Author: Admin

by Admin Nov 19, 2024 The Hong Kong Supreme Court has decided to send 45 out of 47 pro democracy activists to prison on the grounds of attempting Subversion in a protest the group organized in 2019 against extradition treaty rights between Hong Kong and Mainland China which later escalated into a major civil rights movement which called for implementation of pro democracy reform in Hong Kong. The trial which ran for 118 days is the largest national security case ever recorded in the history of Hong Kong. The trial saw Benny Tai, a 60-year-old legal scholar who was accused of playing a significant role in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests of 2014 and 2019. Benny Tai, was handed the longest prison sentence of 10 years Tuesday after prosecutors castigated him as the organizer of the protests that led to separate the pro-democracy elections in the city -state without the involvement of the government. The pro-democracy activists organized elections to elect lawmakers who would vote against the city-state’s budget to force the dissolvement of the state’s legislature and the removal of the city’s leader which is an act that is allowed under Hong Kong’s Basic Law. Benny Tai and 44 others were found guilty of offenses related to organizing an unofficial primary election to choose pro-democracy candidates for the city’s legislature. Out of 47 defendants arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police in a predawn raid in January 2021, 31 pleaded guilty, including Tai while two others were acquitted of the charges former district councilors Laurence Lau and Lee Yue-shu. Lee Yue-shun, speaking to reporters, said he  urged the citizens of Hong Kong to “raise questions” about the case, as “everyone has a chance to be affected” by its outcome. Among the convicted activities were former journalist and legislator Claudia Mo, 67, who received four years and two months, and internationally well-known activist Joshua Wong, 27, who received four years and eight months. Before the sentencing hearing on Tuesday many of the activists had been remanded in prison for three years after being denied bail after they were arrested in a pre-dawn raid in January 2021 and a hearing in March of the same year. Under Hong Kong’s Beijing-drafted national security law, defendants charged as “primary offenders” face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment, while lower-level offenders face sentences of between three and 10 years. The case which drew attention internationally was widely condemned by the United States government and Australia government. The United States government described the trial as a politically motivated act against democracy by Hong Kong and Beijing while the Australian government said it stood against the abuse of the National Security Law (NSL) and that it had been weaponized by the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities in sentencing its citizens.  Penny Wong, the Australian Foreign Minister said “Australia has expressed our strong objections to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation, including in application to Australian citizens”.  However, Hong Kong and Beijing have refuted the allegations against them and argued that the law must take its course and that they strongly oppose foreign interference in the affairs of China, the Chinese foreign ministry said “No one can engage in illegal activities in the name of democracy and attempt to escape justice,… discrediting and undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong.” Prodesq political analyst Temitope Oladeji, gathered that since the 2019 protests and massive police raids in 2021, Hong Kong has witnessed a significant reduction in protests against the government for the fear of being arrested and made a political martyr in a political war between the Chinese communist system of government and the Western pro democracy movement.  Furthermore, Beijing regards the 2019 protests has a strongly motivated Western weaponized coup against the Chinese government and a challenge against China’s authority over Hong Kong which has earlier today the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer accused the Chinese government of Human Rights violations after he held a private meeting with the Chinese president Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil, where Starmer became the first British Prime Minister to shake hands with the Chinese president in half a decade. 

by Admin Nov 12, 2024 A Human Rights Watch group based in the United States has accused Israel of crimes against humanity in the forceful displacement of the people in Gaza by ethnic cleansing and evacuation orders. The United States human rights group disclosed this in a report published on Wednesday accusing Israel of breaking the Geneva Convention law and a crime under the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The published report titled ‘Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged’: ‘Israel Forceful Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza’ the report revealed “the war crime of forcible transfer of the civilian population”.  The report was published after grave evidence was gathered from Gaza that the Israeli government was working on dividing the Gaza Strip into two parts with a protection zone to shelter new Israeli settlers in Gaza after the war. The Israeli government is also building new infrastructure to support its plans for a prolonged military campaign in Gaza, and also with an increased act of demolitions and destruction of the entire Gaza Strip.  The Israeli forces have besieged and displaced thousands of Palestinian families and the remaining population, which has been estimated by Human Rights organizations to be over a thousand. The displaced families have been ordered to head south through a military checkpoint that separates two towns and a refugee camp from Gaza City. The Israeli forceful besiege and displacement have led to the removal of over 1.9 million Palestinians and the widespread destruction of a considerable area of Gaza over the last year since  The United States-based human rights have Called for Israel’s enforced policy of forceful displacement to be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC), while Human Rights Watch has also urged targeted sanctions against Israel and a ban on arms sales. However, the Human Rights Reports have been contrary to the State Department of the United States that revealed that Israel has not broken any American law regarding the blockage of aid supplies after the lapse of a 30-day deadline it gave Israel to increase humanitarian aid access to Gaza or face some military assistance cut off.

by Admin Nov 14, 2024 The Republicans have achieved a total victory over the Democrats in the general elections by taking control of the Senate, House of Representatives and, the Presidency since 2018 under the Donald Trump administration. A repeat of the Trifecta under President Donald Trump has granted the Republicans total control of the United States government after winning the House of Representatives in a vote of 218 in favor of the Republicans while the Democrats had 208 votes. The Republican House has been secretly working on how to pass the tax reduction bill and other legislative measures that are considered priorities for the successful passage of the Donald Trump administration. The victory of the House of Representatives will grant Mike Johnson, the extension of holding the gavel as the speaker of the House till January 2025. The Republicans picked up victory in unusual states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Colorado but also lost seats in California and New York. Even though the Republican leaders were confident of retaining control of the House of Representatives but were conflicted with doubt when they could not compete with the fundraising efforts of the Democrats. Steve Scalise, the Republican Majority House Leader said. “There are only about 45 seats in the country that are truly competitive. … And so each one of them is very competitive and very expensive and our candidates are great” The House victory was called for Republicans on Wednesday night after Juan Ciscomani was projected to win his reelection to Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. The campaign focus on the border crisis and the rejuvenation of the economy played a major factor in the outcome of the elections in favor of the Republicans. The Republican party leaders have expressed confidence that the days of 30-plus-seat majorities are over for the next few years.  The Republicans also had some help in the last house session by the Democrats’ decision to pursue a less aggressive redistribution of power map in New York which has been a key factor in the power struggle between Republicans and Democrats. Another major factor that made the difference in the election of the Republicans being more intentional with their candidate recruitment and which challengers they backed in the primaries than they were in 2022.