Another blow for pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. The online media Stand News announced its closure on Wednesday after a series of searches and arrests for “seditious publication”.
Among the seven people arrested by the police is the Montreal singer of Hong Kong origin Denise Ho. A call deemed “worrying” by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly.
The arrest of Denise Ho, aka HoCC, “is not surprising. It was only a matter of time, ”said Professor Benjamin Fung, spokesperson for the Action Free Hong Kong Montreal association and cybersecurity expert at McGill University.
According to the latter, this Cantonese pop superstar had long been in the crosshairs of the Chinese authorities.
In addition to being a well-known ambassador of the LGBT movement, she was one of the few figures in the entertainment industry to use her notoriety to advance the cause of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
In 2019, she testified before the American Congress and the United Nations on police brutality in Hong Kong. She had also been on the board of directors of Stand News, which led to her being formally jailed for “conspiracy”.
PHOTO PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hong Kong activist Denise Ho at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, September 18, 2019
“I think she expected to be arrested. For two or three years, several people had encouraged her to leave the country, ”adds Benjamin Fung.
Mr Fung claims authorities in Hong Kong canceled her concerts in 2021, forcing the singer to perform on social media. Since her first militant speeches in 2014, she was no longer allowed to perform in mainland China.
Denise Ho, who grew up in Brossard and studied at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, is the first big star to be detained in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed its national security law 18 months ago in response to protests 2019 pro-democracy.
News of his arrest spread like wildfire on the internet, where messages of support multiplied on Wednesday. In a reassuring message, the singer wrote on her Facebook page that she was fine and that there was no need to worry.
The Canadian government, for its part, reacted late to the news of his detention. In a tweet published late Wednesday afternoon, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said she was “deeply concerned about the arrest in Hong Kong of current and former members of the board and staff of Stand News, including Canadian and activist Denise Ho, ”adding that Ottawa was following the situation“ very closely ”.
The arrest of the Montrealer comes just a few months after the release of the “two Michael”, who had been detained in China for some 1000 days, causing serious diplomatic tensions with Canada.
Also a member of the Action Free Hong Kong Montreal, Grace Li did not expect a “very long” prison term for Denise Ho. Unlike the more violent elements of the pro-democracy movement, her activism “essentially boiled down to words, ”she said.
“But even if it was only a year, it would be enough to make others shut up. ”
“Evil elements”, according to the Hong Kong executive
The series of arrests and the shutdown of Stand News is the latest episode in the crackdown on the local press by authorities loyal to Beijing after the closure of theApple Daily Six months ago.
Ce coup de filet survient au moment où la communauté internationale s’inquiète de l’implacable reprise en main à Hong Kong depuis les manifestations pour la démocratie de 2019.
Le Comité pour la protection des journalistes (CPJ) a dénoncé « une attaque ouverte contre la liberté de la presse déjà en lambeaux à Hong Kong » et Amnistie internationale a accusé « les autorités d’instrumentaliser la législation hongkongaise ».
Le chef de la police de sécurité nationale de Hong Kong, Steve Li, a déclaré que Stand News était accusé d’avoir publié des articles et billets de blogue « séditieux » entre juillet 2020 et novembre 2021.
Mercredi à la mi-journée, la police a été vue sortant des cartons de Stand News. Selon M. Li, des ordinateurs, téléphones, documents et 500 000 dollars hongkongais (HKD) (82 000 $CAN) en espèces ont été saisis. En outre, 61 millions de HKD d’avoirs (10 millions CAN) appartenant à Stand News ont été gelés, a-t-il ajouté.
Plus de 200 agents ont perquisitionné mercredi au siège du média et aux domiciles de plusieurs de ses employés. Un journaliste de l’AFP a vu le rédacteur en chef de la publication, Patrick Lam, conduit menotté à l’intérieur des bureaux de Stand News.
John Lee, adjoint de la cheffe de l’exécutif hongkongais Carrie Lam, a affirmé que les personnes arrêtées étaient des « éléments malfaisants […] abusing their functions […] media workers ”.
During the 2019 protests, several journalists from Stand News had had trouble with the police. In a famous episode, one of his reporters had filmed live the ultraviolet attack carried out by a group of masked individuals against demonstrators for democracy in a metro station, continuing to film as the attackers attacked she.
With Agence France-Presse
Who is Denise Ho?
Denise Ho emigrated from Hong Kong to Montreal with her family in 1988, at the age of 11. Law 101 requires, she attended Jean-de-la-Mennais high school in La Prairie, then Jean-de-Brébeuf college, before starting a baccalaureate in graphic design at UQAM. At 19, the young woman entered an amateur singing competition in Hong Kong. Against all odds, she won the grand prize, which earned her a recording offer from a record company. After a brief return to Quebec, the singer returns definitively to Hong Kong to pursue a career in Cantonese pop under the name of HoCC. But she never forgot her visit to Montreal. In 2007, she declared to Press : “It is in Quebec that I built my personality. If I had lived all my life in Hong Kong, I would surely be less down to earth… ”