No jury as Hong Kong's first 'national security' trial gets under way - CNA

HONG KONG: The first trial under Hong Kong's new national security law begins on Wednesday (Jun 23) without a jury, a landmark moment for the financial hub's fast-changing legal traditions.

Tong Ying-kit, 24, was arrested under the new law the day after it came into effect when he allegedly drove his motorbike into a group of police officers during protests on Jul 1 last year.

Footage showed his motorbike was flying a flag that read "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times", a popular protest slogan now deemed illegal under the security law.

Tong faces charges of inciting secession and terrorism, as well as an alternative charge of dangerous driving.

Two courts rejected Tong's plea to have his case heard by a jury, which his legal team had argued was a constitutional right given that he faces a life sentence if convicted.

Trial by jury has been a cornerstone of Hong Kong's 176-year-old common law system and is described by the city's judiciary on its website as one of the legal system's "most important features".

But the national security law, which was penned in Beijing and imposed on Hong Kong last year after huge and often violent democracy protests, allows for cases to be tried by three specially selected judges.

READ: Hong Kong seeking closer integration with mainland China: Chief Executive Lam

The city's justice secretary invoked the no jury clause for Tong's trial arguing that juror safety could be compromised in Hong Kong's febrile political landscape, a decision first revealed by AFP.

Tong's legal team has yet to decide whether to bring their case to Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal.

However, the wording of Beijing's security law makes clear that it trumps any local regulations in the event of a dispute, something successive court rulings have already upheld.

Tong's case is unusual because he is the only Hong Konger so far charged under the security law with an explicitly violent act.

More than 60 people have now been charged under the provision, including some of the city's best-known democracy activists, but their offences are related to political views or speech that authorities have declared illegal.

READ: Hong Kong leader says press must not 'subvert' government

READ: Crackdown brings resignations at Hong Kong pro-democracy paper Apple Daily

Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have hailed the security law as successfully restoring stability after the demonstrations that convulsed the finance hub in 2019.

But it has also transformed the city's political and legal landscape - which was historically firewalled from the authoritarian mainland.

The law also grants China jurisdiction over some cases and empowers mainland security agents to operate openly in the semi-autonomous city for the first time.

Critics, including many western nations, say China has broken its "One country, two systems" promise that Hong Kong could maintain key freedoms after its handover from Britain.

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2021-06-22 22:52:30Z
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Grave concerns raised about China at UN rights council - CNA

GENEVA: More than 40 countries led by Canada voiced grave concerns at the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday (Jun 22) about China's actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet - triggering a fierce backlash from Beijing.

The widely anticipated joint statement had been in the pipeline for several days and was delivered on day two of the 47th session of the council in Geneva.

"We are gravely concerned about the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," Canada's ambassador Leslie Norton said.

The statement was backed by Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States, among others.

Beijing must allow UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet and other independent observers "immediate, meaningful and unfettered access" to Xinjiang, and end the "arbitrary detention" of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, it said.

"Credible reports indicate that over a million people have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang and that there is widespread surveillance disproportionately targeting Uyghurs and members of other minorities and restrictions on fundamental freedoms and Uyghur culture," it said.

READ: World in worst 'cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes': UN

READ: Germany must confront China on human rights despite trade, says industry group

The statement cited reports of torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment, forced sterilisation, sexual and gender-based violence, and forced separation of children from their parents.

The number of signatories is an increase from the 22 ambassadors who wrote to Bachelet in 2019 condemning China's treatment of the Uyghurs.

China denies mistreating the Uyghurs, once a clear majority in their ancestral homeland until the state helped waves of ethnic Han Chinese migrate there. Beijing insists it is simply running vocational training centres designed to counter extremism.

Bachelet told the council on Monday she hoped at last to visit Xinjiang this year and be given "meaningful access".

Tuesday's statement was bound to further enrage Beijing, which decries what it says is the interference by foreign powers in its internal affairs.

The joint declaration also expressed concern over the deterioration of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong and the human rights situation in Tibet.

The move came after US President Joe Biden's first foreign trip, in which he garnered G7 and NATO unity in pushing back against Beijing, with Washington identifying China as the pre-eminent global challenge.

The statement "sends a crucial message to China's authorities that they are not above international scrutiny", said Agnes Callamard, head of the rights group Amnesty International.

But countries "must now move beyond handwringing and take real action", she added.

READ: Biden urges G7 leaders to call out and compete with China

CHINA'S COUNTER ATTACK

Aware that the statement was coming, China had responded before it was even delivered.

Beijing's representative read out a statement on behalf of a group of countries "deeply concerned about serious human rights violations against the indigenous people in Canada".

Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Venezuela were among the co-signatories, according to the United Nations.

"Historically, Canada robbed the indigenous people of their land, killed them, and eradicated their culture," the statement said.

It referenced the recent discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school in western Canada - one of many boarding schools set up a century ago to forcibly assimilate Canada's indigenous peoples.

"We call for a thorough and impartial investigation into all cases where crimes were committed against the indigenous people, especially children," the statement said.

The representative of Belarus read another joint statement on behalf of 64 countries, supporting China and stressing that Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet were Chinese internal affairs.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada had acknowledged and was seeking to make amends for wronging its indigenous peoples.

"In Canada, we had a truth and reconciliation commission," he told journalists. "Where is China's truth and reconciliation commission. Where is their truth?

"The journey of reconciliation is a long one, but it is a journey we are on," he said. "China is not recognising even that there is a problem.

"That is a pretty fundamental difference and that is why Canadians and people from around the world are speaking up for people like the Uyghurs who find themselves voiceless, faced with a government that will not recognise what's happening to them."

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2021-06-22 17:26:15Z
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Thailand greenlights quarantine-free travel model for Phuket - CNA

BANGKOK: Thai authorities on Tuesday (Jun 22) greenlighted a pilot model for quarantine-free travel to ultra-popular beach destination Phuket, a first step towards the tourist-hungry kingdom's goal of resuscitating its pandemic-battered economy.

Thailand has imposed strict restrictions on visitor arrivals in order to stem COVID-19 infections, but discouraging visitors has led to its economy recording its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

The hugely important tourism industry has been on tenterhooks since March, when the government floated the so-called "Phuket Sandbox" scheme, which would have allowed vaccinated tourists to enter the country without undergoing the usual two weeks of quarantine.

But after a third wave of COVID-19 infections engulfed the country in April, the scheme appeared to be on the back burner, thanks to muddy messaging from authorities.

Tourism officials and members of Thailand's COVID-19 task force announced last Friday that the sandbox scheme was set to begin on Jul 1.

On Tuesday - eight days before its launch - government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had officially given the scheme its blessing.

READ: Thai tourism set for sluggish reboot as Phuket stutters on 'sandbox'

READ: Thailand plans to reopen to international tourists in 120 days, says PM Prayut

If the sandbox scheme goes smoothly, authorities plan to replicate it in destinations like Krabi and Koh Samui.

But tricky caveats to ensure the sandbox goes ahead without any disruptions include keeping infection rates low - in Phuket the number of weekly COVID-19 cases cannot exceed 90.

"As of today, the number of (infection cases) in Phuket can still ensure that the Phuket sandbox scheme will go on," said COVID-19 task force spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin on Tuesday.

Thailand's tentpole tourism industry previously made up almost 20 per cent of its national income.

Its losses have reverberated through other sectors including restaurants, transportation and the service industry.

Prime Minister Prayut has come under vociferous criticism for his handling of the pandemic - from the start-stop process in instating restrictions and the lack of state support for impacted sectors to the procurement of vaccines.

The prime minister announced last week that he plans for Thailand to fully reopen to foreign visitors by October - a vow that would require his administration to hit the target of innoculating 50 million Thais in four months, he said.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments

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2021-06-22 11:14:30Z
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Will travellers vaccinated with Sinovac's shot get quarantine-free travel to China? | THE BIG STORY - The Straits Times

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2021-06-22 09:53:42Z
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Crackdown brings resignations at Hong Kong pro-democracy paper Apple Daily - CNA

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's embattled pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily has been hit by a wave of resignations as authorities push to silence the outspoken tabloid and staff mull whether to leave or stay until the bitter end.

On late Monday (Jun 21) afternoon, Apple Daily's 1,000-odd staff got the news they had long expected given Hong Kong's hardening political climate: The 26-year-old paper was on its last legs.

The board had met that day and announced the paper was almost certainly going to close unless they found a way to unfreeze its assets, with a final decision to be made on Friday.

READ: Hong Kong pro-democracy paper Apple Daily to decide closure on Friday

Section heads then gathered staff and told them they could decide whether to resign immediately or stay until the final day - whenever that might be - according to three employees who were present.

"I hastily decided to hand in my resignation letter after my team meeting," a reporter who asked just to use the name Joanne, told AFP.

"I believe the risk of being arrested is real ... I do not want to see anyone else being rounded up anymore," she added.

Apple Daily has long been a thorn in Beijing's side, with unapologetic support for the city's pro-democracy movement and caustic criticism of China's authoritarian leaders.

Those same leaders have made no secret of their desire to see the paper shuttered.

Its owner Jimmy Lai is in jail, among the first to be charged under a new national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong last year to root out dissent after the financial hub was rocked by huge and often violent protests in 2019.

ASSET FREEZE

Then came last week's hammer blow - the charging of two more executives under the powerful security law and the freezing of Apple Daily's assets by the city's security chief.

Apple Daily's editor-in-chief Ryan Law was one of two executives arrested last week under a powerful new security law. (Photo: AFP/Anthony WALLACE)

READ: Hong Kong police raid newspaper Apple Daily, arrest 5 including editor-in-chief

The latter left the paper unable to pay staff, vendors and suppliers. Advertisers and supporters who tried to deposit money into its accounts were unable to do so.

Authorities say the police action was sparked by articles over the last year that allegedly supported the imposition of sanctions on China and Hong Kong.

Lai, the paper's editor Ryan Law, and its CEO Cheung Kim-hung have been charged with colluding with foreign forces to undermine China's national security. They face up to life in prison if convicted.

Authorities reject suggestions that the prosecution is an assault on press freedoms. They have not identified which articles were illegal but say the paper's content pointed to a "conspiracy".

READ: Hong Kong leader says press must not 'subvert' government

It is not clear how many Apple Daily staff have resigned but several were filmed carrying boxes out of the paper's headquarters on Monday evening and the departures have already impacted the paper's coverage.

A security guard uses a lift in the Apple Daily headquarters at the printing house in Hong Kong on Jun 17, 2021. (Photo: AP/Kin Cheung)

On Monday night, the anchor of a half-hour daily evening news show broadcast online announced she was hosting her final episode.

"Take care Hong Kongers," Tse Hing-yee said in her swansong broadcast. "We will meet again, should fate allow."

The paper's financial news desk and its English edition have also announced they have ceased publishing.

Another reporter who only gave her first name, Peggy, said colleagues spent Monday afternoon bidding farewell to those who had decided to leave, and taking group photos.

"It felt like a graduation ceremony, but there was the constant sound of someone crying," she told AFP, adding she had quit and lined up a job in another industry.

The office of Chan Pui-man, associate publisher of Apple Daily newspaper, is seen at the Apple Daily headquarters in Hong Kong, Jun 17, 2021. (Photo: AP/Kin Cheung)

"NO SHAME"

"I will stay till the last," Kitty, a third reporter, told AFP. "The risk of staying for a few more days is nothing more than the risk of staying here for the past year."

All three spoke of the pride they felt working for the paper.

But Joanne said she felt local reporters were no longer allowed to do their job unimpeded.

"Is it allowed or not in today's Hong Kong for me to say something I truly believe in and I have facts to support?" she asked rhetorically.

Kitty, 40, said she has yet to decide whether to remain in the industry.

"Even when I find a new job in a different newspaper, I suppose the newsroom will be much more cautious," she said, referring to the self-censorship that has crept into the local media scene in recent years.

Peggy said she had no regrets about the three years she spent working for the paper.

"It's my honour to be an Apple Daily reporter when Hong Kong's situation went through such a crazy period," she said.

"Everything I did here brought no shame upon myself or Hong Kong's people."

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2021-06-22 08:06:06Z
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'World's happiest country' seeks migrants - CNA

HELSINKI: Repeatedly dubbed the happiest nation on the planet with world-beating living standards, Finland should be deluged by people wanting to relocate, but in fact it faces an acute workforce shortage.

"It's now widely acknowledged that we need a spectacular number of people to come to the country," recruiter Saku Tihverainen from agency Talented Solutions told AFP.

Workers are needed "to help cover the cost of the greying generation", the recruiter explained.

While many Western countries are battling weak population growth, few are feeling the effects as sharply as Finland.

With 39.2 over-65s per 100 working-age people, it is second only to Japan in the extent of its ageing population, according to the UN, which forecasts that by 2030 the "old age dependency ratio" will rise to 47.5.

The government has warned that the nation of 5.5 million needs to practically double immigration levels to 20,000-30,000 a year to maintain public services and plug a looming pensions deficit.

Finland might seem like an attractive destination on paper, scoring high in international comparisons for quality of life, freedom and gender equality, with little corruption, crime and pollution.

But anti-immigrant sentiment and a reluctance to employ outsiders are also widespread in Western Europe's most homogenous society, and the opposition far-right Finns Party regularly draws substantial support during elections.

TIPPING POINT

After years of inertia, businesses and government "are now at the tipping point and are recognising the problem" posed by a greying population, said Charles Mathies, a research fellow at the Academy of Finland.

Mathies is one of the experts consulted by the government's "Talent Boost" programme, now in its fourth year, which aims to make the country more attractive internationally, in part through local recruitment schemes.

Those targeted include health workers from Spain, metalworkers from Slovakia, and IT and maritime experts from Russia, India and Southeast Asia.

But previous such efforts have petered out.

In 2013, five of the eight Spanish nurses recruited to the western town of Vaasa left after a few months, citing Finland's exorbitant prices, cold weather and notoriously complex language.

Finland has nonetheless seen net immigration for much of the last decade, with around 15,000 more people arriving than leaving in 2019.

But many of those quitting the country are higher-educated people, official statistics show.

Faced with the OECD's largest skilled worker shortage, some Finnish startups are creating a joint careers site to better bag overseas talent.

"As you can imagine, this is a slow burner," Shaun Rudden from food delivery firm Wolt said in an email, adding that "We try to make the relocation process as painless as possible."

SYSTEMIC PROBLEM

Startups "have told me that they can get anyone in the world to come and work for them in Helsinki, as long as he or she is single", the capital's mayor, Jan Vapaavuori, said to AFP.

But "their spouses still have huge problems getting a decent job".

Many foreigners complain of a widespread reluctance to recognise overseas experience or qualifications, as well as prejudice against non-Finnish applicants.

Ahmed (who requested his name be changed for professional reasons) is a 42-year-old Brit with many years' experience in building digital products for multinational, household-name companies.

Yet six months of networking and applying for jobs in Helsinki, where he was trying to move for family reasons, proved fruitless.

"One recruiter even refused to shake my hand, that was a standout moment," he told AFP.

"There was never a shortage of jobs going, just a shortage of mindset," said Ahmed, who during his search in Finland received offers from major companies in Norway, Qatar, the UK and Germany, and eventually began commuting weekly from Helsinki to Dusseldorf.

Recruiter Saku Tihverainen said shortages are pushing more companies to loosen their insistence on only employing native Finnish workers.

"And yet, a lot of the Finnish companies and organisations are very adamant about using Finnish, and very fluent Finnish at that," he said.

CHANGING PRIORITIES

For Helsinki mayor Jan Vaaavuori, four years of Finland being voted the world's happiest country in a UN ranking have "not yet helped as much as we could have hoped".

"If you stop someone in the street in Paris or London or Rome or New York, I still don't think most people know about us," he mused.

Mayor Vapaavuori, whose four-year term ends this summer, has turned increasingly to international PR firms to help raise the city's profile.

He is optimistic about Finland's ability to attract talent from Asia in future, and believes people's priorities will have changed once international mobility ramps up again post-coronavirus.

Helsinki's strengths, being "safe, functional, reliable, predictable - those values have gained in importance", he said, adding: "Actually I think our position after the pandemic is better than it was before."

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2021-06-22 07:36:50Z
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Elephant breaks into house in Thailand searching for food - CNA

BANGKOK: An elephant broke into a house in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin in the early hours of Sunday (Jun 20), using its trunk to search for food through a hole in the kitchen wall.

Resident Ratchadawan Puengprasopporn said her family was asleep when she heard noises coming from the kitchen.

When she and her husband went to investigate, they saw the elephant poking its head into the kitchen, rummaging through the shelves and eating a plastic bag containing food.

This was not the first time Boonmee, a wild male elephant known among residents and park officials as a frequent visitor to the village, has intruded the house.

Local authorities and national parks officials visited Ratchadawan’s family the following day and advised them to remove food, especially salty items.

Pattarapol Maneeon, a veterinarian from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, said it is possible that there is not enough salty food in the wild during the rainy season, forcing elephants to look for salt in local villages.

"Inside the house, we still have bags of salt, sauces, fermented fish,” he said, adding that these could attract elephants into returning.

“For now, we need to clear out these items that could draw them back."

Authorities have promised to repair Ratchadawan's house following the incident, while artificial salt licks will be provided in the forest for elephants.

According to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, there are an estimated 3,000 wild elephants in the country.

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2021-06-22 04:05:22Z
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