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Hong Kong verdict against Yuen Long attack victims prompts widespread criticism

Editor08 mins

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

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Arakan Army takes fight to Myanmar’s western command in bid to control Rakhine state

Editor06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Arakan rebels are fighting within the borders of the junta’s Western Military Command headquarters in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after having taken control of nearby Ann township last week, residents said Tuesday. The Arakan Army, or AA, is fighting for self-determination in Myanmar’s western-most state and has made unprecedented progress over the past year, pushing forces loyal to the junta that seized power in 2021 into a few pockets of territory. On Nov. 30, the AA seized the junta’s last military posts in Ann’s Myo Thit, Lay Yin Kwin, Aut Ywar and Ah Hta Ka neighborhoods, taking complete control of the town, which lies 220 kilometers (135 miles) west of Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw. By Tuesday, AA fighters had penetrated the headquarters of the junta in Rakhine state and the military has responded with aerial strikes and troop reinforcements, a resident of Ann told RFA Burmese. “The AA is now able to break into the western command headquarters and is calling on the remaining troops in the junta’s western command to surrender,” said the resident who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. RELATED STORIES Myanmar’s Arakan Army captures Ann town, focus now on army HQ EXPLAINED: What is Myanmar’s Arakan Army? A year after offensive, rebels control most of Myanmar’s Rakhine state Another resident, who is familiar with the ongoing conflict and also declined to be named, told RFA that junta troops were advancing to the headquarters along the 150-kilometer (93-mile) road connecting Ann northeast to Minbu township “in large numbers,” and had taken up defensive positions along Chinese infrastructure projects. On Nov. 20, the AA captured the town of Toungup in the center of the state, which is on a road hub including a link to the the Kyaukpyu economic zone on the coast, where China is funding a deep-sea port, and has energy facilities including natural gas and oil pipelines running to southern China. Beijing threw its support behind the junta shortly after the 2021 coup and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s regime has vowed to protect Chinese interests in Myanmar amid the country’s nearly four-year civil war. Reinforcements en route Meanwhile, residents said that a junta column of about 200 troops is advancing west towards Ann along the road that links it to neighboring Magway region’s Padan township. All the while, the military has been resupplying its troops in the Western Command headquarters with weapons and other supplies by air, they said. Last week, when the AA took control of Ann, sources told RFA that only a few residents had remained in the township and the AA had taken them to safety, leaving the town empty. Attempts by RFA to contact Hla Thein, the junta’s attorney general for Rakhine state, about the fighting in Ann township went unanswered Tuesday, as did efforts to reach AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha. The AA, which largely draws its support from Rakhine’s Buddhist majority, has made steady advances over the past year, from the state’s far north on the border with Bangladesh, through central areas to its far south, and it now controls about 80% of it. On Dec. 6, the AA announced that it had taken control of all of the junta’s more than 30 camps in Rakhine, except for the Western Military Command headquarters. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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What’s Wrong with the Reports? An investigation into the world's leading ranking reports

What’s Wrong with the Reports? (Part 1)

Editor017 mins

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.

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What's Wrong with the Global Hunger Index

What’s Wrong with the Global Hunger Index

Editor021 mins

“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.”

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Myanmar Bangladesh Post Capture

Myanmar rebels capture last military post on Bangladesh border

Editor06 mins

Ethnic minority insurgents have captured the last Myanmar military position on the border with Bangladesh after its defenders, including pro-junta militiamen from the mostly Muslim Rohingya community, abandoned the post and fled, the rebel group and residents said. The Arakan Army, or AA, which is fighting for self-determination in Rakhine state, seized the military stronghold known as Border Guard Post No. 5 near the town of Maungdaw on Sunday, the group said. “The Arakan army successfully captured and neutralized the last remaining outpost … in the Maungdaw region,” it said in a statement. Junta forces and members of Rohingya militia raised by the junta to battle the AA were trying to flee across the Naf River, which forms the border with Bangladesh, “using motorboats and canoes” and launching attacks as they did so, the AA said. “Clashes are still occurring … Therefore, due to military necessities and public security concerns, all river transportation in the Naf River will be indefinitely suspended,” the group said. Residents of Maungdaw said they were worried about the possibility of a navy boat operating offshore opening fire in retaliation for the AA’s capture of the position. “The AA has captured the entire border with Bangladesh,” said one resident who declined to be identified for safety reasons. “There’s still one junta navy ship … we need to keep that in mind, they can still shoot pretty far with their cannon.” The junta that seized power with the ouster of an elected government in February 2021 has been pushed back by insurgents in several parts of the country over the past year, raising questions about the sustainability of military rule. The capture of the entire border with Bangladesh by one of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgents armies comes days after ethnic minority Kachin insurgents in northern Myanmar, seized control of all of the border with China where its forces operate. ‘Commander captured’ A source close to the AA said the commander of military operations in the area, Brig. Thurein Tun, was among junta forces captured as they were trying to flee after the fall of the base. “He was arrested last night on the road that goes down to the river along with his personal staff, majors, captains and senior police officers,” said the source, who also declined to be identified. RFA tried to telephone the AA spokesperson, Khaing Thu Kha, and the junta spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, to ask them about the situation but neither answered calls. Rohingya militia men from groups such as the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Arakan Rohingya Army, were among the pro-jutna forces that fled, the AA said. AA fighters were on Monday searching for fleeing junta forces along the Ah Leh Than Kyaw Beach and in various waterways, residents said. The AA draws its support from the state’s Buddhist majority and has a fraught relationship with members of the Muslim minority, particularly since the junta started recruiting Rohingya this year into militias to battle the AA. Human rights investigators said the AA was responsible for killing scores of Rohingya civilians trying to flee from Maungdaw to Bangladesh on Aug. 5, when they were attacked with drones and artillery as the AA intensified its campaign to capture the town. The AA denied responsibility. The AA controls about 80% of Rakhine state – 10 of its 17 townships and one in neighboring Chin state. In townships it does not control, it has pinned junta forces into pockets of territory, such as the state capital, Sittwe, a military headquarters in the town of Ann and the Kyaukpyu economic zone on the coast where China has energy facilities and wants to build a deep-sea port. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Is Laos actually tackling its vast scam Industry?

Editor04 mins

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

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0