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tv   Our World  BBC News  July 16, 2023 2:30am-3:00am BST

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protection of national security is everyone�*s responsibility. the government said it would restore stability but it spread fear around the city. the pro—democracy camp said the law is being used as a weapon to silence anyone who dares to speak out. to date, the political opposition have either been arrested or are in exile. hundreds of thousands have left. those that've stayed no longer know where the red line lies. the bbc has been following the lives of ordinary hong kongers at home and abroad affected by the changes.
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ronson chan is one of the most well—known journalists in hong kong. he's a fierce defender ofjournalists�* rights. yells.
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the bbc has been following his life since the early days of the national security law. in december 2021, stand news, one of hong kong's last independent media outlets, was raided by the national security police. senior editors were arrested and detained. the charge — publishing seditious material. ronson worked there as an editor. on that morning, national security police came to ronson�*s door. those found guilty of violating the national security law could face life in prison. ronson was taken away for questioning, then released, but his colleagues remain in custody.
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as chairman of the journalists association, he has long been seen as a possible target. i won't comment on anything right now, 0k? i have a meeting with my colleagues first, 0k? it's been nine months since we last heard from ronson.
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ronson was recently arrested after a confrontation with the police while reporting. the hong kong authorities said the national security law would only affect a small number of people but critics say it's transformed this city into a police state. ronson suspects that he's still under surveillance.
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sighs. ronson has unexpectedly been summoned to moan kok police station. as he arrives, so does his cameraman. plainclothes police look on.
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after an hour, ronson emerged. he's charged with obstructing the police. it's technically a minor charge but he could face prison time. since the national security law was introduced, pro—democracy media outlets have been raided and closed. it's had a chilling effect on the press. ronson�*s arrest has put his plans to leave hong kong at risk. he's been granted a prestigious fellowship at oxford university
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for six months. i've told the police officer that i plan to leave in 29 of september and i have to stay in england for half a year. they said that they will record it and tell the court, tell the magistrate what's going on, so i don't have any idea on that. more than a week has passed and ronson has been granted bail. he's allowed to leave hong kong. today is his last day in the city. he's going to see his journalist colleague patrick lam in lai chi kok detention centre before he leaves. he's been detained for nearly two years. his trial is yet to begin. he was under arrest and cannot get bail. i visit him once for every month since last year — december.
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some activists have been arrested trying to leave hong kong. there's a fear that ronson could still be detained at the airport.
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the media are covering his departure. it's notjustjournalists that are affected by the new law. in the suburbs across much of the uk, a new hong kong diaspora is growing. more than 140,000 hong kong residents have moved to the uk since the british government provided a route to citizenship for millions of hong kongers. when i open all these... although i throw them away, i just keep the stuff here because i remember how harsh i've experienced at the time when i was in hong kong.
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ling is one of scores of teachers who've relocated to the uk. she's writing a letter to a friend who is still in hong kong, reflecting on how the last four years have had an impact on them all.
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ling taught liberal studies in a hong kong secondary school but some teachers have been accused by the authorities of radicalising the youth against the government and mobilising them to protest. ling believes it's a teacher's job to promote critical thinking. i always treat them as my children. i don't allow them to do something very bad. i teach them. i don't allow them to break any rules but if they really break the rules, i would just ask them whether they know the consequences. and i will respect them, yeah. yelling. in 2019, students were at the heart of the pro—democracy protest movement. what started as a fight against greater control from beijing turned into a call for full democracy and, later, independence.
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frontline protesters engaged in running street battles with the police. they saw themselves as freedom fighters, fighting for the future of hong kong. their mantra — if we burn, they burn with us. aurora was one of hundreds of thousands of students who took to the streets. fearing arrest, she fled hong kong. she's one of the youngest asylum seekers in the uk. she fled in 2020 when she was just 15 years old. i call my family twice a month or more. it is harder to communicate with them now �*cos everything changed.
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we have less common topic. the first year was really difficult for me �*cos i had no friend and no family member in the uk. aurora has found a new home in the uk. she's living with foster parents but fears she may never be able to return to hong kong. when i first came to the uk, everything changed. the environment changed, the language changed, so i need time to get used to it. here is my room and then, this is a quite small room in the uk but actually, in hong kong, i had a much smaller room than this one. and then, i've got my everything here. i put everything on this table.
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and then, here is my study desk. i miss my friends so much cos in hong kong after school, they always went to my home and then, we'd chat to each other and then, revise together. sometimes, ifeel a bit guilty �*cos we have a really different situation right now but before, we did the same thing, we kind of fight for the freedom, we fight for a better hong kong, but they are in the present now but i can't live freely, so sometimes i really miss them, but i can't get in contact with them. i worry that if i get in contact with them, that will be more dangerous.
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ronson has been living in oxford for the past four months. he's taken part in a fellowship at the reuters institute at oxford university and is living in dorms. so, this is my room. very good — i'm ronson, this is r. i've my own bed and also a desk and many places to put my things here, places to put my clothes. some for storage and some places for me to brush my teeth and wash my face — very good. so, this is my room. hello. ronson�*s promised to return to hong kong to face trial. under the british government's route to citizenship scheme, he has the right to stay in the uk.
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most important thing is i'm the hong kong people, 0k? is not depends on how i like the life in the uk, how i can get a peaceful feeling in uk. it's just — just the reason why i needed to go back and why i needed to stay in hong kong and what i can contribute my most to hong kong. every time when i go in church and a cathedral around the uk, i may light some candles for the people i miss and especially defendant of the stand news case, my two bosses, the former editors in chief of stand news and also, i pray for several christians and catholics in some criminal case in hong kong.
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so, this is the reuters institute for the study ofjournalism. i spend three days a week in here for attending different seminars. so, fellows coming around the world, some of them come from the good journalism countries, some of them come from the not very good journalism countries but we have always share our minds. share our feelings and what we have faced before. by the different exchange of views, i think i've got strength of my feelings that i should stay in hong kong to fight for thejournalism, fight for the freedom of press. ling has been working as a substitute teacher since she arrived in england. she's been keeping a diary.
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she's set to start a full—time teaching job in september and is determined to integrate into the uk. aurora has now settled into life in the uk. she's successfully been granted asylum. she's due to start university next year. at least now, i don't need to worry about my own situation. in hong kong, always worried about, "am i going to get arrest? "maybe i would be arrested, my family would be arrest," so now, ijust feel more safe. file: the main road east. of the square at 10:23 this morning, there was a sudden and deadly volley from the troops. 0njune 4th, 1989, hundreds — possibly thousands — were killed when the chinese liberation army put a bloody end to pro—democracy
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demonstrations in beijing. it's june 4th. in hong kong, police are out in force. today marks 3a years since the tiananmen square crackdown. hong kong was once the only place on chinese soil that publicly remembered the dead. in recent years, the police threatened to arrest anyone who attempts to mark the day. some are determined. flowers for the dead. a political statement. a disturbance to public order. the police continue to search pedestrians. dozens are taken away for questioning. the police detain anyone in possession of candles or flowers.
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ronson chan is back in hong kong. he's covering the anniversary of the tiananmen square crackdown. he's still facing charges of obstructing a police officer and must still face trial. the journalist covering the day is detained. it strikes a chord with ronson.
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press and journalists were taken away by the police officer. i just can say that we can try our best to survive. the police continue to stop and search anyone suspected of marking the anniversary. this year, the authorities replaced the vigil commemorating the dead with a pro—china carnival. hong kong was once a place where the dead of tiananmen could be remembered. not any more. when i was in uk, i missed hong kong too much. i never think about future. ijust — i come back and just say that i miss hong kong too much, i love hong kong too much. but i still think that i take responsible for my decision, so i stay here.
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hello. 0ur spell of rather cool, unsettled and blustery mid—july weather is set to continue through the remainder of the weekend. this was the picture saturday evening just before the sun set in north berwick, east lothian. we've had some big vivid rainbows around, and we could see more of those on sunday with that mix, again, of some sunshine and further heavy and blustery showers.
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they won't be as frequent as they were on saturday, though. so we've still got low pressure close by, just edging its way towards the north—east. but still plenty of isobars on the map showing another fairly blustery sort of day. quite a bit of cloud first thing for parts of northern england, scotland as well and we'll continue to see patchy rain on and off for much of the day across northern and western scotland. a bit more sunshine, but also scattered showers further east and really for northern ireland, england and wales, sunny spells and blustery showers. the gusts of wind 30 to a0 miles per hour, even a bit more than that around exposed coasts and hills. so temperatures between about 1a to 22, north to south, but feeling a touch cooler if you are exposed to those north—westerly or westerly winds that we've got with us. winds do ease away, i think, sunday evening and overnight, some late sunshine before the sun sets in the south. we've got a bit more cloud again as we head through into monday across parts of scotland with a few splashes of light rain, 11 degrees or so here, the overnight lows, but we could see single figures in one or two more rural spots, though, so a fresh start to your monday morning. now monday sees higher
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pressure trying to nudge in from the south. not as many isobars on the map. so not such a windy day, i think, on monday. and fewer showers compared to the weekend. there will be a fewjust bubbling up through the day across england, wales, northern ireland and scotland too, less in the way of cloud lingering. so a bit more sunshine and a few scattered showers. temperatures similar to recent days around about 1a to 22 degrees, but feeling a touch warmer because we will have lost the breeze. moving ahead now into tuesday and the next area of low pressure moves its way in from the atlantic. so initially, probably a dry start to tuesday for many of us, some early sunshine. then the rain creeps in across parts of northern ireland, perhaps western parts of england and wales, southern scotland to northern half of scotland, probably seeing sunshine and showers once again on tuesday. and east anglia and the south—east, you're likely to stay dry for a good part of the day and perhaps a touch warmer up to about 23 degrees or so. but as you can see from our outlook, the next five days or so through much of the week ahead, still unsettled. sunny spells and heavy showers. bye—bye.
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live from washington, live from washington, this is bbc news. this is bbc news. south korea's government is expanding its humanitarian and military its humanitarian and military assistance to ukraine assistance to ukraine as president zelensky meets as president zelensky meets with his south korean counterpart. with his south korean an extreme heat wave has gripped parts of the us and southern europe with more record temperatures expected. and its a new era for miami football fans as as lionel messi joins major league soccer. i'm helena humphrey.
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