Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2023

Jimmy Lai’s security trial starts in Hong Kong, UK calls for his release

Jimmy Lai’s security trial starts in Hong Kong, UK calls for his release

BREAKINGBREAKING, The media tycoon and democracy supporter, now 76, has been in jail for three years, accused of ‘collusion with foreign forces’. Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has gone on trial for alleged national security offences, hours after the United Kingdom joined calls for his immediate release. Lai, who has been imprisoned since December 2020, is arrived in court at 10am (02:00 GMT) where he is charged with conspiring to collude with foreign powers under the national security law imposed on the territory by China in June 2020. Journalists inside the court said the 76-year-old looked like he had lost weight, but appeared in good spirits. The publisher of the now-defunct Apple Daily is one of China’s most vocal critics and was arrested initially in August 2020 as police raided the newspaper’s officers. Lai and the Apple Daily also face charges under a sedition law dating from the British colonial era. In a statement late on Sunday, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he was “gravely concerned” about the trial and joined the United States and European Union in calling for Lai’s immediate release. “As a prominent and outspoken journalist and publisher, Jimmy Lai has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association,” Cameron said, noting that the security law was in breach of the commitments made to Hong Kong when it resumed sovereignty over the territory in 1997. “I urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the National Security Law and end the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. I call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their prosecution and release Jimmy Lai.” Hong Kong’s pro-democracy politicians, once vibrant civil society and media came under pressure in the wake of mass demonstrations in 2019, which began over concerns about a planned extradition bill with mainland China and evolved into calls for greater democracy. Amnesty International has described the security law as “decimating” Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms. The US also called for Lai’s immediate release and condemned the prosecution. “Lai has been held in pre-trial detention for more than 1,000 days, and Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have denied him his choice of legal representation,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “We call on Hong Kong authorities to immediately release Jimmy Lai and all others imprisoned for defending their rights.” Security on Monday was tight after Secretary for Security Chris Tang warned it would be enhanced because previously, “these kinds of cases” had attracted people wanting to disrupt proceedings and harass prosecutors. People began queueing early for tickets with just 70 seats in the main venue at the West Kowloon court building open to the public. Lai has already been found guilty and jailed over separate cases related to the management of Apple Daily and his involvement in a vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The final edition of the Apple Daily rolled off the presses in June 2021. Other publications critical of the administration have also folded, while elections have been overhauled to ensure only so-called “patriots” are able to hold public office in the territory. Last week’s elections for district councils saw a record-low turnout of just 27.5 percent. The number of directly elected seats was cut to just 88 compared with 462 previously, and all candidates had to secure official approval before they could stand. “Actions that stifle press freedom and restrict the free flow of information – as well as Beijing and local authorities’ changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system that reduce direct voting and preclude independent and pro-democracy party candidates from participating – have undermined Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and harmed Hong Kong’s reputation as an international business and financial hub,” Miller said in his statement. Adblock test (Why?)

Car plows into vehicle in Biden motorcade near Delaware campaign headquarters

Car plows into vehicle in Biden motorcade near Delaware campaign headquarters

A car smashed into a parked SUV that was part of President Biden’s motorcade near his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware Sunday evening.  The sedan hit a U.S. Secret Service vehicle being used to close off intersections as the president was walking from the campaign office to his waiting armored SUV.  The sedan then tried to continue into a closed-off intersection, before Secret Service personnel surrounded the vehicle with weapons drawn and instructed the driver to put his hands up. Biden was ushered into his waiting vehicle, where his wife was already seated, before being driven swiftly back to their home. Neither the president nor first lady Jill Biden were harmed.  This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

NYC Mayor Adams migrant crisis will lead to ‘extremely painful’ budget cuts; doesn’t expect feds to help

NYC Mayor Adams migrant crisis will lead to ‘extremely painful’ budget cuts; doesn’t expect feds to help

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday that city officials will need to make “extremely painful” cuts in the budget next year as the effect of the migrant crisis on the Big Apple was bigger than thought, and federal help with the crisis is not coming through. Adams spoke with host Dan Mannarino on WPIX-TV’s “PIX on Politics” on Sunday, who asked the mayor if the migrant crisis was a curveball to the city. “Oh, curveball? That’s not even a curveball. That’s a brush back pitch that knocked us to the ground,” the mayor said. “But we’ve got to get back up and knock it out of the park.” MAYOR ADAMS URGES RICH NEW YORKERS TO STEP UP AS CITY BUCKLES UNDER FINANCIAL COSTS OF MIGRANT CRISIS Last month, Adams urged the city’s richest to open their wallets to help the city weather a financial storm created by the ongoing migrant crisis, days after unveiling deep budget cuts. In his plea, he reportedly urged New Yorkers to “reach out to Washington, D.C.” and demand more support for the city, which he says is carrying a “national crisis.” The remarks came a day after the sanctuary city announced it would be reducing its police numbers and slashing budgets in areas like education and sanitation. NEW YORK CITY TO REDUCE POLICE NUMBERS, SLASH BUDGETS DUE TO BILLIONS SPENT ON MIGRANT CRISIS  On Sunday, Adams continued his message on budget cuts caused by the migrant crisis and the federal government. “I believe that Congressman Jeffries and Senator Schumer are really pounding the pavement,” he said. “I think it’s unfortunate, number one, the Republicans are not in favor of any real immigration reform. And I believe that we are not seeing that this should not be on the backs of New York City; and other cities, because now the coalition has grown.” Adams was referring to other elected officials in Chicago, Massachusetts and Denver that are facing the same situation where migrants are shipped to sanctuary cities to carry the burden of costs associated with illegal immigrants and not sending them back to their country of origin. NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS PARENTS MAY NEED TO HELP IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMID MIGRANT CRISIS New York City has seen over 130,000 migrants come to the city since last year, part of the knock-on effect of the nearly three-year crisis at the southern border. It’s a small portion of the more than 2.4 million migrant encounters at the southern border in FY 23, but Adams has warned that the crisis could “destroy” the city. New York City and other liberal jurisdictions, including Massachusetts and Chicago, have called for additional federal help with the numbers they are seeing. The Biden administration has pointed to more than $770 million it has given out to support communities taking in migrants in the last year and recommendations its teams of experts have made. NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS PARENTS MAY NEED TO HELP IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMID MIGRANT CRISIS Separately, the White House has requested an additional $14 billion in emergency funding for border operations, which includes an additional $1.4 billion in grants to help local governments and nonprofits. However, nothing has been approved, and the supplemental aid has become a sticking point between lawmakers in Washington, D.C. Without the aid, Adams and his administration will need to make budget cuts. “Well, let’s be clear. What we’re going to have to do is extremely painful,” Adams said. “We’re going to have to see how do we deliver services to our agencies all without the resources we normally have.” He explained there is a lot of creativity that comes with making cuts, adding that “everything’s on the table.” He also said there is a $12 billion hole caused by the migrant influx into the city. “Everything’s on the table,” Adams reiterated. “I like to break it down to the smallest level. If you are a homeowner and you have budgeted yourself for rent, your electricity, your water, et cetera, then all of a sudden, your roof caves in, your insurance policy should pick up on that. “Our insurance policy was the federal government,” he added. “They’re not paying us. So, everything in that household is going to be impacted…We must now find out how to balance our budget.” Adam Shaw of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.