Should we build cities from scratch?

With another 2.5 billion urban dwellers predicted within the next 30 years, should we expand existing cities? Or is there a case for starting afresh?

People have been building new cities from scratch for millennia. From the foundation myths surrounding Athens and Rome, to the clearance of virgin forests in western New York state to create the “garden city” of Buffalo, to scores of purpose-built capitals – Brasília, Canberra, Astana, Washington DC – building new cities is just something that humans do.

When countries rise up, when markets emerge, people build new cities. Today, though, we are taking it to unheard-of levels. We have never before built so many new cities in so many places at such great expense as we are right now.

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‘The bill is dead’ but Hong Kong protesters are not appeased by Carrie Lam’s declaration

Experts say level of distrust in the city’s leader is so deep that protests will continue

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, attempted to end what has been the territory’s worst political crisis in decades by declaring a controversial extradition bill that set off weeks of protests “dead”.

Yet the operative word protesters were looking for was “withdraw”, or chit wui, a key demand of the demonstrators to formally withdraw the bill from parliament. Lam has said the bill, already suspended last month in response to protests, would expire at the end of the legislative session that finishes next July. Instead she used a Cantonese idiom to describe “reaching the end of one’s life”.

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The Mulan trailer is a dismal sign Disney is bowing to China’s anti-democratic agenda | Jingan Young

Mulan has been transformed from life-affirming epic to patriotic saga, showing Hollywood is prioritising box office success

Disney have just released their hotly anticipated teaser trailer for their live-action remake of Mulan. The 1998 animated musical action film, following the triumphant story of an awkward young woman who takes her father’s place in a war by disguising herself as a boy, resonated globally. I was seven years old when it was released, and as a half-Chinese girl born and raised in pre-handover Hong Kong, the film had special importance to me, with its combination of east-west values, musical numbers (Honour to Us All, I’ll Make a Man Out of You and Reflection have aged extremely well), and female protagonist who kicks some serious butt while retaining her moral integrity and reinforcing family values. To this day, my Mulan sword, Mushu soft toy and Mulan dolls are somewhere safe in storage at home in Hong Kong.

To say I was excited by the prospect of a live action remake of Mulan is an understatement. The film joins the plethora of live-action remakes of Disney’s 90s renaissance hits, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. All of these retain their musical numbers. Why then has Disney decided to make Mulan a gritty realist film? Particularly considering there are already Chinese versions of the legend: General Hua Mu-lan (1964) and Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (2009).

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Tensions high as Hong Kong protesters face off with riot police – video

Crowds of protesters, some holding umbrellas, continued to face off with police in Hong Kong late on Sunday as their month-old protest movement showed no signs of abating. Police lined the streets holding batons and riot shields as thousands of people took part in the latest demonstrations to demand the withdrawal of a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland

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Chinese ambassador accuses Jeremy Hunt of ‘cold war mentality’

Foreign secretary refused to clarify Britain’s stance in row over Hong Kong protests

China’s ambassador to the UK has accused the UK’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, of having a “cold war mentality” in his approach to the diplomatic row over Hong Kong.

Liu Xiaoming criticised the Conservative leadership candidate for his stance of “strategic ambiguity” on the possibility of sanctions against China over the crackdown on the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.

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Hong Kong demonstrators march to railway station as protests continue – video

Tens of thousands of protesters march to keep up the pressure on the Hong Kong government to withdraw a controversial extradition bill, in the latest of a series of mass rallies that have drawn millions of demonstrators over the past month. The march is planned to finish at the West Kowloon railway terminus, where high-speed trains link Hong Kong with mainland Chinese cities

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Conflict breaks out in Hong Kong after latest extradition bill protests

Police in riot gear beat protesters as demonstration continued into late evening

Conflict has broken out between hundreds of protesters and police in riot gear in Hong Kong after tens of thousands of protesters marched peacefully earlier in the day to keep up the pressure on the government to withdraw its controversial extradition bill.

Related: Hong Kong youth vow to fight on as China gets tough on protest

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China looks at Britain and sees only weakness and hypocrisy | Simon Tisdall

Jeremy Hunt’s support for the Hong Kong protests has released old resentments long suppressed

Last week’s sudden outbreak of verbal hostilities with China, triggered by violent clashes in Hong Kong, provided a disturbing glimpse of post-Brexit Britain’s isolated and impotent future in a world of more muscular adversaries. It also underlined a dilemma facing all the western democracies in their dealings with Beijing: what matters most – liberal values or money-making?

Like bullies sensing weakness, Chinese officials let rip after Britain dared defend the demonstrators’ right to protest against the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms. The row released tensions largely suppressed since the former colony was handed back in 1997. The depth of China’s pent-up fury was cautionary.

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China accused of rapid campaign to take Muslim children from their families

Relatives tell of more than 100 missing children amid Xinjiang boarding school building drive

China is reportedly separating Muslim children from their families, religion and language, and is engaged in a rapid, large-scale campaign to build boarding schools for them.

The attempts to “remove children from their roots” exists in parallel to Beijing’s ongoing detention of an estimated 1 million Uighur adults from the western Xinjiang region in camps and sweeping crackdown on the rights of the minority group, the BBC reported.

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Taiwan’s marriage law brings frustration and hope for LGBT China

Public acceptance is improving, but in some cases Chinese authorities are moving in the other direction

It was a landmark moment for LGBT rights. When Taiwan passed a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, crowds in Taipei erupted into cheers, chanting: “First in Asia”.

For those watching from across the Taiwan strait in China, where gay couples do not have that right, the moment was heartening but also profoundly sad. Matthew, 27, an LGBT activist in Chengdu, spent the day following the proceedings online on his own. A few days later he flew to Taiwan to watch two male friends register their marriage after 14 years together.

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Chinese ambassador lambasts British ‘interference’ in Hong Kong – video

China’s ambassador to the UK has warned that Britain’s approach to the Hong Kong protests has damaged the relationship between the two countries. Liu Xiaoming has been summoned for a dressing down from the head of the UK’s diplomatic service, Sir Simon McDonald, over the spat. ‘The fundamental principles guiding our two countries is mutual respect, non-interference into internal affairs,’ Liu said.

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Zdeněk Hřib: the Czech mayor who defied China

By refusing to expel a Taiwanese diplomat, the Prague mayor has joined the ranks of local politicians confronting contentious national policies

Zdeněk Hřib had been Prague’s mayor for little more than a month when he came face-to-face with the Czech capital’s complex entanglement with China.

Hosting a meeting with foreign diplomats in the city, Hřib was asked by the Chinese ambassador to expel their Taiwanese counterpart from the gathering in deference to Beijing’s ‘one China’ policy, under which it claims sovereignty over the officially independent state of Taiwan.

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Hong Kong crisis could not have come at a worse time for the UK

Politics at home and spreading anti-China sentiment in US mean Britain has limited options in how it responds

The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, will be cursing his timing about Hong Kong. Faced with growing criticism from human rights groups over the UK’s muted response to the treatment of protesters in its former colony, he decided last Tuesday to take two decisive steps: to call for an independent inquiry into the police handling of demonstrations on 12 June and to suspend export licences for crowd control equipment that could be used in future against protesters.

A statement promising unwavering commitment was also issued by the Foreign Office on the eve of demonstrations held on Monday to coincide with the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China.

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Hong Kong protests: city divided over storming of legislature

City appears divided on whether protesters went too far with Tuesday night’s occupation of the legislature

As Hong Kong woke up after a night of unprecedented drama, the city was divided on whether protesters who stormed and vandalised the city’s legislature had gone too far in their quest to make their voices heard. Anti-government and anti-police graffiti still adorned pillars and walls as police stood guard while legislators attempted to go about their day.

Two main narratives were emerging after the ransacking of the legislature: one that spoke of hopelessness in the face of semi-authoritarian rule, and another that condemned the destruction of property.

Pro-democracy figures placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of leader Carrie Lam, saying a government that only listens to a pro-Beijing party had driven young people to desperation.

“The protesters who broke into the Legislative Council complex were not rioters. They were not violent,” said activist Joshua Wong, jailed for two months after the 2014 umbrella protests. “They wanted to make the regime hear Hong Kongers’ voice, and they had no other option.

“Perhaps not all of you will agree with every single action they took yesterday. But what are a few pieces of glass worth in comparison to the deaths of three young men and women? What are a few portraits worth in comparison to the very survival of Hong Kong as a place?”

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Chinese border guards put secret surveillance app on tourists’ phones

Software extracts emails, texts and contacts and could be used to track movements

Chinese border police are secretly installing surveillance apps on the phones of visitors and downloading personal information as part of the government’s intensive scrutiny of the remote Xinjiang region, the Guardian can reveal.

The Chinese government has curbed freedoms in the province for the local Muslim population, installing facial recognition cameras on streets and in mosques and reportedly forcing residents to download software that searches their phones.

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China says violent protests in Hong Kong are ‘undisguised challenge’, reports state TV – video

China regards the violent actions of some protesters in Hong Kong as an 'undisguised challenge' to the 'one country, two systems' formula under which the city is ruled, state television reported on Tuesday. A representative of China's Hong Kong affairs office condemned the violence of some protesters, who are angered by a proposed extradition bill, and said Beijing supported the Hong Kong government in holding violent criminals responsible, the report said

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Inside Hong Kong’s legislature after protesters storm the building – video

Hong Kong's Legislative Council will remain closed on Tuesday after protesters stormed the building to protest against an extradition bill in a direct challenge to Beijing. Footage from inside the building after police used teargas to disperse the protesters shows the extent of the damage. Wearing hard hats, masks and black shirts, the protesters used a metal trolley, poles and scaffolding to charge again and again at the compound's reinforced glass doors on Monday, which eventually gave way. Scores of them poured into the building

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Hong Kong protest: China says violent demonstrations ‘totally intolerable’

Beijing’s liaison office says storming of parliament is ‘an extreme challenge’ to the rule of law

The Chinese government has issued a strong condemnation of protesters who stormed and vandalised the Hong Kong’s legislature late on Monday, calling the act “totally intolerable”.

In a statement carried by the state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, its top representative organisation in the city, said it was “shocked, indignant and strongly condemned” the siege of the parliament building, which followed a day of protests against a controversial extradition bill late on Monday.

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Hong Kong protests: at least 50 injured, reports say, after police fire teargas – live updates

Police rush at protesters after Legislative Council building was stormed on anniversary of 1997 transition

We’re going to end our live coverage now, thanks for reading. Here’s the Guardian’s main news story on today’s events, from Christy Choi and Verna Yu in Hong Kong.

Related: Hong Kong police fire teargas and charge at protesters

Police stopped a public bus following the demonstration outside the Legco building, Verna Yu says, reportedly searching for protesters.

They stopped the bus around 1.15am and checked all the passengers. Police scrutinized their ID cards, ordered passengers to remove their masks, and at 1.45am were still searching people. Passengers were made to stand on one side of the bus while the police searched others.

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Hong Kong police fire teargas and charge at protesters

Officers move to disperse crowds after breakaway group stormed parliament building

Hong Kong police have fired teargas at demonstrators and moved to disperse crowds after protesters stormed the legislative council building and raised the territory’s former colonial flag on the 22nd anniversary of its handover to China.

The dramatic scenes came after a peaceful march of half a million people made its way through other parts of the city as its deepest political crisis in two decades showed no sign of abating. For the past month protesters have been demanding the withdrawal of a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland as anger has grown against Hong Kong authorities and the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam.

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