Latest Hong Kong government News

Hong Kong cuts liquor tax in an effort to reignite its nightlife industry

Oct. 16, 2024 08:31 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader announced a cut in liquor taxes on Wednesday, in a bid to revive the Asian financial hub's reputation as a travel destination with a vibrant nightlife and dining scene. After fulfilling Beijing’s long-standing imperative to enact a homegrown...

Hong Kong court sentences editor to 21 months in jail in a case seen as a barometer of press freedom

Sep. 26, 2024 19:23 PM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court sentenced a former editor of a shuttered news publication to 21 months in prison on Thursday in a sedition case widely seen as an indicator of media freedom in the city, once hailed as a beacon of press freedom in Asia. A second editor was freed after his...

First people are sentenced under Hong Kong's tough new security law

Sep. 19, 2024 05:36 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court sentenced the first two people under a tough new Hong Kong national security law on Thursday, including a man who was given 14 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan. A second man received 10 months for writing pro-independence messages on...

Hong Kong hits out at US Congress for passing a bill that could close its representative offices

Sep. 11, 2024 03:52 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's government on Wednesday said the U.S. House of Representatives twisted facts in an attack on the city as it passed a bill that could close its representative offices in America, while Beijing threatened to take countermeasures if they are shuttered. The...

More Hong Kongers tune out the news as they adapt to Beijing's tightening grip

Aug. 31, 2024 00:09 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hannah Wong cried when the Hong Kong government effectively forced Apple Daily and Stand News out of business three years ago. Among the last news outlets in the city willing to criticize the government openly, many saw their end as a sign that the old Hong Kong was gone for...

A Hong Kong court convicts 2 journalists in a landmark sedition case

Aug. 30, 2024 05:35 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Thursday convicted two former editors of a shuttered news outlet in a sedition case widely seen as a barometer for the future of media freedoms in a city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia. The trial of Stand News former...

Foreign governments criticize Hong Kong's convictions of journalists in sedition case

Aug. 29, 2024 21:28 PM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — The convictions of two Hong Kong journalists who led a now-shuttered online news outlet have deepened concerns of media groups and foreign governments over the city’s press freedom, though local officials say there are no restrictions when journalists stick to the facts. ...

Hong Kong court convicts 1 person and acquits 6 others in landmark terrorism trial

Aug. 29, 2024 09:15 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Thursday convicted one person and acquitted six others over a thwarted bomb plot during anti-government protests in 2019, in the city's first case brought under a United Nations anti-terrorism law, according to local media. A panel of nine...

What's at stake as 2 Hong Kong journalists await a verdict in their sedition trial?

Aug. 28, 2024 09:07 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — Two journalists who led a now-closed Hong Kong online news outlet will hear a verdict in their sedition case on Thursday, in a trial that's seen as an indicator of press freedom in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The trial of Stand News ' former editor-in-chief...

British judge on Hong Kong's top court, facing criticism, quits media freedom group's advisory panel

Aug. 16, 2024 04:15 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — A British judge who was part of a Hong Kong court panel that unanimously dismissed an appeal from imprisoned prominent publisher Jimmy Lai and six former pro-democracy lawmakers has quit his position on an advisory board to an international media freedom group because of concerns...