Category Archives: Hong Kong

Agnes Chow: activist leaves jail as China says Hong Kong ‘pawn in geopolitics’

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Key figure in 2019 anti-government protests was imprisoned for more than six months under national security law imposed by mainland China

The Hong Kong democracy activist Agnes Chow has been released from jail after serving more than six months for taking part in unauthorised assemblies during 2019 anti-government protests that triggered a crackdown on dissent by mainland China.

Chow, 24, was greeted by a crowd of journalists as she left the Tai Lam women’s prison on Saturday. She got out of a prison van and into a private car without making any remarks.

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Hong Kong film censors get wider ‘national security’ powers

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Observers worry rule change in Chinese city will restrict pro-democracy movement even further

Hong Kong’s censors have been given expanded powers to vet films for national security breaches in the latest blow to the Chinese city’s political and artistic freedoms.

In a statement on Friday, authorities said the film censorship ordinance had been expanded to include “any act or activity which may amount to an offence endangering national security”.

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Hong Kong vigil leader arrested as 7,000 police enforce ban on Tiananmen anniversary protests

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Officers mobilised to break up the once-traditional events to mark the brutal crackdown against dissent in China 32 years ago

Hong Kong police have arrested a prominent barrister for allegedly promoting an unauthorised assembly on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, as thousands of officers were deployed to enforce a ban on protests and gatherings across the city.

On Friday, Hong Kong barrister and activist Chow Hang Tung, vice-chairwoman of the group which organises annual vigils for the victims of China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, was arrested, two group members said.

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Hong Kong’s 4 June Tiananmen vigil over the years – in pictures

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For years, Hong Kong has been one of just two cities in China allowed to mark anniversaries of the deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989. This year, however, Hong Kong authorities banned the vigil for the second consecutive year, citing the coronavirus pandemic. Critics say the authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to silence pro-democracy voices. Last year thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park despite the ban, and weeks later police arrested more than 20 activists who had taken part in the vigil. Organisers have urged people to mark the anniversary in private this year by lighting a candle at home

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Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai jailed again as Tiananmen vigil banned

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Media figure punished over pro-democracy rally as authorities again cite coronavirus restrictions to prohibit traditional Tiananmen vigil

Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to an extra 14 months in prison over his conviction for an unauthorised assembly in 2019, alongside fellow activists who were also jailed for up to 18 months.

The case came as a separate ruling suggested speaking critically in foreign media interviews could breach the national security laws, and just a week before the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Authorities have banned a vigil for the second year in a row, citing pandemic concerns about crowding despite allowing other crowded events in recent days.

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Covid vaccine hesitancy could see Hong Kong throw away millions of doses

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Observers say mistrust of government, disinformation and a lack of urgency mean vaccine take-up has been slow

Hong Kong could soon be throwing away millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses because not enough people are taking them before they expire, a health official has warned, saying it’s “not right” while other countries are scrambling for them.

The city of 7.5 million people has bought enough doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and China’s Sinovac, to vaccinate its entire population, but so far only 2.1 million have been administered since the vaccination programme launched in late February.

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Beijing accuses G7 ministers of interfering in China’s affairs

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Foreign ministry responds to west’s human rights claims, saying countries should ‘face up to their own problems’

China has rejected accusations of human rights abuse and economic coercion, made by G7 foreign ministers, accusing them of “blatantly meddling” in China’s internal affairs, calling their remarks groundless.

“Attempts to disregard the basic norms of international relations and to create various excuses to interfere in China’s internal affairs, undermine China’s sovereignty and smear China’s image will never succeed,” said the foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin. “They should not criticise and interfere with other countries with a superior mentality, and undermine the current top priority of international anti-epidemic cooperation.”

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Hong Kong plan to force Covid vaccines on foreign domestic workers sparks alarm

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Authorities accused of ‘blackmailing’ workers over plan to make vaccine a condition of getting a job

Hong Kong’s government has sparked discrimination concerns over plans to force hundreds of thousands of foreign domestic workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face losing their job.

Authorities have embarked on mass mandatory testing of the city’s 370,000 domestic workers after a more infectious strain was detected in the community, and flagged plans for compulsory vaccinations.

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Hong Kong passes law that can stop people leaving

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Bar association and activists decry Beijing-type immigration act with ‘exit ban’ powers

Hong Kong has passed a new immigration law that includes powers to stop people entering or leaving the city, raising fears of Chinese mainland-style “exit bans” in the international business hub.

The legislation sailed through a legislature now devoid of opposition, as Beijing has quashed dissent and sought to make the semi-autonomous city more like the authoritarian mainland after huge and often violent democracy protests.

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Beijing calls Hong Kong bar association chief an ‘anti-China politician’

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Authorities lambast British-born Paul Harris for criticising treatment of pro-democracy campaigners

Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have accused the British-born head of Hong Kong’s bar association of being an “anti-China politician” after he criticised jail sentences imposed on pro-democracy activists.

Paul Harris, a human rights lawyer and the chair of the HKBA, had represented one of 10 people convicted this month for organising or attending unauthorised assemblies during the pro-democracy protests in 2019. The defendants were given a range of suspended sentences or immediate jail terms of up to 18 months.

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Yemen, Myanmar and George Floyd: human rights this fortnight in pictures

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A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Cambodia to Peru

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Hong Kong woman, 90, conned out of $32m in phone scam

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The elderly millionaire fell prey to con artists posing as Chinese security officials who told her she was the victim of identity fraud

A 90-year-old Hong Kong woman has been conned out of US$32m by fraudsters posing as Chinese officials, police have said, in the city’s biggest recorded phone scam.

Police said on Tuesday that scammers had targeted an elderly woman living in a mansion on The Peak, Hong Kong’s ritziest neighbourhood.

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Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai and his media empire face uncertain future

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Analysis: Tycoon and pro-democracy activist’s 14-month jail sentence is only the start of his problems

The sentencing of the high-profile Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai may offer a foretaste both of his own future and of the media empire he built.

For the 73-year-old tycoon, the 14-month prison sentence handed down on Friday is only the start. He faces six remaining charges, two of which relate to the new national security law, which is deemed draconian by pro-democracy activists but which Beijing argues is necessary.

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Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are handed suspended sentences – video

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A group of high-profile activists including the media mogul Jimmy Lai have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 18 months for organising or attending ‘unauthorised assemblies’.

In the latest blow to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, Lai and the veteran activist Lee Cheuk Yan were each sentenced to 12 months in jail

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Hong Kong pro-democracy figures given jail terms of up to 18 months

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Media mogul Jimmy Lai and veteran activist Lee Cheuk-yan each sentenced to 12 months over protests

Ten of Hong Kong’s most senior pro-democracy activists including the media mogul Jimmy Lai have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 18 months for organising or attending “unauthorised assemblies” during mass protests that rocked the city in 2019.

In the latest blow to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, the individuals were either ordered to jail or given suspended sentences in relation to two separate rallies held on 18 and 31 August 2019.

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‘Kill the bill’ and trans visibility: human rights this fortnight in pictures

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A round-up of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Mexico to China

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China blasts UK for granting asylum to Hong Kong activist Nathan Law

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UK grants protection to pro-democracy figure who is regarded by Beijing as ‘criminal suspect’

Chinese authorities have accused the UK of sheltering a “criminal suspect” after it granted asylum to Hong Kong activist and former politician Nathan Law.

Law, who fled Hong Kong in 2020, said on Wednesday he had been granted political asylum by the Home Office and the warrant for his arrest under the Beijing-imposed national security law showed he was “exposed to severe political persecution”. At least 100 pro-democracy figures have been arrested under the law.

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Hong Kong police seize record 700kg of cocaine

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Authorities say collapse of travel during Covid has forced smugglers to make bulk shipments instead of using drug mules

Hong Kong police have announced a record-breaking 700kg cocaine seizure with officers suspecting the huge shipment was smuggled into the city on speedboats.

The bust is the largest in the territory in nearly a decade and netted some HK$930m-worth ($119.6m) of cocaine.

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Hong Kong democracy leaders found guilty over peaceful 2019 protest

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Seven figures including Martin Lee and media tycoon Jimmy Lai convicted over unauthorised march

Seven of Hong Kong’s most senior and prominent pro-democracy figures, including the lawyer and former legislator Martin Lee and the media tycoon Jimmy Lai, have been found guilty over their involvement in an unauthorised protest rally.

After a four-week trial, the defendants were convicted on Thursday of organising and participating in the rally in 2019, joining two others who pleaded guilty earlier. They could face up to 10 years in prison, though their sentences are likely to be shorter than that.

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Raymon Anning obituary

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My father, Raymon Anning, who has died aged 90 from pneumonia aged 90, was a police officer who rose through the ranks to become the last British commissioner of the Hong Kong police force, commanding more than 30,000 police officers.

He was not particularly well educated, having left school at the age of 15, but Ray was always extremely ambitious. This was partly due to his desire to do better than his father, who was also a police officer.

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