Hong Kong Cleans Up 93 Tons of Palm Oil; Beaches Smothered By Spill

Donny Kwok and Anne Marie Roantree
Reuters
Hong Kong stepped up efforts on Wednesday to clean up a massive palm oil spill, with authorities scooping up more than 90 tonnes of foul—smelling, styrofoam—like clumps in one of the worst environmental disasters to blight the territory’s waters.

Depth of Field

08.03.17

Inspirational Vandalism, Theme Parks, and the Man Who Swam to Hong Kong

Ye Ming, Yan Cong & more from Yuanjin Photo
This month, five photo galleries explore different aspects of public and private space in contemporary China. Wu Yue meets a couple who swam to Hong Kong from Guangzhou during the Cultural Revolution and still find solace in the waters of Hong Kong’...

Anger at Plan to Let Chinese Police Patrol in Hong Kong

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
A Hong Kong government plan to lease part of a new high-speed rail station to China and allow Chinese police to enforce mainland laws has sparked new fears the city is losing its autonomy.

Take a Tour of China’s First Aircraft Carrier, a Secondhand Soviet-Era Ship Now in Hong Kong

Zheping Huang
Quartz
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was open to the public for the first time this past weekend. The event took place in Hong Kong as part of the 20th anniversary marking the city’s handover to Chinese rule.

Conversation

06.30.17

What Does Xi Jinping Intend for Hong Kong?

Alvin Y.H. Cheung, Kevin Carrico & more
Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Hong Kong on Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of the July 1, 1997 return of the territory to China from the United Kingdom. Since the handover, many Hong Kongers have chafed under...

China's Xi Sees 'Challenges' in Hong Kong as Beijing Dismisses Any UK Role

Greg Torode, Venus Wu
Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting Hong Kong for the 20th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, said on Friday the city's "one country, two systems" formula faces "new challenges" as pro-democracy campaigners ramped...

Hong Kong to Be Staging Point for Plan to Draw 100 Billion Yuan of Capital into China’s Bond Market

Karen Yeung
South China Morning Post
China’s government will allow foreign investors to trade in the country’s $9.3 trillion bond market, a vital step in helping to internationalise the yuan and help deepen the capital market.

US-China Honeymoon Over: Washington Sanctions Chinese Bank and Sells Arms to Taiwan

Tom Phillips, Oliver Holmes
Guardian
Relations between the world’s two largest economies look to be entering a new phase of turbulence after the US punctured Chinese celebrations of the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return by unveiling sanctions against a Chinese bank linked to North...

Books

06.13.17

Fortune Makers

Michael Useem, Harbir Singh, Liang Neng, Peter Cappelli
Fortune Makers analyzes and brings to light the distinctive practices of business leaders who are the future of the Chinese economy. These leaders oversee not the old state-owned enterprises, but private companies that have had to invent their way forward out of the wreckage of an economy in tatters following the Cultural Revolution.Outside of brand names such as Alibaba and Lenovo, little is known, even by the Chinese themselves, about the people present at the creation of these innovative businesses. Fortune Makers provides sharp insights into their unique styles—a distinctive blend of the entrepreneur, the street fighter, and practices developed by the Communist Party—and their distinctive ways of leading and managing their organizations that are unlike anything the West is familiar with.When Peter Drucker published Concept of the Corporation in 1946, he revealed what made large American corporations tick. Similarly, when Japanese companies emerged as a global force in the 1980s, insightful analysts explained the practices that brought Japan’s economy out of the ashes—and what managers elsewhere could learn to compete with them. Now, based on unprecedented access, Fortune Makers allows business leaders in the United States and the rest of the West to understand the essential character and style of Chinese corporate life and its dominant players, whose businesses are the foundation of the domestic Chinese market and are now making their mark globally. —PublicAffairs{chop}

On Tiananmen Square Anniversary, Detentions in China and Candlelight Vigil in Hong Kong

Washington Post
Police detained at least 11 Chinese activists after a pair of small events to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, according to human rights groups and activists.

Tens of Thousands of Chinese Firms, Institutes Affected in WannaCry Global Cyberattack

Zen Soo, Naomi Ng, Stephen Chen
South China Morning Post
Tens of thousands of Chinese companies and institutions—including several major firms in Hong Kong—have been crippled by a global cyberattack as people returned to work on Monday.

Viewpoint

05.09.17

Beijing Is Weakening Hong Kong’s Rule of Law. How Far Will It Go?

Alvin Y.H. Cheung
“The American Chamber of Commerce has urged Hong Kong’s next government to reach out to international businesses still ‘unclear’ about what opportunities the city can offer under the one country, two systems policy.” —South China Morning Post, April...

Hong Kong Charges Pro-Independence Activists over China Protest

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
Hong Kong police have charged two former pro-independence politicians over scuffles in the legislature, amid a widening crackdown on dissenting voices in the former British colony.
04.23.17

Are NGOs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Subject to This Law?

Yes. The term 境外 (jing wai) used in the law, which we translate as “foreign,” is frequently translated as “overseas,” but its literal translation is “outside the borders.” For legal and regulatory purposes, jing wai includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, and...

Conversation

03.31.17

Is Hong Kong on Its Way to Becoming Just Another City in the P.R.C.?

Antony Dapiran, Suzanne Sataline & more
On March 26, the roughly 1,200-person Hong Kong Election Committee chose Carrie Lam as chief executive—Hong Kong’s fourth leader since the United Kingdom returned the territory to Chinese rule in 1997. Unpopular with Hong Kong’s pro-democracy...

As Hong Kong Chooses Its Next Leader, China Still Pulls the Strings

Alan Wong
New York Times
For the fifth time, Hong Kong’s next chief executive will be selected on Sunday by a committee stacked with supporters of the Chinese government rather than by a free election.

We Must Resist until China Gives Hong Kong a Say in Our Future

Joshua Wong and Emily Lim
Guardian
If Beijing allows human rights to deteriorate in Hong Kong, then the whole country will lose all hope of reform

Using Stealth, and Drones, to Document a Fading Hong Kong

Mike Ives
New York Times
If history was any guide, the explorers said, the building the drone was filming—a 1952 theater with unusual roof supports—would eventually be demolished because it is not on Hong Kong’s list of declared monuments.

Disappearance of Chinese Billionaire Alarms Financial Sector

Yifan Xie and Josh Chin
Wall Street Journal
Xiao Jianhua is one of several high-profile Chinese businessmen to go missing since China’s 2015 stock-market crash

China Billionaire’s Disappearance from Hong Kong Revives Autonomy Concerns

Venus Wu and James Pomfret
Reuters
The uncertain fate of Xiao Jianhua, a China-born billionaire who was last seen at a luxury Hong Kong hotel a week ago, has raised fresh fears about the city’s autonomy amid media reports he may have been abducted by Chinese agents.

Billionaire Is Reported Seized from Hong Kong Hotel and Taken into China

Michael Forsythe
New York Times
A Chinese-born billionaire who has forged financial ties with some of the country’s most powerful families was taken by the Chinese police from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong late last week and spirited across the border

Hong Kong Denies Beijing Role in Seizure of Singaporean Troop Carriers

Christy Leung
South China Morning Post
Customs chief says the enforcement action was based on Hong Kong law and also claims Singapore’s government was never a target for investigation

Hong Kong Human Rights Situation ‘Worst Since Handover to China’

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
Amnesty International report says rule of law, freedom of speech, and trust in government all deteriorated in 2016

Viewpoint

01.06.17

No, Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement Is Not Anti-Mainland

Sebastian Veg
In a November 29 essay, “The Anti-Mainland Bigotry of Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement,” published in Foreign Policy, Taisu Zhang tries to make the case that Beijing’s hardline attitude toward Hong Kong is traceable to what he calls the “bigotry of...

China, Seeking to Stop Weakening of Currency, Issues Restrictions

Neil Gough
New York Times
China’s financial regulators appear to have grown increasingly concerned in recent weeks about the pace of the renminbi’s depreciation

Viewpoint

11.29.16

The Anti-Mainland Bigotry of Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement

Taisu Zhang
Given the political earthquake that occurred on November 8, the recent political and constitutional crisis in Hong Kong now seems comparatively diminished in significance. At the time, however, it was widely seen as—and continues to be—a major...

Hong Kong’s Rebellious Lawmaker Yau Wai-ching

Helier Cheung
BBC
The youngest woman elected to Hong Kong's parliament has been called many things, including: "radical", "goddess", "spy", "pretty" and "cancer cell"

With It’s Latest Intervention in Hong Kong, Beijing Wins the Battle but is Losing the War

Gary Cheung
South China Morning Post
Cheung: the NPC should be sparing in the use of its power to interpret the Basic Law, or it risks further alienating the city’s young people

Hong Kong Umbrellas, Chinese Maoism, Trump, Duterte, and Brexit: What’s the Link?

Bilahari Kausikan
South China Morning Post
Why the global order is becoming ever more uncertain

In a First, China Moves to Bar 2 Hong Kong Legislators From Office

Michael Forsythe and Alan Wong
New York Times
The extraordinary intervention in the affairs of this semiautonomous former British colony could prompt a constitutional crisis and incite more street protests

China Will Intervene in the Case of Hong Kong’s Pro-Independence Lawmakers

Kevin Lui
Time
Experts worry Beijing's move to interpret HK's Basic Law would damage the people’s trust in the rule of law and the independence of the courts

Chaos Again at Hong Kong’s Legislature as Chinese Intervention Said to Loom Large

Kevin Lui
Time
Two separatist lawmakers attempt to take their oaths of office for a fourth time, as rumors of direct Chinese intervention fly

LegCo Drama Rages On

Jeffie Lam et al
South China Morning Post
LegCo president Andrew Leung adjourns meeting after B. Leung and Yau force way into chamber; protest organizer estimates 10,000 came to denounce the duo

Features

10.19.16

Why Newly Elected Hong Kong Legislators Cursed and Protested—At Their Own Swearing-In

Suzanne Sataline
There’s a bit of a nanny state in the city of Hong Kong. The government is quick to issue advice and admonitions about all matter of hazards—high ocean waves, food waste, incense burning during the annual grave-sweeping festival. One night in late...

Depth of Field

10.18.16

Over-Protective Mothers, E-cigarettes, Sports Hunting, and More

Ye Ming, Yan Cong & more from Yuanjin Photo
A photojournalist’s job is to capture the unique and the universal—to portray brief moments that tell individual stories, yet are instantly relatable to a wide audience. The delightful task of curating that type of Chinese photojournalism is the...

How Hong Kong's Cantopop Scene Went from Heartbreak to Protest

Helier Cheung
BBC
Cantonese pop music is formulaic, intensely emotional, strangely addictive and quintessentially Hong Kong. Now it is also becoming political.

Rebel Hong Kong Politicians Defy China at Chaotic Swearing-In Ceremony

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Pro-democracy politicians cross fingers and make protest signs and subversive references to Beijing’s authoritarian rulers

Thailand Bars Entry to Teenage HK Activist “at China’s Request”

Venus Wu and Cod Satrusayang
Reuters
Joshua Wong was detained in Bangkok where he had been invited to speak at universities about Hong Kong's "Umbrella Movement"

A Storied Hong Kong Newspaper Feels the Heat from China

Rob Schmitz
NPR
After recently shutting down its Chinese-language website and deleting archives, the South China Morning Post announced more cuts.

Hong Kong Protest Leaders Avoid Jail After Failed Court Bid

AFP
Channel NewsAsia
"Umbrella Revolution" leaders walk free from court

Conversation

09.13.16

Can China’s Best Newspaper Survive?

Isaac Stone Fish, David Schlesinger & more
On September 9, the South China Morning Post’s Chinese-language website went dark with little explanation, leading to concerns that censorship might next spread to the newspaper’s English-language coverage. Can Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, who has...

Surge in Offshore Yuan Borrowing Rate Suggests China Intervention

Saumya Vaishampayan and Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Move by banks in Hong Kong market, likely at behest of PBOC, seems aimed at bets against yuan.

Conversation

09.07.16

The Hong Kong Election: What Message Does it Send Beijing?

David Schlesinger, Melissa Chan & more
On September 4, Hong Kong elected a batch of its youngest and most pro-democratic lawmakers yet. Six new legislators, all under 40, won on platforms that called for Hong Kongers to decide their own fate. The youngest is 23-year-old Nathan Law, a...

‘Unprecedented’: Trash From China Swamps Hong Kong Beaches

James Griffiths
CNN
Mountains of garbage are meters high at a popular beach....

China Imposes Blackout on Hong Kong Bookseller’s Revelations

Hannah Beech
Time
With one fleeting exception, media consumers in mainland China were left in the dark.

Protests Erupt After Hong Kong Bookseller Breaks Silence on China Detention

Deutsche Welle
Lam Wing-Kee has described how mainland authorities held him isolated for months. He said Hong Kong would become helpless if he “remained silent.”

Squaring Off

Economist
A museum of China’s democracy movement in 1989 is in trouble.

Viewpoint

05.25.16

Hong Kong’s International Law Problem

Alvin Y.H. Cheung
In the years leading up to Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, Beijing was keen to reassure the world that nothing significant would change in the territory. Business elites and local politicians alike busied themselves with...

Viewpoint

05.24.16

“It’s Time for Us To Set a New Political Agenda for Hong Kong”

Jonathan Landreth, Susan Jakes & more
Last month, midway through a whirlwind tour of United States universities, Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong took a break for a crab cake and mac-and-cheese lunch at a Manhattan brasserie. Wong, 19, came to international prominence during the...

China Finds Its Global Ambitions Humbled in Its Own Backyard

Michael Forsythe and Austin Ramzy
New York Times
China has more economic power than ever before, but its political iron hand makes it hard to win the hearts and minds of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Hong Kong Man Arrested in China for Drone Disruption Plot: Xinhua

Greg Torode and James Pomfret
Reuters
The unnamed man, arrested in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, was a "sponsor" of Hong Kong's opposition camp.

China’s Top Lawyer in Hong Kong Says Secession Advocates Could Face Prosecution

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
British colonial legislation could be used to prosecute "separatists", but the Chinese govenment can't detain suspects in HK.

China Is Pretending That Hong Kong’s “Best Film” Award Winner Doesn’t Exist

Josh Horwitz
Quartz
Ten Years, the film about growing anxiety that Beijing is eroding HK's freedoms, is unlikedly to be released in China.

Missing Hong Kong Bookseller Goes Back to China after Brief Home Visit

Tyrone Siu
ABC
65-year-old British citizen Lee Bo is already on his way back to China from Hong Kong after disappearing in December.

Hong Kong Feels, and Fears, China's Tighter Grip

Associated Press
Political and economic ills from the mainland are eroding HK.

Missing Bookseller Detained in China Returns to Hong Kong

Reuters
Bookseller specialized in gossip about Chinese leaders. 

China Investigating Hong Kong Bookseller over Mail Sales

Washington Post
Chinese police are investigating a detained bookseller for allegedly selling books by mail illegally in mainland China.

Hong Kong's Business Community is 'Freaked Out' Over China's Crackdown

Guardian
A crisis of confidence has hit companies in Hong Kong following the abduction of booksellers by Chinese agents.