Carrie Lam

Apple Daily Arrests, Raid Likely Intended to Have a Chilling Effect in Hong Kong’s Media Environment

Jimmy Lai, the owner of the Apple Daily and Next Digital, was arrested today under the provisions of the Hong Kong national security law. Lai’s two sons and at least seven other senior staff members were also taken into custody on various charges. Shortly after Lai's arrest, which took place at 7 AM, over two hundred police were mobilized to search the Apple Daily and Next Digital's offices at 10 AM...

Political Crackdown in Hong Kong Continues, With Disqualification of Twelve Pro-Democracy Candidates

Twelve pro-democracy candidates running in the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections were disqualified from running yesterday. The Hong Kong government previously suggested that it delay elections by one year, using the current COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to do so. However, the Hong Kong government may be hedging its bets by also disqualifying pro-democracy candidates beforehand, eliminating choices apart from pro-Beijing candidates...

The Dangerous Myth of Monolithically Right-Wing Hong Kong Protesters

In the weeks leading up to the passing of the new national security law in Hong Kong, a Twitter-based smear campaign against the city’s protesters has been relentlessly trying to sway opinions among the Anglophone Left. Led by Chinese diaspora account Qiao Collective and the conspiracy blog Grayzone, these critics dismissed the popular Hong Kong uprising as nothing more than a CIA-backed colored revolution, and accused its participants of being pro-Trump, anti-Black Lives Matter right-wingers...

Details of Hong Kong National Security Law Revealed, New Office to Help Hongkongers Opened in Taiwan

The details of the new Hong Kong security law passed by China’s National People’s Congress became public at around 11 PM yesterday night. Although many were already fearing the worst, the details of the new law indicated even more stringent measures than previously anticipated. In the meantime, the Taiwanese government today officially unveiled a new office to assist Hongkongers in downtown Taipei today. It remains to be seen whether this office will be able to provide for Hongkongers in need of asylum in Taiwan...

After Passage of National Security Legislation, a Political Crackdown May Be Imminent in Hong Kong

National security legislation targeting Hong Kong was passed by China’s National People’s Congress this morning. It is believed that the new law, which criminalizes sedition, collusion with foreign forces, subversion of the government, and other charges, will have wide sweeping effects on Hong Kong’s political freedoms...

One-Year Anniversary of Protests in Hong Kong Commemorated in Taipei, Calls for Asylum for Hongkongers

A demonstration in support of Hongkongers took place in Liberty Plaza today, with a number of civil society groups setting up booths starting from 3 PM, and speeches and performances taking place starting from 6 PM. The demonstration today commemorated the one-year anniversary of the start of the protests in Hong Kong and aimed to pressure the Tsai administration on the issue of providing aid to Hongkongers seeking asylum in Taiwan. Organizers claimed that 7,000 were in attendance...