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Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung has been banned by the Hong Kong court from travelling to London to receive a human rights award from the British parliament, as he faces a charge of inciting anti-government protesters to besiege the police headquarters.

Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping of the High Court on Tuesday refused Wong’s application to vary his bail conditions and lift a travel ban, citing heightened risk of absconding.

Toh said Wong did not need to be present in British parliamentary hearings and meetings in which he was invited, and could instead remain in Hong Kong to help the city return to peace.

Wong, secretary general of localist party Demosisto, was named the recipient of the Westminster Award for Human Life, Human Rights, and Human Dignity by both houses of parliament in Britain, for his “commitments to universal suffrage, human rights and free speech”.

He was the second Chinese person to receive the prize after blind mainland activist Chen Guangcheng was awarded in 2013. District council polls ban was ‘arbitrary’ decision, Joshua Wong says

Wong initially planned to leave Hong Kong next week for 20 days, during which he would attend parliamental hearings and deliver speeches in six European countries, and receive the prize in the Palace of Westminster on December 12.

But Hong Kong’s Eastern Court imposed a travel ban on Wong on August 30 after he was charged with organising, taking part in, and inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly outside the Wan Chai police headquarters on June 21.

The lower court also refused to lift the ban earlier this month, saying Wong’s proposed trip was “not very important”.

Wong said he was disappointed with the ruling which amounted to “an extra punishment” before he was convicted by the court.

A statement by Demosisto said the court was now under immense pressure following Beijing’s criticism over its ruling on Monday that the anti-mask law was unconstitutional.

“Even in times of social turmoil, it’s really inappropriate and unnecessary for the court to step in and comment on how politicians should behave,” Wong said on Facebook.

He was charged alongside party member Agnes Chow Ting and chairman Ivan Lam Long-yin. The trio will appear in court again on December 19.

A pro-democracy politician and four other people were injured when a knife-wielding man attacked protesters in Hong Kong Sunday.

The assailant slashed and stabbed people at Cityplaza mall, one of several shopping centers where protesters had gathered to demand government reforms for the 22nd straight weekend.

Local media reported the attacker told his victims that Hong Kong belongs to China.

Four men and one woman were taken to hospitals, where two were in critical condition.

Among the injured was politician Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, who had part of his ear bitten off as he tried to prevent the attacker from leaving the scene.

A pro-democracy activist tweeted that his "close colleague Dr Andrew Chiu was assaulted" and his "left ear was brutally halved."

The semi-autonomous city has been mired in more than five months of massive and often times violent protests, sparked by a proposed bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The protests have evolved into demands for full democracy for Hong Kong, an independent inquiry into possible use of excessive force by police and complete amnesty for all activists arrested during the demonstrations. Masked activists have vandalized businesses and the city subway system, and attacked police with bricks and homemade gasoline bombs.

In September, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced she would withdraw the extradition bill but that has not quelled the protests.

Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the "one government, two systems" arrangement established when China regained control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997. But political activists and observers say Beijing is slowly tightening its grip on the territory and eroding its basic freedoms.

Two journalists were arrested as Hong Kong police stormed shopping malls on Sunday following protests.

With no large-scale demonstrations planned, some protesters called for “shopping” stunts in seven districts including Admiralty, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun.

Scuffles were most serious at Cityplaza in Tai Koo, where pro-democracy district councillor Andrew Chiu had his ear bitten off after the assailant slashed several people with a knife.

According to lawmaker Charles Mok, Chiu’s ear was reconnected after an operation: “His status is stable but we will have to see if its function will recover,” Mok said.

Most of the protests began peacefully as sit-in events at shopping malls. At Cityplaza, residents formed human chains and sang protest songs, whilst a group of masked protesters vandalised a restaurant in the mall.

At around 6pm, police stormed the mall and arrested several people. “Police warn the masked rioters to stop all destructive and illegal acts and appeal to the protestors to stay rational and calm. They should refrain from obstructing Police’s action,” the force said in a statement.

Hong Kong Law & Crime Politics & Protest Two journalists arrested as riot police storm malls around Hong Kong and deploy pepper spray 4 November 2019 13:25 Kris Cheng 5 min read

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Two journalists were arrested as Hong Kong police stormed shopping malls on Sunday following protests.

With no large-scale demonstrations planned, some protesters called for “shopping” stunts in seven districts including Admiralty, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun. cityplaza

A cityplaza guard. Photo: Stand News.

Scuffles were most serious at Cityplaza in Tai Koo, where pro-democracy district councillor Andrew Chiu had his ear bitten off after the assailant slashed several people with a knife.

According to lawmaker Charles Mok, Chiu’s ear was reconnected after an operation: “His status is stable but we will have to see if its function will recover,” Mok said. photojournalist Joey Kwok Stand News arrested

Joey Kwok, freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, being arrested. Photo: Stand News.

Most of the protests began peacefully as sit-in events at shopping malls. At Cityplaza, residents formed human chains and sang protest songs, whilst a group of masked protesters vandalised a restaurant in the mall.

At around 6pm, police stormed the mall and arrested several people. “Police warn the masked rioters to stop all destructive and illegal acts and appeal to the protestors to stay rational and calm. They should refrain from obstructing Police’s action,” the force said in a statement.

Joey Kwok, a freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, was arrested and handcuffed on suspicion of obstructing police as he was taking photos at the mall.

Stand News said Kwok was at standing at a distance from police officers and did not obstruct their work. The news outlet condemned the arrest as unreasonable and demanded his immediate release.

“He has said he was a journalist multiple times when he was arrested, but it was ignored by the police,” Stand News said.

Hong Kong has now entered into its 22nd weekend of protest and unrest, which was sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed fugitive transfers to mainland China.

A journalism student, who is a member of the Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union Editorial Board, was also arrested at the mall whilst covering the news.

Roland Chin, the university’s president, said in an email to students, alumni and staff members that the school was deeply concerned about the student’s well-being.

He said the head of the Department of Journalism and a lawyer have visited the police station to provide assistance. The student’s family members have been notified.

Hong Kong Law & Crime Politics & Protest Two journalists arrested as riot police storm malls around Hong Kong and deploy pepper spray 4 November 2019 13:25 Kris Cheng 5 min read

Donate

Two journalists were arrested as Hong Kong police stormed shopping malls on Sunday following protests.

With no large-scale demonstrations planned, some protesters called for “shopping” stunts in seven districts including Admiralty, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun. cityplaza

A cityplaza guard. Photo: Stand News.

Scuffles were most serious at Cityplaza in Tai Koo, where pro-democracy district councillor Andrew Chiu had his ear bitten off after the assailant slashed several people with a knife.

According to lawmaker Charles Mok, Chiu’s ear was reconnected after an operation: “His status is stable but we will have to see if its function will recover,” Mok said. photojournalist Joey Kwok Stand News arrested

Joey Kwok, freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, being arrested. Photo: Stand News.

Most of the protests began peacefully as sit-in events at shopping malls. At Cityplaza, residents formed human chains and sang protest songs, whilst a group of masked protesters vandalised a restaurant in the mall.

At around 6pm, police stormed the mall and arrested several people. “Police warn the masked rioters to stop all destructive and illegal acts and appeal to the protestors to stay rational and calm. They should refrain from obstructing Police’s action,” the force said in a statement.

Joey Kwok, a freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, was arrested and handcuffed on suspicion of obstructing police as he was taking photos at the mall.

Stand News said Kwok was at standing at a distance from police officers and did not obstruct their work. The news outlet condemned the arrest as unreasonable and demanded his immediate release. photojournalist Joey Kwok Stand News arrested

Joey Kwok, a freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, being arrested. Photo: Stand News.

“He has said he was a journalist multiple times when he was arrested, but it was ignored by the police,” Stand News said.

Hong Kong has now entered into its 22nd weekend of protest and unrest, which was sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed fugitive transfers to mainland China.

A journalism student, who is a member of the Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union Editorial Board, was also arrested at the mall whilst covering the news.

Roland Chin, the university’s president, said in an email to students, alumni and staff members that the school was deeply concerned about the student’s well-being.

He said the head of the Department of Journalism and a lawyer have visited the police station to provide assistance. The student’s family members have been notified.

“We are also liaising with the relevant government agencies in our effort to seek a fair and proper treatment for the other students arrested by the police over the weekend,” Chin said.

The student claimed police threatened him with rape at the San Uk Ling Holding Centre when he was arrested. “I would not commit suicide,” the student shouted, in reference to a spate of recent deaths which some in the protest movement believe to be suspicious.

Shopping mall protests

Police officers also stormed other malls. At around 1:40pm, officers took eight people away from a gathering outside Sha Tin Town Hall.

At 4pm, police stormed the New Town Plaza from the bus terminus below, arresting at least two. Some threw objects at police inside the mall, as officers pointed their rifles at people and fired pepper spray.

Similar scenes also occurred at Tai Po Mega Mall and Diamond Hill’s Plaza Hollywood. At the Mega Mall, some protesters were folding origami cranes to form protest slogans whilst others trashed a Yoshinoya branch in the mall, believing that the restaurant has sided with the government. Officers then rushed into the mall but did not make any arrests.

At around 6pm, police rushed into the Tai Po mall again, despite a commander ordering them not to do so. Apple Daily footage showed that the commander had to enter the mall and shout: “No-one enter the mall… go back and reform [team] at the bridge.”

Residents gathered again at the mall and riot police entered for the third time at around 7pm to arrest two people, prompting onlookers to throw objects at police from above. Officers fired pepper spray and pointed their rifles at them.

Tseung Kwan O incident

Meanwhile, protesters gathered in Tseung Kwan O following rumours that a police officer was getting married at the Crowne Plaza hotel. At around 1am, police fired tear gas to disperse them.

A student from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology appeared to be trying to escape the tear gas when he fell from a car park’s third floor onto the second floor. He was unconscious and rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.

The student was in a critical condition and underwent an operation to remove haematoma from his brain. Wei Shyy, president of the university, visited the student on Monday morning at the hospital.

Chiu is running in the District Council election’s Tai Koo Shing West constituency. Kacee Ting of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong is also running.

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong says a decision by Hong Kong authorities to bar him from running in upcoming local elections proves "how Beijing manipulate[s] the election with political censorship and screening."

Wong posted the notice he received from an election commission officer on his Twitter page Tuesday declaring his candidacy invalid.

Wong had said last week that he was the only candidate running in the upcoming polls to be barred from taking part.

A government spokesman issued a written statement saying Wong's candidacy was invalidated because he has advocated for "self-determination" for Hong Kong.

The 23-year-old Wong, along with fellow student activists Nathan Law and Alex Chow, stormed a courtyard on the grounds of the government's headquarters in September 2014, which led to the "Umbrella Revolution" that shut down several major highways for more than two months, demanding fully free elections. The protests were launched after Beijing reneged on promises of universal suffrage by 2017, but ended without winning any concessions from the Hong Kong government.

The semi-autonomous city has been mired in nearly five months of massive and oftentimes violent protests since June, sparked by a proposed bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The protests have evolved into demands for full democracy for Hong Kong, along with an independent inquiry into possible use of excessive force by police and complete amnesty for all activists arrested during the demonstrations. Masked activists have vandalized businesses and the city subway system, and attacked police with bricks and homemade gasoline bombs.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned Tuesday that city's economy could see negative economic growth this year due to the protests.

Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the “one government, two systems” arrangement established when China regained control of the financial hub from Britain in 1997. But political activists and observers say Beijing is slowly tightening its grip on the territory and eroding its basic freedoms.

Police in southern China detained feminist activist and journalist Huang Xueqin after she returned to the mainland from Hong Kong and Taiwan, her friends said Friday.

Authorities in Guangdong province's Guangzhou city arrested Huang last Thursday on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," her friends said. The vague charge is commonly used against activists viewed as threatening by the ruling Communist Party.

The friends spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared government retribution for being publicly associated with Huang. Calls on Friday to Huang's lawyer and Guangzhou's Baiyun District Detention Center, where friends say she is detained, rang unanswered.

The friends said police harassed Huang's family after she published an essay describing her experience at a protest in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese city that has been roiled by months of anti-government demonstrations.

"Perhaps, under the powerful machine of the party state, ignorance and fear can be cultivated," Huang wrote in her essay. "But if you have personally experienced it, witnessed it, you cannot pretend to be ignorant."

In August, Guangzhou police confiscated Huang's passport and other travel documents, preventing her from pursuing a postgraduate law program at the University of Hong Kong.

Huang has been an outspoken voice in China's #MeToo movement, helping sexual assault victims highlight cases against university professors. She has worked as an independent reporter covering issues surrounding gender, equality and disadvantaged groups.

Detained, harassed

"It is unclear exactly the reasons for Huang's detention, but in recent weeks, more and more activists, writers and regular citizens in the mainland have been detained or harassed by authorities for their peacefully voicing support for the Hong Kong protests," said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"Huang's detention shows that the Chinese government has intensified the crackdown on mainland Chinese who peacefully showed solidarity with Hong Kong protesters, and that authorities are fearful that the protests in Hong Kong could inspire challenges to the government in the mainland, and any expression of ideas of freedom and democracy is a threat to their grip on power," Wang said.

The protests in Hong Kong began over the summer in response to a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to stand trial in mainland China, where critics say their legal rights would be threatened. The sometimes-violent demonstrations have since ballooned to encompass broader calls for democratic reform and an inquiry into alleged police abuse.

The Hong Kong Police Force has been obstructing the work of reporters at protests in recent months. They have even used excessive and unnecessary force. The Hong Kong Journalists Association has time and again expressed our discontent. Police has not just failed to make any improvement. They did more to obstruct the work of reporters. Yesterday, police officers targeted at journalists spraying blue dye on them. And without giving prior warning, they threw teargas canisters at a place where many reporters had gathered. HKJA again vehemently condemns Police for unreasonably obstructing the work of reporters. We demand the force to immediately stop interfering and causing injuries to reporters – and apologise to the media for their wrongdoings.

According to several press reports, police have deployed a water cannon truck to drive away protesters in Sham Shui Po on Sunday. On one occasion, officers inside the truck have twice sprayed blue dye directly to them.

Meanwhile, several journalists have been rudely treated by police officers during their reporting in Mong Kok. Some riot-police officers have shouted at reporters, pushed and drove them away. An officer had pointed his gun at reporters. Late evening, a group of riot-police officers had deliberately thrown a hand teargas canister to a group of reporters before they withdrew. The canister exploded above the heads of several reporters. Thank to their protection devices, they escaped injuries.

HKJA vehemently condemns the Police for ignoring freedom of reporting and freedom of the press when they repeatedly used unnecessary force against reporters. We reiterate that freedom of expression and press freedom are an important cornerstone of Hong Kong. Truth-finding is the sacred duty of reporters. We cannot take abuses of the use of force by the police as normal. We urge the Government to immediately correct their mistakes.

Authorities in the southwestern Chinese region of Guangxi have detained outspoken rights attorney Tan Yongpei, whose license to practice was revoked last year.

Tan was detained on Thursday by officers of the Nanning municipal police department during a raid on his Baijuying legal consultancy company.

An employee at a company occupying the same floor told RFA: "There were 10 or 20 of them. They came shortly after 5.00 p.m., just before we got off work."

"They showed their police identification and said they were from the police department and that they were looking for a lawyer surnamed Tan," he said. "Then they went in."

The employee said the officers were still on the premises when he left after 6.00 p.m. "They were forceful, but went into their offices quite politely, with somebody shooting video," he said. "They put seals on Tan's office door that said "Nanning Municipal Police Department."

The Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch website said the police hadn't produced any official documents authorizing the raid and search, however.

It said Tan had tried and failed to prevent them from carrying out the raid, which lasted around three hours, after which the police took Tan away with them.

Fellow Guangxi-based lawyer Tan Jiaji said it was hard to tell whether Tan would face criminal charges now, or simply be released after questioning.

"It's pretty hard to say right now," he said. "Anything is possible."

"He would regularly post [politically sensitive] stuff to social media, so maybe they now see him as a threat," Tan Jiaji said. "This sort of thing is happening more and more nowadays."

"I wasn't surprised at all that this happened."

'Picking quarrels and stirring up trouble'

He said the authorities can use catch-all charges like "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" to detain people for what they post to social media.

"The whole idea of what is picking quarrels and stirring up trouble is so broad," he said. "It's perfect for those in power to use [against government critics]."

In January, Tan's China Lawyer's Club was raided by dozens of police office who said it was an illegal organization of banned lawyers.

A nationwide police operation under the administration of President Xi Jinping has targeted more than 300 lawyers, law firms, and related activists for questioning, detention, imprisonment, debarring and travel bans since it launched in July 2015.

The China Lawyers' Club was set up in Guangxi's regional capital, Nanning, by a group of former rights attorneys who lost their "business license" at the hands of local justice departments, and may no longer represent clients in court.

Formally established on Sept. 29, 2018, the club's aim was to find employment and income for dozens of experienced litigators who no longer have an income in the wake of the crackdown.

The club traded as a legal services company, and had 'signed' lawyers in a manner similar to the way sports teams sign big stars. Under current regulations, Chinese lawyers need a business license to represent clients, but not to offer legal consultancy on petitions and complaints.

The leader of a pro-democracy group responsible for some of the largest peaceful protest marches in Hong Kong was attacked on Wednesday, four days before another planned mass rally.

Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, was set upon by at least four non-ethnic Chinese assailants on Arran Street in Mong Kok at 7.40pm, a police source said.

The attack was the second against Sham in less than two months.

The Civil Human Rights Front said Sham had been smashed over the head with hammers and spanners but was conscious when sent to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. He was understood to be in stable condition.

A photo of Sham following the attack showed the activist lying on the ground near a white vehicle with blood spilled around him.

Police said Sham was bleeding from his head and arms when officers found him. The suspects fled in a car which officers were pursuing, the force said. An investigation was under way.

Jimmy Sham is pictured after Wednesday’s attack. Photo: FacebookJimmy Sham is pictured after Wednesday’s attack. Photo: Facebook Jimmy Sham is pictured after Wednesday’s attack. Photo: Facebook

The leader of a pro-democracy group responsible for some of the largest peaceful protest marches in Hong Kong was attacked on Wednesday, four days before another planned mass rally.

Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, was set upon by at least four non-ethnic Chinese assailants on Arran Street in Mong Kok at 7.40pm, a police source said.

The attack was the second against Sham in less than two months.

The Civil Human Rights Front said Sham had been smashed over the head with hammers and spanners but was conscious when sent to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. He was understood to be in stable condition.

A photo of Sham following the attack showed the activist lying on the ground near a white vehicle with blood spilled around him.

Police said Sham was bleeding from his head and arms when officers found him. The suspects fled in a car which officers were pursuing, the force said. An investigation was under way. SUBSCRIBE TO Hong Kong News Get updates direct to your inbox By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy Government condemns attack on Hong Kong protest leader

Fellow rights front member Figo Chan said witnesses had told him onlookers tried to stop the ambush but Sham’s attackers pointed a knife at them.

Sham had been making his way to the democracy group’s annual general meeting where he was expected to discuss a march from Tsim Sha Tsui to West Kowloon railway station set for Sunday.

Chan said the march would proceed as planned.

The rights front condemned the attack, saying it would have a “chilling effect” on democracy advocates and fuel fears of “white terror” in Hong Kong. China warns US it will take ‘countermeasures’ over Hong Kong bill

The attack was not the first against Sham. He and his assistant Law Kwok-wai were in late August set upon by two people in masks wielding a baseball bat and a rod, hours after the pair were told by police that a rally they had planned for the following weekend had been banned.

Police later arrested three male suspects, including a 15-year-old boy. The youngster was charged with conspiracy to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and appeared at Kowloon City Juvenile Court. Two other suspects remain at large.

In addition to his activism, Sham is contesting a seat in Hong Kong’s district council elections set for November, at Lek Yuen in Sha Tin.

A number of Hong Kong lawmakers from the city’s pan-democratic camp were among those visiting Sham at Kwong Wah Hospital on Wednesday night, including Shiu Ka-chun, Tanya Chan, Wu Chi-wai, Ip Kin-yuen, Raphael Wong Ho-ming and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung. Fifteen-year-old boy arrested over attack on activist Jimmy Sham and his assistant

Tanya Chan, the bloc’s convenor, condemned the attack and called it shocking. She urged police to investigate as soon as possible.

“What has Hong Kong turned into?” she asked.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said “the assault is clearly politically motivated”. He accused police of failing to protect opposition politicians and activists. Lam said he had been assaulted by government supporters in June but that police had not made any arrests.

Sha Tin district councillor Wong Yue-hon, who is campaigning against Sham for another term on the council in the November elections, condemned “all forms of violence” and wished Sham a speedy recovery.

“I do hope there will be a fair election and it will not be affected by this incident,” he said.

But Wong discouraged Hongkongers from attending Sunday’s rally, warning that it would descend into chaos like other protests in recent months. Election hopefuls insist use of ‘liberate’ slogan is not independence call

“I hope the government can come up with a concrete proposal to restore social order, instead of the city seeing more and more injuries,” he said.

Since August, at least nine pro-democracy figures have been attacked, including Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu. Offices of pro-establishment politicians, meanwhile, have been trashed by radical protesters during the anti-government protests.

Ng Tak-nam, chief inspector of Mong Kok district, said the attackers, who were masked and were wearing black tops, assaulted Sham causing a 3cm (1.2-inch) wound on his forehead.

Ng condemned the violence and believed the crime was organised as the attackers had been wandering in the area for some time.

“After the attack, they jumped into a black private car and fled in the direction to Sham Shui Po,” Ng said. “Witnesses have told us the car had been driving in the area for a while. The attack was swift and the suspects wore similar clothing.”

Ng added uniformed officers were protecting Sham in hospital and they were investigating whether the case was linked to the previous attack in August.

Sichuan Human rights lawyer Lu Siwei received a notification from Chengdu All China Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee for allegedly violating rules while accepting to represent a defendant of a human rights case, and thus will be subjected to disciplinary punishment.

Lawyer Lu specializes in finance laws and criminal defense, and at the same time, took up human rights cases; he was notably among the lawyers who were set to represent one of the defendants in the June 4th Wine Bottle Case and the Pengxi County land seizure case. The disciplinary punishment issues by the Lawyers Association is likely to be associated with Lawyer Lu taking on the case of Lawyer Chen Jiahong, who has been suspected of committing “incitement to subvert state power.”

Lawyer Chen’s charge was probably based on his calligraphy piece against “the evil bureaucracy” and encouraging democracy which he created in April this year, leading to his detainment in Guangxi’s Yulin Detention Center, where Lawyer Lu visited him on 9th May. At the same time, a list of lawyers defending Lawyer Chen began circulating online, which triggered the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Justice to call for Lawyer Lu to return to Chengdu as soon as possible, and to notify the staff at his law firm not to sign any contract of authorization.

The next day (10th May), the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Justice received evidence from the Sichuan Department of Justice regarding Lawyer Lu possibly violating professional ethics and the disciplinary code, thus referring the case to the Chengdu All China Lawyers Association. On 4th June, the Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee started investigating the allegations and found that Lawyer Lu violated rules when taking up a case, therefore planning on disciplinary punishment.

At 2pm on Monday, Lawyer Lu Siwei attended a hearing regarding his alleged misconduct and consequent punishment by the Chengdu All China Lawyers Association at the Chengdu Legal Aid Centre.

The disciplinary punishment is likely associated with Lawyer Lu taking on the case of Lawyer Chen Jiahong, who has been suspected of committing “incitement to subvert state power.” The Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee started investigating the allegations, and found that Lawyer Lu violated rules when taking up a case, therefore planning on disciplinary punishment, in addition to not allowing Lawyer Lu to pass the annual inspection for up to three months for the same reason.

Staff from the Consulate Generals of the USA, Germany, Canada, and the UK attended the hearing, but the moderator stated a fear for his own safety after their entry, saying that there were too many people in the meeting room, and requested that the members of the audience be limited to five only. A decision regarding Lawyer Lu has yet to be made, as it will be debated by the Chengdu All China Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee.

A series of false allegations and smears have this week targeted journalists and unionists in Hong Kong known for speaking out against attacks on media. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) condemn the attacks against media workers and commends the solidarity of Hong Kong journalists in the face of such relentless attacks.

Since the “Prohibition on Face Covering”, otherwise knowns as the “anti-mask law”, was passed on October 4, media workers and their union, the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA), have week endured a targeted campaign of smears and false allegations published online and in newspapers including state newspaper China Daily. The HKJA is among those strongly criticising the colonial era Emergency Regulation Ordinance that has allowed the government to ban the use of face masks – an action which jeopardises the safety not only of journalists but ordinary citizens caught up in tear gas attacks by the territory’s police.

On October 5, HKJA received a fake report claiming it “is racing against time to issue 10,000 press cards”. The false claim went viral on social media, despite HKJA’s rigorous defence and explanation of its eligibility requirements and application process for membership. Then, on October 7, Mark Pinkstone wrote in the China Daily that HKJA was “in the pocket of the NED/NDI”; a non-profit organisation funded by US Congress that invests in democratic movements worldwide. The article went on to defame HKJA chairperson, Chris Yeung alleging he attended “anti-China” meetings in the United States recently, even though the leader has not travelled to the country since 2007.

The HKJA said it deplored the “groundless and defamatory” article.

HKJA chairperson, Chris Yeung, said: “We trust your paper will take factual mistakes and unfounded allegations seriously and would take promptly action to set the record straight and make an apology for the remarks. To seek legal remedy for the damages caused to us is the last things we want.”

This week, Hong Kong Free Press reported comments by Hong Kong Executive Council member Ip Kwok-him, stating that the government “would not rule out a ban on the internet”. The IFJ strongly condemned such a move that would only further erode the right to free expression and democracy of Hong Kong.

The IFJ said: “Persistent attacks on the media this week is evidence of the continued erosion of Hong Kong’s democracy and the fragile state of press freedom. We strongly condemn the use of state media to spread defamatory and false statements about journalists and activists who are in the fight of their lives to defend Hong Kong’s press freedom. The IFJ expresses solidarity with Chris Yeung and will stand with the HKJA through these attacks.”

The Hong Kong Journalists Association deplores the use and threat of violence towards journalists covering events in Hong Kong.

HKJA notes with grave concern, reports by Radio Television Hong Kong ( RTHK) of serious injury to a journalist covering protests in Hong Kong on Sunday 29 September 2019.

Reports have stated that the journalist, working for an Indonesian-language publication based in Hong Kong, was injured in the eye by a rubber bullet or beanbag round whilst covering demonstrations in Wanchai.

Media video footage of her receiving medical attention shows her wearing a high visibility jacket with press markings as well as press card on display. HKJA also understands that the journalist was also wearing a helmet with press markings.

We are gravely concerned by these reports of serious injury to a journalist whilst covering events in HK. We are particularly concerned by reports that the injury was caused by a rubber bullet or bean bag round and that the journalist was not in the immediate vicinity of protestors at the time of the incident, she was clearly identifiable as being a member of the press and was with a number of other journalists at the time also wearing high visibility press markings.

Police have a duty to assist the press and facilitate reporting by members of the press. It is self-evident that this means that police should not cause injury to members of the press.

The HKJA will be investigating this incident and if substantiated, will be taking action to protect the rights and safety of our members

The HKJA also expresses grave concern about recent online threats, purportedly by radical protestors, to TVB journalists if they cover events in Hong Kong from today onwards.

We deplores the use and threat of violence towards journalists covering events in Hong Kong from any source and calls on police and protestors to allow journalists to carry out their job of reporting the facts without risk of serious injury or threats of violence.

(Hengyang, Hunan—Sept. 25, 2019) Authorities controlled human rights lawyer Xie Yang and a Chinese citizen, Chen Yanhui, this evening when they were discussing the Sept. 23 death of Wang Meiyu, a prisoner who died in the Hengyang Detention Center.

In the middle of Xie and Chen’s conversation at the Shennong Hotel in Hengyang, Hunan, six armed SWAT team members rushed in and contained them. Plainclothes police and hotel employees watched the room’s doorway, while the SWAT team members handled the staircase.

Xie’s wife, Chen Guiqiu, noted on social media that he was still being controlled as of 1:16 a.m. on Sept. 26 Beijing time. Her attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful, leading her to believe he is still being restricted by the officials.

Xie was previously taken into police custody for his human rights work on July 11, 2015, as part of a nationwide crackdown on rights attorneys known colloquially as the "709 Incident." During Xie's time in prison, he revealed that he had been tortured and that the lawyers appointed by his family were prevented from meeting him numerous times. To combat these accusations, China launched a propaganda campaign, claiming the reports were false. They also forced Xie Yang to deny his torture allegations during his trial.

Prior to his trial, Xie made a written declaration stating that he was not guilty of subversion, the charge which authorities used to imprison him, and said he would not plead guilty unless it was for the sake of his family or because of torture.

Xie was ultimately ruled "exempt from criminal penalty," a decision that means Xie should be legally free but also that the court had convicted him. He continues to be constantly monitored by the authorities.

Hong Kong authorities should conduct a swift and credible investigation into the recent assault of an Apple Daily reporter and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Yesterday, four men dressed in black and wearing yellow helmets rushed into a restaurant in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong district where a reporter from the pro-democracy Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily was dining with her family, and kicked and punched the reporter and then fled the scene, according to a report by Apple Daily and other news reports.

During the assault, the attackers mentioned Jimmy Lai, founder and chair of Next Digital, which owns Apple Daily, according a report by the newspaper.

The journalist was taken to a hospital with injuries to her head and right ear, according to the newspaper, which published photos of her injuries but did not release the reporter’s name.

“If the rule of law means anything in Hong Kong, police must take swift action to apprehend not just the men who carried out this assault on an Apple Daily reporter, but anyone who planned the attack as well,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Attacks against journalists have gone unpunished for far too long in Hong Kong.”

Apple Daily editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong said in a statement on the newspaper’s website that the reporter was targeted for her reports and live-streams of the protests that have taken place in Hong Kong since June. The protests were originally sparked by an extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to face trial in mainland Chinese courts, as CPJ reported at the time.

The journalist’s personal information had recently been published by an anonymous website opposed to the protesters, according to a statement published on Facebook by the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

Hong Kong authorities have asked the website to remove identifying information of about 20 Apple Daily journalists, as well as more than 70 activists, student leaders, and protesters, but the website, which is registered to a Russian domain, has kept the information online, according to the South China Morning Post.

Jimmy Lai’s home was firebombed earlier this month, but no one was hurt in the incident, according to news reports.

The Hong Kong Police Force told CPJ in an email that the case is under investigation and no arrests have been made.

A rights activist who called publicly for the resignation of Chinese president Xi Jinping has died in a police-run detention center in the central province of Hunan, rights groups said.

Wang Meiyu's widow received notification of her husband's death in the Hengyang Detention Center on Monday.

Wang, 38, was detained two months ago after holding up a placard in public calling on President Xi to step down, and for democratic elections in China.

"Wang Meiyu died in the detention center," his mother, who declined to give her name, told RFA. "Wang Meiyu was only 38 years old. His father passed away 20 years ago, and now my only child is dead too."

Wang's widow Cao Shuxia said Wang was initially detained on July 8, and had been in normal health when his detention began.

Then, he was reported as having died suddenly in a military hospital. Cao said Wang's body was "unrecognizable" when she went to identify it.

"He was a healthy, normal man when he went in there," she said. "Then, at 4.00 a.m. on Sept. 23, I got a call from the village [ruling Chinese Communist] Party secretary, who told me that Wang Meiyu was dead."

"I asked how he died, and he said he didn't know, and that he had been informed by his superiors," she said. "He didn't even know the time of death. Later, I found out when I called up to enquire that he had died in the emergency room of Hengyang 169 Hospital."

"When I saw his body, it was like another person; he was totally unrecognizable," Cao said. "They wouldn't let me take my cell phone in with me, and there were a lot of police officers there with us, and they stopped me from getting too close."

Solitary confinement

Cao said Wang had received two visits from a lawyer after being detained. During these meetings, the lawyer heard that he was initially held in a large cell along with dozens of other inmates.

But by the time the lawyer visited again at the end of August, Wang had been transferred to solitary confinement, she said.

She said Wang's death was a huge blow to his family, especially to his two children, the older of whom is just 11. The couple had already lost their jobs as a result of Wang's activism, she said.

"My husband didn't commit any crime: he did nothing wrong," Cao said.

An acquaintance of Wang's surnamed Chen said Wang had been campaigning for democratic elections in China, which was why he had called on President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang to resign.

"Last year, he held up a placard outside the gates of the Hengyang Normal University in Hunan, and he did it again last July, outside the Hunan provincial police department, where he was detained," Chen said.

"He was already under very tight surveillance and had no source of income, and relations with his family were already strained," he said.

The authorities had already been in touch to warn off anyone thinking of showing support to the family, or speaking out on Wang's behalf, he said. "I will likely have to go and meet with state security police tomorrow."

'Step down and enable general elections'

In November 2018, Wang wrote on the social media platform WeChat that he had been visited by five officers of the state security police from Hengyang's Zhoushi county.

"They accused me of making random comments online, calling on Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang to step down and enable general elections," Wang wrote at the time.

"They said this was attacking our national leaders and told me to ... write a letter of repentance and a guarantee [of future good behavior]."

"Morons: it never occurred to them that three days and three nights of torture with dripping water and electric batons until I was spitting blood and my soul had nearly left my body wouldn't bring about my surrender," he wrote.

"What have I done wrong? I didn't give these state security morons the time of day: eventually, they went away with their tails between their legs."

An employee who answered the phone at the Hengyang People's Liberation Army 169 Hospital declined to comment, saying she wasn't on duty when Wang died, and that nobody was discussing the incident at work.

Repeated requests to the Hengyang police department for comment went unanswered at the time of writing.

Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan have criminally detained a prominent rights activist after he repeatedly showed public support for the anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong.

Chen Yunfei was taken away by state security police from his home in Gucheng township in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu on Sept. 19, his friend told RFA on Monday.

"Eight or nine people came from the Gucheng township police station, some in uniform, some in plain clothes," Chen's friend Luo Kaiwen said. "The police station called his sister and offered to find a lawyer for him."

"I heard that it was because of interviews Chen Yunfei gave to overseas media during which he expressed his support for the anti-extradition movement, that's what this was," Luo said. "They didn't say what the charge was, but I read online that it was for 'supporting Hong Kong'."

"The authorities basically have a lot of different options if they want to bring charges," he said.

Chen's family received official notification on Sept. 21 that he is under criminal detention for publishing comments in support of the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong, it said.

Chen has outspokenly defended the anti-extradition movement at a time when the ruling Chinese Communist Party is ramping up the nationalistic narrative that the Hong Kong protests are being carried out by a small minority of troublemakers in the pay of "hostile foreign forces."

In recent interviews with RFA, Chen has called repeatedly for a dialogue between Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and protesters to try to reach a resolution over the five demands of the anti-extradition movement.

Several Chinese dissidents have had their Twitter accounts taken offline or been called in for questioning by police after they voiced support for the Hong Kong protests.

Chinese authorities have also been checking the devices of anyone crossing the internal border from Hong Kong to mainland China, as part of a concerted campaign to ensure that no unedited news of the Hong Kong anti-extradition protests is able to reach residents of China.

Admiration for the anti-extradition protesters

In an interview with the Epoch Times on Aug. 31, Chen expressed his admiration for the anti-extradition protesters and said Hong Kong should serve as a model for people in mainland China, an idea that gives voice to concerns in Beijing that Hong Kong's liberal attitudes could lead to the overthrow of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Chen was only released last March from a jail term handed down on public order charges after he marked the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, politically sensitive and forbidden topic in China, in 2015.

Back then, he was detained after visiting the grave of Tiananmen massacre victim Wu Guofeng near Chengdu along with a group of fellow activists.

The government bans public memorials marking the event, and has continued to ignore growing calls in China and from overseas for a reappraisal of the 1989 student protests, which it once styled a "counterrevolutionary rebellion."

Chen has also campaigned vigorously for human rights protections and against environmental pollution in the past two decades.

Sichuan-based writer and activist Tan Zuoren declined to comment in detail, citing additional security measures ahead of celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1.

"Of course I'm worried about him, but there's not much I can do to help, particularly not before National Day on Oct. 1," Tan said. "I have been told not to make any comments, as part of the conditions of my current bail."

Chen's wife said she and her husband are currently estranged, and that she is also under pressure from the authorities over the birth of the couple's daughter, which was deemed a violation of family planning restrictions.

"I just saw on the group chat that he was in trouble," she said. "But I don't know any of the details. I'll go and visit him in a few days ... we are not living together at the moment ... and I don't have much time to take care of him."

National Day on Oct. 1

Calls to the nearby Wenjiang Detention Center rang unanswered during office hours on Monday.

An employee who answered the phone at the the Gucheng township police station said he knew nothing of Chen's detention.

"I don't really know about this," the employee said. "You could come to the police station and ask. Different people are on duty here every day."

Fellow dissident Zeng Rongkang said Chen's detention could also be linked to his attempts to make news of the Hong Kong protests available to social media users in mainland China.

"News from Hong Kong is usually deleted from WeChat, and a lot of ordinary people don't actually know about the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong," Zeng said.

"Security is extremely tight across the whole country ahead of National Day on Oct. 1," he said. "There are police on all the buses and metro trains in the Chengdu area."

Zeng said Chen had previously been sentenced to four years' imprisonment over his commemoration of the Tiananmen massacre. "He didn't even do anything, just visit the grave of a 1989 student protester."

"Strictly speaking, that's not a crime."

The Global Times, an English media owned by the state-run People’s Daily, published an article on September 23, which referred to a ‘campaign’ launched by several Hong Kong journalists against the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA), and requested the IFJ to revoke HKJA’s membership. The journalists behind the campaign remain anonymous, and the accusations referred to against the HKJA on the campaign website [saynotohkja.mystrikingly.com], are not based on solid evidence, some are based on the disinformation by other state-run media.

The IFJ is aware of attempts to discredit HKJA, having received several complaints since June from anonymous emails. The complaints are almost identical in language and issues referred to, raising questions about their authenticity. The IFJ strongly condemns attempts to discredit professional journalist unions such as the HKJA, as well as the broader work of the journalist community with attempts to legitimise the authorities’ attacks against the media or suppress press freedom.

The IFJ said:"We strongly deplore this smear campaign against our affiliate the HKJA. The work of the HKJA is commendable, especially the continued support and campaigning for media safety in the past four months in Hong Kong. We stand in solidarity and support the HKJA. The IFJ was never sort for comment regarding the campaign to have HKJA's membership revoked. The attempts by some to share disinformation are part of a campaign to discredit the work done by HKJA, supported by the IFJ to ensure the safety and security of the media and press freedom in Hong Kong."

The HKJA is a strong professional media union, working to support the Hong Kong media community and promote press freedom. Since the start of Hong Kong wide protests in June 2019, HKJA has been active in working to support the media. Since June they have raised HKD3 million (USD 383,000) for an anti-violence legal fund for journalists. They have supplied more than 100 safety kids to journalists, organized medical service for 33 journalists injured with tear gas while covering the protests, provided professional counselling services to 20 journalists and filed complaints for over 40 journalists attacked covering the protests.

Hong Kong police must cease their unprovoked use of tear gas and pepper spray against journalists covering protests in the city, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On September 7, police pepper-sprayed a group of journalists who were filming the arrests of protesters in the Mong Kok area, according to news reports and Holmes Chi Hang Chan, a reporter with the independent news website Hong Kong Free Press, who live-streamed the incident on Facebook and recounted it in a statement sent to CPJ.

On September 8, police threw teargas canisters directly at several journalists wearing clearly marked press vests while they were covering protests in the Causeway Bay metro station, according to news reports and footage circulated online showing the attack. One canister appeared to hit a journalist in the helmet and then exploded near another journalist, according to those reports.

“Hong Kong police need to learn that a police badge and a uniform do not amount to a license for indiscriminate attacks against journalists, or anyone,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “The most recent attacks against journalists make clear why an independent investigation into police behavior is essential if Hong Kong is to be a place where rule of law prevails.”

Police fired pepper spray without warning that hit Chan, who was wearing a reflective press vest and a helmed labeled “Press,” in the face, he wrote in the statement provided to CPJ. Chan had two press passes visible and was not wearing protective facial gear, he wrote.

Chan was admitted to the Kwong Wah Hospital and was treated for a “chemical eye injury,” according to a document given to him by a doctor, he said in the statement. The journalists on the scene had complied with police instructions and had not given police any reason to use force against them, he said.

Also on September 7, in Mong Kok, police pepper-sprayed three reporters for local daily Ming Pao who wore helmets and passes identifying them as press, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the newspaper’s staff association.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Journalists Association both issued statements condemning the increasing acts of violence against journalists. Protestors have demanded an independent inquiry into police behavior, according to news reports.

The Hong Kong Police Force did not respond to CPJ's email requesting comment.

Around 10.30 pm Saturday (Sept 7), police officers were charging to drive away protesters and make arrests outside Pioneer Centre in Mongkok. With no protesters around, police officers sprayed pepper spray at reporters at the scene. Several frontline journalists were injured. We condemn police violence and taking journalists as their target of attack – deliberately and with hostilities – in obstructing reporters’ work. We urge Police to take the issue of frontline officers being unable to control their emotions and abuse of power seriously.

Around 10.30 pm, reporters who covered the police operation were driven away by police officers. Reporters kept a distance of about 10 meters from the place where police made arrests. They heeded police’s demand for them to position themselves at the pedestrian pavement. Suddenly, two officers from the Special Tactical Squad, or commonly known as Raptor, sprayed pepper spray. At least five photojournalists, two from HK01, one from AFP and two from Ming Pao and three reporters, one from Ming Pao and two from Cable TV. Two had sprayed on their faces.

We noted that reporters there were wearing passes and helmets emblazoned with the word, PRESS, which were easily identifiable. There were no protesters near the reporters. Reporters were retreating while police officers were making the requests. The sudden attack from police officers was unreasonable. Two officers had persistently sprayed at a bigger group of reporters, injuring more. A reporter at the scene heard from an officer who sprayed pepper spray saying, “shooting (pictures), so you like shooting.” It is clear the police officers were hostile towards the reporters. The acts of the two officers were close to an assault against journalists. We demand police to provide the identification of the two officers for reporters to lodge a formal complaint.

Police officers at the scene had not provided clear identification for reporters to lodge a complaint. Police’s media liaison officers were nowhere to be seen. Those who turned up late failed to perform their duty of liaison. They were also hostile when responding to journalists’ questions.

We condemn police’s abuse of the use of force and deliberately obstruct reporters’ work. We urge the police to take seriously the statements issued by us in the past three months. We urge the police to take the issue of frontline officers being unable to control their emotions and abuse of power seriously to coordinate with the work of frontline journalists for them to play their role of fourth power.

In 2016, the police issued an order to all the kindergartens, including all the early education centers in Beijing’s Shijingshan District (石景山区) to not accept my son at their schools. My son, Quanquan (泉泉), had stayed home, unable to attend school since May 2018. Then, by luck and coincidence, I found a private school that accepted him. Quanquan finally was able to go to school, joining the top kindergarten class there.

It was a hard-won opportunity for Quanquan, and he was very excited. On the first day of school [in 2018], he woke up at 6 am. He tugged at me, acting cute one moment and threatening me the next. I had to get out of bed. We washed together, and after getting dressed, he wanted to go to school. Reluctantly, I told him that the school bus wouldn’t arrive at the gate until 7:48 am. His single-eyelid eyes flashed with ardent hope, and he said to me pleading: “I want to go early to wait at the gate. Please?”

So I gave in, unable to say no to his adorable face. So, we sat on the side of the street waiting for the bus for more than an hour before it was due to arrive. Quanquan was a little anxious; he would stand up and sit down, stand up and sit down again, making me dizzy just watching him. His small pudgy face was full of worry, and he asked me over and over again: “Mom, are you sure we’re waiting in the right place for the school bus?” It was annoying and amusing at the same time; all I could do was answer “Yes!” over and over again. At that time, I thought, it was only children who’ve been unable to attend school who could feel such excitement about going to school.

Quanquan really liked his school. The flowers and trees in the school grounds, the sandboxes, the trampoline, and the various insects on the lawn made each day full of surprise and joy. The school’s atmosphere was happy, relaxed, and full of love, which led to Quanquan arguing that he wanted to go to school on Sundays. He also made a lot of friends, and he even secretly liked a little girl.

Quanquan successfully completed kindergarten without incident. I thought at the time that attending school would no longer pose a problem.

Come September 2, Quanquan was promoted to primary school. School has only been in session for four days, but the police have visited multiple times already to put pressure on the school. As a result, my son is once again forced out of school.

Having been told that that Quanquan could not continue school, I felt all my strength was sucked out of me there and then. Heavyhearted, I walked out of the school gate. At home, Quanquan’s maternal grandpa had just suffered a severe cold, stooping after days of high fever and coughing. I tried hard to pull myself together, not wanting to cry in front of him. But I broke down after all, tears streaming down my face.

I was thinking, why? Why?

It’s no wonder that every time I visited Quanzhang (王全璋), what he worried about most was whether our son could go to school. No wonder he repeatedly sought confirmation from me whether our son was indeed going to school.

When Quanzhang was detained four years ago, our son was only two and a half years old. Now, it looks like our son has been made into a bargaining chip which officials are going to use to coerce Quanzhang. Maybe that’s why every time I see Quanzhang he tells me not to come visit; maybe that’s why Wang Quanzhang said he did not want medical parole (as I write this, I recall that Quanzhang has lost three teeth in the past four years; maybe that’s why Wang Quanzhang said that after he is released from prison next year, he would continue to be subject to government monitoring, and would not return to Beijing, but stay in Jinan!

They detained and isolated an innocent lawyer from the outside world for four years; they held a secret trial of him without lawyers present to defend him, and then transferred him to prison to serve his sentence, and repeatedly blocked me, his wife, from visiting him. Now they are making an issue of a 6-year-old boy attending school.

I have to ask, what do you want?

Do you intend to make a mother give in and give up by making her suffer pain and despair over her son’s loss of schooling? Or, are you using his son to strike the imprisoned father and force him to bow to your menacing?

Or, perhaps you are concocting a tribute to your grand celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China by depriving this six-year-old child of schooling, and inflicting pain on this family.

Quanquan knows that he can’t go to school anymore starting today. He asked me: “I am the leader of Team No. 1 in martial arts class. I can’t lead the team anymore, what to do? The teacher is going to teach a lot of new moves, which I won’t know — what should I do?” He’s not ready to accept that fact that he has no school to go to anymore. He’s said repeatedly that he wants to go school, he wants to go to school.

I wiped my tears, and began to smile, telling him:

“If we can’t attend this school, I believe that God will provide another school for us that is just as good as this one!”

Thousands of Hong Kong university and school students boycotted class and rallied peacefully for democracy on Monday, the latest acts of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.

The boycott followed a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.

Tension remained high, with several brief skirmishes around the territory after night fell. Police fired tear gas to clear protesters in the densely populated Mongkok region of the Kowloon peninsula.

Thousands of students gathered earlier on the hilltop campus of Chinese University under leaden skies, taking turns to make speeches from a stage with a black backdrop embossed with “Students in Unity Boycott for our City”.

They are seeking greater democracy for the former British colony which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.

They fear those freedoms are being slowly eroded by Communist Party rulers in Beijing, a charge China denies.

“I come here just to tell others that even after summer holidays end we are not back to our normal life, we should continue to fight for Hong Kong,” said one 19-year-old student who asked to be identified as just Chan.

On the first day of the new school year, secondary students were seen singing, chanting and forming human chains, some wearing hard hats and masks.

China accuses Western countries of egging on the protests. It says Hong Kong is its own internal affair.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated Beijing’s support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.

“China’s central government supports chief executive Carrie Lam’s leadership ... to administer in accordance with the law and supports Hong Kong’s police tackling the violence and chaos in accordance with the law to restore order,” he told a press briefing.

As for Lam, she said last week she had caused “unforgivable havoc” by igniting the crisis and would quit if she had a choice.

Students have turned out in significant numbers at recent rallies and were also prominent during the 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella” movement that foreshadowed the current unrest.

“It’s very different from what happened back then. People are more mad now,” said Summer, a 20-year-old student who gave only his first name.

The vice-chairman of the Demosisto pro-democracy movement, Isaac Cheng, was assaulted by three unidentified men on Monday and taken to hospital, the group said in a statement. The group’s leader, Joshua Wong, was one of the prominent leaders of the 2014 struggle.

Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday. Some then targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras, glass panels and lamps with metal poles. Police made several arrests.

Lam, a lightning rod for protesters’ anger, said on her Facebook page on Monday that 10 subway stations had been damaged by “violent offenders” over the weekend.

John Lee, government secretary for security, told media that nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown in various locations on Saturday with two found on a 13-year-old boy who was arrested inside an MTR station.

The unrest began over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the party.

The turmoil has evolved into calls for democracy. China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.

With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, China has also warned of the damage the protests are causing to the economy.

Authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday 31st October detained a prominent women's rights activist after she organized an online activity in support of Hong Kong's Occupy Central pro-democracy movement. Ye Haiyan, who founded the Women's Rights Workshop, was taken away by police in her home district of Xinzhou after her home was searched, a Beijing-based rights lawyer told RFA. "Police went to her home and confiscated some of her things," rights lawyer Tang Jitian said. "I am guessing it's because she organized some activities on and offline." "I can't say for sure, but it is likely to have at least something to do with her support for Occupy Central," Tang said. Ye's boyfriend Ling Haobo said around a dozen police officers had arrived at her home at around 11.30 a.m. local time on Friday, and had confiscated two notebook computers, three cellphones, and an external hard drive. "I was at the door when the police came knocking," Ling said, adding that police had stayed around 20 minutes. "Then they told Ye Haiyan to go with them to the police station, but they didn't produce any documentation," he said. "They didn't say whether it was for questioning, or whether it was criminal detention," he said. "They just took her away, and left five officers behind to go through her things." He said Ye had recently joined an online movement in which participants shaved their heads to show support for Occupy Central. "Several dozen people in mainland China shaved their heads," Ling said. The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group, which collates and translates reports from rights groups inside China, says it has documented 72 cases of detention of people showing public support for the Occupy Central movement. Of those, 27 people were criminally detained and three were handed administrative detentions, while 32 remain in custody without charge. A further 11 were released, it said. It said the most recent detention was that of Guangdong-based activist Su Changlan, who is being held by Foshan municipal authorities on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" after she took part in Hong Kong-related activities in the province. But Tang said the true number of Hong Kong-related detentions may be much higher. "It's more than 100 so far, although we haven't yet updated those numbers," he said. Beijing has repeatedly said the five-week-old Occupy movement is "illegal," but Hong Kong officials have taken a more diplomatic stance since police use of tear gas brought hundreds of thousands of people out onto the streets to swell the movement, and sent video and social media accounts of the Sept. 28 clashes streaming live around the world. Since then, the mostly peaceful protests have occupied major highways and intersections near government headquarters in Admiralty district and in the busy shopping districts of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, amid sporadic clashes with police and anti-Occupy protesters.

A Tibetan monk charged with inciting Tibetans to oppose Chinese rule has been ordered jailed for 12 years, according to sources who say he is being confined in a prison notorious for its abusive treatment of prisoners. Tsangyang Gyatso, chant leader at the Drilda monastery in Sog (in Chinese, Suo) county in the Nagchu (Naqu) prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, "was sentenced sometime around Oct. 1, 2014," Ngawang Tharpa, a Tibetan living in India, told RFA's Tibetan Service, citing contacts in the region. "He is reportedly being held in Chushur prison near[the regional capital] Lhasa," Tharpa said. Harsh treatment is common at the Chushur prison, located about 48 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Lhasa, with prisoners routinely subjected to torture, beatings, and forms of abuse, Tibetan sources have said. "[Gyatso] was convicted on charges of inciting others to protest against China and of communicating with contacts outside Tibet," Tharpa said. "His relatives in Sog county's Trido township were informed of his sentence by letter only around Oct. 15." Family members have been told they will not be allowed to visit the jailed monk until three months elapse from the date of his sentencing, but have also been warned they will need letters from township and county officials giving permission for the visit, Tharpa said. Tsangyang Gyatso was detained on unknown charges on March 17, 2014, along with three other monks from Drilda monastery named Tsewang, Atse, and Gyaltsen, Tharpa said. Their detention followed a roundup earlier in March of at least nine other area monks and residents suspected of involvement of activities challenging Chinese rule in Tibet, including the painting of independence slogans on boulders near an iron bridge in Trido township. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 133 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing's rule and call for the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

An AIDS researcher, Wang Qiuyan, was prevented from attending a women's rights conference put on by the United Nations, when authorities forcibly registered her at a hospital. Jess Macy Yu reports for the New York Times: Wang Qiuyun, 46, a member of the Women's Network Against H.I.V./AIDS China, was to have consulted Thursday with experts reviewing China's case before the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In an interview on Wednesday, she said she was currently under close surveillance at her home in Hebi, Henan Province, after local officials took away her passport with her newly issued Swiss visa on Oct. 10. On that same day, she was driven to the Hebi City Infectious Disease Hospital by six officials, registered as a patient and told to notify the conference that she was "too sick to attend." That night, she said she was able to quietly escape the hospital. Ms. Wang, formerly director of women's services with the Henan Province Family Planning and Medical Station, has in recent years devoted her time to the Women's Network Against H.I.V./AIDS China, an organization founded in 2009 with the support of Unaids, the United Nations agency dealing with AIDS, to help Chinese women with H.I.V. improve the quality of their life.[Source] Simon Denyers at the Washington Post looks at Wang's work and the possible reasons for her travel ban. Wang herself contracted HIV, most likely during an operation when Henan was the center of an HIV epidemic in the 1990s: "I don't know why this happened," Wang said in a telephone interview. "I've explained to the police and other officials many times that I was just going to talk about helping women with AIDS, and about children who suffer discrimination because of their parents' HIV status." The report she was due to present, on behalf of the nongovernmental group Women's Network Against HIV/AIDS China (WNAC), concludes that the HIV epidemic among women in China is on the rise, partly because of a lack of awareness and low condom use among sex workers. It also argues that women face "serious discrimination and humiliation" in health care, employment and education, and that strong laws against prostitution - including police regulations that equate condom possession with prostitution - were discouraging sex workers from carrying condoms.[Source]

A young Tibetan called out in public for Tibet's freedom before being assaulted and taken into custody by Chinese police in the second solo protest in Sichuan province's Kardze prefecture this month, according to sources. Dorje Rinchen, believed to be in his 20s, launched his solitary protest shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Thursday the 16th October in the central square of the Serthar (in Chinese, Seda) county seat in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a local source told RFA's Tibetan Service. "Many witnesses saw him throw leaflets in the air and shout slogans calling for the long life of[exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama and for freedom for Tibet before he was overpowered by police," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The detaining officers tied Dorje Rinchen's hands behind his back, forced his head down, "and took him away, beating him severely at the same time," the source said. "A large contingent of police were then stationed in the square and imposed harsh restrictions in the area," he added. Separately, a Tibetan living in exile confirmed Rinchen's detention, citing contacts in the Serthar area. Rinchen, a resident of Horshul village, had once been a monk at Serthar's Nubsur monastery but "had left monastic life and pursued various trades in the nomadic community," the source, Golog Jigme, said. "At this time, it is difficult to know whether his family members have been allowed to see him or learn where he is being held," Jigme said. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 133 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing's rule and for the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Hong Kong protesters clashed with dozens of police using batons and pepper spray early Wednesday, in some of the worst violence since pro-democracy demonstrations began. The confrontation broke out during a police operation to clear newly erected barricades on a main road next to the city's embattled government headquarters. A wall of police armed with shields and batons marched before dawn on crowds clutching the umbrellas that have become emblematic of their fight for full democracy. Police used their fists and batons to beat back protesters who refused to retreat, aiming pepper spray in their faces in wild scenes. Others were pulled to the ground, handcuffed and hauled away by officers, and there were injuries on both sides. Police said that 45 people had been arrested in the operation, including 37 men and eight women. Within an hour police had regained control of Lung Wo Road, which sits just metres from the offices of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chin-Ying, ending a short-lived occupation that protesters staged the day before. The violence was among the worst seen since the start of rallies that have drawn huge crowds calling for Beijing to grant the semi-autonomous city the right to hold free elections. China has insisted it will vet candidates standing for election as the semi-autonomous city's next leader in 2017 - a move protesters deride as "fake democracy". While the activists have been praised for their civility and organisational skills, they have also brought widespread disruption and traffic congestion to the financial hub, and tempers on all sides have begun to fray. A police statement said officers had warned that "advancing against police cordon line even with their arms raised is not a peaceful act", and had appealed to the demonstrators to "stay calm and restrained". The protests that have paralysed parts of the city over the last fortnight have largely been peaceful. But ugly scuffles have frequently broken out between demonstrators and government loyalists, sparking accusations the authorities are using hired thugs. Patience is running short in some quarters, with shop owners and taxi drivers losing business and commuters voicing irritation at extensive disruptions on the roads and on public transport. UPDATE: 15 October 2015 Hong Kong police charged over beating of democracy activist Seven Hong Kong police officers have been charged in relation to the beating of a protester during pro-democracy demonstrations in the Chinese-ruled city late last year that brought large parts of the financial centre to a halt. The officers were charged with one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, while one officer was also charged with one count of common assault, a police spokesperson said today. The officers will appear in court on Monday. The seven officers are accused of beating activist and Civic Party member Ken Tsang Kin-chiu. Footage of the attack in October last year went viral, sparking outrage from some lawmakers and the public. Protesters had been demanding full democracy for the former British colony and were also calling for Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader, Leung Chun-ying, to step down. The weeks of protests failed to persuade Beijing to lift a restriction on who can stand for election as Hong Kong's leader in the next vote in 2017. China rules Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" formula that accords the city a degree of autonomy and freedom not enjoyed in mainland China, with universal suffrage an eventual goal. - Reuters, October 15, 2015. UPDATE: 12/ 11/ 2015 Hong Kong activist takes police torture claim to UN HONG KONG - A Hong Kong activist allegedly assaulted by police during last year's pro-democracy protests said Wednesday he would present his case to a United Nations torture hearing next week. Footage of activist Ken Tsang being punched and kicked by police officers was beamed around the world at the height of the mass protests that brought parts of the southern Chinese city to a standstill last year. The video, aired by local television network TVB, showed a group of men hauling a handcuffed Tsang to a dark corner in a public park. One man stood over Tsang punching him while three others repeatedly kicked him. Seven police officers were charged with assault over the incident, while Tsang himself was also charged with attacking 11 police officers. Tsang, 40, said he would present his case at a UN Committee Against Torture hearing in Geneva next Tuesday. "Those seven policemen being accused should be charged with torture, not with common assault," Tsang told AFP. "We want to raise more pressure on the government on how they are handling the case," Tsang said, adding that the charges were only brought a year after the incident. Tsang has previously slammed allegations against him as "unreasonable and ridiculous", while the justice department has justified the assault charge against, saying he "splashed liquid from a plastic container" onto police. Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau, who will also attend the UN torture hearing, told AFP: "On a number of occasions the police used force to deal with the peaceful demonstrators, and that is very, very unacceptable. "They (Hong Kong government) don't want to be disgraced on an international stage... it is an important arena where Hong Kong is under international scrutiny," said Lau. At the height of the 2014 protests, which lasted for 79 days, tens of thousands of people regularly gathered to demand political reform in a major challenge to China's communist rulers. Thousands more joined the crowds after police fired tear gas in the afternoon of September 28, a move that shocked the public and galvanised the Umbrella Movement -- named after the umbrellas used to ward off sun, rain, tear gas and pepper spray. The democracy protests began after China's central government said it would allow a popular vote for Hong Kong's leader in 2017, but insisted that candidates be vetted. Hong Kong has been governed under a "one country, two systems" arrangement since it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.

Tibetan businessman Pasang Wangchuk has been taken into custody by authorities in China's western province of Sichuan after launching a solitary protest challenging Beijing's rule in Tibetan areas, according to sources. He staged his protest on October 3rd in the downtown area of the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) county seat in Kardze prefecture, a Tibetan living in India told RFA's Tibetan Service, citing sources in Kardze. "He called out for the return of[exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama to Tibet," RFA's source said. During his solo protest Wangchuk also carried a banner bearing slogans calling for the Dalai Lama's long life and for human rights and religious freedom in Tibet, the source said. "He was able to protest for about ten minutes before he was overpowered by police and taken away," he said. No further details were immediately available regarding Wangchuk's condition or where he was taken. Reached by RFA for comment, an officer at the Kardze county police office angrily hung up the phone. UPDATE 3rd November 2014: Pasang Wangchuk, 37, a businessman and father of three, detained in China's Sichuan province last month for launching a solitary protest challenging Beijing's rule in Tibetan areas has been freed after being interrogated over slogans he wrote on his protest banner, Tibetan sources said. He was taken into custody on Oct. 3 as he protested in the downtown area of the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) county seat in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, calling out for human rights and religious freedom in Tibet, sources said. "He was released around 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 3," a Tibetan living in Nepal told RFA's Tibetan Service on Friday, citing local sources. "I could not speak to him directly, but it is confirmed that he has been released," the source said, adding that his contacts could not say whether Wangchuk had been beaten or tortured during the month he spent in jail-a punishment most detained Tibetan protesters say they undergo. "It is also unclear why he was freed," the source continued, speaking on condition of anonymity. During his solo protest, Wangchuk-who is also known as Ngodru-carried a banner bearing slogans calling for the long life of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and shouted slogans calling for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet, sources had said. "We have now learned that he also wrote slogans on his banner urging Tibetans to "remember our heroic patriots' and calling for a peaceful dialogue to resolve the question of Tibet," RFA's source said on Friday. "During his detention, he was questioned mainly about these writings on his banner," he said. Wangchuk's release has fueled various speculations. "Some say that he was released because of "improving conditions' in the area, while others say that he was freed because he is a well-known businessman with good connections," the source said. "Others are saying that some of his close business associates paid for his release," he said.

The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong took an ugly turn with women protesters alleging sexual assaults by men opposing the Occupy Central movement. A woman protester has alleged that she and other female pro-democracy activists were sexually assaulted by a man opposing the Occupy movement and police did nothing about it. A video uploaded on the website of the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post showed an older man in a white polo shirt violently groping a young woman while arguing with her. A woman identified as Christine was quoted by the Post as saying that she was standing as part of a human chain when the man lying on the ground sexually assaulted the girl. "I felt very, very scared, insulted and threatened," she was quoted as saying by the Post. "I yelled, That guy has assaulted me. The police were there but they didnt really do anything," she said. Other people at the scene had shouted at the man to move, but he refused to leave the women alone, she added. "I wasn't scared of the tear gas but I was scared of this. It was non-violent but it was more violent," she said.

International rights groups called on Wednesday for the release of dozens of activists being held across China for showing support for Occupy Central's mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. At least 20 people have been detained by police in a number of mainland Chinese cities after they posted photographs of themselves with shaved heads as a message of support for the protests, which are calling for genuine universal suffrage in 2017 elections in the former British colony. At least 60 more have been called in by state security police for questioning, Amnesty International said in a statement on its website. "The Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those detained for peacefully showing support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong," the group said. The ruling Chinese Communist Party's censorship machine, known colloquially as the Great Firewall, has blocked and filtered keywords linked to the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and banned the photo-sharing service Instagram in a bid to keep its more than 600 million netizens in the dark about developments there. Among those detained or held under guard at their homes to prevent them from traveling to Hong Kong to join the demonstrations were Hunan activist Ou Biaofeng and Shenzhen-based Wang Long, detained on criminal charges of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," it said. In the southern city of Guangzhou, police seized dozens of activists and citizens who gathered in the Martyr Memorial Gardens to show support for the Hong Kong protests on Tuesday, the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group said in an e-mailed statement. The group, which monitors and collates reports from rights groups inside China, said an estimated 20 people were detained and taken to unknown locations. Luo Xiaoxiang, another activist from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province which borders Hong Kong, was also detained, while Xie Dan and Luo Yaling are being held in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, Amnesty said. Shanghai-based Chen Jianfang and Shen Yanqiu were also named, along with Song Ningsheng, Gong Xinsheng and Chen Maosen from the eastern province of Jiangsu. In Beijing, police have imposed tight domestic surveillance on Liu Huizhen, Li Dongmei, Guo Zhiying, Chen Lianhe, Wu Xiaoping, Han Shuzhen, Cui Baodi and Zhang Chonggang, Amnesty reported. Circumvention software While the complex system of filters, blocks and human censorship severely limit what Chinese netizens are able to see online, activists and intellectuals are increasingly making use of circumvention software and virtual private network (VPN) services to "scale the Wall" and read blocked content. The result has been a slow filtering of news back into China's civil rights and activist community, and a growing wave of support for Hong Kong's bid for full democracy. Online activist Wu Bin, known by his online nickname Xiucai Jianghu, said accounts on popular social media platforms in China are consequently being close left and right. "A lot of accounts are being shut down; it's really serious," Wu said. "I shaved my head in support of Hong Kong, took a photo and posted it online." He said the Twitter-like service Sina Weibo had immediately shut down his account. "A lot of my friends have had their accounts closed as well," Wu said. "It's much worse than it used to be." Messaging app In the eastern province of Shandong, civil rights campaigner Li Shufen said she had learned about the Hong Kong protests via the messaging app WeChat, which is hugely popular in mainland China. "Everyone is very supportive of the Occupy Central campaign for democracy in Hong Kong," Li said. She added: "They don't really report it. All the news here is the government's point of view." "We have to go online to read about it." Amnesty International China researcher William Nee said China is merely demonstrating what Hong Kong has to fear from Beijing. "The rounding up of activists in mainland China only underlines why so many people in Hong Kong fear the growing control Beijing has in their city's affairs," Nee said in a statement. "The fundamental freedoms being exercised by hundreds of thousands of people in Hong Kong continue to be denied to those in mainland China." CHRD said some of those detained in China had made plans to join the protests in person. "Police in China have harassed and warned activists in many cities, concerned that they may try to travel to Hong Kong or take to streets to protest," the group said. "The occupation of several areas in Hong Kong, including parts of its financial and political center, has inspired many Chinese on the mainland and encouraged them to speak up for democracy," it said.

Cyber-dissident Huang Qi's site has been repeatedly blocked by DDoS attacks since 16 September Reporters Without Borders condemns the cyber-attacks on China's leading human rights information website 64 Tianwang that have repeatedly rendered it inaccessible since 16 September. The creation of human rights activist and cyber-dissident Huang Qi, the site posts information supplied by citizen-journalists. A Distributed Denial of Service attack launched at around 10 a.m. on 16 September paralyzed activity on the site (www.64tianwang.com) until around 11 p.m. on 17 September. During the attack, the site redirected its visitors to its blog (64tianwang.blogspot.com/) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/twhuangqi). After resuming activity for 10 hours, the site was again rendered inaccessible on 18 September. Another attack occurred on 19 September, accompanied by the closure of 64 Tianwang's Tencent QQ and Weixin messaging and chat accounts. Huang said: "Reports recently posted on 64 Tianwang, including reports about[dissident writer] Tie Liu's arrest, land conflicts and the beatings of citizens trying to complain to local authorities, very probably triggered these latest attacks." "We condemns these targeted cyber-attacks, which testify to the sensitivity of the information revealed by 64 Tianwang," said Benjamin Isma��l, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia desk. "Their intensity and the fact that they coincided with Internet company Tencent's closure of 64 Tianwang's messaging accounts indicate that they were acts of censorship instigated by the government. We urge the authorities to apply the constitution, which guarantees freedom of information, by bringing these untimely attacks to an end. We also call on Tencent to stop cooperating with the censors." Created by Huang in 1998, 64 Tianwang is regarded as subversive by the authorities. The police watch both Huang and his reporters, who were recently again the target of government-orchestrated reprisals after they covered protests in Tiananmen Square and various human rights violations. The winner of the Reporters Without Borders Cyber-Freedom Prize in 2004, Huang has had two long spells in prison, the second of which began in 2008, after the Sichuan earthquake, when he was jailed on a charge of "illegal possession of state secrets." He was briefly detained in March in connection with the coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests.

Beijing-based veteran rights activist Hu Jia has received death threats by text message, while explosive substances were placed into his heavily vandalized vehicle during the trial of a fellow activist this week, Hu told RFA on Friday. Hu, who was taken in for questioning on Wednesday by Beijing police on suspicion of "beating another person," received a text message on Thursday threatening to kill him, before discovering his car had been vandalized with red paint and a small explosive shell placed on the dashboard on Friday morning, he said. Photos posted on Hu's Twitter account showed his Volkswagen sedan slathered in red paint, both inside and outside, on the driver's side, with a small black pot-like object placed behind the steering wheel. Hu is a close friend and vocal supporter of detained Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti, who stood trial on charges of "separatism" in the northwestern region of Xinjiang on Wednesday and Thursday. "There haven't been any clues yet[about who might have done this]," Hu told RFA on Friday. "All I can say is that it was done by the same people who carried out the[earlier attacks]." On July 16, Hu was set upon as he made his way back to his car on a Beijing street by people he identified at the time as "trained men," and likely "plainclothes cops." Hu tweeted at the time that he was grabbed by some "plainclothes guys in black," grabbed by the throat, punched in the eye and nose, then kicked in the stomach. Further threats and vandalism took place last month, including a death threat on Aug. 12 and damage to his parents' property on Aug. 26. "It is clear that these attacks are escalating," said Hu, a long-time campaigner on AIDS issues and for civil rights in general who has served time in jail for subversion, as well as being subjected to prolonged "criminal detention" and periods of house arrest at his Beijing home. He said he is convinced that the attacks are a covert form of intimidation by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. "The type of explosive they planted was a shell used by the Communist Party for ceremonial occasions," Hu said. "That's not something your average person can easily get hold of." "The authorities knew I would go public with this if they planted explosives," Hu said. "They know they can't scare me, but they might scare some other people." He said the vandalism and previous attacks seemed calculated to frighten off anyone thinking of opposing the Chinese government. "They police said maybe the explosives were put there by someone with a private grudge against[me]," he said. Asked if the authorities had taken steps to protect him against further attacks, Hu replied: "They won't send anyone to protect me, because I'm not a government official. It's a very difficult situation for me, because I don't know how things will develop." Health at risk Hu, who suffers from hepatitis B, said he has been warned that his activism may be damaging his health irreparably. "The doctor told me very clearly that strenuous work and strong emotions will damage my liver and gall bladder," Hu said. "But I don't seem to be able to get away from an environment that makes me angry." "During the past three days, I was put under house arrest because of Ilham Tohti's trial, and that will continue[on Friday and Saturday], although I don't know why," he added. "It's hard to see how I'm going to get well." Hu was handed a three-and-a-half year jail term in 2008 for "incitement to subversion" after he wrote online articles critical of China's hosting of the Olympics. A campaigner for human rights and AIDS victims in China, Hu was awarded the Sakharov Prize, a major human rights award, by the European Union in 2008. He had acted as a key source of information for foreign media on human rights and environmental violations, government abuses, judicial injustices, and the mistreatment of dissidents. More recently, Hu has been a vocal supporter of jailed Uyghur dissident Ilham Tohti, regularly speaking out against Chinese government policy in the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang. Source: Radio Free Asia (Radio Free Asia