Woman dies after receiving Sinovac vaccine, HK faces less than 10 cases

A woman has passed away after receiving the Sinovac Covid vaccine, marking the second death under the city’s mass inoculation drive, sources said.

This came as Hong Kong expects to see fewer than 10 cases today.

The woman, 55, suffered from stroke three days after receiving the Sinovac shot on Tuesday at the Kwun Chung Sports Centre. She was sent to the Kwong Wah Hospital on Friday and died that night.

Earlier this week, a 63-year-old man died two days after receiving the Sinovac vaccine. But an expert panel determined the man’s death was not directly linked to the mainland-produced jabs.

Professor Ivan Hung Fan Ngai, co-convenor of the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following Covid-19 Immunization said an initial autopsy report showed that the ill man suffered from serious heart disease.

He said health authorities identified that three of the patient’s coronary vessels were blocked, one which was completely sealed and the other two were 70 to 90 percent clogged.

The patient also had pulmonary edema, shortness of breath and a respiratory failture which led to his death.

But experts will have to wait for a full report before making a final conclusion.

In a radio program, health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee said a drop in Covid vaccines appointment is normal because citizens will take more time to consider the decision.

Chan made her remark this morning before the news about the woman’s death broke out.

She said vaccination appointments have reduced after the first patient died on February 28.

Daily online appointments for the Sinovac doses reported on Friday stood at about 4,900 – less than a third of bookings at around 18,000 on Tuesday before the man’s death.

Around 6,000 people have registered for the BioNTech jabs on Friday, far fewer than the 91,200 records when the system started accepting appointments on Wednesday.

But she assured the city’s mass inoculation drive would continue because the benefit still outweighs the risks, adding that the second batch of Sinovac vaccines would arrive within March.

The health chief also said officials would closely monitor the delivery schedule of AstraZeneca’s vaccines, as Italy had blocked the planned export destined for Australia after the manufacturer failed to meet European Union contract commitments.

According to the agreement with the supplier, the first batch was expected to arrive in Hong Kong in the second quarter of the year, Chan added.

Hong Kong’s vaccination scheme, which kicked off in late February with only Sinovac jabs, was set to roll out the second BioNTech shots for some member of priority groups from today.

The official launch of the seven vaccination centers for the Germany-US-produced vaccine is scheduled for next week.

On Friday, the city recorded 11 new Covid infections, taking the overall tally to 11,066, which included 201 related deaths.

HK Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam, Agnes Chow jailed.

 

HONG KONG (AP) — Three prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were sentenced to prison Wednesday for a protest outside police headquarters as authorities stepped up a crackdown on opposition to tighten control by Beijing over the territory.

The activists — Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam — are among more than 10,000 people who have been arrested since June 2019 on charges related to protests against a proposed extradition law that expanded to include demands for greater democracy.

Beijing responded to the protests by imposing a sweeping national security law to crack down on dissent, which prompted more public opposition.

Wong, 24, is known abroad for his role as a student leader of the 2014 “Umbrella Revolution” protests in Hong Kong. He was sentenced to 13 1/2 months in prison after pleading guilty to organizing and taking part in the June 21, 2019, demonstration outside Hong Kong’s police headquarters over the extradition bill and police use of force against protesters.

Chow was sentenced to 10 months by the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts after pleading guilty to participating and inciting other protesters. Lam pleaded guilty to incitement and was sentenced to 7 months.

The crackdown has prompted accusations Beijing is violating the autonomy it promised when the former British colony was returned to China in 1997. It also has triggered warnings the ruling Communist Party is damaging Hong Kong’s appeal as a global business center and one of Asia’s most dynamic cities.

Other democracy advocates including media tycoon Jimmy Lai have also been arrested under the security law.

Hong Kong’s last British governor, Chris Patten criticized the sentencing, saying in a statement that it “is another grim example of China’s determination to put Hong Kong in handcuffs.”

Maria Adebahr, a spokeswoman for Germany’s foreign ministry, told reporters in Berlin that the sentences are “another building block in a series of worrisome developments that we have seen in connection with human and civil rights in Hong Kong during the last year.”

Amnesty International said the three “must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

“Once again, the government has used the politically motivated charge of ‘inciting others to protest’ to prosecute people who have merely spoken out and protested peacefully,” said the group’s Asia-Pacific regional director, Yamini Mishra.

“By targeting well-known activists from Hong Kong’s largely leaderless protest movement, authorities are sending a warning to anyone who dares openly criticize the government that they could be next.”

In Denmark, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and former lawmaker, Ted Hui, urged European nations on Wednesday to allow protesters in Hong Kong “a safe haven from the terror” of China’s Communist Party.

“The situation in Hong Kong is getting worse by the day and it is important that the world knows that Hong Kong is no longer a free city,” Hui said in an email to The Associated Press.

Ms. Chow, who had not previously been imprisoned, said she was not adjusting well to conditions in detention and was unable to sleep at night, according to a message relayed to friends who had visited her in jail and posted to her Facebook account on Sunday.

“I understand that I will probably be sentenced to prison on Wednesday, so my morale has been low, and I’ve been very worried,” she was quoted as saying.

Ms. Chow was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of violating the new national security law by inciting secession. But she has not been charged in that case.

The activists’ supporters said they worried that the three could face more prison time on additional charges. “Sentences could pile up,” Nathan Law, a Hong Kong activist who now lives in London, wrote on Twitter. “To be honest, I have no idea when the trio could step out of the prison.”

Mr. Cheung said that Mr. Wong had found one positive thing about returning to detention: He no longer had to face constant questions about what was next for Hong Kong’s besieged democracy movement.

“He doesn’t have to deal with that for now,” Mr. Cheung said. “People understand that he’s incapable of doing much in prison. The burden is now on people on the outside.”

Taiwan legislator praises Cathay CEO as 'true warrior' for refusing to give list of striking employees to CCP

Supporters of the Hong Kong protests, including Taiwanese Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), are praising former Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg for taking a principled stand and protecting his employees at the expense of his own position.

According to local Hong Kong media reports, Beijing authorities asked Hogg to hand over a list of Cathay Pacific employees who had taken part in the recent anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong. Instead of betraying his employees and endangering their safety, he only provided a list of one name -- his own.

Indicating the intimate involvement of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the investigation of the airline, Hogg's resignation was first made public by Chinese state-run media outlet CCTV at 4:50 p.m. on Aug. 16. It was not until 5:14 p.m. that Cathay Pacific itself officially announced that Hogg was stepping down as CEO, leading to speculation that his resignation was the result of pressure from Beijing authorities.

According to local Hong Kong media reports, Hogg was asked by the CCP's Civil Aviation Administration to hand over a list of employees who had participated in the anti-extradition bill protests. However, he reportedly only responded by providing his own name "Rupert Hogg" on the list.

This prompted many Hong Kong netizens to praise him with comments such as "We must remember this gentleman's name: Mr. Rupert Hogg!"

On a Facebook post uploaded on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 18), DPP legislator Wang Ting-yu wrote that Hogg's selfless act reminded him of Taiwanese lawyer Tang Te-chang (湯德章), who during the February 28 Incident in 1947 burned a list of names of people on the Settlement Committee, saving many lives. Wang wrote that, like Tang Te-chang in Tainan, Hogg chose to sacrifice himself to save others.

Under the heading "True warriors show the noblest glory of human nature when facing great decisions," Wang wrote the following tribute to Hogg:

"He took responsibility for the strike and resigned!
He didn't sell out any Cathay Pacific employees!
He took responsibility himself!
Please remember the name of this gentleman.
Mr. Rupert Hogg!
I salute you!"

A very insightful video about HK's problem and its past.

This Caucasian's opinion on China for HK

1. It needs to break the original situation of hk in order to bring hk forward. 
Do you think HKer want China to intervene? To do that China central government will have to intervene and determine what policies shall have and how the SAR government shall govern the SAR, which ironically will break the promise of 1 country 2 systems. 

2. HKer should press the Chinese government for more rapid integration in China's own plan 
China did try to integrate China's own plan with HK slightly but not to the extend of breaking the promise, this I can see through the proposal of introducing Mandarin language classes into the education system of HK, what happened after that? HKer protested and refused to associate anything that related to China at all. 

Like this Caucasion mentioned, HKer are truly too self centered and arrogant yet ignorance at the same time. They refused to acknowledge they are Chinese, refuse to integrate with the Chinese, refused to even learn about China. 

And now, they are blaming everything on China for their current issues when all the issues were from HKer themselves in the past. 

I dunno why they hated the Chinese central government and China so much when China basically kept their promise of 1 country 2 systems with minimal interference. 

Yet, they got the guts to wave the colonial flag while protest against own country , didn't they study the British era in their history classes? Even the young didn't study, the older generation shall know better about life during the British Administration in HK yet there's this grandma kept waiving union jack  Why wave the colonial flag when dunno the real fact and history? 

I think previous generation of HKer failed so badly that they not only ruined HK for their younger generation, they themselves even failed to educate the fact about British to the younger generation. 

I have never see a whole community that are so lost and got no dignity at all. 


From what i can see, China will let HK rot itself, so 10 years later these protesters will regret , because economy ruined and still stuck in HK and got nowhere to go. Will have to wait till 2047 when Chinese Central government take over HK then slowly rebuild HK back.