Yes, this is very concerning indeed, and please do keep us up to date, especially if any of these measures are used against someone for editing Wikimedia projects or being a part of one of our communities or groups. I know that some countries are considering economic sanctions for these types of measures being taken in Hong Kong, so it is a matter that many are aware of.
Todd On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 11:53 AM William Chan <will...@wchan.hk> wrote: > Diane and all, > > It seems the the bill is far more dangerous than what we the local > community have expected: > > 1. The bill exerts prosecution power on anything Hong Kong, from Hong Kong > soli to water to Hong Kong-registered ships to Hong Kong-registered > aircrafts, and applies on both Hong Kong citizens and non-Hong Kong > citizens. > > 2. You can commit this crime anywhere on Earth. Even if such "crime" is > carried outside of Hong Kong by non-Hong Kong citizens, this law makes Hong > Kong have the judicial power to expirate such "criminal" > > 3. This means that non-Hong Kong contributors writing positively about the > Hong Kong protests and topics about Hong Kong independence in a > pro-protester tone can technically violate the bill. > > 4. If such a person steps onto a Hong Kong registered Aircraft (such as > Cathay Pacific Airline Planes) or Hong Kong-registered ships, they can > logically be arrested and brought to Hong Kong for trial for acts > documented on sec. 3. Even when both the origin and destination is not in > Hong Kong. > > There seems to be much more problems than expected considering how China > manipulates its laws to its own good by violating international treaties > and protections on human rights (when it is against their agenda). > > Grave Concern, > William > > On Tue, 30 Jun 2020 at 23:08, William Chan <will...@wchan.hk> wrote: > > > Dear our beloved global community members, > > > > The National Security Bill for Hong Kong is passed today (30 Jun, HKT > > 2300). Most members within Hong Kong’s recovering community are shocked, > > considering how much it affects local politics, and at the same time, > > uncertainty brought from this decision to the local community (including > > much of the Hong Kong people). Even until this moment, not to mention its > > accessibility for the general public, the full text is only to be found > at > > the time of implementation (30 Jun, HKT 2300). However, this unknown text > > will precede all common law principles within 30 minutes’ time for those > > who are currently in Hong Kong. > > > > There are a few points that we would like to bring up -- our worries this > > piece of completely unconsulted legislation (apart from few well-known > > local pro-Beijing figures), from the drafting phase to the implementation > > phase, could change the Chinese-dominant Hong Kong community work: > > > > > > 1. This piece of legislation has never entered a public consultation > > phase. The legislation is passed in a way to effectively circumvent local > > legislative council opposition. It imposes unnecessary restrictions on > free > > speech, and is against all norms within local (Hong Kong) politics, where > > most bills, including the most controversial Article 23 implementation > bill > > that was brought to a halt in 2003, had open public consultation. This > > piece of legislation didn’t do so, and citizens have not even read what > is > > written before it became a law. > > > > 2. This piece of legislation seems to interfere with freedom of speech > > even out of local boundaries. This includes, most possibly the > > criminalization of speeches and acts that promote Hong Kong independence. > > This can include, according to what the so-called “people’s congress > > representative” which most within the city cannot vote for, said acts > > committed online could also be counted. This may mean writing for, for > > example, reasons that lead to the rise of the Hong Kong independence > > movement, may become a criminal act if written in Hong Kong. This is > > unprecedented, and, as we all know, IP addresses can be documented and > > tracked to prosecute personnels. If writing for Wikipedia becomes a > > criminal act, what can go right? > > > > 3. It narrows the editor base. For example, the ban of Wikipedia in China > > had completely changed the community environment for Mainland editors of > > the Chinese Wikipedia. Off-site insults became common where local > policies > > could not act on as the editor base became much narrower. Without the > input across > > the political spectrum, Wikipedia will become harder to remain neutral > > for its content. > > > > 4. Uncertainty brings whether accessing Wikipedia articles related to > > Hong Kong independence can become a crime. It’s interpretation of the > > bill is unknown, and it seems possible as the implementation of the bill > > violates how local laws are passed. > > > > > > The local offline and most members of the online community has accessed > > the effects in the short run and the long run: > > > > > > In the short run, we expect the community base to retain mostly intact, > > while meetups (currently run in an online mode due to the coronavirus > > pandemic) would attract fewer members, particularly when local > > pro-democracy (not pro-independence) figures are warned to be sent into > > jail with this piece of legislation. > > > > In the long run, if nothing changes, we expect the recovering user group > > will most likely descend into non-compliance like the former chapter, and > > similar to the current state of the offline-inactive Chinese User Group, > > Wikimedia User Group China, which ceased its offline operations after the > > Chinese government blocked Wikipedia. In the worst case scenario, the > local > > community may be replaced with a pseudo-community that works more like a > > propaganda service than a User Group advocating for free speech and open > > access. > > > > We, as Hong Kong editors have tried expressing our concern but it is in > > vain because of fierce opposition from some Chinese Wikipedia editors who > > are mostly pro-Beijing. Uncertainty from the legislation, where original > > plans to react to the bill when it became open to the public, became in > > vain because of “local editors’ desire to respond when the bill is > > publicized” and the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress of > > China act to hide the bill from public access. This rendered the local > > community’s inability to react before the bill was implemented. This > > included plans to “shut down” some articles related to the ongoing > 2019-20 > > Hong Kong protests. Of course, this turns out to be in vain both because > of > > its controversy of bringing Wikipedia into media attention, and whether > > such an act violates neutrality principles, plus fierce opposition from > > editors from China (excl. Hong Kong and Macao). > > > > We hope the glocal community can pay attention to the effects of this > bill > > in Hong Kong, as it would most probably limit free speech and may affect > > most citizens (including Wikimedia (incl. Wikipedia) editors in Hong > Kong), > > instead of what it proclaimed to be the few, unlawful separatists. > > > > In grave concern of our future, > > > > The Hong Kong offline Wikipedia Community > > > > Wikimedia Community User Group Hong Kong > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
