Up to now it was unclear what the turnout for the pro-democracy primary would be. 1st there aren't that many more candidates than places available. 2nd the huge NSL-associated crackdown may have a deterrent effect (as intended). Now the q is: will the raid boost or lower turnout?
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Primary co-organizer Benny Tai's statement re police raid on PORI. To paraphrase: we live in dark times-holding a blank piece of paper is considered a crime. Important to stand up to White Terror & resist, not allowing ourselves to be intimidated. facebook.com/BennyTaiHK/pos
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All those who have organized polling stations in different areas of #HK are putting out messages to their local communities to assure them that the pro-democracy primary is going ahead.
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A more verbatim translation of Benny Tai's statement above: 'In a time when people are accused of violating the national security law for holding blank pieces of paper, we must not be intimidated but insist on living in reality. The pro-democracy primary has also been accused...
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...of violating the national security law. At this time, we must insist on using our actions to resist such ridiculous things [as the use of NSL to ban everything]. As long as there are many people who are not intimidated & insist on using the referendum to refute lies...
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... we can still see a little light in this dark age and continue the spirit of resistance.' (Note: this translation isn't perfect but does give the gist of what Benny says.)
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About the crime, “access to a computer w criminal or dishonest intent”, under which police got a warrant to search PORI's office: it was originally conceived to apply to cyber fraud & hacking but has been broadened by #HK govt & police to become a catchall
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Police appear to have suspicion that PORI's own computers were used to hack PORI. A 2019 ruling by #HK Court of Final Appeal suggests the crime under which police obtained the search warrant doesn't apply to using one's own computer.
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Police could presumably argue that an employee of PORI w/out PORI's consent or someone else accessed a PORI computer to hack but on the surface, it appears police were just using any old crime to sabotage the pro-democracy primary.
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A related issue: how readily & easily judges have been granting search warrants to police. Atm there's a judicial review in #HK High Court on police accessing suspects' phones. Judge has temporarily banned them from doing so pending outcome of that review. news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compon
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A major purpose of the NSL is to prevent the pro-democracy side from winning a majority in Legco. #CCP has stated they consider that a 'national security' issue, which just goes to show how anti-democracy they are.
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Btw now & Sept, expect many more attempts to sabotage the pro-democracy side's chances in Legco elections, a big 1 being disqualification of candidates. Legco's already rigged but rather than moving toward universal suffrage, as it's obligated to do by law, CCP's rigging it more.
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Remember pro-democracy candidates won over 80% of seats in last Nov's District Council elections. That freaked the #CCP out, as it realized pro-dems could crack the rigged system & control all but the executive branch from the inside out. That fear explains many CCP moves since.
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#HK govt didn't try to stop PORI's predecessor HKUPOP from carrying out the 2014 universal suffrage referendum but it got HKU to punish HKUPOP's head, an assistant & Benny Tai after on a technicality involving a donation for the poll. But it's never raided HKUPOP/PORI. Til now!
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In fact, the unstated but assumed reason PORI broke away from HKU & became fully independent is that it feared for its integrity in the new dispensation, #HK govt exerting much more political pressure on uni's after #UmbrellaMovement. But now the regime's come after it anyway.
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So do you think it’ll be safe tomorrow at the polling stations? From the police station I mean?