Hong Kong

Singapore Bars Entry To Exiled Hong Kong Activist Nathan Law

Singapore Bars Entry To Exiled Hong Kong Activist Nathan Law

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Read Also: Hong Kong

Turkey Police Fire Tear Gas On Women Protesters

Hong Kong Leader Reassures Investors Rattled By China Law

China’s plans to impose a new security law on Hong Kong will not erode freedoms, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as she tried to reassure international businesses and foreign governments alarmed by the proposal.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the controversial law would “only target a handful of lawbreakers” but she would not be drawn on what actions and opinions would be deemed illegal once the legislation is passed.

Her comments came as the commander of China’s military garrison in Hong Kong warned the law would “punish any acts of separatism”.

Read Also: Thousands Protest In Hong Kong Over China

Thousands protest in Hong Kong over China security law proposal

Thousands Protest In Hong Kong Over China Security Law Proposal

Police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters who gathered Sunday against a controversial security law proposed by China, in the most intense clashes for months.

As the demonstrators and police were facing off in the semi-autonomous financial hub, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisted in Beijing that the proposed law must be imposed “without the slightest delay”.

The planned legislation — expected to ban treason, subversion and sedition — comes after Hong Kong was shaken last year by months of massive, often-violent protests, and repeated warnings from Beijing that it would not …

China Warns HK Protesters Against 'Stirring Up Trouble'

China Warns HK Protesters Against ‘Stirring Up Trouble’

China warned Hong Kong protesters Wednesday it would not tolerate them “stirring up trouble again” in the semi-autonomous territory that was rocked by months of pro-democracy demonstrations last year.

Mass arrests of protesters and a ban on large gatherings due to the coronavirus outbreak in the financial hub have stifled the protest movement, but small demonstrations have been held in recent weeks as contagion fears ease.

Hong Kong police used pepper spray to disperse protesters last Friday after a largely peaceful public holiday.

“We noticed that the black violent forces slowed down a little when faced with the Hong Kong …

How The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Changing Pregnancy

How The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Changing Pregnancy

Jamie Chui has been a virtual prisoner in her Hong Kong home for most of her nine-month pregnancy. Trapped intially by violent pro-democracy protests and tear gas, and then by the coronavirus — she now faces giving birth alone, with her husband unlikely to see his child until days later.

Asia is facing a second wave of COVID-19 infections and as cases spiral globally with one million confirmed positive and half the planet on lockdown, women are having to give birth in unprecedented circumstances.

Hong Kong and China have imposed some of the world’s strictest measures to prevent infections in …

Toilet roll has become hot property in Hong Kong thanks to panic-buying

Armed Gang Steals Toilet Rolls In Hong Kong Panic Buying

Armed robbers who stole hundreds of toilet rolls were being hunted by Hong Kong police on Monday, in a city wracked by shortages caused by coronavirus panic-buying.

Toilet rolls have become hot property in the densely packed business hub, despite government assurances that supplies remain unaffected by the virus outbreak.

Supermarkets have found themselves unable to restock quickly enough, leading to sometimes lengthy queues and shelves wiped clean within moments of opening.

Alongside toilet rolls, there has been a run on staples like rice and pasta as well as hand sanitiser and other cleaning items.

Police said a truck driver …