The ongoing challenges to democracy in Asia – DW News

Many regions in Asia saw challenges to their democratic form of governance in 2021. But there were always people who stood up to abuses of power. We look at how in Myanmar, Hong Kong, India and the Philippines.

Outcry as memorial to Tiananmen Square victims removed from Hong Kong University

Site of the Pillar of Shame at city’s oldest university under guard after workmen cut up statue Hong Kong’s oldest university and the territory’s authorities have been accused of rewriting history after cutting up and removing a statue mourning those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The erasure of the memorial from where it

Record low turnout for Hong Kong “patriots only” election

Pro-Beijing candidates claimed victory in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) election under the new “patriots only” system, per Reuters. Why it matters: This was the first LegCo since Beijing lawmakers passed a sweeping law to ensure only “patriotic” figures can run for positions of power — which U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken called a “denial of democracy.” Voter turnout was the lowest

Hong Kong press freedom is in ‘free fall’ as China’s journalism crackdown goes global, says Reporters Without Borders

In its latest report on the state of journalism in China, Reporters Without Borders says “the repression no longer spares Hong Kong, once a champion of press freedom.” A prominent international media watchdog says press freedom in Hong Kong is in “free fall,” as it voices concern over the increasing sophistication with which the Chinese

Hong Kong’s Population Shrinks By 89,000 in Just 12 Months

Hong Kong’s population kept falling at a record pace over the past 12 months, as people left the city in the wake of the pandemic and the national security law that curtailed protest and dissent. The city saw an outflow of 89,200 residents in the year that ended in June, leaving its population at about

Hong Kong: PTU disbands after govt, state media accusations

The Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU) announced on Tuesday that it is disbanding, around a week after the government severed ties with the body as it came under attack by state media. In a letter to its members, the union described the decision to disband as “unwanted and difficult”, but said it was one made after

Guilty verdict in first Hong Kong trial held under national security law

Tong Ying-kit case seen as a departure from common law traditions, with accused denied bail and a jury trial The first person charged and tried under Hong Kong’s draconian national security law has been found guilty of terrorism and inciting secession, in a landmark ruling that sets a precedent for future cases brought under the

HK leader says ‘ideologies’ pose security risk, teenagers need to be monitored

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday “ideologies” posed risks to national security and urged parents, teachers and religious leaders to observe the behaviour of teenagers and report those who break the law to the authorities. The financial hub has taken a swift authoritarian turn since China’s imposition of a sweeping national security law

Hong Kong police arrest senior Apple Daily journalist at airport

Fung Wai-kong is seventh senior figure from publication to be arrested in two weeks Hong Kong police have arrested a former senior Apple Daily journalist at the airport while he was attempting to leave the city. The 57-year-old journalist is the seventh staff member of the now-closed pro-democracy newspaper to be detained, after police accused

Nothing wrong with HK being a police state: lawmaker

A pro-Beijing lawmaker has dismissed concerns about the promotion of two officials with law enforcement backgrounds to senior positions in the SAR administration, saying if Hong Kong is now a police state then so be it. Security Secretary John Lee has been appointed as Hong Kong’s new chief secretary – becoming the city’s first top