Hong Kong

| HONG KONG

Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing administration wants to introduce “smart ballot boxes” for next year’s legislative election, already restricted to “patriotic" candidates. Scanners would warn voters of any “error” in their ballot. The proposal was withdrawn after a few hours due to obvious objections to secrecy of the vote. 


Five years now since the pro-democracy protests out of 10,279 people arrested only 28.8% have been remanded for trial. But for Justice Secretary Chris Tang, ‘the authorities must be given time to gather evidence’. Chow Hang-tung's request to call people living abroad to testify on video at the trial was rejected.

| 29/10/2024
| HONG KONG

Chief executive John Lee made the announcement today in a keynote speech. According to publicly available data, more than 100,000 housing units fall in this category, which will be gradually eliminated. But the legislation does not include overcrowded flats where thousands live due to Hong Kong’s housing crisis.

| 16/10/2024
| HONG KONG

Those who left office cited personal reasons as the cause of their departure or Hong Kong’s changed situation after Beijing imposed its security law. Hong Kong’s Deputy Secretary for Justice, Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, blames the resignations on “inappropriate pressure” from the West.

| 05/10/2024
| HONG KONG

Hong Kong authorities had previously denied a work permit to Louise Delmotte, a French photographer working for the Associated Press. Last year she took a picture of the Catholic businessman and pro-democracy activist in handcuffs. The Immigration Department, which now requires flight operators to send information on arriving passengers, has not provided an official explanation.

| 24/09/2024
| HONG KONG

Mark Clifford and Gordon Crovitz, senior officials at Next Digital, filed a complaint against the global accounting firm. They allege BDO enabled rights violations by providing essential services to Hong Kong authorities. The case casts more than a shadow on the "assistance" the company provided to the government in muzzling critical voices.

| 16/09/2024
| HONG KONG – UNITED KINGDOM

Some construction workers have had their salaries cut by half by recruitment agencies. Local union also blames a property market downturn for the suspension of a scheme that brought in  almost 10,000 non-local workers.

| 09/09/2024
| HONG KONG
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