Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants for eight overseas activists
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong police on Monday accused eight overseas-based activists of serious national security offences including foreign collusion and incitement to secession and offered rewards for information leading to their arrest. The accused are activists Nathan Law, Anna Kwok and Finn Lau, former lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui, lawyer and legal scholar […]
Hong Kong businesses mark Tiananmen anniversary in face of pressures
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Some Hong Kong shopkeepers are quietly commemorating the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown despite the spectre of a China-imposed national security law and pressure to stay silent on the episode that is censored in mainland China. Hong Kong used to play a leading global role in commemorating the 1989 crackdown by […]
Hong Kong rejects US report criticising crackdown on freedoms
Hong Kong, China Reuters Hong Kong on Saturday “firmly rejected” findings in a new US Government report that said US interests had been threatened and that Beijing continued to “undermine” the rule of law and freedoms in the territory under a national security crackdown. The US 2023 Hong Kong Policy Act Report, published by the […]
Hong Kong police keep tight tabs on first authorised protest in years
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong police on Sunday permitted a small protest march under tight restrictions in one of the first demonstrations to be approved since the enactment of a sweeping national security law in 2020. Several dozen demonstrators were required to wear numbered lanyards and were barred from wearing masks, as police monitored their […]
Britain criticises “erosion of freedoms” in Hong Kong, draws rebuke from China
London, UK Reuters Britain criticised on Thursday what it said was the systematic erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong by the Chinese Government and a crackdown on free speech by authorities in the former British colony, drawing an angry response from China. The criticism was contained in the government’s latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong, […]
Members of US religious freedom panel speak out against China-Vatican deal
Vatican CityRNS Members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom criticised a recently renewed Vatican deal with China, saying it emboldens the Chinese government to crackdown on Christian communities. The secretive provisional agreement, originally signed in 2018 and renewed on 2nd October, allows Beijing to have a say in the appointment of bishops in the […]
Priest begins protest outside Hong Kong prison against detentions of activists
Hong KongReuters A Catholic priest launched a three-day protest on Thursday in sweltering heat outside a Hong Kong maximum security prison, demanding the release of activists and democratic politicians held under a sweeping national security law. Milan-born missionary Franco Mella, a longtime rights activist in the Chinese-ruled city, vowed to refuse food as he stood […]
Essay: Hong Kong’s handover 25 years on – why human rights eroded so dramatically in the past two years
As China prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British colonial rule, legal scholar ERIC YAN-HO LAI says – in an article first published on The Conversation – that human rights in Hong Kong have been significantly eroded…
Explainer: Hong Kong’s rocky political road since the 1997 handover
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong on 1st July will mark its 25th anniversary under Chinese rule. The financial hub returned to China from Britain in 1997, with promises of wide-ranging freedoms and autonomy under “one country, two systems” governance. Critics, including some Western governments, say China has reneged on those promises in recent years under […]
Hong Kong Catholic cardinal criticises China deal after national security arrest
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph Zen – in his first public remarks since he was arrested in a national security case earlier this month – on Tuesday criticised the Vatican for its “unwise” deal with China that is due for renewal in September. Zen, a 90-year-old retired Bishop of Hong Kong, is one […]