YouTube did not disclose which videos were spreading misinformation, but stated there were “numerous”…reports Asian Lite News
Google-owned video sharing platform YouTube has restrained Sky News Australia from uploading new videos or live streams for a week over spreading of misinformation on Covid-19 pandemic, media reports said on Sunday.
YouTube did not disclose which videos were spreading misinformation, but stated there were “numerous”, the Guardian reported.
The video sharing platform said that it doesn’t “allow content that denies the existence of Covid-19 or that encourages people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to treat or prevent the virus”.
“We do allow for videos that have sufficient countervailing context, which the violative videos did not provide,” a YouTube spokesperson was quoted as saying to Guardian Australia.
However, Sky News Australia said it “expressly rejects” claims that any hosts ever denied the existence of Covid-19 and that “no such videos were ever published or removed”, the report said.
The TV channel’s YouTube channel with 1.85m subscribers was also issued a strike, under Youtube’s three-strike policy. A third “strike” in the same 90-day period will mean permanent removal from the video sharing platform.
“We have clear and established Covid-19 medical misinformation policies based on local and global health authority guidance, to prevent the spread of Covid-19 misinformation that could cause real-world harm,” the spokesperson said.
“We apply our policies equally for everyone regardless of uploader, and in accordance with these policies and our long-standing strikes system, removed videos from and issued a strike to Sky News Australia’s channel,” the spokesperson added.
Sky News is, owned by a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, and the temporary ban will impact its revenue stream from Google.
The ban was triggered after veteran Sky presenter Alan Jones on July 12 with MP Craig Kelly claimed Delta Covid variant was not as dangerous as the original and vaccines would not help. Australia’s Daily Telegraph last week ended the column Jones wrote for it. The Sky News website issued an apology on July 19.
Meanwhile, the TV channel’s digital editor said the decision was a disturbing attack on the ability to think freely, the BBC reported quoting an article on the Sky News Australia website.
If conversation about Australia’s Covid-19 policies were stifled “our political leaders will be free to act with immunity, without justification and lacking any sufficient scrutiny from the public”, Jack Houghton wrote.
Journalists say that the widespread nature of oral and written threats has meant that no media workers feel safe, reports Asian Lite News
The death of Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, while caught in a crossfire between the Taliban and Afghan forces, puts the spotlight firmly on increasing dangers faced by mediapersons in the war-torn country.
An Indian and a Pulitzer award winner, Siddiqui was however not murdered, unlike the more thab 30 Afghan journalists who have been killed on the line of duty, mostly by Taliban radicals.
Some of them were woman who dared the Talibans with their bold reporting.
Three women who worked for the local Enikass Radio and TV were brutally murdered in April in Jalalabad.
The victims, Mursal Wahidi, 25, Sadia Sadat, 20, and Shahnaz Raofi, 20, worked in a department that records voice-overs for foreign programs.
Danish Siddiqui
A fourth woman was wounded in the attacks.
Malalai Maiwand, 26, a television and radio presenter with Enikass, had been gunned down in much the same way in December 2020.
The Taliban denied any involvement but have been blamed for much of the wave of assassinations that began after the February 2020 peace agreement negotiated between the insurgent group and the United States.
A senior Enikass management official told IANS that the Taliban hated their outlet not only because of their reporting but also because they employed many women.
Following the 2001 US invasion which unseated the Taliban and ended its extremist form of Islamic law that banned women from most jobs, Afghanistan’s media outlets and news stations have emboldened a new generation of Afghans and especially women, despite the unending war around them.
Afghan national army soldiers take part in an operation against Taliban militants in Kunduz city, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ajmal Kakar_Xinhua_IANS)
But since 2018, more than 30 media workers and journalists have been killed in Afghanistan, according to a recent UN report.
From September 2020 to January of this year, at least six journalists and media workers were killed in such attacks, according to the report.
Many died thereafter.
The recent attacks have amounted to an “intentional, premeditated, and deliberate targeting of human rights defenders, journalists and media workers”, the report said.
“With a clear objective of silencing specific individuals by killing them, while sending a chilling message to the broader community.”
Taliban forces have been deliberately targeting journalists and other media workers, including women, in Afghanistan, the US-based Human Rights Watch has said.
Threats and attacks against journalists across the country have increased sharply since talks began between the Afghan government and the Taliban, heightening concerns about preserving freedom of expression and the media in any peace settlement.
Human Rights Watch found that Taliban commanders and fighters have engaged in a pattern of threats, intimidation, and violence against members of the media in areas where the Taliban have significant influence, as well as in Kabul.
Those making the threats often have an intimate knowledge of a journalist’s work, family, and movements and use this information to either compel them to self-censor, leave their work altogether, or face violent consequences.
Provincial and district-level Taliban commanders and fighters also make oral and written threats against journalists beyond the areas they control.
Members of the Afghan security force take part in an operation in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan. (Xinhua_Mohammad Jan Aria_IANS)
Journalists say that the widespread nature of the threats has meant that no media workers feel safe.
“A wave of threats and killings has sent a chilling message to the Afghan media at a precarious moment as Afghans on all sides get set to negotiate free speech protections in a future Afghanistan,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director.
“By silencing critics through threats and violence, the Taliban have undermined hopes for preserving an open society in Afghanistan.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed 46 members of the Afghan media between November 2020 and March 2021, seeking information on the conditions under which they work, including threats of physical harm.
Those interviewed included 42 journalists in Badghis, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Wardak, and Zabul provinces and four who had left Afghanistan due to threats.
In a number of cases that the Human Rights Watch documented, Taliban forces detained journalists for a few hours or overnight.
In several cases they or their colleagues were able to contact senior Taliban officials to intercede with provincial and district-level commanders to secure their release, indicating that local commanders are able to take decisions to target journalists on their own without approval from senior Taliban military or political officials.
Taliban officials at their political office in Doha, Qatar, have denied that their forces threaten the media and say that they require only that journalists respect Islamic values.
But Taliban commanders throughout Afghanistan have threatened journalists specifically for their reporting.
The commanders have considerable autonomy to carry out punishments, including targeted killings.
It spent a total of $11,002,628 on advertising in US newspapers, and another $265,822 on advertising with Twitter….reports Asian Lite News
China’s propaganda outlet China Daily paid millions to prominent US newspapers and magazines in the last six months to buy media influence, an independent analyst reported citing documents filed with the US Justice Department.
According to disclosures made by the justice department, the state-run English-language newspaper China Daily paid several hundred thousand dollars to prominent American publications like Time magazine and Foreign Policy magazine in a span of six-month.
As many as $700,000 was paid to Time magazine; $371,577 to the Financial Times; $291,000 to Foreign Policy magazine; $272,000 to Los Angeles Times; and over $1 million to others.
Last month, The Daily Caller had reported China Daily, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, paid more than $4.6 million to The Washington Post and nearly $6 million to The Wall Street Journal since November 2016.
Both newspapers reportedly published paid supplements that China Daily produces called “China Watch.” The inserts are designed to look like real news articles, though they often contain a pro-Beijing spin on contemporary news events.
As per the Justice Department, China Daily also paid for advertising in several other newspapers, including The New York Times ($50,000), Foreign Policy ($240,000), The Des Moines Register ($34,600) and CQ-Roll Call ($76,000).
It spent a total of $11,002,628 on advertising in US newspapers, and another $265,822 on advertising with Twitter.
The Justice Department has for years required China Daily to disclose its activities semi-annually under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The most recent filing, which China Daily submitted on June 1, is the first to include detailed breakdowns of payments to American news outlets. The outlet disclosed those expenditures for the period between November 2016 and April 2020.
The Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Chicago Tribune, The Houston Chronicle and The Boston Globe are all listed as clients of China Daily. The Chinese outlet paid the Los Angeles Times $657,523 for printing services, according to the FARA filings. Pro-democracy groups have long warned about the Chinese government’s attempts to push propaganda through American news outlets.
The report comes at a time when China Daily as well as other Beijing-controlled propaganda media outlets have come under intense scrutiny owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese government officials have tried to divert blame for the spread of the virus to the United States and other Western nations. Many of the regime-controlled outlets, including China Daily, have echoed the communist leaders’ talking points. (ANI)
The government’s clarification came as the National Broadcasters Association (NBA) had recently written to the I&B ministry urging it to “exempt and exclude” the traditional television news media…reports Asian Lite News
All mainstream media, including print and electronic, will have to comply the provisions of IT Rules, 2021 with immediate effect without exemption as the government has refused to exempt them from the ambit of the new digital media rules.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has said that the rationale for bringing the websites of the organisations under the ambit of the law is “well-reasoned”.
“Making any exception of the nature proposed will be discriminatory to the digital news publishers who do not have a traditional TV/print platform,” the ministry said in a clarification to digital news publishers, publishers of online curated content or OTT platforms and associations of digital media publishers.
The government’s clarification came as the National Broadcasters Association (NBA) had recently written to the I&B ministry urging it to “exempt and exclude” the traditional television news media and its extended presence on digital news platforms from the ambit of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, saying they are already “sufficiently regulated” by various statutes, laws, guidelines, codes and regulations.
Noting that code of ethics requires such digital platforms to follow the exiting norms or content regulations, which are in vogue for the traditional print and TV media, the Ministry said, there is no additional regulatory burden for such entities.
Accordingly, it said, the request for exempting the digital news content of such organisations from the ambit of digital media rules 2021 cannot be acceded to.
“It does recognise that entities having traditional TV and print media are already registered with the government either under the Press and Registration Books Act or the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines of 2011.
“The digital version/digital publication of the organisations having traditional news platforms (TV and print) may be following internal guidelines of the self-regulatory bodies. Accordingly, if the organisations so desire, they can request the same self-regulatory bodies to serve as the Level II of the self-regulatory mechanism, after ensuring consistency with the Digital Media Rules, 2021,” said the Ministry.
The Ministry also clarified that when any news and current affairs content of a digital news publisher is transmitted on an OTT platform, such content would be outside the regulatory responsibility of that platform.
“However, if any OTT platform receives a grievance related to such news and current affairs, it may transfer the same to the publisher concerned of that content. Accordingly, there should not be any apprehension on this count either to the digital news publishers or to the OTT platforms,” it said. The ministry noted that the television news channels already have a self-regulatory mechanism in place to adjudicate grievances relating to the violation of the programme code under the Cable Television Network Act, 1995 and their internal codes or guidelines.
“The requirement of Level II under the Digital Media Rules, 2021 is only an extension of an existing institutional practice. Further, the composition of the self-regulating body would be decided entirely by the publishers and the government has no role to play,” the ministry said. “It is neither stipulated nor intended for the government to either interfere or obstruct the formation of the self-regulating body including its composition,” it added.
The ministry also dismissed the concerns that the oversight mechanism stipulated under the digital media rules would lead to excessive government control over the functioning of the digital news publishers and the OTT platforms.
“In this regard, it may be mentioned that even at present, in respect of the traditional TV channels, there is an oversight mechanism in the government by way of an inter-ministerial committee (IMC), which looks at certain grievances relating to the violation of the Programme Code, a mechanism which is in existence since 2005,” said the Ministry.
Over the last 15 years, the IMC has given recommendations by way of advisories, warnings etc in respect of a large number of cases involving the content of both news and non-news channels in relation to the Programme Code and in almost every such case, the TV channels have accepted the recommendations of the panel, the Ministry said.
“The IMC mechanism has stood the test of time. The concept of an inter-departmental committee (IDC) is similar.”
“Further, Level III is visualised as a residual level, in so far as the grievances which do not get addressed at the first and second levels would go to the IDC. Accordingly, the apprehension of excessive government control through these mechanisms is misplaced,” said the Ministry.
In the overall context, the Digital Media Rules, 2021 may be complied with by the digital news publishers and the OTT platforms without any misapprehensions, it added.
The Ministry further said that the publishers may furnish the requisite information in the prescribed format immediately, take urgent steps for appointing a grievance officer, if not done, and place all relevant details in the public domain, constitute self-regulatory bodies through mutual consultation so that the grievances are addressed at the level of publishers or the self-regulating bodies themselves.
It further added that over 500 publishers have already submitted their details in the requisite format.
Kudos to Hamid Mir. Because of your statement, the army is back in the dock over another General Rani … writes Kaliph Anaz. Buzz in Pakistan about the ISI Chief caught by his wife with another girl and the banning of senior Pakistan TV personality Hamid Mir after he made the allegation is turning into a potboiler
While the curious case of General Rani linked to the present ISI Chief Faiz Hameed has erupted, Pakistan’s original General Rani was Aqleem Akhtar. According to a report in Friday Times, in the late 1960s she began being called General Rani (the Queen General). Between 1969 and 1971 she was considered to be perhaps the most powerful woman in Pakistan.
A muse and mistress of Pakistani dictator, General Yahya Khan, and many-a-times the main brain behind the swinging General’s regime, General Rani was the person a number of bureaucrats and politicians approached when they wanted Yahya’s attention, the report said.
As per the report, when a leftist movement between 1968 and 1969 forced General Ayub Khan to resign as head of state, he installed Yahya Khan as the country’s new Martial Law Administrator. It was at this point that Aqleem began being called (in the press), ‘General Rani.’ It is believed that apart from looking after Yahya’s ferocious appetite for booze and women, she also began “advising” him on policy and political matters.
Those who met her in those days described her to be far more informed and astute in the field of politics than Yahya, the report said.
There are reports that a daughter of General Rani is a famous journalist of Pakistan. This journalist was present at the house of the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI Chief, seeing that the ISI Chief’s wife opened fire. GEO TV anchor Hamid Mir has threatened to make more disclosures if the Pakistan enforcement attacks more journalists.
This journalist-daughter of General-Rani is also a close friend of a political leader of north India.
Mir alluded to a shooting at the house of the Chief of ISI of Pakistani intelligence agency. It is said that his wife fired at a call-girl at home for calling her home.
Buzz in Pakistan about the ISI Chief was caught by his wife with another girl and the banning of senior Pakistan TV personality Hamid Mir after he made the allegation is turning into a potboiler.
Safety of journalists
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists said the recent attacks and growing pressure on journalists who criticize the Pakistan government is a cause for serious concern.
The rights forums said those suspected of criminal responsibility should be promptly and fairly prosecuted.
The Pakistan government should conduct prompt, impartial, and effective investigations into the recent number of attacks on journalists. The government should rescind official policies that protect the authorities from criticism and instead promote space for public debate and free expression, in the face of threats from extremist groups and government officials.
“The frequency and audacity with which journalists are being attacked in Pakistan is appalling,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The Pakistani authorities should bring those responsible for these attacks to justice and ensure that all journalists can do their jobs without fear of intimidation or reprisals.”
On May 25, 2021, Asad Ali Toor, a journalist, was assaulted by three unidentified men who forcibly entered his apartment in Islamabad. They bound and gagged Toor and severely beat him. Toor said that they identified themselves as being from a security agency, interrogated him about the “source of his funds,” and took away his cell phone and other electronic devices. The government ordered an investigation into the incident. In September 2020, the authorities charged Toor with sedition for comments made on social media “maligning state institutions.” A court later dismissed the charges.
On April 20, an unidentified assailant shot and wounded Absar Alam, a television journalist, outside his house in Islamabad. Alam has been a prominent critic of the government. In September 2020, the authorities charged Alam with sedition and “high treason” for using “derogatory language” about the government on social media.
On July 21, 2020, an unidentified assailant abducted another journalist, Matiullah Jan, in Islamabad the day before he was to appear before the Supreme Court for allegedly “using derogatory/contemptuous language and maligning the institution of judiciary.” Jan was released after a few hours. He alleged the abduction was an attempt to intimidate him. A criminal case was registered for Jan’s abduction, but no suspects have been arrested.
“It is disturbing to see the space for dissent and providing information of public importance rapidly shrink in Pakistan, with journalists as well as human rights defenders particularly at risk of censorship, physical violence, and arbitrary detention,” said Sam Zarifi, secretary general of the International Commission of Jurists.
Pakistani journalists have long faced serious obstacles to their work, including harassment, intimidation, assault, arbitrary arrest and detention, abduction, and death. As these threats have escalated, Pakistani authorities have also increasingly pressured editors and media owners to shut down critical voices. On May 29, the news channel, Geo, “suspended” Hamid Mir, one of Pakistan’s best-known television talk show hosts, after he spoke at a protest in solidarity with Asad Toor.
Other media outlets have come under pressure from authorities not to criticize government institutions or the judiciary. In several cases in recent years, government regulatory agencies blocked cable operators and television channels that had aired critical programs. In 2020, Pakistan ranked ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalist’s annual Global Impunity Index, with at least 15 unsolved killings of journalist since 2010.
In July 2020, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ordered 24NewsHD, a television news channel, off the air indefinitely for the alleged “illegal transmission of news and current affairs content.” Journalists and opposition activists alleged that the channel was being punished for airing criticism of the government.
In August 2020, a group of leading women journalists issued a statement condemning a “well-defined and coordinated campaign” of social media attacks, including death and rape threats against women journalists and commentators whose reporting has been critical of the government.
“If the authorities are committed to uphold their human rights obligations, they must take decisive steps against censorship, harassment, and violence against journalists,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, South Asia deputy regional director at Amnesty International. “For that, continued impunity must be dismantled.”
Israel’s blatant disregard for the laws of war by bringing down the building which housed major international media outlets shows that not only did Israel have no intention of stopping the bombardment in Gaza but wanted – or even needed – to mute the voice of the media in Palestine … writes Taha Coburn-Kutay
With solidarity for the Palestinians being shown in major cities like Melbourne, Paris, London, New York, Frankfurt, Berlin, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Karachi, Rabat and many more, the Western media – which is largely funded by major Jewish corporations and lobbying groups – are on a sticky wicket.
This dilemma was most recently highlighted by the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in an interview with CNN, where he was accused of being antisemitic for passing a comment on the Western media promoting the Zionists’ occupation of Palestine. Mr Qureshi was quick in rebutting this accusation and highlighted that Israel has misused its power by knowingly killing children and other innocent civilians.
Leaders of Western governments were quiet before their own officials started asserting pressure on them to call for a ceasefire. The world has witnessed how Israel has misused the firepower and technology that it has amassed using funds largely donated by The United States of America. Meanwhile, Jordan, Egypt and Pakistan have played major roles in achieving the current ceasefire yet have not been credited by Western media for this, rather have been painted as secondary players with the USA and its allies taking centre stage in negotiations. Putting pressure on Israel to maintain the current ceasefire, the real peacekeepers Jordan, Egypt and Pakistan have warned there will be consequences—one need not think to hard what this may mean for the wider region.
The Western media saw increased traffic on both old and new media platforms, with the traditional support for Israel waning as younger generations showed support for Palestine. With supply and demand leading the market, as viewers become sympathetic toward Palestine, media will eventually reflect this shift in how it covers the ongoing Israel-Palestine issue. Israel’s blatant disregard for the laws of war by bringing down the building which housed major international media outlets shows that not only did Israel have no intention of stopping the bombardment in Gaza but wanted – or even needed – to mute the voice of the media in Palestine.
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Jala Tower, which housed offices of Al-Jazeera TV and Associated Press as well as residential apartments, in Gaza City. (Photo by Rizek AbdeljawadXinhuaIAN
But mainstream media is no longer the only player in these conflicts. For the first time in generations, people all over the world turned their attention to the tumultuous strip of land known as Gaza and largely gave their support for Palestine. What changed? Social media. One of the major factors that affected how this conflict was reported this time around was the amount of civilian-led news that was released from Gaza via social media, putting pressure on mainstream media to report on what they were sharing. But as more videos, photos and reports of Israel targeting civilians in Gaza were shared, Facebook started to censor posts in support and solidarity of Palestine, while pro-Israel content was largely left untouched. Facebook claims this was an error in their algorithm – its up to us as users of the platform to decide if we believe that.
With the most current conflict, support for Palestine in the UK was overwhelming. This may be a redefining moment for how media covers and shows a conflict like Israel-Palestine, as the masses will gravitate toward the media outlet that best reflects their own views. Advertisers will always go with media outlets with highest viewership and readers, adding further pressure on the media to show a balanced view of these conflicts, which is what the public is demanding.
The world has waited more than seven decades for the so-called Superpowers to broker peace in one of the world’s most tumultuous regions. Western media has blood on their hands by furthering the instability by not reporting a balanced view of the conflict. After more than 70 years, it is now normal people across the world who are affecting the most change by shunning biased media, using social media to report a balanced story, and showing their leaders that we will no longer accept silence on these conflicts as being ‘neutral’ – indeed, saying nothing, is saying something.
Among the three, Zhang Zhan was formally sentenced to four years in prison in December 2020 and has been transferred to the Shanghai Women’s Prison…reports Asian Lite News
Four citizen journalists were arrested last year for trying to share information about the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. On this World Press Freedom Day, a year after their arrests, they are yet to be free.
According to DW, only Li Zehua has appeared in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on last April. The other three journalists haven’t been seen by the public.
Among the three, Zhang Zhan was formally sentenced to four years in prison in December 2020 and has been transferred to the Shanghai Women’s Prison. Authorities have not allowed her mother to visit her so far.
She was found guilty in December of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for her reporting on the pandemic in Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected.
“After being informed that Zhang was transferred to prison, her mom tried to apply for visitation at the prison, but she was told that she had to make an appointment through a phone call,” a source told DW.
“When she called the number on the official document, she couldn’t reach the staff at the prison, and when she finally got in touch with them, they told her she could only send money but not clothes to the prison for Zhang,” the source further mentioned, adding that the government has also deprived Zhang of her right to write letters to her family.
Zhang was on a hunger strike in prison when her lawyer visited her the last time.
“After receiving some postcards written by her supporters, Zhang told her lawyer that if she could make it out of the prison alive, she wanted to go to Wuhan again and relive some of the experiences with her friends,” said the source.
Meanwhile, another citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi, has been out of public sight after his arrest in February 2020. A Chinese YouTuber revealed that he was sent back to his parents’ house in September, but the state of his physical and mental health remains unclear, reported DW.
The YouTuber, Xu Xiaodong, also revealed that Chen was not able to have any contact with the outside world.
“I think Qiushi could possibly re-appear in the public’s view by September or October, and he will maintain his long-term style, which is not forming any ties with international organizations or having any contact with them. He is patriotic and everything he does is for the country and the people of this country,” he said in his video.
Chinese human rights lawyer Li Dawei told DW that the family of journalist Fang Bin hasn’t been willing to share information about his case with Fang’s friends or anyone else.
“If he is willing to soften his stance, he may be released sooner, which is what happened to Chen Qiushi and Li Zehua. However, if he keeps insisting that he is right, then the chance of him being released will be very low,” said Li.
Last month, a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that China continues to take internet censorship, surveillance and propaganda to unprecedented levels making it one of the world’s worst countries for journalists and the ‘biggest jailer’ of scribes.
Is it possible to develop a healthy relationship with Social Media? (Photo: pixabay)
Al Jazeera reported that in its annual press freedom index, published on Tuesday, the global watchdog also highlighted an increase in repression and attacks on journalists worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Media outlets report that as many as seven journalists are still being held for their COVID-19 pandemic coverage, and more than 450 social media users were briefly arrested for sharing “false rumours” about the event.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the standard operating procedures of “national security investigations” and surveillance systems to track and impose crackdowns on foreign journalists and they were subject to intimidation and harassment.
In 2020, just as the Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) reported in 2019, foreign journalists, their Chinese colleagues, and all those whom they tried to interview were subjected to harassment, intimidation, and expulsion. (ANI)
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Thursday had condemned the conviction of seven activists who took part in anti-government protests in Hong Kong by the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities…reports Asian Lite News.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced by a Hong Kong court to one year in prison on Friday over illegal assembly in August 2019, reported Xinhua. Lai and some other protestors of Hong Kong riots were convicted earlier by the local court for organising and participating in an unauthorised assembly on August 18, 2019, in Hong Kong. Lai was also involved in multiple other cases including illegal assemblies and national security law violations, reported Xinhua.
Earlier, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Thursday had condemned the conviction of seven activists who took part in anti-government protests in Hong Kong by the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. Subversion was made a criminally punishable offence in Hong Kong last year under the Beijing-drafted national security law. According to Beijing, the legislation criminalises activities related to terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power and collusion with foreign forces, while local pro-democracy activists and certain Western nations claim that the law undermines Hong Kong’s civil liberties and democratic freedoms.
Beijing was perturbed by violent anti-government protests in 2019 and has imposed the national security law to take action against those who protested against the government. The process will also further concentrate power in the hands of the ruling Communist Party and decimate the political hopes of the territory’s already beleaguered opposition for years to come. These actions have raised fears among the people as China is rejecting the ‘one country, two systems’ concept which the city was promised when it was transferred from British to Chinese control in 1997.
