Senin, 10 Juni 2019
Hong Kong protests: Leader Carrie Lam defiant on extradition plan - BBC News - BBC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMSLFd7af7c
2019-06-10 09:31:59Z
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Trump raises specter of imposing 'very profitable' new tariffs on Mexico despite deal breakthrough - Fox News
Even as he again hailed his administration's last-minute, much-heralded deal on Friday with Mexico as a "successful agreement" to address illegal immigration at the southern border, President Trump on Sunday bluntly suggested he might again seek to impose punishing tariffs on Mexico if its cooperation falls short in the future.
The president and other key administration officials also sharply disputed a New York Times report claiming the Friday deal "largely" had been negotiated months ago, and hinted that not all major details of the new arrangement have yet been made public.
In its report, the Times acknowledged that Mexico's pledge to deploy up to 6,000 national guard troops to its southern border with Guatemala "was larger than their previous pledge," and that Mexico's "agreement to accelerate the Migrant Protection Protocols could help reduce what Mr. Trump calls 'catch and release' of migrants in the United States by giving the country a greater ability to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico."
U.S. officials had been working to expand the migrant program, which already has led to the return of about 10,000 people, and said Friday's agreement was a major push in that direction. Nevertheless, the Times, citing unnamed officials from Mexico and the U.S., reported that the concessions already had been hashed out in a more limited form.
WATCH: ACTING DHS SECRETARY DISPUTES NEW YORK TIMES REPORT, SAYS 'ALL OF' THE DEAL IS 'NEW'
"Another false report in the Failing @nytimes," Trump wrote. "We have been trying to get some of these Border Actions for a long time, as have other administrations, but were not able to get them, or get them in full, until our signed agreement with Mexico. Additionally, and for many years Mexico was not being cooperative on the Border in things we had, or didn’t have, and now I have full confidence, especially after speaking to their President yesterday, that they will be very cooperative and want to get the job properly done."
That might have been a reference to discussions about Mexico becoming a "safe third country," which would make it harder for asylum-seekers who pass through the country to claim refuge in the U.S. The idea, which Mexico has long opposed, was discussed during negotiations, but Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has said his country did not agree to it, even as Mexican diplomats said negotiations on the topic will continue.
And, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," insisted "all of it is new," including the agreement to dispatch around 6,000 National Guard troops — a move Mexico has described as an "acceleration."
A Mexican Army soldier near an immigration checkpoint in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, this past Saturday. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
"This is the first time we've heard anything like this kind of number of law enforcement being deployed in Mexico to address migration, not just at the southern border but also on the transportation routes to the northern border and in coordinated patrols in key areas along our southwest border," he said, adding that "people can disagree with the tactics" but that "Mexico came to the table with real proposals" that he said will be effective, if implemented.
The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico headed off a 5 percent tax on all Mexican goods that Trump had threatened to impose starting Monday. The tariffs were set to rise to 15 percent on August 1, 2019, to 20 percent on September 1, 2019, and to 25 percent on October 1, 2019.
But, Trump suggested Sunday, the threat of tariffs is not completely removed.
"Importantly, some things not mentioned in [yesterday's] press release, one in particular, were agreed upon," Trump continued. "That will be announced at the appropriate time. There is now going to be great cooperation between Mexico & the USA, something that didn’t exist for decades. However, if for some unknown reason there is not, we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position of Tariffs - But I don’t believe that will be necessary. The Failing @nytimes, & ratings challenged @CNN, will do anything possible to see our Country fail! They are truly The Enemy of the People!"
Democrats seeking to unseat President Trump in 2020, meanwhile, said the Times report was evidence that the administration merely was trying to save face, after Trump suddenly announced his plan for the tariffs less than two weeks ago, on May 30.
Bernie Sanders, for example, derided Trump on Sunday for purportedly picking unnecessary and economically costly fights with a variety of countries.
"I think what the world is tired of and what I am tired of is a president who consistently goes to war, verbal war with our allies, whether it is Mexico, whether it is Canada," Sanders said.
But, in a tense moment on CNN's "State of the Union," Sanders struggled when asked by host Dana Bash why he had called the situation at the southern border a "fake crisis" engineered by the White House.
"Immigration officials have arrested or encountered more than 144,000 migrants at the southern border in May, the highest monthly total in 13 years," Bash began. "Border facilities are dangerously overcrowded; migrants are actually standing on toilets to get space to breathe. How is that not a crisis?"
Sanders responded that the president has been "demonizing" immigrants.
Beto O'Rourke, in a separate interview, conceded only that Trump may have helped accelerate the implementation of a previously existing arrangement.
"I think the president has completely overblown what he purports to have achieved. These are agreements that Mexico had already made and, in some case, months ago," O'Rourke said on ABC News’ "This Week." "They might have accelerated the timetable, but by and large the president achieved nothing except to jeopardize the most important trading relationship that the United States of America has."
Mexican officials, meanwhile, insisted that they would remain engaged in active negotiations with the Trump administration.
"We want to continue to work with the U.S. very closely on the different challenges that we have together, and one urgent one at this moment is immigration," Mexican diplomat Martha Barcena said Sunday.
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She told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that the countries' "joint declaration of principles... gives us the base for the road map that we have to follow in the incoming months on immigration and cooperation on asylum issues and development in Central America."
Barcena added that the U.S. wanted to see the number of migrants crossing the border to return to levels seen in 2018.
Fox News' Bret Baier, Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-very-profitable-tariffs-mexico-deal-breakthrough
2019-06-10 08:44:29Z
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Hong Kong's protest movement was on life support. Then the government revived it - CNN
Activists had been jailed, while others faced prosecution over the 2014 demonstrations, which shut down parts of the city for several months. Pro-democracy lawmakers had been kicked out of office on a range of grounds, and numbers at events in their support or calling for political reform were dwindling. Polls found that confidence in the city's future was at a 16-year low.
Then came the extradition bill.
According to organizers, more than a million people took to the streets Sunday to protest a new law which could allow Hong Kongers to be extradited to China on a range of offenses. Critics say the move would make anyone in Hong Kong vulnerable to being grabbed by the Chinese authorities for political reasons or inadvertent business offenses and undermine the city's semi-autonomous legal system.
Though police put the protest size at closer to 250,000, there's little doubt that the march was among the largest since 2003, when 500,000 people protested against a sedition law -- and successfully blocked it.
That protest was motivated, in part, by fears the city would be subject to a China-style rule of law, or rather lack thereof. Fear of China is what drove people to the streets Sunday, too.
Sunday's protest, however, wasn't just remarkable for its size -- but also its demographics. While the Umbrella Movement galvanized Hong Kong's youth and was mainly student-led, it wasn't popular with everyone, and some in the city felt it was disruptive to business.
Opposition to the extradition bill, however, came from a wider cross-section of society.
Lawyers, business people, middle-class, middle-aged first-time protesters were all on the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday.
Their presence showed that while the fight to extend Hong Kong's freedoms may have fizzled, the willingness to battle to protect existing rights is as strong as ever.
Historic protests
The 2003 anti-sedition protests were a defining moment for the city's opposition movement.
The bill could have seen anyone convicted of treason, sedition, secession or subversion against China jailed for life, and -- like Sunday's protest -- attracted huge opposition from many sectors of Hong Kong. The huge march was followed by multiple government resignations, and the bill was dropped, never to be revived.
But while the 2003 protests are remembered as being against the sedition law, they took place on July 1, the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese control and an annual day of protests.
Many participants in that protest were also expressing frustration with the government's handling of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and its effect on the economy, as well as a host of minor scandals.
Sunday's march was about one issue alone -- saying no to the extradition bill -- but whether it can repeat the success of the 2003 protest is perhaps up for debate.
During a press conference Monday to address the protests, the city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended the bill, saying "additional safeguards" have been made to protect human rights.
"We will make sure that all these additional safeguards are legally binding," she said.
But while it is true the government has watered down some provisions, especially over white collar and tax crimes (in an apparent sop to the business community), it has not slowed the breakneck pace of the legislation, which has bypassed traditional scrutiny by lawmakers.
A second reading is due to take place on Wednesday, and the government has expressed its intention to pass the bill before the summer break.
What happens next?
Protests in 2003 sunk the sedition law and saw multiple officials resign. After the Umbrella Movement then-Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying didn't run for a second term, and the protests profoundly changed the makeup of the pro-democracy camp in Parliament, though several of the most radical lawmakers have since been expelled.
Like Leung, Lam's days may be numbered. While she is unlikely to resign, many observers feel the furor over the extradition bill will put Beijing off appointing her for a second term, preferring a leader untainted by the current political crisis.
While Lam claims it is her initiative, Beijing's role in all of this is unclear, due to the incredibly opaque nature of Chinese politics.
State media in mainland China has come out hard in favor of the extradition bill and the need to pass it quickly, downplaying the protests, coverage of which has been subject to heavy censorship on Chinese social media. A nationalistic state-run tabloid accused "foreign forces" of encouraging the protests.
Both the Beijing and Hong Kong governments may feel they are too far gone with this matter to back down, even in the face of such concerted opposition as seen Sunday -- Lam especially has staked her reputation on the bill.
Pro-democracy lawmakers will do everything they can to derail the bill when debate resumes on Wednesday, with a 1-million-strong mandate to increase their efforts, which have previously dissolved into scuffles in the legislature. But they lack the numbers to actually vote it down, and no pro-government lawmakers have yet said they will vote against the bill, guaranteeing its passage.
In that case, the sight of tens thousands of people in Hong Kong's streets may become familiar once again, courtesy of a protest movement the government has inadvertently reinvigorated.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/10/asia/hong-kong-extradition-protest-intl-hnk/index.html
2019-06-10 07:42:00Z
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Hong Kong will not withdraw extradition bill: Carrie Lam - Aljazeera.com
Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader said on Monday she had no plans to withdraw a controversial plan to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland, a day after an estimated one million people marched to oppose the proposal.
"This is a very important piece of legislation that will help to uphold justice and also ensure that Hong Kong will fulfil her international obligations in terms of cross-boundary and transnational crimes," Chief Executive Carrie Lam told reporters.
Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Beijing, said: "In the face of the protests, in the face of all her critics, Carrie Lam remains undeterred".
"It's pretty clear she is not going to shelve this controversial bill that has caused so much alarm and agitation in Hong Kong.
"She says the bill is necessary and sensible and that is also the view of the government here in Beijing," Brown said.
Riot police surrounded Hong Kong's parliament on Monday after a mass rally descended into violence as several hundred protesters clashed with police, who responded with pepper spray before the standoff ended.
The protests plunged Hong Kong into a new political crisis, heaping pressure on Lam's administration and her official backers in Beijing. Veteran legislators have called on her to resign.
Organisers claimed more than a million people marched on Sunday against the proposed bill [Anthony Kwan/Getty Images]
The semi-autonomous city's government is pushing a bill through the legislature that would allow extraditions to any jurisdiction with which it does not already have a treaty - including mainland China.
Many in Hong Kong believe Lam to be a puppet of Beijing [Anthony Wallace/AFP]
The proposals have sparked an outcry and birthed an opposition that unites a wide cross-section of the city, with opponents fearing the law would entangle people in China's opaque and politicised court system.
Protesters believe the proposed law would damage the city's rule of law and put many at risk of extradition to China for political crimes.
Public backlash
Sunday saw huge crowds march in blazing summer heat through the cramped streets of the financial hub's main island in a noisy, colourful demonstration calling on the government to scrap its planned extradition law.
Police estimated the crowd at 240,000, but organisers said more than one million took part in what appeared to be the biggest protest since 2003 - presenting Lam with a major political crisis.
But in her first comments since the mass rallies, Lam said she had no plans to change the current law's wording or withdraw it from the city's legislature.
"The bill will resume its second reading on the 12th June," she said.
Lam denied ignoring the huge public backlash and said her administration had already made major concessions to ensure the city's unique freedoms would be protected and that the bill's human rights safeguards met international standards.
"I and my team have not ignored any views expressed on this very important piece of legislation. We have been listening and listening very attentively," she said.
Demonstrators clash with riot police during the protest [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
But Al Jazeera's Brown said that many people are not convinced by Lam's arguments that there are sufficient safeguards in the new bill to address their concerns.
US and European officials have issued formal warnings, matching international business and human rights lobbies that fear the changes would dent Hong Kong's rule of law.
The former British colony was handed back to Chinese rule in 1997 amid guarantees of autonomy and various freedoms, including a separate legal system, which many diplomats and business leaders believe is the city's strongest remaining asset.
"It's a proposal, or a set of proposals, which strike a terrible blow ... against the rule of law, against Hong Kong's stability and security, against Hong Kong's position as a great international trading hub," the territory's last British Governor, Chris Patten, said on Thursday.
'Foreign forces'
Guards removed damaged barricades from the front of the Legislative Council building during Monday's morning rush hour and cleaning crews washed away protest debris.
All but one protester had been cleared from the area, with residents back to work as normal.
Hong Kong newspaper Mingpao said in an editorial the government should take the protesters seriously and that pushing the legislation forward would exacerbate tensions.
The official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial on Monday that "foreign forces" were trying to hurt China by creating chaos in Hong Kong.
"Any fair-minded person would deem the amendment bill a legitimate, sensible and reasonable piece of legislation that would strengthen Hong Kong's rule of law and deliver justice," the mainland paper said.
Amnesty International said the amended extradition law was a threat to human rights.
"If enacted, this law would extend the ability of the mainland authorities to target critics, human rights activists, journalists, NGO workers and anyone else in Hong Kong, much in the same way they do at home," it said in a statement.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/hong-kong-withdraw-extradition-bill-carrie-lam-190610042120909.html
2019-06-10 06:54:00Z
52780310542261
Tory leadership contest: Boris Johnson pledges income tax cut for high earners - BBC News
Boris Johnson has pledged to cut income tax bills for people earning more than £50,000 a year if he wins the race to succeed Theresa May as prime minister.
The former foreign secretary told the Telegraph he would use money currently set aside for a no-deal Brexit to raise the 40% tax rate threshold to £80,000.
His promise came as Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said she believed Jeremy Hunt should be prime minister.
Tory MPs have until 17:00 BST to enter the race to become party leader and PM.
Mrs May officially stepped down as the leader of the Conservative Party last week, but will remain as prime minister until her successor is chosen.
Conservative MPs who want to replace her must have the backing of eight other party colleagues to officially enter the contest.
But Michael Gove, one of 11 to have said they plan to run, has faced calls to drop out of the race after he admitted using cocaine several times more than 20 years ago.
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Former party chairwoman Baroness Warsi said it would be "hypocrisy of the highest order" for Mr Gove to remain in the contest, after an article he wrote in 1999 in which he criticised "middle class professionals" who took drugs was republished.
Apologising on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, the environment secretary said he was "fortunate" to have avoided prison.
And at his campaign launch on Monday, Mr Gove is expected to insist he is "undaunted" by criticism, and will say he can both deliver Brexit and "stop Jeremy Corbyn ever getting the keys to Downing Street".
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson told the Telegraph he planned to cut income tax bills for three million people, partly by using money from a pot set aside by the Treasury for a possible no-deal Brexit, and partly by increasing employee national insurance payments in line with the new income tax threshold.
The paper estimates the move would cost £9.6bn a year.
"We should be raising thresholds of income tax so that we help the huge numbers that have been captured in the higher rate by fiscal drag," Mr Johnson said.
Paul Johnson, from the Institute For Fiscal Studies, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme higher rate taxpayers would receive a "quite significant tax cut" under Mr Johnson's plans - but the biggest beneficiaries would include wealthy pensioners, and people living solely off investments, as neither pay national insurance.
Tory MP Nicky Morgan, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee and is backing Mr Gove in the leadership contest, said: "The question for Boris is why is this a priority when you could be obviously lifting more people out of paying income tax - the lower rate taxpayers - or you could be give people receiving child benefit an extra £15 a week."
She added Mr Gove had been "very candid about having made a mistake and he is right to say people shouldn't be defined by the worst mistakes they have made".
Ms Rudd, leader of the centrist One Nation Conservative Caucus group and an influential voice on the Remain-supporting wing of the party, told the Times she was supporting Mr Hunt: "These are serious times and we need a respected statesman who Brussels will listen to, not more bluster."
Launching his campaign for leader on Monday, Mr Hunt will say the challenge of Brexit calls for an "experienced, serious leader", not the "art of empty rhetoric".
Who will replace Theresa May?
The winner of the contest to lead the Conservative Party will become the next prime minister.
As the nominations officially open:
- Health Secretary Matt Hancock will argue he is the "fresh start" the country needs and can make the next decade the "soaring 20s". He says he would put winning the case for capitalism at the heart of a manifesto to beat the Labour Party in a general election
- Home Secretary Sajid Javid picked up further support, with ministers Caroline Nokes and Victoria Atkins choosing to back him after Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson announced her support on Saturday
- Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab will unveil proposals to redirect £500m a year from the aid budget to create an international wildlife fund to save endangered species and habitats. "We've got to leave the environment in a better state than we found it," he will say
- Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey will also launch their campaigns on Monday
- Sam Gyimah says as prime minister he would help young people get on the housing ladder by slashing stamp duty and creating at least a million new homes in five years
- Rory Stewart used a video message to insist he would not back down in his battle to become Conservative leader
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said five of the candidates appeared to fall short of having eight supporters - the number required to put themselves forward in the contest.
However, he noted many Tory MPs had yet to declare who they were backing.
Whereas candidates in the past would have only needed two MPs supporting them, senior Tories decided to change the rules earlier this month in a bid to speed up the contest.
After nominations close, all 313 Conservative MPs will vote for their preferred candidate in a series of ballots held on 13, 18, 19 and 20 June to whittle down the contenders one by one until only two are left.
Due to another rule change, candidates will need to win the votes of at least 16 other MPs in the first ballot and 32 colleagues in the second to proceed.
If all the candidates exceed this threshold, the person with the fewest votes will be eliminated, a process that will continue in subsequent rounds until only two remain.
The final two will be put to a vote of members of the wider Conservative Party from 22 June, with the winner expected to be announced about four weeks later.
On Tuesday 18 June BBC One will be hosting a live election debate between the Conservative MPs who are still in the race.
If you would like to ask the candidates a question live on air, use the form below. It should be open to all of them, not a specific politician.
If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48577579
2019-06-10 06:05:35Z
52780311293773
Hong Kong will not withdraw extradition bill: Carrie Lam - Aljazeera.com
Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader said on Monday she had no plans to withdraw a controversial plan to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland, a day after an estimated one million people marched to oppose the proposal.
"This is a very important piece of legislation that will help to uphold justice and also ensure that Hong Kong will fulfil her international obligations in terms of cross-boundary and transnational crimes," Chief Executive Carrie Lam told reporters.
Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Beijing, said: "In the face of the protests, in the face of all her critics, Carrie Lam remains undeterred".
"It's pretty clear she is not going to shelve this controversial bill that has caused so much alarm and agitation in Hong Kong.
"She says the bill is necessary and sensible and that is also the view of the government here in Beijing," Brown said.
Riot police surrounded Hong Kong's parliament on Monday after a mass rally descended into violence as several hundred protesters clashed with police, who responded with pepper spray before the standoff ended.
The protests plunged Hong Kong into a new political crisis, heaping pressure on Lam's administration and her official backers in Beijing. Veteran legislators have called on her to resign.
Organisers claimed more than a million people marched on Sunday against the proposed bill [Anthony Kwan/Getty Images]
The semi-autonomous city's government is pushing a bill through the legislature that would allow extraditions to any jurisdiction with which it does not already have a treaty - including mainland China.
Many in Hong Kong believe Lam to be a puppet of Beijing [Anthony Wallace/AFP]
The proposals have sparked an outcry and birthed an opposition that unites a wide cross-section of the city, with opponents fearing the law would entangle people in China's opaque and politicised court system.
Protesters believe the proposed law would damage the city's rule of law and put many at risk of extradition to China for political crimes.
Public backlash
Sunday saw huge crowds march in blazing summer heat through the cramped streets of the financial hub's main island in a noisy, colourful demonstration calling on the government to scrap its planned extradition law.
Police estimated the crowd at 240,000, but organisers said more than one million took part in what appeared to be the biggest protest since 2003 - presenting Lam with a major political crisis.
But in her first comments since the mass rallies, Lam said she had no plans to change the current law's wording or withdraw it from the city's legislature.
"The bill will resume its second reading on the 12th June," she said.
Lam denied ignoring the huge public backlash and said her administration had already made major concessions to ensure the city's unique freedoms would be protected and that the bill's human rights safeguards met international standards.
"I and my team have not ignored any views expressed on this very important piece of legislation. We have been listening and listening very attentively," she said.
Demonstrators clash with riot police during the protest [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
But Al Jazeera's Brown said that many people are not convinced by Lam's arguments that there are sufficient safeguards in the new bill to address their concerns.
US and European officials have issued formal warnings, matching international business and human rights lobbies that fear the changes would dent Hong Kong's rule of law.
The former British colony was handed back to Chinese rule in 1997 amid guarantees of autonomy and various freedoms, including a separate legal system, which many diplomats and business leaders believe is the city's strongest remaining asset.
"It's a proposal, or a set of proposals, which strike a terrible blow ... against the rule of law, against Hong Kong's stability and security, against Hong Kong's position as a great international trading hub," the territory's last British Governor, Chris Patten, said on Thursday.
'Foreign forces'
Guards removed damaged barricades from the front of the Legislative Council building during Monday's morning rush hour and cleaning crews washed away protest debris.
All but one protester had been cleared from the area, with residents back to work as normal.
Hong Kong newspaper Mingpao said in an editorial the government should take the protesters seriously and that pushing the legislation forward would exacerbate tensions.
The official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial on Monday that "foreign forces" were trying to hurt China by creating chaos in Hong Kong.
"Any fair-minded person would deem the amendment bill a legitimate, sensible and reasonable piece of legislation that would strengthen Hong Kong's rule of law and deliver justice," the mainland paper said.
Amnesty International said the amended extradition law was a threat to human rights.
"If enacted, this law would extend the ability of the mainland authorities to target critics, human rights activists, journalists, NGO workers and anyone else in Hong Kong, much in the same way they do at home," it said in a statement.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/hong-kong-withdraw-extradition-bill-carrie-lam-190610042120909.html
2019-06-10 05:54:00Z
52780310542261
Minggu, 09 Juni 2019
China should be worried about our progress in Mexico: Sen. Tillis - Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jk1GgxU5VI
2019-06-09 19:58:19Z
52780309231204
Langganan:
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