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Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong has been hospitalised after he was punched and kicked by three unarmed people at around 10am on Tuesday morning. The incident happened near the Wetland Park in Tin Shui Wai.
His party colleague, Lam Cheuk-ting, said he believed the attack was organised and pre-meditated. Lam said he understood that a fourth attacker recorded the assault with a camera.
“They are trying to send a message to scare lawmakers who are involved in the protests,” Lam said. “We will not back down in our demands to the government and the police.”
Kwong has been sent to the Tin Shui Wai hospital. His cervical vertebrae was injured, but he was conscious.
Kwong has had an active role in the ongoing protests, often appearing on the front lines with a megaphone.
Protests over a now-scrapped extradition bill, that would have allowed extraditions to China, have evolved over the summer into mass demonstrations against alleged police violence and calls for democracy.
‘We will not be scared’
After visiting Kwong, Democratic Party Chairman Wu Chi-wai said the attack was organised and unacceptable. Wu said Kwong was walking to his car, parked near the Tin Yip Road Community Health Centre and the Wetland Park, close to his home. He was then pulled out of the vehicle by masked assailants.
District councillor Zachary Wong, who is close friends with Kwong, said the area was quiet and Kwong may have been followed. He said that they both received threatening letters around a month ago.
Wong added that red paint was poured outside his office in an apparent threat: “Some forces have constantly strengthened the threats against us,” he said. “I want to stress that we will not be scared.”
‘International scandal’
Kwong spoke to reporters briefly outside Tin Shui Wai hospital at 3pm and thanked the public for supporting him.
He said the attack lasted less than one minute, after which a passerby helped to clean his wounds and call for help.
“As a lawmaker for Hong Kong people, it is our duty to protect Hong Kong people. If we are attacked for protecting civilians, students and residents, then it is an international scandal,” he said.
The case has been reported to the police and Kwong has made a statement.
Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker Roy Kwong attacked in Tin Shui Wai
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Hong Kong Asked 8 Global PR Firms To Help Rebrand Its Image After Months Of Protests. Everyone Said No.
Documents obtained by BuzzFeed News show that the Hong Kong government reached out to PR firms to help with its image after months of protests.
HONG KONG — If you’re between the ages of 25 and 45, living in a city like San Francisco, New York, or Washington, DC, and an investor, a politician, or perhaps a high-income leisure traveler, the Hong Kong government would like you to know that its “one country, two systems” rule is working just fine.
As protests in the city reached their 100th day this week following another weekend of violence, a 75-page document obtained by BuzzFeed News and first published by the Holmes Report, a PR industry publication, reveals how the Hong Kong government sought help from international public relations agencies to rebuild its image with western audiences. Although the document does not specify how many firms were contacted, leaked remarks from Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam revealed the government reached out to eight global PR companies.
However, the government received no bids on its request.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Lam said she would still consider seeking help in the future. “The time will come for us to launch a major campaign to restore some of the damage done to Hong Kong’s reputation,” Lam said.
The request for a communication strategy described how the protests have “raised concerns about Hong Kong’s positioning as a global business and financial hub with a stable environment underpinned by the rule of law.”
The government said its objectives were to address both negative perceptions following months of protests as well as to underscore Hong Kong’s strengths and “bring out the success of ‘one country, two systems.’” It hoped to target key audiences in Asia-Pacific countries like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore; the UK, France, and Germany in Europe; and major US cities like New York and San Francisco.
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In leaked remarks published by Reuters last week, Lam told a crowd that the government had reached out to eight global public relations firms to help improve its image — four immediately declined, two later turned away a request for meetings, and only two were left.
“I dare not say the government carries out propaganda, but at least in terms of dissemination of factual information we are very, very weak,” Lam said in the remarks made to the group of businessmen in late August.
Hong Kong’s Information Services Department, which distributed the document, did not respond to requests to provide the names of specific public relations firms the government had contacted.
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According to a timeline, the request for services was sent to possible contract providers on Aug. 12 and a briefing was planned for a week later. The government hoped a public relations strategy would be in place by the end of the year, the document said.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosalindadams/hong-kong-protests-pr-firms
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China Used Twitter To Disrupt Hong Kong Protests, But Efforts Began Years Earlier
Twitter and Facebook last month suspended hundreds of thousands of accounts and operations that they said were part of a Chinese state-linked disinformation campaign designed to discredit pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
A few days later, Google followed suit, banning 210 YouTube channels that it said it had identified as part of a similar disinformation effort.
Twitter published a list of the most active 936 accounts it banned and more than 3.6 million of their tweets, but it has not detailed how it ascertained that the accounts were connected to the Chinese state.
Examples Of Tweets About Hong Kong Protests From Banned Accounts
The emphasis added shows phrases that may have raised concern with Twitter.
HK時政直擊
@HKPOLITICALNEW
Support the police squad, you and me.
Demonstrators launched occupation after occupation and even surrounded the Wan Chai Police Headquarters for nearly 16 hours, seriously affecting police work and public order! The police are guardians of the society, support the police team, you and me!
#HongKong #Support police action https://t.co/F3ssbIcHWq (Translated from Chinese)
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301
322DREAM NEWS
@CTCC507
340 713 640不甘平凡的我
@BUGANPINFAN7788
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When I travel around the world, people like to guess when I am from. “Hong Kong?” “The mainland,” I like to correct them, and add: “We are all Chinese.”Ethnically, we are all Chinese. But mainlanders’ reaction to the Hong Kong protests tells me that there’s a deep divide between the two – a geopolitical one.There’s no poll on the carefully censored topic on the mainland. From measuring the pulse on the internet and talking to friends, I sense that there’s indifference, confusion, anger,…
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Sun Tzu VS Sun Tzu 2.0 . Their tenacity makes our Bersih seem puny.