The Intermediate People's Court of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China announced on Monday ( 15th ) that 78 -year-old American and Hong Kong citizen Liang Chengyun was convicted of espionage and sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of 500,000 yuan of personal property .
China's official notification stated that Liang Chengyun (English name JOHN SHING-WAN LEUNG ), male, was born on May 1 , 1945. In addition, he also listed in detail his Hong Kong permanent resident identity card number, the number of Hong Kong and Macao residents' travel permits to the Mainland, and the number of the United States. passport number.
The announcement pointed out that Liang Chengyun was suspected of engaging in espionage. According to the relevant provisions of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", the National Security Bureau of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province will take compulsory measures against him on April 15 , 2021 .
According to online information, Liang Chengyun is the chairman of the US-China Friendship Promotion Association. After the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Law" in 2020 , the association issued a statement in support of the legislation. Liang Chengyun once took photos with many high-level CCP and political celebrities, including former Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Hong Kong government representative calls "anti-extradition" a "riot" at a UN meeting and denies police brutality, criticized by international human rights organizations : Uyghur and Tibetan
Dolkun Dolkun, Chairman of the World Uyghur Congress. Aisha and other Uyghur and Tibetan representatives met with members of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
The "United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women" examines the human rights situation in China, and China sent a large delegation including Hong Kong, Macau and Beijing. The Hong Kong representative accused the NGO report of "distorting the narrative" and even called the "anti-extradition" movement in Hong Kong a "serious riot" while denying police violence. International human rights organizations have criticized it as setting a precedent for suppressing freedom of expression on an international platform. However, the Chinese representatives, when faced with the sharp questions of the committee members, avoided the most serious and dealt with minor issues, and resorted to Tai Chi.
Geneva held the 85th session of the "United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women" (CEDAW) last Friday (12th), at which the periodic reports submitted by China, Hong Kong and Macau on the "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women" were reviewed .
The Chinese government sent a delegation composed of personnel from various ministries and commissions, headed by Huang Xiaowei, deputy director of the Women and Children Working Committee of the State Council of China. Representatives from Hong Kong and Macau were also included in the delegation, among which the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Youth Affairs, Shirley Lam, spoke on behalf of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong representative: report to committee 'very politicized'
A few days earlier, Hong Kong's pro-Beijing media began to promote Lin Shirley's trip to the United Nations. Said that the Hong Kong government has noticed that some non-governmental organizations have submitted reports to the committee that are "very political." He also said that the report's views were based on "false information" and "distorted narratives", and that Shirley Lam would "refute" them at the UN meeting and tell the "true Hong Kong story".
Last month, the "Hong Kong Human Rights Information Center" submitted a private report to the "United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women". Highlights include allegations that the crackdown following the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law has disrupted civil society networks and dismantled synergies between women's rights groups and other civil society organizations.
The report also pointed out that there were serious cases of physical and verbal abuse by the Hong Kong police against women protesting. As early as 2021, the Hong Kong non-governmental organization "Voice of Silence" had referred the police to the protesters for carrying out or acquiescing to the counter-protesters, smearing, stigmatizing and other gender-based violence against women in the Hong Kong protest movement, and targeting the police The complaint mechanism for such violence is ineffective and lacks independence.
"Hong Kong Monitor" issued a statement on behalf of non-governmental organizations
"Hong Kong Watch" (Hong Kong Watch) Policy Advisor Will (Anouk Wear) issued a statement on behalf of "Hong Kong Watch", "Free Hong Kong", "Hong Kong People in Germany Association" and others.
The statement stated that since the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020, the rights and freedoms of all Hong Kong people, including women's rights, have been systematically eroded; the law is vague and arbitrary, and many women's rights are violated without being held accountable. In particular, in March this year, the annual International Women's Day parade was canceled on the grounds that it was allegedly or possibly in violation of the National Security Law, which clearly showed that the National Security Law was expanded to harm women's rights; they also stated in the statement , 2019 Hong Kong protesters face gender-based and sexual violence.
The statement urges the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to ask the Chinese authorities to repeal the National Security Law, respect the Basic Law, investigate and hold accountable for violations of women's rights and obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Hong Kong government representative: report based on "false information" and "distorted narrative"
These reports and statements were criticized by representatives of the Hong Kong government. As in the previous media briefing, Shirley Lam said in her speech on Friday that the reports submitted by some NGOs were based on "false information" and "distorted narratives".
She referred to the Hong Kong protests in 2019 as "serious riots"; she said that "the opposition and groups advocating Hong Kong's independence and self-determination openly challenged the authority of the central government and the Hong Kong SAR government, and asked external forces to intervene in Hong Kong's affairs, and even called for Hong Kong's independence and self-determination. impose sanctions".
She even described the police crackdown as a "professional and necessary action to protect the life and safety of citizens in response to the chaos", emphasizing the necessity of the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Law".
She also refuted allegations of "gender-based violence" by the Hong Kong police during the "anti-extradition" protests, saying the police "have a duty to act and bring those concerned to justice".
She also called the non-governmental organization's malicious statements about the "Hong Kong National Security Law" interfering with women's political rights, saying that the law "turned Hong Kong from chaos" and "returned normal life" to citizens and "recovered momentum" in the economy.
ISHR: Setting a precedent for restricting freedom of expression
The Geneva-based International Service for Human Rights believes that the Hong Kong representative's speech is an attack on the report of an NGO on an international official platform, setting a precedent for the United Nations to restrict freedom of speech.
Huang Xiaowei, head of the Chinese delegation, praised China's achievements in protecting women's rights, eliminating violence, discrimination, and employment in a lengthy and routine speech.
Several members of the committee asked whether the "Peng Shuai sexual assault case" had been investigated? Whether there is forced labor in Xinjiang and other places, the systematic birth control of Uyghur women by the Chinese authorities, forced intermarriage with Han people, torture and sexual violence in Xinjiang concentration camps, etc., the members of the Chinese delegation avoided the important or ignored the minor issues. It only said that China tolerates harassment; 85% of cotton in Xinjiang is machine-picked, and no forced labor is involved.
The World Uyghur Committee issued a statement on Friday, arguing that the review of the day proved that the Chinese government continued to deny genocide and widespread human rights violations, and hoped that the joint committee would evaluate reports provided by non-governmental organizations, researchers and other independent institutions, and conduct a review on China. accountability.
Allegations of Adani Group probe since 2016 'factually baseless':India
SEBI's affidavit states that the talk of Adani Group being investigated since 2016 is completely baseless, and none of the listed companies of Adani Group are included in the 51 companies that were involved in the previous investigation.
New Delhi:Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) on Monday told the Supreme Court that the allegation that SEBI has been probing the Adani Group since 2016 is 'factually baseless'. SEBI also cautioned against drawing 'premature and wrong conclusions' in this matter.
SEBI said in an affidavit filed in the apex court that it had investigated the issuance of Global Depository Receipts (GDR) of 51 companies and none of the listed companies of Adani Group were involved in these 51 companies.
SEBI has filed the affidavit in response to a petition which claimed that SEBI has been probing the Adani Group since 2016, so the regulator should not be given a six-month extension to investigate the matter.
SEBI's counter affidavit in the Supreme Court
The earlier probe by SEBI pertains to issuance of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) by 51 Indian listed companies, in respect of which the investigation was carried out
None of the listed Adani Group companies were part of the above 51 companies.
It is factually baseless that SEBI is probing Adani since 2016
In the context of scrutiny of minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms, SEBI has already approached 11 foreign regulators under multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
Various requests for information were made to these regulators
The first request to overseas regulators was made on October 6, 2020
With regard to the investigation relating to the 12 transactions referred to in the Hindenburg Report, it is prima facie noted that these transactions are highly complex and have a number of sub-transactions.
Stringent scrutiny of these transactions would require matching of data/information
Information from various sources including bank statements from several domestic as well as international banks, financial statements of On-Shore and Off-Shore entities involved in the transaction and contracts and agreements between the entities, if any, along with other supporting documents
Thereafter, documents obtained from various sources have to be analyzed before arriving at conclusive conclusions.
SEBI states that the application for extension of time of 6 months filed by SEBI is aimed at ensuring the ends of justice keeping in view the interest of the investors and the securities market, as without material of complete facts on record, there is no consideration of the matter. Wrong or premature conclusion would not serve the ends of justice, hence would be legally untenable.
Did not demand eight billion dollars financing from Pakistan : International Monetary Fund
The IMF representative in Pakistan told Reuters that there is no truth to the reports that the IMF is asking Pakistan for a fresh $8 billion in financial assistance.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that no new financing of eight billion dollars has been requested from Pakistan.
The representative of the IMF in Pakistan, Esther Perez Ruiz, told the British news agency Reuters on Sunday that there is no truth in the news that the IMF is asking Pakistan for a fresh financial assistance of eight billion dollars.
External funding requirements have not changed throughout the IMF review discussions, he added.
Pakistan is hoping for a $6.5 billion package from the IMF, of which it will receive $1.1 billion immediately.
However, staff-level agreement on this review has been delayed since November. Nearly 100 days have passed since the last staff-level mission to Pakistan, the longest delay since 2008.
The IMF reiterated on Thursday that external financing commitments from friendly countries will be necessary before the IMF approves the release of bailout funds.
The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China made pledges in March and April to meet Pakistan's fiscal deficit.
Pakistan will not default with or without the IMF and the country cannot afford any additional tough measures to accommodate the IMF, Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said at a seminar on Thursday.
IMF Resident Representative Perez Ruiz said Pakistani officials promised the IMF at the spring meetings last month that they would not introduce a cross-subsidy scheme until fiscal year 2023 or beyond. It said the scheme was 'generally regressive and abusive.
'The announced fuel cross-subsidy scheme has created new halving and balance payment risks, and is fraudulent.'
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