The UK attacked authorities in China and Hong Kong on Monday after pressuring a London-based rights group to take down its website, threatening legal action under an applicable draconian national security law. around the world.

Hong Kong National Security Police have written to Benedict Rogers, CEO of Hong Kong Watch, ordering him to take down the group’s website, which recently criticized the Hong Kong government’s handling of a wave of COVID- 19 soaring through the city.

“You and Hong Kong Watch are obligated to remove the website … without delay and immediately cease engaging in any act and activity contrary to the National Security Act or any other law of Hong Kong,” the letter said. the police. “If you fail to do so, further actions will be brought against you and Hong Kong Watch without further notice.”

The group has been highly critical of the rights record of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Hong Kong, particularly following a citywide crackdown on pro-democracy activists, opposition politicians and journalists after the national security law was imposed on the city. from July 1, 2020.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the letter was clearly an attempt at intimidation.

“The unjustifiable action taken against the UK-based NGO Hong Kong Watch is clearly an attempt to silence those who defend human rights in Hong Kong,” Truss said in a statement on Monday.

“The Chinese government and Hong Kong authorities must uphold the universal right to freedom of expression and uphold that right in Hong Kong in accordance with international commitments, including the joint statement,” she said, referring to the United Nations registration treaty governing the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997.

“Trying to silence the global voices that stand for freedom and democracy is unacceptable and will never succeed,” she said.

The police letter also accused Rogers of “colluding with a foreign power” under Section 29 of the law, saying he lobbied for sanctions against Hong Kong, thereby interfering in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. China and harming its national security.

“Whoever commits the offense shall be liable to imprisonment for at least 3 years [with a maximum penalty of] life in prison,” says the letter, which confirms that the Hong Kong Watch website is currently blocked by Hong Kong authorities.

The UK suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong after the national security law came into force.

“Extraterritoriality” clause

Hong Kong Watch said the group was one of the first foreign organizations targeted by the law.

The group’s sponsor, Lord Patten of Barnes, Hong Kong’s last colonial governor, said Chinese and Hong Kong officials “are not only trying to eradicate freedom of expression and information in Hong Kong, but also to internationalize their campaign against evidence, freedom and honesty”. “

Lord Alton of Liverpool, who was sanctioned by China last year, said the letter was a significant escalation by the Chinese government.

“It signifies the attempt to enforce the odious ‘extraterritoriality’ clause of the draconian national security law that Beijing has imposed on Hong Kong,” he said.

“The result of this appalling law is the utter destruction of Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy, and now the regime is using this law to try to undermine freedom around the world. It is…a shocking attempt to intimidate and threaten an organization that has been at the forefront of global advocacy for Hong Kong.”

Rogers, who was turned away by Hong Kong immigration officials at the city’s international airport when he last attempted to travel five years ago, said the group would not be silenced by such threat.

“We will not be silenced by an authoritarian security apparatus which, through a mixture of senseless brutality and ineptitude, has triggered rapid mass migration out of the city and crippled civil society,” he said. declared. “We will continue to be a voice for the people of Hong Kong and those brave political prisoners who have been imprisoned under this authoritarian regime.”

He said it was ironic that many Hong Kong police and government officials still hold foreign passports, send their children to study in the West and have their savings held in Western banks overseas to avoid campaigns. anti-corruption Xi Jinping.

Voices silenced

Pro-democracy activist Joey Siu, who advises Hong Kong Watch, said many dissenting voices had already been silenced in Hong Kong itself.

“The Hong Kong government has used the national security law to disband various civic groups and arrest most pan-democrats over the past few months,” Siu told RFA. “They want to prevent them from making Hong Kong’s voice heard in the international arena and alleviate the concerns of the international community over the human rights situation. [in the city].”

“The national security law can be applied to anyone, anywhere in the world, foreigners transiting through Hong Kong, as well as permanent residents and Chinese nationals,” she said.

Attempts to load the Hong Kong Watch website from Hong Kong on Monday resulted in a notice saying “unable to connect to this site”, with the site only accessible via VPN.

An official who answered the phone to Hong Kong police declined to comment on “individual cases” when contacted by RFA on Monday.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Responding to the decision by the Russian authorities to block access to Amnesty International’s Russian-language website in connection with the Kremlin’s attack on freedom of expression following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russia, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“Russian citizens have the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds and from all available sources. By blocking Amnesty’s Russian-language site, as well as those of many other human rights organizations, independent media and social media platforms, the Kremlin is showing that it cannot bear the truth about the horror that the Russia triggered in Ukraine.

“This is just the latest attempt by Russian authorities to suppress information about possible war crimes its troops are committing in Ukraine and hide it from internet users across the country. We call on Russia to immediately unblock the website by Amnesty’s Russian language and to allow people to decide freely which sources of information they want to access.

context

On March 11, it emerged that Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor had blocked access to Amnesty International’s Russian-language website (eurasia.amnesty.org), as well as the websites of human rights movement golos (an independent election monitoring body) and two independent media, Colta and Vajnye Istorii (Important Stories). Last week, the latter was designated an “undesirable organization”, which criminalized its operations and banned it from working in Russia. The blocking of all these websites was implemented at the request of the Attorney General.

Over the past three weeks, Russian authorities have unleashed an unprecedented nationwide crackdown on independent journalism, anti-war protests and any voices opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including effectively banning the using terms such as “war” and “invasion” and criminalizing independent reporting on the conflict.

Contact: Gabby Arias [email protected]

A leading conservative legal group has launched a website to encourage people to report cases of public insult against the Polish state or nation – a crime punishable by up to three years in prison – or defamation of religious figures , including the late Polish Pope John Paul II.

The NGO Ordo Iuris – which has played a leading role in campaigns against abortion and “LGBT ideology” in Poland – says its new initiative aims to “protect the values ​​that are the basis of our society “, to “stop the attacks”. on our country” and to counter “Christianophobia”.

“Have you witnessed defamation of Poland or Poles in a public space? Have you heard of situations of defamation of Saint John Paul II or Blessed Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński requiring judicial intervention? asked Ordo Iuris.

Those who have done so are advised to click on a new website, www.zatrzymajmyznieslawienia.pl (meaning “stop defamation”). Ordo Iuris says the service will be an “extremely important” tool for “holding defamation perpetrators accountable”, offering three routes to report defamation.

The first concerns the insults against Poland and the Poles. According to Polish law, “publicly insulting the nation or the Republic of Poland” is a criminal offence, punishable by up to three years in prison.

Ordo Iuris notes that his experts are already analyzing “hundreds” of such cases, but says users who want to help “fight for the good name of our country” should report them to the website to prevent the incidents from getting lost “in information storm. .

As an example of his efforts, Ordo Iuris says he pursued The daily maila British newspaper, for £200,000 for an article suggesting that the Sobibór extermination camp established and run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland was a “Polish death camp”.

It also cites “anti-Polish statements” by opposition politicians, including claims by leftist MEP Sylwia Spurek about Poland’s rule of law situation and human rights record.

The second track concerns insults against Pope John Paul II, who was made a saint in 2014, and the recently beatified Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. Besides being religious figures, both are revered for their role in resisting and overthrowing the Polish communist regime.

“The last few years have been full of disgusting attacks on the two spiritual fathers of Polish independence and freedom,” says Ordo Iuris. She asks that incidents of “defamation” and “destruction of places of memory” dedicated to religious figures be reported to her lawyers.

Finally, the organization also seeks to tackle “cases of Christianophobia” by providing an “institutionalized weapon in the defense of religious freedom in Poland”. She asks those who have been victims of hatred or discrimination because of their religion to write to them.

Among Poland’s wide range of defamation and insult laws, “offending religious sentiment” is a criminal offence, punishable by up to two years in prison. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of blasphemy cases brought in Poland under the current National-Conservative government.

The Ministry of Education recently helped launch a new academic center devoted to “combating Christianophobia” and “spreading knowledge about the persecution of Christians”.

Ordo Iuris has himself gained influence under the current government. Its “Charter of Family Rights” has been adopted by many local authorities, and the organization’s founder, Aleksander Stępkowski, served as deputy minister before being appointed as a Supreme Court justice in 2019.

Ordo Iuris has also played a leading role in campaigns to restrict access to abortion (with a near-total ban coming into effect last year) and to pull Poland out of a European violence convention. domesticated.

The organization has been the subject of much controversy, particularly over its international ties and sources of funding.

VSquare, an investigative journalism group, describes Ordo Iuris as part of an “international network of ultra-conservative organizations” aimed at “eradicating liberal values, toughening the law, changing the language of debate, filling positions keys and strengthen political influence”.

Main image credit: ADAM GOLEC / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Consumers’ Research launched a new campaign expose BlackRock CEO Larry Finck for his shameless hypocrisy after his letter 2022 to CEOs brushed off criticism from Consumers’ Research, but failed to mention its close relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.

This new phase of Consumers’ Research’s multi-million dollar campaign targets BlackRock’s poor business practices and by Larry Fink the hypocritical principles of enlightenment include:

“Larry Fink wanted the world to think he was awake until we called him out for breaching his fiduciary duty to American retirees,” said Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research. “Now he’s backtracking and pretending he’s just a capitalist. He still lies, but his actions speak for themselves. He uses US investment dollars to get close to Chinese Communists and wake up politicians, thereby betraying the American consumer.

Last year, Consumers’ Research published a TV advertising and write a letter to governors which included a Warning to consumers focused on BlackRock’s use of US investments to fund the Chinese Communist Party. Since the consumer warning was issued, several states have taken action to protect their consumers from shady dealings by BlackRock and snitch.

“Larry Fink expects people to believe he’s saving the planet, but his hypocrisy seems to be catching up with him,” Hild said. “He has been outspoken on a number of woke political issues, but particularly silent on China’s human rights record while simultaneously sending US pension dollars to the Chinese Communist Party.”

The website, WhoisLarryFink.com, has several articles outlining some of Fink’s most disturbing facts.

You can also visit BlackRockLovesChina.com for more information.

About consumer research:

consumer research is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to increase knowledge and understanding of the issues, policies, products and services that matter to consumers and to promote the freedom of act on this knowledge and understanding. Consumers’ Research believes that the cost, quality, availability, and variety of goods and services used or desired by American consumers – private and public sectors – are improved by greater consumer knowledge and freedom.

Notre Dame, IN. Literatures of Annihilation, Exile and Resistance, a research collective and lecture series focused on the study of Middle Eastern/Southwest Asian and North African literatures, founded by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi and hosted at the University of Notre Dame’s Initiative on Race and Resilience, is delighted to announce the launch of its new website, litofexile.nd.edu.

The website has been redesigned to reflect the growth of the research collective and its series of online events. The new website includes an archive of recorded events featuring transnational writers and scholars from Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Colombia, Chile and the United States. United whose work bears witness to truth and history and the global struggle for freedom.

“Literatures of Annihilation, Exile & Resistance is a space for writers and artists who see art as a form of transformational witnessing,” said Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi. “It is a space to examine in our own words and images how resistance movements and political violence in our ancestral and adopted homelands have shaped our language, our stories, and our collective and individual identities.”

The site features an interactive map that traces the personal migration routes of featured guests, as well as members of the research collective. Writers such as Sonallah Ibrahim, Sinan Antoon, Solmaz Sharif, Ibtisam Azem, Isabella Hammad, Elias Khoury, Susan Abulhawa and Mosab Abu Toha are featured alongside scholars who study literatures that have been shaped by transformational movements, decolonization , migration and human rights. offences. Together, their flyways illustrate patterns of movement over the Mediterranean Sea and across the Atlantic Ocean. Users of the interactive map can learn more about each writer/artist/scholar through links to recorded conversations, written interviews, and more. The map was developed by poet, artist and researcher Amira Hanafi.

Literatures of Annihilation, Exile, and Resistance invites visitors to explore the new website and register for upcoming events, held monthly live on Zoom. Lina Meruane and Nadia Owusu are featured guests on Friday, February 25, 2022 at 12:00 PM EST. Randa Jarrar and Zeyn Joukhadar chat with Mejdulene B. Shomali on Friday, March 25, 2022 at 12:00 PM EST. Visitors can also watch videos of past events featuring literary readings and conversations between writers, filmmakers and scholars.

About Literatures of Annihilation, Exile and Resistance

Literatures of Annihilation, Exile and Resistance is a research collective and lecture series taking an interdisciplinary approach to the Middle East/Southwest Asia and North Africa. Launched by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, it is co-sponsored by the University of Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and hosted at the Race and Resilience Initiative, led by Mark Sanders, Professor of English and African Studies.

The Literatures of Annihilation, Exile & Resistance research collective includes Asher Kaufman, Ebrahim Moosa, Atalia Omer and Ernesto Verdeja, faculty members of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and Alison Rice, Perin Gürel, Olivier Morel, Ernest Morrell, Francisco Robles and Mark Sanders. External collaborators include Chana Morgenstern, co-founder of the Archives of the Disappeared Initiative and associate professor of postcolonial and Middle Eastern literatures at the University of Cambridge; Sinan Antoon, Iraqi poet, novelist and translator and associate professor at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study; Refqa Abu-Remaileh, Associate Professor of Modern Arabic Literature and Film at Freie Universität Berlin and Principal Investigator of PalREAD; Amir Ahmadi Arian, Iranian novelist, journalist and writer, and Ammiel Alcalay, poet, novelist, translator, critic and professor at Queens College and CUNY Graduate Center.

Media Contact
Amira Hanafi
Coordinator
ahanafi@nd.edu

Originally posted by Literature of annihilation, exile and resistance at litofexile.nd.edu to February 08, 2022.

(NewsUSA)

Famous novelist Mike Bond has been called one of the most exciting authors of the 21st century. His recently published historical epic, “America,” is the first in a seven-book series that brings to life our past 70 years and our nation’s deepest upheaval since the Civil War.

Now, in the tumultuous final years of the 1960s and through the crazy, joyful, heartbroken and visionary lives of four young people, the story continues in book two, “Freedom”.

CHANGING LANDSCAPES AND MORAL CODES

From war-torn jungles of Vietnam to burning American cities, near-death in Tibet, peace marches, the battle for the Pentagon, wild drugs, rock concerts, free love, coups from the CIA in Indonesia and Greece, the Six Day War and Bobby Kennedy’s latest campaign, “Freedom” takes you back to the 60s as if it were now.

Bond continues the joint sagas of the four young people brought to America. They have all followed different paths, each reacting as best they can to the country’s political chaos and new set of moral codes.

Mick leaves for the Himalayas while Troy goes to Vietnam with the Marines. Daisy is starting her PhD. in brain research, and Tara battles heroin as her rock band rises to stardom. Troy is soon caught up in mind-numbing combat in Vietnam, while Mick returns to the United States to lead the anti-war effort. Tara’s band signs a Motown contract amid the Detroit riots. At Stanford, Daisy expands her study of the human brain on LSD and other mood-altering drugs. Troy falls in love with a Vietnamese professor and slowly loses faith in the war.

Each of these characters could carry a novel on their own, but Bond did a masterful job of telling all of their stories, first one, then the other, then the other and back again, without losing momentum. . It blends the story with the haunting songs of Jim Morrison, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, the unforgettable anti-war lyrics and the temptations of sex and drugs. They are educated and deeply alive young people, in search of truth and a vision for the future.

VERY NICE WRITING

One reviewer called Liberty “the most beautiful prose I have ever read”.

Bond has been called a “master of the existential thriller” by the BBC, “one of America’s finest thriller writers” by Culture Buzz, and “one of the most exciting writers of the 21st century” by The Washington Times. He is a best-selling novelist, war and human rights journalist and environmentalist. He has covered guerrilla wars, death squads and military dictatorships in Latin America and Africa, Islamic terrorism in the Middle East, ivory poaching and other environmental battles in East Africa. and in Asia.

Firmly grounded in fact and history, “Freedom” is highly readable, bitterly nostalgic, romantic, heartbreaking and uplifting. It is a testament to the effects of politics and moral revolutions on America and how what happened then created who we are now. Buy at https://amzn.to/3ns2tUS

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