Hong Kong News covers the city’s local and national politics, as well as major developments in China and around the world. It also includes the latest on business, sports and entertainment. The city of Hong Kong is home to many of Asia’s largest English and Chinese language newspapers. South China Morning Post and The Standard are the city’s two biggest English language newspapers.
Hong Kong’s leaders say the city is ready to welcome back tourists and business travelers after dropping most of its Covid-19 restrictions earlier this year, and using a new marketing slogan — “Asia’s world city” — to promote itself. But the relaunch campaign comes as the city is struggling to deal with months of pro-democracy protests, which pushed the territory into its deepest political crisis in years.
The city’s government has taken steps to address concerns over its ties with mainland China, including restricting the number of foreign lawyers it hires for sensitive cases. But critics say the measures could further erode Hong Kong’s international reputation and weaken its independence from Beijing.
China has been pushing for full democracy in Hong Kong, which was ruled by Britain as a colony until 1997 and returned to the Chinese government under a special arrangement called “one country, two systems.” But the government has defended its right to impose limits on freedom of expression, and some Hong Kongers are urging their leadership to take stronger stands.
Protests against a draft law allowing extradition to China by prosecutors who are linked to Hong Kong’s leader erupted in June. Critics feared it would undermine judicial independence and put dissidents in danger, and the legislation was ultimately withdrawn. But the protests have continued, and many people believe that Hong Kong is losing its independence.
The government says it will not reintroduce the controversial law, but some critics say it is already too difficult to practice journalism in Hong Kong without fear of censorship or arrest. Others worry that China is influencing media and causing self-censorship. Public trust in the mass media is declining, and many citizens attribute different motives to journalists: Readers who are pro-Beijing see them as defending power, while those who oppose it think they are producing fake news.
The US has criticized China’s moves, and CFR’s Jerome A. Cohen, University of Notre Dame’s Victoria Tin-bor Hui and Columbia University’s Kurt Tong discuss what it means for Washington’s efforts to punish the regime for its crackdown on human rights in Hong Kong and beyond. On this week’s episode of The President’s Inbox, we hear from a former member of the Hong Kong Human Rights Commission who was jailed for protesting against the law. He shares his experience and thoughts on Hong Kong’s future.