Bbc news review hong kong riots năm 2024

Books by pro-democracy figures have been removed from public libraries in Hong Kong in the wake of a controversial new security law.

The works will be reviewed to see if they violate the new law, the authority which runs the libraries said.

The legislation targets secession, subversion and terrorism with punishments of up to life in prison.

Opponents say it erodes the territory's freedoms as a semi-autonomous region of China. Beijing rejects this.

Hong Kong's sovereignty was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 and certain rights were supposed to be guaranteed for at least 50 years under the "one country, two systems" agreement.

Since the security law came into effect on Tuesday, several leading pro-democracy activists have stepped down from their roles. One of them - one-time student leader and local legislator Nathan Law - has fled the territory.

At least nine books have become unavailable or marked as "under review", according to the South China Morning Post newspaper. They include books authored or co-authored by Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy activist, and pro-democracy politician Tanya Chan.

On Saturday, Mr Wong tweeted that the new law "imposes a mainland-style censorship regime" on Hong Kong, calling it "one step away from ... actual book banning".

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Beijing has dismissed criticism of the law, saying it is necessary to stop the type of mass pro-democracy protests seen in Hong Kong during much of 2019, which at times exploded into very violent clashes between protesters and police.

It has rejected complaints by the UK and other Western nations that it is in breach of guarantees it made to protect Hong Kong's unique freedoms as interference in its internal affairs.

Fear and uncertainty everywhere

By Danny Vincent, BBC News, Hong Kong

Hong Kong was promised certain political freedoms for 50 years after the handover. It was guaranteed rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and an independent judicial system.

To many Hong Kong residents, the national security law represents a premature end to those freedoms.

Supporters say the law will help to restore order after a year of protest. But critics say it is being used to criminalise opposition to Beijing.

The removal of political books from public libraries would have been unimaginable just a week ago. In today's Hong Kong, business owners remove messages of support for the protest movement from their premises, fearful that they could be interpreted as attempts at inciting subversion.

So far, 10 people have been arrested for allegedly violating the new law. But fear and uncertainty are widespread. Protesters now call for demonstrators to hold up blank placards at marches. They fear that their words could lead to life imprisonment.

What is the security law?

The law is wide-ranging, and gives Beijing powers to shape life in Hong Kong that it has never had before. The law makes inciting hatred of China's central government and Hong Kong's regional government offences.

It also allows for closed-door trials, wire-tapping of suspects and the potential for suspects to be tried on the Chinese mainland.

Media caption,

Many residents worry the new law means the end of the "one country, two systems" principle

Acts including damaging public transport facilities - which often happened during the 2019 protests - can be considered terrorism.

There are also concerns over online freedom as internet providers might have to hand over data if requested by police.

The new Amazon Prime television series, featuring Nicole Kidman, centres around the lives of three American women

It's a show about the life of foreigners in Hong Kong - but has aired everywhere except in the city itself.

Expats - an Amazon Prime series starring Nicole Kidman - centres around the lives of three American women.

Set in 2014, it includes scenes from the "Umbrella Movement" - a city-wide protest calling for free elections in the city - that took place that year.

Protests have now all but disappeared from Hong Kong after Beijing cracked down using a controversial new law.

It is not clear whether the decision to not show the series comes from Hong Kong's authorities or Amazon Prime Video.

A government spokesman told the BBC they had "no comment on operational arrangement of individual businesses". The BBC has contacted Amazon for a response.

This is not the first controversy surrounding the show.

In 2021, when Ms Kidman arrived in Hong Kong for the shooting of Expats, the Australian star was suspected to have received special treatment to bypass the city's strict Covid-19 rules.

She was reportedly spotted out and about just two days after touching down - news that angered locals who needed to go through lengthy quarantine periods when returning from overseas - with some even needing to stay at temporary quarantine camps.

Local authorities said at the time that the restrictions were waived for the team "to carry out designated professional work".

While the show has received relatively positive reviews from critics, social media users in Hong Kong were bemused, pointing out the contrast between the treatment the show received - and the fact that it later could not be shown.

"The government deserves this portrayal after letting these celebrities into the city (with no quarantine) during Covid restrictions while locals had to pay for a hotel for three weeks if they came back from abroad," an Instagram user said.

"Filmed in HK... but can't be viewed in HK... the international city," another user commented with a laugh-crying emoji.

'Currently unavailable'

The six-part limited series, based on Janice YK Lee's best-selling novel The Expatriates and directed by Lulu Wang, released its first two episodes on Friday.

While the story focuses on how three women's lives intersect after a family tragedy, it also contains scenes from the Umbrella movement - with the first episode containing brief shots of protesters shouting "I want universal suffrage" in Cantonese. The trailer of the show also showed iconic scenes of demonstrators holding umbrellas during the protests.

While the show is listed as worldwide available on Amazon's website, Hong Kong viewers see a "currently unavailable" message when trying to access the episodes.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Demonstrators paralysed Hong Kong thoroughfares in 2014 when they demanded the full rights for the territory to pick its leaders.

Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by Britain as a colony but then returned to China.

In 2019, protests kicked off in the territory over plans to allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China under certain circumstances. Clashes between police and activists became increasingly violent, with police firing live bullets and protesters attacking officers and throwing petrol bombs.

After months of pro-democracy protests, Beijing introduced the wide-ranging national security law, which introduces heavy penalties - up to life in prison - for offences including subversion and secession.

In 2021, Hong Kong also passed a law banning films deemed to violate China's national security interests - though the AFP news agency quoted Hong Kong's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau as saying that the city's film censorship laws do not apply to streaming services.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Front Row this month, filmmaker Lulu Wang mentioned how the team had trodden carefully on the political scenes of the show. "We shot most of the political stuff in Los Angeles, it's definitely challenging. You know there is a lot of questions of like 'Can you show this', 'What can you not'," says Wang. "We worked with legal teams to really guide us, because you have to do it responsibly also, and there's so many people who are working on it, who live in Hong Kong," she said.

"But it was very important to me to be able to show this particular moment in this year in Hong Kong very accurately."

What is the reason for the Hong Kong riots?

The founding cause of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests was the proposed legislation of the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill. However, other causes have been pointed out, such as demands for democratic reform, the Causeway Bay Books disappearances, or a general fear of losing a "high degree of autonomy".

What stopped the Hong Kong protests?

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 largely silenced the protests. Tensions mounted again in May 2020 after Beijing's decision to promulgate a national security bill for Hong Kong. More than a hundred people, including several prominent activists, have been arrested since the imposition of the law.

Is Hong Kong safe protests?

Protests and civil unrest There were some violent clashes between police and protesters. Protests are rare but could take place at any time. If you are near a demonstration, follow the advice of local authorities and move away to a safe place.

What happened to Hong Kong activists?

On Thursday, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force issued a bounty of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,200) each for the arrest of five activists, the latest to be added to the authorities' bounty list. All five have left Hong Kong and now live overseas.