A US official said yesterday that people in Hong Kong should have a bigger say in who governs them, following Beijing's announcement that it will spell out the rules for how the territory's leaders and lawmakers are chosen.
Pro-democracy activists marched to the Hong Kong government headquarters in the morning, carrying a banner that accused Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) of "sacrificing Hong Kong's autonomy" by not standing up to Beijing.
China announced on Friday that its most powerful legislative committee will "interpret" the territory's constitutional laws relating to the selection of its leader and legislature.
Newspapers yesterday reported that Beijing's ruling will focus on whether any move toward political reform can be initiated locally, or whether it must come from Beijing.
The US Consulate General reiterated its view that Hong Kong people should have more power politically. Beijing condemns such US statements as improper meddling in its internal affairs.
"The United States supports greater democratization in Hong Kong through electoral reform and universal suffrage," said consular spokeswoman Susan Stevenson. "We believe that an open society and the greatest possible degree of autonomy and governance by the rule of law is essential to maintaining stability and prosperity in Hong Kong."
Shen said that the government should consult fully with residents and "move toward a government that more fully represents the interests of the people."
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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