Korean Accused of Dismembering Compatriot in Rayong

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24 January 2019, 12:01

Police investigate a crime scene Monday where a dismembered body, later identified as a South Korean man, was found in Rayong province.

RAYONG — A South Korean man was arrested early Thursday on suspicion of allegedly murdering and dismembering a compatriot in Rayong province earlier this week.

The Crime Suppression Division said the man, identified as Gim Hyeonjun, turned himself in to the South Korean Embassy, which brought him to the Thai authorities at about 1am this morning. Police said he confessed to be an accessory in the killing of Choi Myunghoon, whose remains were found Monday stuffed in bags hidden in a forested part of Rayong City.

According to police, Gim said he and the victim were involved in an online gambling ring, and that he was forced by threats of violence to help dismember Choi and dispose of his body by other two gang members who killed him and are now on the run.

Choi’s identity wasn’t confirmed until last night as his body had been cut into several pieces. His head and arm remain unaccounted for. He was identified by a distinctive tattoo on his torso and a suitcase abandoned near the scene.

Choi had been blacklisted by Thai authorities as he was charged with gambling-related offenses in Bangkok in 2015. Gim was found to be residing illegally in Thailand.

Police said they’re looking for the other two suspects identified by Gim.

Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly said Gim had confessed to killing Choi. In fact, he confessed to being an accessory of the murder.

Thai Law: Foreigners and the Medical Marijuana Law, Explained

By

Wirot Poonsuwan, Attorney-at-Law

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24 January 2019, 11:37

Gary Coughlan stands between two police officers Jan. 16 on Koh Samui after police accused him of cooking tom yum goong with cannabis.

Marijuana was legalized in Thailand in the closing days of 2018 when the National Legislative Assembly passed the Narcotics Bill in its third and final reading. Now it awaits publication in the Royal Gazette to become law, which should happen by March 25.

The upcoming general election, which had been expected in the new year’s first quarter, might have been a factor in the decisive enactment of the law, especially considering who it benefits most. People in rural areas constitute the largest pool of voters eligible to form licensed agricultural groups to cultivate hundreds of acres of the new economic crop. Some of these folks will also be able to earn extra income by obtaining licenses to prescribe medical marijuana as Thai traditional medicine practitioners and village healers.

Marijuana For Most – But Not All

People with illnesses requiring marijuana treatment will be allowed by the new law to consume the now-lawful drug provided they can produce a prescription issued by a properly licensed medical practitioners specifying the limited amount they can carry on their person, subject to medical formulations permitted by the Public Health Ministry.

Government research institutes, medical schools, pharmacy schools, pharmaceutical laboratories, public and private universities, hospitals and clinics will all directly benefit in the name of science and medicine, after they are licensed by the Food and Drug Administration.

Foreigners have been expressly excluded from the new law. Foreign companies and foreign-majority companies incorporated in Thailand are prohibited from producing, selling, importing, exporting and possessing cannabis. The restrictions on foreign involvement understandably resulted from a recent “Thailand First” sentiment that resulted from an outcry against foreign applicants with advanced technology and capability applying for Thai patent protection prior to the opening of the domestic market.

Foreigners Not Fully Shut Out

Acknowledging that cooperation with foreign advancements in research and development could add value to the Thai market, the ban on foreigners benefiting from the new law is not absolute and exceptions do exist.

First, easy exceptions are built in for weed medical tourism, that is to say international travelers coming in and out of Thailand with illnesses that can be treated by marijuana. Visitors coming for ganja therapy must first obtain a license from the FDA to “import, export and possess” the necessary amounts of marijuana prescribed for treatment. There’s not much clarity on what that means, yet.

To boost Thailand as one of the world’s major tourism destinations, international airlines, ships, cruise ships or other cross-border vehicles can likewise apply for an FDA license for those amounts of marijuana they need to transport on their craft for first aid and emergency treatment of passengers.

Companies established under Thai law that have a local office qualify for licenses to “produce, sell, import, export and possess” marijuana, if Thai nationals own at least two-thirds of the capital and if at least two-thirds of their directors are Thai. The lawmakers were hoping that one-third foreign ownership in a Thai company could result in the transfer of some technology and know-how for developing marijuana-based pharmaceutical products for local distribution and export.

FDA Leads the Way

The Narcotics Bill differs greatly from the Narcotics Act of 1979 that it amends in that it shifts the licensing authority from the Public Health Ministry to the FDA. This is a significant change from the rare policy approvals for drug use from the minister – which happened on a difficult, case-by-case basis – to mass licensing by the FDA, which means an easier routine basis that treats the substance no different from other types of lawful drugs that require licensing to go to market.

The FDA is bracing for what’s expected to be an overflowing new workload.

Without FDA licensing, marijuana remains an illicit drug, with possession of 10 kilograms or more deemed intent to sell, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of 1.5 million baht (USD$45,000).

Clearly, only medical and pharmaceutical marijuana area allowed, and the public is not free to consume marijuana for pleasure. Consumption of marijuana in violation of the new Narcotics Bill carries a jail term of one year and a fine of 20,000 baht (USD$600).

The Narcotics Control Board will continues to play a pivotal, supervisory role over the FDA under the bill, just as it did over the ministry under the original act. One major exception is that for marijuana legalization, the board’s membership has expanded from law enforcement-heavy authorities such as police, prosecutors and military rep by adding over half a dozen new members drawn from the medical, industrial, agricultural, pharmaceutical and Thai traditional medicine sectors — a priming of the pipe, if you will, for long-term, large-scale industrial pharmaceutical production of medical marijuana formulas for medical use to potentially involve investors and banks.

Not the Only Law

Under the bill, seven types of applicants can apply for FDA licenses to produce, sell, import, export and possess marijuana. After five years, the narcotics board will review the types of applicants and their licensing requirements on top of semi-annual assessments of the law’s implementation.

Producing includes cultivating, growing, making, processing scientifically, altering and packaging.

As the focus of the new law is on helping the grassroots – meaning low-income, rural folks – as well as the public at large become marijuana-income earners and users, there are a number of laws applicable: the Narcotics Bill, the Narcotics Act, the Act on Professional Thai Traditional Medicine of 2013, the Act on Promotion of Community Enterprises of 2005; the Sanatorium Act of 1998, as well as other laws and regulations.

Operators of marijuana businesses need to obtain their authorizations consistent with these separate pieces of legislation as well to enable them to finally handle marijuana under the Narcotics Bill.

Wirot Poonsuwan is senior counsel and head of special projects at Blumenthal Richter & Sumet in Bangkok and can be reached at [email protected].

Governor Convicted of Blasphemy Freed From Indonesian Prison

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Associated Press

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24 January 2019, 11:04

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, center, enters the court room as he attends his sentencing hearing in 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Bay Ismoyo / Associated Press

JAKARTA — A polarizing Christian politician whose campaign comments ignited protests that were the largest in Muslim-majority Indonesia in years was freed Thursday after serving nearly two years in prison for blasphemy.

Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, the former governor of Jakarta, left a paramilitary police prison outside the capital early Thursday with members of his family, said his spokesman Sakti Budiono, avoiding waiting supporters and media.

In 2016, Purnama made lighthearted campaign-trail comments that voters shouldn’t heed his detractors who said the Quran prohibits Muslims from being led by Christians. Hardliners seized on the remarks as blasphemy, triggering protests that brought hundreds of thousands of white-robed Muslims to the center of Jakarta.

He was defeated in an election by a rival aligned with the protesters and sentenced to prison in May 2017 for blaspheming the Quran. Rights groups said the sentence highlighted why the easily abused blasphemy law should be repealed.

Days before being freed, Purnama posted online that he didn’t want supporters to make a fuss about his release and apologized to Jakarta civil servants including “even my haters” that he’d offended by being rude and arrogant.

The movement against Purnama, an ally of President Joko Widodo, brought fringe groups into the political mainstream and rattled the government, highlighting the mingling of religion with politics in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy.

Widodo subsequently chose a conservative cleric as his running mate for April’s presidential election, hoping to deflect attacks that he is insufficiently Islamic.

It’s unclear if Purnama will return to politics but in a handwritten noted posted on Instagram earlier this week he told supporters to not be discouraged and to vote for candidates in April’s presidential and legislative elections who support diversity.

Islamic Defenders Front member Novel Bakmumin, who filed a police complaint that led to Purnama being investigated for blasphemy, said the former governor should stay out of politics.

“I hope Ahok will not repeat a mistake that can cause unrest among Muslims, not only in Indonesia but in the world, because Islam is not his realm to be critical of, he should take care of his own religion,” he said.

Purnama, part of the tiny ethnic Chinese minority in Indonesia, was popular with Jakarta’s middle class for efforts to stamp out corruption and make the teeming capital more livable.

But others were alienated by his brash outspokenness and the demolition of slums that were home to Jakarta’s poorest residents.

An activist from the Friends of Ahok group said Purnama’s true calling is politics and predicted he would “become a leader, whether a leader of a political party or a leader of this country.”

“He is a fighting politician, he fights against corruption, injustice and upholds order and democracy. That caused many people to dislike him and become his political enemies,” said Hasan Nasbi.

In an unlikely twist, the 2016 protests also provided opportunists with the impetus for an alleged plot to topple Widodo, the first Indonesian president not from the country’s military and political elite.

Police arrested numerous high-profile Indonesians, including a daughter of Indonesia’s founding president, accusing them of plotting to hijack the protests to cause chaos. Their apparent aim was to provide a pretext for military intervention that would unseat Widodo.

They were later released and have not faced trial.

Story: Stephen Wright, Niniek Karmini

North Korea Says Kim Ordered Preparations for 2nd Trump Meet

By

Associated Press

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24 January 2019, 10:59

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un walk from their lunch at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore on June 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered preparations for a second summit with President Donald Trump, saying he’ll “wait with patience and in good faith” to work toward a common goal, the North’s state media reported Thursday.

Despite Kim’s determination for another meeting with Trump, the two remain at odds over fundamental issues. Experts say a major sticking point is what denuclearization steps Kim should take to move forward stalled nuclear diplomacy and what rewards Trump should provide to push Kim to take those measures.

The Korean Central News Agency said Kim received a letter from Trump from a North Korean envoy who met the U.S. president in Washington last week. After meeting with Kim’s envoy, top lieutenant Kim Yong Chol, Trump said that he and Kim Jong Un will probably meet around the end of February but did not say exactly when and where the summit would take place.

Thursday’s report said Kim expressed satisfaction over his envoy’s meeting with Trump and spoke highly of the U.S. president for “expressing his unusual determination and will for the settlement of the issue with a great interest in the second summit.”

“We will wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the U.S., advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries,” Kim was quoted as saying.

Kim also “set forth tasks and orientation for making good technical preparations for the second (North Korea)-U.S. summit high on the agenda,” according to KCNA.

Nuclear diplomacy has been stuck since Kim and Trump met in Singapore last June for their first summit, which ended with a vague denuclearization pledge by Kim that his government had previously used when it called for the withdrawal of the 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea. A summit accord also stated that the United States and North Korea will commit to establishing new relations and join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

The strongest step Kim could promise to take for a second summit may be abandoning his long-range missile program targeting the U.S. mainland. That step, if realized, would trigger a strong backlash from many in South Korea and Japan, which are still placed in the striking distance of North Korea’s short- and medium-range missiles. In return, Kim is seeking to get U.N. sanctions on his government lifted and better relations with the United States to try to revive his country’s moribund economy to pave the way for a prolonged rule by his family, experts say.

North Korea observers say Vietnam is likely a venue for a second summit but there has been no official confirmation.

The nuclear diplomacy has replaced fears of war caused by Kim’s series of high-profile nuclear and missile tests in 2017 that were followed by his exchanges of crude insults and threats of total destruction with Trump.

Kim has so far suspended nuclear and missile tests, dismantled North Korea’s nuclear testing site and parts of its rocket engine test facility and took conciliatory measures like releasing American detainees. The North now says it’s time for the U.S. to come up with reciprocal measures.

But satellite footage indicate North Korea is still running its main nuclear complex, raising a question on why it’s producing nuclear materials if it is truly committed to denuclearization. U.S. officials want North Korea to take more significant steps such as a declared accounting of its nuclear weapons program for future inspections. The North has rejected that, saying such a declaration would be like providing coordinates for U.S. military strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Story: Hyung-jin Kim

Oliver Mtukudzi, Zimbabwean Afro-Jazz Star, Dead at 66

By

Associated Press

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24 January 2019, 10:00

Zimbabwean music superstar and U.N. goodwill ambassador Oliver Mtukudzi, center, performs in 2011 at a music festival held in Karen on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: Ben Curtis / Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe — One of Zimbabwe and Africa’s most iconic musicians, Oliver Mtukudzi, died on Wednesday at age 66 after decades of rollicking, captivating performances won him devoted fans worldwide.

“It is difficult to accept, I have no words,” said musician and poet Albert Nyathi, who joined several other mourners at the hospital in the capital, Harare, where the star passed away. “What is left is to celebrate his life.”

Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper reported that Mtukudzi had “succumbed to a long battle with diabetes.”

With his distinctive husky voice, Mtukudzi had a career that stretched from white minority-ruled Rhodesia to majority-ruled Zimbabwe, producing a string of hits that spread his fame across Africa and eventually to an international audience.

Tuku, as he was widely known, avoided political controversy. The closest he came was with his 2001 song “Bvuma,” which in the Shona language means “accept that you are old” and was taken as a message to longtime leader Robert Mugabe to retire.

Paul Mangwana, a senior official with Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party, praised Mtukudzi for remaining “apolitical,” saying he supported calls for the singer to be buried at the national heroes’ acre, a shrine that is a preserve of ruling party elites.

“He was a nation-builder. Where it was necessary to criticize he would, and where it was necessary to praise he would,” Mangwana said at the hospital.

In a country where political tensions are high and party loyalties matter, Mtukudzi cut across the divide, singing at ruling party events but also performing at late opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s wedding and funeral.

“Today we said goodbye to a true patriot. Oliver Mtukudzi, your voice has given us comfort during difficult times, and will remain with us for posterity,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa said.

One of Mtukudzi’s biggest hits was “Neria,” a mournful song about the tribulations of a woman who was thrown into poverty when her husband died because customary law did not allow her to inherit his property. It was the title song of a movie of the same name.

In 1980, Mtukudzi celebrated Zimbabwe’s independence by singing the country’s new national anthem, “Ishe Komborera Africa” (God Bless Africa) with a reggae inflection.

He sang, played guitar and danced while directing a tight band of guitarists, keyboards, percussionists and dancers. He released more than 60 albums and made several successful international tours, performing in neighboring South Africa late last year.

He also was known for mentoring young Zimbabwean musicians. “He was like a father figure,” said MacDonald Chidavaenzi, a songwriter and producer.

Mtukudzi’s company in a statement called him a “national icon” as well as “a father, brother, grandfather, uncle, and above all a husband to his loving wife Daisy Mtukudzi.”

Mtukudzi wrote songs in a style that were a mix of Zimbabwean and South African rhythms that became known at “Tuku music.”

The ruling African National Congress in South Africa tweeted simply “Rest in peace.”

Story: Farai Mutsaka, Andrew Meldrum

Russian Restaurant by Real Russian Opens in Bangkok

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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23 January 2019, 17:39

Update Jan. 12, 2020: Moon Under Water has moved to their new location on Soi Suan Phlu and offer delivery by Line Man.

BANGKOK — What could be the only Russian restaurant in Bangkok with a real Russian chef has opened with a surprisingly affordable menu.

The Moon Under Water is a tiny, approachable Russian restaurant on the second floor of a taam-sang eatery in Phra Khanong by chef Alesha Voronin, who also wants to offer his kitchen as a video production studio.

“For people who know this food, they were crying when eating it because they said it was like their mom or their granny’s cooking,” Voronin said gustily, talking about the Russian expats who have come to memory-check his food.

25620122 190122 0019 — Pelmeni dumplings (150 baht) pictured with pickles, sauerkraut, kholodets and salo cured pork fat.

There’s pork borscht (150 baht) as well as lamb-and-pork pelmeni dumplings (150 baht) which are buttery and satisfying. Vegetarians can gnosh on vareniki (150 baht) which are sweet, mild dumplings braided on one end as well as the grechka (150 baht) a superfood dish of roasted buckwheat in butter and mushrooms.

Depending on availability Voronin may also offer homemade appetizers, or zakuski, such as pickles, salo or cured pork fat and jellied kholodets meat.

“It’s not really for profit. I would rather throw away leftover food to keep quality high and customers coming back,” he said.

The “family set” is a choice of pork cutlets or sausages with pickles and sauerkraut, but the taste of the sausages (220 baht) may be dense and bland to the Thai tongue.

“I’ve tuned some dishes for international taste to satisfy more tongues and noses,” Voronin said.

His meats are sourced by Sloane’s and no MSG is used. The new restaurant has four dishes so far, but Voronin plans to keep changing the menu, including some “very Jewish” smoked fish and bagels and a lunch set under 300 baht.

As soon as he gets appropriate licensing, there will also be infused vodkas as well as homemade kombucha. For now, there are San Miguel draft beers, wines and Ukrainian herb teas (70 baht). During our hosted visit to try things, the available teas included calendula, sage and coltsfoot flowers.

The place seats only 10, and a party of 15 would fill the place.

Part of the 45sqm restaurant is the kitchen, which Voronin hopes will double as a production studio for people to film their culinary adventures. Voronin believes Bangkok is in sore need of an affordable professional kitchen production studio.

“An agency could charge 100,000 [baht] and up for use of their studio. But I’m thinking I can set up a dolly here and charge 20,000 baht for facilities, equipment, shooting and editing. We can present a final product to them,” Voronin said.

Voronin, 34, has held events serving Russian rood and acted as a restaurant consultant before opening his place.

Voronin says that his is the the only authentic Russian eatery in Bangkok. Lebanese restaurant Bamboo in Nana doesn’t count – he says it doesn’t taste authentic and uses beef rather than pork, as well as Uzbek and Burmese chefs.

The name, Moon Under Water, comes from a George Orwell essay which details the writer’s 10 rules for the qualities of a perfect pub.

“A Russian restaurant doesn’t need to have some stupid name like ‘Matryoshka,’” Voronin said. “In tai chi, there’s also a move where you mediate and make motions like you’re lifting the moon out of the water. So I thought this is a name that would be meaningful to everyone.”

Voronin is fiery, colorful, full of stories and happy to engage patrons. Ask the nine-year expat about growing up with a moonshine-making mother on a farm on the Arctic Circle during the Soviet Era or his near-fatal backpack trip in Ranong province.

The Moon Under Water’s opening party is from 7pm onward on Thursday. The restaurant is reachable by a five- to 10-minute walk from BTS Phra Khanong. Its open 11am to 9pm daily, with closing time negotiable. This write-up is based on an unpaid visit.

The Moon Underwater is located above Yayii, a taam-sung eatery.

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Police Deny 3rd Corpse Was Found in Mekong

By

JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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23 January 2019, 16:49

A body is retrieved from the Mekong River on the border of Nakhon Phanom province in an undated photo.

NAKHON PHANOM — Police in the northeast denied that a third corpse had been recovered from the Mekong River after two others were linked to anti-monarchy dissidents missing in Laos.

Tha Uthen district police chief Natee Siriworawat said by phone Wednesday that he received no reports that a body had been found on Dec. 27 as alleged by a local reporter. The possibility of a third body raised speculation it might be of Surachai Danwattanusorn, a prominent anti-monarchy activist, who went missing with two of his aides last month.

DNA tests found that two mutilated bodies recovered on Dec. 26 and 29 belonged to those aides. The three had lived together in exile in Laos since the 2014 coup.

Read: Photos Suggest Third Mekong Corpse Was Found, Then Lost

Col. Natee theorized that reports of a corpse found in the river on Dec. 27 could have been mistaken for the same one that washed ashore two days later about 40 kilometers downstream.

He said that he heard second-hand accounts of residents spotting something floating in the river.

“Villagers saw something floating in the middle of the river, then a body was retrieved in the city area,” he said. “I haven’t heard of any report of another corpse.”

The disemboweled bodies, found on the Thai side of the river in Nakhon Phanom province, were wrapped in sacks and fishnet and tied with rope. Their faces were bashed in and their stomachs stuffed with concrete blocks.

Suspicion that Surachai was killed grew after forensic examiners identified the two dead men as his compatriots called Phoo Chana and Kasalong. They were identified Thursday by police as Chatchan Boopphawal, 56, and Kraidet Luelert, 47, respectively.

On Tuesday, a local Khaosod reporter said the local headman had secured the body to the riverbank and notified the police. He said the body disappeared some time after a naval vessel arrived.

Human Rights Watch yesterday called on Laos to accelerate its investigation into the disappearances.

“The Lao government has an obligation to find out what happened to Surachai and all other Thai activists who have gone missing in Laos,” regional director Brad Adams said. “Foreign governments and donors should press the Lao government to take serious steps to investigate these cases and prosecute whomever is responsible.”

He also said the Lao government “seems intent on sweeping the abduction and gruesome murder of Thai activists under the rug.”

Pranee Danwattanusorn, Surachai’s wife, said today that if reports of a third corpse were true, she believes that it would have been that of her husband.

“If the body was found in the same way, then I think it would be him,” she said. “If the body went missing, I think they’ll try to cover it up out of fear that his supporters will rise up.”

The three activists were the latest outspoken monarchy opponents to disappear and be presumed dead. Surachai was a longtime monarchy critic wanted on charges of royal defamation and remained active from Laos promoting the republican cause. Chatchan and Kraidet were said to be hardcore Redshirt supporters.

The regional military commander said today that they weren’t monitoring the three activists, adding that it was up to the police to extract them from Laos to face any charges against them in Thailand. Surachai was also wanted for violating a special junta order after the coup.

Clarification: This story has been updated with the real identities of Phoo Chana and Kasalong released Thursday by police.

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It’s Official! Thai Voters Will Go to Polls on March 24

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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23 January 2019, 16:25

Prayuth Chan-ocha, who served as army chief at the time, casts his ballots in the Feb. 2, 2014, election in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — After years of delays and moving goalposts, Thailand will vote in a general election for the first time since the 2014 coup on March 24.

The date was announced Wednesday afternoon by Election Commissioner Ittiporn Boonprakong, just hours after a critical royal decree was issued by the palace. It was the last legal hurdle to overcome before the commission could set the date.

Dozens of parties will compete in the election, which will decide Thailand’s future after nearly five years of military rule under junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Contenders include both old establishment players such as the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties alongside newer factions like the Future Forward and Seri Ruam Thai parties. Political parties supported by the junta and hardline conservative activist Suthep Thaugsuban will also run in the poll.

Politics in the kingdom had been on ice by order of the military ever since it seized power in May 2014 following volatile street protests seeking to unseat the elected civilian government of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Bans on political gatherings and speech were lifted last month in anticipation of the first election to be held since voters went to the polls in February 2014, the results of which were thrown out by a court after anti-government protesters succeeded in shutting down a number of polling places.

Upon taking power in 2014, Prayuth said he hold new elections within a year. That and subsequent promises were renewed annually until this past year, when he said it the public would vote Feb. 24, 2019.

Hong Kong’s Legislature Takes up China National Anthem Bill

By

Associated Press

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23 January 2019, 16:00

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s legislature took up a controversial bill Wednesday that would punish anyone who publicly and intentionally insults the Chinese national anthem with up to three years in prison, raising concerns about Beijing’s growing influence in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

The move came after football fans repeatedly booed the anthem at the start of international qualifiers, upsetting leaders of the ruling Communist Party in Beijing.

Ever since Beijing suppressed the pro-democracy movement in the semi-autonomous city in late 2014, heckling China’s national anthem has emerged as a form of protest. The bill will be up for passage this summer.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997 but continues to enjoy civil liberties such as freedom of the press that are denied in China. The “one country, two systems” framework was supposed to last for 50 years but has been significantly eroded under authoritarian Chinese leader Xi Jinping, critics say.

“We’re worried that by passing the bill, people’s right and liberty to express themselves in terms of political ideology will be restricted,” said Alvin Yeung, a lawmaker in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, known as LegCo.

Pro-Beijing legislator Holden Chow disagreed, saying the bill was merely about upholding the sanctity of national symbols.

“We are simply deterring people from showing disrespect to the national anthem,” Chow said.

In 2017, Beijing enacted a national anthem law and entered it as an amendment to Hong Kong’s constitution. The anthem, “March of the Volunteers,” begins with a call for defiance: “Rise up, you people who refuse to be subjugated.”

The bill is virtually assured of passage since the legislators who tend to side with Beijing outnumber the pro-democracy camp. But the law steps into untested waters since it represents Beijing’s first effort at requiring Hong Kong to pass a mainland Chinese law, a potential breach of “one country, two systems.”

It shows that more and more laws passed by the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament, will “sooner or later be fully applicable to Hong Kong,” said Willy Lam, a political analyst and adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “This is a distributing trend.”

Newspaper columnists have pointed to the example of American footballers kneeling at the playing of the U.S. anthem as a form of protest that should be tolerated. Some also decry the Hong Kong bill as carrying the harshest penalty of any jurisdiction that has a punitive national anthem law, including Russia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Story: Violet Law

Olympic Champ Among 4 Thai Weightlifters to Test Positive

By

Associated Press

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23 January 2019, 14:57

Thunya Sukcharoen prepares to lift 45 kilograms in November in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Image: International Weightlifting Federation / YouTube

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Two world champion weightlifters and an Olympic gold medalist are among four Thai weightlifters to test positive for banned steroids, the International Weightlifting Federation announced on Tuesday.

Thunya Sukcharoen and Sukanya Srisurat risk being stripped of the world titles they won in November after each testing positive for at least one anabolic steroid and artificial testosterone. If found guilty, Sukanya faces a potential eight-year ban for a second offense.

The 2016 Olympic champion at 48 kilograms, Sopita Tanasan, also tested positive after finishing fourth at the world championships. Sixth-place finisher Chitchanok Pulsabsakul also failed a drug test.

The failed tests are another embarrassment for weightlifting, which is under pressure from the International Olympic Committee to crack down on doping. Weightlifting is on the Olympic program for next year’s games in Tokyo, but only provisionally for 2024.

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