There is a human rights crisis in Hong Kong due to the Beijing-imposed National Security Law passed in 2020, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, as it discussed a report showing that the number of prisoners in the territory has risen by one-third since protests in 2019 against an extradition bill.
The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights on Nov. 7 released a report on torture and inhumane treatment in Hong Kong, which was shared by the council on social media.
Under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, the territory’s pro-democracy parties have been purged, civil society and freedom of speech have been severely oppressed, and the number of prisoners has increased to 9,280, a record high over the past 10 years, the report said.
Photo: Bloomberg
The report highlighted police abuse, pretrial detention, mistreatment in prisons and other instances of torture and inhumane treatment.
The lack of an independent system to report such mistreatments has led to a systematic human rights crisis in Hong Kong, it said.
Since the 2019 protests, the number of incarcerated people in Hong Kong has increased by more than one-third, rising from 6,902 in 2020 to 9,280 this year, it said.
Pretrial detainees have more than doubled in the past 11 years, increasing from 1,561 in 2014 to 3,514 this year and now accounting for 38 percent of all prisoners in the territory, it said.
As of September, 69 percent of people arrested under the National Security Law have been denied bail and 34 of them have been imprisoned for more than 1,000 days, the report said.
The international community must take seriously China’s and Hong Kong’s use of state power and unofficial means to fight, intimidate and suppress human rights defenders, it added.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS