A DAY to STAND AGAINST TYRANNY

Visual Artists Guild Press Release: For Immediate Release: October 1, 2020
       Today as we celebrate the moon festival, we recall the Chinese people who began the revolt against the Mongols in Yuan Dynasty by putting messages inside the moon cakes. Yuan Dynasty was considered the most repression period in Chinese history until now.
       We need to pay special attention to the 12 Hong Kong youths who attempted to escape from Hong Kong to Taiwan in a speedboat and were arrested on August 23, 2020 by China's coast guard.  Lawyers hired by their families have not been allowed to visit them.  Of the twelve people, two are under 18 years at the time of their arrest.  None of the twelve youths have been allowed visitation from their family members.  Three of them need medication and family members have not been able to provide them with such medications. Four families who previously had hired lawyers from China had been told by the lawyers that China's government had threatened them and they had to drop the case.

      China's authorities indicated that two of the twelve have hired lawyers.  However family members feel that those are lawyers assigned by the government and are not approved by the family nor the two youths themselves.
      The Visual Artists Guild, calls on China, as a member of the United Nations, that they must abide by the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights and must follow such convention to the latter.
      This June 30 at 11:55 p.m, Beijing formally announced the National Security Law as applied to Hong Kong.  Five minutes late, on July 1, the 23rd anniversary of the Hong Kong authority transferred from the United Kingdom to China, the law became effective.  The National Security Law effectively :
               Ends the One Country Two Systems for Hong Kong
               Ends Hong Kong's autonomy - a security agency is being installed in Hong Kong to report directly to Beijing.
               Ends Hong Kong Rule of Law - Beijing's law takes precedence over Hong Kong Law.
      From that National Security Law, Hong Kong issued arrests warrants in August of the six activists who are based overseas.  Among the six is Samuel Chu who is a U.S. citizen.  Such action effectively criminalizes anyone whom China consider has violated the National Security Law even if they are foreign nationals as Samuel Chu is.                     
      Visual Artists Guild calls on the international community to stand up for the Hong Kong Six and the Hong Kong 12 Youths.    
Let today's Moon Festival be called the Day to Stand Against Tyranny and may the Spirit of the Moon cakes continue to carry that message against tyranny.
Visual Artists Guild