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☆ China and U.S. commercial real estate markets are 'hot spots,' UOB CFO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina and U.S. commercial real estate markets are 'hot spots,' UOB CFO saysLee Wai Fi, chief financial officer of UOB, says the bank is "less worried" about the Southeast Asian region.

Persons: Lee Wai Fi, UOB Organizations: China Locations: U.S

☆ U.S. and China commercial property markets face headwinds but UOB is optimistic on Southeast Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Commercial real estate markets in the U.S. and China are economic pain points to monitor in a higher-for-longer rate environment, said Singapore's United Overseas Bank. But the bank remains optimistic about one key region. "The U.S. commercial real estate remains a hotspot, especially with the low occupancy rates that we have," Lee Wai Fai, chief financial officer of UOB told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia." "The other hotspots will be China, there [are] worries about the quality and whether they can manage the property uncertainty in China," he added. Lee added the world is heading into a more "uncertain environment" and the impact of higher-for-longer interest rates is starting to filter through the economy.

Persons: Lee Wai Fai, UOB, CNBC's, Lee Organizations: Singapore's United Overseas Bank Locations: U.S, China

☆ The culinary delights hidden inside Hong Kong’s markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Maggie Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Hong Kong CNN —Offering everything from Michelin-endorsed dim sum to juicy smoked goose served in a world-renowned restaurant, Hong Kong is home to some of the finest culinary experiences on the planet. But don’t fret – we have put together a list of eight top-quality Hong Kong markets along with some of the best dishes to try. Queen Street Cooked Food MarketQueen Street Market serves some of the most authentic Chiuchow -- a regional Cantonese cuisine -- dishes. Maggie Wong/CNNA foodie haven in the north of Hong Kong, Yuen Long is a hub for both modern and traditional eateries. The relatively run-down look of the Fa Yuen Street Cooked Food Market inside only adds to the charm.

Persons: ”, Lui Ka Chun, Kongers, Lui, “, Wai Kee, Maggie Wong, Kau Kee, ngau, jyu beng, Kan, Hong Kong’s, Lok Yuen, yuen yeung, Tsang Kee, Chan Chun Kee, suckling, Tai Po Hui, Lam Kee, Tung Kee, Ping Kee, Ng Zai Kee, Bon, Tsun, CNN Kwun, Long, Tim Kee, Yuen Long, it’s, Kee’s, Fa, Mui Kee Congee, Shau Kee Wan Organizations: CNN, Hong Kong CNN, Michelin, Lok, Market, Queen, Thai &, Thai & Vietnam Cuisine, ABC, Tai Po Hui, Food, hawker, Hong Kong’s, Fa Yuen, Kitchen Locations: Hong Kong, Hong, hawker, Kong’s, Kan Kee, Kowloon City, Kowloon Walled City, Lok, Beijing, Thai, Thai & Vietnam, Tai Po, New Territories, Shanghai, Kwun Tong, CNN Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Sichuan, Yuen, Mong Kok, Aldrich, Aldrich Bay, Shau

☆ Growing fury from Maui residents over the direction of early wildfire recovery efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alicia Victoria Lozano | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

US President Joe Biden is embraced by Hawaii Governor Josh Green (C) after delivering remarks as he visits an area devastated by wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 21, 2023. Rebuilding hasn't even started after a deadly wildfire destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, last month, but residents are already angry and frustrated with recent moves by Gov. Now, they say, that pattern could be repeated with the aid of an emergency proclamation signed by Green that could erode their hard-won rights, despite his reassurances that rebuilding would reflect the needs of Maui residents. "It is a real slap in the face when we still have to deal with the aftermath of this fire." Green reinstated the water rules last week, but residents are wary that future proclamations could jeopardize their efforts to restore Maui's streams and wetlands.

Persons: Joe Biden, Josh Green, hasn't, Green, Kekai Keahi, Makana McClellan, we've, McClellan, We're, Hōkūao Pellegrino, Nani Medeiros, I've, Medeiros, Marti Townsend, Townsend, Glenn Tremble, Manuel, Ed Wendt, David Henkin, Pellegrino Organizations: Hawaii, Gov, Maui Land Co, West Maui Land Co, American Civil Liberties Union, Sierra Club, Earthjustice Locations: Lahaina , Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, Hawaii, Honolulu

☆ Emotional Tony Leung wins lifetime award at Venice
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] The 80th Venice Film Festival - Award Ceremony for Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement - Venice, Italy September 2, 2023. Actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai reacts as he receives the Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Acquire Licensing RightsVENICE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai received a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, brushing away his tears as he was given a prolonged standing ovation. He also appeared in a trio of movies that won the top Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival -- "A City of Sadness" (1989), "Cyclo" (1995) and "Lust, Caution" (2007), directed by Ang Lee, who handed him his award on Saturday. In another major challenge, Leung said he was about to make his first European film, "Silent Friend", directed by Hungary's Ildikó Enyedi.

Persons: Tony Leung Chiu, Wai, Guglielmo Mangiapane, Leung, Wong Kar, Ang Lee, Andy Lau, Lau, Hungary's Ildikó, I'm, Hanna Rantala, Crispian Balmer, Ros Russell Organizations: Reuters, Golden, Thomson Locations: Venice, Italy, Hong Kong

☆ Hawaii wildfires: Fights over water amid west Maui's charred ruins ignite new fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Bill Weir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Wailuku, Hawaii CNN —On a Hawaiian tourist brochure, fire and water are selling points for a volcanic paradise where lava flows and waterfalls mist. “There has been a great deal of water conflict on Maui for many years,” Hawaii Gov. “It’s disaster capitalism at its finest.”A rushing canal is seen on Hokuao Pelligrino's family farm in Wailuku on Maui on August 20, 2023. After watching Pellegrino and his Wailuku community litigate their streams back to life, locals around Lahaina followed suit. You restore the water and families are going back to their ancestral land.”Hokuao Pellegrino poses for a portrait on August 20, 2023.

Persons: Josh Green, Green, ” Hokuao Pellegrino, “, ”, Evelio Contreras, Eha, Pellegrino, ’ ”, they’ll, Glenn Tremble, couldn’t, ” Pellegrino, Taro, Joe Biden’s Organizations: Hawaii CNN, ”, Maui Land Company, New York Times, CNN, West Maui Land Company Locations: Wailuku, Hawaii, Lahaina, Maui, ” Hawaii, Venice, Hawaiian Kingdom, West Maui, Maui County

Two of Australia’s largest grassroots Indigenous football bodies – Indigenous Football Australia (IFA) and the Australian Indigenous Football Council (AIFC) – say there’s no funding for Indigenous football in Legacy ’23, the 357 million Australian dollar ($228 million) post-tournament fund dedicated to growing soccer in Australia. By contrast, the AIFC oversees state and territory Indigenous football councils and organizes the First Nations Indigenous Football Championships and teams who play as the Indigenous Roos and Koalas. The AIFC recently signed a “Football Treaty” with New Zealand equivalent, Māori Football Aotearoa, and Gilbert wants to create a World Indigenous Football Council and Indigenous World Cup, independently of FIFA. Pickering-Parker seems more hopeful that the World Cup will bring more funding to his small team of volunteers: “Right now. If hosting a Women’s World Cup isn’t going to do it, I don’t know what else is,” she said.

Persons: “, that’s, it’s, ”, Ros Moriarty, James Johnson, Karen Menzies, John Maynard, “ I’ll, I’m, I’ll, Maynard, –, who’ve, Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, Moriarty Football, John’s, Moriarty, ” Lawrence Gilbert, Gilbert, ” John Moriarty, John Moriarty, Johnson, We’ve, It’s, Jennifer Pickering, Tai Tokerau, “ You’re, ” Pickering, Claudia Bunge, Michaela Foster, Mathias Bergeld, Phillip Pickering, Parker, Pickering, Kyah Simon, who’s, Lydia Williams, Williams, ” Williams, Matt King, Australia’s, That’s, crowdfunding, NIAG, we’ve, Menzies, we’re, … Organizations: Sydney CNN —, Indigenous Football Australia, IFA, Australian Indigenous Football Council, Indigenous, Moriarty Foundation, Football Australia, CNN Sport, FIFA, Indigenous Advisory, CNN, Aboriginal Soccer Tribe, UNICEF Australia First Nations, Aboriginal, Torres Strait, Elders, Commonwealth, First, First Nations, Reuters, Australian, soccer team, ” John Moriarty Football, New South, Nations Indigenous Football, Indigenous Roos, Treaty, Māori Football Aotearoa, Indigenous Football Council, Nations Australian, Nations, . New Zealand, ”, New Zealand Football, AFL, Australian Football League, Sydney Football Stadium Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Brisbane, New South Wales, Koalas, Tai, New, ., Norway, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Perth, “

HONG KONG/NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - For all the excitement whipped up in China's markets by the Politburo last week, foreign investors say policymakers' words will have to be matched by substantive action to clean up an ailing property sector before confidence recovers. "The question is what resources they will deploy, because China is still very focused on de-leveraging and preventing financial risks." Absolutely, and urgently," said Qi Wang, the chief investment officer (CIO) of MegaTrust Investment (HK), a boutique China fund manager specializing in domestic Chinese A-shares. Mark Dong, general manager of Minority Asset Management, based in Hong Kong, has reduced his exposure to the property sector. The safest bets in the sector, he said, had come down to state-owned companies such as China Resources Land (1109.HK) and Poly Property (0119.HK).

Persons: Tara Hariharan, Qi Wang, Wang, Mark Dong, Bo Zhuang, Loomis, Weng, Rob Hinchliffe, Hinchliffe, Mei Leong, Xie Yu, Georgina Lee, Shen Yiming, Jason Xue, Ankur Banerjee, Tom Westbrook, Vidya Ranganathan, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: HONG KONG, MegaTrust Investment, Asset Management, Loomis Sayles Investments, Eastspring Investments, PineBridge Investments, China Evergrande Group, HK, China Resources, Poly Property, Thomson Locations: HONG, China, Hong Kong, Loomis Sayles Investments Asia, Shanghai, New York, Singapore

☆ UOB's CFO discusses the bank's second-quarter earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUOB's CFO discusses the bank's second-quarter earningsLee Wai Fai, group chief financial officer at UOB, explains why it expects the second half of the year to be better than its challenging first half.

Persons: Lee Wai Fai

☆ Singapore's UOB expects 'some upside' to interest income after Fed rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Singapore's United Overseas Bank is expecting "some upside" in interest income in the next quarter, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a fresh rate hike overnight. Its net interest income for the quarter grew 31% from a year ago — boosted by robust net interest margin that expanded 50 basis points to 2.13% on higher interest rates, the Singapore-based lender said in a statement released early Thursday. Net interest margin, a measure of lending profitability for banks, is the difference between interest earned and interest paid. Overnight on Wall Street, the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points, taking its benchmark borrowing costs to a target range of 5.25%-5.5% — the highest level in more than 22 years. The midpoint of that target range would be the highest level for the benchmark rate since early 2001.

Persons: Lee Wai Fai, CNBC's JP Ong Organizations: Singapore's United Overseas Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve Locations: Singapore

☆ Hong Kong court charges four with criminal damage after BYD offices vandalised
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, June 19 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong court on Monday charged four men with criminal damage to property at showrooms and a service centre of Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd after they were vandalised last week in the financial hub. The men arrested were all of Chinese nationality and aged between 29-48 years, according to charge-sheets released by the court. None of them made any pleas in the court on Monday. All will be kept in the custody of the correctional services department until the next hearing on July 17. Police said last week that there was no evidence that the men had deliberately targeted the mainland auto brand and that an investigation was ongoing.

Persons: JC Motor, Jessie Pang, Farah Master, Muralikumar Organizations: Hong, BYD, Reuters, Police, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Wan Chai, Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Tin Shui, New Territories

☆ Family and friends mourn murdered model in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, June 18 (Reuters) - Family and friends of Abby Choi, a Hong Kong model who was murdered in a gruesome case in February, gathered at a memorial hall in the city on Sunday to pay their final respects. The vigil took place at Po Fook Memorial Hall in the Tai Wai area of Sha Tin district, adhering to Buddhist traditions. The murder of the 28-year-old influencer shocked the world after parts of her remains were found in a village house in Hong Kong. A funeral ceremony on Monday morning will be followed by a cremation at a monastery on the city's Lantau Island. Reporting by Joyce Zhou, Josh Ye in Hong Kong Editing by Frances Kerry, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Abby Choi, Joyce Zhou, Josh Ye, Frances Kerry, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Fook, Tai, Sha Tin

☆ Chinese automaker BYD reopens two Hong Kong showrooms after vandalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A woman walks past a splattered BYD store while police cordons are visible at the scene in Hong Kong, China June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Joyce Zhou/File PhotoCompanies BYD Co Ltd FollowHONG KONG, June 14 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd has restarted operations at two showrooms and a service centre in Hong Kong after they were vandalised earlier this week, BYD's sole agent said in a notice on its website on Wednesday. Its showrooms in the districts of Wan Chai on Hong Kong island and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, as well as its service centre in Tin Shui Wai in the New Territories, had resumed normal operations, it added. JC Motor did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the cause and impact of the vandalism. Two BYD showrooms and a service centre in Hong Kong were daubed with red paint, while a car also rammed into the roller shutter at its Yuen Long showroom in the early hours of Monday, causing damage, police told Reuters.

Persons: Joyce Zhou, BYD's, Yuen Long, JC, Donny Kwok, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, BYD, Motor, JC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, Yuen, New Territories, Wan Chai, Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Tin Shui

REUTERS/Ann WangTAIPEI, June 3 (Reuters) - A Taiwan theatre is showcasing a Hong Kong play about Tiananmen Square to mark the 34th anniversary of the crackdown in Beijing, saying almost as much about shrinking freedoms in the former British colony as it does about the 1989 bloodshed. The play is about parents grieving for their son killed in Tiananmen Square. The theatre group that staged it, Stage 64, disbanded in 2021, citing pressure under the national security law. An alliance of Hong Kong activists that used to organise the annual Tiananmen vigil was disbanded after the arrest of several of its leaders in 2021. Some actors will use stage names and two Hong Kong actors will wear masks.

Persons: Hong, Ann Wang, It's, it's, Chung, Candace Chong, Chiu, Ming, Angie Teo, Jessie Pang, Fabian Hamacher, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Amnesty, Hong, Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Ann Wang TAIPEI, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tiananmen, London , New York, Berlin, China, Amnesty International Taiwan, Britain

☆ China's Lenovo shrugs off concerns that global PC market is shrinking
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Revenues for the world's largest PC-maker Lenovo fell for a third consecutive quarter as global demand for personal computers continue to slump, but the company is not worried, says CFO Wong Wai-Ming. Clearly, when the market actually returns back to more normal, we will definitely be growing," Wong Wai-Ming, CFO of Lenovo, told CNBC. He added that the company is actually seeing higher growth in other businesses such as infrastructure solutions and services. In its latest earnings report on Wednesday, Lenovo said it expects "the PC market will return to growth" in the second half 2023. "Fiscal year Q4 was the most challenging quarter of the year given pressures from both the PC market and the global economy," said Lenovo in the earnings report.

Persons: Wong Wai Organizations: Lenovo, CNBC, Revenue

☆ Your Uber Driver ‘Dave K’ Is Arriving Soon. He Might Be the CEO.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Preetika Rana | Photographs Carolyn Fong For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

While taking a customer to the airport one evening, he had to ignore frantic phone calls from his chief legal officer who was trying to alert him that a hacker had breached Uber’s network. Another trip took him across the Bay Bridge to Oakland—and he swore never to do it again after getting stuck in rush-hour traffic back to the city. Michael Ho Wai Lee/SOPA Images/ZumaJustin Sullivan/Getty

☆ These strange-looking turtles in Hong Kong could soon be extinct
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Hong Kong CNN —One of the world’s most densely populated cities might seem an unlikely refuge for endangered wildlife. While in Hong Kong, the unlikeliness of the setting has enabled them to fly largely under poachers’ radar. Professor Sung Yik-hei with a Big-headed turtle at a lab at Lingnan University in Hong Kong on April 13, 2023. Courtesy Sung Yik-hei Professor Sung Yik-hei monitors an area near a river in Hong Kong on April 13, 2023. A few hundred are left in Hong Kong, and perhaps even fewer in its other homes of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

☆ Analysis: Rates shift gives European currencies fresh legs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Alun John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But markets expect another 75 bps of European Central Bank rate hikes, with the deposit rate rising to a peak in the autumn. Expectations for higher official interest rates typically drag money market and government bond yields higher, attracting investor cash into a country and boosting its currency. "An interest rate differential that is flat between the two regions would be equivalent to a euro/dollar move up to around 1.20." TURNAROUNDThe Federal Reserve's relentless rate hikes sent the dollar to 20-year highs last year as other big central banks moved more slowly. "But interestingly last month has seen the pound stronger, because of limited spillovers and declining U.S. and European rate expectations."

☆ Great Wall of China: Six sections with beautiful views
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Whether you’re planning to visit the Great Wall for the first time or the 50th, the following destinations are sure to make your trip to China even more worthwhile. The juxtaposition of its ruins against the rammed-earth Great Wall makes Bataizi a unique place to spend a morning or afternoon. Laoniuwan (aka the Old Ox Bend Great Wall)Laoniuwan, where the Great Wall and the Yellow River meet. Alex SherrAs the locals say, Laoniuwan is where the Great Wall and the mighty Yellow River shake hands. The piled-stone wall at Dushikou is unique, as many other sections of the Great Wall close to Beijing were constructed using kiln-fired bricks.

Persons: CNN —, I’ve, Alex Sherr, ”, Alex Sherr Mutianyu, you’ll, William Lindesay, Pan, Zuoyun, You’ll, Simatai, Yatou’s, Emperor Jiajing, Lamb Organizations: CNN, Tourism, UNESCO, Northern Barbarians Locations: Beijing, China, Turtle, Gansu, Sitan, Jingtai County, City, Jingtai, Lanzhou, Gansu province, Turtle City, Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport, it’s, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Xizhazi, Bataizi, Datong, Shanxi province’s, Zuoyun, Zuoyun County, Laoniuwan, Pianguan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia, marveling, Pianguan, Tangjiazhai, Beijing’s Miyun, Miyun, It’s, Dushikou, Chicheng, Hebei province, Hebei, Liuliqiao

☆ What’s in Our Queue? Wong Kar-wai and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Genevieve Ko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What’s in Our Queue? Wong Kar-wai and MoreI’m a deputy editor and columnist for Food and Cooking. Now that my kids are older — and have great taste in books, music and film — I enjoy their recommendations and look for what I know they’ll like too. Here are five things I’ve been enjoying →

☆ Digital trust will put Singapore in a favorable position, says trade association
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDigital trust will put Singapore in a favorable position, says trade associationWong Wai Meng, chairman of SGTech, says trust is the "basic hygiene" that Singapore needs to tackle as the country's digital economy continues to grow.

Forty-seven pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong have been accused of a conspiracy to commit subversion in a landmark political case. Benny Tai, 58, was a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. Pro-democracy primary Pro-democracy candidates held a primary vote ahead of the upcoming Legislative Council election. The 47 defendants helped organize or participated in this event. New election rules announced China announced new rules for Hong Kong elections, limiting candidates to only those deemed loyal to Beijing.

[1/2] Former acting chief editor of Stand News Patrick Lam leaves the court after release on bail over his charge of conspiring to publish "Seditious Publications" in Hong Kong, China November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG, Dec 22 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong Court on Thursday rejected an application to terminate a sedition trial against now-defunct online media outlet Stand News, a case that could see two former top editors jailed if convicted. Former editors Chung Pui-kuen, 53, and Patrick Lam, 35, and the outlet's parent company, Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited, have been charged with conspiracy to publish seditious material related to news articles and commentaries between July 2020 and December last year. Hong Kong's government has said press freedom is enshrined in the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law. Reporting by Jessie Pang and Darerca Siu; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China scraps tracking app as it relaxes strict 'zero-Covid' rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

China will drop a travel tracing requirement as part of an uncertain exit from its strict “zero-Covid” policies that have elicited widespread dissatisfaction. It’s part of a package of apps that includes the health code, which has yet to be disabled. Facing a surge in Covid-19 cases, China is setting up more intensive care facilities and trying to strengthen hospitals’ ability to deal with severe cases. At midnight on Monday, the smart phone app will cease to function, meaning residents’ travels will not be traced and recorded. Many believed Covid-19 restrictions may have impeded rescue efforts.

☆ Hong Kong jails pro-democracy media tycoon over fraud
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Hong Kong court sentenced a pro-democracy media tycoon to five years and nine months in prison on Saturday over two fraud charges linked to lease violations, the latest of a series of cases against prominent activists that critics say are aimed at crushing dissent in the city. Jimmy Lai, who was arrested during a crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement following widespread protests in 2019 and under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing, was also fined 2 million Hong Kong dollars ($257,000). His media company, Next Digital, published the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. His national security trial, initially scheduled to begin on Dec. 1, was postponed after Hong Kong leader John Lee asked China to effectively block him from hiring a British defense lawyer. Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China’s rule in 1997.

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