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Jumat, 12 Juni 2020

Hong Kong government rejects UK criticism of new security law as biased - CNA

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong government hit back on Friday (Jun 12) at a report by Britain criticising Beijing's move to impose national security legislation on the global financial hub, saying the report was "inaccurate and biased".

The British government said the proposed security law was a clear violation of China's international obligations and a breach of the "one country, two systems" formula that has governed the former British colony since its handover to Chinese rule in 1997.

READ: Hong Kong security law like 'anti-virus software': Beijing official

READ: Hong Kong police arrest 53 during fresh protests, more rallies planned

"There is still time for China to reconsider, to step back from the brink and respect Hong Kong’s autonomy and respect its own international obligations," British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab wrote in the foreword to his government's six-monthly report on Hong Kong.

Raab said a solution to the unrest fomented by a year of frequently violent rallies in the city "must come from Hong Kong, and cannot be imposed from mainland China".

However, the Hong Kong government said it firmly opposed the report's "inaccurate and biased remarks on the national security law and the high degree of autonomy enjoyed by (Hong Kong)".

Authorities in both Hong Kong and Beijing have insisted the security legislation will focus on small numbers of "troublemakers" who pose a threat to national security and will not curb freedoms or hurt investors.

"Any allegation that the law will undermine Hong Kong people's freedoms and 'one country, two systems' is no more than alarmist speculation and simply fallacious," the Hong Kong government said in a statement.

READ: Hong Kong protesters gather to mark 'million-people' march anniversary

READ: Hong Kong leader says city cannot tolerate any more 'chaos'

Legislating on national security was within the purview of Beijing, it added, and the law would help better protect the rights of Hong Kong people while restoring stability in the financial centre.

The exchange over the security legislation, which is expected to be implemented by September, came as Hong Kong marked the anniversary of a major demonstration that saw a turning point in the city's protest movement.

On Jun 12 last year, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as protesters rallied in the heart of the business district against a proposed Bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

While the Bill was withdrawn in September, the protest movement evolved into broader appeals for democracy in the city amid fears Beijing was reneging on its pledge to give Hong Kongers freedoms not enjoyed in the mainland.

Protests are planned in the city on Friday night.

Britain has been joined by the United States, Australia and Canada in criticising the proposed security laws.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week singled out HSBC as one of the major companies back the law, saying such "corporate kowtows" got little in return from Beijing and criticising the Chinese Communist Party's "coercive bullying tactics".

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin went a step further on Thursday, saying he was working on various capital markets responses to the security law, including some measures that could restrict capital flows through the territory.

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2020-06-12 04:44:35Z
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US lawmakers ask Zoom to clarify China ties after it suspends accounts - CNA

SHANGHAI: Three U.S. lawmakers asked Zoom Video Communications Inc to clarify its data-collection practices and relationship with the Chinese government after the firm said it had suspended user accounts to meet demands from Beijing.

The California-based firm has come under heavy scrutiny after three U.S. and Hong Kong-based activists said their accounts had been suspended and meetings disrupted after they tried to hold events related to the anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Zoom said on Friday it was notified of the events and asked to take action by the Chinese government in May and early June. It said it has now reinstated these accounts and will not allow further requests from China to affect users outside the country.

"We did not provide any user information or meeting content to the Chinese government," Zoom said in a statement. "We do not have a backdoor that allows someone to enter a meeting without being visible."

The online meeting platform, which has surged in popularity as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions around the world indoors, has seen its downloads soar in China.

The service is not blocked in China, unlike many Western platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, which abandoned efforts to crack China's market years ago due to government demands to censor and monitor content. Twitter on Thursday said it had removed accounts tied to a Beijing-backed influence operation.

Representatives Greg Walden, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the ranking member of a consumer subcommittee, sent a letter to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan on Thursday asking him to clarify the company's data practices, whether any was shared with Beijing and whether it encrypted users' communications.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley also wrote to Yuan asking him to "pick a side" between the United States and China.

The three politicians have previously expressed concerns about TikTok's owner, Chinese firm ByteDance, which is being scrutinized by U.S. regulators over the personal data the short video app handles.

"We appreciate the outreach we have received from various elected officials and look forward to engaging with them," a Zoom spokesman said.

China's internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment from Reuters.

SEPARATE CHINA FROM THE WORLD

Wang Dan, a U.S.-based dissident and exiled student leader of the crushed 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, had his Zoom account suspended. He said he was shocked to hear Zoom acknowledge it had interrupted meetings he was participating in. His June 3 event with about 200 participants was deactivated midstream, he said.

"Zoom compiled with China's request, preventing us from going about our lives smoothly," Wang said in an email to Reuters. "It cannot get away with just a statement. We shall continue to use legal means and public opinion to ask Zoom to take responsibility for its mistake."

The company said it is now developing technology to enable it to remove or block participants based on geography, allowing it to comply with requests from local authorities. It said it would publish an updated global policy on June 30.

U.S.-based Humanitarian China founder Zhou Fengsuo said he welcomed Zoom's acknowledgement of the suspensions but told Reuters it was unacceptable for the company "to separate China users from the rest of the world."

The company's China links have been called into question before.

Toronto-based internet watchdog Citizen Lab said in April it had found evidence some calls made in North America, as well as the encryption keys used to secure those calls, were routed through China. Zoom said it had mistakenly allowed Chinese data centres to accept calls.

Zoom says it has many research and development personnel in China. Its founder Yuan grew up and attended university in China before migrating to the United States in the mid 1990s. He is now an American citizen.

Bill Bishop, editor of the China-focused Sinocism news letter, wrote on Friday that "Zoom should no longer get the benefit of the doubt over its China-related issues and given how many people, organizations, government bodies and political campaigns now rely on its services the company must err on the side of transparency.

(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Additional reporting by Lun Tian Yew and Huizhong Wu in Beijing; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Lincoln Feast AND William Mallard)

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2020-06-12 04:42:13Z
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Fearful Hong Kongers rush to secure limited British passports - Yahoo Singapore News

China's plan to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong has many in the city considering whether to use their British National (Overseas) passports to emigrate

Shortly before Hong Kong was handed back to China, Simon Ng applied for a British National (Overseas) passport, a document he never thought he'd need. Now he is considering whether to use it to emigrate.

China's plan to impose a sweeping national security law on the city in response to huge pro-democracy protests has Ng mulling the prospect of leaving, the first time he has contemplated such action since Britain returned the former colony in 1997.

"Back then, like many of my peers, I thought China would reform and there was hope," the 52-year-old assistant professor told AFP.

"But now, this is really a dark moment, and the future is quite likely to be even worse."

BN(O) status was the product of an earlier round of similar fears.

The run up to the 1997 handover was a febrile time.

While Ng was optimistic, many other Hong Kongers worried about what rule by authoritarian communist China might mean for the city's freedoms and thriving capitalist system.

As a result Britain offered anyone born before handover the option of applying for a BN(O) passport.

The document was of limited value. It gave Hong Kongers access to British consular services overseas and permission to travel to the UK for up to six months at a time, but not to live or work there.

But it was recognition that Britain had some sort of responsibility to the people who were once its subjects.

Now the usefulness of the document could all change after China last month unveiled plans to enact a law banning acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign interference.

- 'Path to citizenship' -

Beijing says the law -- which will bypass Hong Kong's legislature -- is needed to tackle "terrorism", "separatism" and restore confidence in a city rocked by a year of unrest.

But critics fear it will bring mainland-style political oppression to a business hub supposedly guaranteed freedoms and autonomy for 50 years after its handover.

Britain views the law as a breach of that handover deal and in response has said it will look into extending the immigration rights of those with BN(O) status, including a possible "path to citizenship".

There are currently some 350,000 BN(O) passport holders -- a figure that nearly doubled in the last twelve months during as the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters raged.

But some 2.9 million people -- anyone born before 1997 -- are eligible for BN(O) status and Britain has said any citizenship plan will also include them.

The announcement has sparked fury in Beijing which has in turn accused London of breaching its handover commitments.

In recent weeks Hong Kongers have flocked to sign up, forming queues outside post offices and courier companies to send documents.

But Ng says he faces a dilemma -- neither his wife, nor their two children have BN(O) status and Britain has yet to say whether family will be included.

"I am propelled to leave but I am also helpless, like being pushed into the sea with no boat to board," Ng said.

- Youngsters keen to leave -

A recent survey of more than 800 Hong Kongers by the Chinese University found those aged between 18 and 24 reported the strongest desire to emigrate, with over 50 per cent considering it.

Yet most of those under 23-year-old, who formed the bedrock of last year's protests, are not currently eligible for BN(O) status.

Recent graduate Asuka Law, 23, was three months old at handover so is eligible for (BN(O) status. She is planning to leave as soon as October, using a scheme Britain offers people under 30 from certain countries to live and work there for two years.

She fears the right to dissent will soon disappear from Hong Kong.

"I don't think I have that much time left," Law said. "It's hard to do anything more in this city as every single objection will be met with an iron fist."

She said she wants to start a business overseas to help fellow Hong Kongers.

"Someone will have to do the job of providing a safety shelter," she said.

Law's friend Reese Tan, a 25-year old tutor, is also trying the youth scheme.

He vowed to continue his "fight for Hong Kong" overseas by joining campaigns for international support.

"I am not escaping. Hong Kong will always be my home," Tan said.

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2020-06-12 02:34:00Z
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Kamis, 11 Juni 2020

Zoom says China demanded shutting activists' accounts over Tiananmen events - South China Morning Post

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Zoom says China demanded shutting activists' accounts over Tiananmen events South China Morning Post
Zoom says China demanded shutting activists' accounts over Tiananmen events CNA
Zoom suspends account of US-based Chinese activists after Tiananmen meeting BBC News
Raising speech fears, Zoom briefly shuts account over Tiananmen Yahoo Singapore News
Zoom briefly shuts account over Tiananmen commemoration, raising fears over free speech curbs CNA
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2020-06-12 02:06:39Z
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Trump plans order on police use of force, promises better training - CNA

DALLAS: President Donald Trump on Thursday (Jun 11) announced modest plans for an executive order on policing, while making it clear he would not support sweeping proposals in response to protests against police brutality prompted by the killing of George Floyd.

Speaking at a campaign-style event at a church in Dallas, Trump said the order would advise police departments to adopt national standards for the use of force.

His administration would also support better training for police and pilot programs for social workers to work alongside law enforcement officers, he said.

But he derided the "defund the police" movement that advocates reducing budgets for police departments and funneling that money to programs for education, social welfare, housing and other community needs.

Trump repeatedly stated his support for police and said progress would not be made by labeling millions of Americans as racist.

"In recent days, there has been vigorous discussion about how to ensure fairness, equality and justice for all of our people," Trump said.

"Unfortunately, there's some trying to stoke division and to push an extreme agenda - which we won't go for - that will produce only more poverty, more crime, more suffering. This includes radical efforts to defund, dismantle and disband the police," he added.

Trump's comments were his first offering policy proposals on policing and race following the death on May 25 of Floyd, an African-American man, after a Minneapolis policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

READ: Demands for justice at funeral of George Floyd

READ: Commentary: So much wrong in US response to George Floyd protests

His death prompted a wave of protests in US cities and abroad, re-energising the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement.

Trump has drawn fire for calling on state governors to crack down on the protesters and threatening to send in the US military.

He said on Thursday that police should be able to use force but that it should be "force with compassion".

Police officers still need to "dominate the streets," he added, in reference to the recent protests, some of which included violent incidents.

Trump sought to move the focus beyond policing by saying his administration wanted to foster economic development in minority communities, address healthcare disparities by race and provide more school choice.

CONGRESSIONAL ACTION

The administration's policing proposals fall well short of those embraced by Democrats in Congress who are moving forward with reform legislation that could come to a vote by Jul 4 in the House of Representatives.

Republicans, who control the Senate, are working on a separate proposal, although its unveiling has been delayed.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows met Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier this week and said Trump wanted to overhaul policing laws sooner rather than later.

He did not identify any specific policy proposals but said Trump was willing to work with lawmakers on the issue.

Some Republicans in Congress have indicated support for certain measures proposed by Democrats, including a ban on the use of chokeholds and eliminating the legal defense of "qualified immunity", which helps officers evade civil rights lawsuits.

But it is unclear whether Democrats and Republicans will be able to overcome partisan differences to pass legislation that Trump would be willing to sign.

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2020-06-11 22:20:38Z
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Tiananmen vigil organisers, Lai face incitement charges: police source - South China Morning Post

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Tiananmen vigil organisers, Lai face incitement charges: police source South China Morning Post
UK does a U-turn on China, forced into an uneven fight The Straits Times
Only Hong Kong can solve unrest, British foreign minister says CNA
What ‘Hong Kong is not China’ really means South China Morning Post
Is national security law the right way to defuse the anger in Hong Kong? South China Morning Post
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2020-06-11 14:35:49Z
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Tiananmen vigil organisers ‘to be prosecuted for Hong Kong gathering’ - South China Morning Post

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Tiananmen vigil organisers ‘to be prosecuted for Hong Kong gathering’ South China Morning Post
China says it expressed grave concerns to Japan over Abe's Hong Kong remarks The Straits Times
Only Hong Kong can solve unrest, British foreign minister says CNA
Is national security law the right way to defuse the anger in Hong Kong? South China Morning Post
We can stand up to China by embracing Hong Kong’s talent, says STEPHEN POLLARD Express
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