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Foundation for Defense of Democracies
11/27/2024
House Select Committee Shines Light on Hong Kong's Role in Sanctions Evasion
Recent estimates from the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation suggest that nearly 40 percent of exports from Hong Kong to Russia in 2023 contained war-critical technology such as semiconductors and other high-value components for advanced weapons systems.
Financial Times
11/27/2024
Bridgewater’s Bob Prince buys $12mn home in wealthy Hong Kong enclave
Prince was speaking at a conference organised by the HKMA, the territory's de facto central bank. The two-day event took place as a Hong Kong court sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to up to 10 years in prison. The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation had called for finance leaders to withdraw from the HKMA event.
Tempi
11/20/2024
Il regime a Hong Kong condanna la democrazia a 245 anni di carcere
«Il processo è una farsa», dichiara a Tempi Mark Sabah, direttore per il Regno Unito e l’Unione Europea della fondazione Comitato per la libertà a Hong Kong. «I 45 condannati non hanno violato alcuna legge. Hanno soltanto esercitato i propri diritti garantiti dalla Costituzione: libertà di associazione e di espressione».
Fox News
11/14/2024
'Malign influence': Top Biden official faces backlash ahead of address at forum with deep ties to CCP
"Especially bad decision on the eve of the Hong Kong 47 pro democracy activists scheduled for sentencing," U.S. Director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Jonathan Stivers posted on X. "State Dept. should be sanctioning HK officials not joining their conference."
Kinamedia
10/16/2024
Reminder to Europe: Hong Kong is Not a Distant Issue
That fact puts reports such as one published by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CfHK) into perspective. The report found that Russian oligarchs and other figures were using shell companies in Hong Kong to move dual-use equipment and materials shipped to Hong Kong by Europe and America on to Russia.
Hoodline Oklahoma
10/11/2024
Oklahoma Lawmakers Focus on Strengthening State-Level Foreign Influence Laws
This alarm not only underscores a call to bolster defenses at more localized levels of governance but also resonates with the sentiment shared by Frances Hui, the first Hong Kong activist granted asylum in the U.S. and a policy advocate at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, who reminded committee members that "freedom is not free."
Voice of America
10/02/2024
Hong Kongers mourn a city that is a shell of its former self
“That’s the spirit that everyone respects,” said Frances Hui, a Washington-based policy coordinator at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. “He has the courage that a lot of us don’t, and that’s very inspiring.”
The Independent
09/30/2024
Third British judge quits top Hong Kong court amid China-imposed crackdown on dissent
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, an NGO, has previously accused the Western judges of lending “their prestige to a justice system that has been undermined and co-opted by Beijing.”
Tech Story
09/29/2024
China’s Global Disinformation Push: A Growing Concern
Shannon Van Sant, an advisor to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, exposed how some of these websites use AI-generated images and false journalist profiles. “The manipulation of media is ultimately a manipulation of readers, and this is harmful to democracy and society,” Van Sant said, underscoring the dangers of China’s growing propaganda reach.
The Washington Post
09/26/2024
For the first time, Hong Kong imprisons a journalist for sedition
“The journalism cases show something much broader: that there is no rule of law for political cases in Hong Kong anymore,” said Mark Clifford, president of the CFHK Foundation and a former director of Next Digital, which published Apple Daily, the pro-democracy newspaper similarly forced to shut down by the government.
Sp!ked
09/18/2024
The inhumanity of the CCP’s war on free speech
It means that Hongkongers who have called out the wrongdoing of the CCP and fled abroad are now at risk of arrest, trial and imprisonment if they ever set foot in Hong Kong again. Those threatened by this new legislation include courageous human-rights campaigners like Nathan Law, Finn Lau, Anna Kwok, Frances Hui, Simon Cheng and Joey Siu.
PIME Asia News
09/16/2024
Jimmy Lai’s former collaborators in Hong Kong slam BDO for complicity in abuses and violations
Mark Clifford and Gordon Crovitz, senior officials at Next Digital, filed a complaint against the global accounting firm. They allege BDO enabled rights violations by providing essential services to Hong Kong authorities.
The Times
09/11/2024
China urges US to drop threat to close Hong Kong trade offices
Jonathan Stivers, US director for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, welcomed the passage of the bill, saying the trade offices had “clearly been taking their orders from Beijing”. He added: “These offices should no longer be allowed to have separate privileges and immunities from the People’s Republic of China.”
The Interpreter
09/03/2024
Hong Kong keeps
Russia’s dark fleet afloat
Chaired by James Cunningham, the former US consul general for Hong Kong and ambassador to the United Nations, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation has considerable weight and continues to highlight civil rights abuses in the territory.
Jurist News
08/15/2024
Hong Kong’s Judiciary at a Crossroads: Jimmy Lai’s Appeal Rejection and the Future of Justice
This debate was rekindled by the recent resignations of esteemed British judges Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption after The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong’s report cited growing concerns about the erosion of legal autonomy and a shift towards authoritarian governance under the auspices of Beijing’s tightened national security law.
The Spectator
08/13/2024
Hong Kong’s justice system is an insult to democracy
The verdict and Neuberger’s role in it has come under attack from human rights activists, including the London-based committee for freedom in Hong Kong foundation campaign group (no prizes for guessing why it is based in London rather than Beijing-controlled Hong Kong). Mark Sabah, its director, did not mince his words: ‘In a word, it’s disgraceful that Lord Neuberger is even part of this. His credibility is shot.’
The Washington Post
08/05/2024
An alliance of autocracies is deepening. One city plays a central role.
In recent years, dictators in China, Iran, Russia and North Korea have strengthened trade and security ties, formalized cooperation and alliances, and worked together to expand their power from Ukraine to Taiwan. One city plays a central role in this deepening alliance of autocracies: Hong Kong.
The Register
07/23/2024
Hong Kong becomes major hub for shipping banned tech to Iran, Russia
Hong Kong's government and local businesses undermine sanctions by deliberately facilitating the transfer of restricted and sensitive technology to naughty regimes, according to a report released on Monday by the nonprofit Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.
Reuters
07/22/2024
Exclusive: Illicit chip flows to Russia seen slowing, but China, Hong Kong remain transshipment hubs
The data, outlined in a new report, opens new tab by The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK) and reviewed by Reuters, showed $750 million worth of CHPL items -- ranging from high-end chips by Nvidia and France's Vectrawave, to lower-end chips from Texas Instruments and Intel -- were shipped via Hong Kong between August and December 2023.
National Catholic Register
06/12/2024
Jimmy Lai Biographer: Trial is a ‘Sham,’ But Faith Gives Him ‘Strength’
The president of the Committee for Freedom of Hong Kong and the author of a forthcoming biography of Jimmy Lai, Mark Clifford, calls the trial of the magnate a “sham” but said the 76-year-old Lai has the “strength to persevere” due to his Catholic faith.
Asia Financial
06/11/2024
Exodus of Foreign Judges in Hong Kong Upsets City CEO
Three more senior foreign judges have stepped down from Hong Kong’s top court, the Court of Final Appeal, amid concerns over judicial independence from China. One of the three, high-profile British judge Lord Jonathan Sumption, 75, who resigned Thursday, said on Monday that judges are being compromised by an “impossible political environment created by China.”
San Diego Metro
06/08/2024
Life under U.S. asylum: One Hong Konger’s story
Today, the Hong Kong government is so concerned about Hui, it placed a $130,000 bounty on her, equivalent to about HK$1 million, for lobbying for the legislation that Trump signed. “(The bounty) is an incentive for people around the world to harass us and send us threats,” Hui said. “Even before the bounty was issued, I received death threats and harassments online.”
Nikkei Asia
06/07/2024
Hong Kong 'political situation' further shrinks top court's bench
A report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation last month, in the British House of Commons, stated that such judges "lend their prestige to a justice system that has been undermined and co-opted by Beijing in its relentless efforts to exert total control over Hong Kong."
Sp!ked
06/05/2024
China is tightening its grip on Hong Kong
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation, a human-rights charity, has stressed that both the US and UK must take decisive action to support Hong Kong’s ailing democracy movement. The CFHK’s Mark Clifford aptly terms Article 23 a ‘symbolic death blow to Hong Kong’s former freedoms’, enacted by inept politicians who are ‘more concerned with pleasing Beijing than reflecting and channelling Hong Kongers’ legitimate aspirations’.
EWTN
05/30/2024
14 Pro-Democracy Advocates Found Guilty in Hong Kong | EWTN News Nightly
Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, Frances Hui, joins to share her reaction to these convictions. Hui tells us about China's National Security Law and how it can be leveraged against those in Hong Kong. Hui explains what she thinks these convictions mean for Jimmy Lai's case.
South China Morning Post
05/24/2024
Jimmy Lai lawyer, fugitives target Hong Kong trade offices in talks with US lawmakers
Speaking at a public round table event organised by the House Select Committee on China, Frances Hui Wing-ting, Joey Siu Nam, and human rights lawyer Jonathan Price also called for the passage of other measures meant to counter alleged human rights violations by the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese governments.
Hong Kong Free Press
05/20/2024
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai’s lawyers to argue no case to answer at national security trial
Lai also discussed how Hong Kong’s protests would continue despite the security law in two episodes of “Live Chat with Jimmy Lai” from July and August 2020. In the August episode, Lai was joined by ex-Next Digital director Mark Clifford and ex-director of the American Institute in Taiwan Raymond Burghardt.
China Daily
05/17/2024
Attack on HK Judiciary demeans authors and facilitators of ‘report’
"On May 14, a farce played out in the British Parliament. The US-based Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation released a report claiming that the 10 overseas judges who serve as nonpermanent judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA) were lending legitimacy to a crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong. "
Politico
05/16/2024
Putin and Xi plot sanction resistance
The foreign judges who serve on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal should resign to avoid complicity with the territory’s erosion in rule of law in recent years, the non-profit pro-democracy advocacy group The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation argues in a position paper published Tuesday.
Nikkei Asia
05/14/2024
China blasts U.K. arrest of Hong Kong trade office manager in spy case
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation told Nikkei Asia that the charges are "only the tip of the iceberg." The advocacy group, which supports the democracy movement in Hong Kong, said the British authorities must show they are taking the issue seriously if the allegations are proven to be true, with "serious sentencing" to deter transnational repression on British soil.
The Scottish Sun
05/12/2024
'THREAT IS REAL' China ‘using university scholarships to plant spies in Scotland’
The event’s organiser was Alyssa Fong of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. She claimed that she had been targeted by people with ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while studying and working at the University of Edinburgh.
Radio Free Asia
05/02/2024
On World Press Freedom Day, journalists across Asia continue to face threats
In London and Washington, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation staged large-scale wall projections to highlight the detention in Hong Kong of Jimmy Lai, a British citizen and the founder of the Apple Daily newspaper, which was shut down in 2021.
UK Labour Party
04/24/2024
My Week In Westminster – 15-19 April, 2024
"On Thursday I met with the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. It was an informative discussion in which we covered the visa scheme which has allowed Hong Kongers to come the UK, the influence of the Chinese state in UK universities and what this means for national security, and the disgraceful incarceration of the pro-democracy campaigner, Jimmy Lai."
The Standard
03/10/2024
CFHK Foundation condemned for intimidating Chinese and Hong Kong officials
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation was strongly condemned by the government on Sunday for blatantly requesting the United States impose sanctions on the Chinese and HKSAR officials, in particular those taking part in the Article 23 legislation.
Index on Censorship
01/04/2024
Jimmy Lai’s “co-conspirators” speak out after being named in Hong Kong trial
Among Lai’s alleged co-conspirators are Bill Browder, founder of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign and Benedict Rogers, founder of Hong Kong Watch, along with James Cunningham, former US consul general in Hong Kong and chairman of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).
The Scotsman
09/26/2023
Jimmy Lai's 1,000 days in Hong Kong jail: When will Rishi Sunak stand up for unjustly detained British citizen and democracy? – Tim Loughton MP, Jim Shannon MP and Mark L Clifford
If you rewound the clock in Hong Kong back five years to 2018, business and life would have been going on as usual in one of the world’s most dynamic cities – glistening skyscrapers, dim sum on the streets, and Victoria Harbour bustling with people. Tim Loughton MP, Jim Shannon MP and Mark L Clifford discussed a changing Hong Kong in The Scotsman.
National Review
08/22/2023
Congresswoman Defies Warnings from Pro-Democracy Groups to Attend Hong Kong–Sponsored Event
The participation of Meng, who represents Queens, and Adams in the event is "shameful", Frances Hui told National Review. "It also shows the scale of the CCP's penetration into American politics."
The Idependent
05/31/2023
Why are we sitting back and watching Hong Kong turn into China?
The Independent reported on the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation’s panel discussion for World Press Freedom Day in the British Parliament, where Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, lead international lawyer for Jimmy Lai, called out how the Hong Kong authorities continue to wage “lawfare” against Mr Lai and others.
American Banker
05/15/2023
Big banks still operating in Hong Kong are playing a dangerous game
Mark Clifford authored a piece for American Banker on how the Chinese government has forced banks like HSBC, Manulife, Invesco and Fidelity to deny 90,000 Hong Kong emigrants access to their hard-earned pensions. Mr Clifford wrote, “Banks have been behaving as if their operations in Hong Kong enjoy the same protections they operate under in London or New York. They do not; in fact, they have none.”
Duncan Bartlett
11/29/24
Is the British government betraying Hong Kong?
Duncan Bartlett, Research Associate at the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, interviewed Mark Clifford regarding British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s speech on UK-China relations. Mr Clifford said, “I would hope that the remarks would hint at a tougher attitude towards protecting Hong Kongers who have immigrated to Britain and been the subject of physical and other attacks in the UK.”
Talk TV
04/28/2023
Mark Sabah Speaks About the Imprisonments of Vladimir Kara-Murza on NTD News
Mark Sabah spoke with Dr David Bull on TalkTV about British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly sanctioning Russian officials who jailed British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza. He called on James Cleverly to do the same with Hong Kong officials to hold them to account for the imprisonment of British citizen Jimmy Lai.
The Daily Express
03/26/2023
Hong Kong dissidents in security plea to Downing Street
Mark Clifford spoke with Marco Giannangeli, highlighting the need for Britain to label China a "threat". Mr Clifford said, "Downing street realises the Golden age of trade with China is over, but there is still a sense that we can somehow have it both ways - that’s why Whitehall continues to apply the term 'strategic competitor' to China, when we are already very clearly in a Cold War."
Channels TV
03/24/2023
Mark Sabah Highlights the British Parliament's Debate on UK-China Relations on Channels TV
Mark Sabah spoke with Channels TV about a Parliamentary debate co-organised by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation on 10 years of Xi Jinping and the future of U.K.-China relations. Mr Sabah said, "It was fairly bleak because there were warning signs coming from politicians who care about [the issues that affect Hong Kong]."
Daily Business
02/20/2023
BrewDog in joint venture with Budweiser China
According to Daily Business, EU-owned BrewDog has entered a joint venture with Budweiser China. This joint venture is hypocritical especially after BrewDog’s attempts to shame Fifa and Qatar over its record on human rights at the World Cup last year. "If they are going to be calling out human rights abuses in Qatar, they should be doing the same in China," stated Mark Sabah.
Forbes
02/08/2023
How The International Community Should Respond To The Trial Of The 47 In Hong Kong
Olivia Enos wrote in Forbes about how the global community should respond to the trial of the Hong Kong 47. Mrs Enos urged the international community to stand in solidarity with the individuals who are wrongfully imprisoned and to defend those who are unlawfully on trial in Hong Kong.
The National Catholic Register
12/23/2022
Portraits From a Hong Kong Prison Cell: Postcards for Jimmy Lai This Christmas
The National Catholic Register featured the CFHK Foundation's "Postcards for Jimmy" campaign which involves schoolchildren sending Jimmy Lai Christmas cards in prison from around the world. Luke Schwartz, a 10-year old who participated, said, "Mr. Lai is a strong man for standing up for the people of Hong Kong. I'm happy I could do something to make him smile."
CBN News
12/02/22
Communist Regime Eases COVID Lockdowns, Shifting to Surveillance Tech Against Protesters
Olivia Enos spoke to CBN News about the recent protests in China and the use of technology to monitor those taking part. Ms Enos stated, “I can’t underscore this enough, how much bravery it takes for Chinese people to take to the streets. The Chinese Party is notorious for using technology…one particular application would mark activities as suspicious…those types of suspicions could be grounds for being sent to these political re-education camps.”
Japan Forward
11/29/22
Hong Kong Says Cardinal Zen is Guilty as Protests Erupt in China
Mark Clifford told Japan Forward that Jimmy Lai’s trial “holds little hope for justice” and will become “another marker in the dismantling of the rule of law in Hong Kong.”
Radio Free Asia
11/22/2024
What Jimmy Lai’s ‘sham’ trial means for Hong Kong’s freedom: RFA Insider #20
RFA Insider invited Mark Clifford, a former board member of Next Digital and president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, to share what he expects the outcome of the trial to be, as well as his thoughts on the future of press freedom in Hong Kong.
NTD News
11/20/2024
Lawmakers, Advocates Speak Out Against Mass Jailing of Hong Kong Activists
The lawmakers were joined by pro-democracy advocates—some of whom are exiled from Hong Kong—including Frances Hui of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, Anna Kwok and Carmen Lau of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, and Sunny Cheung, a nominee for the 2020 Hong Kong primary elections.
DailyMail
11/19/2024
Keir Starmer defends chasing closer ties with China's Xi Jinping as boosting growth is his 'number one mission' - after PM comes under pressure for cosying up to Beijing just hours before 45 Hong Kong activists are jailed
Mark Sabah told MailOnline it was 'not uncommon for Western governments to be treated with two faces by China'.
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
11/27/2024
House Select Committee Shines Light on Hong Kong's Role in Sanctions Evasion
The lawmakers were joined by pro-democracy advocates—some of whom are exiled from Hong Kong—including Frances Hui of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, Anna Kwok and Carmen Lau of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, and Sunny Cheung, a nominee for the 2020 Hong Kong primary elections.
The Guardian
10/22/2024
Australian judge’s speech met by protest over his role in Hong Kong’s appeal court
Alyssa Fong said it was “shocking” that Keane had chosen to join the bench after the implementation of the national security law, which saw mass arrests of pro-democracy demonstrators, and widespread repression of civil liberties and press freedoms.
CapX
10/16/2024
Is David Lammy the man to stand up to China?
Mark Sabah writes, "The Labour Party is perfectly placed to start from a clean sheet and redraw the lines of the relationship. They could reduce reliance on Chinese money and investment and work with universities to find alternative funding streams, redraw the fee structures to encourage more students from Europe and take in fewer from China..."
The Independent
10/08/2024
Calls for special envoy to help release Britons held for years without fair trial
Mark Sabah, the director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK), a group leading the calls for Mr Lai’s release, has accused the Foreign Office of “giving cover to authoritarian states to do whatever they like”.
Hong Kong Free Press
09/30/2024
UK’s Nicholas Phillips steps down as Hong Kong top court judge, cites ‘personal reasons’ for not extending
Earlier this year, UK NGO, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation released a report claiming “foreign judges are lending legitimacy to Beijing’s crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong” as they called on them all to step down.
UPI
09/30/2024
Another foreign judge steps down from Hong Kong's appeals court
Their resignations came after 14 pro-democracy activists were convicted on conspiracy to commit subversion charges under a draconian national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020, and weeks after the release of a report from the CF Foundation that said foreign judges in the former British colony were providing "legitimacy to Beijing's crackdown on political freedoms."
Jurist News
09/16/2024
Intensifying Repression: A Review of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation’s Annual Symposium
On Thursday, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK) held its annual symposium at the US Capitol Visitor Center to discuss the current state of the Rule of Law in Hong Kong.
SBS News
09/10/2024
'There is no freedom in Hong Kong': The Australian judges serving on Hong Kong's top court
Critics are urging Australian judges serving on Hong Kong's top court to resign after fellow foreign justices stepped down, some in response to the enactment of national security laws that aim to stifle dissent and democratic freedoms.
Reuters
09/09/2024
Exclusive: Execs of Jimmy Lai's Hong Kong media firm mount legal challenge against BDO
The allegations by Gordon Crovitz, a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, and Mark Clifford, a former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, are in a 32-page complaint reviewed by Reuters.
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
09/02/2024
Press Freedom Watchdogs Slam Hong Kong for Convicting Editors of Sedition
"The reality is that the defendants have been convicted for doing no more than carrying out normal journalistic work which had been legal in Hong Kong,” said a joint statement issued by the CPJ, IFJ, Hong Kong Media Overseas, The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong and Index on Censorship.
Hong Kong Free Press
08/01/2024
Forbes op-ed saying security laws made Hong Kong ‘riskier place to do business’ rejected by gov’t as ‘misleading’
The article was penned by Olivia Enos, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute covering human rights and national security challenges in Asia. It cited a recent report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation, which the Hong Kong government labelled as an “anti-China” group.
BNN Bloomberg
07/26/2024
Ukraine Urges Hong Kong Not to Help Russia Bypass Sanctions
Russia has sought to sidestep Western sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine triggered curbs from Ukrainian allies. The New York Times this week reported Russia obtained nearly $4 billion in restricted chips, many of which were shipped via shell companies in Hong Kong. A report published Monday by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation also found the city exported restricted goods to Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Business Insider (India)
07/23/2024
US sanctions have tanked Russian semi-chip imports from China and Hong Kong, new data shows
According to a new report by The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, that includes the transfer of advanced semiconductor products, which can be integral to battlefield technology. Between August and December of last year, $750 million worth of Common High Priority Items — a Western-tracked list of technologies most essential to Russia's war — were traded through Hong Kong, the data showed.
Nikkei Asia
07/22/2024
Hong Kong plays leading role in sanctions evasion: report
The surge of Hong Kong shipments to Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 underscores the city's extensive role in helping U.S. adversaries avoid international sanctions, a new analysis published Monday by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation shows.
National Review
07/17/2024
State Department Response to Hong Kong Repression ‘Not Adequate’: Lawmakers
Despite pledging a strong response to China’s new repression in Hong Kong in line with U.S. support for human rights, the State Department response has so far declined to employ several of the legal tools that the U.S. government has at its disposal, even after Hong Kong issued bounties for the arrests of an American citizen, Anna Kwok, and Frances Hui, a U.S. resident. Senior Hong Kong officials even traveled to the U.S. for meetings in May, presumably on visas issued by the State Department.
Herald Malaysia
07/01/2024
Let's keep singing ‘Glory to Hong Kong’
Freedom of assembly, association, expression and protest no longer exist in Hong Kong; freedom of religion or belief is increasingly threatened, as Hong Kong Watch’s report late last year and the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation’s report earlier this year outline.
The Independent
06/24/2024
Top British judge hearing case related to protest crackdown in Hong Kong
A senior British judge heard a protest-related case in Hong Kong involving seven high-profile democrats on Monday, just weeks after two judges resigned citing the “profoundly compromised” rule of law in Hong Kong.
Asia Times
06/08/2024
Two British judges quit Hong Kong’s top court
The two judges’ resignation came after the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation on May 14 released a report with the title “Lending prestige to persecution: how foreign judges are undermining Hong Kong’s Freedoms and why they should quit.” Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong, hosted the report launch.
Hong Kong Free Press
06/07/2024
Gov’t and legal bodies back Hong Kong’s judicial independence after 2 UK judges quit top court
The resignations also came three weeks after NGO, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, released a report claiming “foreign judges are lending legitimacy to Beijing’s crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong,” as they called on them to step down.
Jurist News
06/06/2024
Two Prominent Former UK Judges Step Down from Hong Kong’s Courts
This development comes in the wake of a report released by The Committee for the Freedom of Hong Kong titled “Lending Prestige to Persecution: How Foreign Judges are Undermining Hong Kong’s Freedoms and Why They Should Quit.”
Reporters Without Borders
06/04/2024
On 35th anniversary of Tiananmen, Circle 19 group launches landmark manifesto for the right to information in China
On 4 June, 35 years after the Tiananmen Square massacre, Circle 19 for the Right to Information in China, an independent group supported by RSF, has released its Statement of Principles, a document reaffirming support for the effective exercise of the right to information in the People's Republic of China, a right that was at the heart of the demands of the Tiananmen movement that was bloodily suppressed in June 1989 by the Chinese regime.
The Standard
05/29/2024
Lai 'wanted a civil parliament for policy fight'
In an episode of Live Chat with Jimmy Lai on November 26, 2020, Lai had former Next Digital non-executive director Mark Clifford and Dan Blumenthal, the former senior country director for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia at the US Department of Defense, as guests.
Radio Free Asia
05/24/2024
Hong Kong’s US offices should be closed, activists say
The offices keep track of Hong Kongers who have fled a crackdown at home and must be “shut down, unless autonomy is restored to Hong Kong,” said Frances Hui, the policy and advocacy coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, at the event.
Nikkei Asia
05/16/2024
U.K. spy case fuels calls for closure of Hong Kong trade offices
Mark Sabah, director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a Washington- and London-based nongovernmental organization, also called for closure of the HKETOs, saying that they act as "a proxy for Beijing."
Jurist News
05/13/2024
UK Judges Serving in Hong Kong Face Human Rights Balancing Act
The report, issued by the Committee for the Freedom of Hong Kong presents a damning indictment on how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has weaponised the presence of overseas non-permanent judges in the Hong Kong judicial system to further their crackdown on civil liberties.
The Scotsman
05/12/2024
Chinese spies in Scottish universities would be an unacceptable extension of Communist tyranny – Scotsman comment
Alyssa Fong, UK public affairs and advocacy manager for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, said some students were sent to UK universities in order to “surveil dissenting voices such as Hong Kongers, Chinese people, as well as spread their own propaganda”.
Forbes
04/30/2024
U.K. Government May Still Use Chinese Surveillance Kit Well Into Next Year
"As more governments from around the world wake up to the risk of having Hikvision and other Chinese-produced cameras and surveillance equipment inside government and public bodies, it's outrageous that Scottish local authorities are continuing to use products made by CCP-controlled organizations," said Mark Sabah.
The Economic Times
04/17/2024
China accused of influencing votes at UN to serve its interests, whistleblower claims
A former employee of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rigthts (OHCHR) has submitted evideence alleging that China is attempting to reshape the international order by influencing multilateral institutions like the UN.
Fox News
04/08/2024
Biden responds to new Hong Kong national security law with extreme caution
"The latest response by the Biden administration has honestly concerned me about the administration’s commitment to stand up against Beijing’s aggression," said Frances Hui. "A more robust response from the U.S. is needed to facilitate future behavioral changes among (Chinese) and Hong Kong officials. A visa ban is something but not enough."
AP News
04/07/2024
US treads carefully in responding to Hong Kong’s new national security law
“The latest response by the Biden administration has honestly concerned me about the administration’s commitment to stand up against Beijing’s aggression,” said Frances Hui, policy and advocacy coordinator for the Washington-based Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. “A more robust response from the U.S. is needed to facilitate future behavioral changes among (Chinese) and Hong Kong officials. A visa ban is something but not enough.”
Hong Kong Free Press
03/11/2024
Article 23: ‘Reasonable defence’ needed for keeping ‘seditious publications’ like Apple Daily at home, Hong Kong security chief says
As meetings were underway in the Legislative Council, the government on Sunday issued a statement condemning the Washington-based Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK) for “intimidating” Chinese and city officials.
Global Times
03/10/2024
HK officials clarify concerns over Article 23 legislation, refuting ill-intentioned Western hypes
In a response to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, which requested the US to "sanctions" on the officials of the Central Government and the HKSAR, the HKSAR government issued a statement on Sunday strongly condemning it.
Semafor
03/07/2024
Human rights groups back TikTok bill as lobbying battle heats up
Several human rights groups are throwing support behind legislation that would force China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok or otherwise face a ban on the app in the U.S., as a high-stakes battle over the bill heats up in Washington.
Catholic News Agency
02/06/2024
Freedom of religion is ‘deteriorating’ in Hong Kong, new report says
There are several Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initiatives that indicate the party wants to take away Hong Kongers’ freedom of religion, according to the report, which was published by the Washington, D.C.-based Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.
Al Jazeera
12/29/2023
‘Filled with fear’: Former Hong Kong student leader seeks UK asylum
Elaborating on the situation on X, Frances Hui said that during those meetings, Chung was “coerced to provide details of every interpersonal interaction that he made – who he met [names and contact info], where they met [and] what they discussed. ..."
Daily Mail
12/15/2023
Hong Kong offers £100k bounty for arrest of 'anti-China' British consulate worker who fled the territory after being tortured - sparking diplomatic row between London and Beijing
Daily Mail discussed the HK$1m bounties on five overseas activists by the Hong Kong Government, including Frances Hui.
National Review
11/30/2023
The Long Arm of the CCP Attacks Protesters in the U.S.
Frances Hui wrote in the National Review, "they are everywhere, beating people up who do not wave their flag, and the local police are not enforcing the law at all. All of this feels so at home, as if we are back in China.”
Central News Agency Taiwan
05/30/2023
黎智英國際律師團:英對香港作為有倒退疑慮
Central News Agency Taiwan covered the World Press Freedom Day event hosted by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, which featured Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC underscoring how the Hong Kong authorities continue to use the National Security Law to target journalists and human rights defenders worldwide.
Sky News
05/06/2023
Why King's coronation guest list is breaking convention and causing controversy
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation told Sky News, “It is pretty disgraceful that the architect of Hong Kong’s demise [was] invited to the coronation of King Charles III. Who calls the shots in Britain, is it Beijing or our Prime Minister?”
NTD News
03/24/2023
Mark Sabah Highlights the First-Ever UK-Hong Kong Summit on NTD News
Mark Sabah spoke to NTD News to highlight the first-ever U.K.-Hong Kong Summit in London. Mr Sabah emphasised the need to protect Hong Kongers who seek refuge in Britain, saying, "You're telling Hong Kongers 'you've come here to be safe', but they're not. [The Bob Chan attack] had a very negative effect on the mentality of Hong Kongers who suddenly realised they're on their own even though they're here."
ABC News
03/15/2023
Why Hong Kong has the highest rate of incarcerated women in the world
Megan Khoo spoke to ABC News, highlighting the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kon Foundation's projections across New York City's skyline for International Women's Day. Mrs Khoo explained why Hong Kong has the largest percentage of women political prisoners in the world.
Fox Business
02/20/2023
Chinese leadership cares about power 'above all': Mark Clifford
Mark Clifford spoke to Maria Bartiromo about the China threat. Mr Clifford discussed the recent surveillance balloons, the potential meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi in Munich, and the disappearance of the CEO of China Renaissance, Bao Fan.
The Points Media
02/08/2023
Mark Clifford Speaks About Keeping the Spirit of Hong Kong's Journalism Alive with The Points Media
Mark Clifford spoke with The Points Media about keeping the spirit of Hong Kong's journalism alive. Mr Clifford also highlighted the Chinese Communist Party's current pitfalls including a population demographic crisis, economic turmoil and an illegitimate government.
The Scotsman
01/21/2023
Criticism as Glasgow University Confucius Institute backs Chinese business event
Mark Clifford told The Scotsman, "Scottish universities’ Confucius Institutes are promoting trade and investment while students in Hong Kong are being imprisoned for peaceful protest and speaking the truth" after Glasgow University's Confucius Institute sponsored yet another China-Britain Business Council annual awards ceremony.