Last summer, the National People’s Congress in Beijing bypassed the Hong Kong Legislative Council to impose a national security law. Next month, the NPC is expected to take a similar action to ensure that only “patriots,” as Beijing defines them, hold public office in the city.
Top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi warned the Biden administration against making the “strategic misjudgment” of treating China as an adversary. The issues of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang all “constitute a redline that must not be crossed,” he added.
The U.K. expects around 300,000 Hongkongers to apply, over the next five years, for a new visa for those with British National Overseas (BNO) status. Beijing retaliated by saying it would not recognize BNO passports, but this appears to be an entirely symbolic gesture.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on 28 Trump administration officials today, a clear sign that Beijing is not interested in a reset with the new U.S. government.
As Hong Kong police comb through the digital devices of activists and pro-democracy politicians arrested in a sweep last week, government sources tell Reuters to expect more harsh action.
The Chinese central government is not slowing down its campaign to remake civil society in Hong Kong and tame dissenting voices: Today, police arrested 53 people under the new national security law on charges of trying to “overthrow” the government.
“Endangering national security” is the reason for the detention of a Bloomberg staffer in Beijing, and the charge against a newspaper boss in Hong Kong, as Xi Jinping’s government continues an intensifying crackdown on news media in China.
The steady erosion of civil society in Hong Kong continues with new jail sentences for three prominent activists and growing pressure on the media.
Last month, the charity MercyHK invited Hong Kong's homeless to a screening of the award-winning movie "I'm Living It," which dramatizes the plight of the Hong Kong's down and out. For many of the attendees, the film was a long-overdue respite from the outside world, albeit a tragic and melodramatic one.