Two owners of one of Hong Kong’s last independent bookshops were arrested on Wednesday in the latest attack on freedom of speech in the city.
One of them is Leticia Wong, a former pro-democracy district councillor. This is why they're being targeted ⤵️
https://t.co/Q5v26sqpDI
The arrest of journalist & bookseller #LeticiaWong in #HongKong days before the anniversary of the forced implementation of Beijing’s Orwellian Stasi-law shows how broad the crackdown on free speech and independent publishing is.
Beijing explicitly promised in a binding international treaty that Hong Kong’s lifestyle would remain unchanged for 50 years under "One Country, Two Systems." That promise was shattered in 2020 with the imposition of a “national-security” law and further decimated by other national security laws. PRC authorities have completely upended HK life, criminalized dissent, and dismantled the city's fundamental freedoms. An international agreement has been broken; trust has been lost. If Beijing can shred a binding treaty with total impunity, which agreement will it break next? #WhyAreYouAfraidOfBookSellers
https://t.co/qjUabfZVDo
This is not a law about enhancing ethnic unity - it is a tool of transnational repression and mass atrocity crimes
China says it has a right to target people overseas with new ethnic unity law https://t.co/9FtSAvmE9C
China promised Germany it would close its overseas police stations, yet Berlin now confirms Beijing is still operating them on German soil. If China breaks even basic agreements so quickly, can anyone truly trust it as a partner? Sovereignty is non-negotiable. No nation should tolerate foreign police forces operating on its territory.#China #Germany #Sovereignty
https://t.co/fsqVShkNFI
The genius of United Front work: it's designed so operatives never feel like pawns. No one gets asked to 'spy'. Instead, they use hometown sentiment, honorary titles, business networks...
Participants can deny it in good faith. But ignorance doesn't cancel influence. Their credibility and access to British institutions have already been put to use.
That's why FIRS registration isn't accusation, it's transparency.
Very happy to be able to contribute to this story.
Hong Kong has re-entered 1984: When arresting the book store founder (Leticia Wong who s also a former HK councillor), the “National security police” of the HK-CCP authority also removed the line of lyrics on the display window: “it’s rare but may still exist” 「罕見但也許還有」
📺 This week in @HouseofCommons, @GregoryStafford tabled the #HongKong Economic and Trade Office 1996 (Repeal) Bill.
Following the sentencing of Peter Wai and Bill Yuen for assisting a foreign intelligence service via the HKETO in 🇬🇧, these offices must be scrutinised worldwide.
Yesterdays evening, @DeutscheWelle’s Freedom of Speech Award was presented to the imprisoned Hong Kong journalist Jimmy Lai.
In the presence of prominent figures from the media and politics – including representatives from the Federal Foreign Office @AuswaertigesAmt – the emotional ceremony at the German @Bundestag highlighted Jimmy Lai’s outstanding character and achievements: The publisher of the influential newspaper “Apple Daily” has been a staunch advocate for the preservation of democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. Lai has relentlessly spoken out against the gradual and systematic infiltration and suppression of the once-free global metropolis by the Chinese state apparatus.
The influential entrepreneur could have fled – he also holds British citizenship. Yet Jimmy Lai stayed and refused to be silenced in his commitment to freedom and democracy. This dedication makes Jimmy Lai a defining figure of the Hong Kong resistance – and a target of those in power.
For over five years now, he has been held in solitary confinement under appalling conditions. Most recently, Jimmy Lai was unlawfully sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison in a politically motivated trial.
I condemn this imprisonment in the strongest terms and have assured Jimmy Lai’s daughter, Claire, who accepted the award on her father’s behalf, of my continued unconditional support.
#FREEJIMMYLAI
Urgent 🚨
Hong Kong Ex-journalist/councillor, founder of the independent “Hunter Bookstore” Leticia Wong, is arrested under nat. sec. ordinance “act with seditious intention ” and money laundering. Another man is also arrested.
Cr. The Collective
‼️ Drawing on @IPACglobal research, @TheTimes identifies at least 75 🇨🇳 state-linked organisations connected to United Front Work.
China must be placed in the enhanced tier of FIRS to protect the UK and those named, many of whom say their roles were honorary or apolitical.
https://t.co/cggGI2eLn8
@HouseofCommons@GregoryStafford In @UKHouseofLords, Hong Kong Watch Patron @DavidAltonHL referred to the London HKETO as a "spy hub."
He called for 🇬🇧 to have the power to close down the HKETO and for 🇨🇳 to be included in the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.