Five Eyes: China Running a ‘Concerted Campaign’ to Silence Critics in Hong Kong

‘The Constitution Is Not Suspended’: Lawmaker Tells Constituents They Still Have Right to Assemble

A state lawmaker in Colorado told his constituents this week that government cannot abridge the right to assemble laid out in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. State Rep. Mark Baisley, a Republican, said in a letter that the celebration of Thanksgiving serves as “a national day of remembrance for the remarkable story that gave rise to liberty on this continent.” Baisley, 65, said people will have the COVID-19 pandemic on their minds as they gather with others on the holiday. “It is important for Americans to realize, in spite of their good intentions, neither a Governor, a President-elect, nor I as your State Representative have the constitutional authority to restrict the number of family members who gather in your home,” Baisley wrote. “You have a constitutionally guaranteed right…

The allied Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, as well as the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) actions in Hong Kong in a rare joint statement published Thursday.

The Five Eyes foreign representatives declared that Beijing was running a “concerted campaign to silence all critical voices” in Hong Kong and that the CCP had breached the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration for the third time when it disqualified elected legislators in Hong Kong last week.

The communist regime had previously breached the Joint Declaration, the allies said, with the imposition of the national security law and its postponement of the Legislative Council elections in September.

“China’s action is a clear breach of its international obligations,” the statement said.

“The disqualification rules appear part of a concerted campaign to silence all critical voices following the postponement of September’s Legislative Council elections, the imposition of charges against a number of elected legislators, and actions to undermine the freedom of Hong Kong’s vibrant media,” they said.

Five Eyes: China Running a ‘Concerted Campaign’ to Silence Critics in Hong Kong

Calling on the Chinese regime to stop undermining its binding commitment that Hong Kong would enjoy a “high degree of autonomy” and the right to free speech, the ministers said for the sake of Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, the Chinese regime needs to respect the channels for the people of Hong Kong to express their legitimate concerns and opinions.

The publication of the statement by the Five Eyes nations comes after an unofficial list of the CCP’s grievances with Australia were leaked from the Chinese Embassy in Canberra to The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Nine Network.

The Nine Network, which obtained a copy of the list, said it allegedly contained 14 complaints from China, including Australia’s ban on Huawei from the new 5G network after it was deemed a national security risk, the successful call for a World Health inquiry into the origins of COVID-19—which the CCP said was allegedly part of the Trump administration’s anti-China campaign, the creation of Foreign Interference Laws—which the communist regime “viewed as targeting China and in the absence of any evidence,” and for speaking out on human rights allegations—which the CCP alleged was the Morrison government peddling lies.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed the list on Thursday, telling the Today show that Australia would not be compromising on issues of national importance.

“We won’t be compromising on the fact that we will set what our foreign investment laws are or how we build our 5G telecommunications networks or how we run our systems of protecting against interference,” Morrison said. “We won’t be changing any of that.”

Morrison noted the Chinese regime’s complaints included reported criticisms of Australia’s free press, saying, “We won’t be changing that in Australia either. So we’ll continue to be ourselves. We will stand up for our national interests, but we’ll engage with our partners respectively.”

Focus News: Five Eyes: China Running a ‘Concerted Campaign’ to Silence Critics in Hong Kong

Georgia Poll Worker Says She Found ‘Pristine’ Batch of Ballots That Went ‘98%’ for Joe Biden

Voyles said she worked at Fulton County’s Sandy Springs poll station and accepted the Fulton County Board of Elections’ request to carry out its hand recount of the election. At one point, Voyles said she noticed a batch of ballots that “was pristine,” while noting that “most of the ballots” she observed “had already been handled; they had been written on by people, and the edges were worn,” showing obvious signs of use. The “pristine ballot” batch, however, showed “a difference in the texture of the paper—it was if they were intended for absentee use but had not been used for that purposes,” and there “was a difference in the feel.” “These different ballots,” Voyles added, “included a slight depressed pre-fold so they could be easily folded and unfolded for…