When Hong Kong first saw a first mass march against the government’s now-abandoned extradition bill on June 9, 2019, few could have predicted the political abyss that would follow. 

For the first time in 12 weekends of anti-government protests, a policeman fired a warning shot during clashes with demonstrators in Hong Kong. Earlier, police also deployed water cannon for the first time, threatening to use them in order to disperse hundreds of protesters who had occupied a road following a march.

Thousands of Hongkongers took part in an anti-government protests for a 12th consecutive weekend, but violence erupted when riot police and protesters clashed outside a police station in Kowloon. Police fired tear gas and rounds of non-lethal ammunition to disperse the crowd, which retreated a few blocks away. The protesters regrouped and put up barricades, resulting in another stand-off and firing of tear gas to clear the road.

Thousands of protesters in Hong Kong staged a sit-in at Yuen Long MTR station to remind passengers of the violent mob attack that happened here one month ago. On July 21, a group of rod-wielding men dressed in white attacked protesters and passers-by indiscriminately at the station. At least 45 people were sent to the hospital for treatment. Police arrested 28 people, but no one has been charged for the violence.

Hong Kong protesters gathered for another massive rally on August 18, 2019. This is the eleventh consecutive weekend of unrest in Hong Kong since the extradition bill crisis began in June. 

Protesters gather on August 18, 2019 in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay for an anti-government protest.

August 17 saw continued protests in Hong Kong. This is the 11th week in the ongoing crisis sparked by the government’s now-suspended extradition law amendment, which would have allowed the transfer of suspects from Hong Kong to mainland China. 

As protests against the controversial extradition bill enters its second month, the Hong Kong Police have developed sophisticated tactics involving different highly specialised units and advanced weapons.

Violent clashes broke out between anti-government protesters and riot police at Hong Kong International Airport after thousands occupied the departures area, triggering the closure of check-in counters on August 13, 2019.

Anti-government protesters clashed with riot police at Hong Kong International Airport on August 13.

Sunday saw another day and night of violent clashes in Hong Kong between the police and anti-government protesters who are angry with the government’s handling of the extradition bill crisis. A potential clash in North Point between protesters and Beijing loyalists never materialised. Instead, an approved rally in Victoria Park was followed by street occupations and blockages across the centre of Hong Kong Island. Riot police were on hand to clear the protesters with tear gas and baton charges. On Kowloon side, a rally that had failed to secure police permission went ahead anyway. Protesters then revisited flashpoints from previous days, where violence yet again gripped the streets. 

The anti-government protests continued into the night in Hong Kong on August 10.  Multiple ‘flash mob’ style protests erupted across the city with protesters emerging from the MTR system, blocking roads, then retreating when police appear.

A proposed march in Tai Po against the government’s handling of the now suspended extradition bill crisis went ahead without police permission on August 10.  Police had cited safety concerns after earlier marches in the city had ended with violence.  Protesters and riot police faced off on a road near the police station.  The crowd dispersed without clashes after most protesters decided to head for the MTR to make their way to other parts of Hong Kong.

Tensions over the Hong Kong government's contentious extradition bill reached new heights on July 1, 2019, as hundreds of protesters stormed the city's legislature. It followed clashes with police earlier in the day, and coincided with an annual protest march on the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China.

A tense stand-off between anti-extradition bill protesters and police in riot gear led to several clashes early on July 1, 2019, as Hong Kong marked the former British colony’s 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty. 

In 1989, Beijing-based writer Ma Bo, who is better known as Lao Gui, author of Blood Red Sunset, was a journalist working for state-run newspaper Legal Daily, as well as an active participant in the Tiananmen Square protests.

Autographed portraits, vinyl records and posters of Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing adorn the walls of a back-alley cafe on Chunxi Road in Chengdu in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan.

A remote-control system that uses advanced 5G mobile networks to operate a car has taken pole position in the race for attention at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show.

China is developing a  controversial social credit system of rewards and punishments meant to encourage people and businesses to abide by rules and to promote integrity and trustworthiness in society at large.

A slick tool for teaching “Xi Jinping Thought” has become the most popular smartphone app in China. The country’s ruling Communist Party launched the app as part of a new campaign calling on its cadres to immerse themselves in political doctrine every day.

Five years since Malaysia Airlines’ MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014, Jiang Hui is still looking for any trace of his mother. She was among 239 people on board the plane when it vanished after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on its way to the Chinese capital Beijing.

Behind the modern skyscrapers of Shanghai, a significant link to the Chinese city’s pre-colonial urban heritage has survived in the Laoximen neighbourhood. Once the location of the west gate of the former walled city, the area’s history dates back 500 years and is home to some of the last examples of colonial buildings from Shanghai’s first time as an exclusive foreign trade port. Redevelopment has steadily chipped away at Laoximen, with the latest plan poised to erase the northern part of the neighbourhood.

From an outsider’s point of view, Luo Tianyi is just a hologram. But in the eyes of her fans, she is their daughter or wife.

Hengdian in the centre of China’s eastern province of Zhejiang attracts an endless stream of aspiring actors with dreams of making it big in the movie business. Aspiring actors have high expectations when they arrive at Hengdian World Studios, the largest film-production centre in China. But for many, fame proves elusive, and they must settle for roles as extras or abandon their dreams to find work elsewhere.

The Chinese government has been implementing aggressive measures to curb air pollution around the nation. But efforts to reduce have yet to clear skies in many areas, and often have a negative impact on the livelihoods of people in rural.  

The town of Hengdian in eastern China’s Zhejiang province has been called the Hollywood of China. It is home to China’s largest film studio, which produces more than 1,800 movies and TV series each year, and census figures show a quarter of the town’s population are actors. But after a two decade boom, business is slowing down in Hengdian, because of a government crackdown on corruption within the film industry.

When China opened up to foreign investment 40 years ago, Yip Kwok-wah and Wu Suk-ching were among the first businessmen from British-ruled Hong Kong to establish enterprises in mainland China.

Having conquered the skies with the world’s second tallest building, Shanghai has added to its list of architectural marvels with a luxury hotel built in an abandoned quarry 88 metres deep.

Online shopping has grown so big in China that everything is just a click away. But is it possible to furnish an entire apartment from your smartphone?
 

Despite no end in sight to the US-China trade war, over 100 US companies flocked to the first China International Import Expo to showcase their products to Chinese buyers.