Hong Kong democrats yesterday accused China of jailing one of their members on trumped-up prostitution charges in a bid to disgrace a political movement Beijing has been feuding with for more than seven years.
Alex Ho, 46, a Democratic Party candidate in the city's upcoming legislative elections, was arrested last weekend in southern Dongguan and jailed for six months, party official Fred Li said.
PHOTO: AP
Garment salesman Ho was on a business trip when he was awoken in his hotel room by "public security" officers on Friday morn-ing, Li said.
They dragged Ho from his bed and beat him before planting women's underwear and condoms in his room. Officers then produced a woman they claimed was a prostitute, Li said.
The incident caused panic within the Democratic Party, which has been in a political tussle with China over the pace of democratic reforms since the city moved from British colonial to Chinese rule in 1997.
Li said Ho's detention was politically motivated.
"From the way that the mainland security police handled the case, there are a lot of suspicious points," said Li, a senior party official and fellow candidate.
"There are reasons why I suspect this is politically motivated; it is designed to demoralize the Democratic Party."
Ho's distraught wife was travelling to the southern Chinese city where her husband is being kept "in a hard-labor detention camp," Li said.
"She has absolute faith in her husband and believes he has been unfairly treated. This allegation is completely out of character. We are very disturbed and shocked by this, especially the speed with which he was jailed without trial," he said.
It is expected to make huge gains at the expense of parties sympathetic with the regime in Beijing.
Ho's incarceration would exclude him from contesting the Sept. 12 poll, however, denting the party's chances in a constituency considered crucial by the democrats.
Although a Dongguan public security bureau official said the case was being looked into, the Dongguan City Government said it was not aware of the incident.
Hong Kong's government said it had taken up the case, however, and would follow it "actively."
"We will talk to Mr Ho's wife before we contact the relevant security bureau -- they have not contacted us," said Hong Kong Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee (
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS