Press Freedom is Under Threat in the Land of its Birth

http://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/29/press-freedom-is-under-threat-in-the-land-of-its-birth/
Date Written:  2019-05-29
Publisher:  Counterpunch
Year Published:  2019
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX23678

The US was not among the conulates protesting controversial new extradition bill in Hong Kong. They can't with a straight face object to Hong Kong passing an act that endorses extradition for political crimes while Washington is pursuing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

Here in this ultra-modern city on the coast of southern China, I read in the morning paper that 11 consulates representing most of the nations of Europe, have lodged protests with the city's chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor over a controversial new extradition bill that if passed would allow Hong Kong to extradite suspects to nations with which Hong Kong does not have an extradition deal....

I was not surprised to see that the US Consulate here in Hong Kong did not join in the protest against the new bill....

With the filing by the US Justice Department of 17 new charges against Assange of violating the US Espionage Act, we know for certain that Assange was absolutely correct to have jumped bail in 2012, and to have accepted an asylum offer from Ecuador....

One has to hope that it will fall to a truly independent, principled and courageous judge in the UK to handle the Swedish and US extradition requests, and that that judge will recognize the requests for the fraud that they are, now that Assange has been proven right about the true motivation for the extradition to the US and to the kangaroo court and endless incarceration that he faces