Hong Kong’s next leader endorsed by pro-Beijing elites
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong’s leader-in-waiting, John Lee, was endorsed for the city’s top job on Sunday by a committee stacked with pro-Beijing loyalists, as the financial hub attempts to relaunch itself after several years of political upheaval. Lee, the sole candidate, received the votes of 1,416 members of a pro-Beijing election committee on Sunday […]
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says she will not seek a second term
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam, who has governed the global financial hub through the unprecedented upheaval of anti-government protests and COVID-19, said on Monday she will not seek a second five-year term of office. Lam’s announcement came as media said Chief Secretary John Lee, Hong Kong’s second most senior official, was […]
Hong Kong Government “strongly opposes” UK, US report on city’s diminishing freedoms
Hong KongReuters Hong Kong’s government said on Friday it rejected “unfounded and ridiculous” allegations made in policy reports from Britain and the United States of a deteriorating political and legal situation due to the city’s sweeping national security law. The United States and Britain released strongly-worded reports on Thursday detailing concerns about an erosion of […]
Hong Kong residents brace for citywide lockdown as leader calls for calm
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong residents braced for a city-wide lockdown, emptying supermarkets and pharmacies on Tuesday, even as leader Carrie Lam called for calm and appealed for the public not to worry over a compulsory mass COVID-19 testing plan. Mass testing for the city’s 7.4 million residents is set to take place over nine […]
Hong Kong’s ‘zero-COVID’ success now worsens strains of Omicron spike
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong until recently had an enviable record battling COVID-19, but as an Omicron wave now overwhelms the city, the steps that saved lives are making life unbearable for many of its 7.4 million people. Like an immune system overreacting and harming the person it is meant to protect, the “dynamic zero-COVID” […]
Hong Kong leader says fifth COVID wave has “overwhelmed”city’s capacity
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam said on Monday that the “onslaught” of coronavirus infections in the global financial hub has dealt a heavy blow and overwhelmed its capacity to deal with the epidemic as daily cases surge to record highs. Daily infections have multiplied 13 times over the past two weeks, from […]
Vegetable shortage adds to Hong Kong’s COVID woes
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Supplies of vegetables were running low in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with shoppers scrambling to buy whatever they could find, as the government blamed a resurgence of COVID-19 for a drop in deliveries of fresh produce from the mainland. Leader Carrie Lam was due to announce further COVID restrictions later in the […]
Hong Kong leader says she cannot accept claims press freedom faces “extinction”
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she could not accept suggestions that press freedom in the city faces “extinction”, just days after police raided an online media outlet and arrested seven people including senior editors. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks at a news conference in Beijing, China, on […]
Hong Kong’s new Catholic bishop hopes to foster healing
Hong Kong, ChinaAP The new head of Hong Kong’s Catholic diocese expressed hope Saturday that he could foster healing in a congregation and a city divided by the continuing fallout from massive anti-government protests in 2019. Stephen Chow, left, attends the episcopal ordination ceremony as the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese, in Hong Kong, […]
Hong Kong’s first ‘patriots-only’ election kicks off
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Fewer than 5,000 Hong Kong people from mostly pro-establishment circles began voting on Sunday for candidates to an election committee, vetted as loyal to Beijing, who will pick the city’s next China-backed leader and some of its legislature. Pro-democracy candidates are nearly absent from Hong Kong’s first election since Beijing overhauled the […]