Occupy Central
Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.
Umbrella Movement
The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
Occupy Central site in an area surrounding the Legislative Council and Central Government Offices at Tamar were cleared 22-06-2015.
Hong Kong reform vote
The Hong Kong government’s political reform proposal for how the city elects its leader by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017 is based on a strict framework set by Beijing. The plan limits the number of candidates to two or three and requires them to win majority support from a 1,200 strong nominating committee. Arguing that this does not constitute genuine universal suffrage, pan-democratic lawmakers have vowed to reject the package, while pro-democracy groups have protested. The government’s resolution was to be put to a vote by the 70-member Legislative Council in June 2015, requiring a two-thirds majority to be passed.
POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 210
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 25
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 25
Full coverage of the day’s events on 13-07
Coconuts
Watchdog: Hong Kong journalists faced 'unprecedented' assaults during protests
Hong Kong's journalists faced an "unprecedented" number of assaults last year as political tensions surged during a massive pro-democracy movement in the city, a press freedom watchdog said yesterday.
A ruling by Beijing restricting how Hong Kong choose its next leader sent discontent surging in the city last year, sparking mass street rallies for more than two months.
More than 30 journalists were harassed or physically assaulted by either protesters or police during the demonstrations, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said in its annual report on press freedom in the city.
"It was a range of assaults from getting hit by water bottles to being punched and kicked. Some have got their cameras pushed down and dragged onto the floor," the independent watchdog's vice chairwoman Shirley Yam told AFP.
"In terms of physical assaults it was definitely a record [year]."
China ruled last summer that the public could vote for Hong Kong's chief executive for the first time in 2017, but the move has been derided as "fake democracy" by the opposition as candidates must first be vetted by a pro-Beijing committee.
The bill enshrining that measure was voted down by pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong's legislature last month.
Hong Kong was a British colony until it was handed back to China in 1997 and is ruled under a "one country, two systems" deal that allows it far greater civil liberties than those enjoyed on the Chinese mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.
But there are fears that these liberties are fading with greater influence from Beijing.
Amnesty International said in November that Hong Kong police had used "unjustifiable force against protesters, bystanders and journalists" when authorities cleared another campaign site in Mongkok, which was also the scene of some of the most violent clashes of last year's rallies.
Yam said few perpetrators were held accountable.
"There were cases that occurred during chaotic situations, and it has been difficult to get the people responsible to face the music," she said.
A ruling by Beijing restricting how Hong Kong choose its next leader sent discontent surging in the city last year, sparking mass street rallies for more than two months.
More than 30 journalists were harassed or physically assaulted by either protesters or police during the demonstrations, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said in its annual report on press freedom in the city.
"It was a range of assaults from getting hit by water bottles to being punched and kicked. Some have got their cameras pushed down and dragged onto the floor," the independent watchdog's vice chairwoman Shirley Yam told AFP.
"In terms of physical assaults it was definitely a record [year]."
China ruled last summer that the public could vote for Hong Kong's chief executive for the first time in 2017, but the move has been derided as "fake democracy" by the opposition as candidates must first be vetted by a pro-Beijing committee.
The bill enshrining that measure was voted down by pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong's legislature last month.
Hong Kong was a British colony until it was handed back to China in 1997 and is ruled under a "one country, two systems" deal that allows it far greater civil liberties than those enjoyed on the Chinese mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.
But there are fears that these liberties are fading with greater influence from Beijing.
Amnesty International said in November that Hong Kong police had used "unjustifiable force against protesters, bystanders and journalists" when authorities cleared another campaign site in Mongkok, which was also the scene of some of the most violent clashes of last year's rallies.
Yam said few perpetrators were held accountable.
"There were cases that occurred during chaotic situations, and it has been difficult to get the people responsible to face the music," she said.
Alumni launch ‘safeguard HKU’ petition against political interference
Alumni from the University of Hong Kong have launched a petition entitled “Safeguard HKU” in response to repeated deferrals of the university’s appointment of a pro-vice-chancellor, citing the incident as a threat to the university’s autonomy.
The petition urged the 100-year-old institution in Pok Fu Lam to “safeguard university autonomy” and uphold academic freedom. More than 400 alumni signed the appeal, including an ex-president of the Legislative Council, Andrew Wong Wang-fat, and a former director of Legal Aid, Lady Pauline Cheung Cheng Po-lin.
Members of the University of Hong Kong Alumni Concern Group.
The HKU Council explained in June that it needed to appoint the future deputy vice-chancellor prior to making a decision on the pro-vice-chancellor’s position.
Johannes Chan Man-mun, a former Dean of the university’s Faculty of Law, was unanimously recommended for the post by the vice-chancellor search committee. Chan considers his evident pro-democracy stance as a factor in delaying the appointment, and criticised the decision as “absolutely ridiculous.”
Johannes Chan Man-mun. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
At a press conference on Sunday, the University of Hong Kong Alumni Concern Group called for the institution to act on the search committee’s recommendations, and to follow established procedures. The group also called for an end to the system under which Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is automatically the Chancellor of the university, in order to minimise intervention from the executive branch.
Billy Fung Jing-en, President of the Hong Kong University Student Union, announced that a rally would take place on July 16 to demand that appointments of senior personnel be made without the participation of the Chief Executive. The march will commence at 3pm, starting at the university and ending at Government House in Central.
University of Hong Kong. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Professor Gabriel Matthew Leung, Dean of the university’s Faculty of Medicine said he was “slightly worried” by the delay in the pro-vice-chancellor’s appointment. During an interview with TVB programme On the Record, Leung said many were not persuaded by the Council’s explanation that it was “waiting for the future deputy vice-chancellor.”
Leung added that this practice was unusual, and he hoped that the Council would complete the appointment within the next two meetings.
Former legislative councillor Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee said that the delay of Chan’s appointment as pro-vice-chancellor was “unreasonable”, according to Ming Pao. She said that members of the Council should resign if they fail to provide a reasonable explanation.
The petition is open to alumni of the University of Hong Kong, as well as to the general public.
Teachers, lawyers slam ‘biased and substandard’ Basic Law teaching kit
Professional groups have criticised the official Basic Law teaching resource package for being “biased” and “substandard”, and urged the government to withdraw the package.
Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, the city’s largest teachers’ union, and Progressive Lawyers Group held a joint press conference on Sunday to present their analyses of the government’s teaching kit from educational and legal perspectives.
The two groups advised schools against using the kit, saying that its content is questionable and could be used as a “political tool” on students. They also urged the bureau to rewrite the package after consulting the educational and legal sectors.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the proclamation of the Basic Law, the Education Bureau produced a Basic Law multimedia package targeting middle school students in late April. According to the bureau, the kit aims at deepening students’ understanding of the Basic Law and the “One Country, Two Systems” policy from a “multi-perspective outlook”.
Professional Teachers’ Union and Progressive Lawyers Group held a joint conference regarding the Basic Law teaching kit on Sunday. Photo: Office of Legislative Councilor Ip Kin-yuen.
However, the teachers and lawyers groups said that the teaching kit misrepresents history and the concept of law by downplaying the fact that “One Country, Two Systems” stems from the Sino-British Joint Declaration, thereby misleading students into thinking that the Basic Law is simply authorised by China’s constitution and can be amended anytime by the Chinese government.
The kit also fails to explain the concept of the rule of law and teach the importance of civil rights, the study found. “An important aspect of legal education is the understanding of various concepts related to the rule of law, such as the spirit of the rule of law, human rights, equality, adherence to the laws, and civil disobedience,” the groups said in a joint statement. “However, the teaching kit fails to present any of these concepts and values, let alone carrying out any discussions.”
The groups said that the kit provides a one-sided narrative as it mostly presents opinions of pro-government individuals and lacks the voices of those who hold different opinions towards the Basic Law, which contradicts the bureau’s objective of promoting a “multi-perspective outlook”.
The study also found that the kit avoids mentioning controversial subjects, such as a lawyers’ silent protest in response to Beijing’s interpretation of the Basic Law, and presents these issues as widely accepted facts. The groups worried that it would prevent students from understanding the current legal system critically.
The new Basic Law multimedia teaching kit. Photo: GovHK.
Wong Ji-yuet, spokesperson for the student activist group Scholarism,wrote in an oped for local newspaper Apple Daily on Monday that the teaching kit was equivalent to the “Chinese government’s mouthpiece” by “copying the content of the White Paper [put forward by China’s legislature in 2014] and repackaging it in the form of the Basic Law”.
“[The teaching kit] is not simply a biased teaching resource package, but it also distorts the power relationships between the Chinese and Hong Kong governments,” said Wong. “It is a form of brainwash education.”
The Education Bureau has rejected the criticism, saying that it has consulted a number of Basic Law experts and teachers. It will be providing teachers with professional training courses and inviting experts to explore a variety of issues, the bureau said.
In 2012, a controversial “moral and national education” subject introduced by the Education Bureau was met with resistance from the public, who viewed the subject as pro-China and “brainwashing”. After a ten-day siege of the government’s headquarters, the government announced that schools would no longer be required to teach the subject.
However, Scholarism and other groups have been criticising the government for “instilling nationalistic values” across all grades through various means, such as publicly funded exchange tours and Hong Kong Army Cadets Association.
HKFrontline
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