https://abcnews.go.com/International/police-fire-tear-gas-hong-kong-protesters-tensions/story?id=63651958
2019-06-12 09:14:00Z
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Rabu, 12 Juni 2019
Police fire tear gas at Hong Kong protesters as tensions spiral over extradition bill - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/International/police-fire-tear-gas-hong-kong-protesters-tensions/story?id=63651958
2019-06-12 09:14:00Z
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The return of Hong Kong's umbrella movement - CNN
Police and the government were completely wrong footed Wednesday morning, as thousands and then tens of thousands of mostly young protesters surrounded the city government headquarters -- known as the Legislative Council -- blocking roads and preventing lawmakers from going to work.
Those lawmakers were supposed to start the second reading of a hugely controversial extradition bill with China. On Sunday, according to organizers, more than a million people marched in protest against the bill, which has also been heavily criticized by business groups, human rights NGOs, and the international community.
Despite the huge turnout and opposition across a wide swath of society, it seemed there was little anyone could do to stop it. Protests were expected Wednesday but more as a display of anger and venting of frustration, rather than an effective blocking tactic.
The young protesters, most in their teens or early twenties, had other ideas, however. By noon, the protest had transformed into a redux of the 2014 Umbrella Movement.
"(This) boils down to a display of people power in Hong Kong, a display in particular of young people power," opposition lawmaker Claudia Mo told the tens of thousands who had gathered outside the Legislative Council building.
"At the end of the Umbrella Movement, didn't we say, 'we will be back'? And now, we are back!"
With authorities forced to cancel Wednesday's legislative session, and thousands still in the streets, Mo and other opposition lawmakers have called on the government to shelve the bill rather than risk an escalation into violence.
Even some supporters of the changes to the law have criticized the speed at which Chief Executive Carrie Lam is seeking its passage, bypassing normal procedure.
"Before Carrie Lam announces that the extradition bill is shelved we will not leave here," said Shum Tsz-kit, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organized Sunday's march. "We call on bigger companies, bigger organizations to support the strike, so all Hong Kong can come out and tell the world that we oppose the extradition law."
Seizing control
After a tense but peaceful evening Tuesday, as thousands of protesters gathered around the Legislative Council building ahead of Wednesday's meeting, it was unclear what, if anything protesters could do to break the impasse, amid a huge police presence.
Police, however, were focused on blocking entrances to the Legislative Council complex itself, and either didn't have the resources or had not expected to have to prevent tens of thousands of protesters swarming into the roads.
That's what they did in massive numbers, after a mass text message went out at 8 a.m. to a core group of protesters, who led others into the main highways passing the Legislative Council building carrying makeshift barriers, coordinating via shouts, megaphones and walkie talkies.
In less than 10 minutes, two main roads -- Harcourt and Lung Wo -- had been closed off to traffic. Attempts by police to push them back were unsuccessful, and they quickly retreated, except for those who had been deployed to guard the entrance to the legislature, now effectively trapped inside. Protesters set up large barricades using the fences that had been designed to keep them away, and reinforced them with cable ties and unfurled umbrellas.
Tense, angry scenes, during which police used pepper spray several times, gave way to a more relaxed atmosphere as it was announced legislators would not debate the bill Wednesday, with protesters reveling in a victory few thought was possible.
"A million of us chose to come out to fight the government because the government chose to make an evil law. But after that protest, the government still chose to push the evil law and ignore the voice of a million citizens," said 18-year-old protester Sunny Chan.
"I think this is unacceptable and we are very upset and angry. So we choose to come out today and stand in the front and protest and try to protect our freedom."
No options
Along the main Harcourt Road thoroughfare, now a traffic-free pedestrian area, there was a real feeling of being back in the Umbrella Movement.
Thousands of protesters sat around chatting happily, occasionally joining in with triumphant chants. As it reached midday, they were joined by many office workers from nearby buildings in Admiralty.
During the umbrella protests, the main Admiralty camp became something of a local tourist attraction, with many workers regularly having their lunches among the protesters, students doing their homework there, and artists and educators putting on displays and giving talks.
Multiple trade unions and around 350 small businesses have called for a work stoppage Wednesday to protest the law, though most on the streets appeared to be high school or university age.
The size of the crowd and the degree to which they are dug in presents a major dilemma for the government and police. Short of incredibly heavy-handed tactics that could spark an even larger backlash, it's unclear what police could do to clear the roads.
During the Umbrella Movement, protesters held Admiralty for several months, before numbers and support had waned enough that police could go in and clear them.
Those protests began in September 2014, and their fifth anniversary is rapidly approaching. With protest leaders promising to remain in the streets until the bill is shelved, Hong Kong could be in for another summer of discontent.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/asia/hong-kong-umbrella-extradition-intl-hnk/index.html
2019-06-12 08:28:00Z
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China extradition bill debate postponed as protesters swarm Hong Kong streets - CNN
The city's legislative council was due to hold the second reading of the bill on Wednesday morning local time. The bill has been met with widespread opposition, including from the city's traditionally conservative business community, and prompted more than 1 million of the city's 7.4 million population to take to the streets in protest on Sunday, according to organizers.
In a statement on its website, Legislative Council President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said Wednesday's meeting would be "changed to a later time to be determined by him."
The decision to postpone the debate came as tens of thousands of protesters once again took to the streets of central Hong Kong in scenes reminiscent of the 2014 democracy demonstrations known as the Umbrella Movement.
Protesters began arriving outside the Legislative Council buildings on Tuesday night, where they were greeted by a heavy police presence and bag searches. By Wednesday morning, tens of thousands of mainly young people had arrived in the area, blocking streets and bringing central Hong Kong to a standstill.
Up to 5,000 police in riot gear have been deployed to guard the building. On Wednesday morning, police fired a water canon on a protester and used pepper spray on others. Protesters were seen wearing helmets, goggles and heavy-duty workman's gloves, and pulling bricks from the sidewalks.
Hundreds of businesses, parents and teachers called for a boycott of works and school on Wednesday to show their opposition to the bill.
Although Hong Kong is part of China, it has separate laws that follow the UK system and no capital punishment, unlike mainland China. Many people fear that the proposed extradition law means they could be taken from Hong Kong by Chinese authorities for political or inadvertent business offenses.
'Hong Kong people are furious'
Wednesday's protests come only three days after a mostly peaceful march in central Hong Kong. Police estimated 240,000 people attended on Sunday, while organizers put the number at 1.03 million -- the latter figure would make it the city's largest protest since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.
Despite the mass demonstrations, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam has refused to withdraw the extradition bill, saying it is needed to plug loopholes to prevent the city from becoming a haven for mainland fugitives.
On Monday, she said safeguards had been added to the bill to protect human rights and had received no instruction from Beijing to push it forward. Hong Kong's lawmakers had planned to dedicate 66 hours across five days to debating the bill.
"Hong Kong people are furious," senior Democratic Party lawmaker James To said Tuesday. "Our chief executive just ignored the people's voice, despite the peaceful rally of a million Hong Kong people."
Sunny Chan, an 18-year-old protestor on the streets Wednesday, said she was "angry" that the government failed to pay attention to Sunday's protests. "We choose to come out today and stand in the front and protest and try to protect my freedom," she said.
Protestor Marco Leung, 23, said there would be no difference between Hong Kong and China if the law was passed. "We are not China," Leung said. "Police should protect the citizens, not the government."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/asia/hk-protests-extradition-intl-hnk/index.html
2019-06-12 06:56:00Z
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Selasa, 11 Juni 2019
Ivan Golunov arrest: Russian reporter to go free after public outcry - BBC News
Russia has dropped all charges against an investigative reporter accused of drug dealing, after a massive public outcry over the case.
In a rare public show of support, Russian newspapers rallied around freelancer Ivan Golunov.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev admitted on Tuesday that Mr Golunov's guilt had "not been proven".
An internal inquiry was underway and the two arresting officers had been suspended, Mr Kolokoltsev said.
The decision came after "forensic, biological, fingerprinting and genetic tests," the interior minister added.
"He will be released from house arrest today, the charges have been dropped," he said.
Mr Golunov, 36, is a freelance journalist who had been working for the Latvia-based news website Meduza, among others. He was on his way to meet another journalist last week when he was stopped and searched by police officers.
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Officers said they had discovered the drug mephedrone in his bag and more drugs and weighing scales in a search of his home. Reports said he was beaten during his arrest.
Mr Golunov's lawyers and press freedom activists said that the drugs were planted in order to silence the investigative journalist. Much of Russia's media is controlled by the state and Russia is ranked 83rd out of 100 countries for press freedom by Freedom House.
Mr Kolokoltsev said he would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismiss two high-ranking officials over the case: the head of the Interior Affairs Directorate of Moscow's Western Administrative District, Gen Puchkov, and the head of the Drugs Control Directorate, General Devyatkin.
A file on the case had been sent to criminal investigators, Mr Kolokoltsev said. It would be up to them "check the legality of actions by officers directly involved in the detention of this citizen", he added.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48600233
2019-06-11 15:00:00Z
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Hong Kong braces for more protests over proposed extradition law - NBC News
Hong Kong was bracing for more demonstrations and strikes Tuesday night over plans for a law that would allow extraditions to mainland China.
The planned protests come three days after as many as 1 million people took to the streets against the bill.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. It has since been governed as a semi-autonomous region under the principle of "one country, two systems." In theory this should allow Hong Kong to retain its own economic and administrative system, free from interference by Beijing until 2047.
Backers say the proposed extradition law is needed to stop Hong Kong becoming a haven for fugitives. But some critics feel it is the latest step in China seeking to erode Hong Kong's freedoms.
June 11, 201901:03
What is the new law?
Hong Kong does not currently have an agreement to extradite suspected criminals to China. The "Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019" would change that.
The bill was prompted after a man in Hong Kong was accused of murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan but could not be extradited because there was no legal framework in place.
"It is a very important objective and the city's commitment to the global community to ensure that Hong Kong does not become a haven for fugitives," a statement from the Hong Kong government said Monday.
Beijing supports the new legislation but Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, who is appointed by committee and approved by China, says she has received no instruction from the government in Beijing.
"We are still doing it out of our clear conscience and our commitment to Hong Kong. We want Hong Kong to fare well," she said.
Lam has attempted to calm any fears by introducing what she says are several safeguards to the bill.
These include the government having final say on any extradition request, even if it's approved by the courts, as well as guaranteeing certain human-rights protections mirroring standards set by the United Nations.
"We will only surrender a fugitive requested by a requesting party when these guarantees are being fully met," the chief executive said.
Why are some people opposed to it?
Some critics see the law as the latest example of Hong Kong, a relatively untrammeled financial hub, being drawn under the influence of an increasingly authoritarian China.
They believe it will increase the risk of Hong Kongers who are critical of the mainland being sucked into a system that cracks down on dissent with impunity.
Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, China has engaged in "increasing repression" of its people, including systematic abuses against minorities, arbitrary detentions of human-rights defenders, and the development of the world's largest mass-surveillance program, Human Rights Watch said.
June 4, 201907:51
In 2014 the so-called Umbrella Revolution saw months of protests by people demanding universal suffrage, and a year later tensions intensified after several booksellers who had been critical of Beijing vanished and resurfaced in custody on the mainland.
"The proposed changes to the extradition laws will put anyone in Hong Kong doing work related to the mainland at risk," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. "No one will be safe, including activists, human rights lawyers, journalists, and social workers."
Tim Summers, a senior consulting fellow at the London think tank Chatham House, believes it is debatable the degree to which the new law is a sign of Beijing's meddling.
But nevertheless he says the protests are a sign of how emotive the issue has become for many in this city. There are also more legitimate concerns, he adds, about how the bill is being rushed through the legislature.
"There is an emotional sense that this is a fundamental threat to Hong Kong's way of life," said Summers, who's based in the city. "When you have hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, that's a pretty good statement of how Hong Kong politics feels very different to anywhere else in China."
What's happening with the protests?
On Sunday, as many as 1 million people took to the streets to protest the new law. If this estimate by organizers is correct, it would represent one-seventh of the city's population.
It was the biggest demonstration at least since Chinese rule resumed 22 years ago.
It was largely peaceful but there was a minority involved in "running battles" with police outside the city's legislative and administrative headquarters, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.
Video showed demonstrators dismantling metal fences, and officers responding with pepper spray. Several police and demonstrators were injured.
Because Hong Kong residents cannot elect their leader — Lam was appointed by 1,200 representatives and approved by Beijing — many see protest as the main way of making their voices heard.
Despite the widespread display of unease, however, there appears to be little sign of the bill being changed or postponed. It will debated by lawmakers Wednesday and likely passed at some point during the summer.
In response, an online petition has called for 50,000 people to surround the legislature building at 10 p.m. Tuesday and remain there until Wednesday.
Thousands of businesses and teachers look set to strike Wednesday and perhaps even for the rest of the week.
The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong also called on the government not to pass the bill "hurriedly" and urged all Christians to pray for the former colony.
Reuters contributed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-braces-more-protests-over-proposed-extradition-law-n1016156
2019-06-11 13:58:00Z
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Was North Korean leader Kim's slain half brother a CIA source? - USA TODAY
Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korea’s leader who was murdered in a Malaysia airport two years ago, was a Central Intelligence Agency source who met on several occasions with agency operatives, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Journal, citing a "person knowledgeable about the matter," said Kim Jong Nam met with CIA agents on multiple occasions and also likely had a relationship with Chinese intelligence officials.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service and Unification Ministry said Tuesday it could not confirm the report. The CIA declined to comment on the matter when contacted by USA TODAY.
The Journal said Kim Jong Nam had traveled to Malaysia in February 2017 to meet his CIA contact. He was walking through the airport in Kuala Lumpur when he was attacked by two women who smeared VX nerve gas on his face.
The women were accused of colluding with a group of North Korean men who slipped out of Malaysia during the investigation. Charges ultimately were dropped against the women, who told authorities they were paid for what they believed was a stunt for a TV show.
U.S. and South Korean authorities have blamed North Korea for the murder, but Malaysia never made a formal finding on the matter.
Kim Jong Nam was the oldest son of Kim Jong Il, the despot leader of North Korea for 17 years until his death in 2011. Kim Jong Nam at one time was considered his father's likely successor before falling out of favor. In recent years he had developed a reputation for living a playboy lifestyle.
Reports of assassinations and purges are not uncommon in North Korea. Five officials were reportedly executed last month for their rolls in a failed summit between North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump. Days later, however, senior official Kim Hyok Chol was shown in state media sitting near Kim at a concert.
Contributing: The Associated Press
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/11/kim-brother-north-korean-leaders-slain-brother-cia-operative/1417153001/
2019-06-11 13:30:00Z
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Hong Kong Braces for More Extradition Protests - The New York Times
HONG KONG — Protesters in Hong Kong, angered by the government’s refusal to back down on a contentious bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China, are preparing more actions this week as lawmakers resume debate on the legislation and accelerate the final vote.
Lawmakers are likely to vote on the bill by the end of next week, the head of Hong Kong’s legislature said, despite mass protests over the weekend opposing the legislation and demanding that it be delayed.
The decision, announced Tuesday by the president of the Legislative Council, Andrew Leung, was set to further inflame tensions in Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese territory, after hundreds of thousands of people turned out on Sunday for one of the largest protests in the city’s recent history.
The demonstration on Sunday was largely peaceful, though some protesters clashed with police officers in the early hours of Monday. On Tuesday, the city’s police force said the public should express their demands peacefully, and The South China Morning Post, a local newspaper, reported that thousands of additional officers had been mobilized.
At a briefing with reporters, police officials said they were prepared to deal with unrest. “The force will not tolerate any kind of violence or the incitement of the use of violence,” said Kong Wing-cheung, a police spokesman.
[Why are people protesting in Hong Kong? Catch up here.]
Mr. Leung, the president of the legislature, said he expected the bill to go to a vote on June 20 after a total of more than 60 hours of debate, adding that “the case is pressing and has to be handled as soon as possible.” The measure is likely to pass in the local legislature, where pro-Beijing lawmakers hold 43 of 70 seats.
Opposition lawmakers had expected the vote to take place around the end of the month, based on a regular schedule of meetings. Mr. Leung’s decision to add more sessions in the coming days in order to bring the date of the vote forward quickly drew criticism.
Billy Li, a barrister and representative of the Progressive Lawyers Group, said he was angered by the decision to accelerate the vote after what he described as a record-breaking demonstration on Sunday.
“The Legislative Council, as a body that regulates the government, not only failed to respond to the dissenting voices of the people but rather accelerated the situation,” Mr. Li said. “It is not willing to allow the people to understand the case but is hastily forcing the public to accept it.”
The demonstrations on Wednesday were expected to be smaller than the march held on Sunday, in which up to a million people, or one-seventh of the territory’s population, paraded through the city in an overwhelmingly peaceful protest.
By Tuesday afternoon, various labor groups, businesses and student organizations across the city had announced plans to demonstrate their opposition to the extradition bill. Small businesses, including restaurants and bookstores, said they would close their doors; high school students and as many as 4,000 of their teachers planned a walkout; and a union for bus drivers urged members to drive well below the speed limit.
The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong called the situation “extremely turbulent” and urged the government not to hurriedly pass the extradition bill “before adequately addressing the queries and worries of the legal sector and of the general public.”
An online petition called for 50,000 people to protest outside the Legislative Council on Wednesday, as the legislature prepared for its second debate on the proposed law. On Tuesday, the council said it would restrict access to a nearby area that is typically reserved for demonstrations.
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said on Monday that she had no intention of withdrawing the extradition bill despite the public outrage.
“We were doing it, and we are still doing it, out of our clear conscience, and our commitment to Hong Kong,” Ms. Lam told reporters.
The bill that has led to the protests would allow Hong Kong to detain and transfer people wanted in countries and territories with which it has no formal extradition agreements, including Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.
Ms. Lam has said the new law is urgently needed to prosecute a Hong Kong man who is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend. But the authorities in Taiwan, a self-governed island claimed by Beijing, say they would not agree to the extradition arrangement because it would treat Taiwan as part of China.
Critics contend that the law would allow virtually anyone in the city to be picked up and detained in mainland China, where judges must follow the orders of the ruling Communist Party. They fear the new law would target not just criminal suspects but political activists as well.
Willy Lam, an expert on Chinese politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the decision to accelerate the vote was probably made in the hope that it would bring a quick resolution and prevent public anger from building further.
“The government has good reason to hurry through the legislation in as short a time as possible,” Mr. Lam said. Otherwise, it could face larger groups of residents united by their opposition to the bill, “by which time things might get out of control.”
But the Hong Kong government’s refusal to back down on the legislation or delay deliberations will hurt its credibility in the long term, Mr. Lam said. “It will demonstrate that the administration is out of tune with public opinion.”
Katherine Li contributed reporting.
Follow Tiffany May on Twitter: @nytmay.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/world/asia/hong-kong-protests-extradition.html
2019-06-11 12:10:09Z
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