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 […]
Hong Kong police file complaints to lawyer groups over national security case
Hong Kong, China Reuters Hong Kong police said on Thursday they had filed complaints to the city’s main professional legal bodies over a national security case involving a fund that had assisted pro-democracy protesters to pay for legal services. Five trustees of the now-disbanded 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund were arrested by police this week, including […]
Updated: Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge
Updated: 7.45am (AEST), 12th May, 2022Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, and three others who helped run a now-disbanded Hong Kong fund for protesters were arrested by on charges of “collusion with foreign forces,” and later released on bail. Zen, a 90-year-old former bishop of Hong […]
Christians call for amnesty for Hong Kongers charged under national security law
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters A coalition of Protestant and Catholic Christian groups on Monday called on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to drop charges against media tycoon Jimmy Lai and other political activists jailed or in custody under a China-imposed national security law. The petition by more than a dozen Christian groups and leaders was handed […]
Essay: How colonial-era laws are being used to shut down independent journalism in Hong Kong
In an article first published on The Conversation, academics YAN-HO LAI and YUEN CHAN look at how old laws are being employed in the crackdown on media outlets in Hong Kong…
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 police raid pro-democracy media outlet, arrest six
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hundreds of Hong Kong national security police raided the office of online pro-democracy media outlet Stand News on Wednesday and arrested six people, including senior staff, for “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”. The raid further raises concerns about the freedom of speech and that of the media in the former British colony, […]
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, […]
Amnesty to shut Hong Kong offices given national security law risks
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters International rights group Amnesty International said on Monday it would close its Hong Kong offices because a China-imposed security law had now made it “effectively impossible” for rights groups to work freely without the risk of reprisals. Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, the chair of Amnesty’s international board, said in a statement that […]