A Hong Kong delegate to China's legislature said yesterday he would quit his post because he could not effectively lobby for the territory's interests in Beijing.
Allen Lee (
"I don't have the heart to continue with my work as an NPC delegate," Lee said on the radio show Teacup in the Storm. "I can't achieve the things citizens want me to."
Lee is a former lawmaker and former chairman of the pro-government Liberal Party.
Many Hong Kongers are clamoring for full democracy, but the Chinese legislature's top panel ruled last month that it won't allow full direct elections in Hong Kong, purportedly because political and economic problems might erupt.
Lee said that wasn't why he was quitting, but noted that "the political atmosphere is getting more and more depressing" amid the heated fight over democratic reforms.
The Beijing and Hong Kong governments fear they will lose control of Hong Kong's legislature in September elections because of the rising popularity of the democracy camp. Some locals have said their mainland relatives are lobbying them to vote for Beijing's allies, but China has denied meddling.
Meanwhile, vandals dumped a plastic bag of excrement outside a pro-democracy lawmaker's office yesterday in an attack that comes amid a rising tide of threats against pro-democracy figures, police said.
The meter-square bag was found leaking its foul contents outside the office of legislator Leung Yiu-chung (
The attack was believed to be linked to Leung's comments critical of China. Leung said the attack was politically motivated.
"These people who disagree with us really want to send us a message that they want us to be quiet," he said. "But I won't be frightened into being quiet."
Police were investigating the incident, a spokeswoman said.
The attack, the second of its kind since high-profile lawmaker Emily Lau's (
Two popular radio talkshow hosts have resigned after receiving death threats for being outspoken against Beijing and legislator Frederick Fung (
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT: US President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island’s already antiquated grid Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the nation’s grid operator said, leaving about 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the already obsolete generation system. Grid operator UNE on social media said that it is investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that this weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run nation. Officials ruled out a major power plant failure, but had still not pinpointed the root cause of the grid collapse, suggesting a problem with transmission. Officials said that
CONSERVING FUEL: State institutions are to operate only four days a week starting tomorrow, with the measures also applying to schools and universities Sri Lanka on Monday announced a shorter working week to conserve its scarce fuel reserves as it prepares for a prolonged war in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20 percent of global exports pass in peacetime, has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation over the US and Israeli war against it, now in its third week. Sri Lankan Commissioner-General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi said state institutions would operate only four days a week starting tomorrow. The new austerity measures would also apply to schools and universities, and would remain in place indefinitely. “We are
RSS