NEWSLETTER: The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) marks one year of its work advocating for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.
Welcome to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) weekly newsletter.
Every week, this newsletter will bring you the latest updates and developments concerning freedom in Hong Kong.
To subscribe to our newsletter, click here.
Every week, this newsletter will bring you the latest updates and developments concerning freedom in Hong Kong.
To subscribe to our newsletter, click here.
Our Anniversary
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) marks one year of its work advocating for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong. Over the last year, CFHK’s work has, sadly, become more imperative than ever. The National Security Law has been used systematically to arrest journalists, shut down pro-democracy outlets, and silence dissenters in Hong Kong and around the world. Our core principles focus on supporting the Hong Kong people in their fight against totalitarianism.
Over the last 12 months, we have campaigned to protect and respect Hong Kong’s freedoms under the Basic Law. We have been privileged to work with outstanding parliamentarians in Westminster, Edinburgh and Washington, D.C., and we are grateful for the actions like-minded governments and legislators have taken so far. We have also collaborated with NGOs around the world, including Hong Kong Watch, Hong Kong Democracy Council, Reporters Without Borders, Index on Censorship, Article 19, and Stand with Hong Kong. We have welcomed the support of leading voices from the Council on Foreign Relations, the Henry Jackson Society, the Council on Geostrategy and the Hudson Institute.
In the year ahead CFHK will maintain its fight for freedom in Hong Kong, and we look forward to working with NGOs, governments, legislators, the media, and the activist community to make that happen.
Reflecting on the past year, CFHK Chairman James B. Cunningham, said:
“In the past year, CFHK has sought to amplify the voice and plight of Hong Kongers at the highest levels around the world. The ongoing destruction of Hong Kong’s freedoms at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party, alongside the gross human rights abuses, is a travesty that the world must not look away from. The clash of values in Hong Kong today embodies the struggle for what Asia itself will become in the future.
“CFHK will continue to work on behalf of all political prisoners in Hong Kong to secure their freedom. We will build upon our work over the past year to fight for genuine respect of the rights, freedoms and rule of law promised by Beijing to the Hong Kong people.”
CFHK President Mark L. Clifford said:
“We at CFHK fight for basic human rights. Freedoms of speech, press and expression are the backbone of democracy. We will continue to bear witness to human rights violations in Hong Kong, ensuring that policymakers, politicians, media and opinion-shapers in open societies are aware of abuses taking place in Hong Kong. We are building an international coalition against the actions of human rights abusers in Hong Kong. They should know that they will be held to account.”
Committee News
This week, CFHK met with Donald Cameron MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and Sharon Dowey MSP. The meeting focused on the resettling of BNOs and protecting them from Confucius institutes. Those settling in Scotland are being overrun are being e Communist Party operatives in Scotland, who are threatening the lives, freedom to speak, and resettlement. Both Cameron and Dowey are committed to helping CFHK ensure the safety of Hong Kongers in Scotland, and we look forward to working with them in the future.
Prisoners of ConscienceA Hong Kong combat coach and his assistant were arrested by national security police over alleged “acts with seditious intention” and have been detained for investigation. The Hong Kong Free Press reported that police searched a shared event space that was used for combat training classes, where they found evidence including posters that allegedly “incited hate” and electronic communication devices reportedly used to distribute seditious messages.
A New Zealand Uyghur Fulbright scholar has become the latest to be harassed by Chinese students at an international university. Rizwangul NurMuhammad spoke about her brother’s detention in China in 2017, amid mass detentions of Uyghurs, during an event at Cornell University. Radio Free Asia reported that while she was speaking a number of Chinese students heckled her, and about 40 of them walked out of the lecture hall in protest.
American lawyer Samuel Bickett has been released from a Hong Kong prison and was deported to the US. The South China Morning Post reported that Bickett was jailed for assaulting a plain-clothes policeman during the social unrest of 2019. Despite now being banned from Hong Kong, he has promised to continue fighting, stating “The fight for truth and justice in Hong Kong was never going to be easy… but it is worthwhile.” Bickett’s conviction reflects growing police impunity and highlights concerns about rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong.
In Other News
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revealed the “shaking foundation” of democracy as he spoke at the opening of his new exhibition, “In Search of Humanity”, in Vienna. The showcase explores aspects of humanity and artistic commentary across his work. The Hong Kong Free Press noted that the show, which Ai has described as “critical and radical”, displays several works that are responses to the experiences of those fleeing war and persecution.
A survey conducted by an umbrella group has found that 59% of Hong Kong social enterprises think they may go bankrupt, as the fifth COVID-19 wave batters the economy. The Hong Kong Free Press reported that the survey, which was released by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Social Enterprises, spoke to around a quarter of the city’s social enterprises of which 95% said they had faced a drop in business. The survey’s results highlight how Beijing’s strict COVID-19 restrictions are damaging Hong Kong’s economy.
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) marks one year of its work advocating for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong. Over the last year, CFHK’s work has, sadly, become more imperative than ever. The National Security Law has been used systematically to arrest journalists, shut down pro-democracy outlets, and silence dissenters in Hong Kong and around the world. Our core principles focus on supporting the Hong Kong people in their fight against totalitarianism.
Over the last 12 months, we have campaigned to protect and respect Hong Kong’s freedoms under the Basic Law. We have been privileged to work with outstanding parliamentarians in Westminster, Edinburgh and Washington, D.C., and we are grateful for the actions like-minded governments and legislators have taken so far. We have also collaborated with NGOs around the world, including Hong Kong Watch, Hong Kong Democracy Council, Reporters Without Borders, Index on Censorship, Article 19, and Stand with Hong Kong. We have welcomed the support of leading voices from the Council on Foreign Relations, the Henry Jackson Society, the Council on Geostrategy and the Hudson Institute.
In the year ahead CFHK will maintain its fight for freedom in Hong Kong, and we look forward to working with NGOs, governments, legislators, the media, and the activist community to make that happen.
Reflecting on the past year, CFHK Chairman James B. Cunningham, said:
“In the past year, CFHK has sought to amplify the voice and plight of Hong Kongers at the highest levels around the world. The ongoing destruction of Hong Kong’s freedoms at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party, alongside the gross human rights abuses, is a travesty that the world must not look away from. The clash of values in Hong Kong today embodies the struggle for what Asia itself will become in the future.
“CFHK will continue to work on behalf of all political prisoners in Hong Kong to secure their freedom. We will build upon our work over the past year to fight for genuine respect of the rights, freedoms and rule of law promised by Beijing to the Hong Kong people.”
CFHK President Mark L. Clifford said:
“We at CFHK fight for basic human rights. Freedoms of speech, press and expression are the backbone of democracy. We will continue to bear witness to human rights violations in Hong Kong, ensuring that policymakers, politicians, media and opinion-shapers in open societies are aware of abuses taking place in Hong Kong. We are building an international coalition against the actions of human rights abusers in Hong Kong. They should know that they will be held to account.”
Committee News
This week, CFHK met with Donald Cameron MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and Sharon Dowey MSP. The meeting focused on the resettling of BNOs and protecting them from Confucius institutes. Those settling in Scotland are being overrun are being e Communist Party operatives in Scotland, who are threatening the lives, freedom to speak, and resettlement. Both Cameron and Dowey are committed to helping CFHK ensure the safety of Hong Kongers in Scotland, and we look forward to working with them in the future.
Prisoners of ConscienceA Hong Kong combat coach and his assistant were arrested by national security police over alleged “acts with seditious intention” and have been detained for investigation. The Hong Kong Free Press reported that police searched a shared event space that was used for combat training classes, where they found evidence including posters that allegedly “incited hate” and electronic communication devices reportedly used to distribute seditious messages.
A New Zealand Uyghur Fulbright scholar has become the latest to be harassed by Chinese students at an international university. Rizwangul NurMuhammad spoke about her brother’s detention in China in 2017, amid mass detentions of Uyghurs, during an event at Cornell University. Radio Free Asia reported that while she was speaking a number of Chinese students heckled her, and about 40 of them walked out of the lecture hall in protest.
American lawyer Samuel Bickett has been released from a Hong Kong prison and was deported to the US. The South China Morning Post reported that Bickett was jailed for assaulting a plain-clothes policeman during the social unrest of 2019. Despite now being banned from Hong Kong, he has promised to continue fighting, stating “The fight for truth and justice in Hong Kong was never going to be easy… but it is worthwhile.” Bickett’s conviction reflects growing police impunity and highlights concerns about rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong.
In Other News
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revealed the “shaking foundation” of democracy as he spoke at the opening of his new exhibition, “In Search of Humanity”, in Vienna. The showcase explores aspects of humanity and artistic commentary across his work. The Hong Kong Free Press noted that the show, which Ai has described as “critical and radical”, displays several works that are responses to the experiences of those fleeing war and persecution.
A survey conducted by an umbrella group has found that 59% of Hong Kong social enterprises think they may go bankrupt, as the fifth COVID-19 wave batters the economy. The Hong Kong Free Press reported that the survey, which was released by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Social Enterprises, spoke to around a quarter of the city’s social enterprises of which 95% said they had faced a drop in business. The survey’s results highlight how Beijing’s strict COVID-19 restrictions are damaging Hong Kong’s economy.