The Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents,also colloquially referred to as a Home Return Permit or Home Visit Permit,is issued to Chinese nationals who are permanent residents of or settled in Hong Kong and Macau as the travel document to Mainland China. The permit is issued by the Exit and Entry Administration of the People's Republic of China through China Travel Service sub-branches in Hong Kong and Macau and allows holders to travel freely to Mainland China.
The Airport Security Unit is the airport police of the Hong Kong Police Force tasked with the security of the Hong Kong International Airport. The ASU was originally formed in 1977 as the Special Action Squad on standby for security at Kai Tak Airport and in 1978 following a review it was renamed as the Airport Security Unit and commenced patrolling the airport. In 1998,the ASU moved to the Chek Lap Kok Airport.
The Exit &Entry Permit for Taiwan,Republic of China is the document for the bearer to enter and/or depart Taiwan. Currently,there are several types of Exit &Entry Permit that reflect the bearer's residency status. The permit is issued by the National Immigration Agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan). For different purposes,the permit is also known as:
In general,there is relatively little Internet censorship in Hong Kong beyond laws that criminalize the distribution of unlicensed copyrighted material and obscene images,particularly child pornography when compared to the rest of China. The Hong Kong Bill of Rights elaborates on these and other rights enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong.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 "take down any electronic messages published" that the government considers to endanger 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 in Hong Kong.
The Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau,colloquially known as a Two-way Permit or EEP is issued to Chinese nationals with residency in Mainland China as a travel document for the sole purpose to travel the Chinese Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security is responsible for the issuing of Two-way Permits and exit endorsements.
Anti-parallel trading protests took place in Hong Kong between 2012 and 2015 against parallel traders importing goods from Hong Kong to Mainland China. Protestors claim that parallel trading has caused a shortage of household goods and an increasing inflation rate. Parallel trading and the protests have exacerbated the Hong Kong-Mainland conflict. There has also been conflict between local shop owners and citizens as the parallel trading boosts shop sales but raises the local prices of daily necessities.
Hong Kong–mainland China relations refer to the relationship between Mainland China and Hong Kong. According to the 1997 Sino-British Joint Declaration,the United Kingdom handed control of Hong Kong over to the People's Republic of China,making it a special administrative region. In principle,Hong Kong became an autonomous administrative division based on the Hong Kong Basic Law.
Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit is a Hong Kong pro-democracy and LGBT rights activist. He served as a convener for the pro-democracy organisation Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) until October 2020 and serves as a secretary for the LGBT rights organisation Rainbow of Hong Kong. He is a longtime member of the League of Social Democrats. In 2019 he was elected to the Sha Tin District Council by residents of Lek Yuen constituency,but he resigned from this position in July 2021 amidst a government crackdown on pro-democracy councillors.
The 2019 Prince Edward station attack,also known as the 31 August MTR station incident,was an incident in which Hong Kong police indiscriminately attacked passengers while arresting protesters who were returning home via Prince Edward station,on the night of 31 August 2019,after a protest was held that same day. The event was described as the police version of the 2019 Yuen Long attack,and the police have been criticised as acting like terrorists. Rumours have been circulated that several protesters were beaten to death at the station,but the police have rejected allegations. However,a mourning vigil was set up by a group of residents outside one exit of the station.
"Liberate Hong Kong,revolution of our times" is a slogan used by social movements in Hong Kong. The slogan was first used in 2016 by Hong Kong Indigenous spokesman Edward Leung as his campaign theme and slogan for the 2016 New Territories East by-election. He emphasised that anyone could take part in innovation and change regardless of age,hence the use of the phrase "revolution of our times". In the legislative election held later that year,Youngspiration,which was cooperating with Hong Kong Indigenous as Leung was banned from running by the Electoral Affairs Commission,also used the slogan for their campaign.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Macau is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case of the disease in Macau was confirmed on 22 January 2020. The city saw nine more cases by 4 February,but no more cases until 15 March,when imported cases began to appear. Until 26 April 2021,the city has 49 cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19,all of those having recovered,and no deaths from the disease. Stringent government measures have included the 15-day closure of all 81 casinos in the territory in February;in addition,effective 25 March,the territory disallowed connecting flights at its airport as well as entry by all non-residents,and from 6 April,the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge was closed to public transport and most other traffic.
The month of June 2020 was the first anniversary of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. The decision taken by the National People's Congress on national security legislation and the alleviation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong led to a new series of protests and international responses. On 30 June,the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Hong Kong national security law which came into force the same day,leading to even more people protesting on 1 July.
The offices of Apple Daily,once the largest pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong,and its parent company,Next Digital,were raided and executives arrested by the Hong Kong Police Force on 10 August 2020 and again on 17 June 2021. Some of the arrested and three companies of Next Digital were charged under the Hong Kong national security law. The 26-year-old newspaper was forced to close in June 2021 following the raids and freezing of its capital.
On 6 September,the biggest protests in the course of the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests since 1 July occurred in the city. The fresh protests were in a large part due to the day having been the scheduled election day for the Legislative Council;on 31 July,the Hong Kong government had the elections postponed by a year,citing the COVID-19 pandemic,a justification that was widely doubted. The unauthorized protests resulted in nearly 300 arrests,one of them on suspected violation of the national security law,and brought the total number of arrests during the entire protests since June 2019 to above 10,000.
In a post on Chinese social media dated August 26,2020,the China Coast Guard claimed that Guangdong authorities had intercepted a speedboat on August 23 under the suspicion of illegal border crossing,and that more than ten people had been detained. The released coordinates put the incident in the South China Sea,approximately 78 kilometres from Hong Kong Island. On August 27,The Guardian cited two Hong Kong news outlets which reported,based on unnamed sources,that in the incident,a total of 12 people had been detained en route to Taiwan,of whom at least ten were Hong Kong residents. Referring to the same sources,the passengers had included activist Andy Li,who had been arrested on August 10 under charges related to the national security law and released on bail. Hong Kong police chief Chris Tang told media on August 27 that he had heard the reports on the detention,and that the force was actively seeking information from the mainland authorities.
A suicide attack took place at approximately 22:10 on 1 July 2021,in Causeway Bay,Hong Kong. 50-year-old Leung Kin-fai approached a Police Tactical Unit (PTU) police officer from behind and stabbed him,injuring the officer's scapula and piercing his lung,before Leung committed suicide by stabbing his own heart. Leung was immediately subdued by surrounding police,arrested and sent to hospital. He died at 23:20.
On 22 February,Xia Baolong,director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office,proposed that Hong Kong's governance had to be in the hands of "patriots". Observers considered it possible that the definition of "patriot" would require candidates for public office to embrace the rule of the Chinese Communist Party,as also suggested by Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang;and that this signified a departure from the position that had prevailed since a speech by China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1984.
Revolution of Our Times is a 2021 Hong Kong documentary film directed by Kiwi Chow. With interviews and footage of the frontline protest scenes,the film covers the stories of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. The documentary takes its name from a locally well-known political slogan "liberate Hong Kong,revolution of our times" which has been ruled as illegal by the Hong Kong High Court. The film had its debut in the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in France and is currently banned in China and Hong Kong.
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.
