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Language, culture, travelling. ♥HK ♥TW

[The Japan Times @japantimes]

Commentary: Like Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee now has absolute power in his domain. https://t.co/ZU0WdgLDzz

[Samuel Bickett @SamuelBickett]

Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal today upheld a law that makes it a crime to publicly call on people to cast blank ballots or boycott elections. Among the five judges who voted to uphold the law was William Gummow, a former justice of Australia's highest court, who has sat as a non-permanent overseas judge on the CFA since 2013. Today he lent his name, and the standing of the High Court of Australia, to criminalizing a basic act of political expression.

The reasoning is, of course, thin. The court called the restriction "necessary" because calls to cast blank ballots risk "undermining the legitimacy" of Hong Kong's elections, a legitimacy the government has done the most to erode by barring opposition candidates from running. It drew a line between abstaining and backing a candidate, holding that only abstention threatens the system, while declining to mention that openly supporting pro-democracy candidates can itself land you in prison.

The foreign judges on the CFA have drawn little public attention since the resignations a few years ago in response to a global campaign led by @thecfhk. Today is a reminder of what their presence still buys Beijing: a veneer of common law respectability over rulings that hollow out the rights those judges were meant to protect. Justice Gummow should explain why he remains on the court.

Judgment summary: https://t.co/yCF37woF7r

My 2024 report with CFHK on Hong Kong's foreign judges, "Lending Prestige to Persecution: https://t.co/57aqvveOdF

[Hong Kong Democracy Council @hkdc_us]

7yrs ago today, 2 million people marched in #HongKong to demand full withdrawal of an HK gov't bill that would legalize extradition to China + accountability for police brutality on 12 June. From afternoon to late evening, one of the largest protests anywhere ever.

[The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation @thecfhk]

🕯️Today, we remember Hong Kong activist Marco Leung Ling-kit (梁凌杰), the man in the yellow raincoat.

On 15 June 2019, he fell to his death after protesting against a law that would allow extradition to mainland #China.

His tragic death moved millions to march for freedom in #HongKong on June 16, 2019.

[Razven @RazvenHK]

On this day 7 years ago, 2 million Hong Kongers took to the streets in record breaking numbers to demand the withdrawal of the extradition bill.

[Samuel Bickett @SamuelBickett]

My new briefing for @CSR_Institute: Of the 14 oil tankers the US seized or sanctioned in the months before Venezuela's Maduro fell, at least 10 had ties to Hong Kong.

One firm, Galaxy (Hong Kong) Business Co., served as corporate secretary to at least four of these sanctioned companies, in several cases signing on after OFAC had already designated them. Galaxy itself remains untouched by any western sanctions, as do its directors. Their staff openly advertise the services on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

The same infrastructure keeps Russia, Iran, and North Korea sanctions evasion humming along. Until western sanctions stop chasing the disposable shell companies at the top and start going after the established corporate secretaries, banks, and logistics providers beneath them, the machinery just gets reused by the next smugglers.

Full briefing: https://t.co/T1zChRx0RX

[Razven @RazvenHK]

7 years later, a total 10286 people arrested, 7 more since Nov 2025, with 3 charged 6 and a half years after the alleged crime occurred, 1 was only 14 or 15 years old back in 2019.

[Hong Kong Democracy Council @hkdc_us]

On this day 7yrs ago tens of thousands of #HongKongers surrounded the Legislative Council building to stop passage by the rigged pro-CCP Legco of a bill legalizing extradition to China. Protesters were attacked by police, leading to months of huge protests in the millions.🧵

[Razven @RazvenHK]

7 years ago, the day that taught the city that peaceful protest will still be met with tear gas and police violence

[Hong Kong Democracy Council @hkdc_us]

On this day 7 years ago, >1 million marched in #HongKong against a gov't plan to allow extradition to China, setting off mass protests that lasted 8mo--one of the largest, longest protest movements in modern history. The regime's response: severe repression that's still ongoing.

[Razven @RazvenHK]

HK Sec. for Justice Paul Lam: The Chief Executive's determining a normal criminal case endangers national security cannot be revoked or appealed by the courts as it involves "sensitive, highly classified information" and not something the courts is capable making a judgment on.

[Razven @RazvenHK]

7 years ago.

[euronews @euronews]

Hong Kong has proposed legislation allowing its leader to designate certain criminal acts as national security offences.

Critics say the move further weakens civil liberties following years of tightening security laws.

[Razven @RazvenHK]

The Hong Kong government has officially gazetted the subsidiary legislation to allow the Chief Executive to certify normal criminal acts as a national security case, with the law coming into effect immediately.

[端傳媒 Initium Media @initiumnews]

《我❤️宏福》
作者：Stellina

香港宏福苑受災居民，上個月開始重返原居住單位執拾，每戶有3小時。有多名住戶帶上「我愛宏福」「重建宏福」等標語，貼在窗上表達心情和對家的留戀。但連日來有多個單位的標語被揭下，特別是涉及寫有「原址重建」的標語。連「感謝中央政府」、「我❤️宏福」等，也被阻止張貼、懸掛。

文：端傳媒編輯部

👉請點擊連結，註冊免費閱讀：https://t.co/aHEAgjJv95

[端傳媒 Initium Media @initiumnews]

「有一群人犧牲了他們的性命，要追求中國的民主。這對於我，真的十分震撼。」

今天是六月四日，1989年的這一天，中國軍隊開進了北京天安門廣場，武力清場了和平抗議的學生與工人。

三十多年過去，記憶的戰場從未遠去。仍然有這樣的一批人，年中無休地潛入千萬頁的文件海裡，試圖在被抹除的歷史中打撈真相；而這場記憶與遺忘的鬥爭，至今仍在影響著我們。

過去的六四週年，端傳媒透過互動測試，將「記憶與遺忘」的艱難拉回每個人眼前。
時間回到 1989 年，你是一名報社編輯——
筆在你手上，你會如何報導這場歷史？
面對審查與高壓，你會迎來怎樣的後果？
在每一個命運的十字路口，你又會做出什麼選擇？

歷史不只是過去，也是當下的抉擇。

👉 請點擊連結進入互動測試，親身體會當年新聞記者的真實處境：https://t.co/xz5WBIwXAb

__________________________________
端傳媒推出全新「守護年付方案」，限時8折，現在訂閱即可解鎖《紐約時報》（The New York Times）完整體驗。每週僅 US$2.5，立即訂閱，串連華文深度與全球現場：https://t.co/xUodcGhS2g

[Hong Kong Democracy Council @hkdc_us]

The new film "No Time for Goodbye" is now showing in 6 cities around the UK. It's about 2 asylum seekers from #HongKong. Hopefully it will eventually get wider distribution. See the trailer here: https://t.co/k47ms3Zdii

[Hong Kong Watch @hk_watch]

In this article for @Diplomat_APAC, our Head of Advocacy and Research Thomas Benson outlines findings from our survey of the #HongKong diaspora in 🇬🇧, and how transnational repression may be worryingly widespread.

Read in full👇

https://t.co/Z9eyiE7WbA

[Hong Kong Watch @hk_watch]

🚨 Police have detained the owner of one of #HongKong’s last independent bookstores, along with three staff, over allegations of selling “seditious” materials.

Items seized include a biography of 🇬🇧 citizen Jimmy Lai by @MarkLClifford.

This is yet another stark warning sign about the state of freedom of expression in the city. The international community must not turn a blind eye.

https://t.co/jDJJ6LTgGC

[Tom Grundy @tomgrundy]

🚨BREAKING: Hong Kong independent bookseller Pong Yat-ming and three of his staff have reportedly been arrested on suspicion of selling seditious titles, including a biography of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

In full: https://t.co/bxj4OU7RAE