ChinaFile Recommends
04.26.17Hong Kong Charges Pro-Independence Activists over China Protest
Guardian
Hong Kong police have charged two former pro-independence politicians over scuffles in the legislature, amid a widening crackdown on dissenting voices in the former British colony.
04.23.17
Are NGOs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Subject to This Law?
Yes. The term 境外 (jing wai) used in the law, which we translate as “foreign,” is frequently translated as “overseas,” but its literal translation is “outside the borders.” For legal and regulatory purposes, jing wai includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, and...
Conversation
03.31.17
Is Hong Kong on Its Way to Becoming Just Another City in the P.R.C.?
On March 26, the roughly 1,200-person Hong Kong Election Committee chose Carrie Lam as chief executive—Hong Kong’s fourth leader since the United Kingdom returned the territory to Chinese rule in 1997. Unpopular with Hong Kong’s pro-democracy...
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03.23.17As Hong Kong Chooses Its Next Leader, China Still Pulls the Strings
New York Times
For the fifth time, Hong Kong’s next chief executive will be selected on Sunday by a committee stacked with supporters of the Chinese government rather than by a free election.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.23.17We Must Resist until China Gives Hong Kong a Say in Our Future
Guardian
If Beijing allows human rights to deteriorate in Hong Kong, then the whole country will lose all hope of reform
ChinaFile Recommends
02.07.17Using Stealth, and Drones, to Document a Fading Hong Kong
New York Times
If history was any guide, the explorers said, the building the drone was filming—a 1952 theater with unusual roof supports—would eventually be demolished because it is not on Hong Kong’s list of declared monuments.
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02.04.17Disappearance of Chinese Billionaire Alarms Financial Sector
Wall Street Journal
Xiao Jianhua is one of several high-profile Chinese businessmen to go missing since China’s 2015 stock-market crash
ChinaFile Recommends
02.01.17China Billionaire’s Disappearance from Hong Kong Revives Autonomy Concerns
Reuters
The uncertain fate of Xiao Jianhua, a China-born billionaire who was last seen at a luxury Hong Kong hotel a week ago, has raised fresh fears about the city’s autonomy amid media reports he may have been abducted by Chinese agents.
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01.31.17Billionaire Is Reported Seized from Hong Kong Hotel and Taken into China
New York Times
A Chinese-born billionaire who has forged financial ties with some of the country’s most powerful families was taken by the Chinese police from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong late last week and spirited across the border
ChinaFile Recommends
01.25.17Hong Kong Denies Beijing Role in Seizure of Singaporean Troop Carriers
South China Morning Post
Customs chief says the enforcement action was based on Hong Kong law and also claims Singapore’s government was never a target for investigation
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01.12.17Hong Kong Human Rights Situation ‘Worst Since Handover to China’
Guardian
Amnesty International report says rule of law, freedom of speech, and trust in government all deteriorated in 2016
Viewpoint
01.06.17
No, Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement Is Not Anti-Mainland
In a November 29 essay, “The Anti-Mainland Bigotry of Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement,” published in Foreign Policy, Taisu Zhang tries to make the case that Beijing’s hardline attitude toward Hong Kong is traceable to what he calls the “bigotry of...
ChinaFile Recommends
01.05.17China, Seeking to Stop Weakening of Currency, Issues Restrictions
New York Times
China’s financial regulators appear to have grown increasingly concerned in recent weeks about the pace of the renminbi’s depreciation
Photo Gallery
12.21.16
Seeing 2016 Through Eyes on China
In June 2015, a couple dozen China-based photographers—some Chinese, some not—founded the Instagram account Eyes on China. Their goal, as member photographer Gilles Sabrié put it, was to collectively create “a diverse, dynamic, and objective view”...
Viewpoint
11.29.16
The Anti-Mainland Bigotry of Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement
Given the political earthquake that occurred on November 8, the recent political and constitutional crisis in Hong Kong now seems comparatively diminished in significance. At the time, however, it was widely seen as—and continues to be—a major...
ChinaFile Recommends
11.29.16Hong Kong’s Rebellious Lawmaker Yau Wai-ching
BBC
The youngest woman elected to Hong Kong's parliament has been called many things, including: "radical", "goddess", "spy", "pretty" and "cancer cell"
ChinaFile Recommends
11.14.16With It’s Latest Intervention in Hong Kong, Beijing Wins the Battle but is Losing the War
South China Morning Post
Cheung: the NPC should be sparing in the use of its power to interpret the Basic Law, or it risks further alienating the city’s young people
ChinaFile Recommends
11.08.16Hong Kong Umbrellas, Chinese Maoism, Trump, Duterte, and Brexit: What’s the Link?
South China Morning Post
Why the global order is becoming ever more uncertain
ChinaFile Recommends
11.07.16In a First, China Moves to Bar 2 Hong Kong Legislators From Office
New York Times
The extraordinary intervention in the affairs of this semiautonomous former British colony could prompt a constitutional crisis and incite more street protests
ChinaFile Recommends
11.04.16China Will Intervene in the Case of Hong Kong’s Pro-Independence Lawmakers
Time
Experts worry Beijing's move to interpret HK's Basic Law would damage the people’s trust in the rule of law and the independence of the courts
ChinaFile Recommends
11.02.16Chaos Again at Hong Kong’s Legislature as Chinese Intervention Said to Loom Large
Time
Two separatist lawmakers attempt to take their oaths of office for a fourth time, as rumors of direct Chinese intervention fly
ChinaFile Recommends
10.26.16LegCo Drama Rages On
South China Morning Post
LegCo president Andrew Leung adjourns meeting after B. Leung and Yau force way into chamber; protest organizer estimates 10,000 came to denounce the duo
Features
10.19.16
Why Newly Elected Hong Kong Legislators Cursed and Protested—At Their Own Swearing-In
There’s a bit of a nanny state in the city of Hong Kong. The government is quick to issue advice and admonitions about all matter of hazards—high ocean waves, food waste, incense burning during the annual grave-sweeping festival. One night in late...
Depth of Field
10.18.16
Over-Protective Mothers, E-cigarettes, Sports Hunting, and More
from Yuanjin Photo
A photojournalist’s job is to capture the unique and the universal—to portray brief moments that tell individual stories, yet are instantly relatable to a wide audience. The delightful task of curating that type of Chinese photojournalism is the...
ChinaFile Recommends
10.14.16How Hong Kong's Cantopop Scene Went from Heartbreak to Protest
BBC
Cantonese pop music is formulaic, intensely emotional, strangely addictive and quintessentially Hong Kong. Now it is also becoming political.
ChinaFile Recommends
10.12.16Rebel Hong Kong Politicians Defy China at Chaotic Swearing-In Ceremony
Guardian
Pro-democracy politicians cross fingers and make protest signs and subversive references to Beijing’s authoritarian rulers
ChinaFile Recommends
10.05.16Thailand Bars Entry to Teenage HK Activist “at China’s Request”
Reuters
Joshua Wong was detained in Bangkok where he had been invited to speak at universities about Hong Kong's "Umbrella Movement"
ChinaFile Recommends
09.30.16A Storied Hong Kong Newspaper Feels the Heat from China
NPR
After recently shutting down its Chinese-language website and deleting archives, the South China Morning Post announced more cuts.
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09.21.16Hong Kong Protest Leaders Avoid Jail After Failed Court Bid
Channel NewsAsia
"Umbrella Revolution" leaders walk free from court
Conversation
09.13.16
Can China’s Best Newspaper Survive?
On September 9, the South China Morning Post’s Chinese-language website went dark with little explanation, leading to concerns that censorship might next spread to the newspaper’s English-language coverage. Can Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, who has...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.12.16Surge in Offshore Yuan Borrowing Rate Suggests China Intervention
Wall Street Journal
Move by banks in Hong Kong market, likely at behest of PBOC, seems aimed at bets against yuan.
Conversation
09.07.16
The Hong Kong Election: What Message Does it Send Beijing?
On September 4, Hong Kong elected a batch of its youngest and most pro-democratic lawmakers yet. Six new legislators, all under 40, won on platforms that called for Hong Kongers to decide their own fate. The youngest is 23-year-old Nathan Law, a...
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07.06.16‘Unprecedented’: Trash From China Swamps Hong Kong Beaches
CNN
Mountains of garbage are meters high at a popular beach....
ChinaFile Recommends
06.17.16China Imposes Blackout on Hong Kong Bookseller’s Revelations
Time
With one fleeting exception, media consumers in mainland China were left in the dark.
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06.17.16Protests Erupt After Hong Kong Bookseller Breaks Silence on China Detention
Deutsche Welle
Lam Wing-Kee has described how mainland authorities held him isolated for months. He said Hong Kong would become helpless if he “remained silent.”
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06.06.16Viewpoint
05.25.16
Hong Kong’s International Law Problem
In the years leading up to Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, Beijing was keen to reassure the world that nothing significant would change in the territory. Business elites and local politicians alike busied themselves with...
Viewpoint
05.24.16
“It’s Time for Us To Set a New Political Agenda for Hong Kong”
Last month, midway through a whirlwind tour of United States universities, Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong took a break for a crab cake and mac-and-cheese lunch at a Manhattan brasserie. Wong, 19, came to international prominence during the...
ChinaFile Recommends
05.18.16China Finds Its Global Ambitions Humbled in Its Own Backyard
New York Times
China has more economic power than ever before, but its political iron hand makes it hard to win the hearts and minds of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.16.16Hong Kong Man Arrested in China for Drone Disruption Plot: Xinhua
Reuters
The unnamed man, arrested in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, was a "sponsor" of Hong Kong's opposition camp.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.12.16China’s Top Lawyer in Hong Kong Says Secession Advocates Could Face Prosecution
New York Times
British colonial legislation could be used to prosecute "separatists", but the Chinese govenment can't detain suspects in HK.
ChinaFile Recommends
04.04.16China Is Pretending That Hong Kong’s “Best Film” Award Winner Doesn’t Exist
Quartz
Ten Years, the film about growing anxiety that Beijing is eroding HK's freedoms, is unlikedly to be released in China.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.27.16Missing Hong Kong Bookseller Goes Back to China after Brief Home Visit
ABC
65-year-old British citizen Lee Bo is already on his way back to China from Hong Kong after disappearing in December.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.22.16Hong Kong Feels, and Fears, China's Tighter Grip
Associated Press
Political and economic ills from the mainland are eroding HK.
ChinaFile Recommends
03.07.16Missing Bookseller Detained in China Returns to Hong Kong
Reuters
Bookseller specialized in gossip about Chinese leaders.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.29.16China Investigating Hong Kong Bookseller over Mail Sales
Washington Post
Chinese police are investigating a detained bookseller for allegedly selling books by mail illegally in mainland China.
Photo Gallery
02.11.16
When Hong Kong’s Domestic Helpers Need Help
It was at a small, off the record press dinner with a Hong Kong government officer not too long ago at the Summer Palace restaurant in the Shangri-la Hotel. The topic of the day, inevitably, came up for discussion: the minimum wage for domestic...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.10.16Hong Kong's Business Community is 'Freaked Out' Over China's Crackdown
Guardian
A crisis of confidence has hit companies in Hong Kong following the abduction of booksellers by Chinese agents.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.09.16China’s Message to Dissenters: Flee If You Dare
USA Today
Recent months have seen an unprecedented expansion of China’s power to snatch up detractors across borders.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.09.16Hong Kong Clashes as Police Clear Food Stalls
BBC
Over 90 people have been injured, and 61 arrested, following clashes in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.09.16Hong Kong Riot Police Fire Warning Shots in Bloody Street Clashes
Reuters
In the worst violence since 2014 pro-democracy protests, clashes erupted in Hong Kong when authorities tried to remove illegal street stalls.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.08.16European Parliament calls for release of HK booksellers detained in China
Reuters
The disappearances of five booksellers prompt fears that mainland authorities may be using shadowy tactics.
Viewpoint
01.28.16
The Trouble with Hong Kong’s Chief Executives
On January 14, the trial of Sir Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s former chief executive who served from 2005 to 2012, was set for January 3 of 2017. This past December, Tsang pleaded not guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office, charges on which...
Viewpoint
01.07.16
What Is Disappearing from Hong Kong
The recent disappearance of publisher Lee Po—allegedly kidnapped from Hong Kong and rendered to Mainland China—has prompted widespread alarm about the state of Hong Kong’s autonomy, both within the city and internationally. In a widely-shared video...
ChinaFile Recommends
01.04.16After Mysterious Disappearance, Hong Kong Publisher Claims He Is In China ‘Cooperating with Authorities’
Washington Post
Lee Bo specializes in books critical of the Communist Party.
Conversation
12.15.15
Can an Alibaba ‘Morning Post’ Aid China’s Image Overseas?
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is buying the Hong Kong media group of the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the leading independent English-language newspaper in the former British colony where freedom of the press has resisted control by the...
Media
12.14.15
R.I.P. SCMP?
On December 11, Chinese Internet behemoth Alibaba announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Hong Kong’s flagship English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The announcement came as no surprise, as the ailing paper...
ChinaFile Recommends
11.23.15Hong Kong May Be A Little Insecure, But It's No 'Slave'
South China Morning Post
I don't much care to weigh in on the subject of Hong Kong remaining a place where non-Asians are able to prosper.
ChinaFile Recommends
11.23.15Hong Kong's 'Umbrella Soldiers' Win Seats in Local Elections
Reuters
"The paratroopers are a new power, a challenge to the government and the central authorities in Beijing."
ChinaFile Recommends
11.16.15One country, two cisterns as Hong Kong, China fans get separate toilets
Agence France-Presse
Hong Kong and China fans will be kept completely separate at their crunch World Cup qualifier Tuesday, using different entrances and even different toilets.