1842: Hong Kong was ceded “in perpetuity” – for good – to Britain after China lost the first opium war. This is how the Manchester Guardian told its readers the news. 1860: Peace was short lived though. A second opium war, and another defeat for China, saw the British take the Kowloon peninsula. 1898: With China’s power waning, Britain claimed the “new territories” around Hong Kong on a 99 year lease. 1941: Japan occupied Hong Kong, but British rule resumed after the war. 1948: China faced more upheaval following the…
Day: June 29, 2022
Hong Kong handover: Am I Chinese or a Hongkonger?
On 1 July 1997, Britain returned Hong Kong to China. Overnight, Hongkongers gained a new identity as Chinese citizens. Since then, China has been keen to ensure the city’s residents see themselves as Chinese. But rising tensions between the city and the mainland in recent years have created a deep suspicion of China among some Hongkongers. On the 25th anniversary of handover, we ask two Hongkongers born in that historic year how they view their identity – and what being Hongkonger and Chinese means to them. Video by Tessa Wong,…
Hong Kong’s Dismantled Society
Advertisement For some Hong Kongers, saying farewell to family members and friends has become a common experience over the last two years. Hugs, tears, and waving goodbyes have become a more common sight at the departure hall of Hong Kong’s airport. The number of residents departing Hong Kong by air reached 85,000 in June, the highest number since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with a net outflow of over 21,000. In a parallel universe, others are hopeful about the future of the city. To welcome Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping’s…
China’s Baidu Races Waymo, GM to Develop Self-driving Cars
Advertisement With no one at the wheel, a self-driving taxi developed by tech giant Baidu Inc. is rolling down a Beijing street when its sensors spot the corner of a delivery cart jutting into its lane. The taxi stops a half-car-length away. “So sorry,” a recorded voice tells passengers. The steering wheel turns on its own as the taxi makes its way around the cart. A Baidu technician watches from the front passenger seat. Baidu is China’s highest-profile competitor in a multibillion-dollar race with rival autonomous vehicle developers including Alphabet…
Nato leaders say China is a ‘systemic challenge to Euro-Atlantic security’
From left, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pose for a photo of “Indo-Pacific partners” at the Nato summit in Madrid. Photo: Nato/dpa South China Morning Post
No 10 staff will be able to give evidence confidentially to inquiry into whether PM lied over Partygate – UK politics live
From 1h ago No 10 staff will be able to give evidence confidentially to inquiry into whether PM lied over Partygate, committee says The Commons privileges committee has issued a statement after its first meeting to consider its inquiry into whether Boris Johnson lied to MPs about Partygate. It has issued a wide-ranging call for evidence, and it is inviting whistleblowers to give evidence anonymously if they want. This provision seems intended to encourage civil servants working in No 10, who may have heard Boris Johnson reveal in private that…