Category Archives: Hong Kong

Hong Kong activist who sought US consulate help charged with secession

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Tong Chung, who was arrested on Tuesday as he attempted to shelter in the US consulate, is the second to be charged under national security law

A Hong Kong court has denied bail to a 19-year-old activist who was arrested under the national security law while attempting to shelter inside the US consulate.

Tony Chung is the only the second of at least 27 people arrested under the law to be charged, and now faces prosecution for alleged crimes of secession, money laundering and conspiracy to publish seditious material. The last charge falls under colonial-era criminal laws.

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Hong Kong activist detained attempting to seek asylum at US consulate

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Tony Chung, 19, was on bail on suspected national security offences when he was reportedly ‘snatched away’

Tony Chung, a 19-year-old Hong Kong activist on bail after his arrest on suspected national security offences, has been detained by authorities while attempting to seek asylum at the US consulate.

Two other members of Chung’s now-disbanded activism group, Yanni Ho and William Chan, were also arrested later on Tuesday.

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Fighting tyranny with milk tea: the young rebels joining forces in Asia

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Activists in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand have formed a novel international alliance to defy authoritarian rule

The language, the demands and the backdrop were different, but the protests across central Bangkok last week would have looked familiar to anyone who followed the mass demonstrations that roiled Hong Kong for a year from June 2019.

Crowds of young protesters, dressed in black and wearing hard hats, poured through the streets to locations announced at the last minute on social media. As the police closed in and the protesters prepared for confrontation, hand gestures and human chains ensured supplies including protective masks and water reached the front lines.

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Yang Hengjun: friend says writer told him he was a Chinese spy for 10 years

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In private letter Yang reveals he spent a decade spying in countries including Hong Kong and the US, according to friend

An Australian writer detained in China on charges of espionage spent a decade working as a Chinese spy, including in Hong Kong and the United States, a close friend claims.

Yang Hengjun was detained in January 2019 and held in various forms of secretive and punitive detention until he was formally charged this month for alleged espionage on behalf of another country. The early stages of trial are under way.

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Hong Kong says Germany harbouring a criminal after granting asylum to protester

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Meeting called with Germany’s consul general to lodge objections in what Hong Kong regards as ‘internal matters’ to China

Hong Kong has accused Germany of “harbouring criminals” after it granted asylum to a student who fled charges over last year’s pro-democracy protest.

Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration, warned against foreign interference in affairs that were “internal matters of the People’s Republic of China”.

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Hong Kong protester announces asylum granted in Germany

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Activist said she was arrested at a protest in November 2019 and fled to Germany via Taiwan

Germany has granted refugee status to a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist facing a rioting charge in connection with the 2019 protests, the protester told Reuters on Monday.

The 22-year-old university student showed Reuters a letter from the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) dated 14 October that confirmed the granting of refugee status.

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Justin Trudeau hits back at China after threat to Canadians in Hong Kong

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Prime minister says Canada will ‘stand up loudly’ for human rights after China’s ambassador against welcoming Hong Kong pro-democracy activists

Canada will continue to defend human rights in China, prime minister Justin Trudeau has pledged, after a top Chinese diplomat warned Ottawa against welcoming Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.

China’s ambassador to Ottawa, Cong Peiwu, warned Canada on Thursday against granting asylum to Hong Kong activists, which he said could have consequences for the “health and security” for the 300,000 Canadians living in the theoretically autonomous Chinese territory.

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UK’s test and trace ‘having marginal impact’: which countries got it right?

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Scientists’ verdict on £12bn system has refocused attention on what is working elsewhere in cutting Covid-19 transmission rates

The newly released assessment by the UK government’s scientific advisers that the £12bn test and trace programme “is having a marginal impact” in reducing Covid-19 transmission has refocused attention on how other countries are faring with their regimes.

Since test-and-trace programmes were first mooted around the world at the outset of the pandemic – including monitoring via apps or hardware – they have been beset by issues of privacy and public support over both downloading and using apps and also with a wider willingness to abide by isolation measures.

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Hong Kong chief executive postpones key policy speech

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Carrie Lam to consult Beijing in attempt to protect city’s status as international finance hub

Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has postponed a key annual policy address scheduled for Wednesday, claiming she must consult Beijing on some of her proposals.

The unprecedented delay to the speech was also attributed to plans by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to visit Shenzhen to mark the 40th anniversary of the special economic zone on Wednesday, which was announced only on Monday and which Lam would also attend.

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Hong Kong police arrest nine people suspected of aiding fleeing activists

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Police detain four men and five women suspected of arranging transport for activists who tried to flee by boat to Taiwan

Hong Kong police say they have arrested nine people suspected of helping 12 activists who fled the city in August, heading for Taiwan, but were intercepted by Chinese authorities and held on the mainland.

The group of nine arrested on Saturday included four men and five women, some of whom had been previously arrested for participating in the massive protests that threw the financial hub into turmoil last year, were taken into custody for “assisting offenders”.

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Photo exhibition featuring Hong Kong protest images shut down in Macau

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World Press Photo Foundations says it is unclear why exhibition closed early amid speculation of political pressure over photos

A prestigious international press exhibition, featuring photographs of the Hong Kong protests, has been abruptly taken down in Macau, with organisers refusing to explain why, prompting speculation of political pressure.

The World Press Photo exhibition opened on 25 September and was scheduled to run until 18 October but was closed early. Local media quoted the government-run Macau Foundation denying any political pressure, and an organiser told local radio it was due to “internal management problems”, but declined to elaborate.

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Stolen Mao scroll worth £230m was cut in two by £50 buyer, police say

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Hong Kong police say person who bought scroll thought it was a fake and too long to display

A calligraphy scroll by China’s former leader Mao Zedong, estimated to be worth millions, was cut in half after it was stolen last month in Hong Kong, police have said.

The scroll was found damaged when police arrested a 49-year-old man in late September on suspicion of handling stolen property. The South China Morning Post, quoting an unidentified police source, reported that the scroll was cut in two by a buyer who had purchased it for 500 Hong Kong dollars (about £50) and believed the scroll to be counterfeit.

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Hong Kong primary school teacher banned for talking about independence

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Teacher accused of premeditated violation of the constitution, reportedly involving asking questions such as ‘what is freedom of speech’

A Hong Kong primary school teacher has been de-registered after using pro-independence materials in class, reportedly to teach students about the concepts of freedom of speech and independence.

The education bureau accused the teacher of a premeditated act in violation of Hong Kong’s mini constitution, the Basic Law, by having “spread a message about Hong Kong independence”.

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After Hong Kong: China sets sights on solving ‘the Taiwan problem’

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An invasion may not be imminent but experts say armed forces could have capacity to mount one by the end of the decade

Soon after China imposed the new national security law that effectively ended Hong Kong’s limited autonomy, a hawkish legal academic in Beijing spelt out a warning to Taiwan.

The law was not just about ending a year of protests in Hong Kong, Tian Feilong said in an interview with DW News, it was also sending a message to Taipei – and to Washington, which has recently approved new arms sales and high-level visits by US officials to self-rule Taiwan.

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Letters to Hong Kong: ‘the final victory will belong to us’

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Dissidents and exiles write to Hongkongers to express solidarity and offer hope for the future

Mainland Chinese residents, activists and writers have watched with dismay as Hong Kong – a city that was once a haven of free speech and political expression – becomes more like those across the border as China cracks down on dissent.

Three months on from the launch of Beijing’s national security law, several have shared advice, empathy and thoughts through letters to their counterparts in Hong Kong.

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‘In my dreams I’m there’: the exodus from Hong Kong

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Beijing’s national security law has prompted the exit of people from all walks of life in fear they or their children are at risk

Joe Kwong* loves Hong Kong. But he knows he has to leave.

A university-educated construction worker in his 30s, he is just one of many Hongkongers who have uprooted their lives in recent months – or are now planning to – because of fears over the rapid demise of the rule of law and civil liberties. Hong Kong’s descent into effective Chinese control has been swift, and was cemented in June by the introduction of the national security law, which prohibits acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.

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Families plead for Hong Kong activists accused of trying to flee by speedboat

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The ‘Hong Kong 12’ - arrested for allegedly trying to flee to Taiwan - have become the latest flashpoint for protesters

The family of a Hong Kong activist detained in China after allegedly attempting to flee to Taiwan by speedboat say they have had no communication from him and are relying on a piece of paper from Chinese authorities as confirmation of his whereabouts.

Andy Li was among 12 people caught by Chinese coastguards on 23 August. He had been arrested earlier that month under Hong Kong’s newly introduced national security law, after which the authorities had confiscated his passport before releasing him on bail.

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‘Resist until the end’: On the ground with Apple Daily, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper – video

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We follow Oscar, a journalist at the tabloid, who in the shadow of China’s controversial national security law continues to report on - now largely silenced - street protests. When the law came into force three months ago, Apple Daily was raided by police: journalists' desks were searched and its founder was taken away in handcuffs. But journalists at the paper are still working, fighting to tell the people of Hong Kong’s story. 

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How HSBC got caught in a geopolitical storm over Hong Kong security law

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Bank’s future remains uncertain as it finds itself under pressure from Beijing and Washington

HSBC has been a fixture of the Hong Kong economy for more than a century. However, its origins as a financial bridge between Asia and the west have placed it in the centre of a modern day geopolitical storm. Facing pressure to choose sides as Hong Kong is convulsed by the new security law imposed by Beijing and Donald Trump pursues a trade war with China, HSBC is in danger of finding itself without friends in either direction.

Headquartered in London, but dependent on Hong Kong and China for profits, HSBC has been affected by tensions between Washington and Beijing – and shareholder concern over its controversial acceptance of an authoritarian crackdown in its key market.

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Protests and Covid leave Hong Kong stuck in recession

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Political unrest hit tourism and retail, and coronavirus response has delayed recovery

Hong Kong’s economy was already in recession when the pandemic hit in January. Six months of running battles between pro-democracy campaigners and local government had deterred many of the visitors who fuel the lucrative tourism industry, while the threat of violence on the streets and closures of shops had sent retail sales down nearly a quarter on the previous year.

With much of Asia shut down by coronavirus restrictions during the winter months, there was little expectation of a recovery until the spring, when the level of infections fell to almost zero across mainland China and most of the rest of the region, and the measures could be eased.

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