Latest news with #Pro-Beijing
HKFP
a day ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong court suspends pro-Beijing lawmaker's libel suit against 3 democrats
Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho's libel suit against three former pro-democracy legislators, who allegedly accused him of triad ties, has been put on hold indefinitely by a Hong Kong court. High Court Judge Keith Yeung approved jailed ex-lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting's application for an indefinite stay of proceedings on Tuesday morning, saying it 'doesn't make sense' to limit the application to a single defendant while proceedings go ahead for fellow democrats Claudia Mo and Dennis Kwok. Ho sued the three former legislators for libel more than five years ago in November 2019, after they accused him of having links to triads during a protest in August that year. The 'triad' allegation referred to Ho shaking hands with men dressed in white on July 21, 2019, outside Yuen Long MTR station, the same day that more than 100 rod-wielding, white-clad men stormed the station and attacked passengers and pro-democracy protesters going home after attending a demonstration earlier that day. Ho argued that those remarks were made with 'malice and ulterior motive,' the court heard on Tuesday, alleging that the defendants 'knew or ought to have known there is no evidence' tying him to triads and that he was not an organiser of the Yuen Long mob attack. Ho sought to rely on Lam's conviction and sentence to support his claim of 'malice' and to demonstrate that the offending phrase – 'Junius Ho, triad' – was uttered in bad faith, Judge Yeung reiterated on Monday. Lam, dressed in a navy suit and white shirt, appeared before Yeung at the High Court on Tuesday morning for a case management hearing. Lam, who is currently serving a 37-month jail sentence after being found guilty of rioting during the Yuen Long mob attack, is seeking to appeal his rioting conviction and sentence. Mo, who was released from prison in April after serving her sentence in the city's largest national security trial, and Kwok, now overseas and labelled a wanted 'absconder' by the Hong Kong government under national security legislation, were both absent from the hearing. Indefinite hold Yeung decided on Tuesday that the application for a stay of proceedings, filed by Lam, would also extend to the other two defendants, Mo and Kwok. The proceedings will be put on hold indefinitely, pending the result of Lam's appeal. Whether the libel case is reopened may depend on the result of Lam's appeal against his conviction and 37-month jail sentence for rioting during the Yuen Long attack. The Yuen Long attack, which left 45 people injured, including then-legislator Lam, marked a watershed moment during the months-long anti-extradition bill unrest. Police were criticised for responding slowly to the incident, with some officers seen leaving the scene or interacting with the white-clad men. Lam is also currently serving a separate jail term of six years and nine months for conspiring to commit subversion after he was convicted in the largest national security trial. He has also lodged an appeal against his national security conviction and sentence.
HKFP
08-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong loosens rules for Victoria Harbour reclamation despite activists' objections
Hong Kong passed a law on Wednesday that made it easier for the government to create new land through reclamation in the city's famed Victoria Harbour despite objections from environmental activists. Land reclamation was central to the Chinese city's economic growth for decades but shifting public opinion since the 1990s led to stringent legal rules that required projects to establish an 'overriding public need'. Officials called those rules 'restrictive' and proposed a bill last year to fast-track smaller projects, while also giving the city's leader more power over large-scale ones. The bill will 'enhance harbourfront areas for public enjoyment', the development bureau said, adding that the government had no plans for large-scale reclamation in Victoria Harbour. Environmentalists had warned that the bill would allow the city's leader — not the courts — to have the final say over whether a project satisfied the 'public need' test. Speaking after the bill was passed on Wednesday, harbour protection advocate Paul Zimmerman said concerns over the city leader's expanded role have 'not been really resolved'. 'The protection of the harbour is not… embedded in the law as it was before,' Zimmerman told AFP. 'It's a pity that the level of protection has been reduced.' Pro-Beijing lawmaker Bill Tang said during Wednesday's legislative session that attempts to 'discredit the amendments' are 'spreading false narratives'. Andrew Lam, another lawmaker, said: 'As long as the public has reasonable grounds (to oppose reclamation), they can apply for judicial review at any time.' Harbour protection was one of Hong Kong's major activist causes in the decade following the former British colony's handover to China in 1997. The city's top court ruled in a landmark case in 2004 that the harbour was 'a special public asset and a natural heritage of Hong Kong people' that must be protected and preserved. Beijing has cracked down on dissent in Hong Kong after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub in 2019, and opposition lawmakers have quit or been ousted. The Society for Protection of the Harbour, a 30-year-old advocacy group, is expected to convene soon to decide whether to continue its work, according to Zimmerman. 'Now that the government has… reduced the safeguards that (the law) provides, the Society is considering (hanging) up its coat,' he said.
Reuters
01-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Shares of CK Hutchison climb 1% amid China criticism of Panama ports deal
HONG KONG, April 1 (Reuters) - Shares of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison ( opens new tab climbed 1% on Tuesday ahead of a deal to sell its Panama ports to a BlackRock-led group that is due to be signed by April 2. Reuters reported on Friday that CK Hutchison had delayed part of the sale, although sources said the deal has not been called off. Pro-Beijing media have published a series of reports criticizing the deal, depicting it as a betrayal of China.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shares of CK Hutchison climb 1% amid China criticism of Panama ports deal
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison climbed 1% on Tuesday ahead of a deal to sell its Panama ports to a BlackRock-led group that is due to be signed by April 2. Reuters reported on Friday that CK Hutchison had delayed part of the sale, although sources said the deal has not been called off. Pro-Beijing media have published a series of reports criticizing the deal, depicting it as a betrayal of China. (Reporting By Donny Kwok; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CK Hutchison will not sign deal to sell strategic Panama ports next week, SCMP reports
(Reuters) -Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison will not sign a deal next week to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group amid growing pressure from Beijing, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday, citing a source close to the company. The deal was expected to be signed on April 2, according to the sale announcement made on March 4. It is understood the situation does not mean the deal has been called off, the South China Morning Post added, citing the source. CK Hutchison and BlackRock did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Chinese authorities have reacted negatively to plans by the conglomerate, while the deal was hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump who wants to retake control of the strategic waterway. A CK Hutchison unit operates two of the five ports adjacent to the Panama Canal, which manages about 3% of the global sea-borne trade. Panama first awarded the concession to the company in 1998 to run the ports and extended it for another 25 years in 2021. The telecoms-to-retail conglomerate has been caught in China's crosshairs in the highly politicised deal with a BlackRock consortium, which includes selling assets near the strategically important Panama Canal. The deal is expected to garner the firm more than $19 billion in cash. Pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao said in an editorial piece on March 21 that the transaction should to be scrapped as the deal is a "perfect cooperation" with the U.S. strategy to contain China. Bloomberg News, earlier in the week, reported that Chinese authorities had told state-owned firms to hold off on any new deals with businesses linked to tycoon Li and his family. Sign in to access your portfolio
