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.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS