Category Archives: Hong Kong

Wong calls ‘reprehensible’ letter targeting Hong Kong activist in Australia a ‘threat to national sovereignty’

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Ted Hui received letter offering reward for information about his family after China accused Australia of interfering with its internal affairs

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has described another threatening letter sent to an exiled Hong Kong dissident in Australia as “reprehensible”, a “threat to our national sovereignty” and “the safety and security of Australians”.

The anonymous letter, mailed from Hong Kong and sent to Ted Hui’s Adelaide office, offered his colleagues $203,000 for information on his whereabouts and his family. It arrived just days after China’s foreign ministry accused the Albanese government of interfering with its internal affairs.

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The obscure Jimmy Lai ruling that exposed the erosion of Hong Kong’s rule of law

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The moves that barred the media mogul’s choice of lawyer are immune from legal challenge, giving the national security committee what one expert called ‘the powers of a police state’

The dwindling freedom in Hong Kong over the past few years has been described as “death by a thousand cuts”. Critics have been jailed, elections have been transformed into “patriots only” affairs, journalists have been harassed and hundreds of thousands of people have left.

This week, an obscure legal development has, in the eyes of some legal experts, inflicted another cut on the city’s once revered legal system.

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‘Disgusting’ antisemitic tactics used to threaten exiled Hong Kong man in Adelaide, Jewish group says

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Exclusive: Ted Hui and Melbourne resident Kevin Yam are both subjects of anonymous letters and pamphlets mailed from Chinese-controlled territories

A prominent Jewish group has condemned a “disgusting” attempt to intimidate an exiled pro-democracy campaigner who fled to Adelaide from Hong Kong, with the federal opposition accusing a foreign actor of weaponising antisemitism.

Human Rights Watch said a separate attempt that encouraged people to inform on another dissident, Kevin Yam in Melbourne, was designed to make critics of the Hong Kong government feel “unsafe and hunted, no matter where they are in the world”.

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Melbourne residents receive letter offering $200k for information on Hong Kong pro-democracy activist

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Exclusive: The anonymous ‘wanted’ letter contained a photograph of Kevin Yam, a lawyer who has criticised the crackdown on dissent in the territory

A small number of Melbourne residents have received anonymous letters purporting to offer a police bounty of $203,000 if they inform on Kevin Yam, an Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist wanted for alleged national security crimes in Hong Kong, linking him to two nearby locations.

A spokesperson for the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told Guardian Australia the letter was “deeply worrying” and that the matter would be raised directly with officials from China and Hong Kong.

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China criticises Hong Kong firm’s sale of majority stake in Panama ports

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Commentary urged CK Hutchison to ‘think twice’ about ‘what position and side they are on’ in sale to US investors

China has criticised the sale of the business that controls ports in Panama to US investors, saying the Hong Kong-based parent company should “think twice” and that the $22.8bn deal is “power politics” that is not in the country’s national interest.

Shares in the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison fell more than 6% on Friday after a critical commentary appeared in the Beijing-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong.

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Starmer welcomes Zelenskyy’s offer to work with Trump on Ukraine peace deal – as it happened

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PM says any deal must be ‘lasting and secure’ following fiery Trump-Zelenskyy meeting last week and UK weekend summit. This live blog is closed

Lisa O’Carroll is the Guardian’s acting Ireland correspondent.

Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s first minister, has described a decision to build thousands of lightweight missiles for Ukraine in a Belfast factory as “incredulous”.

I find it really incredulous that at a time when public services are being cut left, right and centre.

At a time when we have endured 14 years of austerity ... I think at a time like that, rather than buying weapons of war, I would rather see the money invested in public services.

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Hong Kong’s oldest pro-democracy party says it will begin process of disbanding

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Democratic party chair Lo Kin-hei would not comment on whether Beijing put pressure on members

Hong Kong’s oldest pro-democracy party, which became an influential voice of opposition before Beijing cracked down on dissent, will start preparations to shut down, its leader has said.

Lo Kin-hei, the chair of Hong Kong’s Democratic party, said on Thursday: “We are going to proceed and study on the process and procedure that is needed for the disbanding.”

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Hong Kong chief justice claims overseas judges have left due to ‘orchestrated harassment’

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Andrew Cheung defends city’s legal processes as ‘transparent, fair and independent’ despite mounting concerns from departing legal officers

Hong Kong’s top judge has claimed the exodus of foreign judges from the judiciary’s benches since the introduction of the national security law is due to escalating geopolitical tensions and “orchestrated harassment”.

The city’s chief justice, Andrew Cheung, made the remarks at the ceremonial opening of the city’s legal year on Monday evening in a speech which acknowledged the changing political environment but otherwise stridently defended the judiciary. Hong Kong has a common law system separate from the Chinese mainland’s, but observers say it is under growing political pressure.

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Hong Kong police issue bounties for six more overseas activists

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HK$1m rewards target people accused of national security crimes who fled after pro-democracy protests

Hong Kong police have announced bounties of HK$1m (about £105,000) for information leading to the arrest of six democracy advocates based overseas and accused of national security crimes.

Authorities also said they would cancel the passports of seven others for whom bounties had already been issued, including the former lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok, local media said.

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Cathay Pacific apologises over inflight Family Guy episode with Tiananmen Square scene

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Hong Kong carrier removes episode from entertainment system after social media complaint that it might breach national security laws

Hong Kong’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, has apologised over the inclusion of a Family Guy episode in its inflight entertainment system that features a scene depicting Tiananmen Square.

The airline told the South China Morning Post it had apologised to customers after a complaint was raised on social media that the episode might breach Hong Kong’s national security laws.

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Crypto entrepreneur eats banana art he bought for $6.2m

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Conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold at auction in New York last week

The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun has fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2m (£4.88m) on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall – by eating the fruit.

At one of Hong Kong’s priciest hotels, Sun, 34, chomped down on the banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers after giving a speech hailing the work as “iconic” and drew parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.

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Jimmy Lai trial: key points from media mogul’s testimony on first day

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Detained pro-democracy activist spoke for first time about charges against him under Hong Kong national security law

Jimmy Lai, the detained pro-democracy activist and media mogul who is the target of Hong Kong’s most high-profile national security case, took the stand in court on Wednesday. For the first time since he was detained in December 2020, Lai spoke publicly about the charges against him, for which he faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Four years after his arrest, the 77-year-old seemed older and not as strong as he used to be. His first words – swearing an oath on the Bible – were delivered hoarsely.

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Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai defiant as he gives evidence in foreign collusion trial

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Founder of Apple Daily paper denies seeking to influence foreign policy against China and says advocating for the independence of Hong Kong was ‘a reality too crazy to think about’

Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai has said he “never” tried to influence foreign policy or ask foreign officials to take concrete action on Hong Kong, on his first day giving evidence at his national security trial.

Lai has been charged with one count of conspiracy to publish seditious publications and two counts of conspiracy to foreign collusion, under the city’s punitive national security law (NSL), introduced in 2020.

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Starmer twice declines to directly condemn jailing of Hong Kong pro-democracy figures

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UK prime minister was condemned by Iain Duncan Smith, who is on Beijing’s sanctions list

Keir Starmer has twice declined to directly condemn the jailing of dozens of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures, less than 24 hours after meeting China’s president at the G20 summit.

The UK prime minister was asked both during a BBC interview and at his press conference in Rio de Janeiro to respond to the jailing of the activists, including being asked if he would condemn the sentences directly, but he reiterated the importance of building bridges with China for the sake of economic growth.

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International outrage over sentencing of 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong

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Human rights groups concerned after handing down of sentences of up to 10 years

Governments and human rights groups have expressed concern and outrage at the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong after the city’s largest national security trial.

On Tuesday, a court handed down sentences, ranging from four years and two months to 10 years, to activists, former legislators, councillors and academics, who with two people acquitted in May made up a group known as the Hong Kong 47.

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HK47: dozens of pro-democracy activists jailed in Hong Kong’s largest national security trial

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Members of ‘Hong Kong 47’ – charged in 2021 over involvement in pre-election primary – sentenced to between four and 10 years

Dozens of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures have been jailed – one for 10 years – in the territory’s largest national security trial, after a prosecution that has been widely criticised as politically motivated.

Those jailed are among 47 people, known as the “Hong Kong 47”, who were charged in 2021 under the punitive national security law (NSL) with conspiracy to commit subversion over their involvement in pre-election primaries held in 2020 before the Hong Kong general election. Most have already spent more than three years in jail, but none were released on Tuesday.

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Hong Kong unearths its first ever dinosaur fossils

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Official hails discovery ‘of great significance’ on Port Island, with remains of as yet unknown species to go on display in shopping district on Friday

Hong Kong officials say they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time, on a remote and uninhabited island.

The fossils were part of a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, about 145m to 66m years ago, the government said in a statement. They will need to conduct further studies to confirm the species of the dinosaur.

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David Lammy raises human rights and Ukraine in Beijing talks

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Foreign secretary discussed China’s treatment of Uyghurs and support of Russia as well as ‘areas of cooperation’

David Lammy pressed his Chinese counterpart on human rights concerns and China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during talks in Beijing, the Foreign Office has said.

The foreign secretary had been under pressure to take a tough line on a range of human rights issues with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, when the pair met on Friday during Lammy’s first visit to China since taking office.

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British judge Nicholas Phillips steps down from Hong Kong court

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Phillips, who the court of final appeal said was stepping down for ‘personal reasons’, is fifth foreign judge to leave city’s judiciary this year

The British judge Nicholas Phillips has stepped down from Hong Kong’s top appeals court, the fifth overseas judge to leave the city’s judiciary this year.

Phillips, 86, is leaving Hong Kong’s court of final appeal (CFA) after 22 years for “personal reasons” after his fourth term ended on Monday and he said he did not wish to extend it, the court said.

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Hong Kong: Stand News journalists given jail terms for ‘sedition’

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Chung Pui-kuen sentenced to 21 months while Patrick Lam gets 11-month term but is released on medical grounds

The former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong’s Stand News has been sentenced to jail on sedition charges for the publication of news reports and other articles that prosecutors said tried to promote “illegal ideologies”.

Chung Pui-kuen, 55, the former editor-in-chief and the former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam, 36, were found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials in late August after almost a year of delays. The parent company of the now-defunct Stand News, Best Pencil Ltd, was also convicted.

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