Hong kong

By Shirley Zhao and Sheridan Prasso To some he is the “Cockroach King,” accused of being a closet supporter of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and a traitor to China. To others — namely the Trump administration and its allies — he is a Chinese Communist Party loyalist who can’t be trusted with critical infrastructure. Li Ka-shing, who built Hong Kong’s biggest fortune by straddling the divide between China and the West, is now finding it harder than ever to keep both sides happy. As Beijing spars with western governments on everything from Hong Kong to trade and the coronavirus, the 91-year-old billionaire’s business empire has become an important test case for whether international companies can navigate what many are calling a new Cold War. The odds of success are getting smaller by the day, if the stock market is any guide. CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., the largest piece of Li’s empire, now trades at less than half the value … [Read more...] about Hong Kong’s richest man is losing friends in China and the West

Apple said Monday it does not receive requests for user content directly from the Hong Kong government. Instead, it requires authorities there to submit requests under a mutual U.S.-Hong Kong legal assistance treaty. The U.S. Department of Justice receives the requests and reviews them for “legal conformance,” Apple said. … [Read more...] about Tech companies suspend processing Hong Kong government data requests

Although there are no current plans to introduce Douyin to the Hong Kong market, a ByteDance spokesman said, the app already has a sizeable audience in the Asian financial centre as Chinese on the mainland travel and stay in Hong Kong. … [Read more...] about TikTok says it will exit Hong Kong market within days

TikTok will exit the Hong Kong market within days, a spokesman told Reuters late on Monday, as other technology companies including Facebook Inc have suspended processing government requests for user data in the region. The short form video app owned by China-based ByteDance has made the decision to exit the region following China's establishment of a sweeping new national security law for the semi-autonomous city. "In light of recent events, we've decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong," a TikTok spokesman said in response to a Reuters question about its commitment to the market. Kevin Mayer, has said in the past that the app's user data is not stored in China. TikTok has also said previously that it would not comply with any requests made by the Chinese government to censor content or for access to TikTok's user data, nor has it ever been asked to do so. The Hong Kong region is a small, loss-making market for the company, one source familiar with the matter … [Read more...] about TikTok says it will exit Hong Kong market as security law raises worries

TAIPEI: The imposition of a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong has sent chills through Taiwan, deepening fears that Beijing will focus next on seizing the democratic self-ruled island. China and Taiwan split in 1949 after nationalist forces lost a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, fleeing to the island which Beijing has since vowed to seize one day, by force if necessary. "The law makes me dislike China even more," 18-year-old student Sylvia Chang told AFP, walking through National Taiwan University in Taipei. "They had promised 50 years unchanged for Hong Kong but they are getting all the more heavy-handed... I am worried Hong Kong today could be Taiwan tomorrow." Over the years China has used a mixture of threats and inducements, including a promise Taiwan could have the "One Country, Two Systems" model that governs Hong Kong, supposedly guaranteeing key civil liberties and a degree of autonomy for 50 years after the city's 1997 handover. Both Taiwan's two … [Read more...] about ‘We’re next’: Hong Kong security law sends chills through Taiwan