Hong Kong

Jimmy Lai Mitigation Hearings Conclude In Hong Kong

Jimmy Lai Mitigation Hearings Conclude In Hong Kong

January 13, 2026 5:13 am

Hong Kong’s High Court on Tuesday wrapped up mitigation hearings for media tycoon Jimmy Lai, moving his long running national security case into its final phase ahead of sentencing.

The hearings mark the last major step in a trial that has drawn sustained international attention and diplomatic concern, with a sentencing date to be announced later by the court.

Lai’s lawyers and counsel for eight co defendants, including senior former editors and executives at the now closed Apple Daily newspaper, spent two days arguing for reduced sentences based on the defendants’ roles and circumstances. “There are a lot of …

Jimmy Lai Convicted In Hong Kong Security Law Trial

Jimmy Lai Convicted In Hong Kong Security Law Trial

December 15, 2025 2:35 pm

A Hong Kong court on Monday convicted pro-democracy publisher and tycoon Jimmy Lai of colluding with foreign forces, delivering one of the most consequential verdicts under the city’s national security law and deepening concerns over the erosion of civil liberties in the former British colony.

Lai, 78, a British citizen and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, has been detained since December 2020. He pleaded not guilty to all charges but now faces the possibility of life imprisonment, with sentencing expected early next year.

In a sweeping judgment, the court ruled that Lai had used his newspaper and international contacts …

Hong Kong Election Turnout Tested, Fire Fuels Public Anger

Hong Kong Election Turnout Tested, Fire Fuels Public Anger

December 7, 2025 2:18 am

Hong Kong residents headed to the polls on Sunday for a Legislative Council election overshadowed by the city’s deadliest fire in nearly eight decades. Officials tightened security and appealed for calm as public anger over the tragedy, which killed at least 159 people, threatened to depress turnout and deepen distrust in the government.

The vote is the latest under Hong Kong’s overhauled electoral system, which allows only China-vetted “patriots” to run for office. With opposition voices sidelined and residents still reeling from the November 26 blaze, the election has become a critical test of public sentiment and Beijing’s political grip …

Three Days Of Mourning To Begin After Hong Kong Fire Tragedy

Three Days Of Mourning To Begin After Hong Kong Fire Tragedy

November 29, 2025 3:33 am

Hong Kong entered a three day mourning period on Saturday after officials confirmed that at least one hundred twenty eight people died in the city’s deadliest fire in nearly eight decades. Hundreds of residents from the Wang Fuk Court housing complex remain unaccounted for as recovery work continues.

The ceremony opened with a moment of silence outside government headquarters, where Chief Executive John Lee joined senior officials in observing three minutes of quiet reflection. Flags representing China and Hong Kong were raised at half mast as the city began paying tribute to the victims.

The scale of the tragedy has …

Hong Kong Fire Death Toll Rises To 128 As Eight More Arrested

Hong Kong Fire Death Toll Rises To 128 As Eight More Arrested

November 28, 2025 5:22 pm

Hong Kong authorities probe deadly blaze in Tai Po public housing, arrest eight over safety failures, with hundreds still missing and fire alarms non-functional.

The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest apartment fire in decades has risen to 128, with as many as 200 people still unaccounted for, authorities said Friday November 28, 2025, as investigators announced eight more arrests linked to the blaze.

The fire swept through a public housing estate in the city’s Tai Po district on Wednesday November 26, 2025, rapidly engulfing eight high-rise buildings and trapping residents inside. Officials warned the casualty figures are likely to …

Singapore Bars Entry To Exiled Hong Kong Activist Nathan Law

Singapore Bars Entry To Exiled Hong Kong Activist Nathan Law

September 29, 2025 5:44 am

Singapore has denied entry to exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law, despite granting him a visa, saying his presence “would not be in national interests.”

Law, who lives in the UK, said he arrived in Singapore on Saturday to attend a closed-door, invitation-only conference but was detained at the border for four hours before being turned away. “I was not asked questions and they did not give reason for the denial,” he said.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed the decision, noting that Law is wanted by Hong Kong authorities for allegedly endangering national security. “Mr Law’s entry into …

China Sanctions Mike Pompeo, 27 Other Trump Officials

China Condemns US Sanctions Over Hong Kong Crackdown

December 9, 2020 4:15 am

China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office has condemned United States sanctions on Chinese officials over the role they played in a national security law for Hong Kong, calling it ‘purely double standards’, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The office expressed ‘strong indignation and condemnation’ at the U.S. State Department decision to sanction the 14 Vice-Chairpersons of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body.

The United States had on Monday imposed financial sanctions and a travel ban on these officials over their alleged role in Beijing’s last month disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong. A spokesman …

COVID-19: UK Goes Into Recession First Time In 11 Years

Britain To Change Hong Kong Extradition Pact

July 20, 2020 12:28 pm

Britain on Monday said it would change its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to China’s imposition of a new security law on the territory.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to announce the suspension of the treaty and will update the parliament in due course.

“There is a balance here. I’m not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China.

“But we do have serious concerns concerning restrictions in Hong Kong and human rights abuses in China, including the treatment …

Fearful Hong Kongers rush to secure limited British passports

Fearful Hong Kongers Rush To Secure Limited British Passports

June 12, 2020 4:17 pm

Shortly before Hong Kong was handed back to China, Simon Ng applied for a British National (Overseas) passport, a document he never thought he’d need. Now he is considering whether to use it to emigrate.

China’s plan to impose a sweeping national security law on the city in response to huge pro-democracy protests has Ng mulling the prospect of leaving, the first time he has contemplated such action since Britain returned the former colony in 1997.

“Back then, like many of my peers, I thought China would reform and there was hope,” the 52-year-old assistant professor told AFP.

“But now, …

Anti-virus face masks plague Hong Kong's beaches

Anti-Virus Face Masks Plague Hong Kong’s Beaches

June 5, 2020 4:19 pm

Surgical masks are washing up in growing quantities on the shores of Hong Kong, a city that has overwhelmingly embraced face coverings to fight the coronavirus.

Conservationists say the masks are adding to already alarmingly high levels of plastic waste in the waters around the finance hub.

“The single use plastic mask is just another additional burden that we are leaving behind for the future generations on the beach,” Gary Stokes, co-founder of OceansAsia, told AFP.

Shortly before the global pandemic struck, the Hong Kong-based environmental NGO launched a year-long study looking at marine debris and microplastics found on …

Trump strips Hong Kong privileges, curbs students in volley on China

Trump Strips Hong Kong Privileges, Curbs Students In Volley On China

May 30, 2020 5:12 pm

President Donald Trump said Friday he would strip several of Hong Kong’s special privileges with the United States and bar some Chinese students from US universities in anger over Beijing’s bid to exert control in the financial hub.

In a day of concerted action, the United States and Britain also raised alarm at the UN Security Council over a controversial new security law for Hong Kong, infuriating Beijing which said the issue had no place at the world body.

In a White House appearance that Trump had teased for a day, the US president attacked China over its treatment …

Hong Kong Police Stamp Out National Anthem Law Protests

Hong Kong Police Stamp Out National Anthem Law Protests

May 27, 2020 4:23 pm

Hong Kong police cast a dragnet around the financial hub’s legislature on Wednesday, firing pepper-ball rounds and arresting hundreds as they stamped down on protests against a bill banning insults to China’s national anthem.

The latest unrest comes days after China announced separate plans to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong following last year’s huge and often violent pro-democracy rallies.

That move has prompted US President Donald Trump to warn that Hong Kong might lose its status as a global financial centre if the city’s freedoms and vaunted judicial independence are swept aside.

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