Diaspora groups wary of Carney-China MoU

Chinese diaspora groups are expressing concerns about the Carney government's confidential memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Communisyt China on security and law enforcement, and asking for it to be made public to calm fears in their communities. . 

Hong Kong Democracy Groups Express Concern About Canada’s Police Cooperation Agreement With China | Epoch Times | Olivia Gomm:

February 13, 2027 - "Ten Hong Kong democracy activist groups are voicing concern about Ottawa’s new deal with Beijing on law enforcement cooperation, saying the federal government’s lack of transparency on the agreement has intensified the fears of Hong Kong diaspora communities. UK-based Hong Kong Watch, [and] nine other Hong Kong diaspora community groups, are expressing 'serious concern' about the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Ottawa and Beijing have signed to enhance cooperation in crime-fighting efforts between the RCMP and China’s ministry of public security.

"The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Jan. 16 that Canada and China will pursue 'pragmatic and constructive engagement' in public safety and security.... The MOU on police cooperation was one of several agreements Ottawa and Beijing signed during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China in January. Although Ottawa has made other MOUs public, the agreement on public safety cooperation has been kept confidential so far.

"The diaspora community groups said in their statement that because the government has not explained what safeguards, limitations, or oversight mechanisms are in place regarding the agreement, the lack of transparency 'has intensified fears' that cooperation between Ottawa and Beijing’s law enforcement agencies on crime 'could, intentionally or unintentionally, expose individuals or community networks to harm'....

"The groups noted that these fears could lead diaspora communities to withdraw from public life, undermining the public’s trust and safety. They also said trust between law enforcement and diaspora communities is 'essential,' because without it, communities may be hesitant to engage with authorities or report crimes....

"Hong Kong Watch and the other nine organizations are urging Ottawa to provide 'full transparency' on the MOU, including the scope, safeguards, and limitations of the agreement. The groups are also calling on lawmakers and media organizations 'to recognize the fear experienced by Hong Kong diaspora communities worldwide and to treat transnational repression as a serious and growing global concern requiring vigilance, accountability, and clear protections.'”

"The Conservatives have requested that Ottawa provide the party with a copy of the agreement on police cooperation, saying such agreements should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny if they are being kept confidential.... The Tories have also voiced concern about the MOU itself, saying China poses a security threat to Canada. Carney also expressed concern about China during the 2025 election campaign, calling it the top national security threat."

Read more: https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/hong-kong-democracy-groups-express-concern-about-canadas-police-cooperation-agreement-with-china-5985451

Canada-China deal contradicts Carney's past security concerns: Chong | Power & Politics | CBC News | January 16, 2026:

Canadian Conservative's relatives detained in Hong Kong

Relatives of former Conservative candidate Joe Tay, a Canadian citizen with a bounty placed on his head by the Hong Kong government, were reportedly taken in for questioning by the national security police. 

Relatives of Tory Candidate and Activist Joe Tay Taken for Questioning by Hong Kong Police, Local Media Say | Epoch Times | Carolina Avendano:

May 8, 2025 - "Relatives of Conservative candidate and Hong Kong democracy activist Joe Tay were reportedly taken in for questioning by Hong Kong national security police, according to local media. The National Security Department took both Tay’s cousin and the cousin’s wife from their home in the Fo Tan area of Hong Kong to a police station on the morning of May 8 to assist with an investigation, according to government-owned Radio Television Hong Kong.

Joe Tay in 2014. CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Digital Broadcasting Corp. Hong Kong Ltd.

"Tay, a Canadian citizen who ran as a Tory candidate in the federal election, is one of several outspoken pro-democracy activists targeted by Hong Kong authorities. International bounties have been issued for Tay and several other activists.... Hong Kong authorities issued a warrant and offered a HK$1 million bounty (nearly CA$180,000) for Tay’s arrest in December 2024. Hong Kong officials have accused him of two offences: 'incitement to secession' and 'collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.' The Epoch Times sought comment from Tay but didn’t hear back by publication time....

"[N]on-governmental human rights organization ... Hong Kong Watch also expressed concern about reports involving Tay’s relatives. 'The Hong Kong government is intensifying its campaign of Transnational Repression,' wrote the group in a May 8 social media post. 'Governments must act to protect diaspora activists now.'

"Tay’s situation drew national attention during Canada’s election campaign after it was reported that Paul Chiang, then an incumbent Liberal candidate for the Ontario riding of Markham-Unionville, had suggested Tay, his Conservative rival, be handed over to the Toronto Chinese consulate to collect the bounty placed on him. Chiang later issued an apology, calling his comments a 'complete lapse of judgment,' and promising to 'continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong in their fight to safeguard their human rights and freedoms.' 

"Tay ... said ... that the situation left him fearing for his safety.... He added he had previously contacted the RCMP about his personal protection. 'Threats like these are the tradecraft of the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in Canada,' he said in a March 31 statement. 'And they are not just aimed at me. They are intended to send a chilling signal to the entire community in order to force compliance with Beijing’s political goals.'"

Read more: https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/relatives-of-tory-candidate-and-activist-joe-tay-taken-for-questioning-by-hong-kong-police-local-media-say-5854615

Hong Kong police take in relatives of wanted activist Joe Tay for questioning | Hong Kong Free Press | Hillary Leung:

May 8, 2025 - "A total of 19 overseas activists are wanted by Hong Kong national security police, including ex-student leader Nathan Law and lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok. Police are offering HK$1 million for information related to them. Officers have also taken in a number of the activists’ family members for questioning as part of their investigations. Last week, police charged a relative of a wanted activist for the first time. Anna Kwok’s father, Kwok Yin-sang, was said to breached Article 23 – Hong Kong’s homegrown security law – by attempting to obtain funds from a life and personal accident insurance policy that belonged to her.  Anna Kwok, the executive director of the US-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, is accused of foreign collusion....

"In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city."

Read more: https://hongkongfp.com/2025/05/08/hong-kong-police-take-in-relatives-of-wanted-activist-joe-tay-for-questioning/

'Mass exodus' from Hong Kong since 2020

Hong Kong exodus | CBC News - Bernice Chan & Winston Szeto:

June 30, 2022 - "The Hong Kong government’s increasing hard line and China’s growing control over the region has coincided with more than 100,000 people leaving the region in the past two years, mostly to the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Canada..... Hong Kong has changed so much — with Beijing increasing its control over the city’s political and legal system and gutting its civil society and media landscape — that people like ... Arial Wong ... have sought new lives elsewhere. 

"Wong was ... active in the 2019 protests, which were sparked by an extradition bill that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed in the spring of that year.... In the ensuing months, the authorities arrested more than 10,000 people related to the protests, more than 2,900 of whom were prosecuted, according to figures released up to February 2022.... 'I formed groups to support the persecuted political prisoners that were sent to jail … I just helped them out with the legal aid and living expenses,' she says, noting she regularly visited people in jail. However, in recent months the Hong Kong government has charged groups like hers of aiding and abetting those related to the protests. To evade prosecution, Wong fled to Vancouver in January....

"By late January 2020 the protests were abruptly halted in two ways: the COVID-19 pandemic gave the Hong Kong government an opportunity to impose strict social-distancing measures, and six months later Beijing passed the national security law on Hong Kong, bypassing the city’s legislature. It is a vaguely worded law where anyone anywhere in the world can be charged with endangering China’s national security if the authorities deem someone has colluded with foreign forces, committed sedition, secession or terrorism.... When the national security law came into effect in 2020, Jeff Nankivell was the Canadian consul general of Hong Kong and Macau..... 'It [the national security law] became effective within minutes of having been promulgated. And the next day, already 10 people were arrested,' he said, adding that no one in Hong Kong knew the details of it, not even Lam, the city’s leader....

"A few months after the national security law was enacted, Nankivell says, Canada announced an extraordinary immigration measure: it allowed graduates from any worldwide recognized post-secondary institution in the past five years to apply for work permits that could lead to permanent residency. Many who have arrived though the new stream are young families concerned about the government overhauling the education system in Hong Kong.... Not only students are leaving Hong Kong, but teachers are too — 4,460 students and 987 teachers left the education system in the 2020-21 academic year, according to a survey released by the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools. That’s nearly double the number of teachers who left in previous years, the survey notes, with a 'seven-fold increase' in emigration."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/hong-kong-handover

Hong Kong lost residents in 2020 and 2021, but this year is expected to far surpass both years in terms of the numbers of people leaving for good | CNBC - Monica Buchanan Pitrelli:

May 27, 2022 - "For the past 60 years, Hong Kong’s population has grown nearly every year, from some 3.2 million people in 1961 to 7.5 million in 2019, according to Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department. From 2015 to 2019, the city gained an average of 53,000 new residents per year. Yet that is roughly the same number of people who departed Hong Kong during the first two weeks of March alone, according to the city’s Immigration Department. Hong Kong lost some 93,000 residents in 2020, followed by another 23,000 in 2021. But early estimates show this year will see far more people go.    

“''In the last couple of years people have thought about leaving, but in the last six months there’s been an absolute mass exodus,” said Pei C., who has lived in Hong Kong for 17 years. She asked to be identified with her last initial because of sensitivities surrounding the topic in Hong Kong. The trigger, she said — one echoed by numerous people who spoke to CNBC for this story — was the highly-publicized policy that separated Covid-positive children from their parents earlier this year.... Pei estimates that 60-70% of her friends have left in the past six to 12 months.... 'Everyone’s going to Singapore,' said Pei, especially those working in finance, law and recruitment, she said. 

"Kay Kutt, CEO of the Hong-Kong based relocation company Silk Relo, agreed.... Families are transferring to Singapore, she said, but small- and medium-sized businesses are also on the move. Whereas one company executive might have left in the past, now 'they’re all going,' she said. Small companies are 'taking the entire team and putting them into Singapore.' Large companies are also relocating to Singapore, said Cynthia Ang, an executive director at the recruitment firm Kerry Consulting. Other companies are staying in Hong Kong, but downsizing their offices, and moving regional headquarters to Singapore, said Ang....

"Others have moved to the United Kingdom and Canada.... During the pandemic, both countries launched visa programs granting eligible Hong Kong residents the right to reside within their jurisdictions. Immigration from Hong Kong to Canada is 'booming,' according to the Canadian immigration website.... Yet even more are relocating to the United Kingdom, with more than 100,000 applying to move as of March....  Silk Relo and Asian Tigers are also seeing an 'uptick' in moves from Hong Kong to Japan, South Korea and Thailand.... Dubai is also absorbing talent from Hong Kong, said Kerry Consulting’s Ang. She said that is especially true for American and European employers that already have a presence there."

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/27/people-are-leaving-hong-kong-and-here-is-where-they-are-going.html 

Masking Covid policy failure in Hong Kong

Anatomy of the Hong Kong Disaster | Brownstone Institute - Ian Miller: 

March 19, 2022 - "It’s hard to believe that after two years of government policies completely failing to prevent the spread of COVID, there hasn’t been universal acceptance that attempting to control a highly infectious respiratory virus is nearly impossible. Nearly every country that was once praised for their 'response' to COVID has seen their numbers rise dramatically over time....

"So it should come as no surprise that Hong Kong has joined the long list of jurisdictions to see their much praised policies collapse. Equally unsurprising is that media and Twitter promoted experts have yet again ignored the ramifications of Hong Kong’s startling increases. 

"Media reports have consistently attempted to credit masking and other interventions with stopping COVID, but Hong Kong provides a brilliant example of premature celebration. Back in May 2020, Vox published an article with the unequivocal headline: 'How masks helped Hong Kong control the coronavirus,' with the subtitle 'New research shows that universal mask-wearing may help slow the spread of Covid-19'....

If any city in the world was likely to experience the worst effects of the coronavirus, Hong Kong would have been a top candidate. The urban area is densely populated and heavily reliant on packed public-transit systems, and it has very few open spaces. Moreover, a high-speed train connects Hong Kong to Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus originated.

Hong Kong, it seemed, was doomed.

But almost as soon as the outbreak first began in the city, millions of residents started wearing masks in public. One local told the Los Angeles Times that the government didn’t have to say anything before 99 percent of the population put them on.

Experts now say widespread mask usage appears to be a major reason, perhaps even the primary one, why the city hasn’t been devastated by the disease.

"If not for universal masking once we depart from our home every day, plus hand hygiene, Hong Kong would be like Italy long ago,” K.Y. Yuen, a Hong Kong microbiologist advising the government, told the Wall Street Journal last month..... 

"These quotes illustrate how experts and their partners in the media have operated during COVID — present unproven claims with zero evidence, repeat them as stated fact, and use their assertions to enforce mandates based on appealing to their own (generally incompetent) authority.

"We may never learn the motivations behind the great mask wearing shift in early 2020, when experts disregarded years of carefully collected pre-pandemic planning by recommending universal masking, but this article does provides a helpful explanation....

"'Not wearing masks in Hong Kong is like not wearing pants' It’s important to highlight this quote from the Vox article, not just for the absurdity and horrifying ramifications of treating face masks as pants, but to illustrate just how dedicated the residents of the city have been to universal masking....

"So surely, SURELY if any jurisdiction on earth could achieve permanent elimination of COVID with masking, it would be Hong Kong. Mask wearing is as ubiquitous as wearing pants, we’ve been told. Those who do not comply were shamed and barred from life as far back as May 2020, when many US states hadn’t yet mandated [masking].... Survey data has confirmed that mask usage has remained remarkably high and demonstrably consistent over time. 

"So has it worked? Well, not exactly. In just a matter of weeks, cases in Hong Kong rose from a daily average of 1 per million to 5,089 per million, an increase of 508,800%. Mask compliance remained unchanged.... 

"Even with perhaps the world’s most dedicated mask wearing populace, the numbers have exploded. And unfortunately, it’s not just cases, deaths have risen to startling new highs:

"Despite Twitter promoted nutritionist Eric Feigl-Ding asserting that Hong Kong’s masking and interventions illustrated how to 'defeat COVID,' newly reported deaths there are nearly 4x higher than they’ve ever been in the US. Oh, and you may recall how the expert microbiologist advising the Hong Kong government claimed that without universal masking, Hong Kong would be like Italy… Deaths in Hong Kong are now 2.5x higher than they were in Italy’s first wave....

"Vox recently tried to explain how the numbers in Hong Kong and other Asian countries could have risen so rapidly — yet if you search the article for 'masks,' these are the only result[s]: 

The United States is coming out of its deadliest phase of the pandemic and new Covid-19 cases are dropping sharply from their winter high. But more than 1,000 people in the US are still dying every day from the disease. Meanwhile, much of the country is relaxing requirements to wear face masks, testing is declining, and Covid-19 vaccination rates are leveling off.... How severe the next Covid-19 wave will be also hinges on how much the public is willing to take precautions, and many people are already putting masking and social distancing behind them....

"Remarkable isn’t it? This same outlet said universal mask wearing stopped COVID in its tracks and that universal mask wearing was the key, the most important factor in limiting the spread of the virus. And in their article describing how Asia is failing to control COVID despite universal masking, they predictably call for MORE masking....

"While many have blamed Hong Kong’s low vaccination rate for the recent stunning increase in deaths, a look at their vaccination dashboard shows that 82% of the population 12 and up has been fully vaccinated, and 91.4% have had at least one dose The age specific breakdowns might provide better clues, although the fact that they report 100.32% of ages 40-49 have had at least one dose does not inspire confidence on their data collection....

"It’s certainly possible that increased vaccination rates among the extremely elderly would have helped Hong Kong, yet we’ve repeatedly been told that death rates in the US have passed other countries because not enough people have been vaccinated. A quick glance at vaccinations in the US by age group shows stunningly high uptake among elderly populations. And the focus on vaccinations ignores the fact that during previous surges elsewhere, Hong Kong has been specifically praised for controlling COVID with mask wearing. Why did that stop working?...

"No matter where you look, mask wearing hasn’t mattered. Hong Kong is the latest, and perhaps most severe example of this failure. The mad rush to credit masking exemplifies the desire of media members and Twitter pundits to declare their allegiance to the correct set of ideological principles. The religious mantra of 'believe in science' demands commitment to universal mask wearing, regardless of its unequivocal failure.

"Hong Kong tried to control COVID with masking, and those same voices told us repeatedly that it was successful. Where were the retractions when then they subsequently reported one of the highest current death rates we’ve seen anywhere on earth?"

Read more: https://brownstone.org/articles/anatomy-of-the-hong-kong-disaster/

or: https://ianmsc.substack.com/p/world-leading-mask-compliance-doesnt?s=r

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

More than 50 million people locked down in China

China locks down city of 9 million amid new spike in COVID-19 cases | CBC News - Associated Press:

March 11, 2022 - "China on Friday ordered a lockdown of the nine million residents of the northeastern city of Changchun amid a new spike in COVID-19 cases in the area attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant. Residents are required to remain home, with one family member permitted to venture out to buy food and other necessities every two days. All residents must undergo three rounds of mass testing, while non-essential businesses have been closed and transport links suspended.

"The latest lockdowns, which also include Yucheng with 500,000 people in the eastern province of Shandong, show China is sticking to the draconian approach to the pandemic it has enforced for most of the past two years.... Authorities have repeatedly pledged to lock down any community where one or more cases are found under China's 'zero-tolerance' approach to the pandemic. Another 93 cases were confirmed in the nearby city of Jilin that bears the same name as the surrounding province. Authorities have already ordered a partial lockdown in the city and severed travel links with other cities."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-covid-pandemic-lockdown-1.6381175

China orders 51 million into lockdown as COVID surges | ABC News -Britt Clennett & Karson Yiu:

14 March 14, 2022 - "China is facing its worst COVID crisis since early 2020.... China, the last major country to relentlessly pursue a Covid-zero policy, reported 1,437 cases across dozens of cities on Monday. That’s a fourfold jump in a week. The epicenter of the omicron variant outbreak is the Northeastern Jilin province, where 895 cases were recorded, but there are also outbreaks and containment measures in ... Shanghai, the financial powerhouse, and Shenzhen, the southern tech hub.

"Authorities announced on Monday afternoon that all 24 million people in Jilin province would go into lockdown, including the previously locked down city of Changchun. It's the first provincial lockdown since Wuhan and Hubei in January 2020.

"On Sunday, China ordered all of Shenzhen’s 17.5 million residents into a seven-day lockdown, with three rounds of testing. All public transport is halted and all businesses, except essential services, will be closed until March 20.... The lockdown and outbreaks threaten manufacturing and tech production in Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley. It’s home to Huawei and Tencent, and is home to one of the country’s key ports....

"There’s immense pressure on local authorities to contain the virus, with state media reporting that the Jilin City mayor and the head of the Changchun city health commission were dismissed from their roles over the weekend.

"Across the border from Shenzhen, neighboring Hong Kong ... recorded 26,908 cases and 286 more deaths on Monday, officials said. Hong Kong’s death rate is the highest in the developed world, in part because of sluggish vaccination rates among the elderly. Mega isolation facilities are being built across the Hong Kong for people with mild cases. One facility, with 3,900 beds, was built in a week. ABC News witnessed several busloads of people arriving at the facility from all over the city..... The mental-health strain of the strict lockdown has also becoming apparent. Last month, police reported three suicide attempts in 27 hours at one of the quarantine camps.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/china-orders-51-million-lockdown-covid-surges/story?id=83431247

Millions under lockdown in China as virus surges | Yahoo News - Poornima Weerasekara & Laurie Chen, AFP:

March 15, 2002 - "At least 13 cities nationwide were fully locked down on Tuesday, while various other cities had partial lockdowns. The northeastern province of Jilin was the worst-hit, with over 3,000 new cases on Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission. Residents of several cities there including the provincial capital of Changchun – home to nine million people – are under stay-at-home orders. Shenzhen – the southern tech hub of 17.5 million people – is three days into a lockdown with many factories closed and supermarket shelves emptying, while China's largest city Shanghai is under a lattice of restrictions – which fall short of a citywide shutdown....

"Jilin's governor vowed to go all-out to 'achieve community zero-Covid in a week' during an emergency meeting Monday night, state media reported. Residents of Jilin, which is on the border with North Korea, were banned from travelling out of and around the province Monday."

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/nearly-30-million-under-lockdown-100428957.html

Covid, lockdown plans cause chaos in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Braces for Lockdown as Daily Cases Breach 55,000 | Bloomberg - Annie Lee and Michelle Fay Cortez:

March 1, 2022 - "Hong Kong reported a record of more than 55,000 daily new infections on Wednesday as the city’s spiraling outbreak sees thousands of residents flee while those remaining strip shelves of food and medicine. The figure is up from 32,597 a day earlier. Health authorities also announced 117 deaths, mostly people from care facilities, and said there are 64 patients in critical condition in hospital.

"The continued spike in cases comes amid growing chaos and confusion around the city’s plan to test the whole population of 7.4 million three times in March, with dueling local media reports about the length and strictness of the lockdown to occur while testing is conducted.  

On Wednesday afternoon, after over a week out of the public eye, Chief Executive Carrie Lam sought to reassure residents.... China will ensure Hong Kong has enough food and other supplies during the Covid outbreak, said Lam, urging residents to stop their panicked purchasing. There will also be unlimited supplies of medical equipment available, she said. Lam acknowledged that there won’t be enough beds to isolate everyone found to be infected with the virus during the city-wide testing program.... People will be able to get their needs met even during the mass testing effort, she said, ruling out a 'wholesale' city lockdown, though she did not clarify how the mass testing would be conducted and when....

"The uncertainty about how residents will be treated, and rising case and death rates, led U.S. authorities to warn against travel to the city. The U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory to a Level 4 - Do Not Travel - because of Covid and related restrictions, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bumped its travel alert two places to 'high.' The zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 by Hong Kong and China 'severely impacts travel and access to public services,' the U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau said in an email. 'We especially want to note for families considering traveling to or residing in Hong Kong that in some cases, children in Hong Kong who test positive have been separated from their parents and kept in isolation until they meet local hospital discharge requirements'.... 

"Local media reports have differed on the details of the upcoming lockdown, sowing confusion. HK01 reported Wednesday that there would be a four-day limited lockdown at the end of March, and Cable TV said the city will set a time limit for residents to buy groceries. Stories from Sing Tao Daily and the South China Morning Post a day earlier triggered panic-buying with details of a strict nine-day lockdown planned for the middle of March.

"Many among the anxious population, which just two months ago were living in largely virus-free conditions, have had enough. There were 43,689 net departures from the city in the past two weeks, the most since the start of the pandemic, according to government data. In a bear case -- where the Covid outbreak peaks late in the second quarter -- Bank of America Corp. analysts estimate 2% to 3% of Hong Kong’s population could depart every month."

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-01/hong-kong-plans-four-day-lockdown-amid-mass-testing-hk01-says

More lockdowns in Asia-Pacific region

Concern over the Delta variant triggers lockdowns in Asian and Pacific countries | New York Times - Livia Albeck-Ripka, Saif Hasnat, Yu Young Jin, Mujib Mashal & Aina J. Khan:

June 29, 2021 - "Countries across the Asia-Pacific region are scrambling to slow the spread of the more infectious Delta variant, reimposing restrictions and stay-at-home orders....

"In Australia, outbreaks of the variant have forced four major cities — Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin — into strict lockdowns. On Monday, the Malaysian government said nationwide stay-at-home orders would be extended indefinitely. And Hong Kong officials banned flights from Britain.... In Bangladesh, soldiers are preparing to patrol the streets to enforce stay-at-home orders....

"The lockdowns and restrictions have deflated hopes across the region, where many countries avoided the worst of the pandemic’s initial spread last year. Now, weary residents are frustrated by what some describe as their countries’ pandemic regression, as other parts of the world edge toward normalcy.

"Outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s largest city, a restaurant owner, Marcus Low, bemoaned the fourth lockdown of the pandemic.... For his and other small businesses struggling to survive, this lockdown 'might be the last straw,' he said. Others blamed slow vaccination drives for a return to restrictions." 
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/world/asia/australia-lockdown-delta.html

Covid-19: Indonesia announces lockdown in Java and Bali as cases surge | BBC News:

July 1, 2021 - "Indonesia has announced a lockdown on its main island Java, as well as the tourism destination of Bali. The announcement by President Joko Widodo comes as the country battles multiple outbreaks and an alarming spike in Covid cases. Indonesia recently recorded two million Covid cases, attributed to increased holiday travel and the Delta variant.

"The lockdown will last two weeks.... Under the new rules, all staff working for non-essential businesses will have to work from home, and distance learning will be implemented across schools. Malls, places of worship and public leisure facilities like parks will also be shut, with dining-in banned. Businesses ... in the health, security and energy industries have been deemed critical and will be allowed to run at 100% capacity, which means all employees can go to work. Others like financial services, which have been deemed essential, can run at 50% capacity....

"Last month, authorities banned domestic travel across the sprawling archipelago at the end of Ramadan, in an attempt to curb what is known as 'mudik' - the practice of migrant workers travelling back to their hometowns to celebrate Eid with their families. But many flouted the rules.... There have also been rising concerns that the spike in cases is due to the more transmissible Delta variant, which was first detected in late May in the Kudus region of Java.

"Local authorities said this month that more than 350 health workers who were already vaccinated had caught Covid. The Indonesian Medical Association has said so far 949 health workers have died from Covid-19. Data checks by BBC Indonesian found that of these deaths, at least 20 doctors and 10 nurses had been fully vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine, CoronaVac."
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57647693

Coronavirus returns to countries that suppressed it

2nd wave of coronavirus in countries around Asia prompts fresh lockdowns | Global News - Stephen Coates, Reuters:

July 27, 2020 - "Countries around Asia are confronting a second wave of coronavirus infections and are clamping down again to try to contain the disease....

"Hong Kong is expected to announce further restrictions on Monday including a ban on restaurant dining and mandated face masks outdoors, local media reported. The measures, which are expected to take effect from Wednesday, would be the first time the city has completely banned dining in restaurants.

"Australian authorities warned a six-week lockdown in parts of the southeastern Victoria state may last longer after the country registered its highest daily increase in infections. Most of Australia is effectively virus-free but flare-ups in the two most populous southeastern states have authorities scrambling to prevent a wider national outbreak.

"In Japan, the government said it would urge business leaders to ramp up anti-virus measures such as staggered shifts, and aimed to see rates of telecommuting achieved during an earlier state of emergency. 'At one point, commuter numbers were down by 70 to 80 per cent, but now it’s only about 30 per cent,' Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said late on Sunday.... Japan has avoided mass infections but a record surge in cases during the past week in Tokyo and other urban centers has experts worried....

"Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, from the central city of Danang after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus at the weekend, the government said on Monday. The Southeast Asian country is back on high alert after the government on Saturday confirmed its first community infections since April, and another three cases on Sunday, all in Danang.

"In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte is ... weighing whether to re-impose stricter lockdown measures after easing them saw a dramatic surge in infections and deaths, with 62,326 cases reported since the first lockdown was relaxed June 1....

"North Korean state media reported on the weekend that the border town of Kaesong was in lockdown after a person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned this month with symptoms of COVID-19. If confirmed, it would be the first case officially acknowledged by North Korean authorities.... [In] South Korea ... Saturday’s 113 infections were the highest on a single day since March 31.

"Papua New Guinea halted entry for travelers from Monday, except those arriving by air, as it tightens curbs against infections that have more than doubled over the past week. Traditional border crossing were suspended from July 23, police chief David Manning said in a statement distributed on Monday. PNG has fluid borders with Indonesia, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Solomon Islands with people regularly crossing on foot or in small boats."

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/7220628/asia-second-wave-coronavirus-lockdowns/

Chinese state takes over Hong Kong

US Calls Out Chinese Regime’s ‘Orwellian Censorship’ on Hong Kong | Epoch Times - Mimi Nguyen-Ly:

July 7, 2020  - "The U.S. Department of State late Monday issued a statement strongly condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on free speech in Hong Kong.... Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said ... 'With the ink barely dry on the repressive National Security Law, local authorities — in an Orwellian move — have now established a central government national security office, started removing books critical of the CCP from library shelves, banned political slogans, and are now requiring schools to enforce censorship'....

"Hong Kong was handed back from British colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 with the express guarantee under the Sino-British Joint Declaration that the city’s high degree of autonomy and essential freedoms would be preserved under the principle of 'one country, two systems' until 2047. However, after a national security law on Hong Kong became effective late on June 30, a growing number of Hongkongers are considering fleeing the city due to fears that the freedoms that had distinguished Hong Kong from China — including freedom of speech — are now no more.

"The draconian national security law became effective late on June 30 after ceremonial votes by China’s rubber-stamp legislature. The legislation was written and passed behind closed doors without the consultation of Hong Kong’s legislature or local government. The law gives Beijing sweeping power to target individuals for any acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces with maximum penalties of life imprisonment.

"Under the new law, expressed political views that advocate for Hong Kong’s independence or liberation are illegal. On July 1, the morning after the law was enacted, Hong Kong police arrested 10 people under provisions of the new law. In some cases, they were arrested for holding flags, banners, and flyers that had slogans supportive of Hong Kong independence.

"On July 2, the Hong Kong government declared that the popular protest slogan 'Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our times' is illegal because it 'connotes' a pro-independent, separatist, and subversive message. Public libraries have started to review books written by pro-democracy activists to see whether they violate the new law, and according to multiple reports, pro-democracy books have begun to disappear from libraries in Hong Kong.

"The national security law also mandates that a new security bureau be established in the city. On July 3, Beijing appointed Zheng Yanxiong, known for his role in suppressing ... 2011 anti-corruption protests in the southern village of Wukan, to head the new security bureau — which directly answers to the central government....

"The U.S. Congress on July 2 unanimously approved legislation that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials who violate Hong Kong’s autonomy, as well as banks that do business with those officials."

Read more: https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-calls-out-chinese-regimes-orwellian-censorship-on-hong-kong_3414606.html                                            [Eva Fu and Reuters contributed to this report]

Common sense on masks

by George J. Dance

For a month the coronavirus crisis brought us all together, united against an unknown, unseen killer. Within a month, though, the virus, and the 'social distancing' policies used to deal with it, had been thoroughly politicized in the United States. The same political virus is beginning to spread to Canada, as well, though far fewer of us have been infected. South of the border, though, it seems almost everyone has caught the political bug. What Republicans or Democrats think about their states' shutdowns or stay-at-home orders has less to do each day with questions of fact about their effects or their ethics; increasingly it depends solely on political allegiance.

Even the question of whether to wear a mask or not has been politicized, after some state governors have made their use in public compulsory. Wearing a mask is no longer a matter of taking care of one's own health, but of "obeying" or "complying" with what the government and its "experts" tell us to do. Forget that they were telling us, in February, to not wear masks; now they've always believed in wearing masks (just like the government in 1984 was always at war with Eastasia). Either you wear a mask, or you're with the granny-killers.

I don't see it that way at all. Wearing a mask should be a common sense health decision, not a political one. That is why I masked up in January, three months before the government started telling me to, back when all the health authorities were saying there was no evidence that masks were effective (something the World Health Organization is still saying).

When the health authorities told me there is 'no evidence' that masks are effective, I knew that does not mean they were ineffective, but that the authorities don't know whether they are; that there are no studies conclusive enough for them to claim knowledge. Which means only that I cannot rely on the experts, but have to use my own common sense (my background knowledge) instead.

By 'common sense', I mean the intuitive picture of the world we all pick up through our life experiences, beginning with our own senses, but also the including the information we've learned consistent with that picture - all of the facts kicking around in our head, which we use to make personal decisions every day. Wearing a mask is a personal decision, which I can and have to make for myself by using my own judgement.

I think COVID-19 is a potentially deadly disease, particularly for a senior like myself. I know it is spread mainly by people breathing on or talking to others, and that it is especially dangerous when those others breathe it in. Two people talking can cut the risk of transmission by turning their heads – still more by wearing masks – and even more by staying farther apart. My wearing a mask reduces what I breathe on others, and also what they breathe near my mouth and nose. I can still get the virus on my mask, hands, and face, but that is less likely and far safer than breathing it into my lungs without one. As well, my wearing a mask tells others I am serious about the disease and encourages them to stay back, further reducing the risk. This may make little difference – I've done no scientific studies of my own – but whatever difference it makes can only be beneficial, for both parties.

As for statistical evidence, I can look at the death-tolls in the countries where mask-wearing during flu and cold season is common, and compare them with ours. Three of those are Communist-controlled, and may not be reliable: China reported less than 1,500 dead outside of Hubei, while North Korea and Vietnam both claim to have no deaths. (North Korea claims to have no cases.) But the non-Communist countries also show low death totals: 900 dead in Japan, 270 in South Korea, 7 in Taiwan, and just 4 in Hong Kong. Those totals are clearly better than Canada's 7,000 deaths and America's 107,000.

On the other hand, I realize that a mask causes one to breathe in more CO2, which is not good for people like me with breathing problems. So I wear mine pulled down around my chin, and only cover my mouth and nose with it when I get within 10 or so feet of someone.

Wearing a mask should be an individual decision. Those who think others are making the wrong decision can also decide for themselves how to act toward those others, whether avoiding them or becoming a woke scold on social media. Owners of property – stores, government offices, or private homes – may make rules for those who wish to use the property, just as they may make rules around wearing shoes; this violates no freedom, as long as those who dislike those rules can simply avoid those stores, offices, or homes.

However, no one has the right to order anyone (under threat of fine and imprisonment) to wear a mask. The only people who should be ordered to do anything in response to coronavirus are the contagious (who should be ordered to isolate, not to mask up). If a government thinks someone is contagious, they can compel him to be tested. If a government is unable to test someone, four months after a disease outbreak, that is solely due to the government's incompetence. Government incompetence should never be an excuse to violate the rights of innocent people.

Hong Kong opposition wins election landslide

Pro-Democracy Candidates Win Landslide Victory in Hong Kong Election - Liberty Nation - Onar Åm:

November 26, 2019 - "The 2019 district council election in Hong Kong gave a landslide victory to the pro-democracy camp and is widely interpreted as an unofficial referendum on the Chinese Communist Party’s interference in the governance of the former British colony.

"A record-breaking 71% of voters cast their ballots in the election. Of the 452 contested seats, pro-democratic candidates won 385, collecting more than 85% of the votes.... Candidates who support the protesters, now in their sixth month of activism, won 17 out of 18 districts. The people of Hong Kong could hardly send a more explicit message to the government.

"Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing Chief Executive Carrie Lam expressed that she 'respected the results' and ... promised that the government would 'humbly and seriously reflect' on the election result.

"Despite the landslide victory, the election will not directly impact the selection of the government. Even with the infusion of district council members who can vote on the selection of Hong Kong’s chief executive, the pro-democracy camp likely does not hold a majority, although it is close. If some of the business representatives who align with Beijing for strategic reasons should choose to defect, the next leader of Hong Kong could represent the people.

"That is unlikely, but the election has not been for naught. The protesters now officially know that most people in Hong Kong are on their side, which lends them credence in the international community. Consequently, Western countries are more likely to voice official support to the protesters as a legitimate movement backed democratically by the people.

"Although the road to independence may be long and arduous for Hong Kong, this election has enormously boosted morale and confidence in the pro-democracy movement.

"Sometimes the most significant part of an event is what doesn’t happen. During the six months of turbulence in Hong Kong, Beijing has stayed out officially and left the task of cleaning up to Lam and her administration. For China, this is unusually restrained. The mainland government rarely hesitates to use extreme force against open opposition. This self-imposed restraint in Hong Kong is a sign of weakness, vulnerability, and deep structural problems. It reflects China’s fundamental dependence on access to the global market, especially the West. Many parties who want to do business with China strongly prefer to go through Hong Kong, which has a long tradition of the rule of law, orderly conduct, civility, and good business practices.

"Hong Kong can survive well without China, but the converse is not true. Beijing’s rule is built on a house of cards, and the Chinese government avoids shaking the box lest the unstable construction should fall. While that may not secure freedom for Hong Kong, it could buy residents more bargaining chips in the struggle for autonomy."

Read more or listen: https://www.libertynation.com/pro-democracy-candidates-win-landslide-victory-in-hong-kong-election/
'via Blog this'

Hong Kong protesters driven by desperation

Hong Kong Protests: Inside the Chaos - The Atlantic - Zeynep Tufecki:

November 12, 2019 - "For months now, I’ve been told that Hong Kong’s protests would end soon. They’ll end when school starts, I heard during the summer.... Next, the mask ban of early October was supposed to slow protesters down, but the very first day after that ban, I watched streams of protesters in masks and helmets.... The government shut down many of the subway lines that day, a practice that has become a de facto curfew, because Hong Kong’s über-efficient subway system is the way most people get around. No matter; the protesters ended up walking....

"One of the most popular chants in Hong Kong is 'Five demands, not one less.' These include the full withdrawal of the anti-extradition bill, which originally sparked the protests in June; an independent commission to investigate police misconduct; retracting the riot charges against protesters; amnesty for arrested protesters; and, crucially, universal suffrage.

"Nothing animates the Hong Kongers I’ve been talking with as much as that final demand. Yesterday, the police shot one protester in the stomach at point-blank range, and another police officer drove into the protesters with his motorcycle.... Later in the day, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam ... called the protesters the 'enemy of the people.' She was voted into office by 777 people from the 1,200-person 'Election Committee,' many of whose members are businesspeople with close ties to mainland China..... Polls in October showed her popularity around 22 percent, with just over one in 10 Hong Kongers saying that they would vote for her voluntarily. No wonder the protesters want the right to elect their own leaders....

"Some surveys suggest that more than 80 percent of the people of Hong Kong may have been exposed to tear gas.... Some neighborhoods close to protest sites have been so repeatedly drowned in the noxious clouds that the protesters held a rally on behalf of their pets.... Almost every protest results in videos of protesters being beaten by the police. Many are live-streamed, to horrified viewers.... Fearful accounts are coming out of the police stations, alleging torture, sexual assault, and rape....

"Many protesters believe that people were killed by the police on the night of August 31 in Prince Edward station, when the police shut down the subway station with protesters trapped inside. Videos emerged of young people cowering on the floor, as they were pepper-sprayed from a close distance and beaten. Medics weren’t allowed in.... Almost every night now, protesters show up at the entrance of the subway at Prince Edward, right next to the Mong Kok police station.... They shout slogans and obscenities at the police. Often they get tear gas and rubber bullets in return....

"Hong Kong’s government, backed by mainland China, ... seems to have decided that the best way to reestablish control is to crack down even more. Meanwhile, about half of Hong Kongers say that, on a scale of zero to 10, they would rate their trust in the police at zero....

"Last week ...I chatted with two young women, of the many thousands of people who had shown up, right before the police teargassed the [Victoria] park.... This is our last chance, they said very matter-of-factly. If we stand down, nothing will stand between us and mainland China, they said. They talked about Xinjiang, and what China had done to the Uighur minority. I’ve heard about the fate of the Uighurs from so many protesters over the months. China may have wanted to make an example out of the region, but the lesson Hong Kongers took was in the other direction — resist with all your might, because if you lose once, there will be a catastrophe for your people, and the world will ignore it.

"The two women weren’t sure whether they would win.... 'But we cannot give up,' one insisted, 'because if we do, there will be no future for us anyway. We might as well go down fighting.'”

Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/11/escalating-violence-hong-kong-protests/601804/
'via Blog this'

1.7 million join unsanctioned Hong Kong protest

Hong Kong: 1.7m people defy police to march in pouring rain | World news | The Guardian - Verna Yu & Lily Kuo:

August 18, 2019 - 'An estimated 1.7 million people in Hong Kong – a quarter of the population – defied police orders to stage a peaceful march after a rally in a downtown park, after two months of increasingly violent clashes that have prompted severe warnings from Beijing and failed to win concessions from the city’s government.

"'Huge crowds filled Victoria Park on Sunday afternoon and spilled on to nearby streets, forcing police to block traffic in the area. Torrential rain came down an hour into the rally, turning the park into a sea of umbrellas. At the same time, protesters walked towards Central, the heart of Hong Kong’s business district, and surrounded government headquarters.

"Police had turned down a plan for Sunday’s march submitted by the Civil Human Rights Front group and gave permission only for a rally in the park. Those defying the ban risked being charged with unlawful assembly, which can lead to up to five years in prison....

"Throughout the afternoon, streets around Victoria Park were so densely packed that the march frequently came to a complete standstill..... Protesters were orderly but burst into choruses of slogans as they waited to move forward....

"Organisers of the rally, who estimated that 1.7 million people turned up at the park and in the nearby Causeway Bay and Tin Hau areas, said many more were unable to get there. Train services to the metro stations near the park were suspended intermittently throughout the day due to the huge numbers of people.

"The crowd was a mix of young protesters, families and elderly residents. Parents walked alongside small children.

"By early evening, protesters occupied a six-lane road outside the government in Admiralty, shining lasers at the building and the nearby People’s Liberation Army garrison and yelling insults at the police. After convoys of police vans were seen entering the government complex, protesters called for a retreat and the crowd gradually dispersed."

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/18/hong-kong-huge-rally-china-condemns-us-gross-interference
'via Blog this'

Hong Kong airport shut down by protests

Hong Kong airport authority set to resume flights Tuesday after cancellations on 4th day of protests | CBC News:
August 12, 2019 - "The Hong Kong airport will restart flights starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday after it shut down operations when thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators occupied its main terminal. Hong Kong cancelled all flights not yet checked in by Monday afternoon, the agency said, as anti-government protesters peacefully demonstrated at the airport for a fourth day."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hong-kong-flights-cancelled-protest-1.5243590

Hong Kong's civil unrest: What's driving today's protests? | CBC News:
August 12, 2019 - "Why are there tensions?
"Hong Kong, a major Asian commercial hub, returned to China in 1997 after 156 years of British rule. That transfer of power on July 1, 1997 — known as 'the handover' — came with certain conditions designed to guarantee Hong Hong 'a high degree of 'autonomy.'

"Under the 'one country, two systems' principle, Hong Kong is considered a Special Administrative Region of China and maintains independent legislative and legal systems that afford residents freedoms not available in mainland China. But Hong Kongers have long accused Beijing of encroaching on this autonomy....

"An extradition bill proposed by the the Hong Kong government this year triggered the latest wave of demonstrations.... The controversial extradition bill was proposed on April 3 as a response to the Hong Kong government's inability to extradite a Hong Kong man to Taiwan after he allegedly killed his girlfriend on a trip there. But proposed amendments to the bill would also allow Hong Kong to send people to both Taiwan and the mainland to face charges.

"Critics contend that defendants extradited to mainland China may not have access to a fair trial in the judicial system there and that Beijing could also use the law to crack down on Hong Kong dissidents.

"Intense protests then followed on June 9 as hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators were joined by civil servants and others, including business professionals. The bill was declared 'dead' as of last month by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam but she didn't withdraw it, and protests have continued....

"Beijing has labelled the latest protests an ... act of 'terrorism' after local authorities shut down the city's international airport on Monday due to continuous demonstrations. China's military —​ the People's Liberation Army — has a garrison of 6,000 soldiers in Hong Kong. Lam has the authority to request their help to 'maintain social order.'

"If this happens, many fear a repeat of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, where the army cracked down violently on democratic protesters in Beijing. China has never disclosed how many people died in the clashes but human rights organizations have estimated the death toll to be [from] several hundred to several thousand."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hong-kong-civil-unrest-explained-1.5243653

'via Blog this'