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Few understand how big an influence Hong Kong money is on the PRC. Over two decades ago I followed that money. In The Year of The Rat days in the late nineties, as the financial crimes investigator for the House Committee on Rules, I followed the actions of one of the wealthiest men in the world. Based in Hong Kong, multi-billionaire Li Ka-shing was one of the most important and richest men in Asia. His financial empire, Hong Kong based, was an important PRC early indicator of Chinese ruling class money and influence in their emergence into global financial markets....

Beijing keeps signaling that it has no appetite for compromise with the people of Hong Kong, let alone adhere to the agreement made for its transfer to China in 1997. As protests enter the fourth month, touched off by an extradition bill that the government refuses to fully withdraw, police have seized pro-democracy leaders in an attempt to silence the dissent. Two leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement were charged with illegal protests: Hong Kong authorities have made their highest-profile arrests, detaining three well-known activists as they clampdown on a wave of unrest in the city. More here: https://t.co/1UxXII9M5I...

Progressive activists crashed an award ceremony honoring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at a San Francisco hotel on Wednesday night, demanding she support the introduction of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Armed with signs that read “We can’t wait,” demonstrators stood on chairs while shouting, “Which side are you on, Pelosi? Impeach!” inside the InterContinental hotel, where the San Francisco Democrat Party members honored the longtime California lawmaker with a lifetime achievement award.

It’s hard for Americans to understand why so many Chinese students attending school in Western countries have turned out in recent days to express support for the Chinese government in its current conflict with Hong Kong protesters. The Chinese students have tried to shout down demonstrators at pro-democracy rallies in the United States, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom. I don’t agree with the students’ pro-Beijing sentiments on Hong Kong, but I think I understand them. They remind me of myself when I first came to the U.S. to study in 2009. Soon after arriving, I saw protests in front of...

Before we get started, I wanted to bring up a curious item. We recently received feedback from a reader who was visiting China and reported that Hot Air appears to be blocked in that country. (We are available in Hong Kong, it seems.) If anyone is viewing the site from China without any issues, could you please drop a note to [email protected]? Thanks.On to the main story. As we’ve been covering the protests in Hong Kong (which may have led to us being blocked), one recurring question has involved the relatively small number of protesters who have engaged in violence...

The Hong Kong anti-government protests have now turned into a flashpoint in an information war between China and the US, after American social media giants Twitter and Facebook struck back at what they said was a state-backed disinformation campaign focused on events in the city. Both companies announced on Monday that they had suspended accounts on their platforms they alleged were part of a Chinese government-backed, coordinated campaign. Twitter said the accounts were meant “to sow political discord in Hong Kong”. The San Francisco-based company also announced, in a separate statement, that it would no longer accept advertising dollars from...

Hong Kong has not yet warranted any call for Beijing to send troops to the city for security purposes amid ongoing protests against the now-abandoned extradition bill, top Beijing adviser and the city’s former justice secretary Elsie Leung Oi-sie said on Sunday. Leung said on a radio programme that even if the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Hong Kong were deployed according to the Basic Law – Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – she did not think the move would damage the governing principle of “one country, two systems”. Leung’s remark came in light of recent reports that large numbers of armed...

Portland, Oregon — The serenity of downtown Portland will be tested yet again on Saturday afternoon. Stores began closing Friday night ahead of dueling protests between groups of right-wing extremists and anti-fascist demonstrators. Several extremist groups are expected to show up, but no one has applied for any type of permit. Police learned about the protest from monitoring social media, and from what they read, there is concern for possible violence.

As a confrontation between Hong Kong protesters and Chinese authorities escalates, Donald Trump has decided to turn up the heat a little himself. Trump had been oddly quiet about the pro-democracy protests in China’s administrative state, even though they have adopted the American flag as one of their symbols of protest. Over the last twenty-four hours, however, Trump has used his Twitter feed to urge Xi Jinping to have a “personal meeting” with protesters to resolve the standoff — and hinted at US trade action if Xi plans any other kind of response.This began last night: I know President...

Aug. 13 (UPI) -- North Korean state media is singling out U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she expressed opposition to the use of force against protesters in Hong Kong. An article in Korean Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun that condemned the protests and alleged the demonstrators were being spurred on by "Western interference" also accused Pelosi, 79, of tampering with Chinese sovereignty. **SNIP** On Monday, Pelosi tweeted, "It is alarming to watch the #HongKong police with support from Beijing intensify their use of force against the protesters and label them violent criminals."

The ongoing protests in Hong Kong have grown recently, with the tactics of the protesters shifting in response to increasingly aggressive actions by the police. They’ve begun shutting down major roadways, as well as closing the airport for two straight days now. Their leader, Carrie Lam, appears to be completely ineffective in either satisfying the protester’s needs and getting them to disperse or gaining any concessions from China to ease the tensions.The Washington Post editorial board has a deep dive into the current state of affairs, claiming that China is the party that has “misread” the protests from the...

A full-scale military crackdown on the Hong Kongers resisting imposition of mainland-style tyranny may be in the cards, but President Xi and his supporters must understand that they will pay a monumental price for any bloodbath. From Xi’s perspective, this is terrible timing, all the more painful because it was a change in Hong Kong’s extradition law pushed by Beijing that set off the protests. A pair of videos on YouTube appear to show columns of military units moving into Hong Kong (hat tip: Conservative Treehouse) And the regime has ended the three days of protests (video here) at...

The biggest protest movement in Moscow in years has gripped the capital in recent weeks as loyalty to Mr. Putin has been waning among Russians who have seen their living standards slip under the weight of chronic economic problems and Western sanctions...approximately 50,000 people had joined the authorized march that took place behind police cordons with hundreds of armored riot police looking on. Demonstrations have been held weekly since July... “For a long time I’ve watched the situation in this country get worse and worse,” said Sergei Pushkaryov, 58, a businessman, who said he had protested against Mr. Putin’s re-election...

All flights grounded: All departing flights have been cancelled in Hong Kong, as thousands of demonstrators descend on the city's International Airport. Alleged police brutality: A small number of protesters have been demonstrating at the airport all weekend, but today's mass gathering was sparked by allegations of unnecessary police violence on Sunday. World transport hub: Hong Kong International Airport is one of the busiest in the world, handling 1,100 flights daily across about 200 destinations. Several countries including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, and Singapore have already issued travel advisories, warning of "violent clashes" between pro-democracy...

Nearly 50,000 Russian opposition activists and their supporters have taken to Moscow’s streets for a fifth consecutive weekend in spite of a government crackdown as support from citizens and celebrities grows across the county. The protests, which demand that Moscow authorities allow independent candidates to appear on the ballot in the city’s upcoming elections, have been the largest wave of demonstrations in Russia since 2011-2012. Independent polling this week said that Moscow residents are more likely to support the protests than oppose them. Moscow police have detained more than 2,300 people at rallies this summer protesting the candidates' exclusion. While...

Are there foreign forces interfering in Hong Kong affairs and fomenting unrest? Of course, there are. Just because local opposition figures laugh it off and ridicule such claims doesn’t make them untrue. And I am not even talking about long-ago, on-record funding of local anti-China groups by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which is financed by the United States Congress. Just consider two incidents from last month, a lively period of anti-government protests. Riding on her high horse, but acting in the most irresponsible way possible, the British Labour Party’s shadow Asia minister, Helen Goodman, released the names of...

An unauthorized protest is taking place in Moscow today. “Unauthorized” means that those participating will risk arrest and possibly time in jail. More than 1300 protesters were detained a week ago, during another unauthorized rally. Scores were brutally beaten by the riot police. The authorities have signaled their intention to crack down hard in the hope of deterring citizens from turning up at today’s protest. Let me explain my reasons for going. This is a protest against the government’s decision to prevent independent candidates from running in the local elections. But the elections are not really the issue. When putting...

Russian opposition leader Lyubov Sobol is among more than 300 people detained over an unauthorised protest in Moscow. What are the protests about? Authorities detained more than 1,000 demonstrators last weekend during a demonstration, one of the biggest crackdowns in years. Election authorities have barred opposition candidates from taking part in Moscow city authority elections planned for 8 September. Officials said many of the signatures required for their candidacy applications were invalid. But protesters say they were excluded for political reasons. What's been happening in Moscow? Authorities have launched an investigation into the protests. On Friday, they detained a number...

- Hong Kong police fired tear gas on Saturday night in confrontations with black-clad activists in the city’s Kowloon area, as the Chinese-controlled territory was again rocked by anti-government protests. In the Nathan Road area, normally packed with shoppers on a Saturday, shutters were down on most street-facing shops, including 7-11 convenience stores, jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook and watch brands Rolex and Tudor. The main entrance to the landmark Peninsula Hotel was closed. Many of Saturday’s demonstrators wore yellow or white hard hats, and the crowds chanted “age of revolution!” and “Hong Kongers, add oil!” - a popular exhortation...

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of influencing the increasingly violent pro-democracy protests that have rocked Hong Kong for two months. "As you all know, they are somehow the work of the US," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press conference in Beijing. Hua added that China would "never allow any foreign forces" to interfere in the semi-autonomous city, and warned that "those who play (with) fire will only get themselves burned." The comments are one of the most direct accusations Beijing has so far made of US interference in Hong Kong politics, and...