HONG KONG: Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was among eight democracy activists handed new prison sentences on Friday for attending protests on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China that were followed by a sweeping crackdown.
Lai, who is already behind bars for taking part in earlier protests, must now serve a total of 20 months after pleading guilty to organizing an unlawful assembly on October 1, 2019.
Seven other leading activists, including 25-year-old youth campaigner Figo Chan, as well as former lawmakers Lee Cheuk-yan and Leung Kwok-hung, were also given new jail sentences.
Many flashed “victory” hand signals on their way to court in a police van.
The new sentences are the latest in a relentless and successful campaign by China to smother dissent and dismantle Hong Kong’s democracy movement.
Hong Kong was convulsed by months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 in the most serious challenge to Beijing’s rule since the city’s 1997 handover.
The clashes with police on China’s October 1 National Day were some of the worst of that period.
It was a vivid and embarrassing illustration of how huge swathes of Hong Kong’s population seethe under Beijing’s rule as the government celebrated 70 years since communist China’s founding.
While President Xi Jinping oversaw a huge military parade in Beijing, clashes between hardcore protests and police raged across Hong Kong that day.
The march attended by the activists who were jailed on Friday remained largely peaceful. But it did not have official police permission, a requirement in Hong Kong.
“It was naive to believe a rallying call for peaceful and rational behavior would be enough to ensure no violence,” district judge Amanda Woodcock said as she handed down jail sentences to the eight activists.
China has responded to the democracy rallies with a broad clampdown on Hong Kong, including the imposition of a sweeping national security law that outlaws much dissent.
Hong Kong authorities on Thursday banned the annual June 4 vigil marking Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, with security minister John Lee warning the security law could be used against those who defy the ban.
More than 10,000 people were arrested during Hong Kong’s democracy protests, with around 2,500 convicted for various offenses.
Most of the city’s prominent democracy leaders are either under arrest, in jail or have fled overseas.
More than 100 people, including Lai, have been charged under the security law, which carries up to life in jail.
Those handed jail terms on Friday are from the more moderate wing of Hong Kong’s democracy movement. Four were already serving jail sentences for taking part in protests.
Many of them have spent decades advocating non-violence in their ultimately fruitless campaign for universal suffrage.
Figo Chan, for example, was a key figure in the Civil Human Rights Front, the coalition that organized some of the largest rallies of 2019 when hundreds of thousands turned up.
Supporters chanted “Add oil!” — a Chinese phrase of encouragement — as the group were led into court on Friday.
At a mitigation hearing earlier in the week, Chan accused Hong Kong’s unelected leaders of failing to give citizens an avenue to voice their dissatisfaction.
“If the government listened to people’s demands, then it would not be necessary for the people to use violence to get the government to respond,” he told the court.
Lee Cheuk-yan, 63, said he had no regrets about the prospect of going to jail.
“For over 40 years I have strived for democratic reform in China,” he told the court.
“This is my unrequited love, the love for my country with such a heavy heart.”
China says the clampdown and security law is needed to return stability.
It has dismissed the democracy demands and says the protests were instigated by “foreign forces” who want to undermine China.
Many Western nations say Beijing has shredded its promise that Hong Kong could maintain certain freedoms and autonomy under a “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement agreed before the city’s 1997 handover.
Jimmy Lai among eight more Hong Kong democracy activists jailed
https://arab.news/8fu63
Jimmy Lai among eight more Hong Kong democracy activists jailed
- Media tycoon is already behind bars for taking part in earlier protests
- More than 10,000 people were arrested during Hong Kong’s democracy protests
Australia approves extradition of former US Marine over alleged training of Chinese military pilots
- Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition on Monday
- Daniel Duggan has been in a maximum-security prison since he was arrested in 2022
NEWCASTLE, Australia: Former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan will be extradited from Australia to the United States over allegations that he illegally trained Chinese aviators.
Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition on Monday, ending the Boston-born 55-year-old’s nearly two-year attempt to avoid being returned to the US
Duggan, who served in the Marines for 12 years before immigrating to Australia and giving up his US citizenship, has been in a maximum-security prison since he was arrested in 2022 at his family home in the state of New South Wales. He is the father of six children.
Dreyfus confirmed in a statement on Monday he had approved the extradition but did not say when Duggan would be transferred to the US
“Duggan was given the opportunity to provide representations as to why he should not be surrendered to the United States. In arriving at my decision, I took into consideration all material in front of me,” Dreyfus said in the statement.
In May, a Sydney judge ruled Duggan could be extradited to the US, leaving an appeal to the attorney general as Duggan’s last hope of remaining in Australia.
In a 2016 indictment from the US District Court in Washington, D.C., unsealed in late 2022, prosecutors said Duggan conspired with others to provide training to Chinese military pilots in 2010 and 2012, and possibly at other times, without applying for an appropriate license.
Prosecutors say he received payments totaling around 88,000 Australian dollars ($61,000) and international travel from another conspirator for what was sometimes described as “personal development training.”
If convicted, Duggan faces up to 60 years in prison. He denies the allegations.
“We feel abandoned by the Australian government and deeply disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect an Australian family,” his wife, Saffrine Duggan, said in a statement on Monday. “We are now considering our options.”
South Korean opposition threatens to impeach Han over martial law counsel
- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo took over from the suspended Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached on Dec. 14
- Yoon accused of hampering the Constitutional Court trial by repeatedly refusing to accept court documents
SEOUL: South Korea’s main opposition party threatened on Monday to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo if he failed to proclaim a law to launch a special counsel investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law.
Prime Minister Han has taken over from the suspended Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14 and faces a Constitutional Court review on whether to oust him.
With a majority in parliament, the opposition Democratic Party passed a bill this month to appoint a special counsel to pursue charges of insurrection, among others, against the conservative Yoon and to investigate his wife over a luxury bag scandal and other allegations.
The party, which has accused Han of aiding Yoon’s martial law attempt and reported him to police, said it would “immediately initiate impeachment proceedings” against the acting president if the legislation was not promulgated by Tuesday.
“The delays show that the prime minister has no intention of complying with the constitution, and it is tantamount to admitting that he is acting as a proxy for the insurgent,” Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae told a party meeting, referring to Yoon.
Han is a technocrat who has held leadership roles in South Korean politics for 30 years under conservative and liberal presidents. Yoon appointed him prime minister in 2022.
Han’s office could not immediately be reached for comment. He has previously said he had tried to block Yoon’s martial law declaration, but apologized for failing to do so.
Park also accused Yoon of hampering the Constitutional Court trial by repeatedly refusing to accept court documents.
“Any delay in the investigation and impeachment trials is an extension of the insurrection and an act of plotting a second one,” Park said.
A joint investigative team including police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials has made a second attempt to call Yoon in for questioning on Dec. 25, though it was unclear whether he would appear.
Woo Jong-soo, investigation chief of the national police agency, told parliament on Monday that police had tried to raid Yoon’s office twice but the presidential security service denied them entry. Woo said his team sent a request to preserve evidence, including a secure phone server.
India, Kuwait upgrade ties to strategic partnership on Modi visit
- Modi awarded Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer for strengthening Kuwait-India relations
- India, Kuwait leaders discussed cooperation in pharmaceuticals, IT, security
NEW DELHI: India and Kuwait upgraded bilateral ties to a strategic partnership on Sunday as their leaders eye stronger cooperation in “key sectors” ranging from pharmaceuticals to security.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a strategic partnership agreement with Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah during his trip to the Gulf state, the first visit by an Indian leader in 43 years.
“We have elevated our partnership to a strategic one and I am optimistic that our friendship will flourish even more in the times to come,” Modi said in a statement.
“We discussed cooperation in key sectors like pharmaceuticals, IT, fintech, infrastructure and security.”
During the trip, the Kuwaiti emir presented Modi with the Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer for his efforts in strengthening Kuwait-India relations.
The order is the highest civilian honor in Kuwait and is bestowed upon leaders and heads of state.
The emir said India was a “valued partner” in the country and the Gulf region and that he “looked forward” to India playing a greater role in the realization of Kuwait Vision 2035, according to a statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The newly upgraded ties will open up “further cooperation in sectors such as defense … with the Kuwaiti armed forces,” especially the navy, said Kabir Taneja, a deputy director and fellow with the strategic studies program at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.
Their closer cooperation in major sectors will also “further India’s economy-first agenda,” he added.
“Pharmaceuticals, for example, is a point of strength of Indian manufacturing and can contribute to further building the sector in states such as Kuwait,” Taneja told Arab News.
India’s pharmaceutical exports have been growing in recent years, and the country was the third-largest drugmaker by volume in 2023.
Delhi is also among Kuwait’s top trade partners, with bilateral trade valued at around $10.4 billion in 2023-24.
Taneja said India-Kuwait ties are also likely to strengthen through the Indian diaspora, the largest expatriate community in the Gulf state.
Over 1 million Indian nationals live and work in Kuwait, making up about 21 percent of its 4.3 million population and 30 percent of its workforce.
“(The) Indian diaspora has been part of the Kuwaiti story for a long time,” Taneja said, adding that strengthening ties between the two countries will allow India, through its diaspora, to unlock “deeper economic cooperation potential.”
Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- The US Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year
- It decided to leave it there despite criticism by Beijing that it was destabilizing to Asia
MANILA: The Philippine military said Monday it plans to acquire the US Typhon missile system to protect its maritime interests, some of which overlap with regional power China.
The US Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally, but decided to leave it there despite criticism by Beijing that it was destabilizing to Asia.
Since then, it has been used by Philippine forces to train for its operation.
“It is planned to be acquired because we see its feasibility and its functionality in our concept of archipelagic defense implementation,” Philippine Army chief Lt. General Roy Galido told a news conference.
“I’m happy to report to our fellow countrymen that your army is developing this capability for the interest of protecting our sovereignty,” he said, adding the total number to be acquired would depend on “economics.”
As a rule, it takes at least two or more years for the Philippine military to acquire a new weapons system from the planning stage, Galido said, adding it was not yet budgeted for 2025.
The land-based “mid-range capability” missile launcher, developed by US firm Lockheed Martin for the US Army, has a range of 480 kilometers, though a longer-range version is in development.
The presence of the US missile system on Philippine soil had angered Beijing, whose forces have engaged in escalating confrontations in recent months with the Philippines over disputed reefs and waters in the South China Sea.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned in June that the Typhon deployment was “severely damaging regional security and stability.”
Seven dead in small plane crash in western Mexico
- The aircraft, a Cessna 207, was flying from La Parota in the neighboring state of Michoacan
MEXICO CITY: At least seven people died when a light aircraft crashed Sunday in a heavily forested area of Jalisco in western Mexico, local authorities reported.
The aircraft, a Cessna 207, was flying from La Parota in the neighboring state of Michoacan.
Jalisco Civil Protection said via its social media that the crash site was in an area that was difficult to access.
Initial authorities on the scene “reported a preliminary count of seven people dead,” who haven’t been identified yet, according to the agency.
“A fire was extinguished and risk mitigation was carried out to prevent possible additional damage,” it added.
Authorities said they were awaiting the arrival of forensic investigators to remove the bodies and rule out the presence of additional victims.
