Latest news with #Beijing-controlled
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Hong Kong: New National Security Subsidiary Legislation Further Intensifies Repression
Press Release – Fortify Rights New national security measures strengthen Beijings stranglehold on freedoms. (BANGKOK, May 30, 2025)—New national security measures announced in Hong Kong two weeks ago further intensify the crackdown on freedom of expression, association, assembly, and other basic human rights in the city and undermine the rule of law, judicial independence, and Hong Kong's promised autonomy, Fortify Rights said today. A new 'Safeguarding National Security Regulation' came into effect on May 13, 2025, fast-tracked through the city's Legislative Council just one day after the Hong Kong Security Bureau published proposals for subsidiary legislation. 'These new measures intensify Hong Kong's continuing slide into authoritarianism,' said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. 'Further alignment of Hong Kong's judicial system with Beijing's is deeply concerning given the latter's complete lack of judicial independence and widespread use of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance.' The new regulations strengthen measures adopted under the draconian National Security Law (NSL) imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing on June 30, 2020, and an additional domestic security law enacted by the Beijing-controlled Legislative Council under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, on March 23, 2024. In particular, the new subsidiary legislation strengthens and details procedures for mainland China's ability to exercise jurisdiction over national security cases in Hong Kong, as set out in Article 55 of the 2020 NSL, allowing for prosecutions and trials to take place in the mainland itself. The new measures also designate six sites in Hong Kong – including four hotels–as prohibited locations, because they are bases for the national security bureau. These include the Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, the City Garden Hotel in North Point, the Island Pacific Hotel in Sai Wan, a China Travel Service hotel in Hung Hom, and two locations along Hoi Fan Road in Tai Kok Tsui. Under the additional regulations, anyone disclosing information about the activities of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, which is under the direct control of the central government in Beijing, would face a prison sentence of up to seven years. The impact of the security laws imposed by Beijing over the past five years has led to an almost complete dismantling of civil society. The laws apply to the crimes of treason, sedition, secession, subversion, and state secrets, including 'collusion' with foreign forces—vaguely defined terms that have been used imprison pro-democracy activists and shutdown civil society activities. Over the past six years, an estimated 1,000 political prisoners have been jailed, including those arrested during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. These include former democratically elected legislators, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. Among the most prominent political prisoners are the media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, and human rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung. Chow Hang-tung, 40, has been imprisoned since 2021 for her role leading an annual vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, serving multiple sentences. She is charged with inciting subversion under the NSL and has been detained for more than 1,000 days. Jimmy Lai, 77, a British citizen, has been in solitary confinement for more than 1,600 days, held for more than 23 hours a day with no natural light and permitted less than an hour a day for physical exercise. He has been denied the right to independent medical treatment and his first choice of legal counsel, and his international legal team at Doughty Street Chambers have been subjected to rape and death threats and harassment. Jimmy Lai has been arbitrarily detained by the Hong Kong authorities on several occasions, including for 13 months for simply lighting a candle and saying a prayer at a vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He is currently on trial under Hong Kong's draconian NSL, imposed by Beijing in 2020, and could face life imprisonment. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled that both Jimmy Lai and Chow Hang-tung are human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily detained and should be immediately released. Last week, 22 former political prisoners, hostages, and their relatives sent an open letter to the British prime minister Keir Starmer urging him to act to secure Jimmy Lai's release. Fortify Rights' Senior Director Benedict Rogers attended the press conference at which several of the signatories released the letter. The Safeguarding National Security Regulation may result in further violations of human rights, in addition to the violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and other freedoms already perpetrated under the 2020 NSL and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. If the Chinese authorities prosecute, convict and imprison Hong Kong national security cases in mainland China, the right of defendants to fair trial, and to freedom from arbitrary arrest or disappearance, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, forced labor, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), will be significantly undermined. Although China is not a party to the ICCPR, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Basic Law and Bill of Rights incorporate the ICCPR into Hong Kong law and therefore these new regulations violate Hong Kong's obligations under its own domestic law and international law. 'There is a grave risk that Jimmy Lai could die in jail,' said Benedict Rogers. 'The international community, particularly the United Kingdom, has a responsibility to act urgently to secure his release. We urge world leaders to increase pressure on China to free Jimmy Lai, and to spell out the consequences for the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong if they refuse to do so.'
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Hong Kong: New National Security Subsidiary Legislation Further Intensifies Repression
(BANGKOK, May 30, 2025)—New national security measures announced in Hong Kong two weeks ago further intensify the crackdown on freedom of expression, association, assembly, and other basic human rights in the city and undermine the rule of law, judicial independence, and Hong Kong's promised autonomy, Fortify Rights said today. A new 'Safeguarding National Security Regulation' came into effect on May 13, 2025, fast-tracked through the city's Legislative Council just one day after the Hong Kong Security Bureau published proposals for subsidiary legislation. 'These new measures intensify Hong Kong's continuing slide into authoritarianism,' said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. 'Further alignment of Hong Kong's judicial system with Beijing's is deeply concerning given the latter's complete lack of judicial independence and widespread use of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance.' The new regulations strengthen measures adopted under the draconian National Security Law (NSL) imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing on June 30, 2020, and an additional domestic security law enacted by the Beijing-controlled Legislative Council under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, on March 23, 2024. In particular, the new subsidiary legislation strengthens and details procedures for mainland China's ability to exercise jurisdiction over national security cases in Hong Kong, as set out in Article 55 of the 2020 NSL, allowing for prosecutions and trials to take place in the mainland itself. The new measures also designate six sites in Hong Kong – including four hotels–as prohibited locations, because they are bases for the national security bureau. These include the Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, the City Garden Hotel in North Point, the Island Pacific Hotel in Sai Wan, a China Travel Service hotel in Hung Hom, and two locations along Hoi Fan Road in Tai Kok Tsui. Under the additional regulations, anyone disclosing information about the activities of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, which is under the direct control of the central government in Beijing, would face a prison sentence of up to seven years. The impact of the security laws imposed by Beijing over the past five years has led to an almost complete dismantling of civil society. The laws apply to the crimes of treason, sedition, secession, subversion, and state secrets, including 'collusion' with foreign forces—vaguely defined terms that have been used imprison pro-democracy activists and shutdown civil society activities. Over the past six years, an estimated 1,000 political prisoners have been jailed, including those arrested during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. These include former democratically elected legislators, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. Among the most prominent political prisoners are the media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, and human rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung. Chow Hang-tung, 40, has been imprisoned since 2021 for her role leading an annual vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, serving multiple sentences. She is charged with inciting subversion under the NSL and has been detained for more than 1,000 days. Jimmy Lai, 77, a British citizen, has been in solitary confinement for more than 1,600 days, held for more than 23 hours a day with no natural light and permitted less than an hour a day for physical exercise. He has been denied the right to independent medical treatment and his first choice of legal counsel, and his international legal team at Doughty Street Chambers have been subjected to rape and death threats and harassment. Jimmy Lai has been arbitrarily detained by the Hong Kong authorities on several occasions, including for 13 months for simply lighting a candle and saying a prayer at a vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He is currently on trial under Hong Kong's draconian NSL, imposed by Beijing in 2020, and could face life imprisonment. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled that both Jimmy Lai and Chow Hang-tung are human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily detained and should be immediately released. Last week, 22 former political prisoners, hostages, and their relatives sent an open letter to the British prime minister Keir Starmer urging him to act to secure Jimmy Lai's release. Fortify Rights' Senior Director Benedict Rogers attended the press conference at which several of the signatories released the letter. The Safeguarding National Security Regulation may result in further violations of human rights, in addition to the violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and other freedoms already perpetrated under the 2020 NSL and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. If the Chinese authorities prosecute, convict and imprison Hong Kong national security cases in mainland China, the right of defendants to fair trial, and to freedom from arbitrary arrest or disappearance, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, forced labor, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), will be significantly undermined. Although China is not a party to the ICCPR, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Basic Law and Bill of Rights incorporate the ICCPR into Hong Kong law and therefore these new regulations violate Hong Kong's obligations under its own domestic law and international law. 'There is a grave risk that Jimmy Lai could die in jail,' said Benedict Rogers. 'The international community, particularly the United Kingdom, has a responsibility to act urgently to secure his release. We urge world leaders to increase pressure on China to free Jimmy Lai, and to spell out the consequences for the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong if they refuse to do so.'
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
New COVID strain from China that led to massive spike in hospitalizations has spread to the US — including NYC
A new, highly infectious COVID-19 strain that has left to a spike in hospitalizations in China has now been detected in the US, including cases in New York City, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new NB.1.81 variant was first detected in the US in late March and early April among international travelers arriving at airports in California, Washington State, Virginia and New York City, with additional cases reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii. The CDC has said there are too few cases in the US to be properly tracked in the agency's variant estimates, but experts are warning that the virus' run in China shows it spreads more quickly than other dominant strains of the respiratory infection. Advertisement 4 A new COVID-19 variant that has run rampant in China has been detected in New York City. REUTERS 4 COVID-19 and its strains have killed more than 1.2 million people in the US since it first appeared in 2020. CDC Experts have been closely tracking the NB.1.8.1 variant after it became the dominant strain in China this year, with cases surging all across Asia. Hong Kong authorities say COVID-19 cases have spiked to the worst levels in at least a year after officials announced a 'significant increase' in emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the last month due to the variant. Advertisement That included 81 severe cases in the past four weeks, including 30 deaths. The vast majority of the cases were in adults 65 and up. In mainland China, the portion of patients going to the ER with COVID has more than doubled in the last month — from 7.5% to more than 16%, public health authorities said. The portion of people in the hospital for COVID in China also doubled, to more than 6%, according to the state-run China Daily. Despite the stats, the Beijing-controlled government in Hong Kong downplayed the variant, saying it does not appear to be more dangerous than previous variants. Advertisement 'What they're seeing in China, Hong Kong and some other areas where this variant has really surged, is an increase in hospitalization,' Dr. Amy Edwards, a professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University's medical school, told CBS News. The CDC's airport tests revealed the extent of the virus' spread as the travelers who were infected with the variant traveled through China, Japan, South Korea, France, Thailand, the Netherlands, Spain, Vietnam and Taiwan. 4 The Trump administration is aiming to restrict COVID booster shots to the elderly and other high-risk populations. James Keivom Like other forms of COVID-19, the variant can cause coughing, a sore throat, fever and fatigue. Advertisement Subhash Verma, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Nevada, however, noted that the new variant 'appears to have a growth advantage, suggesting it may spread more easily.' 'In other words, it is more transmissible,' she told CBS news. Both Verma and Edwards said that the strain does not appear to be more severe — at least so far. 4 The latest COVID-19 variant has caused surges across Asia, including in Thailand, where an American traveled before testing positive in the US. RUNGROJ YONGRIT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Dr. Edwin Tsui, the head of Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP), said that the new variant 'should not be taken lightly,' warning Chinese health officials and others around the world that evidence suggests the virus may have evolved to even further evade the protections of the COVID vaccines. 'The CHP will continue to closely monitor the situation of the variant strains in accordance with the World Health Organization's recommendation, and be cautious of the possible emergence of more virulent or vaccine-mismatched strains of the virus in the future,' he said in a statement. The warning comes as the Trump administration announced a plan to limit the annual booster vaccines to seniors and other high-risk groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that it will no longer recommend that healthy children and pregnant women receive the COVID-19 jab.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Nissan says it could share global plants with Chinese state firm
Car maker Nissan says it is open to sharing factories around the world with its Chinese state-owned partner Dongfeng as it shakes up its business. The Japanese firm, which employs thousands of people in the UK, told the BBC it could bring Dongfeng "into the Nissan production eco-system globally." This week, the struggling company said it would lay off 11,000 workers and shut seven factories but did not say where the cuts would be made. Speaking about Nissan's UK plant on Thursday at a conference organised by the Financial Times, its boss Ivan Espinosa said: "We have announced that we are launching new cars in Sunderland... In the very short term, there's no intention to go around Sunderland". Nissan's latest job cuts came on top of 9,000 layoffs announced in November as it faces weak sales in key markets such as the US and China. The total cuts will hit 15% of its workforce as part of a cost saving effort that it said would reduce its global production by a fifth. Nissan's own brands have struggled to make in-roads to China, which is the world's biggest car market, as stiff competition has led to falling prices. It has partnered with Beijing-controlled Dongfeng for over 20 years and they currently work together to build cars in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Nissan employs around 133,500 people globally, with about 6,000 workers in Sunderland. The firm has also faced a number of leadership changes and failed merger talks with its larger rival Honda. Negotiations between the two collapsed in February after the firms were unable to agree on a multi-billion-dollar tie-up. After the failure of the talks, then-chief executive Makoto Uchida was replaced by Mr Espinosa, who was the company's chief planning officer and head of its motorsports division. This week, Nissan also reported an annual loss of 670 billion yen ($4.6bn; £3.4bn), with US President Donald Trump's tariffs putting further pressure on the struggling firm. This month, Nissan's battery partner AESC secured a £1bn ($1.3bn) funding package from the UK government for a new plant in Sunderland. It will produce batteries for the Juke and Leaf electric models. Visiting the site, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the move would "deliver much-needed high-quality, well-paid jobs to the North East". Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Business Standard
22-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
US advises allies to shun Chinese satellite services in leaked memo
The US State Department has advised countries against using Chinese satellite services, cautioning that they may enable Beijing to collect military data and sensitive intelligence, according to a report by a Washington-based defence media outlet. The report, published by Defence One, was based on an internal memo obtained from the State Department, which was intended to provide talking points for officials. Countries engaging with the US were urged to ban satellite services provided by Chinese suppliers. It was not clear whether the memo was addressing long-standing Western allies or all of the United States' trading partners. According to the report, the memo cautioned that collaborating with China's space providers operating in low Earth orbit risks the transfer of sensitive information to the Chinese government. The report stated that officials were advised to warn countries that Chinese satellite companies might eliminate competition and dominate a Beijing-controlled market. US space industry warned of espionage threats The US intelligence community has issued warnings to its domestic space industry about the growing threats of espionage and satellite attacks from China and Russia on earlier occasions too. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the US Air Force had stated that American space companies face the risk of cyberattacks and strategic investments from Russia and China, all aimed at infiltrating the space sector. They also warned that such activities threaten corporate secrets and have the potential to disrupt remote sensing and imaging capabilities. China and Russia have consistently rejected claims that they have engaged in hacking or other efforts to infiltrate or disrupt space systems. Viasat, Starlink targeted in cyberattacks Large satellite companies with existing links to the US government have already been targeted. Viasat Inc was hit by a cyberattack in 2022 before Russia invaded Ukraine, which required the replacement of over 45,000 modems throughout Europe and beyond. Elon Musk 's Starlink has also reported facing jamming attacks while providing service to Ukraine.
