
In honour of International Women’s Day on March 8, the five women activists, each of whom has an extraterritorial HK$1 million bounty out for their arrests, shared their experiences of Chinese Communist Party-led transnational repression – threats, intimidation, harassment – as well as words of inspiration for fellow female activists.
Chinese dissident artist Badiucao provided Marvel-inspired artwork in support of the ‘Hong Kong Women vs CCP Dictatorship’ event.
Transnational repression took centre stage in UK parliament Tuesday as opposition MPs including Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, Tom Tugendhat, and Christine Jardine raised Chloe Cheung’s case and rounded on the government for its inability to stand up for her fellow UK-resident activists Carmen Lau and Tony Chung, neighbours of whom have received letters encouraging them to comply with HK$1 million bounty notices.
UK – Hong Kong
Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street petitioning Prime Minister Starmer for a meeting to get his father released immediately as he is in failing health.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, freedom of expression group ARTICLE 19 urged the UK to support the ‘Jimmy Lai Bill,’ which is due for a second reading before parliament today (March 7).
Another MP, John Cooper, called for HSBC executives to come before the Business and Trade Select Committee to answer questions relating to the bank’s blocking of access to pensions savings for UK-resident Hong Kongers.
U.S. – Hong Kong
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a Hong Kong firm controlling Panama Canal ports was “an unacceptable security risk,” BlackRock Inc. announced Tuesday that it will purchase a controlling stake in CK Hutchinson Holding, which operates port facilities in the Panama Canal, for $23 billion.
Bill McGurn suggested in the Wall Street Journal that if British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gets nothing in return for pushing through the proposed Chinese mega-embassy in London, “it will only confirm Britain’s diminished status in the world,” amid mounting U.S. security concerns over the UK government’s engagement with Beijing.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong authorities’ assault on truth continued as security chief Chris Tang took issue with an op-ed written by law professor Johannes Chan, in which the former dean of the University of Hong Kong’s law faculty suggested the courts had downplayed the role of white-shirted thugs when convicting former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting of rioting during the 2019 Yuen Long MTR attack.
Jimmy Lai Biography, ‘Troublemaker’ Updates
CFHK Foundation President Mark Clifford and Jerome A. Cohen, adjunct senior fellow for Asia studies at the Committee for Foreign Relations, discussed the incredible story of billionaire and democracy activist Jimmy Lai and the withering of Hong Kong’s rule of law.
Jimmy Lai Updates
Jimmy Lai finally wrapped up his testimony after 52 days on the stand in his sham national security trial. Closing arguments are now expected to be scheduled in June, with a verdict likely in October.
Detailed trial updates are available here: Support Jimmy Lai.
🔥 Flame of Freedom Blog
Women’s Growing Role in the Fight for Hong Kong’s Freedom
This blog is co-authored by Frances Hui, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at the CFHK Foundation, and Chloe Cheung, CFHK’s Media and Communications Junior Manager.
“Solidarity is our strongest weapon – both across generations and across borders. To strengthen the movement, we must actively work toward a more inclusive and supportive space for women. This means more than just representation; it means creating an environment where women feel empowered to lead, speak out, and take action.”
Read more here.
