Tag: Hong Kong

Hong Kong Democracy Figure Jimmy Lai Stands Trial After Long Delay

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Unlike other Hong Kong tycoons who were careful not to provoke China’s leaders, Jimmy Lai had long been a proud rebel. He founded a newspaper with a decidedly anti-Beijing slant. He was a prominent face at massive pro-democracy protests. He lobbied American officials to protest the city’s declining autonomy. Then, in 2020, Mr. Lai was arrested, becoming one of the first prominent targets of a national security law imposed by Beijing to crush the opposition. On Monday, after three years in prison and unusually lengthy procedural delays, Mr. Lai was…

David Cameron calls on Hong Kong to release Jimmy Lai

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The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has called for the release of the British citizen Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy newspaper publisher facing a “politically motivated prosecution” in a high-profile trial in Hong Kong. In a significant intervention, the former prime minister condemned the charges against Lai, 76, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law that China imposed after the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Lai is charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to publish seditious material. The trial…

World watches as landmark Jimmy Lai trial set to begin in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong’s global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way. Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison. The trial starts on Monday, two weeks after another landmark hearing came to an end on 4 December. The Hong…

Hong Kong puts arrest bounties on five overseas activists including US citizen

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Hong Kong police have offered million-dollar bounties for information leading to the arrest of five overseas-based activists, as part of a crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law. The move, which adds to a list of eight overseas activists deemed fugitives by authorities in July, triggered criticism from the US and UK governments. The five are Simon Cheng, Frances Hui, Joey Siu, Johnny Fok and Tony Choi, who are now based in various countries including the US and UK. Steve Li, an officer with the Hong Kong police’s…

Record low turnout as Hong Kong votes in ‘patriots’-only election

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A “patriots only” district election in Hong Kong that barred opposition democrats from the ballot sheet amid a national security crackdown had a record low voter turnout of 27.5% as many voters spurned what was seen as an undemocratic poll. The sharp slide in turnout since the last such election in 2019 comes after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law that has been used to clamp down on dissent, and overhauled the electoral system to shut out democrats and other liberals. “It can be seen that everyone has begun…

David Cameron urged to tell China to free Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai

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Foreign secretary David Cameron is being urged to demand the release of newspaper tycoon Jimmy Lai as the British national prepares for a high-profile trial in Hong Kong this month. Lai, 76, is facing a life sentence, accused of colluding with foreign forces under the draconian national security law introduced by Beijing in 2020 following mass protests. Sebastien Lai wants to meet David Cameron to discuss his jailed father, Jimmy. Photograph: Free Jimmy Lai Campaign His son Sebastien has demanded that Cameron, who has faced controversy over his links to…

Where Did All the Hong Kong Neon Go?

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It was never just about the neon, that Cubist, consumerist razzle-dazzle cantilevered over Hong Kong’s streets announcing pawnbrokers and mooncake bakers, saunas and shark’s fin soup shops. It was never just about the signs, shining on teahouses offering the finest Iron Goddess of Mercy brew and on hotels paid for by the hour, or on Chinese medicine emporiums bursting with wooden drawers of seahorses and on mahjong parlors clickety-clacking with manicured nails hitting hard tiles. Because while the government’s crackdown on the neon signs stems from safety and environmental concerns,…

‘It’s just a show’: Hong Kong voters likely to stay away as ‘patriots only’ local elections loom

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Years into a crackdown on opposition and dissent in Hong Kong, observers, experts and exiles say there is very little democratic participation left in the city. But the government is still pushing its own version. On Sunday the city will hold district council elections, and chief executive John Lee would very much like people to vote. Transport and museums will be free of charge as part of a “fun day” to promote the polls, which will include concerts and drone shows. Voters will receive a thank you card and a…

‘I’m concerned about my personal safety’: Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow speaks about life in exile

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In August this year Agnes Chow crossed into mainland China filled with fear. The young activist was in the company of five national security police, taking her from her home in Hong Kong, on what she says was a “propaganda tour” organised by authorities in return for her being allowed to study overseas. Police had told her the tour was mandatory if she wanted them to return her passport, which they’d confiscated years earlier as part of her bail conditions. Chow is a key figure in Hong Kong’s most significant…

China Evergrande Soared on the Property Boom. Here’s Why It Crashed.

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In January, more than 100 financial sleuths were dispatched to the Guangzhou headquarters of China Evergrande Group, a real estate giant that had defaulted a year earlier under $300 billion of debt. Its longtime auditor had just resigned, and a nation of home buyers had directed its ire at Evergrande. Police on watch for protesters stood guard outside the building, and the new team of auditors were issued permits to get in. After six months of work, the auditors reported that Evergrande had lost $81 billion over the prior two…