Damned

[CNN Breaking News @cnnbrk]

Two key organizers behind what used to be the only large-scale public commemoration for the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil have been found guilty of inciting subversion by a court in Hong Kong. https://t.co/c9q1tE8UUN

[Reuters @Reuters]

Hong Kong court convicts Tiananmen vigil group of inciting subversion https://t.co/Y1c2eru4XS https://t.co/Y1c2eru4XS

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

The vicious Russian “safari” against our people in Kherson has long gone beyond anything a normal person could imagine.

This morning, the Russians struck an ordinary minibus in Kherson with an FPV drone. Four people were killed and five others were wounded. All necessary services are at the scene, investigating the details. What is absolutely clear is that the bus was civilian.

These are the realities of everyday life in Ukraine’s frontline regions. While partners hesitate over additional supplies of defense equipment, the Russians have long run wild.

Pressure on the aggressor is needed. Support for those defending life is needed. I thank everyone who continues to provide assistance packages and impose new sanctions on the aggressor.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

North Koreans appear on the territory of the Russian Federation from time to time. We see this, we know this. At first, we were talking about hundreds, then thousands, and now a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia. They are studying this war. If we are talking about crises and escalation in another region – in the Pacific – which could pose a threat to other Asian countries, then North Korea will certainly gain experience in modern warfare under Russia.

We have already found North Korean missiles on the territory of Ukraine. Today, this is already an established fact. It is absolutely clear that North Korea will continue to build its experience in modern warfare, receive licenses from Russia, and receive all kinds of military tools from them. We understand this very clearly.

Therefore, in my view, the Republic of Korea should have closer cooperation with Ukraine. We are open to this. We would very much like to receive support from South Korea in an area where we have a shortage. That is air defense systems. And we are ready to work on the Drone Deal and other areas as well. They have a legal restriction under their Constitution. But we would like to have this cooperation and are counting on it. Our diplomats are in contact.

From an interview for the United News telethon. (3/3)

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

As of now, 44 people have been reported injured in the massive Russian strike on Kyiv and the Kyiv region. Another 17 people, tragically, were killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. It was a heavy strike – 24 ballistic missiles, 4 Zircon/Oniks missiles, and another 115 drones, a significant number of them jet-powered. The main targets of the attack were warehouse facilities belonging to civilian businesses. There were also strikes on infrastructure and a railway station. These facilities had nothing to do with the war – a brewing company, construction materials warehouses, and civilian logistics facilities.

Ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today. It is very important that our partners understand that delays in supplying them, or an unwillingness to provide anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction. Partners who are not yet ready to play a more active role in supplying interceptors can help by implementing new sanctions. A significant share of Russia’s ballistic missile production is still not under sanctions. Even now. New steps are needed – from the G7, the European Union, and everyone who supports the protection of life. Thank you to those who are willing to help in this way.

[Select Committee on China @ChinaSelect]

A statement from Chairman @RepMoolenaar on the sentencing of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai:

[Raymond Arroyo @RaymondArroyo]

BREAKING:: Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 Years in prison for allegedly violating China’s national security law. Lead counsel of the international legal team,Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, added, “Today marks the final blow to the rule of law in Hong Kong. Sentencing Jimmy Lai – already aged 78 – to two decades behind bars is an affront to justice, and the culmination of over five years of malicious lawfare against a courageous, elderly British citizen and prisoner of conscience. Now that this sham trial is finally over, we call on leaders from around the world to speak with one voice in their demand for China to free Jimmy Lai so he can come home to his family in London at last.” Pray for Jimmy Lai and his family.

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

China disgraces itself by sending Jimmy Lai to prison for 20 years for committing journalism. I hope Western governments will speak up for him.

[Kevin Yam 任建峰 @kevinkfyam]

1. By way of comparison, China sentenced leading dissidents Liu Xiaobo to 11 years and Xu Zhiyong to 14 years. The Hong Kong Court has topped that with 20 years for Jimmy Lai, effectively a life sentence for an old man.

2. On a personal level I knew senior journalists Chan Pui-man and Law Wai-kwong too, and am devastated that even they got 7 and 10 years. It’s a dark day.

[Shibani Mahtani @ShibaniMahtani]

Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, the longest ever in a national security trial, harsher than even Liu Xiaobo's 11 years for inciting subversion in 2009. They've created a martyr for a popular movement they could never admit was ground-up.
https://t.co/PYfMr6ZJOt

[Travel Guy Asia 🇺🇸🇵🇭🇹🇼 @TravelGuyAsia]

A travesty of #justice in #Asia: #HongKong democracy champion #JimmyLai sentenced harshly to 20 years in prison as #China tightens its grip and further demonstrates why #Taiwan, long a bastion of #freedom and #democracy, doesn't want to be next https://t.co/QHYVqDIjoa

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

Our chairman, Ambassador James Cunningham, on #JimmyLai's guilty verdict and 20-year sentence handed down by three handpicked judges today.

“The prosecution of Jimmy Lai has been from the outset a perversion of the rule of law in Hong Kong, with the outcome pre-determined. Today’s sentence risks being a death sentence for a 78-year-old who is in poor health after some five years in solitary confinement.”

#FreeJimmyLai

Read the full statement: https://t.co/48oG0vz2KP

[Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 @DrewPavlou]

An absolute travesty of justice.

Fake CCP puppet court in Hong Kong sentences Jimmy Lai to 20 years.

Jimmy Lai was a pro-American Trump supporter, Trump should condemn the sentence.

It is truly a disgusting mockery of justice.

[Avi Yemini @OzraeliAvi]

🚨 #BREAKING: A 78-year-old pro-democracy publisher has been JAILED for 20 YEARS in Hong Kong under China’s draconian ‘national security law’.

Jimmy Lai will likely die in jail.

Chinese state media previously attacked him for supporting my reporting.

This is not justice.
This is a warning.

Hong Kong has fallen.

[The Campaign for Hong Kong @Campaign4HK]

The 20-year sentence for Jimmy Lai is not justice but retroactive retribution. Authorities have reached back years to criminalize journalism, public advocacy, and rewriting the past to punish a man whose only offense was refusing to abandon the truth. https://t.co/tDNSQPd5Ok

[巴丢草 Bad ї ucao @badiucao]

China sentenced 20years for a 78 years hero Jimmy Lai.

thats a death sentence with a better name

[CNBC @CNBC]

Hong Kong media baron and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison https://t.co/3YAtEwP6gs

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

A #Hongkong court just sentenced Jimmy Lai to 20 years, a de facto death sentence for a 78 year old man. How can the UK even think of a “reset” with China when Beijing is the one ultimately responsible for this injustice against a British citizen and courageous man? https://t.co/UDsqVtKn4t

[Bari Weiss @bariweiss]

Jimmy Lai should be a household name in the free world. The dissident just sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong.

Read about him in @TheFP:

https://t.co/mEECjn4tjP

[Anna Kwok 郭鳳儀 @AnnaKwokFY]

A de facto life sentence for 78-year-old Jimmy Lai.

First sentencing in cases that concern “foreign collusion,” which includes simply speaking to people outside Hong Kong about our movement for freedom and democracy. Charges and evidence in court read like fiction. Insanity.