By ReporterPublished July 2, 2019Hong Kong’s recent wave of demonstrations appeared to reach a yesterday night (July 1) when a fringe group of protesters broke into the legislature. For several hours, they occupied the seats of power in an attempt to get the local government to address their demands, which include the complete withdrawal of .They destroyed the glass facade of the building. They , Hong Kong’s mini constitution that sets it apart from mainland China’s legal system. They spray-painted over the city’s , a , but only the part that read “People’s Republic of China.” They put up...…By ReporterPublished July 2, 2019Hong Kong’s recent wave of demonstrations appeared to reach a yesterday night (July 1) when a fringe group of protesters broke into the legislature. For several hours, they occupied the seats of power in an attempt to get the local government to address their demands, which include the complete withdrawal of .They destroyed the glass facade of the building. They , Hong Kong’s mini constitution that sets it apart from mainland China’s legal system. They spray-painted over the city’s , a , but only the part that read “People’s Republic of China.” They put up...WW…

By ReporterPublished September 8, 2020Frozen in time across sections of Hong Kong on Google Maps Street View are traces of past protests: posters and Post-its plastered on walls, protest slogans scrawled onto roadway medians and zebra crossings. Some protest graffiti, however, have been blurred out on the Street View map.Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) yesterday two separate instances of graffiti that had been blurred out. One read “[Chinese leader] Xi Jinping must die for the sake of the world,” and another read “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time,” a protest slogan that authorities...…By ReporterPublished September 8, 2020Frozen in time across sections of Hong Kong on Google Maps Street View are traces of past protests: posters and Post-its plastered on walls, protest slogans scrawled onto roadway medians and zebra crossings. Some protest graffiti, however, have been blurred out on the Street View map.Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) yesterday two separate instances of graffiti that had been blurred out. One read “[Chinese leader] Xi Jinping must die for the sake of the world,” and another read “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time,” a protest slogan that authorities...WW…

Hong Kong’s protesters have a tortured relationship with Apple. While the has helped protesters spread messages quickly in crowded situations, the US tech giant has also thrown obstacles in their way, most notably when it from its app store last year.Now, the city’s democracy activists fear that Apple is again actively hindering the protest movement.Over the weekend, in the opposition’s primaries, an unofficial election that also served as a protest against the city’s national security law imposed last month by Beijing. The city will hold legislative elections in September. The primary...…Hong Kong’s protesters have a tortured relationship with Apple. While the has helped protesters spread messages quickly in crowded situations, the US tech giant has also thrown obstacles in their way, most notably when it from its app store last year.Now, the city’s democracy activists fear that Apple is again actively hindering the protest movement.Over the weekend, in the opposition’s primaries, an unofficial election that also served as a protest against the city’s national security law imposed last month by Beijing. The city will hold legislative elections in September. The primary...WW…

By ReporterPublished September 22, 2020If you can’t solve a problem, redefine it.That’s the approach the Hong Kong police appear to be taking as they announced today that they will from local media organisations, and define members of the press as only those who have been officially accredited by the government, or who are part of an “internationally recognized and renowned” outlet.The move is a direct assault on the city’s press freedoms, with troubling and wide-ranging implications. It comes just weeks after a couple hundred police and arrested the publication’s outspoken founder, Jimmy...…By ReporterPublished September 22, 2020If you can’t solve a problem, redefine it.That’s the approach the Hong Kong police appear to be taking as they announced today that they will from local media organisations, and define members of the press as only those who have been officially accredited by the government, or who are part of an “internationally recognized and renowned” outlet.The move is a direct assault on the city’s press freedoms, with troubling and wide-ranging implications. It comes just weeks after a couple hundred police and arrested the publication’s outspoken founder, Jimmy...WW…

By ReporterPublished May 15, 2020Compared to last year, the streets of Hong Kong over the past few months have been largely quiet. Gone are the massive protests, as people stayed home to stave off the pandemic. But away from the global spotlight, drastic changes have unfurled at remarkable speed in the city.Just 10 days after authorities , the city at the center of the outbreak, China turned its attention to Hong Kong and dialled up the pressure while the rest of the world was preoccupied with the pandemic.Beijing fired its opening salvo on April 17, when its liaison office in Hong Kong...…By ReporterPublished May 15, 2020Compared to last year, the streets of Hong Kong over the past few months have been largely quiet. Gone are the massive protests, as people stayed home to stave off the pandemic. But away from the global spotlight, drastic changes have unfurled at remarkable speed in the city.Just 10 days after authorities , the city at the center of the outbreak, China turned its attention to Hong Kong and dialled up the pressure while the rest of the world was preoccupied with the pandemic.Beijing fired its opening salvo on April 17, when its liaison office in Hong Kong...WW…

By ReporterPublished May 21, 2020The most politically sensitive number in China right now arguably isn’t its coronavirus case count, but its unemployment rate.In a sign of just how much of a hot potato job numbers are for the Communist Party, a Chinese brokerage firm was last month an analyst report that estimated the country’s unemployment rate at over 20%—multiple times higher than the official count. A few days later, the nationalistic tabloid Global Times for the purposes of “debunking” foreign allegations that China’s unemployment data is unreliable.As China’s National People’s...…By ReporterPublished May 21, 2020The most politically sensitive number in China right now arguably isn’t its coronavirus case count, but its unemployment rate.In a sign of just how much of a hot potato job numbers are for the Communist Party, a Chinese brokerage firm was last month an analyst report that estimated the country’s unemployment rate at over 20%—multiple times higher than the official count. A few days later, the nationalistic tabloid Global Times for the purposes of “debunking” foreign allegations that China’s unemployment data is unreliable.As China’s National People’s...WW…

By ReporterPublished July 1, 2020Hong Kong’s sweeping new national security law, by China and taking effect hours later, is ostensibly meant to restore “prosperity” and “stability” to a city rocked by months-long protests. It criminalizes a , and is written vaguely enough that any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party could plausibly be deemed in violation of the law.  The new law is also expansive in another unprecedented way, even by the standards of China’s opaque legal system: it covers not just Hong Kong residents, but also anyone living abroad. That means foreign...…By ReporterPublished July 1, 2020Hong Kong’s sweeping new national security law, by China and taking effect hours later, is ostensibly meant to restore “prosperity” and “stability” to a city rocked by months-long protests. It criminalizes a , and is written vaguely enough that any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party could plausibly be deemed in violation of the law.  The new law is also expansive in another unprecedented way, even by the standards of China’s opaque legal system: it covers not just Hong Kong residents, but also anyone living abroad. That means foreign...WW…