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 221
POST REFORM VOTE:DAY 36
POST REFORM VOTE:DAY 36
Full coverage of the day’s events on 24-07
Police watchdog in threat to reveal facts on assault
The police watchdog warned it may be forced to make public facts about the assault on an Occupy Central protester by a retiring superintendent if its ruling on the case is not accepted by the body that receives such complaints.
Independent Police Complaints Council member Edwin Cheng Shing- lung said it will hold another meeting and decide on a date to make the disclosure if the Complaints Against Police Office does not accept its conclusion on the assault.
It may even report the matter to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, Cheng said yesterday.
"The IPCC might consider reporting the matter to the chief executive [though] we cannot control how he deals with the case, such as asking the police commissioner for instance," he said.
An IPCC spokeswoman said the council notified CAPO yesterday morning about the result of its meeting.
"Our memo has been delivered to CAPO," she said.
A police spokesman said CAPO is addressing the case according to the established mechanism.
"While CAPO is investigating a case, it will not be affected by the staff's retirement," he said.
"In each case, CAPO will conduct an impartial and fair investigation."
Cheng said 21 out of 28 IPCC members attended the meeting yesterday and those who were absent expressed their opinions via voice messages.
"The atmosphere at the meeting was heated, but I believe everyone discussed the issues based on facts," he said.
It is understood 17 members backed the original ruling on July 10, which found superintendent Franklin Chu King-wai had assaulted Osman Cheng Chung-hang with his baton.
Three members expressed dissenting views and one abstained.
A source told The Standard the three dissenters were Lawrence Ma Yan- kwok, Ann So Lai-chun and Cheng Kam-chung. Eugene Chan Kin-keung abstained.
The source revealed most members supported the original finding and the meeting should have ended early.
But several members voiced dissenting opinions and interrupted the voting process.
Osman Cheng expressed hopes the police would arrest Chu within two weeks.
If this does not happen, he will launch a private prosecution or take civil action against Chu, he said.
"This happened over half a year ago and I hope this case will end as soon as possible. Two weeks should be sufficient [to police] ... I hope CAPO handles this as soon as possible."
He has no confidence in the ability of the chief executive to uphold justice if he is asked to rule on the case.
Coconuts
Second IPCC vote maintains that police brutality case is 'substantiated', officer retires
Hong Kong's police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaint Council (IPCC), has reaffirmed its stance that its findings on a police brutality case are “substantiated” after a second round of voting yesterday.
Superintendent Franklin Chu is accused of with his baton on Nov. 26, at the height of last year's Occupy movement, outside the Mong Kok police station while he was on crowd control duties. His act, caught on camera, caused huge controversy.
The victim, a Mong Kok resident, was not a participant in the protests.
The second vote, which happened yesterday, occurred after the police rejected the council's initial decision, in which they found the case was “substantiated”. Local media reported that the police petitioned to change the ruling to “not fully substantiated”.
In the latest vote, 17 voted in favour, while three voted against the "subtantiated" verdict, with one abstaining, reports .
Hong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung will have to make the final decision if the council and the police are unable to come to an agreement. .
The policeman in question, Franklin Chu, retired yesterday. He has previously testified that he had just "touched" the pedestrian's back. The baton, he testified, was “an extension of his arm” which he used to “pat” the victim, .
Osman Cheng, the man who was hit, is sceptical that justice will be served. He said he does not believe CY Leung will deliver a fair judgement should no conclusion be reached, .
He said he is considering pursuing a private prosecution and is currently seeking legal advice from his lawyer.
In another high-profile case, seven policemen appeared to be beating a protester in footage captured by TVB last year. The officers in question have not been prosecuted.
Superintendent Franklin Chu is accused of with his baton on Nov. 26, at the height of last year's Occupy movement, outside the Mong Kok police station while he was on crowd control duties. His act, caught on camera, caused huge controversy.
The victim, a Mong Kok resident, was not a participant in the protests.
The second vote, which happened yesterday, occurred after the police rejected the council's initial decision, in which they found the case was “substantiated”. Local media reported that the police petitioned to change the ruling to “not fully substantiated”.
In the latest vote, 17 voted in favour, while three voted against the "subtantiated" verdict, with one abstaining, reports .
Hong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung will have to make the final decision if the council and the police are unable to come to an agreement. .
The policeman in question, Franklin Chu, retired yesterday. He has previously testified that he had just "touched" the pedestrian's back. The baton, he testified, was “an extension of his arm” which he used to “pat” the victim, .
Osman Cheng, the man who was hit, is sceptical that justice will be served. He said he does not believe CY Leung will deliver a fair judgement should no conclusion be reached, .
He said he is considering pursuing a private prosecution and is currently seeking legal advice from his lawyer.
In another high-profile case, seven policemen appeared to be beating a protester in footage captured by TVB last year. The officers in question have not been prosecuted.
Pro-Occupy’ broadcaster RTHK ‘hurts the feelings of Hong Kongers’, claim pro-police protesters
Members of a pro-police group have accused local broadcaster RTHK of producing TV programmes critical of the government and in favour of last year’s pro-democracy Occupy protests.
Around ten protesters from the Justice Alliance arrived by tour bus at RTHK’s headquarters on Thursday to protest against the broadcaster’s “biased” reporting.
They called RTHK a broadcaster that “hurts the feelings of Hong Kongers”. The group said that the publicly funded broadcaster had a tendency to pick on the government, as well as give airtime to guests who speak in favour of last year’s Occupy demonstrations.
The demonstrators wore imperial Chinese attire to mock an RTHK political commentary show that used similar clothing in a role play.
Prior to the protest, the group had gathered at Wanchai Police Station to show support for the force. Leticia Lee See-yin, who led the two demonstrations, said that the police force was the “hope” for Hong Kong’s rule of law, which was being “destroyed” by some Hong Kongers “in the name of freedom of expression”.
Lee is an outspoken activist known for her leadership role within several anti-Occupy and pro-police groups. She led the Justice Alliance to protest on HKU and CUHK campuses during a citywide class boycott last September. Last month, Lee announced that she would besetting up a political party called Justice Alliance Party.
RTHK’s veteran journalist Joseph Tse Chi-fung, who met with the alliance at the demonstration, denies the accusation that RTHK is biased. “We’re committed to running an open platform that accommodates different opinions. I believe we have fulfilled our duties as journalists.”
He added, “As a governmental department, we listen to public opinion and handle every complaint. But on this occasion [the group] didn’t seem to have a clear demand, so it’s difficult to give them a response.”
In a video shot by the alliance, Tse is referred to as a “moron” and appears to be ridiculed by the demonstrators. Asked how he handled the situation, Tse said, “They won’t listen to you. So the way I approach it is to explain philosophical concepts in a light-hearted manner: They said I was a dog, I told them ‘I’m a watchdog.’ They accused me of being paid (by pan-democrats) to criticise the government, I told them I’m indeed employed by RTHK to be a watchdog.”
Tse has been targeted by supporters of the government, who criticise him for being biased and inviting pan-democrats to his weekly televised debate City Forum. On multiple occasions, security guards had to ask pro-government supporters, who kept interrupting the forum, to leave.
Francis Moriarty, former RTHK journalist and founder of the press freedom committee of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, told HKFP that the alliance had a right to free speech and protest, and protests like this did not pose a threat to journalists’ work.
“The most worrisome pressures on press freedom are those you cannot see, and assaults committed by those who are hard to prosecute and working for unknown employers, such as those behind the attack on Kevin Lau,” said Moriarty.
Kevin Lau Chun-to, ex-editor for local newspaper Ming Pao, was attacked with a cleaver on the street last year. His attack raised widespread concern that local journalists had become targets of assault. A court heard on Wednesday that two suspects admitted to being paid HK$100,000 each in the “meticulously planned” attack.
沒有留言:
張貼留言