Tag: Carrie Lam

Hong Kong’s top cop overshadows city Chief as China cracks down with its security law
China

Hong Kong’s top cop overshadows city Chief as China cracks down with its security law

Hong Kong’s combative police Chief Chris Tang has, from the beginning, a law which has rocked the financial hub of Asia this year with several protests. He says, the new national security legislation was needed to extinguish calls for the city’s independence and restore order.On June 30th, he got his wish. Just an hour before the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China on July 1, the Communist Party of China imposed the law, arming Tang with a range of powerful tools to quell popular dissent. And within 24 hours, Tang’s officers had arrested 10 people under the new law along with about 360 others suspected of existing offenses as protests erupted over Beijing’s move.With the legislation in action, political groups disbanded. Activists fled overseas. Shops ripped down posters supp
China’s new agency in Hong Kong to monitor national security law implementation
China

China’s new agency in Hong Kong to monitor national security law implementation

After just a few days of imposing its national security law, Chinese authorities have opened up its national security office in Hong Kong that will be engaged in monitoring the implementation of the newly enacted law in the city with special administrative region.To develop the headquarters for the Central government's Office for Safeguarding National Security, the authorities have transformed the Metropark Hotel in Causeway Bay, according to media reports.The inauguration came as Hong Kong’s education bureau announced on July 8 that schools must not allow students to play, sing or broadcast the protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” because it contains political messages.Beijing security agents will be operating here under the new legislation which prohibits what Beijing views as secessionis
China

Hong Kong questions China’s intention over giving Carrie Lam power to appoint judges for trials under security law

As the pro-democracy and anti-national security law protests in Hong Kong continue, China has made another arbitrary decision to empower Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to appoint judges to hear trials under the national security law, leaving many lawyers and opposition party leaders confused about Beijing’s real intentions.“It is very odd for a person [who has] a stake in the prosecution to select the judges,” Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Philip Dykes said.For some people, like the leader of the opposition Civic Party, Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, it puts a big question on the impartiality of judges who will be appointed by pro-Beijing leader Lam, as a new mainland adviser would sit on a top-level national security commission to be set up to “give orders” to Hong Kong authorities.Ling Bing, a
Hong Kong cannot tolerate any more ‘chaos’, says Carrie Lam
World

Hong Kong cannot tolerate any more ‘chaos’, says Carrie Lam

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday said that the city could not afford further "chaos" as it marked the first anniversary of the start of rolling mass protests against the extradition legislation by her government.A year ago, more than a million people flooded the streets of Hong Kong to protest a Bill by Lam's government that would have allowed people to be extradited to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party, for trial.Lam later withdrew the Bill but the legislation triggered widespread concern that the central government in Beijing was stifling freedoms in the global financial hub."All of us can see the difficulty we have been through in the past year, and due to such serious situations we have more problems to deal with," Lam said during her w
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam accuses US of ‘double standards’ over protests
Business, China

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam accuses US of ‘double standards’ over protests

Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, has accused the United States of applying "double standards" in its response to violent protests and new national security laws planned for the territory as she warned Washington's plan to place trade restrictions on the financial hub would "only hurt themselves"."We have seen most clearly in recent weeks the double standards that are around," Lam, who was selected as city leader by a pro-Beijing committee, said on Tuesday."You know there are riots in the United States and we see how local governments reacted. And then in Hong Kong, when we had similar riots, we saw what position they adopted then," she added.Hong Kong has been rocked by months of huge and often violent protests over the past year, which riot police have stamped out with more t...