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Hong Kong authorities declined to disclose the identities of six people recently investigated, and possibly arrested, on national security grounds in an operation conducted for the first time with mainland authorities. New regulations introduced in May make it an offence punishable by up to seven years in prison and fines of up to HK$500,000 to disclose information about cases being handled by Office for Safeguarding National Security, a Beijing-run outpost in Hong Kong. The opening of the case coincided with the closure of China Labour Bulletin.
In the British parliament, members from across the political spectrum debated efforts to better protect British citizens like Jimmy Lai from arbitrary detention. Rachel Blake MP introduced the debate, which highlighted Jimmy Lai’s suffering in Hong Kong prison and prompted calls for the government to follow through on its election campaign promise to legislate a right to consular access for British citizens wrongfully detained abroad.
In New Zealand, The Post published an op-ed by Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation President Mark Clifford arguing that former New Zealand Supreme Court judge Sir William Young should resign from his position on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.
Hong Kong
CFHK Foundation marked the anniversary of June 16, 2019, on which two million people marched for universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board is inviting global influencers, including the U.S.-raised comedian Jimmy O. Yang, to support a new “Seeing is believing” campaign.
Jimmy O. Yang, known as Funny Asian Dude on social media, is helping whitewash
Hong Kong’s image in return for Hong Kong government money. (Hong Kong Tourism Board)
North America – Hong Kong
Rights groups renewed calls for Mark Carney’s government to support a cross-party, unanimous consent motion to grant Jimmy Lai honorary Canadian citizenship after Ottawa blocked a vote on the proposal last week.
Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of PEN International during a dialogue with Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Sebastien Lai called for his father Jimmy Lai’s immediate and unconditional release.
Mark Clifford was featured on the radio show “On Point,” in a special programme looking back at five years of national security laws in Hong Kong.
The G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, concluded with a statement that specifies acts that constitute transnational repression (TNR), and commits G7 countries to implementing measures that raise awareness of TNR and increase the penalties for those behind it.
UK – Hong Kong
The Office for Students, the higher education regulator, issued new guidance ahead of the Freedom of Speech Higher Education Act becoming law in August. The guidance could mean that Confucius Institutes, which deliver Chinese language and culture course at about 30 British universities, and the China Scholarship Council, which supports international academic exchanges, will have to amend their articles of incorporation or terminate their operations.
The government has called for the public to submit urgent objections to the proposed China super-embassy in London. Write to pcu@communities.gov.uk with your “material planning considerations.”
Jimmy Lai Biography, ‘Troublemaker Updates
In Part 3 of a “The Barefoot Lawyer Reports” podcast series, Mark Clifford draws parallels between Jimmy Lai’s struggle to live free while in prison and Natan Sharansky’s experience as a jailed Soviet dissident.