Hong Kong

A new amendment to Hong Kong's Film Censorship Ordinance gives the government the ability to censor films seen as a threat to national security. The move further aligns Hong Kong with the practices of Beijing and the Chinese mainland.

Large parts of Victoria Park, where people have gathered in past years, were cordoned off ahead of the vigil. Police told people not to participate in unauthorized assemblies, which could mean a five-year penalty.

A Hong Kong pro-democracy site was removed by the web hosting company after authorities threatened prosecution.

Hong Kong is the world's most expensive city, and a parking spot recently sold for $1.3 million. The disparity between the rich and the poor in the city is the worst wealth gap in 45 years, reports say.

"Once you are on the Chinese government's blacklist, you will be tracked for life, Fan Baolin told the Associated Press.

A Hong Kong museum commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen protests was closed three days after opening by the ruling Communist Party of China.

"Instead of caring about Hong Kong's democracy and Hong Kong people's rights, what it is doing is to meddle in Hong Kong's politics and China's internal affairs," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

Hong Kong security authorities have banned citizens from gather in the city's Victoria Park for the second year in a row, citing public health issues due to COVID.

The law, which passed by a 40-2 vote, allows the city's national security department to run background checks on potential candidates and sets up a committee to ensure that the candidates are "patriotic."

He and his family can no longer travel to the country.

The amendments will allow the city's national security department to perform background checks of potential candidates. Voters will only directly elect 20 lawmakers, as opposed to the usual 35.

Opponents say the new national security law is a tool to quash pro-democracy dissent in the Chinese territory, but supporters have said it ensures that officials in charge of the city are Chinese loyalists focused on public order and economic development.

A report out of Hong Kong has predicted mass arrests, prosecutions and disqualifications from public office for those who attend the vigil marking 31 years since the massacre in Beijing.

Beijing doesn't have human rights requirements like future Olympic host cities Paris and Los Angeles, which are scheduled to host the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics, respectively.

Yang Jiechi called for "mutual respect" between the U.S. and China, saying diplomatic relations should be handled in a "constructive way."

The nonagenarian was told her identity had been used to commit a serious crime and that she needed to transfer funds in order to be cleared of involvement.

Chinese officials have convicted Mr. Lee of "unauthorized assembly." As Mr. Lee will point out, there is no such conception under the principles and laws of freedom.

The 45-year-old man was arrested Saturday along with three other men and two women in connection to a string of robberies that occurred over the past two months.

In a six-minute, three-mile car chase, the suspect sped through four red lights and crashed into a bus, two private cars, two taxis and a police vehicle along the way.

"Over the past year, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has continued to dismantle Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, in violation of its obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law," Blinken wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

China's top legislative body proposed the changes this month and began debating them on Monday.

Clips, shared widely on social media, show China's top foreign affairs chief, Yang Jiechi, clash with Antony Blinken, his U.S. counterpart.

"Loyalty to the motherland is a basic political ethic of all public office holders and aspirants anywhere in the world," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. "Hong Kong is no exception."

China's continued crackdown on opposition voices comes just weeks after Beijing warned President Joe Biden's administration not to interfere in Hong Kong.

China is attempting to control the global conversation about its escalations in Hong Kong and its treatment of Uighurs.

A look at those to have been named as nominees for the coveted prize, before the winner is revealed later in the year.

"Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs and allow for no foreign interference," a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

President-elect Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had tweeted in support of Hong Kong, saying the new administration would stand up to Beijing.

China's foreign ministry further pushed the false equivalence on Thursday when its spokesperson accused the United States of double standards.

Authorities in Hong Kong said Wednesday that they had detained 53 pro-democracy activists and organizers involved in last year's unofficial primary elections.