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Tony Chung: Prominent Hong Kong Activist Flees to UK, Violating Supervision Order

(CTN News) – A prominent advocate for democratic principles, Tony Chung, has recently fled Hong Kong in pursuit of asylum in the United Kingdom, thereby violating a supervision order imposed upon him.

In an interview with the BBC, the 22-year-old activist revealed the intense scrutiny he experienced in Hong Kong, highlighting the considerable stress imposed on him by local law enforcement.

Chung disclosed that he had felt compelled by the police to assume the role of a paid informant, sharing information about his fellow activists.

Previously convicted of advocating for the secession of Hong Kong under the stringent national security law, Chung completed his sentence in June.

However, upon release, he found himself ensnared in a situation that he described as “an even bigger and more dangerous prison” than the physical one he had left behind.

Operating under a one-year supervision order, Chung was obligated to seek permission for international travel. Authorities granted him approval to visit Japan for a six-day holiday starting on December 20.

It was during this trip that he experienced an emotional moment, leading him to decide on seeking asylum in the UK instead of returning to Hong Kong.

Efforts to obtain comments from the Hong Kong police on Chung’s claims are currently underway.

Chung joins the ranks of several pro-democracy activists who have fled Hong Kong in recent years. The exodus follows a series of massive demonstrations in 2019, prompting Beijing to impose a stringent national security law, purportedly aimed at restoring stability to the city.

This legislation, however, has been widely employed to suppress dissent and has been particularly impactful in targeting activists like Chung.

In late 2021, Tony Chung received a three-year and seven-month prison sentence for advocating Hong Kong’s pursuit of independence.

As the leader of the disbanded fringe group Studentlocalism, he faced charges related to his views on independence, a stance held before the national security law came into effect.

Tony Chung’s Ordeal: Intrusive Surveillance and Psychological Pressure

Additionally, Chung was found guilty of insulting the national flag in a separate case in December 2020, stemming from his arrest near the US consulate in October of that year, with supporters claiming he was en route to seek political asylum.

Upon his release on June 5, Chung detailed the intrusive nature of his interactions with national security police. He alleged that these authorities scheduled frequent meetings, occurring every two to four weeks, during which they scrutinized every aspect of his activities.

This included inquiries about individuals he met and communicated with, placing him in a difficult position.

Chung explained that he felt compelled to comply with the police requests due to their persistent nature, expressing, “How could I reject them? I cannot say no to them at all.”

Despite his insistence on providing only irrelevant information, Chung recounted feeling conflicted about divulging details about other pro-democracy activists.

According to Chung, when his responses did not satisfy the police, they resorted to intimidation to extract more information. The pressure was intensified as they demanded proof of his trustworthiness and transparency, creating an immense psychological burden.

A confidential declaration Chung signed before his release restricted him from disclosing these interactions to third parties, including lawyers.

After two months of regular meetings, the police reportedly offered Chung monetary compensation, ranging from HKD$500 to HKD$3,000, after each session.

Despite feeling compelled to accept to avoid suspicion of non-cooperation, he grappled with guilt, acknowledging that the information he provided might not have tangible consequences.

Chung expressed a pervasive sense of loss of control over his life, citing the police’s possession of his personal information, including bank details, student ID, and school schedule.

This constant surveillance left him unable to relax, turning even a simple activity like a walk into a stressful endeavor as he navigated the need to justify his actions to the police and feared potential arrest.

Under the mounting pressure that took a toll on both his mental and physical well-being, Tony Chung initiated plans to travel abroad.

Authorized by the Hong Kong Correctional Services, he was permitted to travel to Japan with the condition that he would return by December 25.

While contemplating his next steps in a Japanese hotel, the reality of leaving Hong Kong sooner than expected overwhelmed him, leading to a poignant moment of realization.

“In the hotel [in Japan], I started crying. I had thought of the reality of having to leave Hong Kong one day, but I still wasn’t prepared for leaving this soon,” Chung shared.

Despite the emotional difficulty, he acknowledged that the decision to seek asylum in the UK had become irreversible, at least in the near future.

Challenges Persist for Pro-Democracy Activists in Hong Kong

In the UK, Chung aspires to resume his studies and prioritize the restoration of his health. He expressed a hope to contribute positively to the cause for Hong Kong once he has settled down in his new environment.

Recent developments in the pro-democracy movement saw another prominent activist, Agnes Chow, announcing her decision to forego returning to Hong Kong after studying in Canada.

Jumping bail, she cited the restrictive government measures and was granted permission to study abroad while under investigation for “colluding with foreign forces” under the national security law.

While Chung and Chow are now among pro-democracy activists residing outside Hong Kong, many others remain entangled in legal proceedings within the territory. Media tycoon Jimmy Lai faces multiple national security charges, including “colluding with foreign forces.”

Additionally, a group of 47 pro-democracy campaigners and lawmakers is accused of endangering national security by organizing an unofficial primary election.

The trial concluded its closing arguments in early December. The unfolding events underscore the ongoing challenges faced by those advocating for democratic principles in Hong Kong.

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

Google

Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.

According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.

Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.

google

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.

Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.

Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.

To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.

Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.

On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.

Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

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Pixa Bay

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.

When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.

And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.

Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.

A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.

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Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.

But today, it feels more like reality.

Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.

Could we remember Google in the same way that we remember Yahoo or Ask Jeeves in decades? These next few years could be significant.

SOURCE | CNN

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2024 | Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

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Washington — Trump Media,  The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal from social media platform X about a search warrant acquired by prosecutors in the election meddling case against former President Donald Trump.

The justices did not explain their rationale, and there were no recorded dissents.

The firm, which was known as Twitter before being purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, claims a nondisclosure order that prevented it from informing Trump about the warrant obtained by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights.

The business also claims Trump should have had an opportunity to exercise executive privilege. If not reined in, the government may employ similar tactics to intercept additional privileged communications, their lawyers contended.

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Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

Two neutral electronic privacy groups also joined in, urging the high court to hear the case on First Amendment grounds.

Prosecutors, however, claim that the corporation never shown that Trump utilized the account for official purposes, therefore executive privilege is not a problem. A lower court also determined that informing Trump could have compromised the current probe.

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Trump utilized his Twitter account in the weeks preceding up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to spread false assertions about the election, which prosecutors claim were intended to create doubt in the democratic process.

The indictment describes how Trump used his Twitter account to encourage his followers to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification, and falsely claiming that the Capitol crowd, which battered police officers and destroyed glass, was peaceful.

musk trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

That case is now moving forward following the Supreme Court’s verdict in July, which granted Trump full immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president.

The warrant arrived at Twitter amid quick changes implemented by Musk, who bought the company in 2022 and has since cut off most of its workforce, including those dedicated to combating disinformation and hate speech.

He also welcomed back a vast list of previously banned users, including Trump, and endorsed him for the 2024 presidential election.

SOURCE | AP

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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

Supreme Court

(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.

The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.

Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.

This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.

In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.

The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.

This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.

The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.

In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.

According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.

Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.

The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.

For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.

Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.

As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.

As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.

The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.

SOURCE: AP

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