Free Republic

The White House condemned a new election security law signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday. “Florida is moving in the wrong direction,” Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said to reporters aboard Air Force One. DeSantis signed the bill Thursday morning which puts limits on ballot box drop boxes, voting by mail, and ballot harvesting, while also enhancing voter ID requirements. “Me signing this bill here says, ‘Florida, your vote counts. Your vote is going to cast with integrity and transparency, and this is a great place for democracy,’” DeSantis said at a signing ceremony for the bill....

Ireland is being considered as a possible location for an “international charter city” to be developed in anticipation of a mass exodus of Hong Kongers fleeing China’s tightening grasp on their home. Ivan Ko, a Hong Kong citizen with decades of experience in real estate and property development, has reportedly been searching for places around the world to build a new version of Hong Kong since China implemented its new national security law in the city. The charter city would be designed to have its own tax regime and regulations, U.K.’s The Telegraph reported. Last week, the British government outlined...

Boris Johnson denounced China’s imposition of a security law on Hong Kong as a “clear and serious” violation of its treaty with Britain, vowing to introduce a bespoke five-year visa for as many as 2.9 million Hong Kong citizens with British national (overseas) status. --- He said “China has broken its promise to the people of Hong Kong under its own laws. 
China has breached its international obligations to the United Kingdom under the joint declaration.
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Beijing unveiled the details of the much-anticipated law late on Tuesday after weeks of uncertainty, pushing China’s freest city and one of the world’s most glittering financial hubs on to a more authoritarian path. As thousands of protesters gathered for an annual rally marking the anniversary of the former British colony’s handover to China in 1997, riot police used pepper spray and fired pellets as they made arrests after crowds spilled into the streets chanting “resist till the end” and “Hong Kong independence”. “I’m scared of going to jail but for justice I have to come out today, I have...

A blueprint for a controversial new national security law for Hong Kong, as proposed by China, has caused concerns that the semi-autonomous city’s vocal clergy who have supported the democracy movement could be extradited to and tried in mainland China. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp legislature, may formally approve the law, which broadens Beijing’s direct control over Hong Kong and erodes the city’s human rights and freedoms, at a June 28-30 meeting. Submitted last week for deliberation, the draft covers four categories of crimes: succession, subversion of state power, local terrorist activities and collaborating with...

Chinese authorities have been leveling threats against the United States in the past few days, in the face of possible U.S. sanctions against China after Beijing passed a national security law for Hong Kong. On May 28, ChinaÂ’s rubber-stamp legislature, the National PeopleÂ’s Congress (NPC), passed a draft resolution of the law, which will pave the way for Chinese security agencies to operate in the city. BeijingÂ’s endorsement of the resolution drew immediate criticism and outcry from many local pro-democracy lawmakers. Later on the same day, President Donald Trump announced he will hold a press conference on China on Friday....