Tiananmen massacre statue removed from Hong Kong university – video

A monument at a Hong Kong university that commemorated the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings was boarded up by workers. Drilling sounds and loud clanging could be heard coming from the boarded-up site, which was patrolled by guards, as workers barricaded the Pillar of Shame monument at the University of Hong Kong. The 8-metre-tall (26ft) Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was created by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt to symbolise those who lost their lives during the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Galschiøt said he believed the sculpture had been cut up into pieces, and that he was considering pursuing legal action to save it.

Continue reading...

China accuses Australia of ‘violent’ interference in Five Eyes response to Hong Kong election

Allies voice grave concerns about ‘erosion of democratic elements’ after overhaul of electoral system

China has accused the Australian government of “violently interfering” in its internal affairs after Australia joined with its Five Eyes allies to voice grave concerns about the “erosion of democratic elements” in Hong Kong.

Pro-Beijing candidates have been confirmed to occupy nearly every seat in Hong Kong’s new legislature after an overhaul of the electoral system that authorities said would ensure “patriots run Hong Kong”.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Pro-Beijing candidates sweep Hong Kong ‘patriots’-only elections

Legislative elections marred by record low turnout following crackdown on political dissent

Pro-Beijing candidates will occupy nearly every seat in Hong Kong’s new legislature, after party loyalists swept the first elections under a revamp by Beijing ensuring that only “patriots” could run for office.

The elections were marred by record low voter turnout that observers say signal a general political apathy in the city, 18 months since authorities began a crackdown on political dissent in the name of national security.

Continue reading...

Appeal for votes in Hong Kong ‘patriots’ election after low early turnout

Ballot is first since Beijing cut number of directly elected seats and moved to control who can run

Hong Kong’s first “patriots only” legislative election on Sunday was marked by what could be a record low turnout – reflecting what critics said was widespread disapproval of recent changes to the electoral system and the wider national security crackdown in the city.

The polls, in which 153 candidates competed for 90 seats, were the first to be held since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral processes earlier this year, reducing the ratio of directly elected seats and introducing a two-tiered candidate-vetting process by national security police and officials to ensure only “patriots” could administer the city.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong ‘patriots’ election casts doubt over democracy as city enters new era

Critics describe Sunday’s vote as ‘illegitimate’ as Beijing tightens its crackdown on dissent and pro-democracy movement is wiped out

Days before Hong Kong’s legislative council election, 15 months after it was supposed to be held, former legislator Ted Hui is on the phone from Adelaide railing against the government. In the southern Australian city he is far from the Hong Kong warrants for his arrest and instead in a place where, unlike many of his former colleagues, he can speak freely.

“For the Hong Kong people there are not many choices now but to accept illegitimate elections. The parliament is going to be a rubber stamp for Beijing and this election carries no democratic element at all.”

Continue reading...

Fire traps hundreds of people at Hong Kong World Trade Centre – video

As many as 350 people were trapped on the roof of a shopping centre and office complex in Hong Kong after a fire broke out in one of the city’s busiest shopping districts.

The cause of the fire remains unclear, though the South China Morning Post reported that it broke out in an electrical switch room. Parts of the building were being renovated, and its lower levels were shrouded in scaffolding

Continue reading...

Hong Kong school faces backlash after children shown graphic footage of Nanjing massacre

City’s education board seeks to distance itself from incident in which young students at one school watched video of corpses and executions

A primary school in Hong Kong has apologised after students as young as six were left in tears last week after teachers showed them unsettling video footage of the Nanjing massacre ahead of its 84th anniversary on Monday.

The incident came after the Education Bureau called on local schools to run activities commemorating the massacre in a directive last month.

Continue reading...

Jimmy Lai among three Hong Kong democracy activists convicted over Tiananmen vigil

Former journalist Gwyneth Ho and rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung also found guilty of unlawful assembly charges

Jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was among three democracy campaigners convicted of taking part in a banned Tiananmen vigil as the prosecution of multiple activists came to a conclusion.

Lai, the 74-year-old owner of the now-closed pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty of unlawful assembly charges on Thursday alongside former journalist Gwyneth Ho and prominent rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung.

Continue reading...

Journalists in China face ‘nightmare’ worthy of Mao era, press freedom group says

Reporters Without Borders calls increasing media oppression in China a ‘great leap backwards’ and says Hong Kong journalism is ‘in freefall’

Xi Jinping has created a “nightmare” of media oppression worthy of the Mao era, and Hong Kong’s journalism is in “freefall”, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

In a major report released on Wednesday, the journalism advocacy group detailed the worsening treatment of journalists and tightening of control over information in China, adding to an environment in which “freely accessing information has become a crime and to provide information an even greater crime”.

Continue reading...

Covid live: boosters may protect against Omicron, says Israel’s health minister, as US checks vaccine effectiveness

Nitzan Horowitz says ‘already room for optimism’ that vaccines will cover new variant; US Food & Drug Administration checking if tweaks needed

Stock markets in Asia have bounced back again as investors’ concerns about the new Omicron Covid variant eased. In Australia the ASX200 was up more than 1%, while in Japan the Nikkei was up 0.75%.

It followed a stronger showing on Monday on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.6% and the broader S&P500 was up 1.2% after some hefty losses on Friday, when news of the new strain shook confidence.

There are so many unknowns about Omicron and the market has been jumping at shadows.

After such a strong run and with elevated valuations, the market will always be susceptible to the odd shakeout on news that could bring risk.

Hong Kong’s very stringent system of boarding, quarantine and also testing requirements has successfully stopped the transmission of the three Omicron cases, that we have identified in our designated quarantine hotel, from going into the community.

Non-Hong Kong residents from these four places will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong.

The most stringent quarantine requirements will also be implemented on relevant inbound travellers from these places.

Continue reading...

Disney+ channel launches in Hong Kong, without the Simpsons Tiananmen Square episode

Streaming channel went live this month, but without an episode in which the family visit China

An episode of the Simpsons in which the cartoon American family visit Tiananmen Square is absent from Disney’s streaming channel in Hong Kong, at a time when authorities are clamping down on dissent.

The missing episode adds to concerns that mainland-style censorship is becoming the norm in the international business hub, ensnaring global streaming giants and other major tech companies.

Continue reading...

British MPs call for law changes to help young Hongkongers flee to UK

Figures show that 93% of those charged over protests are under 25 and many therefore not eligible to access current UK visa scheme

More than nine in 10 people who have faced protest charges in Hong Kong are too young to access a UK visa scheme dedicated to helping Hongkongers flee to Britain, according to advocates and MPs calling for new laws to assist them.

The release of the figures on Sunday by the advocacy group Hong Kong Watch comes before a parliamentary debate this week on proposed migration law amendments that would widen the pathway for people with British national (overseas) (BNO) status to resettle in the UK.

Continue reading...

Scientists warn of new Covid variant with high number of mutations

The B.1.1.529 variant was first spotted in Botswana and six cases have been found in South Africa

Scientists have said a new Covid variant that carries an “extremely high number” of mutations may drive further waves of disease by evading the body’s defences.

Only 10 cases in three countries have been confirmed by genomic sequencing, but the variant has sparked serious concern among some researchers because a number of the mutations may help the virus evade immunity.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong authorises Sinovac vaccine for children aged 3-17, Rotterdam riots condemned

The Coronavirus infections rate in the Czech Republic hit a new record for the second time this week, the health ministry said on Saturday.

It announced that the daily tally rose to 22,936 on Friday, almost 500 more than the previous record set on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong authorises Sinovac Covid vaccine for children aged 3 to 17

Benefits of approving age extension outweigh the risks, says secretary for food and health

Hong Kong has approved lowering the age limit for the Covid-19 vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech to three, down from 18 years of age.

Hong Kong’s secretary for food and health, Sophia Chan, said in a statement published on Saturday: “Adolescents aged 12 to 17 will be accorded priority to receive the CoronaVac vaccine, with a view to extending to children of a younger age group at a later stage.”.

Continue reading...

Cathay Pacific sacks three pilots for catching Covid on layover

The ‘unspecified breach’ in Frankfurt led to 150 other employees being quarantined for three weeks under Hong Kong’s strict rules

Cathay Pacific Airways has sacked three cargo pilots for becoming infected with Covid-19 during a layover in Frankfurt, citing an unspecified “serious breach” of crew rules while overseas.

“The individuals concerned are no longer employed by Cathay Pacific,” the company said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Continue reading...

JP Morgan chief skips quarantine as he jets into Hong Kong

Jamie Dimon let off 21-day hotel quarantine because he runs a ‘very huge bank’, says Carrie Lam

JP Morgan’s billionaire chief executive Jamie Dimon was allowed to skip Hong Kong’s strict 21-day hotel quarantine rules because he runs “a very huge bank” with “key business in Hong Kong”, the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said on Tuesday.

Dimon flew into Hong Kong on Monday on JP Morgan’s private jet, becoming the first Wall Street bank boss to visit the territory or mainland China since the pandemic began.

Continue reading...

Danish sculptor seeks legal protection to pick up Tiananmen statue from Hong Kong

Jens Galschiot wants to bring sculpture back after decades in Hong Kong but fears arrest under national security law

The Danish sculptor of a statue that commemorates pro-democracy protesters killed during China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown has asked Hong Kong authorities for immunity from a national security law so he can take it back to Denmark.

Jens Galschiot loaned the eight-metre high, two-tonne copper sculpture called Pillar of Shame to a local civil society group, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, in perpetuity.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong prosecutors cite Dominic Raab comments in bid to deny bail for Apple Daily boss

Prosecutors successfully claim criticism of Hong Kong crackdown by US and UK shows Cheung Kim-hung has links to foreign political groups

A Hong Kong newspaper executive on trial for national security offences had his bail denied in part because of comments made by Dominic Raab after his arrest, which prosecutors cited as evidence of a “close association” with foreign political groups.

The ruling handed down on 5 November against Cheung Kim-hung, the former chief executive of Apple Daily’s parent company Next Digital Media, also cited the US awarding of a congressional medal to Cheung and his colleagues, and a statement by the US state department.

Continue reading...