HONG KONG: Protesters in Hong Kong gathered outside the government’s headquarters Sunday evening after a leading pro-democracy activist was barred from standing as a candidate in upcoming elections.
The ban on 21-year-old Agnes Chow, who was at the forefront of mass 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies calling for political reform, is the latest blow for the democracy camp and another sign that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city.
It reflects China’s increasing anger over what it sees as any challenge to its sovereignty from activists, some of whom advocate a full split from the mainland.
The government Saturday rejected Chow’s application to stand in a by-election in March because her party Demosisto supports self-determination for Hong Kong.
Chow was among leading activists, lawmakers, academics and students who addressed around 2,000 protesters packed onto pavements outside the government offices.
“The government is trying to get rid of all the political parties who are against them,” said Chow who was greeted with applause.
“But even though we are under pressure and are suppressed, we still insist on human rights and freedoms,” she added.
Co-founded by high-profile democracy activist Joshua Wong, Demosisto does not campaign for independence but advocates self-determination and a referendum for Hong Kong people to decide how they want to be governed.
The ban on Chow has wide-scale implications for other similar activists wanting to stand for office, including Wong, who is currently out on bail after being jailed for his role in the 2014 protests.
The pro-Beijing Hong Kong government has previously barred independence activists from standing for office, but Chow’s ban is the first against a more moderate campaigner.
Since the Umbrella Movement ended with no concessions on reform there have been increasing signs the city’s cherished freedoms are under threat.
The jailing of democracy activists, the disqualification of opposition lawmakers from the legislature at Beijing’s request and the lack of answers over the disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers who resurfaced in the mainland has fueled concern.
Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” deal that grants it a partially elected legislature and rights unseen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.
The agreement is supposed to last until 2047. But retiree Johnson Lui, who protested Sunday, said he felt the handover deal was dead.
“The Beijing government is meddling in every aspect of Hong Kong affairs. It’s not fair and it contradicts the Sino-British declaration,” Lui told AFP.
He called on the international community to pay more attention to the erosion of freedoms in the city.
“Western countries just want to do business with Beijing. That’s what they care for — they don’t care about what happens in Hong Kong,” Lui said.
Concerns over the erosion of rights in Hong Kong were raised in the British parliament’s House of Commons and House of Lords last week.
Protest in Hong Kong over activist’s election ban
Protest in Hong Kong over activist’s election ban
Britain’s PM Starmer faces MPs as pressure grows over Mandelson scandal
- Keir Starmer set to be grilled in parliament about his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador
- New allegations former envoy passed confidential information to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced growing pressure Wednesday over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, after fresh revelations about the disgraced politician’s close ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer was set to be grilled in parliament about his judgment in appointing Mandelson, following new allegations that the ex-envoy had passed confidential information to the late US sex offender Epstein nearly two decades ago.
UK police have announced they are now probing the claims, which emerged from email exchanges between the pair that revealed the extent of their warm relations, financial dealings as well as private photos.
Around that time, Epstein was serving an 18-month jail term for soliciting a minor in Florida while Mandelson was a UK government minister.
For decades a pivotal and often divisive figure in British politics, Mandelson has had a chequered career having twice been forced to resign from public office for alleged misconduct.
Starmer sacked him as UK ambassador to the US last September after an earlier Epstein files release showed their ties had lasted longer than previously revealed. He had only been in the post for seven months.
On Tuesday, Mandelson resigned from the upper house of parliament — the unelected House of Lords — after the latest release of Epstein files sparked a renewed furor.
Opposition pressure
The main Conservative opposition will use its parliamentary time Wednesday to try to force the release of papers on his appointment in Washington.
They want MPs to order the publication of all documents related to Mandelson getting the job in February last year.
They want to see details of the vetting procedure — including messages exchanged with senior ministers and key figures in Starmer’s inner circle — amid growing questions about Starmer’s lack of judgment on the issue.
Starmer’s center-left government appeared willing to comply on Wednesday, at least in part. It proposed releasing the documents apart from those “prejudicial to UK national security or international relations.”
London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed on Tuesday it had launched an investigation into 72-year-old Mandelson for misconduct in public office offenses following the latest revelations.
If any charges were brought and he was convicted, he could potentially face imprisonment.
Starmer sacked the former minister and ex-EU trade commissioner as Britain’s top diplomat in the US after an earlier release from the Epstein files detailed his cozy ties with the disgraced American.
‘Let his country down’
The scandal resurfaced after the release by the US Justice Department of the latest batch of documents. They showed Mandelson had forwarded in 2009 an economic briefing to Epstein intended for then-prime minister Gordon Brown.
In another 2010 email the US financier, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, asked Mandelson about the European Union’s bailout of Greece.
The latest release also showed Epstein appeared to have transferred a total of $75,000 in three payments to accounts linked to the British politician between 2003 and 2004.
Mandelson has told the BBC he had no memory of the money transfers and did not know whether the documents were authentic.
He quit his House of Lords position on Tuesday shortly after Starmer said he had “let his country down.”
The UK leader said Tuesday he feared more revelations could come, and has pledged his government would cooperate with any police inquiries into the matter.
The Met police confirmed they had received a referral on the matter from the UK government.
The EU is also investigating whether Mandelson breached any of their rules during his time from 2004-2008 as EU trade commissioner.
