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The Hong Kong government charged 47 democracy advocates Sunday with violating a national security law that prohibits “conspiracy to commit subversion.”

The activists were among a group of more than 50 people arrested in January for organizing and taking part in a primary election last July. The mass arrests last month were the most extensive roundup since the law was introduced last summer.

The law criminalizes four types of activity: secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and collusion with foreign entities. In practice, it ends whatever autonomy that Hong Kong had previously enjoyed under Chinese rule.

Those arrested were among Hong Kong’s most vocal democracy advocates, a group that includes many opposition lawmakers. The group of 39 men and eight women had been asked to check in with police on Sunday in preparation for a court appearance Monday morning. If convicted, they could face life in prison.

According to the South China Morning Post, those charged included Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai; Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu; and legal scholar Benny Tai, the architect of July’s primary election, which brought more than 600,000 people to the polls.

Activist Joshua Wong, who is currently serving more than a year in prison for organizing a protest, was also charged.

International observers have expressed concern that China is going to great lengths to stamp out opposition. In a statement, the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao said the charges “make clear that legitimate political pluralism will no longer be tolerated” there.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan wrote that the detentions underscore China’s “broken promises to the world about Hong Kong’s autonomy & democratic rights. We stand in solidarity with these brave activists.” U.K. foreign secretary Dominic Raab said the charges were “deeply disturbing” and that the national security law is “being used to eliminate political dissent rather than restore order – contrary to what the Chinese Government promised.”

In the days leading up to Sunday’s charges, the activists said goodbye to loved ones, and made peace with their fate. As they entered the police station, many gave statements to the media.

“Democracy is never a gift from heaven. It must be earned by many with strong will,” said 33-year-old Jimmy Sham, the BBC reported. Sham, of the Civil Human Rights Front, helped organize major protests in 2019. “We will remain strong and fight for what we want.”

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HONG KONG (9News Nigeria) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam acknowledged on Tuesday that the record turnout in local elections won by opposition, pro-democracy candidates highlighted dissatisfaction with her administration, while appealing for an end to violent protests.

Appearing tired and drawn, Lam spoke a day after results showed democratic candidates secured almost 90% of 452 district council seats in Sunday’s elections, a landslide victory in polls that were widely seen as a barometer of the opposition to the Beijing-backed leader.

Hong Kong’s most unpopular post-colonial leader acknowledged voters wanted to express their views on many issues, including “deficiencies in governance”.

Speaking in measured tones, she thanked residents for voting peacefully and hoped the calm weekend was not just for the elections but a signal that residents want an end to unrest that has rocked the Chinese-ruled city for six months.

“Everybody wants to go back to their normal life and this requires the concerted efforts of every one of us,” Lam said during her weekly address at the government’s headquarters.

“So, as I have said repeatedly, resorting to violence will not give us that way forward. So please, please help us to maintain the relative calm and peace … and provide a good basis for Hong Kong to move forward.”

Some observers say Lam, who came to power in 2017 on a platform to heal social divisions, is out of touch with the population and won’t say anything concrete unless Beijing gives her the green light.

“There’s no content in her talk, which is usual,” said Ma Ngok, political scientist at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“The majority of the people still support the (pro-democracy) movement so it is up to them (Beijing) to respond. If they don’t respond with any kind of concessions, I think the protests would go on for some time.”

LULL IN VIOLENCE

The Asian financial center has enjoyed a rare lull in violence for nearly a week, breaking from six months of often violent anti-government unrest that has plunged the city into its biggest political crisis in decades, creating the greatest internal challenge yet faced by China’s President Xi Jinping.

As demonstrations roil Hong Kong, the Chinese leadership has set up a crisis command center on the mainland side of the border and is considering replacing its official liaison to the restive semi-autonomous city, people familiar with the matter said.

Protests have sprung up on an almost daily basis since June, with flash mobs often gathering with little or no notice, at times forcing the government, businesses, schools and even the city’s international airport to close.

The violence had escalated up to last week, with protesters hurling petrol bombs and firing arrows at police who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Demonstrators are angry at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China denies interfering and says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula put in place at that time. Police say they have shown restraint in the face of potentially deadly attacks.

While calm has descended across most of the city, a small group of protesters remain holed up in Polytechnic University, surrounded by police following extreme clashes in the run-up to elections.

Lam urged the protesters at the sprawling campus on Kowloon peninsula to leave peacefully as soon as possible.

University authorities estimate as many as 50 protesters may be hiding, too frightened to attempt an escape. Some protesters’ estimates were lower, suggesting just a handful remain.

The anti-government demonstrations bolstered support for democrats in Sunday’s elections, with a record three million people casting their vote.

The pro-democracy parties overwhelming victory poses a conundrum for Beijing and piles pressure on Lam, who is facing renewed calls to step down. The democrats took control of 17 out of 18 district councils.

A full-page advertisement on Tuesday in Hong Kong’s Sing Pao newspaper by a “group of voters who safeguard Hong Kong’s future” read: “In the past five months, the public demands have been clear. Carrie Lam, what have you heard? What have you changed? Do not dwell on empty talks about deep reflection, resignation is the only result.”

Reporting By Clare Jim, Sharon Tam, Marius Zaharia and Noah Sin; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Paul Tait & Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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HONG KONG (9News Nigeria) – Hong Kong’s democrats romped to a landslide and symbolic majority in district council elections after residents turned out in record numbers on Sunday to vote following six months of anti-government protests in the embattled city.

In a rare weekend lull in the unrest that has rocked the financial hub, democratic candidates across the city of 7.4 million people secured more than half of the 452 district council seats for the first time against a strongly resourced and mobilised pro-establishment opposition.

When the results began trickling in after midnight, including upset wins for democrats against heavyweight pro-Beijing opponents, some voting centres erupted in loud cheers and chants of “Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution Now” – a slogan used by many protesters on the streets over the past six months.

Some winning candidates said the result was akin to a vote of support for the demonstrators and could raise the heat on Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing chief executive, Carrie Lam, amid the city’s worst political crisis in decades.

“This is the power of democracy. This is a democratic tsunami,” said Tommy Cheung, a former student protest leader who won a seat in the Yuen Long district close to China’s border.

The voting ended with no major disruptions in a day that saw massive, though orderly, queues form outside voting centres.

Pro-democracy candidates had secured a clear majority by 8.00 a.m. (midnight GMT Sunday) with 333 of 452 seats, compared with 52 for the pro-establishment camp, according to media estimates. Democrats only secured around 100 seats at the previous polls four years ago.

Almost three million people voted, a record turnout of more than 71% that appeared to have been spurred by the turmoil, almost double the number last time.

Hong Kong’s district councils control some spending and decide a range of livelihood issues such as transport. They also serve as an important grassroots platform to radiate political influence in the China-ruled city.

READ MORE on Pro Democracy protests in Hong Kong

“PATH OF STRUGGLE”

“I believe this result is because there are a lot of voters who hope to use this election and their vote to show their support for the (protest) movement, and their five demands, and their dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong government,” said former student leader Lester Shum, who won a seat.

The protesters’ demands include full democracy, as well as an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality.

“The district council is just one very important path of struggle. In future, we must find other paths of struggle to keep fighting,” Shum said.

The state-run China Daily newspaper said in an editorial on Monday the election “will hopefully have served as an opportunity to return the city to normal”.

“The relative tranquility the city enjoyed since several days before the election suggests all stakeholders regarded it as an opportunity to air their views.”

Demonstrators are angry at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. They say they are also responding to perceived police brutality.

China denies interfering and says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula for the autonomy of Hong Kong put in place in 1997. Police say they have shown restraint in the face of potentially deadly attacks.

Jimmy Sham, a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised some of the anti-government rallies, won his electoral contest, as did Kelvin Lam, who stood in after prominent activist Joshua Wong was barred from running.

A number of pro-Beijing heavyweights including Junius Ho, whose abrasive public comments have made him a hate-figure among many protesters, lost to pro-democracy challengers. He described it on Facebook as “an exceptional election, and an unusual result”.

The protests started over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial but rapidly evolved into calls for full democracy, posing the biggest populist challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.

Reporting by Clare Jim, Felix Tam and Josh Smith; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Paul Tait

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Polls close in local elections seen as a test for the pro-Beijing gov’t after nearly half a year of demonstrations.

Hong Kong, China – Millions voted in Hong Kong in highly anticipated local elections seen as a barometer of public opinion after nearly six months of increasingly violent protests that polarised the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Before daybreak on Sunday, long queues began to snake around the city’s neighbourhoods as a mix of young and old voters waited for the polls – the first since political unrest erupted in June – to open.

Polling stations closed at 10:30pm (14:30 GMT). Results were expected Monday morning.

Total turnout exceeded 2.9 million voters, a rate of 69 percent, surpassing a record from the previous legislative council election in 2016.

In the working-class neighbourhood of Yau Ma Tei, a regular scene of clashes between police and demonstrators, no one waiting in line wore black, surgical masks or chanted slogans – all hallmarks of the pro-democracy protest movement.

The queue was quiet and orderly as voters ate breakfast in line and scrolled through their phones. Small squads of riot police were seen mingling around.

“I would like to say ‘no’ to the government, to what they have done these past few months,” said Patrick Yeung, a 33-year-old IT worker who came early to vote, anticipating long lines.

“It makes me very angry … [Chief Executive] Carrie Lam just doesn’t listen to Hong Kong. We’ve come out so many times and they don’t listen and make this situation worse.”

‘De facto referendum’

The district council historically deals with local livelihood issues, such as traffic and hygiene. But the protests have dramatically elevated their significance, at least symbolically.

For nearly half a year, anger and frustration have gripped Hong Kong as the city’s Beijing-backed government refuses to concede to protesters’ demands – save for the retraction of the hated extradition bill that sparked the unrest.

Government intransigence has galvanised the public, and voters are capitalising on the democratic opportunity to reiterate their demands, which include universal suffrage to choose Hong Kong’s leaders, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality and amnesty for all those arrested in connection with the protests.

A record 4.1 million people, including 400,000 new voters, have signed up to cast ballots in the poll that will see all 452 seats across Hong Kong’s 18 districts contested.

“This election is totally a de facto referendum for the protests,” said Samson Yuen, an assistant professor at Lingnan University.

“Clearly, this one is more about political stance over the protests,” Yuen said.

For the past few weeks, doubts loomed over whether the elections would even take place. Several candidates on both sides were attacked and multiple pro-democracy candidates were arrested, while prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong was barred from running.

Just a neighbourhood over from Yau Ma Tei, an estimated couple of dozen protesters remain trapped at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which police have surrounded following one of the movement’s fiercest clashes on campus. The city was paralysed for days as violence reached new escalations on both sides.

Patrick Nip, the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, said the violence “reduced the chance of holding the elections”, while the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, said: “Only by supporting the police force decisively putting down the riots can [Hong Kong] return to peace and hold fair elections, to help Hong Kong start again.”

Hong Kong’s Electoral Affairs Commission had called on the public to “stop all threats and violence to support the holding of elections in a peaceful and orderly manner”.

For her part, Lam, when asked whether elections would be postponed, said the government “hopes that the elections can continue as planned”.

Some pro-establishment voters, too, hope to use their vote as a call to restore order.

“He supports constructive ideas to build up Hong Kong. We support people who do not disrupt Hong Kong,” said Gary Wu, 40, who works in logistics, as he handed out fliers for a pro-establishment candidate named Horace Cheung in the Kennedy Town area.

“The priority should be people living here, a stable environment and economy.”

‘We are not going to give up our rights’

Given all the uncertainty surrounding the elections, Ryan Chen flew home on Saturday from Singapore, where he who works for a multinational company, just to vote in the election. Aged 35, this was his first time voting in the district council elections.

“It’s important … It’s a way to really express your own opinions, one of the few ways you can do it in an orderly fashion,” he said. “We should cherish the ability to express it … It shows [the government] our opinions and gathers us together as Hongkongers,” Chen added.

“But whether the government cares, honestly they don’t.”

The days running up to polls have been some of the most peaceful in months. To ensure the elections were not cancelled, protesters called on the public to exercise restraint. And in a bid to rally public support, protesters rebuilt the so-called Lennon Walls – some of which had been torn down by pro-establishment activists – and plastered public spaces with promotional materials, canvassing on street corners and disseminating reminders online.

Among the many new faces running for district council is Jason Chan, 22, a recent graduate now running in Fortress Hill for the pro-democracy camp.

Chan said this election was a “gesture to show the government that we are not going to give up our rights”.

He added: “It becomes a kind of safer way to participate in politics compared to protesting on the streets, running inside established institutions.”

One of the clarion calls for the district council election is to have more of a say in the selection of the city’s leader. At present, the chief executive is chosen by a 1,200-person electoral committee, many of whom are Beijing loyalists. While a sizeable chunk goes to the district councillors, in the end, the elections are more symbolic than effective.

“There’s no way to tip the balance, but that’s not the point,” said Steve Tsang, director of SOAS China Institute, University of London. “What Hong Kong people are really asking for is to ‘listen to our voices, hear us, and act on what we say’.”

Yuen, of Lingnan University, echoed that point. “Even if the pro-democracy camp are able to capture a lot of seats, it won’t have very substantial meaning in terms of everyday politics … It doesn’t have a substantial effect on the pro-democracy movement, more of moral support for the current protests.”

But even that is reason enough to draw youngsters to the polls.

“These few months have really shown a new picture for what Hong Kong people can do,” said Iverson Ha, 23, a university student studying politics.

“We felt so powerless before June. Now many people come out, many people suffer. I don’t think the government will respond to anything so it depends on civil society.

“Can we also fight in those different fields? If we can, I think Hong Kong has a future.”

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HONG KONG (9News Nigeria) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas on Tuesday in the Central financial district, over the harbour in Mong Kok and at universities to break up pro-democracy protests which they said were leading the city to the “brink of total breakdown”.

The clashes came a day after police shot a protester at close range and a man was doused with petrol and set on fire in some of the worst violence in the Chinese-ruled city in decades.

A flash mob of more than 1,000 protesters, many wearing office clothes and face masks, rallied in Central for a second day during lunch hour, blocking roads below some of the city’s tallest skyscrapers and most expensive real estate.

After they had dispersed, police fired tear gas at the remaining protesters on old, narrow Pedder Street. Police made more than a dozen arrests, many pinned up on the pavement against the wall of luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co.

“Our society has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown,” a police spokesman told a briefing, referring to the last two days of violence in the former British colony.

He said masked “rioters” had committed “insane” acts, such as throwing trash, bicycles and other debris onto metro tracks and overhead power lines, paralysing the transport system.

He said the man set on fire on Monday was still in critical condition and appealed for information on who was responsible.

Police also fired tear gas at City University in Kowloon Tong, beneath the Lion Rock, and at Chinese University on the other side of the mountain, where protesters threw petrol bombs and bricks at police.

Protesters at City University had stockpiled bricks and petrol bombs on the bridges and other approaches and were making small devices with nails. They had overrun the campus and were smashing up the next-door Festival Walk shopping mall and setting fires.

Streets inside and outside the Chinese University campus entrance were littered with bricks, other debris and small street fires as police tackled some protesters to the ground.A protester takes cover during a standoff with riot police at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China November 12, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

A van used as part of a street barricade was set ablaze.

“IT’S OUR SCHOOL”

The students were taking part in a heated late-night exchange with the principal when clashes reignited, with police again firing volleys of tear gas and protesters throwing petrol bombs, lighting up the sky.

“It’s crazy that police have been firing tear gas for more than 20 minutes. If they didn’t come in, we wouldn’t clash with them. It’s our school. We need to protect our home,” Candy, 20, a student, told Reuters earlier.

Several people were wounded, including a student reporter hit in the eye, apparently by a brick, who was sitting in tears as friends offered comfort.

Police also fired tear gas in the nearby new town of Tai Po and in the densely populated Kowloon district of Mong Kok, whose shopping artery Nathan Road has been the scene of many clashes.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said protesters were being extremely selfish and hoped that universities and schools would urge students not to take part in the demonstrations.

More than 260 people were arrested on Monday, police said, bringing the total number to more than 3,000 since the protests escalated in June. Schools and universities said they would close again on Tuesday.Slideshow (49 Images)

Protesters are angry about what they see as police brutality and meddling by Beijing in the freedoms guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula put in place when the territory returned to China from British rule in 1997.

China denies interfering and has blamed Western countries including Britain and the United States for stirring up trouble.

The United States on Monday condemned “unjustified use of deadly force” in Hong Kong and urged police and civilians alike to de-escalate the situation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang urged Britain and the United States not to intrude, saying: “Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs that allow no foreign interference. We urge the United States, United Kingdom and other countries to earnestly respect China’s sovereignty.”

China has a garrison of up to 12,000 troops in Hong Kong who have kept to barracks since 1997 but it has vowed to crush any attempts at independence, a demand for a very small minority of protesters.

Geng also told a briefing in Beijing that China’s government firmly supports Lam’s administration and the Hong Kong police “in law enforcement, maintaining social order and protecting the safety of citizens”.

Following Tuesday’s violence, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said all off-course betting centres would be closed ahead of Wednesday’s racing at Happy Valley, “to ensure the safety of our employees and customers”.

The “Mark Six” lottery draw, originally scheduled for Tuesday night, was postponed until Thursday.

Reporting by Donny Kwok, Clare Jim, Marius Zaharia, Twinnie Siu, Clare Jim, Josh Smith, Kate Lamb, Jessie Pang and Farah Master in Hong Kong and Cate Cadell in Beijing; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree and Nick Macfie; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Gerry Doyle and Catherine Evans

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Five people have been injured in a knife attack at the site of a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong.

The attack happened at the Cityplaza mall in the Tai Koo district on Hong Kong Island.

The local hospital authority said four men and one woman were injured, with two in critical condition.

One of the injured, a local councillor, had his ear partially bitten off by the as-yet unidentified male attacker, who was subdued by passersby in the mall.

Witnesses said the Mandarin-speaking attacker drew a knife after a political argument with people in the mall, which was the site of pro-democracy protests earlier in the day.

The local councillor, Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, reportedly was attempting to prevent the attacker leaving the scene when the man bit off a section of his ear. Witnesses said the attacker was badly beaten by passersby who intervened, before police arrested the man.

One of the victims, a woman, told the South China Morning Post that the suspect drew a knife after arguing with her sister and her husband, who were also injured. The Hong Kong Free Press reported that that attacker was a Mandarin-speaking pro-Beijing supporter.

Hong Kong has experienced five months of sometimes violent demonstrations by pro-democracy activists, who first took to the streets to protest against a bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, but evolved into a broader revolt against the way Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.

The wave of pro-democracy protests continued this weekend, days after a high-profile activist, Joshua Wong, was banned from standing in local elections. Police fired tear gas on Sunday into crowds of demonstrators in the eastern suburb of Taikoo Shing, home to the Cityplaza where the stabbing occurred.

With no end in sight, China’s leaders signalled last week that they were preparing to change how the mainland administered Hong Kong.

Shen Chunyao, the director of the Hong Kong, Macau and Basic Law Commission, told reporters that officials were looking at ways to “perfect” how Hong Kong’s chief executive was appointed and removed. He did not elaborate on what exactly might change.

Last month, the leader of one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups was taken to hospital after being attacked, apparently with hammers. Photographs on social media showed Jimmy Sham of the Civil Human Rights Front lying in the street, covered in blood.

From hospital, the activist said he “remained committed to the ideal of peaceful non-violence”.

Violence of crisis continues to intensify

Stephen McDonell, BBC News, Hong Kong

Images and footage of the incident spread quickly around social media platforms. The man who did the biting was subdued by a crowd, which then beat him, some using metal objects.

That is was all happening in a shopping centre being stormed by riot police in pursuit of protestors who were earlier singing and chanting made it even more intense. A small group of hardcore activists had also smashed up shops whose owners they judged to be too “pro-Beijing”.

I watched the footage on a television in a small restaurant in Hong Kong. Halfway through the report, the woman running the place turned and walked away from the screen. “This is all too depressing,” she said in Chinese.

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HONG KONG (9News Nigeria) – Hong Kong has fallen into recession, hit by more than five months of anti-government protests that show no signs of relenting, and is unlikely to achieve any growth this year, the city’s Financial Secretary said.

Black-clad and masked demonstrators set fire to shops and hurled petrol bombs at police in the Chinese-ruled city on Sunday. Police responded with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.

“The blow to our economy is comprehensive,” Paul Chan said in a blog post, adding that a preliminary estimate for third-quarter GDP on Thursday would show two successive quarters of contraction – the technical definition of a recession.

He also said it would be “extremely difficult” to achieve the government’s pre-protest forecast of 0-1 % annual economic growth.

The rallying cry of Sunday’s protests was to fight perceived police brutality and defend Muslims and journalists. Police last weekend fired water cannon at a group of people standing outside a mosque and journalists have been wounded in the clashes.

The programming staff union of public broadcaster RTHK said on Monday it had called on police to identify officers who “attacked and ripped the face mask” off one of its journalists on Sunday. It said she was wearing a reflective vest clearly identifying herself as a journalist.

It was not immediately clear if she was wearing a gas mask to protect against tear gas and pepper spray. Ordinary face masks were banned this month under a resurrected colonial-era emergency law.

Hong Kong Free Press, an online news service, called for the release of a freelance photographer arrested on Sunday.

The city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club condemned the arrest in a statement on Monday calling for an independent investigation into “police violence against journalists and interference with the media’s right to cover the protests under Hong Kong law”.

The police, who deny using excessive force in life-threatening situations, were due to hold a news conference later on Monday.

Protesters have routinely torched store fronts and businesses including banks, particularly those owned by mainland Chinese companies and vandalised the city’s MTR Corp metro which has shut down services to stop protesters gathering.

The MTR has closed early for the past few weeks and said it will again shit down two hours early on Monday to repair damage.

Protesters are angry about what they view as increasing interference by Beijing in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms not seen on the mainland.

China denies meddling. It has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of stirring up trouble.

Tourists numbers have plummeted, with visitor numbers down nearly 50 percent in October, a decline Chan called an “emergency”.

Retail operators, from prime shopping malls to family-run businesses, have been forced to close for multiple days over the past few months.

While authorities have announced measures to support local small and medium seized enterprises, Chan said the measures could only “slightly reduce the pressure”.

“Let citizens return to normal life, let industry and commerce operate normally, and create more space for rational dialogue,” he wrote.

Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Michael Perry

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HONG KONG (9News Nigeria) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at pro-democracy protesters throwing petrol bombs in the Asian financial hub on Tuesday as its Chinese rulers celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.

Cat-and-mouse clashes spread from the upmarket district of Causeway Bay to the Admiralty area of government offices on Hong Kong island. Violence also spread across the harbor to Kowloon and beyond to the New Territories in the most widespread unrest in nearly four months.

The South China Morning Post and television reports said at least one person was wounded in the chest by police firing live rounds. Police did not respond to requests for comment but have said they fired live rounds into the air in previous clashes.

Fifteen people were wounded, one critically, the Hospital Authority said without giving details.

Police fired water cannon and volley after volley of tear gas to disperse protesters throwing Molotov cocktails outside central government offices in the Admiralty area and ordered the evacuation of the Legislative Council building next door.

Police said “rioters” had used corrosive fluid in Tuen Mun in the west of the New Territories, “injuring multiple police officers and reporters”. No details were immediately available.

The territory has been tense for weeks, with protests often turning violent, as authorities tried to avoid activists spoiling Beijing’s birthday parade at a time when the central government is already grappling with a U.S.-China trade war and a slowing economy.

By the afternoon, police and protesters were involved in standoffs across Hong Kong, with the streets littered with tear gas canisters and other debris.

Nearly four months of street clashes and demonstrations have plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis in decades and pose the most serious popular challenge to President Xi Jinping since he came to power.

Earlier, thousands of black-clad protesters, some wearing Guy Fawkes masks, marched from Causeway Bay toward government headquarters in Admiralty, defying a ban on a rally.

Rail operator MTR Corp shut down many of its metro stations to stop protesters moving around. Shutting stations have made them a common target for attack, and a fire was lit at Admiralty station on Tuesday.

Protesters had vowed to seize the opportunity on China’s National Day to propel their calls for greater democracy onto the international stage, hijacking an occasion Beijing sees as an opportunity to showcase China’s economic and military progress.

“I’m not young, but if we don’t march now, we’ll never have the chance to speak again, it’s as simple as that,” said one marcher near Causeway Bay, a 42-year-old woman with her own logistics company who identified herself as Li.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Hundreds of officials and members of Hong Kong’s pro-establishment elite began the day with a flag-raising ceremony and National Day reception at the Convention and Exhibition Center, held early and moved behind closed doors. Roads to the center were closed and tightly policed.

Hong Kong had benefited from China’s support under the “one country, two systems” policy, Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung told the assembly, referring to guarantees of political freedoms after the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

But he said escalating violence was disrupting social order and hurting the economy.

Standard & Poor’s cut its Hong Kong economic growth forecast on Tuesday to a paltry 0.2 percent for this year and 1.6 percent for 2020, blaming tension in the city for the plunging retail sales and a sharp dip in tourism. Its last forecast in July was for 2.2 percent growth this year and 2.4 percent for 2020.Slideshow (15 Images)

Visitor arrivals dropped 39% in August from a year earlier, with the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong dropping 42.3% over the period, according to the latest data.

The government of embattled leader Carrie Lam has already canceled an annual Oct. 1 fireworks display over the city’s Victoria Harbour, citing public safety.

Lam, who was trapped in a stadium for hours last week after attending the “open dialogue”, left for Beijing on Monday to celebrate China’s birthday on the mainland. She will return on Tuesday.

CHOREOGRAPHED FESTIVITIES

In contrast to events in Hong Kong, Beijing’s carefully choreographed anniversary festivities included troops marching through part of Tiananmen Square with new missiles and floats celebrating the country’s technological prowess.

Lam was shown on television smiling as a float celebrating Hong Kong went past as she sat with Chinese officials.

The Communist Party leadership is determined to project an image of national strength and unity in the face of challenges including Hong Kong’s unrest.

“On our journey forward, we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems; maintain lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau … and continue to strive for the motherland’s complete reunification,” Xi said in a nationally televised speech in Beijing.

Hong Kong protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in the Asian financial center.

China dismisses the accusation and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning anti-China sentiment.

Reporting by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok, Additional reporting by Sharon Tam, Poppy McPherson, Anne Marie Roantree, Farah Master, James Pomfret, Twinnie Siu, Alun John, David Kirton, Jennifer Hughes and Keith Zhai; Writing by Clara Ferreira Marques, Bill Rigby and Nick Macfie; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Hong Kong‘s leader apologised again for the turmoil surrounding a controversial extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial and indicated it would not be revived during the current legislative session.

Millions of people have taken to the streets of the semi-autonomous territory to protest the bill, which they fear would lead to critics of Beijing being targeted if passed. 

Chief Executive Carrie Lam offered a “most sincere apology” on Tuesday, telling reporters at a press briefing she had heard people’s concerns “loud and clear”.

Lam stopped short of meeting protesters’ demands to scrap the bill, but said legislative work on it had been “stopped immediately” and there was no timetable to resume. 

“If we don’t have confidence from the people, we will not proceed with the legislative exercise again,” Lam said.

“The effect is that the bill will lapse and the … government accepts that reality.”

‘Dissatisfaction and disappointment’

The announcement was met with cheers from protesters gathered outside the building where Lam was speaking.

The bill is due to expire in July next year. 

Lam already postponed a vote on the bill by the territory’s legislature several times as protests showed no sign of winding down. 

“People have expressed in a peaceful and rational manner their concerns about the Fugitive Offenders’ Ordnance and their dissatisfaction and disappointment with the government – especially me,” Lam said in her first appearance since some two million people flooded the city’s streets on Sunday, demanding her resignation.

The pro-Beijing leader, known as “the fighter” for her tough leadership style, said she planned to serve until the end of her three-year term in 2020, adding she is passionate about the future of Hong Kong and recognised those protesting shared that sentiment.

Deadline for demands

News reporter, Sarah Clarke, reporting from Hong Kong, said Lam’s apology was an attempt to defuse growing anger in the territory.

She issued a written apology on Sunday, which many said lacked sincerity.

Lam previously called one protest a “blatant riot” after demonstrators clashed with police, who used rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas to disperse a crowd last Wednesday.

Protesters have given the chief executive until Thursday to withdraw the extradition bill and threatened to escalate demonstrations should she fail to do so.

“A couple of weeks ago we saw one million on the streets, Sunday we saw two million on the streets, and protesters are saying they will get more people if Carrie Lam doesn’t meet their demands by Thursday,” Clarke said.

Those protesting see the bill as a threat to the rule of law in Hong Kong, which enjoys greater freedoms than mainland China under the principle of “one country, two systems”. 

The framework was put in place when Hong Kong was handed back to China by the United Kingdom in 1997 and is a frequent cause of tension between the city and the mainland.

Source: Al Jazeera

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At least nine people were killed and many are still missing after one of the strongest typhoons on record barrelled into the southern Chinese territory of Macau, with rescuers on Thursday searching submerged cars for trapped people.

Macau’s government broadcaster TDM said Typhoon Hato, a maximum signal 10 storm, was the strongest since 1968 to hit the world’s biggest gambling hub and home to around 600,000 people.

“The city looks like it was just in a war,” said one civil servant, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Residents grappling with the aftermath in the former Portuguese colony said Macau was woefully unprepared for Hato and its destructive winds of more than 200 kmh (124 mph).

Hato on Wednesday hit the nearby financial hub of Hong Kong, uprooting trees, flooding streets, forcing hundreds of airline flights to be cancelled and halting financial trading. There were reports of 34 people injured in Hong Kong, which had not been hit by a signal 10 typhoon for five years.

At one stage as Hato intensified, Hong Kong posted a category 8 storm warning, saying it was likely to go higher, yet Macau’s government rated Hato only a signal 3 typhoon.

“I am shocked with the late notice and lack of preparation that was given for this superstorm. Residents are in peril and unable to assess if help is on the way,” said Ashley Sutherland-Winch, a marketing consultant in Macau.

Hato battered Macau’s apartments, sending sheets of glass flying through the air, cut power to more than half of Macau and severely damaged water supplies. Residents said on Thursday that water supplies were expected to run out in many buildings.

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Hong Kong braced for Typhoon Hato, a maximum category 10 storm on Wednesday, with hundreds of flights cancelled, trading in financial markets suspended and schools and most businesses in the Asian financial hub closed.

Streets were largely deserted as winds intensified and rain lashed down, with many skyscrapers in the heart of the financial center in darkness as the city battened down for one of the worst storms in years.

Hato churned up water in Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbor and triggered large swells and massive waves on some of the city’s most popular beaches, with the weather observatory warning of serious flooding in low-lying areas.

Maximum winds near Hato’s center were recorded at a destructive 155 kmh (95 mph). Gusts in some residential areas were already causing damage, sending tarpaulins, roof screens and tree branches flying through the air.

A senior scientific officer for the Hong Kong observatory said sea levels could rise up to five meters (15 feet) in some places.

The weather observatory issued a signal 10 storm warning, its highest weather warning, and said Hato will be closest to the territory in the next few hours, skirting about 50 km (31 miles) to the south of Hong Kong, and warned of flash floods.

Winds intensified in the morning, with the maximum sustained winds recorded at Tate’s Cairn and Waglan Island at 77 kmh (48 mph) and 72 kmh (48 mph), with maximum gusts of 103 kmh (64 mph) and 86 kmh (53 mph) respectively.

Trading in Hong Kong’s financial markets was delayed on Wednesday morning, the stock exchange said. Trading will be suspended for the whole day if storm signal 8 or higher is in place at noon.

The city’s flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific, said the storm would “severely” impact flight operations, with the majority of flights to and from Hong Kong between 2200 GMT Tuesday and 0900 GMT Wednesday to be cancelled.

Other transport services, including ferries to the gaming hub of Macau and outlying islands in Hong Kong, were suspended.

Financial markets, schools, businesses and non-essential government services close when the signal 8 or above is hoisted.

Typhoon Nida in August last year was the last storm to close the stock exchange for the whole day.

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Three leaders of Hong Kong’s democracy movement have been sentenced to jail for their roles in 2014 pro-democracy protests.

Joshua Wong, 20, Alex Chow, 24, and Nathan Law, 26, were sentenced last year to non-jail terms including community service for unlawful assembly, but Hong Kong’s Department of Justice applied for a review, seeking imprisonment.

On Thursday, the appeals court jailed Wong for six months, Chow for seven months and Law for eight months.

Law had been the city’s youngest democratically elected legislator before he was stripped of his seat by a government-led lawsuit in July.

Al Jazeera’s Divya Gopalan, reporting from Hong Kong, said all three of them will be taken out of politics for a considerable amount of time.

“The judge said this will serve as an example to other young activists and protesters to not break the law or conduct any violent act so that’s where there justification is to sending them jail,” she said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, has been governed under a “one country, two systems” formula since it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

It was rocked by nearly three months of mostly peaceful street occupations in late 2014, demanding Beijing grant the city full democracy.

The so-called “Umbrella Movement” civil disobedience movement, that drew hundreds of thousands of protesters at its peak, was triggered after Wong and his colleagues stormed into a courtyard fronting the city’s government headquarters.

They were later charged with participating in and inciting an unlawful assembly.

‘No regrets’

Just before the sentencing, a defiant Wong told around 100 supporters who thronged into the High Court lobby, some weeping, that he had no regrets and urged them to keep fighting for full democracy.

“I hope Hong Kong people won’t give up,” said Wong.

“Victory is ours. When we are released next year, I hope we can see a Hong Kong that is full of hope. I want to see Hong Kong people not giving up. This is my last wish before I go to jail.”

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By Michelle Price and James Pomfret

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Many Hong Kong residents, worried about growing encroachment by Beijing as the financial hub marks 20 years since its return to China, are rushing to secure British passports as a safety net in the case of social unrest or the erosion of civil liberties.

British government data, diplomatic sources and testimonials from six Hong Kong residents paint a picture of rising anxiety over the future and growing mistrust of Communist Party leaders in Beijing, especially among the younger generation.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, under a “one country, two systems” formula which guarantees wide-ranging autonomy and judicial independence. China has promised Hong Kong’s capitalist system will remain unchanged for “at least” 50 years, but it has not clarified what happens after that.

Hong Kong foreign passport holders and diplomats interviewed by Reuters say the rush for overseas protection has been fuelled by the territory’s divisive battle for democracy, especially the “Occupy” street protests of 2014, and increasing calls for independence, a red line for Beijing.

The abduction of several Hong Kong booksellers, who sold publications critical of China’s leaders, by mainland agents has also shaken confidence in Beijing’s promise of non-interference, they say.

“We will be coming under Chinese rule and we don’t know what will happen in 2047 if there is political instability,” said 25-year old Hong Kong resident Dennis Ngan. “I am preparing for the worst.”

China’s main representative office in Hong Kong, the Liaison Office, didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment.

Like many of his peers, Ngan plans to renew his BN(O), or British National (Overseas), passport, a special status passport granted to Hong Kong permanent residents prior to 1997. More than 37,500 BN(O) passports were issued last year, a 44 percent jump on 2015 and the highest number for more than a decade, government data shows.

“A KIND OF SECURITY”

BN(O)s do not automatically confer right of abode in the United Kingdom, but holders can visit visa-free for six months and are entitled to British consular protection.

“The BN(O) passport is a kind of security, like insurance. The renewal is not about having a travel document, it’s about being eligible for rights or protections,” said Ngan.

The British Home Office rejected Reuters’ requests for data on BN(O) passports issued in 2017 and on the number of BN(O) holders who have sought full British citizenship.

However, diplomatic sources in Hong Kong said they were seeing a broader rush for foreign citizenship which they attributed to concerns over the territory’s future.

“People are worried. We understand that embassies all over Hong Kong are getting lots of queries from people seeking citizenship,” said one senior diplomat at a major consulate.

Canada saw a growing number of new citizens from Hong Kong in the 10 years to 2015. Taiwan saw a boost in 2016, as a total of 1,086 Hong Kong Chinese became Taiwan permanent residents, the highest figure for the last decade.

South Korea saw the number of Hong Kong citizens applying for permanent residency increase sevenfold in 2015 from 2007, while in the United States, the number of immigrant visas issued for Hong Kong increased 22 percent from 2015 to 2016.

The data, the latest available, was requested from each government by Reuters.

One of the abducted booksellers, Lee Bo, drew international attention because he was a dual Hong Kong and British citizen, prompting London to rebuke China for a “breach” of Hong Kong’s law.

“OPTION TO ESCAPE”

“If things get really bad here and people need to seek asylum, I hope the British take that into consideration and listen,” said Kevin Hla, 40, a Myanmar-born IT professional. He has lived in Hong Kong most of his life but refuses to get a Hong Kong passport, preferring instead his BN(O) which he renewed last year.

“It gives me an option to escape. I don’t trust the Chinese government.”

According to a University of Hong Kong survey released last week that polled 120 youths, only 3.1 percent of those aged between 18 to 29 identified themselves as “broadly Chinese”. The figure stood at 31 percent when the half-yearly survey started 20 years ago.

“I feel as though I’m half a British citizen,” said 30-year old Daisy Wong, who hopes to use her BN(O) status to secure British residency so her children can be born there.

“The British government is good, they’ve given people this choice.”

Still, some say such faith may be misplaced and point out that the British did nothing to promote democracy until the dying days of more than 150 years of colonial rule. Britain, looking for new trade partners as Brexit approaches, is also keen not to upset China, the world’s second-largest economy.

Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s last governor, told the Guardian newspaper British “kowtowing” to China would become increasingly craven after Brexit.

“Are we more likely … to take a firm line with China – on trade issues, on economic issues, on political issues – on our own than we would within the EU? I don’t think that the outlook outside the European Union is one in which we are more likely to behave honourably towards Hong Kong than we have inside.”

(Additional reporting by Nicolle Liu and Katy Wong; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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By James Pomfret and Benjamin Kang Lim

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – When the British handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing promised to allow universal suffrage as an “ultimate aim”, along with other freedoms, under a “one country, two systems” arrangement agreed with London.

That’s not going to happen, well placed sources in Beijing and Hong Kong say, as Hong Kong marks the 20th anniversary of that handover.

China did offer a contentious electoral reform package in 2014, which allowed Hong Kong a direct vote, but only of candidates pre-screened by Beijing. The city’s pro-democracy lawmakers vetoed the package, which critics called “fake democracy”. And so Hong Kong’s next leader was again chosen this year by a small electoral college stacked with pro-Beijing loyalists.

“There will be no second chance,” said a source in Beijing with ties to the Chinese leadership, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the matter. “We can’t afford to do it all over again. It’s too painful and a waste of time and resources.”

A senior Hong Kong official said even if China changed its mind, Beijing wouldn’t back down on its requirement that candidates be vetted, effectively shutting out pro-democracy contenders for the top job.

“A (democratically-elected) chief executive who does not get along with the central (government) will be a disaster for Hong Kong,” said the source with ties to the Chinese leadership. “It would lead to gridlock … Hong Kong people will suffer.”

SOWN DISTRUST

The battle for full democracy in Hong Kong has been a defining issue for the city of 7.3 million. It has sown distrust between China and Hong Kong, polarized politics, hampered governance and stoked mass street protests, including the 79-day pro-democracy Occupy movement of 2014 that tried but failed to wrest democratic concessions from Hong Kong and Chinese authorities.

In the process, a young generation has become radicalised, with some agitating for greater autonomy and even independence from China.

Authorities have tried to snuff that out.

In March, Hong Kong police arrested nine activists including a few leaders of the Occupy movement. That came after two pro-independence, democratically elected legislators were kicked out of Hong Kong’s assembly late last year.

Beijing’s harder line on Hong Kong has been mirrored on the mainland with President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on dissent since coming to power five years ago.

Hong Kong’s democratic experiment is seen as a litmus test of Beijing’s tolerance for eventual political reforms in mainland China, where calls for greater civil liberties and grassroots democracy have been growing, experts say.

Britain acquired Hong Kong island in 1842 after the first of *two “opium” wars during the height of its imperial power and returned it 156 years later to a rising China. Colonial Hong Kong’s governor was appointed and Britain did little to promote democracy until near the end of its rule.

INTERNATIONAL PUSH

The pro-democracy movement has lost considerable steam following the crackdown on activists, as well as infighting between various democratic groups.

But the movement has recently stepped up its longstanding international engagement, particularly with Washington.

Last month, Joshua Wong, a skinny, 20-year-old who helped lead the Occupy protests, and veteran democrat Martin Lee told the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China the “high degree of autonomy” promised to Hong Kong had eroded over two decades of Chinese rule.

U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio is pushing a “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act”, a bipartisan bill to punish Chinese officials who suppress basic freedoms in Hong Kong.

The campaign by Wong, who was featured in a recent Netflix documentary, also took him to Taiwan in recent weeks, where 18 pro-independence lawmakers launched a new congressional caucus on Hong Kong, modelled in part on the U.S. initiative. He also travelled to Japan for a lobbying trip this month.

“I’m really optimistic that in the future, we can take this as a reference and just get bipartisan support around the world,” said Wong, who is facing a possible five-year jail term on “unlawful assembly” charges.

PROTESTS AHEAD OF XI VISIT

Just days before President Xi Jinping visits on July 1 to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover, Wong and around a dozen activists, all dressed in black, covered a statue of a golden Bauhinia flower considered a symbol of Chinese sovereignty, in black cloth to symbolise what they called the brutality of the Chinese regime.

“One country, two systems a lie for 20 years,” Wong and his fellow activists shouted, pumping fists.

Tens of thousands of others are expected to attend various protests when Xi is in town including a July 1 rally with the theme “retake Hong Kong for a democratic government”.

“It’s time to let Hong Kong people have democracy and universal suffrage,” said Wong.

Martin Lee, the 79-year-old barrister widely known as one of the fathers of the democratic movement in Hong Kong said Beijing is trying to “extinguish the fire of democracy that is burning in the hearts of young people”.

“But if I were to die today, Hong Kong would be fine with young leaders like that.”

(Additional reporting by Venus Wu in Hong Kong; Jessica Macy Yu in Taiwan and Elaine Lies in Tokyo)

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HONG KONG  – A top Chinese official said on Saturday Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy must not be taken as a licence to confront Beijing, and urged the territory’s government to implement contentious new national security laws.

The comments by Zhang Dejiang, China’s number three official who oversees Hong Kong affairs, highlight growing concerns at Beijing’s top leadership about a fledgling independence or secessionist movement in the former British colony.

They come as Hong Kong, which returned to mainland rule in 1997 amid promises of wide-ranging autonomy under the formula of “one country, two systems”, is set to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its handover on July 1, with Chinese president Xi Jinping widely expected to visit the city.

In some of his strongest comments yet, Zhang, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, warned in a speech that Hong Kong’s autonomy should not be used as a license to challenge the central government’s authority.

“Under ‘One Country, Two Systems,’ the Central Government and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s power relationship is… not one of power sharing,” Zhang said during an official forum discussing Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, in footage carried by Hong Kong’s Cable TV.

“Under no condition should the high degree of autonomy be used as a guise to confront the Central Government’s authority.”

After the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” protests, where hundreds of thousands occupied the streets for months and demanded full democracy, a nascent independence movement emerged, though it lost momentum after China stepped in last year to effectively disqualify two of the movement’s young leaders elected into legislature.

Apart from the independence movement, another group of activists headed by student protest leader Joshua Wong called for self-determination rights for the former colony.

Zhang slammed both movements on Saturday.

“In practice they attempt to turn Hong Kong into an independent or semi-independent political entity, and to secede Hong Kong from the country,” Zhang said.

“We cannot ignore these actions. The (Hong Kong government) should implement their constitutional responsibility under the Basic Law to enact laws over national security, and resolutely halt any behaviour and action that endanger national unity.”

Under Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, the government is expected to toughen up the territory’s existing national security laws, but has held off on doing so since its last attempt in 2003 triggered the first massive street protests after the handover.

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s defence minister said on Monday nine armoured vehicles seized in Hong Kong could not be detained or confiscated and that the city-state had repeatedly asked for their return.

Hong Kong customs seized the troop carriers in November as they were being shipped from Taiwan to Singapore after military exercises on the island that Beijing regards as a breakaway province, sparking tension between Singapore and China.

Beijing, which regained sovereignty over the former British colony of Hong Kong in 1997, then warned countries against maintaining military ties with Taiwan.

Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, answering questions in parliament, said the vehicles were Singapore government property.

“They are protected by sovereign immunity even though they were being shipped by commercial carriers. They are immune from any measures of constraint abroad. They cannot legally be detained or confiscated by other countries,” Ng said.

Ng added Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had written to Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying to request their return.

The seizure of the vehicles came amid mounting regional uncertainty and signs of tension between China and Singapore, which has deepened its security relationship with the United States over the last year and remains concerned over Beijing’s assertive territorial stance in the South China Sea.

Singapore and Taiwan have a longstanding military relationship that began in the 1970s and involves Taiwan being used as grounds for Singaporean infantry training.

Beijing has grudgingly tolerated this agreement since China and Singapore re-established diplomatic relations in the 1990s.

But China has repeatedly warned Singapore against getting involved in the South China Sea dispute in which China asserts sovereignty over various waters and islands claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Singapore has no claims in the South China Sea, but as the biggest port in Southeast Asia, its open economy depends on free navigation in the area.

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s Communist forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.

(Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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HSBC has launched a $290 million lending facility aimed at technology start-ups and other new industries in China’s Pearl River Delta region, intensifying the battle for a slice of a business that is growing despite a slowing economy.

Showered with money from private investors over the last few years, the promising technology start-ups in China, the world’s second-largest economy, have shunned traditional lenders, seeking to instead raise funds directly from equity investors.

But global banks no longer want to be left out, mainly after the success of the likes of Alibaba and Tencent that have seen their revenue doubling over the last couple of years, shrugging off a broader economic slowdown that has hurt earnings for sectors from manufacturers to miners.

As a result, banks such as HSBC and Citigroup, as well as a host of Chinese lenders, are now courting the emerging Chinese firms by offering loans and other banking services.

With the launch of its 2 billion yuan ($290 million) “innovation fund” for small and medium-sized companies in the Guangdong province of the Pearl River Delta region, HSBC plans to target this promising segment and boost its client base.

“The target customer will be those (that) are high-end, high-tech start-ups and enterprises … those enterprises that are upgrading the use of technology and ability to innovate like for example using robotics to manufacture more efficiently,” said Montgomery Ho, HSBC’s chief executive for Guangdong.

The new loan facility will allow HSBC to offer other banking services such as cash management, and hedging of interest rates and foreign exchange to these companies, he said, adding the selected companies would get preferential interest rates and service fee waivers as part of the new initiative.

The lending facility also underlines HSBC’s commitment to the Pearl River Delta region that is at the heart of the bank’s strategy to grow in the country.

The southern China region, which counts Shenzhen and Guanzhou among its biggest cities, is home to 11 industrial cities that are set to fuse into one megalopolis. It has a GDP that is already bigger than Indonesia’s and is transitioning from a traditional manufacturing base to a tech powerhouse.

HSBC’s growth plan in Pearl River Delta envisages adding 4,000 employees in the region over the medium term, on top of about 1,200 people it had at the end of 2015, and Ho said those plans were on track.

“We are on track and the morale here in Pearl River Delta is very strong because we have seen some concrete progress in the last 12 months already,” he said, adding its loan book in the Guangdong province rose 14 percent in the first half of this year over a year-ago period.

($1 = 6.9020 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee and Lisa Jucca; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying said on Friday he will not run in the 2017 chief executive election due to family reasons.

He told reporters that the Chinese central government has accepted his decision not to run in the March 2017 election.

(Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to uphold national unity and maintain social and political stability, state news agency Xinhua said on Monday.

A meeting of the two political leaders on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the Peruvian capital Lima comes amid deepening concerns in Beijing over a fledgling independence movement in Hong Kong and recent street protests in the city.

Xi said he hopes that Leung “resolutely upholds national unity and maintains social and political stability”, said Xinhua, adding Xi offered Leung and his government full support.

His remarks echoed comments the Chinese president made in Beijing last week when he said China will never allow any part of its territory to break off.

Hong Kong leader Leung told reporters Xi made “forceful” comments on the issue of Hong Kong independence.

“Very simply put and very forcefully, the president said there is no room whatsoever for Hong Kong independence under the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement,” Leung said, adding they did not discuss the issue in length during the meeting that lasted 45 minutes.

Hong Kong’s High Court last week backed a government demand to bar two recently elected lawmakers from the city’s legislature, after the court and Beijing both ruled they had insulted China when taking their oath of office.

Before the ruling, about 2,000 lawyers protested against Beijing stepping in and interpreting the city’s mini-constitution in the middle of the lawsuit, a move they said interfered with Hong Kong’s judicial independence.

Leung said Xi affirmed that the legal interpretation was “necessary.”

Democratically elected Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, sparked controversy last month when they displayed a banner declaring “Hong Kong is not China” and substituted derogatory terms for “China” while taking their oaths.

Demonstrators angry at Beijing’s rulings clashed with riot police in early November, unfurling umbrellas to block pepper spray in scenes reminiscent of the 2014 pro-democracy protests, dubbed the “Umbrella Movement”, that brought key intersections to a halt for weeks on end.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” agreement that ensured its freedoms and wide-ranging autonomy, including a separate legal system.

But Communist Party rulers in Beijing have ultimate control, stepping in to interpret the Basic Law, and some Hong Kong people are concerned they are increasingly interfering to head off dissent.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Venus Wu in HONG KONG; Editing by Michael Perry)

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong court on Tuesday disqualified two pro-independence lawmakers from taking office, ruling their oath of allegiance invalid, a ruling in step with Beijing which last week intervened in the city’s legal system after street protests.

Beijing ruled that Hong Kong legislators must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China, adding that candidates who take the oath of office in an insincere manner will be disqualified and not given another chance to swear in.

Democratically-elected legislators Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, sparked controversy when they displayed a banner declaring “Hong Kong is not China” and substituted derogatory terms for “China” while taking their oaths last month.

(Reporting By Venus Wu and Stefanie McIntyre; Editing by Michael Perry)

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By Venus Wu and Sue-Lin Wong

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s parliament passed a ruling on Monday that effectively bars two elected Hong Kong pro-independence politicians from taking office, Beijing’s most direct intervention in the territory’s legal and political system since the 1997 handover.

The rare move by Beijing came after Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, pledged allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation” and displayed a banner declaring “Hong Kong is not China” during a swearing-in ceremony for the city’s Legislative Council in October.

The National People’s Congress in Beijing ruled that lawmakers must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China and that candidates would be disqualified if they changed the wording of their oath of office or if they failed to take it in a sincere and solemn manner.

The prospect of the ruling sparked protests in the former British colony on Sunday and it is now on high alert for any repeat of the weekend clashes. Members of the city’s legal profession are planning a rare silent march on Tuesday night amid pressure for them to take even stronger action.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that gives the territory wide-ranging autonomy, including judicial freedom guided by a mini-constitution called the Basic Law.

The protests on Sunday night were reminiscent of pro-democracy demonstrations in late 2014 that paralysed parts of the Asian financial centre and posed one of the greatest political challenges to the central government in Beijing in decades.

“This incident shows us the Basic Law is a handicapped legal document and the so-called mini-constitution can be amended and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party at will,” said Joshua Wong, 20, one of the leaders of the 2014 protests.

Foreign diplomats were watching closely, stressing the importance of the rule of the law to the city’s international reputation.

Britain said it was concerned.

“We urge the Chinese and Hong Kong (special administrative region) governments, and all elected politicians in Hong Kong to refrain from any actions that fuel concerns or undermine confidence in the one country, two systems principle,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said in a comment echoed by the U.S. State Department.

The State Department said it was “disappointed” by recent developments and the United States strongly supported the “critically important role” of the legislative council and independent judiciary in protecting the one country, two systems framework.

“(A)n open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy and governed by the rule of law is essential for Hong Kong’s continued stability and prosperity,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a regular news briefing.

While the decision effectively bars the two Hong Kong politicians from being sworn in, a court in the city must still rule on the case in a judicial review, taking Beijing’s decision into consideration.

The promotion of independence has long been taboo in Hong Kong amid fears in Beijing it could spread among other activists and challenge the central government’s rule.

“GRAVE DANGERS”

“The nature of Hong Kong independence is to split the country. It seriously violates the one country, two systems policy,” said Li Fei, chairman of the parliament’s Basic Law Committee.

“The Central Government is highly concerned about the grave dangers the Hong Kong independence forces bring to the country and to Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying, who has governed during some of the city’s most violent and divisive times in decades, said his government would fully implement China’s interpretation of the mini-constitution.

But Legislative Council president Andrew Leung said the Hong Kong judicial review needed to be completed before confirming if the pair were disqualified.

Simon Young, a professor at Hong Kong University’s law school, said he was still evaluating the ruling but it did seem to bar Leung and Yau from taking office.

“I do worry we are only going to see more interpretations, and attempts by the NPC to flesh out local laws, if they really want to stop the separatists,” Young told Reuters, referring to China’s parliament.

The Basic Law grants China’s NPC a power of interpretation above Hong Kong’s highest court. While it has made four other rulings since 1997, this ruling is its first move to preempt an ongoing Hong Kong court case.

Hong Kong Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen said he still believed the oath-taking controversy could be resolved locally, but he also had every confidence that the city’s judiciary would uphold the rule of law.

Beijing’s decision represents some of the worst privately held fears of senior judges and some government officials in Hong Kong, according to sources close to them.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing he hoped the international community would see the decision reflected the will of the Chinese people.

James To, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party, said the central government had undermined Hong Kong’s judicial process.

“In future, people’s confidence in one country, two systems will worsen,” To said.

(Reporting by Michael Martina and Sue-Lin Wong in BEIJING, Greg Torode, Venus Wu and Donny Kwok and James Pomfret in HONG KONG and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Paul Tait, Nick Macfie and Andrew Hay)

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong jury on Tuesday retired to consider its verdict in British banker Rurik Jutting’s double murder trial, a gruesome case involving graphic video of the torture and killing two Indonesian women in his luxury high-rise apartment in 2014.

Jutting, 31, has pleaded not guilty to murder arguing diminished responsibility due to drug and alcohol abuse and sexual disorders, but guilty to manslaughter.

Murder carries a mandatory life sentence, while the lesser charge of manslaughter carries a maximum of life though a shorter sentence can be set.

Jutting, a former vice president and head of Structured Equity Finance and Trading (Asia) at Bank of America, is charged with murdering Sumarti Ningsih, 23, and Seneng Mujiasih, 26.

The jury has viewed video taken by Jutting on his iPhone of him torturing Ningsih before he cut her throat. Her mutilated body was found in a suitcase on the balcony and Mujiasih’s was found inside the apartment with wounds to her neck and buttocks.

The defence has argued that Jutting suffers from cocaine and alcohol abuse and personality disorders of sexual sadism and narcissism which impaired his ability to control his behaviour.

The prosecution has rejected this, stating Jutting was able to form judgements and exercise self control before and after the killings, filming Ningsih’s torture and shooting hours of footage where he discussed the killings, bingeing on cocaine and his graphic sexual fantasies.

Deputy High Court Judge Michael Stuart-Moore has directed the jury to approach the verdict “intellectually” rather than be “coloured by passion or disgust”.

With the defence and prosecution agreeing on the physical evidence, the jury must decide the case on psychiatric and psychological evidence to determine whether the killings were intentional murder or manslaughter.

The trial has attracted global attention due the Cambridge graduate’s profile and the explicit nature of the killings, in a city where serious crime is minimal.

(Reporting by Farah Master, Editing by Michael Perry)

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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s parliament passed an interpretation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law on Monday that says lawmakers must swear allegiance to the city as part of China, Beijing’s most direct intervention in the territory’s legal and political system since the 1997 handover.

The ruling is expected to bar two activist lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong. The prospect of the ruling had sparked protests in the former British territory that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that China’s parliament ruled at the end of a regular bimonthly session that the pair of pro-independence lawmakers could not assume their positions in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council if they refused legal procedures when taking oath of office.

The intervention relates to Article 104 of the city’s mini-constitution, which states that lawmakers must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China when they take office.

It came even before a Hong Kong court had ruled, representing some of the worst privately held fears of senior judges and some government officials in Hong Kong, according to sources close to them.

The move was expected to enrage Hong Kong democracy activists further, a day after hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police in running battles around China’s representative office in Hong Kong.

The scenes on Sunday night were reminiscent of pro-democracy protests in late 2014 that paralysed parts of the Asian financial centre and posed one of the greatest political challenges to the central government in Beijing in decades.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that gave the territory wide-ranging autonomy, including judicial freedom guided by a mini-constitution called the Basic Law.

The rift between Hong Kong and Beijing has deepened since Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, pledged allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation” and displayed a “Hong Kong is not China” banner during a swearing-in ceremony for the city’s legislative council in October.

Leading members of China’s parliament said on Saturday the two Hong Kong lawmakers-elect had damaged the territory’s rule of law and posed a grave threat to China’s sovereignty and security.

The Hong Kong Bar Association has said an intervention by Beijing now, while a local court was hearing the case, would deal a severe blow to the city’s judicial independence and undermine international confidence in Hong Kong’s autonomy.

The oath-taking controversy made waves in the former colony, where the topic of independence from China was once regarded as taboo but has come to the fore since the pro-democracy protests in 2014 that failed to secure any concessions from Beijing.

(Reporting by Michael Martina in BEIJING, Greg Torode and Venus Wu in HONG KONG; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Paul Tait)

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – British investment banker Rurik Jutting was a narcissistic sexual sadist, according to a British psychiatrist presenting evidence in his defence against charges of murdering two Indonesian women in his Hong Kong apartment.

Opening Jutting’s defence, lawyer Tim Parker called on Dr Richard Latham, a consulting forensic psychiatrist with Britain’s National Health Service who has worked on between 50 to 75 similar cases.

Latham told the Hong Kong court that Jutting suffered from recognised disorders from cocaine and alcohol abuse on top of his other personality disorders of sexual sadism and narcissism.

Jutting, a Cambridge University graduate who previously worked at Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote) in Hong Kong, has been accused of murdering Sumarti Ningsih, 23, and Seneng Mujiasih 26, two years ago

The women’s bodies were found in Jutting’s luxury high-rise Hong Kong apartment. Ningsih’s mutilated body was found in a suitcase on the balcony, Mujiasih’s was found inside the apartment with wounds to her neck and buttocks, the prosecutor told the court.

Jutting has pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of “diminished responsibility”, but guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The trial has attracted international scrutiny since it began last week with media flying in from Britain to cover the case and the court room perpetually full.Jutting who also studied at the prestigious Winchester College, one of Britain’s most famous and oldest private schools, captured hours of footage on his iPhone of him torturing Ningsih. He also filmed rambling monologues where he discussed the murders, binged on cocaine and explained his violent sexual fantasies.

“The thing I never had before in a case is the video recordings he made himself because they give you a direct view of what he was like around the time of these two killings,” Latham told the court.

The prosecution team showed the graphic and shocking footage last week and highlighted his consumption of abnormally large doses of cocaine.

Video evidence shown in the courtroom showed Jutting telling police he was consuming 10 packs of cocaine a day – each costing HK$1,000 and that he ingested up to 20 grams of cocaine just before the second murder.

The defence and prosecution were largely in agreement over the physical evidence, but the dispute may lie in psychiatric and psychological evidence provided by the defence to determine whether it was a case of murder or manslaughter.

Murder carries a mandatory life sentence, while manslaughter carries a maximum of life though a shorter sentence can be set.

Dressed in a pale blue shirt, Jutting was clean shaven with short cut hair, looked attentive during the session. His loss of weight has been in stark contrast to initial court appearances when he looked heavily overweight and wore a thick dark beard.

Jutting, a former vice president and head of Structured Equity Finance & Trading (Asia) at Bank of America, had expressed “job depression” in his series of filmed monologues that he termed the “narcissistic ramblings of Rurik Jutting.”

(Reporting by Farah Master, Editing by Greg Torode and Michael Perry)

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British banker Rurik Jutting calmly detailed to police his cocaine-fueled descent into a torture and killing binge that ended in the deaths of two Indonesian women in his luxury Hong Kong apartment, according to videos shown in court on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Cambridge graduate told police that six weeks after he started buying cocaine directly from a dealer, he was vastly indulging in the drug, as well as alcohol and paid sex.

On the third day of his murder trial, the prosecution said Jutting was consuming 10 grams of 30-percent pure cocaine a day, an unbelievably high dosage. An expert toxicologist said in the courtroom around three grams could be fatal.

Jutting has admitted killing Sumarti Ningsih, a 23-year-old single mother, and another Indonesian woman, Seneng Mujiasih, 26, in his apartment two years ago.

But he has pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of diminished responsibility, while pleading guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter.

He explained in the video how cocaine made him feel sexually charged and led to him fantasizing for long periods of time. He had tried cocaine previously but only fleetingly, he said.

Later in the interviews, when describing the first killing, Jutting bent over to show how he slit the throat of first victim, Ningsih, whom he previously met through a classifieds website.

“Initially I didn’t cut deeply enough, I cut the windpipe but only a vein … she was bleeding on the floor. Then I pulled her into my shower and used the knife to cut as deeply as I could and then she died within a few minutes,” he said in the video that was viewed by a packed court room.

Jutting filmed himself torturing and killing one of his victims, part of mobile phone footage taken from four hours of recordings in which he veered between boasting, remorse and describing the pleasure he derived from sexually brutalizing the women.

When describing the second killing in a video, Jutting explained how he met Mujiasih in a bar near his home and agreed to pay her HK$12,000 ($1,550) to go back to his apartment, just a few minutes walk from the city’s red-light district.

He said he killed her within 20 minutes of her entering his apartment. Again motioning to the two officers present in one police video, he showed how he used his right hand to cut her throat and his left to hold her head.

“I don’t recall how long it took her to die. I think at one point, while she was still alive, I went out onto the balcony … I was naked and covered in her blood and lay on the balcony for some point of time,” he said.

“SHE WAS PREY”

Jutting said he didn’t sleep in between the two killings, which was a period of around five days. He instead took copious amounts of cocaine and read and watched extreme pornography which included violence and rape.

He detailed how he met his second victim in a bar called New Makati, a place where he said it was known that sex workers were available.

“She was prey – I was in a mode I can only describe as hunting,” Jutting said.

In the police interviews conducted on November 2, 2014, a day after Jutting was arrested, he went into great detail over what had happened, politely relaying the course of events and appearing jovial at times.

Jutting, who also studied at Winchester, one of Britain’s most famous and oldest private schools, worked at Bank of America Corp in Hong Kong prior to his arrest.

During the police interviews he said he resigned shortly after killing Ningsih, sending an email to notify the bank, before later attempting to “clean the bathroom” where his first victim died.

Bank of America declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Wednesday.

Dressed in a navy blue shirt, Jutting appeared attentive during the court session on Wednesday as he listened to the videos.

In one video, he said he had “mutual sexual relations” with Ningsih at a hotel near his flat during a six-day period when he had a string of “sex workers” visit him.

The second time he met her he agreed to pay HK$8,000-HK$10,000 for her to spend the night with him, an encounter that ultimately turned into three days of torture.

Jutting, a former vice president and head of Structured Equity Finance & Trading (Asia) at Bank of America, had expressed “job depression” in his series of monologues that he termed the “narcissistic ramblings of Rurik Jutting.”

Jutting was accused of murder in October 2014.

Police said they received a call from the then 29-year-old, requesting officers to come to his apartment, where they found the bodies of the two women.

Ningsih, who had a son in Indonesia, was visiting Hong Kong on a tourist visa. Her mutilated body was discovered inside a suitcase on Jutting’s balcony, while Mujiasih, a domestic helper, was found lying inside with wounds to her neck and buttocks, forensic pathologist Dr Poon Wai-ming testified in court.

The defense and prosecution were largely in agreement over the physical evidence, Judge Michael Stuart-Moore had advised the jurors on the first day of the trial.

He told them the verdict could rest on psychiatric and psychological testimony.

Murder carries a mandatory life sentence, while manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life.

The case continues.

Source: Reuters 

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong judge warned jurors that they will have to view video filmed by former British banker Rurik Jutting of the torture and vicious killing of two Indonesian women he is accused of murdering as the trial got under way on Monday.

Jutting, who studied at Cambridge University and Winchester College, one of Britain’s most prestigious private schools, pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of “diminished responsibility”. He was arrested two years ago after the victims’ bodies were found in his luxury high rise apartment.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, and to a third charge of preventing lawful burial of a body.

During the jury selection, Deputy High Court Judge Michael Stuart-Moore warned potential jurors that if they were unable to cope with viewing extreme violence they should not take part.

“There is a particularly horrifying aspect of the case.

One of the victims was subject to extreme cruelty and violence,” the judge said, explaining that a number of gruesome, and extreme colour photographs could be presented during the trial.

“The defendant even recorded on his IPhone the torture inflicted on the first victim before she died.”

Jutting filmed a series of videos including one showing the first killing, while in other videos he talks about his plans for the second, according to a court fact sheet.

The judge said the defence and prosecution were largely in agreement over the physical evidence, but the dispute may lie in psychiatric and psychological evidence provided by the defence to determine whether it was a case of murder or manslaughter.

Looking trim and dressed in a dark blue shirt, Jutting was clean shaven with short cut hair, in stark contrast to his initial court appearances when he looked heavily overweight and wore a thick dark beard.

The lurid nature of the case has cast a harsh light on the seamy side of Hong Kong, offering an insight into how some wealthy professionals binge on sex, drugs and alcohol.

Jutting who previously worked at Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote) in Hong Kong, was accused of murder in October 2014 after police found the bodies of Sumarti Ningsih, 23, and Seneng Mujiasih, 26, in his apartment. Both women’s throats were slit.

Ningsih’s remains were discovered inside a suitcase on his balcony and the body of Mujiasih was found lying inside with wounds to her neck and buttocks, authorities said.

“HIGHLY GRAPHIC” VIDEO

Before the jury selection, Jutting’s barrister Tim Owen explained the argument for diminished responsibility was based on the grounds of a personality disorder.

Deputy High Court Judge Stuart-Moore said “there isn’t a disease here, it is a personality disorder.”

Prosecutor John Reading stated that psychopathic behaviour was not a reason for diminished responsibility, setting up the arguments both parties will make during the trial.

The jury has to decide if it is a case of murder or manslaughter. On Tuesday, they will view 30 minutes of “highly graphic” video that will not be viewable for the public in the courtroom, though the sound will be audible.

The court fact sheet said Ningsih was tortured for three days using Jutting’s belt, sex toys, a pair of pliers and his fists. He eventually killed her in the bathroom, cutting her throat with a serrated-edged knife.

In video footage Jutting talked about watching porn including depicting violence and turning his fantasies into realities. He also talked about whether to turn himself in or hide the body and fly to Britain.

Investigators also found cocaine at his apartment, according to the fact sheet.

“I definitely could not have done that without cocaine,” it quoted Jutting as telling investigators during interviews.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, still retains a British legal system after being handed back to China in 1997. Jutting’s case is being tried in English.

Jutting was found fit to plea after undergoing psychiatric assessment at the end of 2014 after being charged for the double murder.

Bank of America has previously said Jutting was an employee but it has not said why he left or given any time frame.

The case is being closely watched by Hong Kong’s 300,000-strong migrant domestic helpers community, many of whom come from Indonesia and the Philippines. Outside the High Court, about a dozen of their representatives held placards reading “Justice for Wanchai Murder Victim” and “Stop Violence”.

(Reporting by Farah Master, additional reporting by Venus Wu; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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HONG KONG – A new generation of anti-China activists have won seats on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo), preliminary results indicate.

Among them is Nathan Law, one of the young leaders of the mass pro-democracy demonstrations of 2014, who is now on course to win a constituency seat.

It is the first taste of real political power for the young protest leaders.

But pro-Beijing politicians will retain a majority of seats, partly because of the electoral system.

Results were delayed by a record voter turnout, which saw some 58% of 3.8 million registered voters queue up, compared with 45.2% in 2008. Full results are due later on Monday.

Image copyrightEPA

The election is the first in the territory since the 2014 “Umbrella Protests”, which saw central areas of Hong Kong paralysed by mostly young protesters.

They were demanding greater democracy for the territory amid concerns that Beijing was increasingly interfering in Hong Kong politics, breaking the “one country two systems” agreement.

Beijing denies this, and gave no concessions to the protesters.

“I think Hong Kongers really wanted change,” AFP quoted Mr Law, 23, as saying. “Young people have a sense of urgency when it comes to the future.”

He is a member of the Demosisto party, set up by student leaders of the protests, and which campaigns for Hong Kong’s right to self determination.

With 90% of votes counted, he had the second highest number of votes in the multi-seat Hong Kong Island constituency meaning he will take a position in the legislative council.

Image copyrightAP

Two candidates from the Youngspiration party, a more vocally pro-independence movement which also has its roots in the Umbrella Protests, were also on course to win seats.

Candidates were competing for 70 seats on the LegCo, which passes laws and budgets in the territory. But only 35 constituency seats are directly elected by the population.

Another 30 seats, called “functional constituencies”, represent particular professions or trades and only people connected to those professions or trades can cast votes for those seats.

That is about 6% of the population, who are overwhelmingly Beijing-leaning.

A further five “super seats” are chosen by voters across the territory.

The vote does not elect the chief executive, who is the head of government, but many analysts believe the outcome could have an impact on whether China grants current leader CY Leung a second term in office.

Candidates for the chief executive committee are chosen by a Beijing-backed committee.

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(Reuters) Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, rattling the global bitcoin community in the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange.

Bitfinex is the world’s largest dollar-based exchange for bitcoin, and is known in the digital currency community for having deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair.

Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users’ accounts and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses.

“The bitcoin was stolen from users’ segregated wallets,” he said.

The company said it had reported the theft to law enforcement and was cooperating with top blockchain analytic companies to track the stolen coins.

Last year, Bitfinex announced a tie-up with Palo Alto-based BitGo, which uses multiple-signature security to store user deposits online, allowing for faster withdrawals.

“Our investigation has found no evidence of a breach to any BitGo servers,” BitGo said in a Tweet.

“With users’ funds secured using multi-signature technology in partnership with BitGo, a lot more is at stake for the backbone of the bitcoin industry, with its stalwarts and prided tech under fire,” said Charles Hayter, chief executive and founder of digital currency website CryptoCompare.

The security breach comes two months after Bitfinex was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission in part for offering illegal off-exchange financed commodity transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies.

BITCOIN SLUMP

Tuesday’s breach triggered a slump in bitcoin prices and was reminiscent of events that led to the 2014 collapse of Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox, which said it had lost about $500 million worth of customers’ Bitcoins in a hacking attack.

Bitcoin plunged just over 23 percent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 percent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform.

Tackett added that the breach did not “expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain”, the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based “cryptocurrency” that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority.

A bitcoin expert said the scandal highlighted the risks of companies using cryptography for their ledgers.

“The more you rely on its benefits, the greater the potential for damage when keys are stolen. We still have some way to go to create highly secure but convenient systems,” said Singapore-based Antony Lewis.

The volume of bitcoin stolen amounts to about 0.75 percent of all bitcoin in circulation.

It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. On an online forum, Bitfinex’s Tackett said he was “nearly 100 percent certain” it was no one in the company.

Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities.

The security breach is the latest scandal to hit Hong Kong’s bitcoin market after MyCoin became embroiled in a scam last year that media estimated could have duped investors of up to $387 million. The bitcoin trading company closed after the scandal.

The president of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association said the only way to protect information is to disperse it in so many small pieces that the reward for hacking is too small.

“For an attacker, the cost-benefit strategy is quite easy: How much is in the pot and how likely is it that I’m getting the pot?” said Leonhard Weese.

(Additional reporting by Hera Poon in HONG KONG, Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE and Jemima Kelly in LONDON; Editing by Will Waterman)

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Protests, cocoons and shoebox homes: A look beyond Hong Kong’s postcard exterior

A tree lies fallen in front of a public housing estate in Hong Kong. (Dustin Shum)

For Shum, the structures’ bright, whimsical paint schemes read as shallow facades. “We are forced to have an emotional attachment to these buildings; they want you to treat it like a home. But inside there are a lot of social problems.”

This hidden plight is laid bare in the photographs of Benny Lam, who worked with a local human rights group to reveal desperate conditions in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

In one of the show’s most striking pictures, a family of four is crammed into a space barely bigger than a closet, their meager possessions packed to the ceiling of the enclosure they call home.

Lam says the visuals only tell part of the story. “If you could experience the smell and the heat, you would feel like it is hell. When I took these photos it was more than 30 C (86 F) indoors. There are no windows; you can’t breathe.”

A family inside one of Hong Kong’s “shoebox homes.” (Benny Lam)

Outside these walls, photographs convey the anxiety of a city going through inexorable change.

A haunting image by veteran local artist Alfred Ko shows pedestrians filing across a lit skyway suspended over a dark, gaping construction site in Hong Kong’s financial district — a metaphor for the relentless, “self-destructive” pace of the city’s development, Ko says.

In the same neighborhood, Johnny Gin photographs a slapdash barricade of sticks, tarp, and tape from the 2014 Occupy movement — an architectural motif for Hong Kong’s desperate resistance against the increasing power of China’s Communist Party.

Taken together, the works seem to ask: Is there room in this city for our dreams?

This tension is expressed eloquently in a series by Lau Chi-chung juxtaposing schoolchildren with abandoned structures. The concept questions the gap between the city’s education system and the real world, says the artist.

“In the old Hong Kong, the teacher was the authority. But after leaving school we’ve taken years to realize that much of what we might have learned is wrong.”

Lau Chi-chung’s conceptual series “After School” questions Hong Kong’s education system. (Lau Chi-chung)

East or West?

As a microcosm of the city itself, Hong Kong’s small photography scene finds itself between worlds: neither fully at home with the West or with China.

For artists working in Hong Kong, this has meant exclusion from the boom in international interest in mainland Chinese photography over the last two decades.

Pedestrians cross an overpass in downtown Hong Kong. (Alfred Ko)

“China says Hong Kong is part of China — yet when it comes to photography, they don’t count us in,” observes Shum. “It makes us feel like we need to catch up.”

Shum theorizes that Hong Kong’s socially conscious photography isn’t considered “as charming” as Chinese photography.

“Many Chinese works are more detached from real life, they’re about escapism. It’s easy to accept, and the market prefers it,” he says.

Artist Andreas Müller-Pohle, who publishes European Photography, says the international photography world has “mostly ignored” Hong Kong artists due to a lack of knowledge.

That inspired him to pair with Lumenvisum co-founder Tse Mingchong to produce an issue of the magazine purely devoted to Hong Kong photographs — the exhibition of those works is now on view in the city.

Müller-Pohle explains, “In Germany, France, people might be able to name Japanese, Chinese photographers, but when you mention Hong Kong photography, they say ‘what’s that?’

“We should make Hong Kong more visible.”

Still, some of the more internationally known photographs to emerge from the city have been made by foreign artists, who acknowledge they gaze upon the place with different eyes.

From U.S.-based photographer Peter Steinhauer’s series on Hong Kong’s “cocoons,” referring to wrappings used in building renovation. (Peter Steinhauer)

French photographer Romain Jacquet-Lagreze admits his first major project in Hong Kong six years ago was something a “first timer” would do — geometric compositions of the city’s skyscrapers. “People outside of Hong Kong found it very stunning, but the reaction of locals was ‘I see this every day.'”

In his latest work, Jacquet-Lagreze photographed the city’s gnarled banyan trees, “growing out of nowhere” on the city’s unforgiving concrete walls.

“Hong Kong people like this one a lot — it shows something hidden and precious about the city’s old atmosphere,” he says. “And foreign people like it too, so I managed to please everyone.”

Camera culture

Yet international success has remained elusive for most of Hong Kong’s image creators.

An unresolved question: How can the city develop a successful photography scene, one that stays true to its local roots, while attracting interest from the foreign art world?

From Wei Leng Tay’s series “Hong Kong Living.” (Wei Leng Tay)

For Shum, the key lies in creating a homegrown ecosystem.

“It’s not just about creating photographers,” he says. “You need an audience, exhibition space, education, funding, publications, criticism — many of these things are still not mature.”

Shum sees an opportunity in Hong Kong’s rich camera culture — collecting photo equipment is a popular pastime here, and smartphone photography has become a fixture of daily life.

As new generations are drawn to pictures, there should be reason to hope.

“If just ten percent of those people can be nurtured to go deeper — then we’ll be very successful.”

The Hong Kong Contemporary Photography Exhibition runs through July 24, 2016 at the JCCAC L0 Gallery: 30 Pak Tin Street, Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Learn more about the Hong Kong issue of European Photography here.

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