Six activists who stormed the grounds of a Chinese government office in December to protest a dissident’s punishment were arrested on Thursday by Hong Kong police in what critics say is part of growing political persecution.
Unlike the rest of China, Hong Kong is promised Western-style civil liberties like freedom of protest. Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997 but retained separate political and economic systems.
The six sneaked into the grounds of the Chinese liaison office when its main gates opened for a car on Christmas Day. They scuffled with security guards, but eventually left on their own.
The protesters were demanding the release of prominent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波). The literary critic was sentenced that day to 11 years in jail after co-writing an unusually direct appeal to the government calling for expanded political freedoms.
Richard Tsoi (蔡耀昌) said he and his five fellow protesters were charged with unlawful assembly and released on bail of HK$500 (US$64). Unlawful assembly carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.
Both Tsoi and an independent human rights activist questioned if the arrests were justified.
“We staged a peaceful assembly that day. This is pure political persecution,” Tsoi said. “It is clear the Hong Kong government is bending to pressure from the Chinese government to suppress pro-democracy movements.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number