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Rabu, 03 Juni 2020

US firms concerned as tensions simmer in Hong Kong over looming legislation - CNA

HONG KONG: A survey of US businesses on Wednesday (Jun 3) revealed deep fears for the future of their operations in Hong Kong if China imposes national security legislation that critics say could curb the financial centre's freedoms and fuel ongoing protests.

Contributing to simmering anti-government tensions, Hong Kong lawmakers are set to resume a debate over a controversial bill that would criminalise disrespect of China's national anthem, following scuffles in the legislature in recent weeks.

READ: Tensions simmer in Hong Kong as controversial anthem law back up for debate

An annual vigil to mark the Jun 4, 1989 anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on pro-democracy students in and around Tiananmen Square has been cancelled for the first time ever due to the coronavirus but activists still plan to rally.

Following that, demonstrations are planned to mark the anniversary of the million-people march on Jun 9 last year against a since-withdrawn mainland China extradition bill, and the protests three days later that were met by police with tear gas and rubber bullets in scenes which radicalised moderates.

The two key events turned last year's protests into a broader movement for greater democracy, plunging the Chinese-ruled city into its biggest crisis since its handover from former colonial master Britain in 1997.

Frustrated with the often-violent demonstrations, authorities in Beijing last month advanced plans to introduce national security laws in the city, sending shivers through the legal, diplomatic and business communities.

The survey conducted for the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) showed 30 per cent of respondents were "moderately" concerned and 53.3 per cent were "very concerned" about the laws, which aim to tackle secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong.

READ: US, UK raise Hong Kong at UN as pressure mounts on China

About 60 per cent thought the legislation would harm their business operations, citing concerns about ambiguity in scope and enforcement, erosion of autonomy, talent drain, Hong Kong's international status, social unrest and the independence of the justice system among others.

A third said they were considering moving capital, assets or business operations out of the semi-autonomous city, while 38 per cent said they were personally considering moving out of Hong Kong.

The survey conducted on Jun 1-2 received responses from 180 or 15 per cent of Amcham's members.

Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly said the national security laws would not affect the city's high degree of autonomy - part of the handover terms from former colonial power Britain to China in 1997 - including its common law, independent legal system.

Some companies, including HSBC Holdings, have come under pressure to support the national security law, with former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying calling out the global bank for not making its "stance" clear on the legislation.

On Wednesday, Jardines Group, one of Hong Kong's original foreign trading houses, published a full-page statement in pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao saying it was important to enact a legal framework to safeguard the city's national security.

"It can ensure that Hong Kong continues to absorb investment, increase job opportunities and guarantee people's livelihood," Jardines said in the statement.

The group's flagship company, Jardine Matheson Holdings, is listed in Singapore.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Beijing's decision would "dramatically" erode Hong Kong's autonomy and the United Kingdom was prepared to change its immigration rules to accommodate Hong Kong residents.

Even before China announced its plan for the security law, there was a surge in renewals of British National Overseas Passports by Hong Kong residents, while immigration consultants have reported a rush of inquiries from people looking to move overseas.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam accused foreign governments on Tuesday of "double standards" in their reaction to Beijing's plans. Lam was in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the legislation, which is yet to be drafted, but is expected to be implemented by September.

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2020-06-03 04:58:12Z
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Selasa, 02 Juni 2020

'I want justice': Mother of George Floyd's daughter says he was a good man, father - CNA

MINNEAPOLIS: The grieving mother of George Floyd's daughter on Tuesday (Jun 2) demanded justice for him, saying he was a good father who did not deserve to die face down on the pavement, pinned under the weight of three police officers.

With her 6-year-old daughter Gianna clinging to her, Roxie Washington told reporters she wants all four officers involved in Floyd's death to pay for the killing, which has sparked protests across the US and the world.

READ: US scrambles to stem revolt as Trump faces anger for violent crackdown

READ: 5 police officers shot during protests after Trump vows to bring in US military

"At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families," Washington said. "Gianna doesn't have a father. He will never see her grow up, graduate. He will never walk her down the aisle."

As Washington made her remarks during a brief news conference inside Minneapolis City Hall, Gianna, dressed in a white shirt, tennis shoes and light blue jeans clung to her mother, at times with a frown on her face.

"He loved her, he loved her so much," Washington said of Floyd's feelings for their daughter. "I'm here for my baby. I'm here for George because I want justice for him, and I want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good."

READ: Minneapolis cop charged with third-degree murder in George Floyd case as violent protests sweep US

Washington was flanked by family lawyers and close family friend Stephen Jackson, a former National Basketball Association player, who carried Gianna into the building.

"Why do we have to see her pain? I am here to get justice for my brother ... and somehow, god dammit, we are going to get it," Jackson said, his voice echoing through the marble and stone rotunda. "It has to stop."

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2020-06-03 03:14:33Z
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UK's Johnson offers visas for millions in Hong Kong - CNA

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday (Jun 2) he would offer millions of Hong Kongers visas and a possible route to UK citizenship if China persists with its national security law.

"Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life -- which China pledged to uphold -- is under threat," he wrote in an article for The Times newspaper and the South China Morning Post.

"If China proceeds to justify their fears, then Britain could not in good conscience shrug our shoulders and walk away; instead we will honour our obligations and provide an alternative."

READ: China's national security law on Hong Kong a breach of 'one country, two systems', says UK

About 350,000 people in Hong Kong currently hold British National (Overseas) passports, which allow visa-free access to Britain for up to six months, Johnson wrote.

Another 2.5 million people would be eligible to apply for one.

"If China imposes its national security law, the British government will change our immigration rules and allow any holder of these passports from Hong Kong to come to the UK for a renewable period of 12 months and be given further immigration rights, including the right to work, which could place them on a route to citizenship," he wrote.

The new law was brought in after a wave of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and approved by Beijing's rubber-stamp parliament as necessary to tackling "terrorism" and "separatism".

READ: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam accuses US of 'double standards' over protests

Opponents fear it will lead to political oppression in the financial hub, eroding freedoms and autonomy supposedly guaranteed in the 1997 handover from Britain to China.

Johnson said the Hong Kong law would "curtail its freedoms and dramatically erode its autonomy".

If implemented, "Britain would then have no choice but to uphold our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong", he wrote.

London has already announced plans to extend visa rights to those eligible for BN(O) passports and joined international condemnation of Beijing.

But Johnson's personal intervention significantly ups the pressure.

"I hope it will not come to this," he wrote, insisting that "Britain does not seek to prevent China's rise".

"It is precisely because we welcome China as a leading member of the world community that we expect it to abide by international agreements," he wrote.

He rejected as "false" claims that London organised the protests, adding: "Britain wants nothing more than for Hong Kong to succeed under 'one country, two systems'.

"I hope that China wants the same. Let us work together to make it so."

READ: US considers welcoming Hong Kong people, entrepreneurs: State Secretary Pompeo

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2020-06-02 23:11:46Z
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After Facebook staff walkout, Zuckerberg defends no action on Trump posts - CNA

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Tuesday (Jun 2) that he stood by his decision not to challenge inflammatory posts by US President Donald Trump, refusing to give ground a day after staff members staged a rare public protest.

A group of Facebook employees - nearly all of them working at home due to the coronavirus pandemic - walked off the job on Monday. They complained the company should have acted against Trump's posts containing the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".

Zuckerberg told employees on a video chat that Facebook had conducted a thorough review and was right to leave the posts unchallenged, a company spokesperson said.

She said Zuckerberg also acknowledged the decision had upset many employees and said the company was looking into "non-binary" options beyond either leaving up such posts or taking them down.

One Facebook employee, who tweeted criticism on Monday, posted again on Twitter during the all-hands meeting to express disappointment.

"It's crystal clear today that leadership refuses to stand with us," Facebook employee Brandon Dail wrote on Twitter. Dail's LinkedIn profile describes him as a user interface engineer at Facebook in Seattle.

READ: Commentary: Twitter may have just helped Trump get re-elected

On Friday, Twitter Inc affixed a warning label to a Trump tweet about widespread protests over the death of a black man in Minnesota that included the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".

Twitter said the post violated its rules against glorifying violence but was left up as a public interest exception, with reduced options for interactions and distribution.

Facebook declined to act on the same message, and Zuckerberg sought to distance his company from the fight between the president and Twitter. He maintained that while he found Trump's remarks "deeply offensive", they did not violate company policy against incitements to violence.

Twitter last week also put a fact-checking label on two Trump tweets containing misleading claims about mail-in ballots. Facebook, which exempts politicians' posts from its program with third-party fact-checkers, took no action on that post.

Timothy Aveni, a junior software engineer on Facebook's team dedicated to fighting misinformation, announced his resignation in protest over that decision.

"Mark always told us that he would draw the line at speech that calls for violence. He showed us on Friday that this was a lie. Facebook will keep moving the goalposts every time Trump escalates, finding excuse after excuse not to act," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Civil rights leaders who attended an hour-long video call on Monday night with Zuckerberg and other top Facebook executives called the CEO's defense of the hands-off approach to Trump's "incomprehensible."

"He did not demonstrate understanding of historic or modern-day voter suppression and he refuses to acknowledge how Facebook is facilitating Trump's call for violence against protesters," said a joint statement from leaders of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Color of Change.

Some critics posted calls on Twitter for Facebook's independent oversight board to weigh in. But the board will not review any cases until early fall, and users initially will only be able to appeal to the board about removed content, not content that Facebook has decided to leave untouched. The board, which can overrule Zuckerberg, will only review a small slice of content decisions.

Zuckerberg spoke with Trump on Friday, as first reported by news website Axios.

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2020-06-02 22:30:50Z
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China unveils plan for Hainan free trade hub as US decoupling risk grows - South China Morning Post

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China unveils plan for Hainan free trade hub as US decoupling risk grows South China Morning Post
China announces plans to further open up Hainan island CNA
Xi stresses strong public health system to safeguard people's health The Star Online
Hong Kong safe as trading hub despite plan for Hainan, experts say South China Morning Post
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2020-06-02 17:11:27Z
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5 police officers shot during protests after Trump vows to bring in US military - CNA

WASHINGTON: At least five US police officers were hit by gunfire during violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody, police and media said, hours after President Donald Trump vowed to use the military to halt the unrest.

Trump deepened outrage on Monday (Jun 1) by posing at a church clutching a bible after law enforcement officers used teargas and rubber bullets to clear the way for him to walk there after he made his remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

The US Secret Service, charged with protecting the president, on Tuesday closed down until further notice the streets around the White House, media reports said.

READ: Can Trump send the US military to quell violence at protests?

Demonstrators set fire to a strip mall in Los Angeles, looted stores in New York City and clashed with police in St Louis, Missouri, where four officers were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

An emotional St Louis police commissioner, John Hayden, said about 200 protesters were looting and hurling fireworks and rocks at officers.

"They had officers with gas poured on them. What is going on? How can this be? Mr Floyd was killed somewhere else and they are tearing up cities all across the country,” he told reporters.

Protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African American man George Floyd, in St — A protestor kicks in a window on a Sheriff van during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd, in St Louis, Missouri, U.S., June 1, 2020. Picture taken June 1,2020 REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant

A police officer was also shot during protests in the Las Vegas Strip area, AP news agency said, quoting police. Another officer was "involved in a shooting" in the same area, the agency said without giving details.

It did not give details of the shootings or the officers' condition. Police declined to comment to Reuters.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said in a tweet his office had been notified of two separate incidents in Las Vegas. "The State is in contact with local law enforcement and continues to monitor the situation," he said.

Trump has condemned the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died after a white policeman pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25, and has promised justice.

But, with anti-police brutality marches and rallies having turned violent after dark each day in the past week, he said rightful protests could not be drowned out by an "angry mob".

"Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled," Trump said. "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."

Floyd's death has reignited simmering racial tensions in a politically divided country that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with African Americans accounting for a disproportionately high number of cases.

Protesters rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Seattle — Protesters rally against police brutality and the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Seattle, Washington, U.S. June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

Democratic Illinois Governor J B Pritzker on Tuesday urged patience, saying Americans could work through these tough issues. He pledged to take legal action if Trump carried out his military threat.

"We can bring down the temperature, but not when the president ... is standing up calling for troops, and law and order, and domination," he told MSNBC. "We will fight him, and we will take it to federal court."

Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, in a separate MSNBC interview on Tuesday, said there were no signs of active duty US military in the city overnight.

CRITICISM OF CHURCH VISIT

Following his address, Trump walked through an area that had been cleared by police to nearby St John's Episcopal Church, where he posed for pictures with his daughter, Ivanka, and US Attorney General William Barr.

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church diocese in Washington DC, Michael Curry, was among those who criticised Trump's use of the historic church for a photo opportunity.

"In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes," he said on Twitter. The church suffered minor fire damage during protests on Monday night.

The White House said it was clearing the area before a curfew.

A few hours later, thousands of people marched through Brooklyn, shouting "Justice now!" while some passing drivers honked in support.

On Tuesday, Trump was scheduled to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington.

Television images showed crowds smashing windows and looting luxury stores along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan before the city's 11pm curfew. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the curfew would be moved to 8pm on Tuesday.

Two police officers were struck by a car at a demonstration in Buffalo, New York, on Monday night. Officials said the driver and passengers were believed to be in custody. It was not clear whether the incident was intentional.

In Hollywood, dozens of people were shown in television images looting a drug store. Windows were shattered at a nearby Starbucks and two restaurants.

Protesters rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in New York City — A local store is looted by protesters after a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

AUTOPSIES

A second autopsy ordered by Floyd's family and released on Monday found his death was homicide by "mechanical asphyxiation", or physical force that interfered with his oxygen supply. The report says three officers contributed to his death.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later released autopsy findings that also called Floyd's death homicide by asphyxiation. The county report said Floyd suffered cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by police and that he had arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.

Derek Chauvin, the 44-year-old Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd, was arrested on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Three other officers involved in the arrest have not been charged.

READ: Four Minneapolis policemen fired after death of unarmed black man

Floyd's death was the latest case of police brutality against black men that was caught on videotape and prompted an outcry over racism in US law enforcement.

Dozens of cities are under curfews not seen since riots after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The National Guard deployed in 23 states and Washington, DC.

Most Americans were just emerging from weeks of strict "stay-at-home" orders imposed over the pandemic.

Peaceful protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Denver — Protesters wearing protective face coverings peacefully march down Broadway from the State Capitol despite the 9 p.m. curfew in Denver, Colorado, U.S., June 1, 2020. Picture taken June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Alyson McClaran

On Monday, dozens paid their respects to Floyd outside Cup Foods, the scene of his death, leaving flowers and signs. A little girl wrote, “I’ll fight with you,” in the road.

Terrence Floyd, the victim's brother, told the gathering he wanted people to get educated and vote rather than resort to violence and destruction. "Let's do this another way," he said.

James Pool, a 31-year-old former Marine, said he hoped peaceful protests would make a difference.

"I want to see more community and this country come together and stop letting the powers that be divide us," he said.

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2020-06-02 10:31:32Z
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US considers welcoming Hong Kong people, entrepreneurs: State Secretary Pompeo - CNA

WASHINGTON: The United States is considering the option of welcoming people from Hong Kong in response to China's push to impose national security legislation in the former British colony, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in remarks released on Monday (Jun 1).

Influential Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell also said on Monday he hoped the Trump administration would soon identify specific ways to "impose costs on Beijing" for curbing freedoms in Hong Kong.

McConnell said the United States should mirror the response of other democracies and open its doors to people from the territory.

Addressing the Senate, McConnell said the United States had "a rich heritage of standing as a beacon of light" to refugees from war and communism.

"We should exercise it again for the people of Hong Kong," he said.

READ: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam accuses US of 'double standards' over protests

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered his administration to begin the process of eliminating special US treatment for Hong Kong to punish China for curbing freedoms there, but stopped short of immediately ending privileges that have helped the territory remain a global financial center.

Last week, Britain said it was prepared to offer extended visa rights and a pathway to citizenship for almost 3 million Hong Kong residents.

READ: Hong Kong sees rush to renew UK passports as fears for future grow

While speaking to the American Enterprise Institute on Friday, Pompeo was asked if Washington was considering welcoming people from Hong Kong "to come here and bring their entrepreneurial creativity".

"We are considering it. I don’t know precisely how it will play out," he replied in remarks shared by the State Department on Monday.

"The British have, as you know, a different relationship. A lot of these folks have British national passports. There’s a long history between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom; it’s very different. But we’re taking a look at it," he added.

READ: US, UK raise Hong Kong at UN as pressure mounts on China

When asked about Pompeo's comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday that China would not tolerate any foreign interference in Hong Kong.

"We wish the US would do more to benefit Hong Kong's stability and prosperity and the development of China-US relations," he said, speaking at a daily news conference in Beijing.

Last year, Trump approved legislation stating that Hong Kong residents may not be denied visas because they have been subjected to politically motivated arrest, detention, or other "adverse" government action.

On Friday, Trump also issued a proclamation suspending entry of Chinese nationals identified as potential security risks, something sources said could affect thousands.

In a statement on Monday, Pompeo said the move would apply only to graduate students and researchers "targeted, co-opted and exploited" by the Chinese government, representing "only a small subset" of such applicants.

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2020-06-02 09:37:02Z
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