https://www.scmp.com/rss/505895/feed Two Sessions refers to China's annual parliamentary meetings, where the two main political bodies of China - the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) - reveal plans for China's policies involving the economy, military, trade, diplomacy, the environment and more. Normally held in March, the 2020 gatherings were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Restoring the economy that was badly hit by the... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Beijing is cracking the whip on the mainland’s cutthroat tutoring market by introducing tighter regulations. At the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference meeting in March, President Xi Jinping described the country’s market for after-school training services as a “social problem”, noting that “the disorder among tutorial centres is an entrenched malady” and called for “all social aspects and related departments” to join hands to solve the problem. It’s not news that the education... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135224/teaching-tutoring-centres-lesson-wont-get-root-chinese-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135224/teaching-tutoring-centres-lesson-wont-get-root-chinese-students?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 May 2021 01:15:13 +0000 The political overhaul instigated by Beijing is nothing more than stifling a very rightful feeling of dissent. The pan-democrats never aimed at overthrowing the central government. They never aimed at independence. They never even challenged the fact that we’re a part of China. Their sole purpose was to preserve our unique identity and the promise that Hong Kong was to be governed by Hongkongers. All of this has been thrown out of the window now, since, according to Beijing, Hongkongers must be... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3124518/hong-kongs-can-do-spirit-will-not-be-crushed-despite-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3124518/hong-kongs-can-do-spirit-will-not-be-crushed-despite-political?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Mar 2021 23:00:17 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader has defended Beijing’s planned overhaul of the city’s electoral system, saying the rancour in the former British colony’s political scene has troubled the central government for almost two decades. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday also dismissed suggestions the Chinese government had initiated the changes because her administration had failed to create the favourable conditions necessary to do them. Lam’s remarks came a day after the top Beijing official... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3122757/changes-hong-kongs-electoral-system-long-time-coming-carrie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3122757/changes-hong-kongs-electoral-system-long-time-coming-carrie?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Feb 2021 06:20:25 +0000 Several of China’s provincial governments have released their economic growth targets for 2021, but policy advisers say that as in 2020, the central government is unlikely to set a national goal for the year. Beijing said last week that the Chinese economy expanded by 2.3 per cent in 2020 and that it would maintain its support policies to ensure growth remained at a reasonable level in 2021, despite the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and its disputes with the United... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3119020/chinas-provinces-set-confident-economic-growth-targets-2021?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3119020/chinas-provinces-set-confident-economic-growth-targets-2021?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Jan 2021 09:20:37 +0000 China should take a practical approach in its 2021-2025 development plan, setting eyes on a reasonable growth rate and keeping some leeway, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday. While the five-year plan should consider the post-coronavirus economic recovery over the next two years and the country’s 2035 development vision, the No 2 figure of the Chinese leadership called on the use of reformist measures to tackle structural problems in the world’s second largest economy. “Development targets... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3115353/china-takes-practical-approach-development-over-next-five?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3115353/china-takes-practical-approach-development-over-next-five?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Dec 2020 07:28:08 +0000 Former Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa has warned that the city has become one of the biggest sticking points, along with Xinjiang and Taiwan, preventing better relations between China and the US and other Western powers. Blaming a campaign against Beijing based on misconceptions and misunderstanding, Tung said Hong Kong had been an indisputable part of the country since the end of British rule in 1997, and Western powers had no authority over the city. Tung, now a vice-chairman of China’s top... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3112167/ex-leader-tung-chee-hwa-warns-hong-kong-has-become-one-main?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3112167/ex-leader-tung-chee-hwa-warns-hong-kong-has-become-one-main?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Dec 2020 16:21:24 +0000 It is an inexorable rule of nature that any organism that cannot adapt to change will perish, and so it is with human institutions. The common law is one such institution. When Hong Kong was a British Crown colony, English was the language of government, and the common law as practised in Hong Kong sat comfortably within the governing system, even though the bulk of the population was Chinese-speaking. Determinations by courts tended to be, at that time, brief and focused. They were easily... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3111024/hong-kong-courts-common-law-yet-adapt-life-under-one-country-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3111024/hong-kong-courts-common-law-yet-adapt-life-under-one-country-two?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Nov 2020 22:15:17 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday acknowledged the “great pressure” facing China’s economy, both at home and in a turbulent environment abroad, but vowed the government would do all it could to drive stable and sustainable development. “Under the complex and volatile international economic and political conditions, for a large economy like ours … stability means progress,” Li said in an article published by the state backed People’s Daily. China’s economy has bounced back from the impact of the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3110388/chinas-li-keqiang-vows-stability-complex-and-volatile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3110388/chinas-li-keqiang-vows-stability-complex-and-volatile?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:30:09 +0000 In May, Premier Li Keqiang announced at the National People’s Congress that China would not set an economic target for the year, given the global coronavirus pandemic and great uncertainty in international relations. In the first quarter of the year, China recorded its first economic contraction since 1976, with industrial production declining 13.5 per cent in January and February. Although the country reported positive growth in the second quarter, another spectre looms. In the longer term,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3104717/china-beat-coronavirus-greying-workforce-may-prove-greater?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3104717/china-beat-coronavirus-greying-workforce-may-prove-greater?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2020 22:10:11 +0000 Hong Kong’s national security law represents different things to different people and, nearly two months after it came into effect, the law remains highly controversial. Much of the controversy is over the purpose of the law, with some saying it was needed to end the street violence that characterised the second half of 2019 and early 2020 before the arrival of the coronavirus while others deplore the increase in mainland control and the loss of autonomy. While Western critics – including... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3098773/how-national-security-law-draws-hong-kong-closer-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3098773/how-national-security-law-draws-hong-kong-closer-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Aug 2020 01:15:10 +0000 China’s real estate sector may have peaked and will likely become a drag on growth during economic shocks such as the current pandemic, a recent report co-authored by Harvard University’s Kenneth Rogoff argues The decades-long housing boom has causes both prices and supply to be misaligned and the market may have hit “a potentially precarious peak,” according to the working paper published by Rogoff and Yuan Yuanchen of Tsinghua University in Beijing. Housing is still unlikely to be the trigger... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3097700/china-housing-boom-may-have-hit-potentially-precarious-peak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3097700/china-housing-boom-may-have-hit-potentially-precarious-peak?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Aug 2020 11:06:54 +0000 Some say Hong Kong is the “new Berlin”, without specifying whether it’s the eastern or the western half; some say we resemble Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese war, fought over by superpowers eyeing its rich resources. Whichever allusion is used to interpret the current situation, one must not forget these wars came to an end. Order was ultimately restored. The China-US hostility will end one day and order in this city will also be restored. But one would be a fool to expect things to “go back... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3096446/hong-kong-has-national-security-law-universal-suffrage-should-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3096446/hong-kong-has-national-security-law-universal-suffrage-should-be?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Aug 2020 23:05:16 +0000 Every time you turn on the TV there is something on the national security law. How it is meant to help Hong Kong. How it is damaging Hong Kong. How it has unified international opinion on Hong Kong, China and the “one country, two systems” principle. Ask yourself why the law was imposed by Chinese authorities. There are two clear answers. One, in 23 years our elected officials were unable to implement it; and two, the violent protests that rocked Hong Kong for six months last year. These were... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3096432/hong-kong-national-security-law-price-city-pays-pro-democracy-camps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3096432/hong-kong-national-security-law-price-city-pays-pro-democracy-camps?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Aug 2020 22:50:10 +0000 The Chinese government has rejected the LGBT community’s demand for the legalisation of same-sex marriage when the country’s parliament adopted China’s first civil code in May. This is a new and clear condemnation of same-sex marriage rights by the state in the two-decade long struggle in China. The fight started officially in 2001 when Li Yinhe, an outspoken sociologist in Beijing, lobbied for same-sex marriage during the annual parliamentary meetings. Homosexuality was removed from the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3094520/why-struggle-same-sex-marriage-china-will-continue-despite-civil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3094520/why-struggle-same-sex-marriage-china-will-continue-despite-civil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jul 2020 01:00:10 +0000 Authoritarian dictators and fear-based rule have existed since time immemorial, judging by what history asserts. The totalitarian tyrannies of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot and other such dictators relied fundamentally on mass terror and the principle of indoctrination. Spain’s Francisco Franco and Chile’s Augusto Pinochet also used considerable violence to stay in power through intimidation. Dictators such as Mobutu Sese Seko, Anastazio Somoza, Jean-Bedel Bokassa and the Duvaliers relied... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3093582/national-security-law-hong-kong-joins-roll-call-authoritarian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3093582/national-security-law-hong-kong-joins-roll-call-authoritarian?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jul 2020 23:05:11 +0000 “Whatever the challenges ahead, nothing should bring this meteor crashing to earth, nothing should snuff out its glow. I hope that Hong Kong will take tomorrow by storm. And when it does, history will stand and cheer.” So concluded the historic remarks made in the last British policy address by Mr Chris Patten, the former and last governor of Hong Kong – an accurate prophecy. With the introduction of the national security law, uncertainty about Hong Kong’s future is deepening, and the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3092374/what-hong-kong-needs-rational-moderate-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3092374/what-hong-kong-needs-rational-moderate-party?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2020 00:00:09 +0000 Tom Plate’s column last week was an articulate argument for political calm (“Time for Hong Kong’s young anti-Beijing crusaders to stand down”, June 30). Plate invokes two famous Western political thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and Niccolo Machiavelli. I imagine Hobbes, an authoritarian who had to leave his own country, is perhaps an ironic metaphor for Hong Kong activists who might leave the city. Machiavelli was banished from Florence by the Medici. The book he is most well-known for, The Prince, is a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3092109/look-chinas-past-grasp-hong-kongs-future-under-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3092109/look-chinas-past-grasp-hong-kongs-future-under-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 22:45:17 +0000 The United States and China should overcome their political differences to form a “peaceful and harmonious bilateral relationship” to address the global pandemic and support economic recovery, US business leaders in China said on Monday. Alan Beebe, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said that unfortunately, national interests and politics continued to intervene in the public health crisis. “Covid-19 does not recognise politics or borders. This is a matter of science,” Beebe... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3092047/our-two-countries-must-overlook-differences-defeat-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3092047/our-two-countries-must-overlook-differences-defeat-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2020 13:15:17 +0000 The most baffling point of the national security law is that Hongkongers, the key stakeholders, were left completely uninformed of any details before being informed of its passage, which makes it absolutely unacceptable. If this is not authoritarian or totalitarian, tell me what is. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor herself said she was not clear about the law as she didn’t have the details, yet she urged the public to support it before its passage. How could one show approval of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3091687/hong-kong-people-let-down-lack-leadership-and-answers-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3091687/hong-kong-people-let-down-lack-leadership-and-answers-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jul 2020 23:00:08 +0000 After a year of social unrest in Hong Kong, the central government passed a national security law for the city on June 30, which took effect by promulgation hours later. The law criminalises secession, subversion, terrorist activities and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. The purpose is to prevent, suppress and punish these acts to safeguard national security and maintain Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability under the “one country, two... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3091553/national-security-law-puts-hong-kong-people-uncharted-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3091553/national-security-law-puts-hong-kong-people-uncharted-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jul 2020 23:45:12 +0000 Beijing’s new national security law for Hong Kong has finally been unveiled. Rather than clear up uncertainties, though, it has raised fresh doubts and fears.  The passing of the law by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Tuesday sparked fresh protests and civil unrest the following day. The police were quick to use it, making 10 arrests under the law and hundreds overall on Wednesday.   The legislation, comprising 66 articles, is expressed in broad and sweeping terms. It is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3091523/national-security-law-more-questions-answers-hong-kongs-freedoms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3091523/national-security-law-more-questions-answers-hong-kongs-freedoms?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2020 22:30:13 +0000 The national security law that Beijing has imposed on Hong Kong has raised concerns among legal experts for its long-arm jurisdiction that covers offences outside the city. They say that overreach is “chilling” and goes further than the mainland Chinese law, and that it could affect Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre – though prosecuting offences beyond the city will be difficult. The controversial legislation came into force late on Tuesday night, after it was unanimously... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3091428/hong-kong-national-security-laws-long-arm-jurisdiction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3091428/hong-kong-national-security-laws-long-arm-jurisdiction?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jul 2020 23:00:05 +0000 The Legislative Council election is only two months away, and the stakes are higher than ever. The national security law passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress shows the traditional freedoms enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong are now at Beijing’s mercy. More importantly, it indicates Beijing’s bona fide intention to negotiate with the people of Hong Kong has collapsed. The last Legco election came after Occupy Central, with no lack of candidates running on platforms... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3091142/national-security-law-hong-kong-means-no-middle-path-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3091142/national-security-law-hong-kong-means-no-middle-path-legislative?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2020 23:25:13 +0000 Brussels has condemned Beijing’s move to pass a national security law for Hong Kong, saying it is “in the process” of considering follow-up action with lawmakers and international partners. “We deplore this decision,” European Council President Charles Michel said on Tuesday after the sweeping law was unanimously passed by Beijing’s top legislative body. “This law risks seriously undermining the high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong, and having a detrimental effect on the independence of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3091240/european-union-deplores-beijings-move-pass-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3091240/european-union-deplores-beijings-move-pass-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2020 10:30:56 +0000 Some of our so-called representatives of Hong Kong in the National People’s Congress pushed for the national security law, and our government and pro-Beijing politicians have exhorted us to support the law, claiming it would only target a few troublemakers and protect our human rights as before. To those grannies who invited me to sign the petition to support the law, I ask: where is Gao Zhisheng? Gao was a brave lawyer who defended the vulnerable in China’s courts. Since he started helping... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090974/those-who-say-china-believes-hong-kong-human-rights-where-gao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090974/those-who-say-china-believes-hong-kong-human-rights-where-gao?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jun 2020 23:30:11 +0000 Laws govern our lives. They limit where we can go, what we can do and what we can say. Beijing’s law for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong is no different. We should be aware of its intent, but not fret or fear its existence. We have to put it to the back of our minds and get on with our lives.  Much has been said and written about this law with its six chapters and 66 articles, all without anyone having set eyes on it. Officials in Beijing and Hong Kong contend it will not affect... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090912/how-hong-kong-should-cope-national-security-law-keep-calm-and-carry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090912/how-hong-kong-should-cope-national-security-law-keep-calm-and-carry?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jun 2020 22:30:13 +0000 The National People’s Congress Standing Committee is expected to soon pass the full draft of the national security law for Hong Kong. Some believe the law can restore order to Hong Kong, but this will be difficult to achieve since the law does not address the root of the current social turmoil. The past decade has seen a series of nationwide and even globalised social movements, such as the Indignados movement in Spain and nationwide protests in Brazil, before Black Lives Matter swept the world.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090716/national-security-law-will-not-fix-what-lies-root-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090716/national-security-law-will-not-fix-what-lies-root-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jun 2020 23:20:11 +0000 My dear Ying-Ying, I write this letter with unease, having just tucked the two-year-old you into bed. Last month, Hongkongers returned to the streets to protest against the new national security law. The pro-establishment camp claims the law will restore stability. Others see it as a threat to businesses, civil liberties and our promised autonomy. Is this the death knell for “one country, two systems”? I think of the future. You are 18 now; life in 2036 under the national security law must be... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090600/staying-hong-kong-hopes-better-future-all-fathers-note?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090600/staying-hong-kong-hopes-better-future-all-fathers-note?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jun 2020 23:05:14 +0000 In 2003, the Hong Kong government tried to enact a national security law under Article 23 of the Basic Law. That proposal was abandoned following mass protests. Sixteen years later, peaceful protests over an extradition law in Hong Kong turned violent. There is no telling when this chaos will end. Meanwhile, violent protests remain exceptionally well-coordinated and funded with an alleged international element. The anti-government protests have morphed into a broader anti-China movement. At this... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090447/chinas-national-security-law-hong-kong-test-trust-either-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090447/chinas-national-security-law-hong-kong-test-trust-either-side?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jun 2020 23:55:13 +0000 Japan and South Korea are working to boost their attractiveness to Hong Kong firms considering contingency plans as China moves to introduce a national security law in the run-up to the 23rd anniversary of the former colony’s return to Chinese rule on July 1. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress is expected to meet on Sunday to further discuss the law – which targets secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign and external forces endangering national... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090575/national-security-law-could-japan-or-south-korea-take-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3090575/national-security-law-could-japan-or-south-korea-take-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jun 2020 23:00:20 +0000 The law enforcement and judicial framework of the national security law, as devised by Beijing, are gradually being unveiled. Among its features, three points catch the eye. One is Beijing’s unilateral imposition of the new ordinance; second is the chief executive’s unprecedented right to appoint designated judges to preside over criminal cases; and the last is the establishment of a new agency sent by Beijing to Hong Kong to support matters related to national security. Whether these three... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090287/hong-kongs-national-security-law-beijing-has-shown-great-restraint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090287/hong-kongs-national-security-law-beijing-has-shown-great-restraint?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jun 2020 23:05:14 +0000 Twenty-three years after returning to China, Hong Kong is facing another landmark transition with far-reaching ramifications for its future.  Beijing’s new national security law for the city is expected to be passed on Tuesday, the eve of the handover anniversary. This time, the party atmosphere will be lacking. But the uncertainties and concerns which occupied the minds of Hong Kong people in 1997 have returned. The manner in which the law is being passed is a timely reminder of the reason the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090367/what-will-national-security-law-give-hong-kong-and-what-will-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090367/what-will-national-security-law-give-hong-kong-and-what-will-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jun 2020 22:30:13 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader must avoid picking judges who could be compromised by “dual allegiance” because of their foreign nationality, when selecting candidates to oversee cases under the new national security law Beijing is preparing for the city, an official from China’s top legislative body has said. Zhang Yong, vice-chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, brushed off concerns this would undermine judicial independence, insisting it had... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3090400/hong-kong-national-security-law-citys-leader-must-have?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3090400/hong-kong-national-security-law-citys-leader-must-have?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jun 2020 07:42:32 +0000 On June 17, the G7 countries released a statement urging the Chinese government to reconsider the imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong. They fear that the law “would curtail and threaten the fundamental rights and freedoms of all the population”. One of the signatories was Heiko Maas, foreign minister of Germany and member of the Social Democratic Party, which is currently part of a “grand coalition” government with the Christian Democrats. On June 18, backed by the votes of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090199/why-german-criticism-hong-kongs-national-security-law-rings-hollow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090199/why-german-criticism-hong-kongs-national-security-law-rings-hollow?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2020 22:55:14 +0000 Senior mainland Chinese officials met 120 representatives from a broad swathe of Hong Kong society – minus opposition figures and critics – on Tuesday to explain Beijing’s impending national security law for the city and hear their views, just days before the controversial legislation was expected to take effect. The central government’s liaison office, which hosted the meetings, issued a statement saying those invited from more than 10 sectors and social groups had attended 12 sessions and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3090292/top-chinese-officials-hear-views-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3090292/top-chinese-officials-hear-views-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2020 12:27:35 +0000 As Beijing’s national security law stokes fears of censorship in Hong Kong, many are realising the personal and societal value of free speech. I first came to Asia last August, to attend university in Hong Kong, and I realised that how much one values free speech is intrinsically tied to one’s definition of freedom. My family took a trip hiking the Great Wall before classes commenced, and our guide, a middle-aged Harbin local, asked me, a Gen-Z American, how I defined freedom. I instantly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090044/hong-kong-george-floyd-protests-freedom-speech-double-edged-sword?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090044/hong-kong-george-floyd-protests-freedom-speech-double-edged-sword?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jun 2020 22:55:06 +0000 Beijing’s unprecedented attempt to push through a national security law tailor-made for Hong Kong has sparked an international outcry amid worries about the erosion of the city’s “one country, two systems” principle. The proposal has been endorsed by the National People’s Congress. Xinhua reported that the yet-to-be-released draft law, discussed by the NPC Standing Committee last week, clearly outlines the crimes of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090024/hong-kongs-national-security-law-chinas-opaque-legal-system-hardly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3090024/hong-kongs-national-security-law-chinas-opaque-legal-system-hardly?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jun 2020 22:18:05 +0000 Beijing is pushing ahead with its national security law for Hong Kong at a breathtaking pace. The National People’s Congress passed a resolution requiring its Standing Committee to enact the legislation less than a month ago. A draft was considered by the committee for the first time last week. But it will convene again on Sunday and the law, which aims to stop subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with external forces, is expected to be passed by the end of the month. This is a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090148/release-draft-hong-kong-national-security-law-meaningful-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090148/release-draft-hong-kong-national-security-law-meaningful-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jun 2020 14:37:22 +0000 Education is without doubt a pillar in a country’s long-term progress and national strength. In this technology- and innovation-driven era, a sound education system is critical to enhancing every country’s economic and technological competitiveness. Likewise, education plays a role in protecting a country’s national security. Last month, the National People’s Congress passed a resolution tasking its Standing Committee with drafting a national security law for Hong Kong. One of the articles in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3089633/how-patriotic-education-can-help-hong-kong-youth-embrace-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3089633/how-patriotic-education-can-help-hong-kong-youth-embrace-national?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Jun 2020 01:15:15 +0000 Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has labelled millions of law-abiding Hong Kong citizens as “enemies of the people”. Their crime? In her view, it is to oppose Beijing’s imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong and the bypassing of the Legislative Council in drafting and enacting that law. It is nothing more heinous than that. They are not subversives, nor are they secessionists or terrorists. One of the earliest uses of the term “enemy of the people” was in the early 1790s by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3089742/why-carrie-lam-calling-those-who-oppose-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3089742/why-carrie-lam-calling-those-who-oppose-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jun 2020 20:30:12 +0000 It is not surprising that the central government has become impatient about the prolonged legal loophole in Hong Kong’s ability to protect national security and has decided to introduce a national security law for Hong Kong. Despite this, the Hong Kong government should seize the opportunity and take steps to legislate Article 23 of the Basic Law as well. Although the national security law and Article 23 do not seem to be fundamentally different, each law can plug each other’s loopholes and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3089643/hong-kong-should-welcome-national-security-law-and-legislate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3089643/hong-kong-should-welcome-national-security-law-and-legislate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jun 2020 22:20:10 +0000 Top Chinese lawmakers have added collusion with foreign forces to the national security law they are drafting for Hong Kong, leading opposition politicians and activists to fear the charge will become a “new weapon” to silence them. But legal experts cautioned the change merely brought the legislation in line with mainland China’s criminal law, as a top Beijing official had earlier said was necessary. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the draft law discussed by the National People’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3089551/hong-kong-national-security-law-added-agenda-npcsc-meeting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3089551/hong-kong-national-security-law-added-agenda-npcsc-meeting?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jun 2020 05:57:33 +0000 China has come under mounting pressure to scrap its plan to launch a national security law in Hong Kong, with all foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries issuing a rare joint statement on Wednesday. “We strongly urge the government of China to reconsider this decision,” the statement read. The statement was issued just hours before the National People’s Congress standing committee was expected to convene a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, with no clear indication whether the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3089494/group-seven-countries-urge-china-reconsider-hong-kong-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3089494/group-seven-countries-urge-china-reconsider-hong-kong-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jun 2020 20:17:16 +0000 The Chinese government will begin auctions this week of a planned issue of 1 trillion yuan (US$141 billion) of special treasury bonds to help finance recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Reuters on Monday. Sales will be completed by the end of July, according to the sources, who attended a meeting held by China’s Ministry of Finance, which will issue the bonds. China announced plans in May to sell 1 trillion yuan of special treasury bonds to help fund economic stimulus in the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3089137/coronavirus-impact-chinas-auction-1-trillion-yuan-special?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3089137/coronavirus-impact-chinas-auction-1-trillion-yuan-special?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jun 2020 10:41:38 +0000 More than 40 per cent of China’s population earned only about 1,000 yuan (US$141) per month last year, the top economic data agency confirmed on Monday, setting the stage for further debate over the income gap in the world’s second largest economy. The data, quoted in an abstract of the yet to be published statistical yearbook covering 2019, confirmed the surprising claim made by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the end of the National People’s Congress in May. Last year, the bottom 40 per cent of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3089128/china-confirms-more-40-cent-population-survived-just-us141?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3089128/china-confirms-more-40-cent-population-survived-just-us141?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jun 2020 10:12:35 +0000 The consistent theme from Hong Kong government ministers’ responses to people’s concerns about the new national security law has been “if you don’t like it, then leave”. Since Hong Kong doesn’t appear to want the talent, dynamism and entrepreneurship of its own people and businesses any more, it can hardly complain when others welcome them with open arms. All governments since the handover, but this one in particular, have managed to politicise everything in Hong Kong that should have been held... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3088743/hong-kong-national-security-law-take-it-or-leave-taiwan-will-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3088743/hong-kong-national-security-law-take-it-or-leave-taiwan-will-take?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jun 2020 23:40:11 +0000 For better or worse, the predictions in my January 27 letter (“Bombs and guns are a dead end for democracy, focus on the power of the vote”) turned out to be correct. China’s central government will enact a national security law tailor-made for Hong Kong in response to demonstrations and protests that temporarily subsided during the Covid-19 outbreak. The Hong Kong government sees the law as a long-lasting means to strengthen the “one country, two systems” model enshrined in the 1984... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3088725/hong-kongs-national-security-law-way-heres-what-its-pro-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3088725/hong-kongs-national-security-law-way-heres-what-its-pro-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jun 2020 23:15:10 +0000 I cry for Hong Kong. At a time when citizens worldwide are marching against racism, people are protesting because they recognise America is not alone in its racial disparities. They see that the problems of injustice in all its forms are widespread. For this reason, the wider world may also cry for Hong Kong. One year ago, a million protesters took to the streets in Hong Kong’s cry for justice, for its “high degree of autonomy” to be protected. A week later, 2 million joined their cause, and yet... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3088467/chinas-national-security-law-why-are-elite-assigned-defend-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3088467/chinas-national-security-law-why-are-elite-assigned-defend-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jun 2020 22:30:09 +0000 Hong Kong courts should have full jurisdiction over interpreting and applying the incoming national security law, the city’s professional body of barristers said on Friday, calling on Beijing to refrain from construing the legislation without a local request. The appeal by the Bar Association, and one the Law Society issued earlier, followed the scheduling of a three-day meeting of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee beginning on Thursday, implying the details of the legislation... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3088905/hong-kong-national-security-law-should-be-interpreted-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3088905/hong-kong-national-security-law-should-be-interpreted-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jun 2020 23:30:08 +0000 Beijing’s two offices overseeing Hong Kong affairs joined the local government on Friday to ramp up pressure on activists planning an unofficial referendum to build support for general strikes and class boycotts against the national security law being tailor-made for the city. The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) accused youth activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung and others of exploiting secondary school pupils in a campaign to derail the legislation, which aims to prevent,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3088793/national-security-law-beijing-targets-joshua-wong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3088793/national-security-law-beijing-targets-joshua-wong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jun 2020 08:12:49 +0000