Johnson Yeung

Johnson Yeung Ching Yin (Chinese: 楊政賢; born 29 November 1991) is a Hong Kong pro-democracy social activist, who was former convener of the Civil Human Rights Front and Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Federation of Students.

Johnson Yeung
楊政賢
Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Federation of Students
In office
2013–2014
Preceded byBen Lam Siu-Pan
Succeeded byLester Shum
Convener of the Civil Human Rights Front
In office
October 2013  October 2014
Personal details
Born (1991-11-29) 29 November 1991
British Hong Kong
EducationChinese University of Hong Kong
University of Hong Kong

Early life

Yeung studied at Wong Shiu Chi Secondary School in his early years. He graduated from the Department of Politics and Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2014. Subsequently, he obtained a Master of Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 2016. He served as the president of the CUHK Student Union and the Deputy Secretary-General at the Hong Kong Federation of Students.[1]

Activism

Civil Human Rights Front

Yeung was the former convener of the Civil Human Rights Front between 2013 and 2014.[2] In his role, he helped to organise rallies advocating for Hong Kong's democracy.[3][4] On 1 July 2014, he organised a large-scale pro-democracy march that drew over 510,000 protesters according to organisers, while the police gave an estimate of 98,600 in attendance.[5] Yeung delivered a speech at the march and stated, "Hong Kong has had enough. We're done just fighting individual issues – we're fighting the government now, to build a society and a government that belongs to us."[6]

On 4 July, Yeung and four other members of the Civil Human Rights Front were arrested for "obstruction" at the rally from three days ago.[7][8] Yeung believed the government, led by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, took this action to suppress the organisers of the rallies.[9] Later that year, Yeung joined the 2014 Hong Kong protests, participating in a series of demonstrations dubbed the Occupy Movement and the Umbrella Movement.[10][11] In 2015, the police informed him there was insufficient evidence to prosecute from his earlier arrest. Yeung believed the arrest was intended as a method of intimidation.[12]

Anti-extradition protests

Yeung joined the anti-extradition protests that occurred throughout 2019, and had spoken to the media in support of the protesters.[13][14] On 28 July 2019, Yeung was among those arrested outside the IFC Mall in Central for "obstruction of police".[15] After 48 hours of detainment, he was released on bail pending further investigation.[16] Upon his release, Yeung delivered a speech to the media and described his experience. He recalled sitting in a parking lot, along with dozens of detainees, under the scorching summer temperature for an entire day.[17][18] The protesters, many of whom had been charged with rioting and faced up to 10 years of imprisonment, were mostly under the age of 25 according to Yeung. He believed the escalating police and prosecution tactics would only lead to more protests.[19][20]

In June 2020, Yeung was scheduled to speak at an event hosted by activist group Sunrise Movement. The event was intended to exchange comparative strategies between the Hong Kong protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.[21] On 17 June, Sunrise Movement cancelled the event with Yeung, citing internal concerns and external criticisms. Sunrise Movement's decision was met with discontent, with critics highlighting the prevalence of "disinformation and smearing campaigns" against Hong Kong's activists.[22][23] Lausan, a publication focused on Hong Kong affairs, stated the pro-democracy movement was being discredited.[21]

Memberships

Over the years, Yeung became involved in numerous human rights organisations. He is a board member at Amnesty International, a member of World Movement for Democracy, and part of the Freedom Fellowship program at Human Rights Foundation.[24][25][26] He is also the chairperson of the Hong Kong Civil Hub, an organisation dedicated to promoting the rule of law, democracy, and human rights in Hong Kong.[27]

References

  1. Lam, Jeffie (14 October 2013). "Majority of Occupy supporters say 'block roads to disrupt Hong Kong'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. "From college activism to the democracy front line". South China Morning Post. 2014-09-20. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  3. "Thousands to rally for Hong Kong democracy on New Year's Day". Bangkok Post. 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  4. "Thousands Rally For Full and Free Elections in Hong Kong". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  5. "Passions run high as Hong Kong marches for democracy". Reuters. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  6. Kaiman, Jonathan (2014-07-01). "Hong Kong: hundreds of thousands participate in pro-democracy march". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  7. Kaiman, Jonathan (2014-07-04). "Hong Kong protests inspire mobile game". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  8. "Hong Kong police charge organizers of July 1 rally - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2014-07-05. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. "Hong Kong rally organisers arrested". Bangkok Post. 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  10. By Tim Hume and Zoe Li. "511 arrested at Hong Kong pro-democracy protest". CNN. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  11. Yeung, Johnson (2 August 2019). "Rioting Charges Strip Away Our Everyday Normality, Says HK Activist Johnson Yeung". The News Lens International. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  12. "Beijing's "Red Line" in Hong Kong" (PDF). Amnesty International. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  13. "Hong Kong protester repeatedly punched in face remains calm in powerful display of peaceful resistance". The Independent. 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  14. "Beijing will not rest until it controls Hong Kong. We must keep fighting | Joshua Wong and Johnson Yeung". the Guardian. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  15. Chan, Holmes (2019-07-30). "Clashes and pepper spray at protest in Kwai Chung after Hong Kong police charge 44 with rioting". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  16. Chui, Almen (2019-08-01). "Charged HK protesters get bail and curfews". Asia Times. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  17. "Protestor Johnson Yeung Speaks About His Arrest | bc magazine". www.bcmagazine.net. 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  18. "7‧28被捕 楊政賢:40人關警署「蒸籠」一 天 - 20190801 - 要聞". 明報新聞網 - 每日明報 daily news (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  19. "Hong Kong protesters vow to stand up to unprecedented riot charges". The Independent. 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  20. Yeung, Johnson (2019-08-02). "Rioting Charges Strip Away Our Everyday Normality, Says HK Activist Johnson Yeung". The News Lens International Edition. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  21. JN; JS (2020-06-18). "We can't let China apologists stop us from supporting Black Lives Matter". Lausan. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  22. Davis, Charles. "Liberal group cancels event with Hong Kong activist following internal 'concerns' and external criticism from pro-China pundits". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  23. borderlessmovement (2020-06-19). "香港人與Black Lives Matter(黑人的命也是命)的連接屢遭惡意中傷及抹黑". 無國界社運 Borderless movement (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  24. Winn, Patrick. "Why Hong Kong's secret societies are attacking protesters". www.wvtf.org. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  25. "Johnson Yeung". World Movement for Democracy. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  26. "Human Rights Foundation". Human Rights Foundation. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  27. Atrakouti, Amal. "HONG KONG: 'This is a leader-full movement, ran by countless small networks of talented people'". www.civicus.org. Retrieved 2020-07-21.

Further reading

By Joshua Wong and Johnson Ching-Yin Yeung, As you read this, Hong Kong has locked one of us awayWashington Post

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