Monthly Archives: August 2025

A Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission official and a lawmaker have dropped out of the Bitcoin Asia conference taking place in Hong Kong right now, apparently to avoid being seen near Donald Trump’s son Eric.  Ideally, Hong Kong officials … Continue reading →

If you wonder what researchers in the humanities do all day, here’s an academic paper (free to view) in the Journal of East Asian Studies … Propagandists discredit political ideas that rival their own. In China’s state-run media, one common … Continue reading →

A government press statement says… The National Security Department (NSD) of the Hong Kong Police Force this morning (August 26) laid a charge against a 19-year-old local woman with one count of “doing with a seditious intention an act or … Continue reading →

Jimmy Lai’s lawyer argues that a newspaper should have greater freedom to publish information and opinions. Greater than whom? He doesn’t say, but he can only mean everyone else, as the judges assume…. The court on Monday continued to hear … Continue reading →

Economist story (probably paywalled) about the Jimmy Lai trial… The verdict is expected to be delivered in a few weeks or months; few observers doubt that the 77-year-old will be found guilty. Already serving another jail term, he could face … Continue reading →

More on Jimmy Lai, this time from Reuters… Lai, 77, who founded the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material. … Continue reading →

The NYT reports on Hong Kong’s ‘soft resistance’.  While the paper struggles to work out exactly what it is (who doesn’t?), it notes the contradiction in the authorities’ narrative. This tension seems to be a permanent feature of Hong Kong … Continue reading →

Other than run a pro-democracy newspaper and exercise freedom of speech and the press, what did Jimmy Lai actually do? The prosecution apparently struggles to come up with much… Delivering arguments for the seditious publications charge, lead prosecutor Anthony Chau … Continue reading →

From HKFP – after a delay for a heart check, closing arguments start at Jimmy Lai’s trial…  Lai stands accused of two conspiracy charges of foreign collusion under the Beijing-imposed national security law and a third count of conspiring to … Continue reading →

Following overseas press reports about activists who have fled overseas, and the granting of asylum status to Ted Hui in Australia and Tony Chung in the UK, Hong Kong presents its latest angry press statement… The Hong Kong Special Administrative … Continue reading →