Today saw the first verdict from a trial under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. Promoters of the draconian law say the defendant committed a violent criminal act, but his conviction hinged on the interpretation of language, not on the nature of his acts.
A top U.S. diplomat is heading to China for talks with her counterparts, but no one expects much to change as China-U.S. relations continue to deteriorate.
Xia Baolong, the head of the Chinese State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, delivered a speech celebrating what Beijing sees as the success of its national security law in Hong Kong and outlining expectations for the future of the city.
The U.S. is expected to issue its first business advisory for Hong Kong, warning of risks including data or assets being seized by Beijing, the Financial Times reported. The U.S. worries about data security follow a flurry of moves by Beijing exerting data sovereignty.
A veteran observer of Hong Kong’s financial markets argues that the Chinese government’s moves this week against newly listed ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing augur a Great Financial Decoupling that will hit Hong Kong hard.
Kai Tak Airport closed on July 6, 1998. It was one-of-a-kind, requiring pilots to be specially certified in order to make hair-raising landings amid mountains and high-rises.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s message for the nation and the world: The Communist Party is here to stay, inseparable from the Chinese people, and its guidance has been indispensable to China’s “rejuvenation” and now-unstoppable development.
Two security officials in Hong Kong were promoted today, marking an even heavier emphasis on enforcement of Beijing’s national security law. John Lee, the new number two in city government, is the first chief secretary since the 1997 handover to not have economic or social policy expertise.
With its founder in jail, bank accounts frozen, and editorial staff at risk of arrest, the blows fell fast and hard against the territory’s 26-year-old pro-democracy tabloid.