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Hong Kong verdict against Yuen Long attack victims prompts widespread criticism
The verdict by a Hong Kong court has generated widespread criticism after it found seven people — including former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting — guilty of “rioting” when they tried to stop white-clad men wielding sticks from attacking passengers at a subway station in 2019. Exiled former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui, who like Lam is a member of the Democratic Party, accusing authorities of “rewriting history.” “It’s a false accusation and part of a totally fabricated version of history that Hong Kong people don’t recognize,” Hui told RFA Cantonese after the verdict was announced on Dec. 12. “How does the court see the people of Hong Kong?” he asked. “How can they act like they live in two separate worlds?” The District Court found Lam and six others guilty of “taking part in a riot” by as dozens of thugs in white T-shirts rained blows down on the heads of unarmed passengers — including their own — using rattan canes and wooden poles at Yuen Long station on July 21, 2019. Lam, one of the defendants in the subversion trial of 47 activists for holding a democratic primary, is also currently serving a 6-years-and-9-month prison sentence for “conspiracy to subvert state power.” Wearing a cycle helmet, Galileo, a pseudonym, left, tries to protect Stand journalist Gwyneth Ho, right, during attacks by thugs at Yuen Long MTR, July 21, 2019 in Hong Kong. “I was panicky and scared, and my instinct was to protect myself and others,” he said. According to Galileo, Lam’s actions likely protected others from also being attacked. “I felt that his presence made everyone feel calmer, because he was a member of the Legislative Council at the time,” he said of Lam’s role in the incident. “He kept saying the police were coming, and everyone believed him, so they waited, but the police never came.” Police were inundated with emergency calls from the start of the attacks, according to multiple contemporary reports, but didn’t move in until 39 minutes after the attacks began. In a recent book about the protests, former Washington Post Hong Kong correspondent Shibani Mahtani and The Atlantic writer Timothy McLaughlin wrote that the Hong Kong authorities knew about the attacks in advance. Members of Hong Kong’s criminal underworld “triad” organizations had been discussing the planned attack for days on a WhatsApp group that was being monitored by a detective sergeant from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, the book said. Chased and beaten According to multiple accounts from the time, Lam first went to Mei Foo MTR station to warn people not to travel north to Yuen Long, after dozens of white-clad thugs were spotted assembling at a nearby chicken market. When live footage of beatings started to emerge, Lam called the local community police sergeant and asked him to dispatch officers to the scene as soon as possible, before setting off himself for Yuen Long to monitor the situation in person. On arrival, he warned some of the attackers not to “do anything,” and told people he had called the police. Eventually, the attackers charged, and Lam and others were chased and beaten all the way onto a train. One of the people shown in that early social media footage was chef Calvin So, who displayed red welts across his back following beatings by the white-clad attackers. So told RFA Cantonese on Friday: “The guys in white were really beating people, and injured some people … I don’t understand because Lam Cheuk-ting’s side were spraying water at them and telling people to leave.” He described the verdict as “ridiculous,” adding: “But ridiculous things happen every day in Hong Kong nowadays.” Erosion of judicial independence In a recent report on the erosion of Hong Kong judicial independence amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent that followed the 2019 protests, law experts at Georgetown University said the city’s courts now have to “tread carefully” now that the ruling Chinese Communist Party has explicitly rejected the liberal values the legal system was built on. RELATED STORIES EXPLAINED: What is the Article 23 security law in Hong Kong? Hong Kong police ‘knew about’ Yuen Long mob attacks beforehand EXPLAINED: Who are the Hong Kong 47? Nowadays, Hong Kong’s once-independent courts tend to find along pro-Beijing lines, particularly in politically sensitive cases, according to the December 2024 report, which focused on the impact of a High Court injunction against the banned protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong.” “In our view, at least some judges are issuing pro-regime verdicts in order to advance their careers,” said the report, authored by Eric Lai, Lokman Tsui and Thomas Kellogg. “The government’s aggressive implementation of the National Security Law has sent a clear signal to individual judges that their professional advancement depends on toeing the government’s ideological line, and delivering a steady stream of guilty verdicts.” Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
EXPLAINED: Why are leaflets protesting North Korea dropped in Japan?
Read a version of this story in Korean An organization dedicated to advocating for South Koreans abducted by North Korea plans to air-drop anti-North Korean leaflets in Tokyo on this week. Specifically, the group plans to use drones to drop the leaflets — containing photos and stories of some of the 516 South Koreans kidnapped by North Korea over the years — over the headquarters of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, which many regard as Pyongyang’s de facto embassy there. North Korea doesn’t have an embassy in Japan because the two countries don’t have formal diplomatic ties. What’s the goal of this tactic? The group is doing this because staffers at the headquarters of the pro-North Korean organization — also, abbreviated to Chongryon (in Korean) or Chosen Soren (in Japanese) — refused to accept a hand-delivered list of abductees, according to Choi Sung-ryong, the head of the South Korea-based Association of the Families of Those Abducted by North Korea. Choi said that dropping the leaflets on Chongryon headquarters is like sending them directly to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — and he hopes that his efforts can prompt Pyongyang to acknowledge that it has abducted many South Koreans over the years. Choi said he would continue to distribute leaflets until this happens. “The leaflets include a request to quickly confirm whether the abductees are alive or dead,” said Choi. “We are asking Kim Jong Un to quickly confirm the fate of 516 family members. That’s why we’re protesting.” Zainichi Koreans in Japan pray for the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during a memorial service at a Korean cultural center in Tokyo on Dec. 29, 2011, shortly after his death. Its rival organization is the South Korea-aligned Korean Residents Union in Japan, referred to colloquially in Japanese and Korean using the abbreviation Mindan. Both organizations advocate for Zainichi Koreans living in Japan — which for most of the second half of the 20th century was the largest minority in the country, and is now the third largest. What does Zainichi mean exactly? In Japanese, it literally means “staying in Japan.” Today, there are hundreds of thousands of zainichi Koreans who live in Japan — they have been living there for generations, but for one reason or another they have not acquired Japanese citizenship. The history behind this is that when World War II ended in 1945, there were around 2.4 million Koreans in Japan, and while most of them returned to Korea over the next few months, around 640,000 stayed behind. A group of Japanese and zainichi Koreans stage a protest against Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara’s anti-foreigner remarks, in front of the Tokyo metropolitan government office April 12, 2000. Japan became party to several international human rights covenants in the 1980s and since the post-war period there has been a general change in mainstream Japanese attitudes towards minorities. But for much of the early postwar period, the community struggled economically, and community organizations emerged to counter discrimination against Zainichi. The Chosen Soren and Mindan groups have advocated for their rights in Japanese society and preservation of Korean culture and language among the community, including by securing funds from the South and North Korean governments to run schools for Zainichi children. Today, while there is greater acceptance of zainichi Koreans in Japanese society, they still face discrimination. Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
What’s Wrong with the Reports? (Part 1)
Explore Investigative Journalism Reportika’s comprehensive analysis of global indices and reports, including the World Press Freedom Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, Global Hunger Index, and more. Delve into critical sections such as methodological flaws, unexpected discrepancies, cultural biases, data limitations, and controversies. Our reports challenge assumptions, reveal hidden inaccuracies, and offer insights to foster informed debate.
What’s Wrong with the World Happiness Report
The World Happiness Report faces several criticisms, including issues with the Gallup World Poll, which serves as a primary data source. Concerns have been raised about the subjectivity bias in self-reported responses, where people’s perception of happiness can be influenced by cultural norms and expectations.
What’s Wrong with the USCIRF Report
Discover the hidden flaws in the USCIRF Annual Report, including strategic biases, methodological gaps, and lack of transparency, which challenge its credibility and impartiality on international religious freedom.
What’s Wrong with the Global Hunger Index
“The Global Hunger Index serves as a critical benchmark for global food security, but this investigative report by IJ-Reportika uncovers its methodological flaws. From outdated data to inconsistent scoring, these issues misrepresent nations’ progress and obscure systemic challenges, calling for urgent reforms to ensure accuracy and accountability.”
What’s Wrong With the World Press Freedom Index
The World Press Freedom Index aims to measure media freedom worldwide, but its reliance on subjective surveys and perceptions often oversimplifies the nuanced realities journalists face. This article delves into its methodological flaws and the need for a more data-driven, context-sensitive approach.
What’s Wrong With the Corruption Perceptions Index
Discover the critical flaws in the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. Learn about its biases, subjective methodology, and the challenges in accurately measuring global corruption levels.
Is Laos actually tackling its vast scam Industry?
In early August, the authorities in Laos delivered an ultimatum to scammers operating in the notorious Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone: Clear out or face the consequences. On Aug. 12, the Lao police, supported by their Chinese counterparts, swooped in. Some 711 people were arrested during the first week. Another 60 Lao and Chinese nationals were arrested by the end of the month, and more arrests have been made since. The way Vientiane frames it, Laos is now getting tough on the vast cyber-scamming industry that has infested much of mainland Southeast Asia. In Laos, the sector could be worth as much as the equivalent of 40 percent of the formal economy, according to a United States Institute of Peace report earlier this year. The think tank estimated that criminal gangs could be holding as many as 85,000 workers in slave-like conditions in compounds in Laos. People in Laos tell me there is some truth to Vientiane’s assertions. This might have been why Laos was downgraded to Tier 2 on the U.S. State Department’s annual human trafficking ranking in July, while Myanmar and Cambodia were downgraded to the lower Tier 3. According to one expert, “Laos is taking this issue more seriously than Cambodia and has more capacity to respond than Myanmar.” An apparent call center in Laos is raided by authorities, Aug. 9, 2024. However, Vientiane would care if scammers are now merely set up shop elsewhere in Laos. One source tells me that they are already embedding themselves in the capital and near the Laos-China border. Depending on how things play out, Laos might end up with a diffuse scam industry that’s structured a lot more like Cambodia’s — and which is far harder to dismantle. Dispersing the scam compounds means increasing contacts between the criminals and officials from other provinces. Less sophisticated syndicates mean more of the scamming profits stay in-country, laundered through the local economy, infecting everything. Narco-states like Mexico and Colombia have learned the brutal lesson that it’s simpler to deal with an illegal industry run by one dominant cartel, even one you have to tolerate, rather than a scorched-earth free-for-all between many warring factions. Possibly, a similar impulse may be why Vientiane seemingly wants to push Zhao and his associates enough for some smaller operators to flee the country, but not enough that the Golden Triangle SEZ collapses. David Hutt is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) and the Southeast Asia Columnist at the Diplomat. He writes the Watching Europe In Southeast Asia newsletter. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of RFA. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
INTERVIEW: An Ex-FBI agent helps unravel the mysteries of a spy swap
A secret deal between the US and China announced in November allowed Chinese nationals to be freed in exchange for the release of several Americans imprisoned in China. One of the Chinese nationals who was freed, Xu Yanjun, had been serving a 20-year sentence. He had worked for China’s Ministry of State Security. One of the Americans in China, John Leung, reportedly an FBI informant, had been held in prison for three years. Two other Americans, Kai Li, also accused of providing information to the F.B.I., and Mark Swidan, a Texas businessman, were freed at the same time. In addition, Ayshem Mamut, the mother of human-rights activist Nury Turkel, and the two other Uyghurs were allowed to leave China. They all traveled on the same plane to the United States. Holden Triplett, the co-founder of a risk-management consultancy, Trenchcoat Advisors, has served as the head of the FBI office in Beijing and as director of counterintelligence at the National Security Council. Here, he weighs in on the high-stakes game of exchanging spies. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Interviewer: Spy swaps have a long history. What was it like in the past? Holden Triplett: During the Cold War, there were a lot of spy swaps. It’s kind of a normal way of interacting between two rival powers. But it was always Russia, or the Soviet Union, and the United States. It’s not something that China had typically engaged in in the past. Interviewer: Why would China, or any country, be interested in a spy swap? Holden Triplett: China would be very interested in getting back the individuals who’d worked for them. The longer they’re in prison in the U.S., the more chance they’re going to divulge information about what they’ve done. Also, the Chinese want to be able to say to the people who work for them, ‘Hey, we may put you in dangerous situations. But, don’t worry, if anything happens, we’ll get you back home.’ The down side for the Chinese, of course, is that it’s an implicit acknowledgement of what they’ve been doing. In the past, they’ve denied that they’re [engaged in espionage]. Interviewer: And for the U.S? Holden Triplett: The idea is the same; We get our spies back. It’s more of a game, I guess you could say. There’s a bit more protection for spies than for others. They get arrested, but they don’t serve time. And so, spying on each other is made into a regularized affair. My concern is that the Chinese say, ‘Now that we’ve established this kind of exchange, people for people, now all we need to know to do now is pick up some more Americans and arrest them.’ Then, the Chinese can try and bargain with the U.S. for their release. We’ve already seen that in Russia with Brittney Griner [an American basketball player who was imprisoned in Russia]. Look at who the Russians got back – Viktor Bout [a Russian arms dealer found guilty of conspiring to kill Americans]. The Russians have wanted him for decades. Nothing against Ms. Griner, but that is a pretty easy decision-making process. They pick up somebody who has star power, and they can get someone they want back. If China’s gotten that message, then Americans should be concerned about going to China. They could become a chip in a larger geopolitical game. There’s a possibility that they could get arrested and end up in a nightmare jail. Interviewer: Well, they say you’re not supposed to negotiate with – Holden Triplett: – with terrorists. Look, I think the U.S. is in a really difficult place. There’s pressure on the U.S. government from the families to get them back. Interviewer: Several Uyghurs were also released. What is the significance of that? Holden Triplett: I would assume the Chinese got something for this. They’re very transactional. They’re not doing something for the good of the relationship between the U.S. and China. Interviewer: It didn’t seem as though John Leung, who’d been held in a Chinese prisoner, was an important asset for the FBI. What do you think was behind this? Holden Triplett: I don’t know what role he played for the FBI, or even if that’s true. But regardless, the message from the bureau is: Don’t worry. Even if you’re doing dangerous work, we will protect you. We will come and get you. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative ReportsDaily ReportsInterviews Surveys Reportika
