Hong Kong

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Landmark national security trial opens in Hong Kong for prominent activist publisher Jimmy Lai

HONG KONG (AP) — A landmark national security trial opened Monday in Hong Kong for prominent activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a law imposed by Beijing to crush dissidents.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-jimmy-lai-trial-opens-dfeabcb9baa8d31852321cf95a871800?

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Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously approve another law giving government more power to curb dissent

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously approved a new national security law Tuesday that grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-china-legislative-council-national-security-law-37e1aca2daef8a4f9f998f389ff3d7f5?

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The US treads carefully in responding to Hong Kong’s new national security law The U.S. has denounced Hong Kong’s new national security law as a tool to potentially silence dissent both at home and abroad, but so far the action from Washington has been notably muted, disappointing those fighting for the Chinese territory’s democracy and freedoms. Read more.

Why this matters: Since the law’s swift passage on March 19, the U.S. has announced visa restrictions on an unspecified number of unnamed Hong Kong officials but taken no further action. That’s a far cry from 2020, when the U.S. responded to Beijing’s imposed national security restrictions by hitting the city’s highest-ranking officials with sanctions and depriving the territory of its preferential trading status.   Analysts suggest the Biden administration may not want to rock relations with China in an election year, especially when the impact of the law might take a while to manifest itself and any punitive U.S. measures would be unlikely to bring about meaningful change.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Hong Kong’s new security law drives deeper, quieter changes   US-funded Radio Free Asia closes its Hong Kong bureau over safety concerns under new security law   Yellen says US-China relationship on ‘more stable footing’ but more can be done to improve ties

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14 pro-democracy activists convicted, 2 acquitted in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case

HONG KONG (AP) — Fourteen pro-democracy activists were convicted in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case on Thursday by a court that said their plan to effect change through an unofficial primary election would have undermined the government’s authority and created a constitutional crisis.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-security-law-verdict-5b8e7ac1100342db642040985bc417b2?

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After crackdown on Hong Kong, overseas communities carry the torch to keep Tiananmen memories alive

HONG KONG (AP) — As the 35th anniversary of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown neared, Rowena He, a prominent scholar of that bloody chapter of modern China’s history, was busy flying between the United States, Britain and Canada to give a series of talks. Each was aimed at speaking out for those who cannot.

https://apnews.com/article/tiananmen-crackdown-1989-35th-anniversary-overseas-commemoration-0154eafea41ddcbc957a37b2df3811e1?

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Panda twins are born in Hong Kong to Ying Ying, the world’s oldest first-time mom

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong welcomed the birth of its first locally born giant pandas on Thursday, with their mother becoming the world’s oldest first-time mother of its kind on record, the theme park that houses them announced.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-baby-pandas-36dc6ee42f650366704a39695071ecda?

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45 pro-democracy activists get jail time in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case

HONG KONG (AP) — Forty-five ex-lawmakers and activists were sentenced to four to 10 years in prison Tuesday in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-activists-sentencing-unofficial-primary-1ed13be76fa4918d83f7d3e498f2f543?

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Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants and bounties for six activists

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police on Tuesday announced a fresh round of arrest warrants for six activists based overseas, with bounties set at $1 million Hong Kong dollars for information leading to their arrests.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-activists-arrest-bounties-6d8e476341c93969a8d32ba43a61151f?

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Former Hong Kong lawmaker sentenced to over 3 years in jail on charge of riot during 2019 protests

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong judge on Thursday sentenced a former pro-democracy lawmaker to three years and one month in prison on a charge of riot after an incident in which he was beaten up at a subway station during the city’s anti-government protests in 2019.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-riot-lam-cheuk-ting-hong-8e257a5da8a8c2263c8acb0c7094508c?

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Hong Kong’s biggest pro-democracy party gets mandate to move closer to disbandment  Hong Kong’s biggest pro-democracy party on Sunday received its members’ mandate to proceed with steps toward a potential disbandment, part of the erosion of political freedoms as China cracks down on dissent in the southern city. Read more.

Why this matters: Democratic Party Chairman Lo Kin-hei said over 90% of the members who took part in the vote supported the motion to let the central committee take up the procedure toward disbandment. The party’s decision reflects the dwindling semi-autonomy and freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China’s rule in 1997.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ British parliamentarian refused entry to Hong Kong   UK will set ‘high trust bar’ for future Chinese investment after British Steel rescue, minister says   Social worker imprisoned nearly 4 years for mediation attempts at Hong Kong protests

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Hong Kong fire

At least four people were killed in a raging fire at a Hong Kong housing complex today, authorities said. Police received multiple reports of people trapped in high-rise buildings, prompting urgent rescue operations. The fire sent up a column of flames and thick smoke as it spread on bamboo scaffolding that had been set up around the exterior of the complex in the city's Tai Po district. Tai Po is a suburban area in the northern part of Hong Kong in the New Territories and near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen. The cause of the blaze remains unknown.

(Tommy Wang/AFP/Getty Images)

[Asia Joe]

Quote

smoke as it spread on bamboo scaffolding that had been set up around the exterior

No, this is China propaganda. Around the buildings are netting. The law requires it to be fire-resistant netting. One building was. The one the inspector checked. The others were petrochemical plastic. Very flammable. This kind of corruption is common there.  Also, the windows were covered in styrofoam, very toxic when burned.  The fire alarms were turned off. Hundreds are missing.  

This is the worst fire in the history of Hong Kong. 

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3 arrested in Hong Kong, as a high-rise fire leaves at least 36 dead and 279 reported missing

Police in Hong Kong arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter, several local news media reported, in connection with a blaze that has killed at least 36 people and left another 279 missing in the city’s deadliest fire in years. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

WATCH: Many people killed by fire at a high-rise Hong Kong housing complex

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Some fire alarms failed in deadly Hong Kong high-rise fire Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies Friday during an intensive search of a high-rise tower complex, after a massive fire engulfed seven of its eight buildings. The death toll in one of the city’s deadliest blazes is now at least 128. Read more.

What to know: Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong Fire Services, said that first responders found that some fire alarms in the complex were not functioning and that there could be legal consequences.   The fire started midafternoon Wednesday in one of the complex’s eight towers, jumping rapidly from one to the next as bamboo scaffolding covered in netting in place for renovations caught fire. It took firefighters some 24 hours to bring the blaze under control.   Three men — the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company — have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, and police said company leaders were suspected of gross negligence.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Residents take shelter in Hong Kong community centre after deadly high-rise fire

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Death toll rises to 128 in Hong Kong residential fire as 8 more arrested over towers’ renovation

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies Friday in an intensive apartment-by-apartment search of a high-rise complex where a massive fire engulfed seven buildings, and authorities arrested another 8 people involved in the towers’ renovation. The death toll in one of the city’s deadliest blazes rose to 128, and many remain unaccounted for.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-tai-po-wang-fuk-court-fire-a84627d7f3ee62050c36a9aa3218205c?

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Hong Kong begins three days of mourning after deadly apartment fires

An outpouring of grief was set to sweep Hong Kong on Saturday as an official, three-day mourning period began with a moment of silence for the 128 people killed in one of the city’s deadliest fires.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/nov/29/hong-kong-begins-three-days-of-mourning-after-deadly-apartment-fires?

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Grateful to be alive, residents who escaped the Hong Kong apartment blaze wonder what comes next

HONG KONG (AP) — It was just after 3 p.m. when William Li received the unusual call from his wife, who was at work, saying she’d heard from a friend that their building was on fire.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-tai-po-wang-fuk-court-fire-fe38347d45017a803cf7c55b7a3c29ab?

Hong Kong fire Hong Kong is mourning after a massive fire tore through a housing complex last week, killing at least 151 people, with dozens still missing. The inferno rapidly spread in several high-rise towers in the city's Tai Po neighborhood on Wednesday, trapping people inside. The exact cause of the blaze is not yet known, but a criminal investigation has been launched. The complex was under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and safety netting when the fire spread. Officials are also investigating whether flammable materials, including polystyrene boards blocking several apartment windows, contributed to the disaster.

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Hong Kong fire probe reveals unsafe netting as public mourns and government stifles dissent

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong officials said Monday that their investigation into a deadly blaze that killed at least 151 has revealed some of the netting that covered scaffolding used in renovations was not up to fire-safety codes, as a wave of public sympathy and support was met by government moves to stifle criticism.

https://apnews.com/article/hong-china-wang-fire-dissent-c0db2a85bfbeac2fdcc6003b6ee7a463?

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Hong Kong Fire Probe

Hong Kong is establishing an independent committee to investigate last week's apartment complex fire that killed 156 people and to initiate reforms in the construction industry.  Over a dozen people affiliated with the complex's renovation have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after netting around a high-rise building caught fire last Wednesday. The blaze spread to six other buildings (see visualization). A preliminary probe found seven of 20 netting samples didn't meet safety codes, prompting authorities to accuse contractors of misleading inspectors to cut costs. The labor department had conducted 16 project inspections since July 2024—including one a week before the fire—and told residents who raised safety concerns that a fire was relatively unlikely.  Authorities declined to comment on reports that civilians were arrested over the weekend after demanding government accountability for the fire. In reaction to 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations, Beijing has passed down national security laws that can effectively criminalize free speech and protests in Hong Kong.

[Asia Joe]

Now there is an accurate report of what has happened. 

Corruption has increased since the China takeover.