Hong Kong

his aerial photo taken on October 14, 2024 shows apartment blocks in Tung Chung on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)

Hong Kong leader John Lee rolled out plans on Wednesday to ban flats under eight square meters and cut import tax on spirits in a bid to ease a long-term housing crunch and boost the city's sluggish economy.

Hong Kong's new national security law came into force on Saturday, putting into immediate effect tough penalties of up to life imprisonment for crimes including treason and insurrection.

The law — commonly referred to as Article 23 — targets five categories of national security crimes and was swiftly passed by Hong Kong's opposition-free legislature on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's leader John Lee said Tuesday he will only implement United Nations sanctions, after the U.S. warned the territory's status as a financial center could be affected if it acts as a safe haven for sanctioned individuals.

Lee's statement Tuesday came days after a luxury yacht connected to Russian tycoon Alexey Mordashov docked in the city.

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei warns against hubris in what he calls "such a troublesome time" with his first glass sculpture, made on the Venetian island of Murano, with the foreboding subtitle: "Memento Mori," Latin for "Remember You Must Die."

A landmark floating restaurant that fed Cantonese cuisine and seafood to Queen Elizabeth II, Tom Cruise and millions of other diners was towed from the Hong Kong harbor front on June 14 after being closed by the pandemic.

The parent company of Jumbo Floating Restaurant couldn't find a new owner and lacked funds to maintain it after months of COVID-19 restrictions.

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam announced Monday that she will step down in June, ending a divisive term that saw democracy protests squashed and strict pandemic curbs plunge the business hub into international isolation.

Ending months of speculation, Lam confirmed she would not seek a second term when a committee made up of the city's political elite chooses a new leader next month.

The United States will launch a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was quoted as saying by DPA.

US athletes will compete in the Olympics, but President Joe Biden's government will not send diplomats or officials to China's Winter Olympics.

"Our daily lives are getting tougher as China continues to put pressure on Taiwan to accept its political conditions, conditions that would make Taiwan a future Hong Kong," Wu told US Secretary of Health Alex Azar.
Azar's visit to Taiwan was condemned by Beijing, which assessed that it endangers peace.

China has removed the head of its Hong Kong liaison office Wang Zhimin, according to a Jan. 4 post on the official website of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The move comes as sometimes violent protests roil Hong Kong in a months-long show of anti-Beijing sentiment.

Hong Kong authorities have formally withdrawn the controversial bill that allowed the extradition of citizens to mainland China, fulfilling one of five demands of pro-democracy protesters, BTA reported.