TOP NEWS
U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi joined bipartisan Congressional efforts to pass the Hong Kong Sanctions Act (H.R. 6153) by signing on as a co-sponsor. The bill, introduced in both the House and Senate last November, would sanction Hong Kong officials, judges, and prosecutors who have played an active and important role in undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong.
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation applauds the Speaker for her staunch support of the Hong Kong democracy movement. We urge Congress to pass the bill in a timely manner given the intensifying repression in Hong Kong.
A U.S. jury convicted a prominent Chinese-born academic and author who masqueraded as a pro-democracy activist of spying for Beijing. Shujun Wang, a co-founder of a pro-democracy Chinese group in Queens, NY, was found guilty of four counts of acting and conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. According to prosecutors, Wang was tasked by Chinese intelligence officers with targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, Uyghur and Tibetan dissidents, and advocates for Taiwanese independence.
U.K. - Hong Kong
The BBC World Service released a 32-minute-long podcast episode “Erasing Hong Kong,” featuring interviews with Hong Kong historians, activists, journalists, and authors, most of whom are now in exile, on Beijing’s campaign to censor opposition and rewrite history in Hong Kong. The podcast described Hong Kong as “a place where memory wars are being fought, where history and your interpretation of it can lead to long prison sentences or exile.”
Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is merging its politics department into the school of governance due to declining enrolment in the politics programs. The restructuring aims to broaden the department’s appeal by shifting the focus from pure politics to include public administration. CUHK’s politics department was one of the city’s most important, producing graduates ranging from high-profile pro-democracy figures to staunch Beijing loyalists.
Chief Executive John Lee warned Hong Kongers to remain vigilant in the face of “collective suppression by foreign forces” as he unveiled a new 1,100 square-metre exhibition about national security designed to promote patriotism. The exhibition features installations dedicated to Xi Jinping’s governance ideas.
In a graduation ceremony at the Correctional Services Department’s Ethics College, Hong Kong’s first national security convict, Tong Ying-kit, said he was “misled” by “fake news” and disinformation and “regretted” his action. Tong was sentenced for nine years in jail for inciting secession and terrorist activities after driving a motorcycle with a protest flag into three police officers in July 2020.
Media
Human rights lawyer and advocate Samuel Bickett and CFHK Foundation advisor Shannon Van Sant have written an op-ed in the Washington Post detailing how dictators in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea have used Hong Kong to evade sanctions as they strengthen trade and security ties. The article discussed key findings from the CFHK Foundation’s recent report “Beneath the Harbor: Hong Kong’s Leading Role in Sanctions Evasion.”
Condolences
The CFHK Foundation expresses our condolences to the family and friends of Alvin Cheung, a lawyer and scholar of authoritarianism and the rule of law, who died last week. Cheung’s work contributed immensely to the shaping of the CFHK Foundation’s report on the role of overseas non-permanent judges sitting on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.
Jimmy Lai's Trial Update
Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai's trial was once again delayed on July 25th and is expected to resume on November 20th for further proceedings.
The CFHK Foundation condemns the delay of Jimmy Lai’s testimony as another attempt by authorities to silence his voice and draw out this sham trial. The repeated delay in Lai’s trial not only prolongs the unjust incarceration of a 76-year-old but undermines the legal process and raises serious concerns about the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Detailed trial updates available here: Support Jimmy Lai
🔥 'Flame of Freedom' Blog
The Alliance of Autocracies is deepening. Hong Kong is playing a central role.
This blog post is based on the op-ed published in the Washington Post on 04 August 2024, co-authored by Samuel Bickett and Shannon Van Sant.
“Hong Kong’s business-friendly policies, which make it easy to conceal corporate ownership and quickly create and dissolve companies, allow illicit actors to make a mockery of U.S. and Western sanctions. At the same time, slow and inconsistent enforcement by Western governments has allowed those actors to continue their operations with relative impunity. The United States can and should address this situation without delay.”
Read more here.
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