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☆ China's Xia Baolong heads top office overseeing Hong Kong, Macau
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, July 11 (Reuters) - Xia Baolong is the head of China's recently created Central Office for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, according to an official statement that showed him as chair of a meeting in that capacity on Tuesday. Separately, Zhou Ji, Zheng Yanxiong, Zheng Xincong were named as deputy directors of the state council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office, state media Xinhua reported. The Beijing-based Central Office for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs - created earlier this year as part of broad institutional reforms - reports directly to the ruling Communist Party and not to the State Council, or cabinet. The top office was formed based on the long-existing Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council. Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Baolong, Zhou Ji, Zheng Yanxiong, Zheng Xincong, Ryan Woo, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Ed Osmond Organizations: Macau Affairs, Xinhua, Office, Communist Party, State Council, Macau Affairs Office, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing

No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against mainly Muslim Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] The U.S. corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group's office is seen in Hong Kong, China, May 18, 2023. No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China Embarrasses King Charles at His Coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Can Britain meet the challenges of the post-Elizabethan era? Images: Reuters/AFP via Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyKing Charles III will be coronated on Saturday, and you’ll never guess who China is sending for the occasion: Vice President Han Zheng , the former head of Beijing’s Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. He’s the Communist Party man who led China’s repudiation of its treaty with the United Kingdom over its former colony. As Prince, Charles attended the 1997 ceremony when the British handed Hong Kong over to China as part of their Sino-British Joint Declaration. Reading a message from Queen Elizabeth, the Prince said Britain was “proud of the rights and freedoms which Hong Kong people enjoy.” Beijing promised to keep those liberties intact for 50 years under the Joint Declaration.

☆ China to fully resume travel with Hong Kong, Macau on Feb 6
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Feb 3 (Reuters) - China said on Friday that cross border travel between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau would fully resume from Feb. 6, dropping existing quotas and scrapping a mandatory COVID-19 test that was required before travelling. Group tours between China and its two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau would resume, while the number of customs checkpoints open will return to pre-pandemic levels, China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said in a statement on its website. Even after China reopened its borders to the world on Jan. 8, a quota system and COVID testing requirement remained for travellers between the mainland and Hong Kong. Hong Kong dropped most of its remaining COVID rules in December, but mask-wearing remains mandatory unless exercising, and students must take daily rapid antigen tests. Reporting by Farah Master and Twinnie Siu in Hong Kong, Liz Lee in Beijing and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China to open border with Hong Kong on Sunday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view of village houses at Hong Kong border facing the skyscrapers in Shenzhen, in Hong Kong, China, December 14, 2021. Hong Kong closely followed China's tough zero-COVID policy until the middle of 2022 when it began to ease some of restrictions. China will no longer require people to present COVID tests upon arrival in the mainland from Hong Kong, while China will issue special tourism and business visas for mainland residents to visit Hong Kong from Jan. 8, the office said. China will also increase flights between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, it said. Reporting by the Beijing newsroom, Farah Master and Meg Shen in Hong Kong ; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lawyers exit Hong Kong as they face campaign of intimidation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

The event that precipitated his hasty departure, Vidler said, was the appearance of articles in the state-backed media in Hong Kong about him. “This was in my view state-sponsored intimidation and harassment,” said Vidler, whose wife and children later left Hong Kong. One Hong Kong solicitor who has relocated to England told Reuters that she knew of at least 80 Hong Kong lawyers who had moved to Britain since the security law was imposed in June 2020. Another lawyer, now living in Australia, estimated that several dozen Hong Kong lawyers had moved there. Mainland officials have long sought influence over these two influential bodies, according to senior Hong Kong lawyers.

☆ China says must resolve stability issues in Hong Kong and Macau
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuters) - China should "resolutely deal with" and "rectify" whatever is needed to resolve any long-term stability issues in Hong Kong and Macau, a senior official said, according to a 20th Communist Party Congress party supplementary document reading published in October. "We should seize the major issues related to the long-term stability of Hong Kong and Macao, we should resolutely deal with whatever needs dealing, we should resolutely rectify what must be rectified and resolutely establish whichever rules are necessary," wrote Xia Baolong, director of China's Hong Kong and Macau affairs office, according to the document, which local media published excerpts of on Wednesday. Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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