Politics

Opt to make a declaration, Ramon Yuen Hoi-man, a member of the Democratic Party, said he will stay to complete his 4-year tenure in the district council.   The 34-year-old councillor of Sham Shui Po district is one of the 174 district councillors who still uphold their identity.    According to the notice in the Gazette declared today, 214 out of 388 elected seats in the 18 District Councils are vacant.   The Civil Service Bureau has issued circulars to all government departments, requiring all existing civil servants and those who join the Government on or after 1 July 2020 to declare that they will uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the HKSAR Government.   After considering the risks of disqualification and the requirement of returning the one and a half years’ salary to the government, Mr. Yuen rather takes an oath that includes upholding the Basic Law and swearing allegiance to the HKSAR.    “I will stick to my principles, including voicing for the people and monitoring the government,” he said. “I had promised to serve the people in the district at the beginning of the election, so the decision to retain the seat was made at an early stage.”   “I will do the most I can, especially since my colleagues have left,” Mr Yuen said.   People around Mr Yuen had asked him to leave. However, Mr Yuen thinks that he should stay and persevere with Hong Kong people, when the risks are still tolerable.   “People have retreated, while Hong Kong is collapsing,” Mr Yuen said. “From press freedom, councils, to the education and social work industry. Shouldn’t we voice more actively?”   As the Chairman of the Working …

Collectors  queued up at Hong Kong’s main post office to purchase special commemorative stamps issued for the 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China, while Hong Kong police closed Victoria Park to restrain protesters from gathering during the 24th observance of  the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day.    More than 60 customers lined up at the General Post Office in Central to purchase the special edition stamps after the office had opened.    “The 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China” Commemorative Stamp was first issued today.Individual stamps and a stamp sheetlet are included in the collector set.    “I feel happy for the 100-year establishment of the Communist Party of China,” said Tse, who only disclosed her first name, has been collecting stamps for years. She bought two stamp sheetlets for her grandchildren.    She said Hong Kong had restored peace and security compared to the same day last year.   In the same line, Tong, who did not provide his first name, said he was thankful for the 100th anniversary, “but it was nothing special, because the Communist Party of China will still thrive in the coming years.”   Mr Tong said he supported the cancellation of the July 1 march.    “Hong Kong used to be chaotic, but now I can travel around more conveniently,” he said. “ That’s why I can come and collect the stamps.”   Hong Kong police banned the July 1 march for the second consecutive year, citing coronavirus pandemic restrictions on public gatherings Despite the cancellation of the annual July 1 march, at noon police sealed off Victoria Park, where the march traditionally started, to prevent unauthorised assembly.    “Anyone who enters or stays at the prohibited area will be subjected to the maximum penalty …

League of Social Democrats, Tin Shui Wai Connection and Save Lantau Alliance applied on Friday to the police for its consent to arrange the annual July 1 protest on the handover anniversary.    Civil Human Right Front had been organising the march since 2003 but the group said on Sunday that it would not hold any activities after the police questioned its legitimacy.    “The July 1 protest has become a platform to express the needs of civilians and fight for democracy and universal suffrage,” Convenor of Save Lantau Alliance Eddie Tse Sai-kit said.   Deputy secretary general of the League of Social Democrats, Vanessa Chan Po-ying, said the proposed time, route and destination were the same as the previous demonstration.   She said they expected the police to cite the epidemic as a reason to oppose their application so they included many precautionary measures such as grouping in four, keeping a 1.5-metre distance and offering masks and cleansing products to keep the risk of spreading to the lowest.    Mr Tse said Hong Kong people need to cherish the value of protesting on the street on July 1.   “We would like to tell Hongkongers that there is a group of people who stay persistent every year to come out despite the suppression and political risk,” said Lam Chun, a member of Tin Shui Wai Connection. “I hope Hongkongers can come out to show the scene of more than a million participants.”   “We will keep on when people’s hearts are not dead,” Ms Chan said.   Mr Lam said they would have a meeting with the police on details within a couple of days and would appeal if permission was not given.   “Hongkongers from every walks of life have their demands on the government,” said a citizen …

Chow Hang-tung told The Young Reporter yesterday that she was willing to pay the price for lighting a candle to mark today’s anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. She was arrested this morning before she got the chance. Police arrested Ms Chow, vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, on suspicion of advertising or publicising an unauthorized assembly. She made a Facebook post last Saturday saying she would continue to keep the promise she has been keeping for 32 years to light a candle in a place where everybody can see. Police said she used social media to advertise or publicise a public meeting that had been prohibited, after banning this year’s vigil on Covid-19 grounds. Police banned the vigil for the first time last year for the same reason, but many, including Ms Chow, entered the basketball court at Victoria Park to light a candle for the victims of the crackdown. Ms Chow was charged with illegal assembly and inciting others in 2020. She said she expected to go to jail and would get prepared. The Hong Kong Alliance has been holding a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park for decades to commemorate the People’s Liberation Army crackdown on a student-led movement in Tiananmen Square, Beijing on June 4, 1989. “This is originally done by hundreds of thousands in Hong Kong every year. I am just being who I have been,” she told The Young Reporter. “We cannot get used to or allow them to swipe away the truth of June 4.” Hong Kong Alliance closed its June 4th Museum on Wednesday after the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department made an inspection based on a complaint that it did not have a license. Chris Fu, who tried to visit the museum after its …

  RTHK producer Bao Choy went on trial on Wednesday, charged with two counts of making false declarations in breach of the Road Traffic Ordinance. Ms Choy pleaded not guilty to two counts of making a false statement in obtaining license information from an online vehicle registration department. Prosecutors said Ms Choy used the public database for her reporting rather than for traffic issues as she indicated on her user application. The defense attorney played Ms Choy’s RTHK documentary episode, “Hong Kong Connection: 7.21 Who Owns the Truth”, to show her use of the database was related to traffic issues. Prosecutors read out a witness statement by an employee from the Transport Department who said people should only make a vehicle registration search for transport-related proceedings or traffic and transport-related matters. Before the hearing, around a dozen members of the RTHK Programme Staff Union staged a demonstration outside the court. They shouted slogans -- including “Support Choy Yuk-ling! Fearless and selfless! Protect the truth and freedom!” -- and held up placards that read “Journalism is not a crime” and “Without fear or favour”. Principal Magistrate Chui Yee-mei adjourned the case until April 22, extending her bail period.