The best original reporting from the Hong Kong Free Press team.
LATEST
‘A second life’: The Hongkongers working to build a new community in the UK
Simon Cheng’s family has fragmented since he left Hong Kong for Britain. He no longer has direct contact with his parents for fear that it could put them at risk of repercussions from the Chinese authorities. He misses them. Cheng, a former UK consulate worker in Hong Kong and supporter of the city’s democracy movement, […]
Explainer: How Hong Kong banned 12 democrats from the legislative election
The Legislative Council Elections nomination period ended last Friday with Hong Kong’s government barring 12 pro-democracy candidates from the now-postponed race. Most electoral officers cited a past ruling that disqualified pro-independence activist Andy Chan from running in 2016 legislative elections. They wrote that “an intention to uphold the Basic Law denotes not just a compliance […]
Exclusive: Wanted by Beijing, activist in-exile Wayne Chan says he won’t stop fighting for Hong Kong independence
Days after he learned he was wanted by police on suspicion of violating the national security law, exiled pro-independence activist Wayne Chan told HKFP that he chose to leave Hong Kong so that he could continue to say things that are banned. Chan – now in the UK – fled Hong Kong in early June […]
Exclusive: Activist Nathan Law says China’s Hong Kong crackdown will backfire, as he vows to continue lobbying efforts
Activist Nathan Law left Hong Kong before the national security law was enacted, but he has told HKFP that relocating was the best thing he could do in order to serve the city’s protest movement. Now settled in London, the former student leader has been reaching out to politicians and lobbying for the pro-democracy cause. […]
INTERVIEWS
Interview: A year on, ‘wanted’ exiled activist Simon Cheng reflects on his detention in China
Exactly a year ago on August 8, Simon Cheng – a staff member at the British Consulate-General Hong Kong at the time – was detained by Chinese authorities at the end of a business trip over the border. He was accused of soliciting prostitution on the mainland – a claim which his family rejected. He […]
Exclusive: Media law expert Doreen Weisenhaus on why Hong Kong may no longer be Asia’s oasis of free speech
Doreen Weisenhaus is working on a new edition of the Hong Kong Media Law textbook – a title that is likely on every local newsroom’s bookshelf. But Weisenhaus has told HKFP that she has had to make some serious edits following the new security law: “When I wrote my first and second edition of Hong […]
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Explainer: A city shackled – How Beijing’s security law transformed Hong Kong in one short month
Once a vague spectre, national security legislation became a reality in Hong Kong last month when – in less than six weeks – Beijing imposed a law granting authorities sweeping powers to clamp down on dissent. Drafted behind closed doors without local legislative input, the law ostensibly targets acts in the city deemed to threaten […]
Coronavirus: How Hong Kong’s visually impaired struggle with the pandemic
As her friend put a compact disc containing anti-epidemic information into the player, Lau Yuk-ping pricked up her ears to make sure she would not miss anything. There were multiple tracks detailing ways to maintain personal hygiene during the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 2,500 people in Hong Kong and led to 18 […]
‘I will continue until I have no other choice’: The art of bookselling under Hong Kong’s national security law
In the weeks since Beijing passed the Hong Kong national security law, political titles have been pulled from public library shelves, a protest slogan has been banned and students have been prohibited from political activities in schools. With lawyers, academics, and journalists expressing concern over the law’s vague wording, the future of free speech and […]
From ‘violent attack’ to ‘gang fight’: How the official account of the Yuen Long mob attack changed over a year
Exactly a year ago on July 21, over 100 rod-wielding men – with connections to triad members – stormed the Yuen Long MTR station, indiscriminately attacking civilians. Among the 45 people injured were journalists, protesters, commuters and Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting. Several other beatings took place in the area, as white-clad men with sticks […]
When Big Brother moved in next door: How Chinese state security brought fear to a Hong Kong neighbourhood
The four-star Metropark Hotel used to welcome a steady flow of tourists who came for the rooftop pool, the breakfast buffet and its location in tranquil Tai Hang. Now it is hosting a very different type of guest – staff of China’s secretive new security bureau for Hong Kong. Police stand guard outside the 33-storey […]
Hong Kong democrat primaries in full: Young ‘localist resistance camp’ come out on top
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp held primary elections last weekend ahead of the Legislative Council elections on September 6. Results of the primaries, together with polls, will be consolidated into a list of recommended candidates in order to achieve the goal of winning over 35 seats in the legislature – a majority. The primaries involved five […]
Swimming against the tide: The subtle art of resistance in Macau
Filmmaker Lei Cheok Mei creates deeply personal movie vignettes of her family’s life in Macau. She traces her grandfather’s forgotten achievements as an engineer, her aunt’s battle with depression, and the impact of her mother’s job as a casino worker on their relationship. While there is nothing overtly political about her award-winning work, it nevertheless […]
Hong Kong security law: journalists and scholars ‘at a loss’ in trying to predict new red lines, says media law prof. Sharron Fast
Hong Kong media law expert Sharron Fast has told HKFP the text of the newly-enforced national security law is full of socialist legal system characteristics, leaving journalists and media scholars “at a loss” when it comes to predicting where the new red lines are to be drawn. In a phone interview last Friday, Fast, who […]
‘How much for an hour?’: Hong Kong female politicians speak out against sexual harassment culture
By Sebastian Skov Andersen and Joyce Leung “Her dress is too short” “I wish her boobs were larger” Leung Hoi-ching is an elected district councillor in the Kwun Tong District Council from the Kwun Tong Future political party. Her campaign has just posted a political promotion video to her social media pages, and immediately the […]
Exclusive: Illegal protest slogan ‘immortalised’ by Hong Kong gov’t, says co-author
The government has immortalised the popular protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times” by banning it, its co-author has told HKFP. The phrase was jointly created by ex-localist leader Edward Leung, ousted lawmaker Baggio Leung and a former member of the party Youngspiration who asked to be known as “J.” J – who […]
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