South China Morning Post (February 17)
“Omicron has brought Hong Kong to its knees.” Things have gone “so horribly wrong” as the zero-Covid policy buckled. The health care system now teeters “on the brink of collapse.” Patients now “lie in beds outside hospitals and thousands more wait days for admission to isolation facilities.”
Tags: Admission, Collapse, Health-care system, Hong Kong, Horribly wrong, Hospitals, Isolation, Omicron, Patients, Zero COVID
Reuters (January 24)
Hong Kong’s “status as a global financial hub” is being threatened by its “zero COVID” policy and draconian immigration protocols. With no signs the government will ease restrictions, “more expats are thinking of leaving, and global banks, asset managers and corporate law firms are facing up to many of their staff exiting after annual bonuses are paid out in the first three months of the year.”
Tags: Asset managers, Banks, Draconian, Expats, Financial hub, Hong Kong, Immigration, Restrictions, Staff, Threatened, Zero COVID
Institutional Investor (September 1)
“Most Chinese internet stocks will need to move their primary listings to Hong Kong or delist from the US” in light of *updated SEC rules regarding the audit of US listed China stocks” and recent actions by the Chinese government. “We don’t expect this to mean a disorderly unwind of VIE listed stocks listed in US,” but “it is unlikely stocks with data considered ‘sensitive’ can keep their primary listing in the US.”
Tags: Audit, China, Delis, Disorderly, Hong Kong, Internet stocks, Primary listings, SEC rules, U.S., Unwind, VIE
The Economist (March 20)
Last week China slapped down democracy in Hong Kong. The imposition of tight mainland control over the territory is not just a tragedy for the 7.5m people who live there, it is also a measure of China’s determination not to compromise over how it asserts its will.” But China has pressure points. It is “more tightly coupled with the West than communist Russia ever was. This presents the free world with an epoch-defining question: how should it best secure prosperity, lower the risk of war and protect freedom as China rises?”
Tags: China, Communist, Compromise, Control, Democracy, Hong Kong, Imposition, Mainland, Prosperity, Risk, Russia, Territory, War
Wall Street Journal (February 28)
“Hong Kong authorities moved this weekend to imprison nearly the entire opposition movement. The message is that anyone who runs as a pro-democracy candidate will be treated as a criminal…. China is violating its international obligations as it tramples Hong Kong’s freedoms. So far it has paid little price, which the world may come to regret as President Xi Jinping sets his sights on Taiwan.”
Tags: Candidate, China, Criminal, Freedoms, Hong Kong, Imprison, Obligations, Opposition movement, Pro-democracy, Regret, Taiwan, Tramples, Violating, Xi
Wall Street Journal (January 1)
“The crackdown continues in Hong Kong, and this week the Chinese government made an example of the territory’s most prominent political prisoners.” Beijing has now adopted “Soviet or North Korean behavior, and we hope that Joe Biden and his officials will speak plainly against it.”
Tags: Behavior, Beijing, Biden, Chinese, Crackdown, Government, Hong Kong, North Korean, Political prisoners, Prominent, Soviet, Territory
Nikkei Asian Review (August 3)
In “a sign that Seoul is ready to rival Tokyo on the international stage,” the New York Times decided “to move Asia-based digital news operations from Hong Kong to Seoul.” The Times considered Tokyo and other cities, but ultimately chose Seoul, “which has become an outward-looking and tech-savvy city.”
Tags: Digital news, Hong Kong, New York Times, Outward-looking, Rival, Seoul, Tech-savvy, Tokyo
Wall Street Journal (July 2)
“China’s decision to impose its national-security law on Hong Kong is a seismic event that goes well beyond the sad fate of its 7.5 million people. The illegal takeover shows that Beijing’s Communist rulers are willing to violate their international commitments with impunity as they spread their authoritarian model.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Commitments, Communist, Fate, Hong Kong, Illegal, Impunity, National-security law, Rulers, Seismic, Takeover, Violate
South China Morning Post (June 30)
“How Hong Kong should cope with the national security law: keep calm and carry on…. It would be best for Hongkongers not to panic, but get on with their lives instead.”
The Economist (June 6)
“Until recently, conventional wisdom held that Hong Kong’s position would be assured for 20-30 years…. But the trade war, a year of street protests and China’s iron-fisted response to them raise new questions about Hong Kong’s durability.” So far, there is little evidence of capital flight, but the territory must again rise to the challenge or “its time as a global financial centre really will be up.”
Tags: Capital flight, China, Durability, Global financial centre, Hong Kong, Iron-fisted, Protests, Trade war, Wisdom
