NEWSLETTER: The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong commemorates the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
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Every week, this newsletter will bring you the latest updates and developments concerning freedom in Hong Kong.
To subscribe to our newsletter, click here.
Committee News
To commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest and massacre, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) projected images and statements of remembrance onto Tower Bridge in central London.
In the absence of the usual Victoria park memorial, which has shamefully been banned by the CPP, CFHK also invited activist and supporters to submit videos of remembrance as part of a virtual Victoria park memorial. Our combined efforts are a signal to the CCP that we will not sit quietly by and let them erase a tragic and shameful event from their history.
Those who participated included CFHK Chairman James B. Cunningham, CFHK President Mark Clifford, former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Dennis Kwok, NBA player and activist Enes Kantor Freedom, Tibetan human rights activist Chemi Lhamo, and student leader at Tiananmen Square Wang Dan, as well as other activists and politicians.
4th June Remembrance
The Epoch Times wrote how Hong Kongers were remembering the Tiananmen Square protesters despite no longer being able to host a vigil in their honour. Despite 33 years having passed since these killings, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to crackdown on freedom in China and Hong Kong.
The Guardian editorial staff reflected on the crackdown on freedom and democracy in Hong Kong in the last three years, since the 2019 protests. The opinion piece mentions the “election” of incoming chief executive John Lee and the imposition of the draconian National Security Law as well as efforts by dissidents both in Hong Kong and abroad.
Under the outrageous guise of protecting national security, Hong Kong’s outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended the closure of Victoria Park, reported the South China Morning Post. Victoria Park was the sole remaining public space in China where the commemoration of Tiananmen Square was permitted.
National Security Law
The Foreign Policy Research Institute highlights the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party’s reign in Hong Kong under the National Security Law, following the pro-democracy protests of 2019 and 2020. Beijing has attempted to “bring Hong Kong to heel” with a slew of oppressive measures to suppress its citizens’ freedoms.
According to Al Jazeera, after 15 months of state-mandated delays, Hong Kong’s largest National Security Law case has been sent for trial at the High Court. The 47 defendants, most of whom have been denied bail since their initial incarceration, now face life imprisonment as all but one have been transferred to the High Court.
The Hong Kong Free Press reported that Hong Kongers who are convicted for supposedly endangering national security will be barred from being registered as social workers, according to a suggested bill amendment. Lawmaker Connie Lam has expressed concern at the proposal, as people may “accidentally breach the law.”
In Other News
Alicia Kearns MP has submitted an amendment to the Higher Education Bill which would see the CCP-sponsored “Confucius Institutes” banned across the UK over fears of spying and censorship of political speech, according to POLITICO. Members of the Scottish Parliament Alexander Cole-Hamilton and Jeremy Balfour are also seeking to address these issues in Scotland.
In the US congress, Senators Merkley and Rubio co-sponsored a screening of Acton Institute’s new film centred around pro-democracy leader Jimmy Lai, with over two hundred attendees in the audience including congress members Chrissy Houlahan , Adam Kinzinger and Anna Eshoo. Titled “The Hong Konger”, the film emphasises the importance of preserving liberty and fighting tyranny, reported the National Review. Attending the screening, CFHK President Mark Clifford shared a message of hope: “We strike fear into [the Chinese Communist Party’s] heart because they know how hard it is to quench human freedom.”
The third political cartoonist in seven weeks has left Hong Kong due to concerns around freedom of expression, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. Hong Kong Worker announced his move to the UK after it became clear that “it would only be a matter of time before” he would be silenced.
In the latest example of CPP indoctrination in Hong Kong, the Global Times reported on Hong Kong’s Education Bureau’s imminent launch of a “Citizenship and Social Development in Hong Kong” programme. One of the programme’s aims is to render teachers “unable to convey their wrong and poisonous political views.” Another is to remove texts which “vilify the government.”
Pro-democracy activist and singer Tommy Yuen has appeared at the Hong Kong District Court charged under colonial-era sedition laws, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. As is now becoming common practice, Yuen’s trial is being overseen by a national security judge hand-picked by the CCP. In a severe affront to the right to a fair trial, Yuen was told to withdraw his application for legal aid as representation would be “arranged by people outside,” but this representation never materialised.
EU lawmakers have united in calls for a more robust approach to confronting the CCP only two weeks after the leak of police photographs picturing breaches of human rights throughout Xinjiang, reported the South China Morning Post. The CFHK applauds the European Parliament in taking this step and calls for other diplomatic blocs and individual nations to call out Chinese national security policies as crimes against humanity.
To commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest and massacre, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) projected images and statements of remembrance onto Tower Bridge in central London.
In the absence of the usual Victoria park memorial, which has shamefully been banned by the CPP, CFHK also invited activist and supporters to submit videos of remembrance as part of a virtual Victoria park memorial. Our combined efforts are a signal to the CCP that we will not sit quietly by and let them erase a tragic and shameful event from their history.
Those who participated included CFHK Chairman James B. Cunningham, CFHK President Mark Clifford, former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Dennis Kwok, NBA player and activist Enes Kantor Freedom, Tibetan human rights activist Chemi Lhamo, and student leader at Tiananmen Square Wang Dan, as well as other activists and politicians.
4th June Remembrance
The Epoch Times wrote how Hong Kongers were remembering the Tiananmen Square protesters despite no longer being able to host a vigil in their honour. Despite 33 years having passed since these killings, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to crackdown on freedom in China and Hong Kong.
The Guardian editorial staff reflected on the crackdown on freedom and democracy in Hong Kong in the last three years, since the 2019 protests. The opinion piece mentions the “election” of incoming chief executive John Lee and the imposition of the draconian National Security Law as well as efforts by dissidents both in Hong Kong and abroad.
Under the outrageous guise of protecting national security, Hong Kong’s outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended the closure of Victoria Park, reported the South China Morning Post. Victoria Park was the sole remaining public space in China where the commemoration of Tiananmen Square was permitted.
National Security Law
The Foreign Policy Research Institute highlights the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party’s reign in Hong Kong under the National Security Law, following the pro-democracy protests of 2019 and 2020. Beijing has attempted to “bring Hong Kong to heel” with a slew of oppressive measures to suppress its citizens’ freedoms.
According to Al Jazeera, after 15 months of state-mandated delays, Hong Kong’s largest National Security Law case has been sent for trial at the High Court. The 47 defendants, most of whom have been denied bail since their initial incarceration, now face life imprisonment as all but one have been transferred to the High Court.
The Hong Kong Free Press reported that Hong Kongers who are convicted for supposedly endangering national security will be barred from being registered as social workers, according to a suggested bill amendment. Lawmaker Connie Lam has expressed concern at the proposal, as people may “accidentally breach the law.”
In Other News
Alicia Kearns MP has submitted an amendment to the Higher Education Bill which would see the CCP-sponsored “Confucius Institutes” banned across the UK over fears of spying and censorship of political speech, according to POLITICO. Members of the Scottish Parliament Alexander Cole-Hamilton and Jeremy Balfour are also seeking to address these issues in Scotland.
In the US congress, Senators Merkley and Rubio co-sponsored a screening of Acton Institute’s new film centred around pro-democracy leader Jimmy Lai, with over two hundred attendees in the audience including congress members Chrissy Houlahan , Adam Kinzinger and Anna Eshoo. Titled “The Hong Konger”, the film emphasises the importance of preserving liberty and fighting tyranny, reported the National Review. Attending the screening, CFHK President Mark Clifford shared a message of hope: “We strike fear into [the Chinese Communist Party’s] heart because they know how hard it is to quench human freedom.”
The third political cartoonist in seven weeks has left Hong Kong due to concerns around freedom of expression, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. Hong Kong Worker announced his move to the UK after it became clear that “it would only be a matter of time before” he would be silenced.
In the latest example of CPP indoctrination in Hong Kong, the Global Times reported on Hong Kong’s Education Bureau’s imminent launch of a “Citizenship and Social Development in Hong Kong” programme. One of the programme’s aims is to render teachers “unable to convey their wrong and poisonous political views.” Another is to remove texts which “vilify the government.”
Pro-democracy activist and singer Tommy Yuen has appeared at the Hong Kong District Court charged under colonial-era sedition laws, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. As is now becoming common practice, Yuen’s trial is being overseen by a national security judge hand-picked by the CCP. In a severe affront to the right to a fair trial, Yuen was told to withdraw his application for legal aid as representation would be “arranged by people outside,” but this representation never materialised.
EU lawmakers have united in calls for a more robust approach to confronting the CCP only two weeks after the leak of police photographs picturing breaches of human rights throughout Xinjiang, reported the South China Morning Post. The CFHK applauds the European Parliament in taking this step and calls for other diplomatic blocs and individual nations to call out Chinese national security policies as crimes against humanity.