The Consulate General of the United States,Hong Kong and Macau,represents the United States in Hong Kong and Macau.
The British Consulate General Hong Kong (BCGHK),located at 1 Supreme Court Road,Admiralty,Hong Kong Island,is one of the largest British consulates general in the world and is bigger than many British embassies and high commissions. It is responsible for maintaining British ties with Hong Kong and Macau.
James Blair Cunningham is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan.
As of May 2024,there are 70 diplomatic missions in Hong Kong,of which 62 are consulates-general and 8 are officially recognised bodies in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong has the status of a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China,some consuls-general in Hong Kong report directly to their respective foreign ministries,rather than to their Embassies in Beijing.
Although Hong Kong law provides freedom of speech and press,and freedom of expression is protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights,the Hong Kong national security law gives the government the power to "take down any electronic messages published" that the government considers endangering national security. The government has blocked several anti-government,doxxing or politically sensitive websites after the commencement of the law,leading to increased concerns of Internet censorship.
The Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao represents Canada in the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China. As Hong Kong was linked to the Commonwealth during British administration,Canada's mission was called the Canadian Commission before the transfer of sovereignty to China on July 1,1997. Since 1980,the Head of Mission in Hong Kong has also served as Consul-General to Macau.
Stephen Markley Young is an American diplomat who was the Consul General of the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong under the State department in the Obama administration.
Third Side is a political party in Hong Kong which claims to offer a "third road" to democracy,positioned between the pro-democracy camp and the pro-Beijing camp. It is led by Tik Chi-yuen,who was a co-founder and longtime member of the Democratic Party until his expulsion in 2015 for promoting political reforms proposed by the Chinese central government.
The Australian Consulate General Hong Kong represents the Commonwealth of Australia in Hong Kong,and is also accredited to Macau. As Hong Kong was linked to the Commonwealth during British administration,Australia's diplomatic presence was exercised by an Australian Commission,until 1 January 1986,when it was renamed the Australian Consulate-General. From 1946 to 1972,Australia was represented by the Australian Trade Commission.
Christopher J. Marut is an American diplomat who last served as Director of the American Institute in Taiwan,the de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan,from 2012 to 2015. He also served as acting consul general of the Consulate General of the United States,Hong Kong and Macau from 2009 to 2010. He later served as foreign policy advisor to Commander,United States Pacific Command (CDRUSPACOM),Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr.
Kurt Walter Tong is a business consultant and former American diplomat,and the former Consul General of the United States of America to Hong Kong and Macau during the Umbrella Revolution. He joined The Asia Group LLC in July 2019 and is a Managing Partner at the firm.
The Consulate General of South Korea in Hong Kong is a consular mission of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to Hong Kong and Macau. It is located at 5-6F,Far East Finance Center 16,Harcourt Road,Admiralty,Hong Kong. It is one of the first South Korean overseas missions since the country's foundation,opened in British Hong Kong under approval of the United Kingdom in 1949,going through promotion and expansion in its history. Following the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China in 1997,the Consulate General was able to keep its presence according to a Sino-Korean agreement concerning foreign missions stationed in Hong Kong.
HK01 is a Hong Kong–based online news portal launched by Yu Pun-hoi,a former chairman of the Ming Pao. It is operated by HK01 Company Limited,established in June 2015. The website went live on 11 January 2016. It publishes a weekly paper every Friday,the first edition of which was released on 11 March 2016. As of 2019,The company has a staff of approximately 700.
Michael Hanscom Smith is a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service who had served as Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau from July 2019 to July 2022. Smith has also served as Consul General in Shanghai (2014–2017),Director/Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs at the Department of State. He also served as Economic Section Chief at the Taipei Main Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT),and team leader at the United States Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Iraqi Province of Muthanna.
The month of July 2020 in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests began with a turning point in the evolution of the protests,brought about by the Hong Kong national security law. The law,which had been passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China on 30 June and come into effect on the same day,was widely seen as having the purpose of curbing opposition,in a broad sense,against the Chinese Communist Party in the city. The law had direct relevance to the protests,as it prescribes harsh penalties for the tactics that protesters had commonly used. Nevertheless,sizeable protests erupted throughout the city on occasion of the 1 July protests the next day,resulting in about 370 arrests,including at least ten on charges under the new law. The Hong Kong government,faced with the task of implementing a law that had been drafted and promulgated without substantial involvement by its own officials,was seen widely,including in the academic and media sectors,as being unable to draw a clear demarcation line between which acts would constitute punishable offences under the law,and which would not. The vagueness of the law,while refused by the city's police chief,was seen by pro-democrats and observers as a deliberate device to amplify its deterrence effect.
Hong Kong 12,or 12 Hongkongers,are the twelve Hong Kong protesters,previously arrested by the Hong Kong police,detained by the Chinese authorities in 2020 on sea after a failed attempt to flee to Taiwan.
Brian C. H. Fong is a Hong Kong political scholar. He is currently Professor in the College of Social Sciences at National Sun Yat-sen University,Taiwan. He found and led several civil society organizations in Hong Kong.
HKChronicles is a pro-Hong Kong democracy doxing website which details the personal information of Hong Kong police officers and pro-Beijing individuals. It was created by Naomi Chan,an 18-year-old high school student who is also the chief editor of the site.
A dramatic manifestation of the far reach of the Hong Kong national security law was the mass arrest of 54 pro-democracy activists on 6 January. The arrested stood accused of subverting state power,a crime under the national security law,for their participation as candidates or in other capacities,in the 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries,which was part of a plan to increase pressure in parliament for democratic reform. Most of them were released on bail the following day. For the first time,the National Security Department of the police cited the national security law to block the website of HKChronicles. There were also several convictions in relation to the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests.
On 29 December 2021,Stand News,one of the few remaining pro-democracy media outlets in Hong Kong following the passage of the Hong Kong national security law in 2020,was raided by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force. Media executives and journalists were arrested on the charge of "conspiring to publish seditious publications" on a large scale. As a result of the raid,Stand News ceased operations,the organisation's website and social media became inactive,and all its employees were dismissed. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,along with leaders in Canada,Germany,the United Kingdom and United States,condemned the raid.
