China's Law of the Jungle

Democracy Activist Who Called For Xi Jinping's Resignation Dies in Police Custody
By Wong Siu-san and Sing Man

Activist Wang Meiyu calling on Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang to resign, in undated photo.

A rights activist who called publicly for the resignation of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping has died in a police-run detention center in the central province of Hunan, rights groups said.
Wang Meiyu's widow received notification of her husband's death in the Hengyang Detention Center on Monday.
Wang, 38, was detained two months ago after holding up a placard in public calling on Xi to step down, and for democratic elections in China.
"Wang Meiyu died in the detention center," his mother, who declined to give her name, told RFA. "Wang Meiyu was only 38 years old. His father passed away 20 years ago, and now my only child is dead too."
Wang's widow Cao Shuxia said Wang was initially detained on July 8, and had been in normal health when his detention began.
Then, he was reported as having died suddenly in a military hospital. 

Cao said Wang's body was "unrecognizable" when she went to identify it.
"He was a healthy, normal man when he went in there," she said. 

"Then, at 4.00 a.m. on Sept. 23, I got a call from the village [ruling Chinese Communist] Party secretary, who told me that Wang Meiyu was dead."
"I asked how he died, and he said he didn't know, and that he had been informed by his superiors," she said. 

"He didn't even know the time of death. Later, I found out when I called up to enquire that he had died in the emergency room of Hengyang 169 Hospital."
"When I saw his body, it was like another person; he was totally unrecognizable," Cao said. 

"They wouldn't let me take my cell phone in with me, and there were a lot of police officers there with us, and they stopped me from getting too close."

Solitary confinement
Cao said Wang had received two visits from a lawyer after being detained. 

During these meetings, the lawyer heard that he was initially held in a large cell along with dozens of other inmates.
But by the time the lawyer visited again at the end of August, Wang had been transferred to solitary confinement, she said.
She said Wang's death was a huge blow to his family, especially to his two children, the older of whom is just 11. 

The couple had already lost their jobs as a result of Wang's activism, she said.
"My husband didn't commit any crime: he did nothing wrong," Cao said.
An acquaintance of Wang's surnamed Chen said Wang had been campaigning for democratic elections in China, which was why he had called on Xi and Premier Li Keqiang to resign.
"Last year, he held up a placard outside the gates of the Hengyang Normal University in Hunan, and he did it again last July, outside the Hunan provincial police department, where he was detained," Chen said.
"He was already under very tight surveillance and had no source of income, and relations with his family were already strained," he said.
The authorities had already been in touch to warn off anyone thinking of showing support to the family, or speaking out on Wang's behalf, he said. 

"I will likely have to go and meet with state security police tomorrow."

'Step down and enable general elections'
In November 2018, Wang wrote on the social media platform WeChat that he had been visited by five officers of the state security police from Hengyang's Zhoushi county.
"They accused me of making random comments online, calling on Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang to step down and enable general elections," Wang wrote at the time.
"They said this was attacking our national leaders and told me to ... write a letter of repentance and a guarantee [of future good behavior]."
"Morons: it never occurred to them that three days and three nights of torture with dripping water and electric batons until I was spitting blood and my soul had nearly left my body wouldn't bring about my surrender," he wrote.
"What have I done wrong? I didn't give these state security morons the time of day: eventually, they went away with their tails between their legs."
An employee who answered the phone at the Hengyang People's Liberation Army 169 Hospital declined to comment, saying she wasn't on duty when Wang died, and that nobody was discussing the incident at work.
Repeated requests to the Hengyang police department for comment went unanswered at the time of writing.

The Chinese Strike Back

Democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Andy Chan are arrested in Hong Kong
By Shibani Mahtani and Gerry Shih

Democracy activist Joshua Wong addresses crowds outside Hong Kong’s legislature during a demonstration against the extradition bill on June 17.

HONG KONG — Authorities widened a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong with the arrests of prominent activists, underscoring Beijing’s growing intolerance of sustained street protests that have convulsed the Chinese territory and revived calls for universal suffrage.
Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, who rose to eminence as the student leaders of pro-democracy demonstrations five years ago, were detained early Friday, ahead of what was expected to be another weekend of clashes in the city.
Police said the pair would face charges of participating in an unauthorized assembly and inciting others to participate in an unapproved assembly, while Wong would face an additional charge of organizing an unapproved assembly.
The charges relate to a June 21 protest where demonstrators surrounded police headquarters.
A third activist, Andy Chan, the leader of a banned pro-independence party, was arrested at the city’s airport late Thursday while trying to board a plane.
Police said he was detained on suspicion of rioting and assaulting a police officer.
The arrests come at a tense time in the semiautonomous Chinese territory, where an official proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China triggered months of protests that have descended into street battles with police.
As demonstrations have turned violent, and grown to encompass a broader push for democracy in Hong Kong, authorities have stepped up arrests and the use of force.
The dissent coincides with a politically sensitive moment for the ruling Communist Party, as the clock ticks down to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October.
China’s government has issued increasingly strident threats in an effort to quell the unrest.
A day earlier, it sent a new batch of troops in to Hong Kong to reinforce the People’s Liberation Army garrison in the city.

Agnes Chow, right, and Joshua Wong outside government offices in Hong Kong in June. The pair were arrested Friday in a widening crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

Friday’s arrests, combined with the Hong Kong garrison rotation and rumors that Hong Kong may invoke emergency laws, were “extremely alarming,” said Samantha Hoffman, a fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute who studies Chinese politics.
“At the very least, it is clear that Beijing is attempting to intimidate the people of Hong Kong. The Chinese Communist Party places political protests very high on its list of threat perceptions,” she said.
“The party will protect itself before it defends the objective interests of China, the Chinese people, and Hong Kong and its people. Therefore, it is hard to imagine a solution where the party backs down in any meaningful way.”
In a report after the roundup of the Hong Kong activists, China’s official Xinhua news agency said more arrests were expected.
Hours later, Xinhua posted a picture on its social media account with a pair of handcuffs and images of the detained trio with the caption “What goes around comes around.”
A local pro-democracy councilor, Rick Hui, was also arrested Friday, his office said.
Charges against him were not immediately known.
With Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, unwilling to compromise on demonstrators’ demands, the continued unrest is taking a toll on the economy.
Police have arrested more than 800 people in connection with protests that have rocked the city since June, some of them on riot charges that can attract a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Organizers of a planned march in Hong Kong this weekend called off the rally on Friday after police refused to authorize it.
“Our first principle is always to protect all the participants and make sure that no one could bear legal consequences for participating in the protest,” said Bonnie Leung, a convener of the Civil Human Rights Front.
Wong, 22 years old, became known as the face of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a 79-day street occupation aimed at securing universal suffrage for Hong Kong.
He was charged and sentenced several times in connection with those protests, and served three stints in jail.
Most recently, on May 16, Wong was sentenced to two months in prison after losing an appeal against a prison term for contempt of court.
He was released in June.

Policemen pull out their guns after a confrontation with protesters in Hong Kong on Aug. 25. Police have escalated their use of force in trying to quell demonstrations. 

Along with Chow and another activist, Nathan Law, Wong went on to found political group Demosistō, which advocates self-determination for Hong Kong.
The three were arrested in 2017 ahead of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s visit to the city.
This time, the protest movement in Hong Kong has taken a leaderless form — in part to avoid arrests and detentions that plagued its leaders in the past, and to empower a broader base of participants. Unlike in 2014, members of Demosistō have not delivered speeches at rallies, nor have they been prominent faces on the front lines, but have used the group’s social media presence to promote their cause globally.
“We’ll use our influence and connections with the international community to tell the world about what’s happening,” Chow said in an earlier interview with The Washington Post. 
“It’s still very important.”
On Friday, Wong was seized at roughly 7:30 a.m. “when he was suddenly pushed into a private car on the street,” Demosistō, said.
Chow was arrested a short time later at her home, Demosistō added.
Both are being held in the Hong Kong police headquarters in the Wan Chai district.
The group has sought help from its lawyers.
Wong and Chow were due to travel to Washington next month, where they were to meet with lawmakers and participate in a congressional Executive Committee on China hearing on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. 
The bill, which has bipartisan support, including from House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), seeks to punish those who suppress freedoms in Hong Kong including through the use of sanctions and visa bans to the U.S.

Anti-extradition bill protesters take cover from tear gas canisters as they clash with riot police on Aug. 25. 

Chan, who founded a party that advocates for Hong Kong independence, was also arrested in August on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons and bombmaking materials.
Hong Kong operates under a “one country, two systems” arrangement within China, under which the city is supposed to enjoy a high degree of autonomy for 50 years following its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
In recent years, concerns have grown that Beijing is tightening control over the territory and working to erode the freedoms and autonomy that distinguish Hong Kong from mainland China.
In a tweet the night before his arrest, Wong wrote that “Being born in uncertain times carries certain responsibilities.” 
He linked to a website outlining protesters’ demands.

Chris Patten: UK risks selling its honour on Hong Kong

"I wonder what has happened to our sense of honour and our sense of responsibility"

By Danny Vincent

Chris Patten: "What has happened to our sense of honour and our sense of responsibility?"

The former governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, says the UK risks not meeting its promises to the territory and "selling its honour" in an attempt to reach trade deals with China.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Lord Patten said the UK had let down "a generation" of democracy activists.
It is 20 years since Hong Kong was returned to China after more than a century of British rule.
The UK government says it takes its commitments to Hong Kong seriously.
Anson Chan, former Hong Kong chief secretary -- who worked as Lord Patten's deputy -- also expressed deep concern about China's behaviour towards Hong Kong.
Citing the example of the alleged kidnapping by China of five booksellers and other rights abuses, she told BBC Newsnight that the "one country, two systems" form of rule itself is under threat.
"Unfortunately the rest of the world -- particularly Great Britain -- would rather pretend not to see what is going on," she said.
"If they continue to ignore this steady erosion, by the time they wake up to the fact that 'one country, two systems' exists only in name, it will be too late."
In the 1980s the Chinese and British leadership agreed that Hong Kong would be guaranteed certain freedoms not enjoyed in the rest of China -- freedom of press, freedom of assembly and a partially-elected law-making council.
This principle, known as "one China, two systems", was a part of the Sino-British joint declaration -- an international agreement guaranteeing Hong Kong those freedoms after the handover.
Lord Patten said the UK government has not "manifestly stood up for Hong Kong".
"I wonder what has happened to our sense of honour and our sense of responsibility -- particularly in Britain. It's above all a British question," he said.
"We signed the joint declaration with China. It's a treaty at the UN. It's supposed to commit us to standing up for Hong Kong's rights until 2047."
"And you don't get much sense of the British government actually standing over those promises and obligations and I think that's a great pity."
Lord Patten said the UK risks putting its desire to do trade with China, over its commitment to Hong Kong.
"It's all for derisory, ludicrous reasons," he said. 

"The argument that the only way you can do trade with China is by kowtowing to China on political issues is drivel -- it's complete nonsense."
"I worry about how people are prepared to sell our honour for alleged trade deals which never actually happen. I think that that would be calamitous. And what do we represent to the world if that's what happens?"
In 2015, five publishers selling critical articles about the Chinese leadership disappeared, only to reappear in detention in the mainland.
One bookseller had been abducted while in Hong Kong. 

Four of the publishers -- including a British passport-holder -- were eventually returned to Hong Kong. 

One Swedish national remains in Chinese detention.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong in 2014 in what came to be known as the "Umbrella Protests". 

The protests lasted several weeks, and captured the world's attention, but failed to achieve any concessions from Beijing.
" I feel very strongly that we let down the parents of this generation of democracy activists. I think it would be a tragedy if we let down these kids as well," Lord Patten said.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "The UK takes our longstanding commitment under the Sino-British Joint Declaration very seriously."
"We believe that 'one country, two systems' continues to be the best arrangement for Hong Kong's long term stability and prosperity, as it has been for nearly 20 years.
"We hope and expect that 'One Country Two Systems' will be respected and successful long into the future."
The spokesperson added: "We regularly discuss the importance of respect for 'one Country, two Systems' and Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy with the Chinese Government. The Foreign Secretary made this clear to his Chinese counterpart when they met in London in December."

Malcolm Turnbull's government urged to publicly stand up to China over Hong Kong

Activists warn of erosion of press freedom, attacks against academics and the disappearance of booksellers.

By Katharine Murphy 

Hong Kong democracy activists Anson Chan and Martin Lee. Lee said he would like the Australian government ‘to voice its concerns publicly as well as in private’.

The prominent Hong Kong democracy activists Martin Lee and Anson Chan have urged the Turnbull government to stand up to China publicly over the deteriorating state of civic freedoms, warning there has been a progressive diminution of the “one country, two systems” policy.
Lee, the founding chairman of Hong Kong’s democratic party, and Chan, a former chief secretary in both the British colonial government of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong special administrative region government under the Chinese sovereignty, made the appeal at the National Press Club on Thursday after a meeting with Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop.
Lee said he would like governments, including the Australian government, “to voice its concerns publicly as well as in private”.

Chan said the success of the “one country, two systems” policy was demonstrably in Australia’s interests, given Australia’s deep linkages with Hong Kong, and given it was in the interests of all foreign powers that China abide by its international obligations. 

She urged Australia to “take a consistent stand on reaffirming your values”.
The public intervention by the two veteran campaigners followed a display by the new generation of democracy campaigners in Hong Kong at a swearing-in ceremony at the legislature on Wednesday.
New parliamentarians from the pro-democracy movement used the swearing-in ceremony as a vehicle to launch fresh protests, with some refusing to read the required oath, which is a precursor to them being sworn in to the legislature.
Lee told the National Press Club he had urged the current crop to take the oath to ensure they took their places in the Hong Kong parliament but he said young participants in the pro-democracy movement were intent on creating a point of tactical difference with the previous generation.
He said if the Chinese government delivered on their undertakings on “one country, two systems” then young people would not escalate their activity to the extent of calling for independence from the mainland.
Lee said he believed the calls for independence were not really serious and most people in Hong Kong did not want to sever ties with the mainland, they wanted democracy.
Chan warned civic conditions were deteriorating in Hong Kong, with a serious erosion of press freedom, attacks against academics and the disappearance of booksellers critical of Chinese leaders.
She said the case of the booksellers had sent a message that “we are no longer safe, even on Hong Kong soil”.
She also pointed to the presence of “paid agitators” in Hong Kong who were pushing a pro-Beijing line and she expressed concern that Beijing’s propaganda machine was infiltrating Hong Kong culture.