cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43978801

Web archive link

The British government said Friday it is investigating a “cyber incident” following news reports that hackers linked to China have gained access to thousands of confidential documents held by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Trade Minister Chris Bryant said the investigation began in October and the government believes there is a “fairly low risk” that anyone’s personal information has been compromised.

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The allegations come at a sensitive time in Britain’s relationship with China as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government tries to rebuild trade and diplomatic links that have been strained by concerns about Chinese spying and human rights abuses.

Starmer reportedly plans to travel to China in late January, the first time a British prime minister will visit the country since 2018. Meanwhile, the government has delayed a decision on China’s plans to build a massive new embassy in London amid criticism that it could be used as a base for espionage.

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/56385056

Developers of apps that use end-to-end encryption to protect private communications could be considered hostile actors in the UK.

Nineteen-year-old Dylan Law is running to be the Green party’s deputy mayor for Hackney, a responsibility he balances with his studying for his degree and family life. If he wins, he’ll be the youngest deputy mayor in the country.

Web archive link

The government must stop “dragging its heels” over whether to add China to the enhanced tier of its threat regime, the parliamentary intelligence watchdog has warned.

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) – made up of senior MPs and peers – flagged several areas of the National Security Act where there are “unresolved issues” in its annual report.

The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) came into force in July and requires anyone carrying out “political influence activities” on behalf of a foreign power to register with the government or face prosecution.

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Russia and Iran are on the enhanced tier, which requires anyone working for those states to declare any activity, not just political work.

Adding China to it would mean people carrying out work in the UK under Beijing’s instruction would need to register with the government.

“Given the extent of the threat posed by China (as identified in the committee’s 2023 China Report), and particularly that of its interference operations, we are concerned to see the government dragging its heels on this decision,” the ISC wrote.

The report acknowledged that “dexterity” is required to “balance the tension between security and prosperity”.

But it said it had previously found the government “reluctant to prioritise security considerations” when it comes to China.

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Security minister Dan Jarvis said the decision [to add China to the enhanced tier of its threat regime] was under “very close review” when he was asked recently why China had not been placed in the top tier.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47560941

Archived

[...]

The Lai verdict represents not merely a continuation of this judicial function [of courts serving an autocratic regime] but a new low. The Court of First Instance departed from political impartiality by adopting politicized language against Lai – and by extension, Hong Kong’s entire pro-democracy movement.

The verdict claims Lai’s trial is not a “trial for his political views and he is free to hold whatever views he likes on politics.” Yet its substance overwhelmingly associates his guilt with political speeches and actions. The opening paragraphs stigmatize Lai’s character with loaded language: his “rabid hatred of the CCP” (Chinese Communist Party), his “deep resentment,” his “obsession to change CCP’s values to those of the Western worlds and counterbalance China’s influence.”

The court describes him as “poisoning the minds of his readers” through “venomous assertions” in the Apple Daily. The verdict traces Lai’s origins in Hong Kong – a story of displacement from mainland China shared by many Hong Kongers – to paint a picture of a man motivated by hatred rather than principle.

[...]

Jimmy Lai’s conviction is not merely a personal tragedy for a man who may die in prison. It declares that in today’s Hong Kong, voices of political dissent will be criminalized, international engagement seeking accountability for the domestic government will be punished, and courts will be deployed to endorse manipulated information and legitimize repression.

Beijing and its proxies have long portrayed Lai as a criminal; now they have a judicial stamp to cite. The global community must recognize this verdict for what it is: not a milestone of justice or common law jurisprudence, but cognitive warfare by judicial means.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47501938

Archived

[...]

Nothing about this trial has been free or fair. Indeed the National Security Law itself, which Lai has been charged under, is an affront to free speech, masquerading as justice when instead its sole purpose is to criminalise and crush opposition voices.

[...]

Since the ascension of Xi Jinping to power from 2012, the CCP ‘s crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong only intensified. Then on 30 June 2020, the National Security Law was passed. Speaking before its passage, Lai called the law “a death knell for Hong Kong”. Lai was arrested on 10 August of that year, as were others from Next Digital.

Following his arrest, Apple Daily [which was founded by Jimmy Lai] was also targeted. The newspaper was forced to shut down a year later when its assets were frozen.

[...]

Throughout his ordeal, Jimmy Lai – whose health has visibly deteriorated – has never backed down from his pro-democracy position. Preferring to be a martyr for the cause rather than sacrifice his principles, Lai is being punished for exercising his right to free speech. It is vital that his case does not go unnoticed. The guilty verdict returned in relation to these charges is an appalling breach of Lai’s personal rights and freedoms, and we will continue to condemn the decision while Lai continues to be incarcerated. Advocating for human rights is not a crime. Keeping Jimmy Lai locked up is.

• Former Permanent Secretary Philip Rycroft will assess finance and bribery rules and how to reduce risk of foreign interference
• Builds on new rules set out in Elections Strategy to guard against foreign political interference

Gill was jailed in November, after admitting to taking bribes for pro-Russian interviews and speeches when he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Announcing the review, Communities Secretary Steve Reed said the government must "learn the lessons" from the case so "this can never happen again".

The review will be led by former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft and will report back in March.

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Web archive version

Following today’s unjust guilty verdict handed down to writer and media publisher Jimmy Lai, PEN International and English PEN have joined Hong Kong Watch and over 30 other civil society organisations in a joint letter addressed to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, urging him to to press for the release Jimmy Lai, a UK citizen, PEN writes in a statement on its website.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6124970

Archived version

Hong Kong’s High Court ... pronounced publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai guilty on trumped-up national security and sedition charges for his work at the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper.

The verdict delivers yet another blow to Hong Kong’s press freedom and underscores the extent to which the Hong Kong authorities have eroded the city’s rule of law.

Lai was convicted by three handpicked judges, having been denied his constitutionally protected right to a jury trial, for “colluding with foreign forces” and for “conspiracy to publish seditious material.”

“Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. His release should be a condition of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s planned trip to Beijing in January,” the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation writes in a statement.

Prior the the verdict, Starmer has called the release of Lai, a British citizen, a priority. ...

Several rights groups have called the conviction "a cruel judicial farce" ...

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According to reports, Lai will learn his sentencing on a later date. A mitigation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.

Lai has yet to decide on whether to appeal the verdict, according to his lawyer Robert Pang.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/13486

Comedian and writer Robin Ince has announced his resignation from the award-winning and long-running BBC Radio 4 science show The Infinite Monkey Cage over the BBC’s restrictions on free speech imposed to protect far-right figures and opinions. Ince had made the popular show with co-presenter Brian Cox since 2009.

In a message “From the desk of Robin Ince”, he explained his sadness at the decision and his reasoning for it:

This is the saddest day of my professional life.

Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage.

I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until I dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys.

However, I resigned back in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show; a show I named and helped develop over all those years.

Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for some time, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump and numerous other outlandish opinions including once gently criticising Stephen Fry.

These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter.

In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices.

Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices.

I chose the latter.
It broke my heart.

I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make.

I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn’t pamper myself with the luxury of silence.

One of my many privileges is that I can resign and I can speak out.

Robin Ince — ‘Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire.’

He goes on:

I have thought a lot about some of my heroes; Sinead O’Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more.

I think of Sinead’s words, “The job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost”.

James Baldwin has said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice.

And Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences.

I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness, in kindness and in justice.

Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire.

I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal.

I am so sorry to let you down.

I hope that you can understand my reasoning.

Well done to Ince for making a stand. At the time of writing, his former co-star Cox does not appear to have commented publicly.

Featured image via Twitter

By Skwawkbox

From Canary via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://suppo.fi/post/9484611

What happened

Going against policy, the UK's EHRC chose to not record (or perhaps even destroy) the meeting minutes for a 2023 consultation with trans groups after one of its worst acts towards their rights.

This meeting was the day after the EHRC sent its now infamous letter to Kemi Badenoch, suggesting the Government to rewrite the Equality Act by redefining the words sex, man, and woman to mean “biological sex"

Context for Americans etc.

For context, the EHRC is the UK's primary human rights organisation. However, since Kishwer Falkner's takeover in 2020, the organisation has taken a clear trans-exclusive direction that has only gotten worse over time.

They offer guidance to businesses and the government on how to interpret human rights laws. That guidance authority has been used to twist the meaning of legislation intended to protect minority groups, against all legal precedent, to instead use as a basis for removing the rights of trans people specifically.

The EHRC has since rarely met with trans organisations when deciding how to advise on their rights. Instead, they frequently meet with trans hate groups like Sex Matters. This is to the point that their views closely mirror these hate groups.

Back to the article

Looking at the meeting notes, it's clear why they chose to hide them, as it's clear that they were entirely unable to justify their change in definition of sex and gender, and they knew that it went against the stances of most other human rights organisations.

Have a read for yourself. The long pauses are wild.