Dark Days in Hong Kong

by Gordon G. Chang • May 1, 2019 at 5:00 am

The continued defiance of Hong Kong's people in the face of Chinese repression is inspiring resistance in Taiwan.
"In the early 1980s the 'one country, two systems' concept was created for Taiwan, not for Hong Kong," said Ma Ying-jeou to Al Jazeera when he was Taiwan's president in September 2014. "But Taiwan has sent a clear message that we do not accept the concept."
Xi Jinping, the current Chinese ruler, once held the Hong Kong portfolio in the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee. He certainly knows that one of the signs of Chinese regime failure is trouble on the periphery, and he is determined that the open defiance in Hong Kong does not spread to other areas far from the center of Chinese power. Xi has no effective response to Hong Kong, however.

A court in Hong Kong on Sunday sentenced eight of nine democracy activists for their role in the massive "Occupy Central" protests in 2014. The prosecution was seen, both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, as a sign of Beijing tightening its control over the city. Pictured: Democracy protesters hold umbrellas to support the arrested activists of the "Occupy Central" movement, on December 3, 2014 in Hong Kong. (Photo by Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Hong Kong on Sunday to protest planned changes to the city's extradition law. Many believe new rules facilitating the sending of suspects to China would effectively allow Beijing to grab people at will and thereby completely control the city. "You will be screwed," said a marcher, a law clerk, to Reuters.

The turnout was high — organizers said 130,000 people took part — in part because the demonstration followed the sentencing of democracy activists for their role in the massive "Occupy Central" protests in 2014. On Wednesday, a lower court handed out prison terms of between eight to 16 months to four of the "Umbrella Nine." Three others received suspended sentences. One person was given 200 hours of community service.

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Turkey: On Anniversary of Genocide, Armenians Still under Attack

by Uzay Bulut • May 1, 2019 at 4:00 am

It is estimated that between one and one and a half million Armenians perished.
The government-funded Turkish Institute of History just announced that it is preparing to publish 25 volumes "refuting Turkey's involvement" in the Armenian Genocide.
"[I]t's obvious that the recognition and condemnation of genocides are the most effective tools for the prevention of new genocides." — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, February 13, 2019, ArmenPress.com

Since the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, Turkish authorities have aggressively denied that the genocide even took place, or that Turks carried it out, and penalized those who dare to assert otherwise. Pictured: Armenian civilians, escorted by Ottoman soldiers, marched through Harput to a prison in nearby Mezireh (present-day Elazig), April 1915. (Image source: American Red Cross/Wikimedia Commons)

April 24 marked the 104^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey. It was on this date in 1915 that Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were arrested in Constantinople and later murdered. It is estimated that between one and one and a half million Armenians perished.

Since then, Turkish authorities have aggressively denied that the genocide even took place, or that Turks carried it out, and penalized those who dare to assert otherwise.

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