Hong Kong police warn that Hong Kong’s rule of law has been pushed to the “brink of total collapse” after more than five months of protests.
On Tuesday November 12, 2019, hundreds of protesters wearing black, attempted to block riot police from entering the prestigious and largely isolated Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) near Tai Po. Under a barrage of constant tear gas, protesters, many of them students, threw bricks and petrol bombs at police.
If there is any wishful thinking that by escalating violence the (Hong Kong) government will yield to pressure to satisfy protesters’ so-called demands, I’m making this clear that will not happen.”
— Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam
Protesters armed themselves with a makeshift catapult, bow and flaming arrows, and javelins. Among the casualties are a protester that was shot by a police officer, and a man that was set on fire by protesters.
Dangerous objects have also landed on Tolo Highway near CUHK.
The series of demonstrations in Hong Kong, which were triggered by the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill by the Hong Kong government, began four and a half years after the Umbrella Revolution in 2014. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) issued a decision regarding proposed reforms to the Hong Kong electoral system triggered the Umbrella Revolution or Umbrella Movement that was largely seen as highly restrictive with suspicions raised that the reform involved Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s pre-screening of the candidates for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill, if enacted, would have allowed local authorities detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories where Hong Kong has no extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China, which created concerns that the bill would subject Hong Kong residents and visitors under the mainland Chinese jurisdiction and legal system, undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and civil liberties.
Initially protesters sought only the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill, but later demanded that …
– the initial June 12 demonstration be no longer classified as a riot,
– arrested protesters be released and exonerated,
– an independent commission establish an inquiry into police conduct and use of force, and
– Carrie Lam resign and that universal suffrage be implemented for Legislative Council and Chief Executive elections.
In August 2019 Facebook and Twitter announced that they had discovered large-scale disinformation campaigns operating on their social networks. Facebook reported discovering posts with altered images and taken them out of context, and discrediting the protesters. According to investigations by Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, some of the attacks were coordinated, state-backed operations that were traced to the Chinese government. A study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute found that the disinformation campaign promoted three main narratives:
– Condemnation of the protestors
– Support for the Hong Kong police and ‘rule of law’
– Conspiracy theories about Western involvement in the protests
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is an independent and non-partisan defense and strategic policy think-tank based in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory — established in 2001 by the Australian Government.
“Hong Kong SAR police headquarters were surrounded and attacked. Who were the people wearing black? They were acting under the direction of western anti-China forces. They’re manipulating things behind the scenes, with a clear purpose to instigate others to participate in the demonstration and the encirclement. They’re bringing chaos to Hong Kong SAR with an illegal political goal and disrupting the social order.”
“The old Chinese saying put it well: ‘Judge a person by their words, as well as their actions’. Take a look at those in the opposition parties and the Hong Kong independence extremists. Apart from instigating street demonstrations, violent attacks, assaulting police officers and disturbing the social order in Hong Kong, they have done nothing that is actually conducive to the development of Hong Kong. This abnormal fetus of a “freak demonstration” that the opposition parties and Hong Kong independence people gave birth to is becoming more violent as it heads down this evil road.’”
— — Australian Strategic Policy Institute, quoting Tweets from suspended accounts
According to ASPI, research uncovered evidence that the Hong Kong disinformation accounts identified by Twitter were also engaged in earlier disinformation campaigns targeting opponents of the Chinese government.
Sample Target Tweets
Lately, Guo Wengui has continued to use his cheap trick of deceiving himself and others with a crazy live-stream where he lied like crazy, incited and fanned the flames like crazy, and agitated for his so-called democracy like crazy—enthusiastically promoting his “Expose Revolution”. But the crazier he gets the harder it is to hide the fact that the sun has already set on him. It doesn’t matter how much he embellishes things; eventually, he will have to take responsibility and put an end to all of this himself.’
Guo Wengui, who fears only a world not in chaos and schemes to topple Hong Kong, is not only secretly supporting the violent and destructive Occupy extremists in Hong Kong, he’s also openly supporting violent demonstrations. Is this small mob of criminals the “Hong Kong people” Guo Wengui keeps talking about?’
— Australian Strategic Policy Institute, quoting Tweets from suspended accounts
Google, Facebook, and Twitter banned these accounts. The study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute which analyzed tweets originated by Chinese government-controlled accounts that were also banned by Twitter in response to the disinformation campaign. More material was discovered that attacked billionaire businessman and real estate investor Guo Wengui (akd Miles Kwok) than any other target. China has also issued an Interpol red notice for his arrest.
See also …
ASPI | Tweeting through the Great Firewall
^^ MOBILE? USE VOICE MIC ^^
facebook …
Please ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
20240105-1435future
THANKS FOR READING CARDINAL NEWS
RT America, funded in whole or in part by the Russian Government questions whether chaos in Hong Kong and Bolivia are internally-triggered or the result of external government influence.
RT America: Is US sowing chaos in Hong Kong & Bolivia?
RT America: “The Syria model of orchestrating chaos to undermine local regimes can be applied to other countries, and echoes thereof can be seen from Asia to Latin America. RT America’s Michele Greenstein and RT producer Dr. Enrique Riviera join Rick Sanchez to discuss the US hand in fomenting unrest and upheaval in Hong Kong and Bolivia.”
Voice of America: Hong Kong awoke to a third straight day of chaos Wednesday, November 13, following a night of intense battles between pro-democracy protesters and riot police on a university campus that saw some of the most violent scenes in more than five months of unrest.
Voice of America (VOA) is a U.S. government-funded state owned multimedia agency which serves as the United States federal government’s official institution for non-military, external broadcasting.
Crowds return to Hong Kong’s financial center for another lunchtime protest.
The South China Morning Post (also known as SCMP or The Post) is a Hong Kong English-language newspaper founded in 1903. SCMP was owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation until it was acquired by Malaysian real estate tycoon Robert Kuok in 1993. On April 5, 2016, Alibaba Group acquired the media properties of the SCMP Group, including the South China Morning Post. In January 2017, Gary Liu joined SCMP as chief executive officer (CEO). Previously, Liu was CEO of Digg, head of Spotify Labs, Director of Local Sales Operations & Strategy with AOL, and Senior Operations Associate & Analyst of Inside Sales with Google.
Hong Kong wakes up to fourth consecutive day of protest disorder and stand-offs.