Hong Kong national security law (NSL)

Greta Thunberg, the high-profile global environmental activist, has waded into sensitive Chinese politics by demanding the release of 12 Hong Kong fugitives detained in mainland China after being arrested at sea while fleeing to Taiwan.  The Swedish environmentalist shared on Twitter a picture of her holding a whiteboard bearing the message “#SAVE12HKYOUTHS” in response to a direct appeal to back the cause from Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the poster boy of Hong Kong’s protest movement. She also wrote, “12 is more than just a number” and called on three other environmental activists to join her in the cause. The arrest of 12 Hong Kong activists in August has made international headlines and turned

Reverend Jayson Tam was upset when a remark he made about mainland China in an online sermon in early June drew a four-page letter of complaint. The Hong Kong pastor had mentioned a policy that banned children under 18 from going to church, but the complainant said it was not fair to single out the mainland when the United States also had rules regarding religious activities in public schools. Tam took to Facebook to express astonishment at the complaint, saying he feared that worship gatherings were being monitored by the authorities. The 46-year-old pastor from a 10,000-strong megachurch deleted his post shortly after Beijing introduced a tailor-made national security law for Hong Kong, a

The recent capture at sea of 17 young Hong Kong activists as they attempted to escape to Taiwan was an all-too-familiar tale for older Hongkongers who risked life and limb in perilous journeys into or out of the city by water, but for three men, the story was deeply personal. Memories of their own brushes with danger came flooding back for Cai Chongguo, Lew Mon-hung and Tsang Kin-shing when news emerged on Wednesday that the mainland Chinese coastguard had arrested 12 local activists allegedly en route to Taiwan. Wednesday’s arrests came just days before Taiwanese media reported that five other Hong Kong activists had been intercepted by marine authorities from the self-ruled island late las

Political books about Hong Kong’s democratic movement, gossip about Chinese leaders, and rumors about politics on the Chinese mainland were once readily available at newsstands and convenience stores across the city. But many books considered to be "sensitive" have disappeared from the shelves after Beijing imposed a national security law for Hong Kong in July 2020. The change is a worry for many in Hong Kong, including an independent bookstore owner who fears the new law could eventually have a serious impact on his business

Cherie Wong was utterly consumed by the protest movement that swept Hong Kong last summer. “I didn’t sleep properly for days, for weeks, really,” she said. She watched the protests obsessively, then became an activist herself. Wong, 24, tried to discuss her beliefs with older family members who included former members of the Hong Kong Police Force. “It ended up in conflict, it was awkward,” she said. But her activities were cheered by her grandmother, in her mid-80s, who was “incredibly pro-protester. We’d just go into a private chat to talk about it.” But Wong, a freelance writer and policy researcher, was not in Hong Kong. She was more than 7,450 miles away in Ottawa, Canada, watching even

Nearly four in 10 members of an influential American business group are considering relocating from Hong Kong due to the city’s national security law, an indication of rising corporate fears over the sweeping new legislation, a recent poll revealed. Of the 154 firms surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham), 39% said they had plans to move capital, assets or operations out of the city after more details were revealed about the law, a rise from 35.5% of businesses polled in July. The remaining 61% said they had no plans to exit the city. On a personal level, 53% of respondents said they were considering leaving Hong Kong, while 46% said they had no plans to quit the c

Hong Kong police arrested Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai under the national security law as part of an investigation into an online group that canvassed foreign countries to sanction the city and received more than HK$1 million ($129,000) from overseas bank accounts, the South China Morning Post has learned. Former student activist Agnes Chow and two others arrested were also allegedly involved in the group. Sources said the group is called “I want laam caau,” a Cantonese expression meaning “embrace and fry.” It sums up the popular protest slogan, “If we burn, you burn with us,” used by participants in the anti-government unrest that roiled the former British colony last year. Officers from t

Hong Kong police on Monday raided the offices of the city’s Apple Daily newspaper and arrested its founder Jimmy Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing, under the new national security law. A police source told the South China Morning Post that the media mogul was arrested “for collusion with a foreign country, uttering seditious words and conspiracy to defraud.” Another eight people, including Lai’s two sons, had also been taken into custody. The arrests were the most high-profile use to date of Hong Kong’s security law, which was imposed on the former British colony in June amid opposition from the city’s pro-democracy lawmakers and Western democracies including the United States. In response

Special passports held by some Hong Kongers may no longer be recognised in the mainland, Beijing threatened on Thursday. China’s reaction did not dampen the resolve of some Hong Kong residents to emigrate. Scholars, advocates and immigration consultants described the UK offer for British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport holders as more generous than expected, and Beijing’s comeback as largely symbolic. BN(O) passports were granted to Hong Kong residents born before Britain returned the former Chinese rule in 1997.   The British Home Secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday revealed that Hongkongers with BN(O) papers wishing to move to the UK would be exempt from its income threshold requireme

Britain was on Monday poised to announce plans to suspend or revoke its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to mainland China imposing a controversial national security law on the former British colony. The plans looked set to further sour Britain’s diplomatic relations with Beijing, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began his London visit to hammer out a British-American strategy on China with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was expected to make an announcement on the Hong Kong treaty when he addressed his country’s parliament on Monday. It followed weeks of lobbying from lawmakers to suspend a legal instrument they fear could be used by Hon