Category Archives: Hong Kong

Hong Kong: first person charged under new security law

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Tong Ying-kit, 23, charged with terrorism and inciting secession for allegedly driving motorbike into group of police last week

China has begun putting its new Hong Kong security law into action, as a 23-year-old man became the first person on Monday to be charged under the legislation and authorities announced a purge of literature from libraries and schools.

The law, imposed last week following anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year, classes as illegal all activities the government deems to be secessionist, subversive, or terrorist, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs.

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‘Our heart will never die’: Hongkongers raise blank paper in protest against security law – video

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Protesters have held up blank pieces of white paper to avoid using slogans banned under a new national security law in Hong Kong on Monday.

The law, which was imposed by China after anti-government protests last year, has made it illegal to shout slogans or hold up banners and flags calling for the city's independence. Hong Kong police cleared the group of demonstrators who gathered in a shopping centre in the central business district

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Shark finning: why the ocean’s most barbaric practice continues to boom

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The recent seizure of the biggest shipment of illegal fins in Hong Kong history shows the taste for shark is still going strong

In the narrow streets of Sai Ying Pun neighbourhood, the centre of Hong Kong’s dried seafood trade, most window displays give pride of place to a particular item: shark fins. Perched on shelves, stuffed in jars and stacked in bags, shark fins are offered in all shapes and sizes. Several shops even include “shark fin” in their name.

Fins are lucrative, fetching as much as HK$6,800 (£715) per catty (604.8g, or about 21oz), and the trade is big business. Hong Kong is the largest shark fin importer in the world, and responsible for about half of the global trade. The fins sold in Sai Ying Pun come from more than 100 countries and 76 different species of sharks and rays, a third of which are endangered.

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What China’s new security law means for Hong Kong – video explainer

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Beijing has imposed sweeping new national security legislation on Hong Kong, criminalising 'secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces'. Critics fear the law will enable a crackdown on protest and dissent as China seeks to exert new levels of control over the semi-autonomous territory. The Guardian's Beijing bureau chief, Lily Kuo, explains what this means for the city after a year of unrest

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‘Hidden language’: Hongkongers get creative against security law

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Residents use wordplay including repurposed Chinese Communist party dogma to express frustration

Hongkongers are finding creative ways to voice dissent after Beijing blanketed the city in a new security law and police began arresting people displaying now forbidden political slogans.

Faced with the sudden threat of prosecution for anything that might promote greater autonomy or independence for the restless city, residents are using wordplay and even subverting Chinese Communist party dogma to express their frustration.

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Hongkongers on China’s crackdown: ‘I feel helpless and hopeless’

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Guardian readers in or from Hong Kong share their views on the new national security law

In late May, a week after Chinese officials announced a plan to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong, the Guardian issued a callout to people who believed they would be affected. We wanted to hear how people felt about the law, how it might change their lives, and how they felt about the last year of protests.

The response was overwhelming. Within days we had received more than 30,000 messages from people inside and outside Hong Kong – the most for any Guardian community callout.

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Hong Kong journalists and lawyers scramble to adapt to security law

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Protective measures taken and social media erased as both question how they can operate

Journalists and lawyers in Hong Kong are scrambling to adapt as Chinese authorities set up the apparatus to enforce a controversial national security law, including appointing a hardline party official to head a new security agency.

Zheng Yanxiong, who is best known for tackling protests on the mainland, is to run the office established under the law that empowers mainland security agents to operate in Hong Kong openly and unbound for the first time.

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Hong Kong activists planning ‘parliament in exile’ after China brings in security law

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Campaigner Simon Cheng, granted asylum in UK, says shadow parliament would send ‘clear signal’ to Beijing

Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are discussing a plan to create an unofficial parliament-in-exile to preserve democracy and send a message to China that freedom cannot be crushed, campaigner Simon Cheng has said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, was convulsed by months of often violent, pro-democracy and anti-China demonstrations last year, resisting Chinese interference in its promised freedoms and posing the biggest political crisis for Beijing since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

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Britain’s citizenship offer to Hong Kong: how China could respond

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China said UK will ‘bear all consequences’, raising possibility of retaliation

China has responded angrily to a UK promise to offer nearly 3 million residents of Hong Kong with British national overseas status (BNO), the right to settle in the UK.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said Britain would “bear all consequences”, and China’s ambassador to the UK later said that Beijing “reserve[d] the right to take corresponding measures”.

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UK coronavirus live: Scotland to relax 2m rule but lockdown-easing paused in some towns after outbreaks

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Scotland’s distancing rule to be relaxed for some sectors; lockdown-easing paused in some Scottish towns; getting English schools back to normal critical, Williamson says

A “partial reopening” of the tourism sector in Wales is to take place over the next few weeks as long as rates of coronavirus continue to fall, the Welsh government has announced.

The Labour-led government has asked visitors to enjoy their time in the country – but to respect local communities.

Tourism is a vital part of the Welsh economy at a national, regional and local level. I’d like to thank all our industry partners for working with us to carefully reopen the visitor economy.

A successful, safe and phased return will give businesses, communities and visitors confidence to continue with the recovery of the visitor economy.

NHS England has recorded a further 35 coronavirus hospital deaths in England. The full figures are here.

For comparison, here are the equivalent daily figures announced by NHS England over the past fortnight.

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Hong Kong protesters laying low following mass arrests

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More than 370 people arrested as result of demonstrations against China’s new powers

Protesters appear to be laying low in Hong Kong the day after the introduction of sweeping draconian national security laws prompted demonstrations, violence, and mass arrests.

More than 370 people were arrested on Wednesday, including 10 under the new laws imposed directly by Beijing and without the involvement of Hong Kong’s semi autonomous legislature.

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New UK law could challenge China over Hong Kong, but will it go far enough?

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Legislation will allow Foreign Office to confront countries over human rights, but who it will target remains to be seen

New UK human rights sanctions legislation set to be published in the next few weeks is being touted as a possible tool with which to confront Chinese officials over Hong Kong, but questions loom about whether the law’s range and impact can meet such high expectations.

The difficulties inherent in drafting watertight sanctions is reflected in the long delay prior to its publication. An act giving the government the right to introduce what is known as Magnitsky-style laws against human rights offenders was passed in May 2018, but since then Foreign Office lawyers have been working on the detailed secondary parliamentary legislation known as a statutory instrument (SI).

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Hong Kong: Dominic Raab announces citizenship pathway as China imposes security law – video

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Up to 3 million people in Hong Kong could be eligible to live, work or study in the UK under a bespoke immigration system announced by Dominic Raab in response to the imposition of national security legislation on Hong Kong by China. The foreign secretary accused China of a 'clear and serious violation' of the joint declaration signed with the UK, and pledged the government would 'honour' its commitment to citizens of the former British colony 

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Hong Kong: hundreds arrested as security law comes into effect

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Teenager waving independence flag among those held as thousands take to the streets

More than 370 protesters have been arrested as police fired teargas, pepper spray and water cannon at thousands of people protesting against a national security law imposed by Beijing.

The extent of Beijing’s mandate was made clear as full details of the law were released late on Tuesday, giving authorities sweeping powers to crack down on dissent and allowing China new levels of control over the semi-autonomous territory.

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Police use water cannon during protests over Hong Kong’s new security laws – video report

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Hong Kong police have arrested more than 300 protesters on the first day of life under the controversial national security laws imposed by Beijing, as China confirmed that some suspects could be extradited to the mainland under the new rules. Police were said to have used water cannon and pepper spray on activists and journalists during the demonstrations.

Earlier, the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, had told a ceremony marking the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China that the security laws were 'the most important development in relations between central – HKSAR [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] since Britain handed over the territory to Beijing

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Hong Kong’s security laws usher in new era of Chinese control

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Beijing’s new rules appear tailored to cover the actions of protesters and their supporters

Beijing has imposed a raft of national security rules on Hong Kong, ushering in a new chapter of Chinese control over the semi-autonomous territory once known as a haven of political freedom and civil liberty.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials have said the law would target only a “narrow set” of behaviours, but the full text of the legislation – released only after it was enacted late on Tuesday – shows it covers a broad range of activities under vaguely defined crimes related to security. The harshest penalties are life in prison.

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European leaders condemn China over ‘deplorable’ Hong Kong security bill

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Beijing move to stamp out anti-government protests poses diplomatic test for UK

European leaders condemned China’s “deplorable decision” to press ahead with its new security laws in Hong Kong, warning that it will speed up the reassessment of China as a trustworthy economic partner.

The European Union council president, Charles Michel, said “we deplore the decision” and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the bloc was now discussing with international partners on any possible measures in response.

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China passes controversial Hong Kong national security law

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Critics say the measure, which criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, erodes Hong Kong’s autonomy

Beijing has passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong that critics fear will crush political freedoms and pave the way for China to cement its control over the semi-autonomous territory.

Less than 40 days after Chinese lawmakers first proposed imposing an anti-sedition law on Hong Kong, the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, on Tuesday approved the measure, according officials and multiple media reports.

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Dozens arrested during Hong Kong peaceful protest against national security laws

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Silent protest ends in scuffles with police as Beijing prepares to approve controversial legislation

Hong Kong police have arrested at least 53 people after scuffles erupted during a relatively peaceful protest against planned national security legislation to be implemented by the mainland Chinese government.

Armed riot police were present as a crowd of several hundred moved from Jordan to Mong Kok in the Kowloon district on Sunday, staging what was intended as a “silent protest” against the planned law.

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