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Jumat, 22 Mei 2020

Hong Kong's controversial security law: What is it and why does China want it? - CNA

HONG KONG: China's parliament has proposed introducing a new security law in Hong Kong, a move expected to fan fresh protests in the semi-autonomous financial hub.

The proposal, which has been condemned by the United States and Hong Kong pro-democracy figures as an assault on the city's freedoms, was submitted for deliberation on Friday (May 22).

WHY HAS CHINA MOVED TO IMPOSE THE LAW?

Article 23 of Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, says the city must enact national security legislation to prohibit "treason, secession, sedition (and) subversion" against the Chinese government.

Hong Kong has been trying to introduce a law for years but demonstrations that paralysed the city last year have pushed the issue up the agenda and galvanised Beijing.

READ: China law requires Hong Kong to enact national security rules as soon as possible

Last month, Beijing's top official in Hong Kong, Liaison Office director Luo Huining, said the city urgently needed a new national security law to combat violent protesters and independence advocates.

On Friday, Wang Chen, vice chairman of the National People's Congress's (NPC) Standing Committee, its actual law-making organ, warned "powerful measures" were needed to curb the city's protest movement.

HOW DO PEOPLE IN HONG KONG FEEL ABOUT IT?

Article 23 has never been implemented due to public fears it would curtail Hong Kong's cherished rights, such as freedom of expression and the press.

Those liberties are unseen on the mainland and are protected by an agreement made before Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

READ: Calls for protest march in Hong Kong as China pushes new security laws

An attempt to enact the clause in 2003 was shelved after half a million people took to the streets in protest against it. Then security chief Regina Ip had to resign following the failure.

China's move would authorise its lawmakers to circumvent Hong Kong's legislature and directly enact the legislation at a future date.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

China's legislature is expected to rubber stamp the draft resolution on Thursday, the last day of the annual parliamentary gathering, before the details are fleshed out next month at another meeting of the NPC.

Wang said the law would then be implemented locally, an unprecedented move that could spark a further wave of protests.

In a statement Friday, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam vowed to "fully cooperate" with Beijing over the law.

The Hong Kong government will "complete the legislation as soon as possible to discharge its responsibility of safeguarding national security," said Lam, who is attending the NPC.

Jimmy Sham, leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised the million-person rally that kicked off last year's unrest, appealed Friday for millions to come out on the streets once again.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR "ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS"?

Pro-democracy lawmakers have said the legislation marks the end of "One country, Two systems" - a reference to the handover agreement that has given Hong Kong a limited form of autonomy since returning from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

Even before the proposed security law, there were fears that Beijing was steadily eroding those freedoms.

READ: US warns China against 'highly destabilising' Hong Kong move

"This is the end of Hong Kong, this is the end of One Country, Two Systems, make no mistake about it," said Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok.

"They (Beijing) are now completely walking back on their obligation owed to the Hong Kong people."

Pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan warned that the legislation "makes us feel that One Country, One System has officially been implemented in Hong Kong".

MORE: Our coverage of the Hong Kong protests

Follow us on Telegram for the latest on Hong Kong: https://cna.asia/telegram

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2020-05-22 13:57:11Z
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Pakistan passenger plane with about 100 people on board crashes in Karachi residential area - CNA

KARACHI: A Pakistani passenger plane with about 100 people on board crashed into a residential area in the southern city of Karachi on Friday (May 22), killing several people on the ground.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK 8303 was close to landing when it came down on houses, sparking an explosion and sending plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen from some distance away.

At least one passenger survived the crash, spokesperson for the provincial government Abdur Rashid Channa said.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had asked about the health of banker Zafar Mahmood, who survived the crash, the spokesperson added.

Pakistan's civil aviation authority said there had been 91 passengers and eight crew on board the Airbus A320.

No survivors had been expected among those on board, the city's mayor Waseem Akhtar had told Reuters earlier on Friday afternoon.

"At the moment we have the view that there will be no survivors from the plane itself but it is not confirmed," Akhtar said by phone from the scene of the crash.

[embedded content]

Rescue workers and local residents pulled people from the debris, as firefighters tried to put out the flames.

Residents near the scene said their walls shook before a big explosion erupted as the plane slammed into their neighbourhood.

"I was coming from the mosque when I saw the plane tilting on one side. The engines' sounds were quite weird. It was so low that the walls of my house were trembling," said 14-year-old witness Hassan.

"I heard a big bang and woke up to people calling for the fire brigade," Karachi resident Mudassar Ali told AFP.

pakistan crash site — Rescue workers gather at the site after a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Karachi on May 22, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Asif Hassan)

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said the flight lost contact with air traffic control just after 2.30pm local time.

"The last we heard from the pilot was that he has some technical problem," he said in a video statement.

"He was told from the final approach that both the runways were ready where he can land, but the pilot decided that he wanted to do (a) go-round ... It is a very tragic incident."

Interior minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah said the plane developed a technical fault and that the pilot had said the aircraft lost an engine and issued a mayday call.

A senior civil aviation official told Reuters earlier that it appeared the plane was unable to open its wheels due to a technical fault prior to landing, but it was to early to determine the cause.

The jet, which tracking website FlightRadar24.com identified as a 15-year-old Airbus A320, was flying from the eastern city of Lahore to Karachi in the south. Commercial flights resumed only days ago, after planes were grounded during a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.

pakistan crash injured — Residents help injured victims after a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Karachi on May 22, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Asif Hassan)

PRIME MINISTER PROMISES INQUIRY

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was "shocked and saddened" by the crash, tweeting that he was in touch with the state airline's chief executive.

"Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased," he said.

The Pakistan military said security forces have been deployed to the area and helicopters were being used to survey the damage and help ongoing rescue operations, while offering condolences over the "loss of precious lives" in the incident.

pakistan plane crash — Policemen spray water on the part of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft after it crashed at a residential area in Karachi on May 22, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Asif Hassan)

Local TV station Geo showed crowds near the scene which appeared to be a densely populated area, and ambulances trying to make their way through.

Black smoke billowed and several cars were on fire.

"The areoplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses," witness Shakeel Ahmed said near the site, just a few kilometres short of the airport.

The disaster comes as Pakistanis across the country are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cities and villages.

Fire brigade staff try to put out fire caused by plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 22, 2020. (Photo: AP/Fareed Khan)

Pakistan has a chequered military and civilian aviation safety record, with frequent plane and helicopter crashes over the years.

In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while flying from the remote northern to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.

The deadliest air disaster on Pakistani soil was in 2010, when an Airbus A321 operated by private airline Airblue and flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad as it came into land, killing all 152 people on board.

An official report blamed the accident on a confused captain and a hostile cockpit atmosphere.

PIA, one of the world's leading airlines until the 1970s, now suffers from a sinking reputation due to frequent cancellations, delays and financial troubles. It has been involved in numerous controversies over the years, including the jailing of a drunk pilot in Britain in 2013.

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2020-05-22 12:59:44Z
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Pakistan passenger plane with about 100 people on board crashes in Karachi residential area - CNA

KARACHI: A Pakistani passenger plane with about 100 people on board crashed into a residential area in the southern city of Karachi on Friday (May 22), killing several people on the ground.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK 8303 was close to landing when it came down houses, sparking an explosion and sending plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen from some distance away.

No survivors are expected among those on board, the city's mayor Waseem Akhtar told Reuters.

"At the moment we have the view that there will be no survivors from the plane itself but it is not confirmed," Akhtar said by phone from the scene of the crash.

[embedded content]

Rescue workers and local residents pulled people from the debris, as firefighters tried to put out the flames.

Residents near the scene said their walls shook before a big explosion erupted as the plane slammed into their neighbourhood.

"I heard a big bang and woke up to people calling for the fire brigade," Karachi resident Mudassar Ali told AFP.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said there were 91 passengers and seven crew on board the flight, which lost contact with air traffic control just after 2.30pm local time.

"The last we heard from the pilot was that he has some technical problem," he said in a video statement.

"He was told from the final approach that both the runways were ready where he can land, but the pilot decided that he wanted to do (a) go-round ... It is a very tragic incident."

Interior minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah said the plane developed a technical fault and that the pilot had said the aircraft lost an engine and issued a mayday call.

A senior civil aviation official told Reuters earlier that it appeared the plane was unable to open its wheels due to a technical fault prior to landing, but it was to early to determine the cause.

PRIME MINISTER PROMISES INQUIRY

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was "shocked and saddened" by the crash, tweeting that he was in touch with the state airline's chief executive.

"Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased," he said.

Local TV station Geo showed crowds near the scene which appeared to be a densely populated area, and ambulances trying to make their way through.

Black smoke billowed and several cars were on fire.

"The areoplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses," witness Shakeel Ahmed said near the site, just a few kilometres short of the airport.

The disaster comes as Pakistanis across the country are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cities and villages.

Pakistan has a chequered military and civilian aviation safety record, with frequent plane and helicopter crashes over the years.

In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while flying from the remote northern to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.

An official report blamed the accident on a confused captain and a hostile cockpit atmosphere.

This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates.

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Pakistani passenger plane with about 100 people on board crashes in residential area in Karachi - CNA