Yearly Archives: 2024

The Article 23 bill overcomes legislative ‘hurdles’ without much trouble.  Samuel Bickett on the amendments… In a true demonstration of what it means to be a “rubber stamp legislature,” the Hong Kong LegCo-requested amendments to the Article 23 national security … Continue reading →

One of those weird Hong Kong things: the soon-to-be college graduate who puts his/her name down for a public rental housing unit. The waiting list currently stretches out for nearly six years, and the applicant must get a low-paying job … Continue reading →

A Bloomberg story… Hong Kong’s third-largest supermarket chain U Select, run by state-owned conglomerate China Resources Holdings Co., has almost halved its network in less than a year as the city’s retailers struggle with economic headwinds and residents flock across … Continue reading →

Security Secretary Chris Tang answers questions about ‘absconders’ – a major bug-bear of the NatSec system. Under the Article 23 NatSec law, the authorities will cancel travel documents and (it seems) professional qualifications after a six-month period. If an absconder’s … Continue reading →

Full text of the ‘Safeguarding National Security’ Bill. A full round-up from HKFP.  Among other things: life sentences for treason, insurrection and sabotage; a maximum 10-year sentence for sedition; possible extended detention without charge for NatSec suspects; powers to limit … Continue reading →

DJ-activist Tam Tak-chi loses his appeal against his 2022 sedition conviction. From AFP… The sedition offence, formerly a little-used relic of Hong Kong’s British colonial era, was dusted off as Beijing launched a crackdown on dissent in the financial hub … Continue reading →

A major mouth-froth eruption over headlines on Bloomberg’s subscriber-only terminal news service… The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (March 6) strongly disapproved of and condemned Bloomberg’s news headlines “HK says Telegram should be prohibited in Article 23 … Continue reading →

‘Villain hitting’ is more popular than ever this year. But police advise the elderly women who will curse your enemies by hitting pictures of them under the Canal Road flyover not to use photos of people. This presumably means pictures … Continue reading →

Renewed relevance for the HK-Zhuhai Bridge – parking spaces for (eventually) 6,000 cars at a location much but not all of the way from Zhuhai to Hong Kong… “You can also park your car there even if you don’t have … Continue reading →

Bloomberg’s report on the US Consul General’s comments on Article 23… US Consul General Gregory May cautioned that connectivity issues and data security concerns had prompted some American companies to use burner phones and laptops when visiting the once free-wheeling … Continue reading →