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After the Hong Kong authorities considered establishing a mutual organ transplant programme with Beijing, many Hong Kongers have withdrawn from the city’s organ donation register. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the police will investigate the 'shameful act' of suspicious withdrawals from the system.
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and Reporters Without Borders hosted a panel discussion and reception in the British Parliament to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. The panel featured Baroness Natalie Bennett; Fiona O’Brien, UK Bureau Director at Reporters Without Borders; Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Human Rights Lawyer at Doughty Street Chambers; Penny Sukhraj, Founder of Justice for Anton; and Stephen Vines, former journalist in Hong Kong. Ms Gallagher called for the British government to “start putting principle into practice” by supporting the release of British citizen Jimmy Lai and other jailed journalists.
Frances Hui, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation’s Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, delivered a joint letter from 30 organisations supporting The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act (S. 490; H.R. 1103)to the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. The bill would require the US government to review whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from Beijing to allow the Economic and Trade Offices to continue receiving diplomatic immunity, because HKETOs which were initially established to provide a platform for Hong Kong to promote economic relations with other countries now serve as additional proxies for the Chinese Communist Party.
In the National Review, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation President Mark Clifford described the Chinese Communist Party’s rapid destruction of Hong Kong as a trial run for China’s authoritarian ambitions worldwide. Mr Clifford called attention to Hong Kong’s more than 1,400 political prisoners, the case of Jimmy Lai and supported the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party’s call for the US and UK to combine their efforts to resist Chinese infiltration.
Jimmy Lai
The Wall Street Journal featured how Jimmy Lai won the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty while the Hong Kong authorities once again denied his lawyer of choice. “By awarding Mr. Lai its Milton Friedman Prize, the Cato Institute reminds us that, if a prominent man like Jimmy Lai can have his business shut down and be imprisoned, no one is safe in Hong Kong.”
The case of Jimmy Lai is the “anthem of Hong Kong’s demise”, reported The Hill, detailing the extraordinary life of Mr Lai and the continued destruction of the city-state.
Hong Kong
The Justice Secretary of Hong Kongrefused to confirm whether it is illegal to commemorate the Tiananmen square massacre ahead of the 34th anniversary of the killings on June 4th. The Hong Kong authorities have already closed areas that were previously used as vigil sites for “maintenance”.
The Hong Kong Legislative Council tabled a proposal that would allow the Hong Kong authorities to appeal the Hong Kong High Court’s decisions regarding individuals who are found not guilty under the National Security Law.
UK-China Relations
Iain Duncan Smith MP warned the British government against relying on Chinese funding for British universities. He underscored the danger of the Chinese Communist Party’s Confucius Institutes that continue to infiltrate universities throughout the UK.
Siobhain McDonagh MP urged British Home Secretary Suella Braverman to take action to ensure that British banks such as HSBC allow Hong Kongers with British National (Overseas) visas to access their pensions. HSBC has denied access to those who settled in Britain under the BNO scheme.
A survey by the British Chamber of Commerce in China revealed that 70 percent of British businesses are adopting a “wait and see” approach on making new investments in China due to geopolitical tensions and the increasing talk of self-reliance by the Chinese Communist Party.
The Chinese embassy in London asked the British government to “stop slandering and smearing China” to prevent further damage to UK-China relations after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak labelled China as the “world’s greatest challenge to security and prosperity”.
US-China Relations
US Congressman Mike Gallagher led a delegation of 10 Members of Congress to Britain to urge the UK government to take a tougher stance against China which wants to “subordinate and humiliate” the free world. “I look forward to working with my friends in Parliament and the Government to build upon our special relationship and fight Chinese Communist Party aggression and malign influence across the globe,”said Congressman Gallagher.
Newsweek exposed how the US federal government’s retirement plan allows employees to invest their savings in mutual funds that have holdings in Chinese companies implicated in human rights abuses.