Hong Kong kicks off its biggest national security trial and passes landmark transgender rights ruling protecting
News briefing for February 6, 2023
Here’s what else you need to know about China today:
The biggest national security trial in Hong Kong has kicked off, as 47 of the city’s most prominent pro-democracy activists face up to life in prison. Most of them have been in jail for the past two years since they were arrested in a massive police raid in January 2021, and the outcome of the trial could bring an end to many of the freedoms that set the city apart from mainland China.
A Hong Kong court passed a landmark ruling to protect transgender rights by unanimously saying that it is unconstitutional to prohibit transgender people from amending the gender shown on their Hong Kong Identity Cards unless they undergo “highly invasive and medically unnecessary” full sex reassignment surgery.
The U.S. is considering more sanctions on Chinese surveillance firms for selling their video recording equipment to Iranian security forces, which have come under pressure from human rights groups who say they are using surveillance technology to crack down on protesters over the death of Mahsa Amini.
China is willing to “restart” trade talks with Australia in a bid to get economic ties back on track. The first meeting between the countries’ commerce ministers since 2019 signals the latest thaw in bilateral tensions, after Beijing relaxed some trade restrictions on key Australian imports last month.
Purchases of gold during this year’s Spring Festival increased by 18.2% year-on-year, according to the China Gold Association (CGA). Fueled by inflation and geopolitical risks, 2022 had the highest gold demand in more than a decade, and this trend is expected to continue in 2023.
