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The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation highlights Hong Kong activists on International Women’s Day.
On International Women’s Day, Friday, March 8th, we are showcasing the stories of female Hong Kongers who have been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Our latest video demands that the Hong Kong government release all women jailed for pro-democracy activism and journalism and urges governments and people across the globe to speak up on their behalf.
The CFHK Foundation has also posted more than a dozen messages from activists around the world, expressing solidarity with women in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai's Trial Update
The trial of Jimmy Lai resumed on 4th March, with ex-editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee becoming the third ex-Apple Daily employee to testify against his former boss. Yeung told the Court that the opinions Lai expressed in his weekly columns were “guidelines” for writing and choosing commentary articles to publish in the now-defunct paper. He also said that Lai encouraged people to join the 2019 protests.
He further claimed the paper's reporting became less balanced following Beijing's imposition of the National Security Law. Yeung is among six senior Apple Daily employees who pleaded guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces in November 2022. He remains in prison awaiting sentencing.
Hong Kong
On Wednesday, March 6th, the Hong Kong Government released a statement in which it smeared several civil society organisations, including the CFHK Foundation, as “anti-China” for urging it to revoke planned Article 23 Legislation, which will make it easier to arrest and prosecute people who express dissent in the city.
Its proposed new security law is set to come into effect by April 15th, 2024, but there is speculation it could be fast-tracked. The Safeguarding National Security Bill was published in full and introduced to the Legislative Council today, March 8th.
The Bill introduces penalties for five offences not referred to in the initial public consultation. Offenders could face up to seven years' imprisonment if convicted of "sedition", 10 years for "colluding with external forces", and three years for "possessing seditious publications without reasonable excuse". It also introduces a penalty of up to life in prison for people found guilty of "endangering national security".
People arrested under the law will also be banned from choosing their own lawyer, liable to detention without charge for seven days, and harsher penalties will be issued against activists abroad.
U.S.-China Relations
On Thursday, March 7th, the CFHK Foundation officially endorsed the bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that would force TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent. This would mitigate the national security threats imposed by the CCP on Americans’ data security and the democratic process.
TikTok has, in the past, censored and removed content related to Hong Kong, and in particular, content about Jimmy Lai, from its platform.
U.K.-China Relations
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss MP and Iain Duncan Smith MP authored a joint op-ed for The Daily Telegraph newspaper to mark International Women’s Day 2024, in which they called for Hong Kong to release all women unjustly jailed since the Beijing-imposed National Security Law. They also urged the U.K. Government to pressure Hong Kong to uphold its human rights obligations.
THE 'FLAME OF FREEDOM' BLOG🔥
Raise Your Voice for Uyghur Women
This blog is authored by Jaya Pathak, Executive Director at Yet Again, Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Uyghurs, and Non-Executive Director at Labour Campaign for Human Rights.
"Uyghur women suffer horrific sexual abuse at the hands of the CCP and too many activists have remained silent."
Read More Here.