HONG KONG: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee condemned an unusual rise in the number of withdrawal requests to the city’s organ donation system, saying Tuesday that police would investigate suspicious cases.
According to the government, the city’s centralized organ donation registration system received nearly 5,800 withdrawal applications in the five months since December, when the government raised the possibility of establishing an organ transplant mutual assistance program with mainland China. More than half of the withdrawal applications were found to be invalid, either as duplicate applications or coming from people who had never opted in.
At a regular press briefing, Lee pointed to those who withdrew their applications without ever registering, calling the moves suspicious.
“I severely condemn those who attempt to cause damages to this noble system which saves lives through organ donations,” he said. “This is a shameful act.”
The government also issued a strong-worded statement Monday, saying it could not rule out that a small number of people made withdrawal attempts in a bid to undermine the reputation of the system, and to increase administrative burden. Without naming any platforms or any individuals, it said it noticed a small number of people had distorted the virtue of organ donation by promoting the idea that donors should scrutinize the identity of the recipients online. Some also urged others to withdraw from the system, it added.
On Hong Kong’s Reddit-like forum LIHKG — where pro-democracy supporters discussed strategies for the 2019 anti-government movement — some users were skeptical about the proposed system. Others posted a link for making withdrawals from the register.
The government floated the proposal after a baby girl underwent the city’s first transplant using an organ donated from mainland China in December. It said the organ assistance program under consideration could be activated immediately after medical personnel could not match a donated organ with a suitable patient locally.
The political row over the proposed mutual assistance program reflected some Hong Kongers’ distrust of China’s health system, as well as their grievances toward Beijing, which has cracked down on the city’s pro-democracy movement with a sweeping national security law.
Hong Kong leader condemns suspicious uptick in registration withdrawals from organ donation system
https://arab.news/zdwsb
Hong Kong leader condemns suspicious uptick in registration withdrawals from organ donation system
- The government has been looking into setting up an organ transplant mutual assistance program with mainland China
- The city’s centralized organ donation registration system received 5,800 withdrawal applications between December and April
US intercepts fifth sanctioned tanker as it exerts control over Venezuelan oil distribution
WASHINGTON: US forces boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Friday, the US military said, as the Trump administration targets sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela as part of a broader effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
The predawn raid was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, part of the extensive force the US has built up in the Caribbean in recent months, according to US Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the tanker called the Olina. The Coast Guard then took control of the vessel, officials said.
Southern Command and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem both posted unclassified footage on social media Friday morning of a US helicopter landing on the vessel and US personnel conducting a search of the deck and tossing what appeared to be an explosive device in front of a door leading to inside the ship.
In her post, Noem said the ship was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” and it had departed Venezuela “attempting to evade US forces.”
The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by US forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, and the third since the US ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.
In a post on his social media network later in the day, Trump said the seizure was conducted “in coordination with the Interim Authorities of Venezuela” but offered no elaboration.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for more details.
Venezuela’s government acknowledged in a statement that it was working with US authorities to return the tanker, “which set sail without payment or authorization from the Venezuelan authorities,” to the South American nation.
“Thanks to this first successful joint operation, the ship is sailing back to Venezuelan waters for its protection and relevant actions,” according to the statement.
Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document that at least 16 tankers left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine US forces have set up to block sanctioned ships from conducting trade. The Olina was among that flotilla.
US government records show that the Olina was sanctioned for moving Russian oil under its prior name, Minerva M, and flagged in Panama.
While records show the Olina is now flying the flag of Timor-Leste, it is listed in the international shipping registry as having a false flag, meaning the registration it is claiming is not valid. In July, the owner and manager of the ship on its registration was changed to a company in Hong Kong.
According to ship tracking databases, the Olina last transmitted its location in November in the Caribbean, north of the Venezuelan coast. Since then, however, the ship has been running dark with its location beacon turned off.
While Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law, other officials in the Trump administration have made clear they see it as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
In an early morning social media post, Trump said the US and Venezuela “are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure.”
The administration said it expects to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, with the proceeds to go to both the US and Venezuelan people. But the president expects the arrangement to continue indefinitely. He met Friday with executives from oil companies to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution.
Vice President JD Vance told Fox News this week that the US can “control” Venezuela’s “purse strings” by dictating where its oil can be sold.
Madani estimated that the Olina is loaded with 707,000 barrels of oil, which at the current market price of about $60 a barrel would be worth more than $42 million.
