A top Chinese official yesterday defended his government's decision to bar a Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker from entering the mainland, saying customs authorities acted legally.
Officials who turned away Legislator Law Chi-kwong at the Shanghai airport on Saturday "made a decision according to the relevant provisions of immigration law," said Li Gang, deputy head of China's liaison office in Hong Kong.
Law said he was told his presence "would not be beneficial for the country."
China traditionally considers Hong Kong's pro-democracy leaders troublemakers because of their harsh criticism of Beijing's authoritarian rule in the mainland.
But Law being denied entry marks a surprise departure from China's recent string of conciliatory gestures toward opposition figures, a strategy apparently aimed at minimizing a backlash against Beijing's local allies in the Sept. 12 legislative election.
Many people in Hong Kong are upset that Beijing ruled in April that the territory can't directly elect its next leader in 2007 and lawmakers in 2008.
The ruling prompted hundreds of thousands to protest on July 1, the seventh anniversary of this former British colony's handover to Chinese rule.
Adding to the confusion, Law claims he was told by China's liaison office here that he had been cleared to visit the mainland.
Political scientist James Sung at the City University of Hong Kong said Law may have been denied entry by mistake because Shanghai authorities weren't promptly notified to let him in.
But fellow scholar Ma Ngok said the mixed signals showed China still has reservations about Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp.
"The basis for communication is very fragile," said Ma, who teaches at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Hong Kong enjoys Western-style freedoms denied in the mainland under Chinese sovereignty, but only limited democracy.
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
RSS