Archive for ‘violent’

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29/05/2020

Hong Kong: What is the BNO and what does the UK move mean?

A Petitioner is seen holding up a BNO passport outside the British Consulate in Hong Kong on August 21, 2019Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Around 300,000 in Hong Kong hold a British National (Overseas) passport

The UK has said it is considering more rights for holders of a special passport issued to some people in Hong Kong.

The territory, which used to be a British colony, was handed back to China in 1997. Anyone born before then is eligible to apply for a British National (Overseas) passport, known as a BNO.

If China implements a controversial proposed security law, people holding the BNO, could get a “path to citizenship”, the UK said.

What is the BNO and who has one?

The BNO passport is essentially a travel document that does not carry citizenship rights with it – although you are entitled to some consular assistance outside of Hong Kong and China with it.

It was issued to people in Hong Kong by the UK before Hong Kong was handed over to China.

Around 300,000 people currently hold a BNO passport, allowing them to visit the UK visa-free for six months. An estimated 2.9 million people are eligible for a BNO passport, said the British Consulate General in Hong Kong.

Though it gives the passport holder the right to remain in the UK for up to six months, it doesn’t automatically allow them to reside or work there. They also aren’t allowed to access public funds, including things like government benefits.

BNO holders cannot pass this status on to their children.

What is the UK proposing – and why?

China on Thursday formally approved a plan to impose controversial national security legislation in Hong Kong. It could go into effect as early as the end of June.

Hong Kong was handed back to China, on a number of conditions. These include the region’s high level of autonomy and maintaining certain rights like freedom of speech that do not exist in mainland China.

But this new plan, if put into law, would make it a crime to undermine Beijing’s authority in Hong Kong, and many are concerned it could end Hong Kong’s unique status.

The move triggered a wave of  criticism around the world, with many – including Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong – urging the UK to stand up for the territory.

A BNO passport
Image caption Under current rules, BNO holders are allowed to stay for six months

Later on Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the country would move to scrap the six-month stay limit for BNO holders if China goes on to officially implement the law.

Mr Raab said that BNO passport holders would be allowed to “apply to work and study for extendable periods of 12 months and that will itself provide a pathway to future citizenship”.

What difference could it make?

As a way to help people in Hong Kong who would rather not stay there if the new security laws are implemented, it might prove more symbolic.

For starters only a small percentage of people in Hong Kong currently have a BNO.

But also, the people who the security laws are aimed at – the young anti-mainland protesters who have been getting into violent confrontations with police for months – are not likely to be eligible for the BNO because of their age.

Additionally, though the BNO gives the passport holder the right to visit the UK for up to a year potentially, it’s not clear what other benefits the extension might bring, or if the UK would make it any easier administratively for those already in the country to apply for work or study.

On social media, some Hong Kongers dismissed it as a gesture that amounted to little more than a 12-month tourist visa.

Effectively, it means that those who come to stay in the UK for a year, and who have the funds to be able to extend this enough, could eventually be eligible to apply for citizenship.

It cuts out some of the administrative hoops BNO holders would have had to jump through before this move if they wanted this path.

How has China reacted?

China has firmly opposed the move by the UK, saying it is a violation of the handover agreement that stipulates BNO passport holders do not enjoy UK residency.

China has repeatedly warned Britain to stay out of its affairs in Hong Kong.

The Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming had previously accused some British politicians of viewing Hong Kong “as part of the British empire”.

Source: The BBC

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22/05/2020

NPC: China begins move to impose controversial Hong Kong security law

Shoppers walking past a broadcast of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivering his speech at the opening of the NPCImage copyright AFP / GETTY
Image caption Shoppers walking past a broadcast of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivering his speech at the opening of the NPC on Thursday

China’s ruling Communist Party has set in motion a controversial national security law for Hong Kong, a move seen as a major blow to the city’s freedoms.

The law to ban “treason, secession, sedition and subversion” could bypass Hong Kong’s lawmakers.

Critics say China is breaking its promise to allow Hong Kong freedoms not seen elsewhere in China.

It is likely to fuel public anger and may even trigger fresh protests and demands for democratic reform.

The plan was submitted at the annual National People’s Congress (NPC), which largely rubber-stamps decisions already taken by the Communist leadership, but is still the most important political event of the year.

Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous region and an economic powerhouse, was always meant to have introduced such laws after the handover from British control to Chinese rule in 1997.

After last year’s wave of sustained and violent protest, Beijing is now attempting to push them through, arguing “law-based and forceful measures” must be taken to “prevent, stop and punish” such protests in the future.

On Friday, Hong Kong’s government said it would co-operate with Beijing to enact the law, adding it would not affect the city’s freedoms.

What is in Beijing’s proposed law?

The “draft decision” – as it is known before approval by the NPC – was explained by Wang Chen, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC.

It consists of an introduction and seven articles. Article 4 may prove the most controversial.

That article says Hong Kong “must improve” national security, before adding: “When needed, relevant national security organs of the Central People’s Government will set up agencies in Hong Kong to fulfil relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law.”

China could essentially place this law into Annex III of the Basic Law, which covers national laws that must be implemented in Hong Kong – either by legislation, or decree.

Addressing the congress, Premier Li Keqiang spoke of the economic impact of the coronavirus and on Hong Kong and Macau said: “We’ll establish sound legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security in the two Special Administrative Regions.”

What do opponents say the dangers are?

Hong Kong is what is known as a “special administrative region” of China.

It has observed a “one country, two systems” policy since Britain returned sovereignty in 1997, which has allowed it certain freedoms the rest of China does not have.

Pro-democracy activists fear that China pushing through the law could mean “the end of Hong Kong” – that is, the effective end of its autonomy and these freedoms.

Last year’s mass protests in Hong Kong were sparked by a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

Media caption Former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten: “UK should tell China this is outrageous”

The bill was paused, then withdrawn – but the protests continued until the virus outbreak at the end of the year.

The US has also weighed in, with President Trump saying the US would react strongly if it went through – without giving details.

It is currently considering whether to extend Hong Kong’s preferential trading and investment privileges.

Why is China doing this?

Mr Wang said the security risks had become “increasingly notable” – a reference to last year’s protests.

“Considering Hong Kong’s situation at present, efforts must be made at the state-level to establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms,” he is quoted as saying in state media.

Media caption The BBC’s Helier Cheung on Hong Kong’s 2019 protests

Beijing may also fear September’s elections to Hong Kong’s legislature.

If last year’s success for pro-democracy parties in district elections is repeated, government bills could potentially be blocked.

What is Hong Kong’s legal situation?

Hong Kong was under British control for more than 150 years up to 1997.

The British and Chinese governments signed a treaty – the Sino-British Joint Declaration – that agreed Hong Kong would have “a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs”, for 50 years.

This was enshrined in the Basic Law, which runs out in 2047.

As a result, Hong Kong’s own legal system, borders, and rights – including freedom of assembly and free speech – are protected.

But Beijing has the ability to veto any changes to the political system and has, for example, ruled out direct election of the chief executive.

Media caption Uproar on Monday in Hong Kong’s legislature

Source: The BBC

Posted in "one country, two systems", 1997, ability, Basic Law, begins, Beijing, borders, Britain, British control, broadcast, changes, Chief Executive, China, Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Chinese rule, Chris Patten, Communist Party, controversial, delivering, direct election, Economic, extraditions, free speech, freedom of assembly, governor, handover, Hong Kong, Investment, Law, legal system, legislature, Mainland China, move, opening, political system, powerhouse, preferential, Premier Li Keqiang, privileges, pro-democracy activists, protected, Protest, returned, rights, ruled out, security, semi-autonomous region, shoppers, sovereignty, Special administrative region, speech, sustained, to impose, trading, Uncategorized, uproar, veto, violent, virus outbreak | Leave a Comment »

10/12/2019

China Uighurs: Detainees ‘free’ after ‘graduating’, official says

Shohrat Zakir, deputy secretary of the Communist Party committee for China's Xinjiang and chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, attends a news conference in BeijingImage copyright REUTERS
Image caption Shohrat Zakir told reporters the released detainees now had an “improved quality of life”

A senior Chinese official has said that all of the people sent to detention centres in the western region of Xinjiang have now been released.

Regional government chairman Shohrat Zakir told reporters those held in what Beijing say are “re-education camps” had now “graduated”.

It is not possible to independently verify Mr Zakir’s claims.

Rights groups say the camps are actually high-security prisons, holding hundreds of thousands of Muslims.

Beijing has always denied this, despite the prevalence of high-security features, like watchtowers and razor wire, and leaked documents detailing how inmates at the so-called centres are locked up, indoctrinated and punished.

What is Beijing saying?

Mr Zakir told reporters in the Chinese capital on Monday that everyone in the centres had completed their courses and – with the “help of the government”- had “realised stable employment [and] improved their quality of life”.

He said that, in future, training would be based on “independent will” and people would have “the freedom to come and go”.

Media caption The BBC’s John Sudworth meets Uighur parents in Turkey who say their children are missing in China

BBC China correspondent John Sudworth points out it is not possible to verify the claims, as access for journalists is tightly controlled and it’s impossible to contact local residents without placing them at risk of detention.

In recent months, independent reports have suggested that some camp inmates are being released, only to face house arrest, other restrictions on their movement or forced labour in factories.

What could be behind the move?

Pressure has been increasing on Beijing in recent months.

A number of high-profile media reports based on leaks to the New York Times and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) have shone a spotlight on what is happening at the network of centres, which are believed to hold more than a million people, mainly Uighur Muslims and other minorities.

Then last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to counter what it calls the “arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment” of the Uighurs, calling for “targeted sanctions” on members of the Chinese government – and names the Communist Party secretary in the Xinjiang autonomous region, Chen Quanguo.

The bill still needs approval from the Senate and from President Donald Trump.

However, Mr Zakir used the press conference to dismiss the numbers detained as “pure fabrication”, reiterating Beijing’s argument that the centres were needed to combat violent religious extremism.

Media caption“An electric baton to the back of the head” – a former inmate described conditions at a secret camp to the BBC

“When the lives of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang were seriously threatened by terrorism, the US turned a deaf ear,” Mr Zakir said at a press briefing.

“Now that Xinjiang society is steadily developing and people of all ethnicities are living and working in peace, the US feels uneasy, and attacks and smears Xinjiang.”

What’s going on in Xinjiang?

Reports of widespread detentions first began to emerge in 2018, when a UN human rights committee was told there were credible allegations that China had “turned the Uighur autonomous region into something that resembles a massive internment camp”.

Rights groups also say there’s growing evidence of oppressive surveillance against people living in the region.

The Chinese authorities said the “vocational training centres” were being used to combat violent religious extremism. However, evidence showed many people were being detained for simply expressing their faith, by praying or wearing a veil, or for having overseas connections to places like Turkey.

Presentational white space

Records seen by the BBC show China has deliberately been separating Muslim children from their families.

This is an attempt to “raise a new generation cut off from original roots, religious beliefs and their own language”, Dr Adrian Zenz, a German researcher, told BBC News earlier this year.

“I believe the evidence points to what we must call cultural genocide.”

China’s ambassador to the UK said the allegations were “lies”.

Media caption Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming dismisses evidence of a separation campaign in Xinjiang

Source: The BBC

Posted in after, Beijing, China alert, China’s ambassador, combat, Detainees, free, graduating, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), minorities, New York Times, Official, President Donald Trump, religious extremism, says, Turkey, Uighur Muslims, Uighurs, UK, Uncategorized, US House of Representatives, violent, Xinjiang | Leave a Comment »

16/11/2019

China’s PLA soldiers help clean up Hong Kong streets as protesters leave campuses

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers in shorts and t-shirts made a surprising appearance in some Hong Kong streets on Saturday, briefly helping residents clean up debris after anti-government protests blocked roads, witnesses said.

The presence of PLA troops on the streets, even to help clean up roads near their base, could stoke further controversy over the Chinese-ruled territory’s autonomous status.

Hong Kong has been rocked by more than five months of demonstrations by protesters angry at perceived Communist Party meddling in the former British colony, which was guaranteed its freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Beijing denies interfering and has blamed the unrest on foreign influences.

Clashes between protesters and police have become increasingly violent. China has warned that any attempt at independence for Hong Kong will be crushed, but troops have remained inside their base.

RELATED COVERAGE

  • China’s PLA soldiers seen helping clean up streets after Hong Kong protests – RTHK

Saturday’s clean up followed some of the worst violence seen this year, after a police operation against protesters at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The authorities have since largely stayed away from at least five university campuses that had been barricaded by thousands of students and activists who stockpiled petrol bombs, catapults, bows and arrows and other weapons.

Many protesters appeared to have left the campuses by late Saturday, though some remained behind to man makeshift barricades. Hong Kong’s Cross-Harbour Tunnel was still blocked by protesters occupying Polytechnic University.

Earlier, hundreds of pro-China demonstrators gathered by the city’s legislature and police headquarters, waving Chinese and Hong Kong flags. Some held up posters reading “Police we stand with you”, while others chanted “Support the police”.

Pro-China protests have so far attracted much smaller numbers than those angry at Beijing.

RARE TROOP PRESENCE

By late afternoon, the PLA soldiers had left the streets outside Baptist University, beside their barracks in leafy Kowloon Tong.

Chinese troops have appeared on local streets only once since the 1997 handover, to help with cleanup operations after a typhoon in late 2018. It was not immediately clear how many were involved on Saturday.

Calls to the PLA Hong Kong garrison office and a media liaison officer went unanswered.

Demosistō, a pro-democracy organisation, said Saturday’s cleanup operation could set a “grave precedent” if the city’s government invites the military to deal with internal problems.

In August, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the border into Hong Kong in what state news agency Xinhua described as a routine “rotation”.

Foreign envoys and security analysts estimate up to 12,000 troops are now based across Hong Kong — more than double the usual garrison number.

Standing beside a black flag with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times,” James Wong, 23, was among a handful of protesters still manning a bridge at Baptist University.

“We didn’t want to confront the people and the PLA troops directly,” he told Reuters. “We are not directly against the PLA, but rather the government. But the PLA should not leave their base because this is Hong Kong territory.”

Wong said even after the campus fortifications have been dismantled “Hong Kong will keep resisting until the government responds to our demands”.

Hundreds of residents moved in to help clear barricaded roads near several universities.

Clashes on Saturday saw at least one petrol bomb thrown before anti-government protesters at the campuses retreated. No soldiers appeared to have been involved in the confrontations.

“We just want our lives to continue,” said one resident who was helping clear streets near HKU. “There are many elderly who need to go the hospital and children who need to go to school. I am very sad to see what is happening in my community.”

PRO-POLICE DEMONSTRATION

Saturday’s rally to denounce the anti-government violence drew a mix of young and elderly.

“From the bottom of our hearts, we believe it is the correct thing to support the police in fighting the rioters for Hong Kong citizens,” said a 49-year-old housewife surnamed Kong.

“A lot of people keep silent, afraid of the rioters. It’s time for all the people who are silent to step up and say that’s enough.”

A 70-year-old street cleaner died on Thursday after being hit on the head by one of several bricks police said had been thrown by “masked rioters”. On Monday, police blamed a “rioter” for dousing a man in petrol and setting him on fire. The victim is in critical condition.

On the same day, police shot a protester in the abdomen. He was in a stable condition.

Many pro-police protesters laid white flowers outside the government office to pay their respects to the cleaner. Others applauded and cheered the police, some bowing and giving thumbs up as they walked past riot police on duty.

Authorities said on Saturday that a highway blocked by anti-government protesters on Friday had reopened after being cleared of debris and petrol bombs.

Train services suspended earlier in the week were gradually resuming, metro operator MTR Corp (0066.HK) said.

Source: Reuters

Posted in activists, anti-government protests, authorities, autonomous status, “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times,”, Baptist University, barracks, barricaded, Beijing, black flag, blocked, bows and arrows, campuses, catapults, China's, Chinese flags, Chinese rule, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chinese-ruled, city’s legislature, clashes, Communist Party, confrontations, controversy, Cross-Harbour Tunnel, debris, denies, flags, foreign influences, former British colony, freedoms, guaranteed, headquarters, Hong Kong, Hong Kong flags, Hong Kong territory, independence, interfering, Kowloon Tong, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), petrol bombs, Police, Polytechnic University., protesters, roads, soldiers, stockpiled, streets, students, surprising appearance, suspended, territory’s, Train services, Uncategorized, utonomous status, violent, waving, weapons, white flowers | Leave a Comment »

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