Category: HK Current Affairs

Hong Kong Journalists and Public Have Great Constraints in Criticizing Beijing: Report

On July 7, The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) released the 2022 Press Freedom Index, showing that the public and journalists’ ratings of Hong Kong press freedom hit a new low. The public’s rating stood at 41.4 out of 100. At the same time, journalists gave it a mere 25.7 out of 100, with over 90…


Directly Elected Seats for Hong Kong District Councils Reduced to 20%, Ensuring Dominance Returns to the Pro-Beijing Camp

The Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) passed the third reading on the revision plan of the district councils on July 6, rewriting the composition of the district councils and reducing the directly elected (popular vote) seats to 88, less than 20 percent of the total. The revised composition of the district councils will almost certainly…


Hong Kong Spent $35 Million on Lobbying in the US: Report

The Hong Kong government has been conducting political lobbying efforts in the United States since 2005, and over US$35 million has been spent on lobbying and engaging with American politicians over 1,000 times since 2019, according to a report released by the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), based in America, on July 5. Ms. Anna Kwok,…


Cancellations for Organ Donation in Hong Kong Set a Record High in May

In a press release on July 5, the Hong Kong government announced that the number of organ donation cancellations in May had reached nearly 6,000. This historically high number of cancellations sparked discussions amongst many Hong Kong citizens. They were wondering how this phenomenon had appeared out of the blue. Experts in the know have…


Hong Kong Police Arrest Another Person Accused of Supporting Overseas Activists

HONG KONG—Hong Kong police on Thursday arrested another person accused of supporting overseas activists who allegedly endangered national security, in a further expansion of a government clampdown on pro-democracy dissidents. Police detained the 24-year-old man at the city’s airport a day after four other people were arrested for allegedly using companies, social media and mobile…


Hong Kong Slashes Number of Directly Elected Council Seats

HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s legislature unanimously voted on Thursday to overhaul district level elections by drastically reducing directly elected seats, a move critics said removed some of the last vestiges of democratic freedoms in the China-ruled city. Under the amendment bill, only 88 seats would be directly elected by the public, down from 452 seats in…


Lord Patten Criticizes CCP’s ‘Vengeful Restrictions’ on Hong Kong’s Civil Society

On June 28, Lord Patten of Barnes, the last Governor of Hong Kong, criticized CCP’s “comprehensively vengeful restrictions” on freedom of the press, civil society, and democracy in Hong Kong in his speech at a reception in Parliament to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong and the third year since passing…


Pull British Judges From Hong Kong Courts and Stop China Visits, Government Told

The government has been urged pull all British judges from Hong Kong courts after Beijing’s $1 million bounty threat to UK-based pro-democracy activists. The call was made in the House of Lords on Tuesday as peers demanded action against the ongoing transnational threat from the Chinese Communist Party. In the Commons, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly…


Hong Kong Police Arrest 4 Men Accused of Aiding Overseas Activists

HONG KONG—Hong Kong national security police on Wednesday arrested four men it accused of supporting overseas dissidents and of advocating for independence from China, two days after issuing warrants and bounties against several foreign-based activists. The four men “were suspected of receiving funds from operating companies, social platforms, and mobile applications to support people who…


Hong Kong Will Pursue Pro-Democracy Activists For Life

The Beijing-run Hong Kong (HK) Chief Executive John Lee has said that the eight pro-democracy activists who are currently being pursued by the Hong Kong police for allegedly breaking the island state’s National Security Law should be aware they will be pursued for life. Mr. Lee, who made the remarks on July 4, expressed he…