Wu's UK Visit to End on Wednesday

Wu has precious days with his wife and son in the UK

Looks like former Hong Kong lawmaker and opposition leader Wu Chi-wai's trip to the UK will be cut short. Instead of his hopes of spending time with his family for a few months, he will be leaving by Wednesday.

He flew to the UK last Wednesday after he served four years and five months in prison, but was held by immigration officials for what was described as an administrative problem with his paperwork.

Wu was jailed for conspiracy to commit subversion after he and 46 other political activists and politicians took part in an unofficial primary election in 2020.

According to the Associated Press, Wu was eventually allowed to enter the country, but the authorities only granted him a seven-day immigration bail, which means he will be removed on Wednesday and sent back to Hong Kong.

Wu had hoped to pre-empt problems with his criminal record by proactively contacting the British Consulate in Hong Kong ahead of his trip.

However, border officials thought he might have long-term plans of staying other than visiting, hence the seven-day stay.

While the visit is too short to make up for lost time with his wife and son, who moved to the UK in 2022, Wu is also concerned he may not be able to enter the UK again after this incident, and hopes the Home Office can reverse the decision and allow him to extend his stay.

"I am very worried about whether I have the ability or a chance to secure a reentrance to the UK to meet with my family again," he said.

The Home Office has said it does not publicly comment on individual cases. 

Originally Wu had planned to stay in the UK until November, but now he is expected to leave in a few days.

He told the AP that being behind bars taught him that life is short; he was unable to see his parents before they passed, only allowed to attend their funerals briefly.

"If at such a moment you are unable to see your parents off for the last time, the psychological blow is actually significant," Wu said.

Which is why it is all the more important to him to spend as much time with his family as possible.

"Start afresh and cherish the time I have to reunite with my family," he said. "I feel this is my most important task in the near future."

Former HK Politician Enters the UK

Wu was released from prison on June 30

Former legislator and leader of the Democratic Party Wu Chi-wai has now been allowed into the United Kingdom after he was initially told he would be deported within seven days.

About three weeks after he was released from prison, Wu arrived at London's Heathrow Airport, but was detained and his British National (Overseas) passport was confiscated. 

He spent four years and five months in prison

Other Hong Kong activists in the UK were concerned that if the 63-year-old former opposition leader was denied entry, that would signal a change in the government's stance on its treatment of those wanted by the police, including former lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung, student activist Tony Chung Hon-lam, and former British consulate staffer Simon Cheng Man-kit. 

But now United States-based activist Frances Hui Wing-ting, and The Collective, an independent Chinese-language media outlet, have confirmed Wu has entered the UK. Apparently he was held by border officials over what has been described as an administrative problem with his paperwork.

What a relief.

Wu is one of 47 who were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the National Security Law when they organised and/or participated in pro-democracy primaries that were held in July 2020.

He was arrested in January 2021 and detained, charged the following month and his trial did not come to court until June 2022 when he pleaded guilty, and was sentenced November 2024.

Wu confronted riot police on June 12, 2019

During that period his father passed away May 2021, and mother died in March 2023.

Over seven years ago on June 12, 2019, Wu was on the front lines of the 2019 protests when the Hong Kong riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors. He tried to intervene and shouted, "Take me to your commander!" to the officers, who ignored him.

At the time, Wu told The Sydney Morning Herald that in his 25 years of politics, it was the first time he came face-to-face with riot police and threatened with tear gas.

"To me it was a shock," he said.

"I try to separate both sides, so that police can hold their line of defence, and the demonstrators can keep their formation to express their will that the extradition bill be withdrawn."

How things have changed so much in seven years...

Two Canadian Activists React to Bounties

Tay (bottom centre), Ho (bottom right) wanted by Hong Kong

Days after the Hong Kong authorities placed a HK$1 million (C$185,000) bounty on his head along with five others for their arrest, Victor Ho Leung-mau is undeterred and won't be traveling to the city anytime soon.

Ho is accused of planning to launch a "referendum" to elect those in the Hong Kong diaspora to form a virtual "Hong Kong Parliament". 

He plans to do this by having people vote in March 2025 using a secure app in a bid to circumvent any "Chinese interference".

Of the Hong Kong authorities' announcement on Christmas Eve, Ho is defiant.

Written in Chinese on his Facebook page, the former Sing Tao chief editor wrote that he was proud of the arrest warrant and joked it was "the best Christmas present."

"A Canadian citizen like me... has the protection of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and exercised his right to the freedom of speech."

When Ho announced the plan to elect people to the "virtual" Hong Kong parliament in 2022, the Hong Kong Security Bureau said it would investigate Ho and others for subversion.

"But actually it's the Hong Kong communist authorities meddling in Canada's internal affairs, repeatedly issuing wanted notices for this Canadian citizen. Are they trying for another cross-border arrest? Does Beijing want Canada to become their client/subordinate state?"

Meanwhile Joseph Tay, the former TVB actor who is planning to be a candidate for the federal Conservatives when an election is called, is also on the wanted list.

In reaction to the announcement he wrote on social media:

"On Christmas Eve, an alarming and unbelievable piece of news arrived. Why choose this moment to release such a message? Clearly it was intended to rob us of peace. My wife and I immediately turned to prayer, entrusting these accusations entirely to the Lord. Plans we had made with family and friends for the holiday were instantly disrupted."

There are concerns someone may snitch on the two activists, but Hong Kong does not have extraterritorial powers in Canada. In any event Ho and Tay need to be careful with their movements... kidnapping is not beyond China...

Two Verdicts, One in Hong Kong, the other in New York

The UK called for the release of the 47 defendants

Yesterday there was an historic verdict in Hong Kong, with 14 convicted of subverting the government by holding an unofficial primary election in 2020; two were acquitted.

The government denounced foreign countries for criticising the ruling, calling them "malicious smears", and that western governments, as well as "anti-China organisations" to stop interfering in domestic affairs, and refrain from making "false reports".

Trevelyan said NSL stifled opposition

Meanwhile, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the United Kingdom's minister for the Indo-Pacific, described the saga a "clear demonstration" of how the Beijing-imposed national security law was used to "stifle opposition and criminalise political dissent".

She also called for the Hong Kong authorities to release all those charged under the legislation that was implemented in 2020.

"The [47 defendants] are guilty of nothing more than seeking to exercise their right to freedom of speech, of assembly and of political participation, as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and promised in the Sino-British Joint Declaration," she said.

"[Thursday's] verdict will only further tarnish Hong Kong's international reputation. It sends a message that Hongkongers can no longer safely and meaningfully participate in peaceful political debate."

Halfway around the world, the debate and analysis was alive and well after 12 jurors in New York found former US President Donald J Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying records to cover up his affairs with porn star Stormy Daniels in the lead up to the 2016 election.

The media repeated over and over how Trump was a "convicted felon" and how this was unprecedented in American history. 

The headline of the NYT after the verdict

The jurors only took 10 hours to decide Trump was guilty, which shows the prosecution presented a convincing case that they were able to follow; they did not seem to care about the defence's concerns that fixer Michael Cohen was not a reliable witness -- he had all the documents that lined up with the prosecution's story.

Trump will make a statement tomorrow morning and there are guesses he will announce an appeal, though some legal experts believe his chances of overturning the verdict are very slim. When it comes to the upcoming election, will Republicans accept a convicted felon as their presidential candidate?

Sentencing will be on July 11. 

The attention to Trump's verdict wiped away any interest in what happened in Hong Kong, to the dismay of pro-democracy activists, while the Hong Kong government was probably secretly pleased the verdict quickly disappeared from the news cycle. 

Nevertheless there will be more opportunities to talk about Hong Kong again...

14 Convicted of Subversion

Leung (in black) was convicted of subversion today

Over two days in July 2020, the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong held an unofficial primary to help determine who to run in its slate of candidates for the Legislative Council elections that year. It was hoped this would help increase the pan-democrats' chances of winning more seats in the legislature.

Organisers expected around 170,000 but over 610,000 local residents took part in long queues to vote in polling booths that were held in various locations in the city, including a shop selling lingerie and a defunct bus.

Diplomats attended the verdict earlier today

For that exercise, 47 people involved were arrested and in 2021 were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law that was implemented a year earlier.

Most of them were remanded in custody ever since.

Of the 47 charged, 16 pleaded not guilty, the others pleaded guilty in a bid to receive shorter prison sentences.

After a 118-day trial, the verdict for the 16 was announced a few hours ago -- 14 were convicted, two were acquitted, but prosecutors have already announced they will appeal.

Those convicted include: Leung Kwok-hung or "Long Hair", Lam Cheuk-ting, Owen Chow Ka-shing, Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, and Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying.

They believed they didn't do anything wrong, but the handpicked judges did not see it that way.

The convicted will be sentenced at a later date and could face life in prison.

Chan was also convicted of subverting the govt

Meanwhile, those who have pleaded guilty already are Claudia Mo Man-ching, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, and Jeremy Tam Man-ho.

Before the verdicts came down, partners and parents of those remanded in custody talked about the emotional toll the trial has had on them, how they try to live each day. 

Those behind bars and their loved ones are all brave and have the courage to deal with such adversity. Many of them are young, and amazingly are still optimistic for the future.

Elmer Yuen's Relative Taken into Questioning

Yuen holding his Hong Kong passport in a recent photo

Days after former lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung's parents and brother were questioned by police and then released, another person from the group of eight with bounties on their head has had a family member taken in for interrogation as well.

The police took away trade unionist Mung Siu-tat's brother and took him, his wife and son for questioning, as well as relatives of Dennis Kwok Wing-hang. They were later released without charge.

Yuen's son Derek is married to Eunice Yung

Now a third family has now been affected -- Elmer Yuen (Yuan Gong-yi)'s eldest daughter, Mimi Mi Wahng Yuen was "taken away" by Hong Kong national security police after she arrived in the city from Los Angeles on Monday. 

Over a week ago Yuen, 74, was in Vancouver urging Hongkongers in Canada to take part in a virtual Hong Kong parliament with elections for representatives later this year or in early 2024. For this he has been charged with with subversion of state power and foreign collusion

Yuen, who lives in the United States, had previously urged foreign countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong officials and members of the judiciary on various online platforms between July 2020 and May 2023.

He has three children. His son Derek is a former advisor for the pro-establishment New People's Party and an academic studying international policy. Derek Yuen told Sing Tao Daily that he had "a brief meeting" with his father and has avoided any financial exchanges.

Yung's notice of severing ties with Elmer Yuen

Derek is married to Eunice Yung Hoi-yan, a pro-Beijing lawmaker and member of the New People's Party. In August 2022, she publicly severed her relationship with her father-in-law Elmer. And since the arrest warrants were announced for the eight people including Yuen, Yung has called for him to return to Hong Kong and surrender.

Now with this latest development, will Elmer Yuen continue to be as gutsy and continuing his campaign in North America? 

Those family members who continue to have some kind of links with the eight with bounties on their heads will put the former in a perilous situation... relations by blood are thicker than water, but in the case of the national security police, do people cave in?

Yuen Promotes Virtual HK Parliament in Vancouver

Yuen showing his Hong Kong passport in this handout photo

Despite having a HK$1 million bounty on his head, Elmer Yuen (Yuan Gong-yi) is unfazed and traveling to Vancouver proposing a virtual Hong Kong parliament with representatives in the diaspora.

"I don't feel threatened," the venture capitalist said in an interview with a Canadian news outlet. "[Chinese President Xi Jinping] is more scared than I am."

He has even distributed photographs of himself holding his Hong Kong passport, though Yuen probably holds another passport.

Ho (left) and Yuen promoting HK Parliament

Yuen was spurred by the arrest warrants for him and seven others, to fly to Vancouver from the United States to promote his virtual Hong Kong parliament to Hongkongers here and try to get the federal government to endorse it.

"My whole idea of this traveling is to get everyone to vote in order to run for the members of parliament. So that's what I'm doing. I'm not scared," he said.

"Because of this warrant for my arrest is everywhere, at least 1 million people got news of what's happening about the Hong Kong parliament."

This is not a new idea -- he proposed it last July together with Vancouver journalist Victor Ho Leung-mau, who was accused by the Hong Kong government of subverting the national security law.

They are hoping to jump-start the election later this year or next year, with the aim of having the parliament reflect the democratic power of Hongkongers that had been promised to them before 1997.

"I want the Canadian government to recognise the Hong Kong parliament. That's the most important (thing). I am no a mission and my mission is to fight the Communist party and you cannot fight as an individual," said Yuen.

Yuen's son Derek is married to Eunice Yung

"You must have the organisation and the organisation is [the] Hong Kong parliament."

Yuen also plans to travel to Taiwan, Australia and the UK to promote this parliament-in-exile plan.

"If they want to fight for the freedom of Hong Kong, the best thing is to vote. You don't have a gun, you don't have anything. So, your weapon for democracy and freedom is your vote," he said.

However, Hong Kong police have accused Yuen of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security.

His daughter-in-law, New People's Party lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan is urging Yuen to surrender himself, even though she claims to have cut ties with him last August.

In the meantime will Yuen be able to realise his plan for a parliament-in-exile? 

Some may just be too busy keeping their head above water to contemplate this plan... 

Macau Expands NSL Legislation

Macau has kowtowed to China since its handover in 1999

When comparing Hong Kong with nearby Macau, the latter was always seen as the more obedient child to Beijing.

While Hong Kong loudly protested against passing Article 23, the security law back in 2003, which led the government shelving it for later, Macau happily legislated it without a fuss in 2009.

Fast forward 11 years and Beijing implemented the national security law in Hong Kong following the 2019 protests. Despite the NSL covering sedition, subversion, terrorism and secession, the city will revisit Article 23 in a bid to pass it next year.

Increased national security legislation in Macau

With the Legislative Council overwhelmingly stacked with pro-establishment politicians, it should be no problem to finally pass this controversial piece of legislation, which stoked fears of extradition to China to face trial.

However, Macau has found that it needs to catch up with Hong Kong's NSL and further expanded its own national security law legislation.

The updated law, which has come into effect, puts greater emphasis on foreign interference in the special administrative region.

The original NSL in Macau listed seven major crimes, such as treason, subversion, theft of state secrets and foreign collusion, where maximum punishments are 25 years in jail.

Meanwhile opposition to any central government department and the ideology in Beijing can be charged with subversion.

In addition Macau police now have the power to target suspects outside the city.

Now Macau's NSL similar to Hong Kong's 

Not surprisingly, critics of the new security law say it restricts people's liberties and rights in the former Portuguese colony.

Jason Chao was formerly president of the pro-democratic political party called the New Macau Association, and says the new law is "deeply concerning".

"Local journalists described the current situation as the ice age, and unfortunately the ice age is going to get colder," Chao said.

"The most worrying point is that people would not know whether or not they were committing a crime if they tried to criticise the government. We have observed how the national security law in Hong Kong has been vaguely interpreted," he said.

It seems the NSL was going to be passed anyway in both cities, even if Hong Kong didn't have the protests. But they gave Beijing the best justification for implementing it... 

Chow Hang-Tung Acquitted in Appeal

Chow won appeal against conviction for inciting ppl to gather

Just in the last few hours, democracy activist Chow Hang-tung won an appeal against her conviction and sentence for inciting people to gather at Victoria Park for the June 4th anniversary.

The ex-vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was convicted for inciting others to take part in an unauthorised assembly and was sentenced for 15 months in jail in January. 

Up until 2020, the June 4 vigil held annually

She has almost finished serving that sentence almost 12 months later...

In the ruling Justice Judianna Barnes wrote that while Chow appealed to the public to come to Victoria Park to gather, it was not a crime because the police ban on the candlelight vigil was not legally sound.

Justice Barnes also found the police did not properly and fully exercise their responsibility to explore measures to facilitate a peaceful and safe public gathering before issuing a ban on the vigil.

Not only that but Justice Barnes has given Chow the green light to launch a parallel trial the police ban's legality in her criminal trial because she was not the applicant for police permission for the vigil, and yet she was prosecuted for it.

Is this for real? Is there still some rule of law left in Hong Kong?

Chow has been determined from the beginning and methodical in her approach, taking down the prosecution's arguments point by point.

Chow still faces NSL charges with Lee and Ho

But she still faces national security law charge of inciting subversion of state power together with Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho Chjn-yan, the chair and vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance. The trio are alleged to have incited others to subvert state power between July 1, 2020 and September 8, 2021.

Legal Win for Jimmy Lai

Lai's legal team has a boost with well-known UK barrister

A big win for Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying -- to have his request granted of having a prominent British barrister represent him in his upcoming national security law collusion trial.

The Court of Appeal made the ruling on Wednesday, following a decision by High Court Chief Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor last month to allow King's Counsel Tim Owen from London to join Lai's legal team for public interest.

Owen's participation was opposed by the Department of Justice and the Bar Association, but the latter did not lodge an appeal against the chief judge's ruling.

Owen has worked on many cases in Hong Kong

The department argued that overseas counsel could not explain to judges new perspectives on the national security law, that was imposed by Beijing in June 2020, as they lacked a full understanding of the city's unique socio-political and constitutional context.

In other words they claimed he was an outsider who did not have a full appreciation of what was going on in Hong Kong at the time.

But the appeal court dismissed the argument, saying: "The forthcoming criminal trial is a high profile case attracting substantial publicity locally and abroad. It involves the resolution of legal issues of great general public importance that would impact substantially on the development of [national security law] jurisprudence and sedition offences," Wednesday's judgment said, without identifying the author.

"Public perception of fairness in the trial is of vital importance to the administration of justice. The court must adopt a flexible and sensible approach to arrive at a decision that would best suit the public interest in this application."

High Court Chief Justice Jeremy Poon

The 74-year-old Lai will stand trial next month before a three-judge panel in the Court of First Instance on charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious material.

Prosecutors are accusing Lai of conspiracy to attract foreign sanctions or blockades against city and mainland Chinese officials through pieces published by his now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, as well as through a lobbying group he is alleged to have directed and financed behind the scenes.

Owen is no stranger to Hong Kong, having worked on several high-profile cases, including Rurik Jutting, an ex-British banker who was convicted of murdering two women in 2016, and the highest ranking officer among seven policemen prosecuted for assault on a protester during the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

The department must be fuming, and by extension the government. Some pundits on Twitter think the authorities may change the rules to prevent Owen from representing Lai but the timing might be too late for that.

This development has shown it is possible to get decent if not really good representation in court.

By the same token it also helps if you yourself refuse to go down without a fight, as in the case of Chow Hang-tung, who is remanded in custody and is facing two national security law charges including subversion.

Chow fighting every legal avenue from jail

She was a part of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the Tiananmen Square candlelight vigil every year in Victoria Park for 30 years. 

For that Chow says it is impossible for her to plead guilty she said in court. "Pursuing democracy is not a crime. I plead not guilty." 

A trained lawyer, Chow is defending herself and is methodically fighting whatever legal avenue she can think of, including making 15 bail applications for the two cases, but all have been denied.

But she did get a big win -- to allow the media to report on pre-trial hearings for national security law cases. Not only does that allow the media to report on how the national security law is applied, but also see the physical state of the accused in court.

Chow also uses the opportunity to shout out her slogans to the gallery, "Do not forget June 4. Resist till the end!" in a bid to publicise the goals of the movement.

Her biggest fear is not jail itself, but the world becoming indifferent to increasing abuse.

She seems prepared for the long fight along with Lai. They are not going gently into the good night.

Teenagers Convicted of NSL

The government is severely punishing young people -- teenagers -- for their idealistic folly.

Young people are severely punished for pro-independence 

Five teenagers who were part of a pro-independence group have been sentenced under the national security law to up to three years in detention at a correctional facility for abetting an "armed revolution" to overthrow local and state governments.

The five were among seven defendants convicted by a judge who was chosen by the chief executive to rule on national security cases.

The convicted students are a lesson to others

The defendants who were members of the group called Returning Valiant, admitted conspiracy to incite subversion, perhaps in the hopes of getting lesser sentences.

One of them who was 15-years-old at the time of the arrest, is the youngest person to be convicted under the national security law.

The five will undergo vocational training and development programs at the detention centre for up to three years.

The group had called themselves the "embers of revolution" that had 20 members who organised 13 street booths and press conferences, and operated three social media accounts between January and May last year, allegedly with the goal of overthrowing Beijing and the Hong Kong government. 

During the raid, national security police confiscated an array of weapons and protesting equipment, when they raided the group's storage room in Cheung Sha Wan, and the defendants' respective homes.

NSL was enacted on June 30, 2020

This is the case of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.

But who would dare even attempt to do anything subversive now?

Once they get out of the detention centre, what are their job prospects? No wonder young people are leaving the city in droves...

Albert Ho Out on Bail

Ho greeted upon his release on bail

It was a nice surprise to see former pro-democratic lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan released on bail yesterday. He was jailed in May 2021 for 18 months for illegal assembly related to June 4, but then recently had a national security charge laid against him too for allegedly inciting others to subvert state power.

The 70-year-old looked like he lost some weight, as his colleague Emily Lau Wai-hing and and ex-district councillor Tsang Kin-shing came to pick Ho up.

Ho was serving an 18-month sentence

Lau posted a picture of Ho on her social media accounts, letting people know he was released.

He has a series of conditions he must follow, including: a cash bail of HK$700,000, reporting to the Wan Chai Police Station three times a week (where he could be re-arrested again anytime), he must surrender travel documents, observe nighttime curfews, and not contact any foreign officials directly or indirectly.

Ho has had cancer before, and had undergone surgery for lung cancer several years ago, but there are concerns the cancer has returned in an X-ray taken recently.

"He wanted to conduct a full body check... as we were worried that [he] may relapse," Lau said. "I am overjoyed [his bail was granted], as we did not have many expectations since there has been too much bad news recently."

First Canadian Charged with NSL

Former Sing Tao editor Ho is charged with violating NSL

Depressing news coming out of Hong Kong -- the 47 activists, lawmakers and academics who are charged with "conspiracy to subversion" for organising an unofficial primary election among pan-democrats two years ago, will not have a trial by jury. Instead three judges picked by the government will hear their case.

This is the first time in 177 years in Hong Kong's common law legal system for this to happen, but since the national security law was implemented in July 2020, the judiciary is perceived as less than egalitarian.

Lai will be tried in a non-jury trial

A few hours later it was announced that Apple Daily founder and tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's case will also be a non-jury trial, as directed in both cases by the justice minister.

The verdicts are a foregone conclusion.

Across the Pacific there's a person who has been charged with subversion too.

Victor Ho Leung-mau is a former editor of Sing Tao in Vancouver. On July 27, he and two others held a press conference in Toronto to announce the formation of Hong Kong Parliament Electoral Organizing Committee. 

It has a really long name, but its goal is to establish a "Hong Kong parliament" in exile. One of the founding members is ex-lawmaker-elect Baggio Leung Chung-hang. The 35-year-old sought asylum in the United States following the implementation of the national security law.

The group wants to follow the examples of Uyghurs who have their own World Uyghur Congress, and Tibetans have the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, and set up a political body for the Hong Kong diaspora. 

Leung is also charged with subverting state power

"It is the Committee's belief that only a genuine democratic election could literally [speak up] for the people of Hong Kong," a statement read.

Days after the two-hour press conference, the Hong Kong government issued a statement that stated Ho was wanted for allegedly subverting state power.

"How did we suddenly get to a place where I have become like a fugitive... just because I was talking about a political concept that can or can't really materialise?" he said to the Vancouver Sun.

Well, the Security Bureau takes any threat seriously. And surely Ho should have known forming such a committee was bound to attract attention from the Hong Kong authorities? If not, he is naive at how far Beijing will go to crush dissent.

His friends and family are worried, not just for him, but for themselves being associated with who the Hong Kong government now considers a serious threat.

"We are Chinese-Canadians in Canada and now we have to hold back from joining in such a conceptual exercise related to Hong Kong. When we came here, we thought we could live in an open society without fear. Now, you have fear, because they are saying [the national security law] applies worldwide. I myself am not scared, but I have family members who are," he said.

Ho and another co-founder of the committee

Two Members of Parliament have written letters, as well as the Chinese-Canadian Concern Group on the Chinese Communist Party's Human Rights Violations, telling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly to publicly oppose Hong Kong's actions.

No response yet, but the response has to be strong to demonstrate Canada's commitment to universal rights and freedoms...

Patriot Ad

Yung's ad in Oriental Daily severing ties with father-in-law

The talk of the town today is a devoted display of patriotism, so much so that it goes against Confucianist principles of respecting your elders, including your father-in-law.

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan has severed ties with her pro-democracy father-in-law, Elmer Yuen, but did it very publicly.

In yesterday's Oriental Daily, she published a quarter-page ad announcing the end of her relationship with Yuen, making it very clear in black and white.

"I, Eunice Yung, as a Chinese person with the blood of the great motherland flowing through my veins, on the premise of the righteous cause of the country and according to claims made by the National Security Department that Mr Elmer Yuen allegedly contravened the offence of subversion under the national security law, do hereby declare that I am breaking off in-law relations with Mr Elmer Yuen," the advert said.

Yung's wedding day, Elmer Yuen on far left

He allegedly contravened the offence of subversion though it has not been proven in court nor has he been arrested for it.

But Yung seems to be pre-empting the possibility of being connected to his actions and making this declaration now.

Her father-in-law Yuen is alleged to have, together with ex-lawmaker elected Baggio Leung Chung-hang, and journalist Victor Ho Leung-mau of forming a committee to establish a "Hong Kong parliament". 

While the police claim it will spare no effort in bringing the alleged offenders to justice, it will be hard to as Yuen left Hong Kong several years ago.

And if the newspaper ad didn't get across to a big enough audience, Yung also posted it on her social media and urged people "not to test the law", and cut ties with anyone who may have violated the national security law.

The trio did apparently set up the "Hong Kong Parliament Electoral Organising Committee" in Canada in July this year, with the aim of holding its first election to the parliament in late 2023, according to the group's statement.

"It is the committee's belief that only genuine democratic election could literally [speak up] for the people of Hong Kong," the statement said.

Yuen knew Yung would denounce him one day

Yung's tensions with her in-laws is not new -- it was highlighted again in 2019 when the extradition bill came out which led to clashes between protesters and the police.

Not only does Yung have issues with her father-in-law, but also her sister-in-law Erica Yuen Mi-ming, who was chair of the pro-democratic People Power that is more radical than the other opposition groups before.

In 2020 in an RTHK program, Elmer Yuen said the Communist Party would criticise Eunice if she did not sever ties with him.

"So if she does so one day, I wouldn't blame her. I will take it easy if she denounces me," he said in the show.

He knows how it works.

But what of Yung's husband, Derick Yuen Mi-chang, a scholar and political commentator who describes himself as a centrist? 

Would Yung might be driven to divorce him for political reasons?

Stay tuned!

Chow Continues Legal Fight Behind Bars

Chow has applied for a judicial review to allow open reporting

Chow Hang-tung, a former leader of the group that organised the annual June 4 candlelight vigil is still fighting to the end.

A barrister herself, Chow is using the law to fight in the public interest even though she herself is in the dock for charges that the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China incited subversion, a violation of the national security law.

It has been difficult for journalists to report on everything that occurs in a national security law case, and Chow wants to blow it open for public record. Today she handed in an application for a judicial review on Monday against a magistrate's decision not to lift reporting restrictions on national security cases.

She is one of the organisers of the candlelight vigil

The application was made against the decision of Principal Magistrate Peter Law, who is also a hand-picked national security judge, not to lift reporting restrictions on committal proceedings for the Alliance's national security case.

When a magistrate restricts reporting of a national security case, written and broadcast reports are limited to only including the names of the defendants, magistrates and lawyers, the alleged offence, the court's decision, whether legal aid was granted, and future court dates.

In the application, Law denied Chow's application to lift reporting restrictions on committal proceedings on April 25. The principal magistrate ruled that the court had discretion to reject such applications. 

Law also said if restrictions were lifted, it would lead to "widespread critical discussion or even attack" of the case because the whole proceedings could be reported.

"Further, due to the disruptive behaviour of the public, the lifting of reporting restrictions will give immense mental pressure or even fear to potential witnesses. This is damaging to a fair trial," said Law, according to the application.

Ho has also been charged with inciting subversion

But Chow refutes back: "The risk of intimidating potential witnesses is neither real, nor linked to whether reporting restrictions are lifted or not," she wrote on the application.

"More detrimentally, the Principal Magistrate gave no consideration at all of the importance of maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice, both locally and internationally," the application continued.

"It is precisely when a case has attracted widespread attention that the court should be doubly careful to ensure that justice is seen to be done. Banning reporting because of public interest would only fuel distrust and suspicion."

Chow, along with two other Alliance leaders, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho Chun-yan are charged for allegedly inciting subversion. 

On Tuesday they appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, where the case will be transferred to the Court of First Instance, where the maximum penalty for inciting subversion is 10 years in prison.

As Chow stepped out of the dock, she shouted, "Never forget June 4th, resist to the end."

Lee is also one of the Alliance leaders

However her fellow colleagues Lee and Ho only waved to the gallery, as people who have clapped before have been arrested and charged for "causing a nuisance".

This is what attending court has come to -- no outward expression is allowed.

Nevertheless, Chow is not giving up without a fight -- and thinking of any legal means to retain some kind of rule of law.

On June 4, there will be no public remembrances -- Victoria Park is apparently closed for repairs. The last two years no one was allowed to gather because of the pandemic.

What will the authorities think of next year?