Members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot on Saturday joined Hong Kong democracy campaigners to defend freedom of expression as Beijing tightens its grip on the territory.
Two members of the Russian group spoke alongside leading Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) at a panel discussion that had been due to accompany the launch of a highly anticipated art show by Chinese political cartoonist Badiucao (巴丟草).
The show was canceled on Friday, with Hong Kong organizers citing safety concerns due to “threats made by Chinese authorities relating to the artist.”
“We are very sorry to know that things are getting worse here. I think it is very important to be here now just to express our solidarity,” Pussy Riot member Olga Kuracheva said during the packed panel discussion on freedom of art and expression, held at a studio in Hong Kong.
Kuracheva and fellow Pussy Riot member Veronika Nikulshina said threats to exhibitions and political art events are “common practice” in Russia.
Kuracheva encouraged people to speak out against suppression.
“I would advise people not to be afraid, because one voice is not so much ... but voices of solidarity should sound loud,” she told the audience.
There was a major backlash against Hong Kong authorities last month when they denied a visa without explanation to a Financial Times journalist who had chaired a press club talk by a Hong Kong independence activist.
Wong called on members of civil society around the world to share their experiences to gain “more bargaining power” in pushing for human rights and freedoms.
In September, a Pussy Riot member was hospitalized with suspected poisoning and has said he believes he was attacked by Russia’s secret service for his attempt to investigate the deaths of three Russian journalists in Africa.
The two Pussy Riot members told the Hong Kong audience that the poisoning was a bid to silence them.
“Sometimes living in Russia is like living in a war and I sometimes think: Who’s going be the next?” Kuracheva said.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was