RantCrush Top 5: August 11, 2017

A democracy activist in Hong Kong said that Chinese agents put metal staples into his legs because he asked soccer star Lionel Messi for a gift for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. In early July, the activist, Howard Lam, wrote to Messi to ask him to sign a photo for Liu, as the imprisoned man was a fan of Messi and had been diagnosed with liver cancer. Messi sent the photo, but it didn’t reach Lam until after Liu’s death on July 13. Lam now claims he received a threatening phone call from a Chinese man earlier this week, who warned him not to give the photo to Liu’s wife. Yesterday, Lam was allegedly abducted during a shopping trip. He says he was drugged and when he woke up he was tied up and stripped of his clothes. Two men allegedly asked if he is a Christian and then drove the staples into his legs. They also warned him not to “cause trouble” and asked about Liu’s wife.

A Hong Kong activist said that Chinese agents drove staples into his legs over a Lionel Messi photo https://t.co/exD3KRitLQ

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) August 11, 2017

Recently, there have been several incidents that have caused worry in Hong Kong over China’s authoritarian behavior. Hong Kong has its own political, legal, and economic systems, even though it is under Chinese rule. “I urge the Hong Kong government to conduct a full investigation,” said Lam Cheuk-ting, a member of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, at a press conference today. “And we want to send a very clear message to the Chinese authority that this kind of incident should not happen and should not happen again.”

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.