Japan express growing concern over Hong Kong after arrest of activists

Japan’s government expressed grave concern over the arrests of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow and media tycoon Jimmy Lai and raised questions over state of freedom of speech and the press in the territory. Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Thursday that “Japan’s grave concerns regarding the situation in Hong Kong are getting stronger.” Motegi was speaking from Singapore to reporters via video conference. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, seeking to keep ties with Beijing on an even keel, has been somewhat circumspect in its comments on Hong Kong. Chow, who was released on bail after her arrest under the new National Security Law, have earlier thanked the Japanese people for their outpouring of support and urged them not to forget Hong Kong. Monday’s arrest of 23-year-old Chow, a fluent Japanese speaker who often tweeted in Japanese and has been dubbed the “goddess of democracy” by Japan’s media, was top news this week in the country, where the hashtag #FreeAgnes trended on Twitter. “Thank you so much,” Chow said in a brief Japanese-language segment of a Chinese-language video about 24 hours after her release on bail late on Tuesday. “I hope the people of Japan will keep paying attention to Hong Kong,” she added. A cross-party group of lawmakers, including members of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, has condemned the arrests, urging the government to refuse any requests for evidence based on the security law, and to ease visa restrictions on Hong Kong residents. Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government called the group’s statement incorrect and inappropriate. The crackdown on pro-democracy opposition in Hong Kong has drawn international criticism and raised fears for freedoms promised by Beijing under a “one country, two systems” model. The city’s government and Chinese authorities say the law is needed to restore order after sometimes violent anti-government protests last year. Chow last posted on her Japanese-language Twitter account on June 30, saying: “As long as we live, there is hope.” (Source: CNA)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Gaza war rages into fourth month as Blinken tours Middle East Adel Zaanoun with Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, --- Agence France-Presse

The Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza entered its fourth month on Sunday as the army again pounded the besieged Palestinian territory and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was back in the region seeking to avoid a wider escalation. Israeli airstrikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 64 people in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, said its health ministry. It said two journalists were killed when their car was struck. The ministry, medics, and witnesses identified them as Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for Agence France-Presse, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza who earlier lost his wife and two other children in an Israeli strike. Israeli bombardment also claimed other civilian lives in the southern city of Khan Yunis and in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border, where many of the territory's displaced people have sought refuge, AFP correspondents reported. Relatives were mourning the dead at Khan Yunis' European Hospital, am
Read more