Solar Energy News  
TAIWAN NEWS
Backlash over Hong Kong's immigration 'blacklist'
By Elaine YU, with Amber WANG in Taipei
Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 21, 2017


Hong Kong woman ordered to pay abused maid $100,000
Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 21, 2017 - A Hong Kong woman jailed for six years for starving and beating her Indonesian domestic helper was ordered by a court on Thursday to pay more than $100,000 in damages for the "inhumane" abuse.

Law Wan-tung was convicted of grievous bodily harm, assault, criminal intimidation and failure to pay wages in 2015 and is still serving a jail term after losing an appeal.

The plight of her former helper, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, and pictures of the injuries she suffered made her the face of a movement determined to force change for Hong Kong's army of helpers.

More than 340,000 domestic helpers, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, work in Hong Kong, often performing menial tasks for low wages while being forced to live in poor conditions.

Calling the abuse inflicted on Sulistyaningsih "inhumane, degrading and abhorrent", Judge Winnie Tsui ordered Law to pay around $103,400 (HK$809,000) as she delivered her judgment, reports said.

The court awarded Sulistyaningsih the full amount of damages she claimed for injuries, medical expenses and other losses, local media reported.

Sulistyaningsih previously described how for months she lived on nothing but bread and rice, slept only four hours a day and was beaten so badly that she was knocked unconscious.

The then-23-year-old was admitted to hospital in Indonesia in 2014, emaciated and in critical condition, sparking international outrage as pictures of her spread on social media.

Following a series of high-profile abuse cases, concerns over the welfare of Hong Kong's migrant domestic workers have grown.

Rights groups say unscrupulous employment agencies plunge helpers into debt and withhold their passports while the legal requirement for helpers to live with their employers makes it difficult for them to escape abuse.

Rights advocates have long sought reforms, including ending a rule where domestic workers must leave the city 14 days after they quit a job unless they can find other employment within that time.

Campaigners say the rule discourages workers from leaving abusive employers.

The government has shown no sign it plans to update the regulations.

A string of figures critical of China's Communist Party say they have been denied visas to Hong Kong, sparking accusations of a secret "blacklist" that bears signs of Beijing's growing influence over the city.

Taiwanese scholars Wu Rwei-ren and Wu Jieh-min of Taipei's prestigious Academia Sinica, due to speak at a conference in Hong Kong Friday, were the latest to say their visa applications had been rejected without explanation.

Their cases followed a high-profile incident in October when British activist Benedict Rogers, deputy chairman of the governing Conservative Party's human rights commission, was turned away by immigration after landing for what he said was a private trip.

Rogers has previously criticised the jailing of democracy campaigners in Hong Kong, calling it "one of the most grotesque miscarriages of justice I have seen."

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland since being handed back to China by Britain in 1997, under a "one country, two systems" deal.

But there are rising concerns that those liberties are under threat.

The city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, stipulates immigration affairs are managed internally, but analysts say decisions over who is allowed in are increasingly arbitrary and non-transparent, sparking concern that immigration is becoming a political battleground.

"Things that were not considered a threat are now seen as threats," said Edmund Cheng, assistant professor of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University.

In a controversial response to media questions over the Rogers case, city leader Carrie Lam refused to provide details about why he was refused entry but suggested that matters of immigration can involve diplomatic considerations, for which Beijing is responsible.

"This redefines some of the boundaries in 'one country, two systems'," said Cheng of Lam's comments.

China banned a cross-party delegation of British MPs from entering Hong Kong in 2014, at the height of the mass pro-democracy Umbrella Movement rallies.

That visit was part of a foreign affairs committee examination of the former colony's relations with the United Kingdom.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said she believed Hong Kong was "giving up" its own authority on immigration issues.

"The whole thing was unthinkable 10 years ago, but now it's happening," Mo told AFP.

- Academics targeted -

Rejected Taiwanese scholar Wu Rwei-ren accused the Hong Kong government of having a "blacklist" which was expanding to academics.

Lawmakers from Taiwan's ruling Beijing-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the island's leading anti-China activists have also previously been rejected from entering Hong Kong.

"Taiwan's academics have actively participated in social movements," Wu told AFP.

He believes Beijing wants to block communication between Taiwanese groups and opposition forces in Hong Kong "to isolate its civil society and render it helpless".

Wu is co-author of a book on Hong Kong nationalism and took part in Taiwan's Sunflower Movement in 2014, which saw a dramatic occupation of parliament to protest a China trade pact.

He said he could not get an entry permit when he applied online to attend a seminar in Hong Kong this month, although he had previously been permitted to visit the city.

The other Taiwanese scholar rejected this month, Wu Jieh-min, is also critical of Beijing and Hong Kong authorities, and participated in various social movements.

Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy with a fully-fledged civil society, but Beijing sees it as part of its territory to be reunified.

Ties have become increasingly frosty since DPP leader Tsai Ing-wen took office as president last year.

Taiwanese academics, campaigners and lawmakers have consistently declared public support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, and the city's high-profile young campaigners frequently visit the island.

Meanwhile Chinese authorities have issued warnings about challenges to its sovereignty, particularly incensed by an emerging independence movement in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's immigration department said it could not comment on individual cases when asked about the Taiwanese scholars recently rejected, saying only that it would "consider all the factors" when assessing an application.

The department did not respond specifically to queries about allegations of a blacklist.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which deals with cross-strait relations, expressed "regret and dissatisfaction" over the barring of its citizens.

Taiwanese social activist and DPP supporter T.C Chang, who also says he was denied entry at Hong Kong's airport this month on his way to a cultural forum, recalls how he felt "honoured" to edit a magazine in the city in the past and had frequently gone back and forth since.

"It's saddening if I can't go to Hong Kong anymore," he said in a Facebook post, but added he would not be stopped.

"My connection with Hong Kong won't be cut off by you."

TAIWAN NEWS
Chinese jets carry out multiple drills around Taiwan
Taipei (AFP) Dec 20, 2017
Chinese jets conducted drills near Taiwan's airspace on Wednesday for the sixth time this month, as relations between the two rivals worsen. China sees self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified at some point - by military force, if necessary. The two sides split after a civil war in 1949. Although Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy, it has never formally declared inde ... read more

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

TAIWAN NEWS
Microbes help turn Greek yogurt waste into fuel

Algae could feed and fuel planet with aid of new high-tech tool

NREL develops novel method to produce renewable acrylonitrile

Bristol scientists turn beer into fuel

TAIWAN NEWS
Lockheed Martin and NEC to Enhance Satellites, Space Travel with Artificial Intelligence

Engineers program tiny robots to move, think like insects

Not Your Grandpa's Robot: Russian Robot 'FEDOR' May Become Self-Learning

Aerospace's SeedTECH AI advances to second round of $5M IBM Watson XPRIZE

TAIWAN NEWS
Oil-rich Alberta sees momentum for wind energy

Construction to start on $160 million Kennedy Energy Park in North Queensland

U.S. wind turbines getting taller and more efficient

New wind farm in service off the British coast

TAIWAN NEWS
Chinese auto giant to end petrol vehicle sales by 2025

UPS orders 125 all-electric trucks from Tesla

German rail operator, army seek damages over truck cartel

Denmark sets milestone for EV charges

TAIWAN NEWS
New test procedure for developing quick-charging lithium-ion batteries

Lasers could soon trigger fusion energy, researchers predict

New power devices could drastically reduce energy waste

Scientists create stretchable battery made entirely out of fabric

TAIWAN NEWS
Defects found at China nuclear reactor project

Australian waste treatment technology plays major role in management of radioactive waste

Bruce Power Contracts Major Industry Suppliers for Steam Generator Replacement Project

Mainz physicists propose a new method for monitoring nuclear waste

TAIWAN NEWS
Top polluter China unveils nationwide carbon market

China shivers as shift from coal to gas sputters

US void hard to miss at Paris climate summit

To save climate, stop investing in fossil fuels: economists

TAIWAN NEWS
North Atlantic Oscillation dictates timing of tree reproduction in Europe

African deforestation not as great as feared

Cascading use is also beneficial for wood

New maps show shrinking wilderness being ignored at our peril









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.