Hong Kong Airport Smoking Room

Jun 9, 2015

Cocking a snook at political correctness! 😀 – © Mark Alexander

Geschichte des Drogenhandels - Der große Rausch (1/3) | Doku HD Reupload | ARTE

Dec 27, 2023 | Heroin und Kokain haben in der Weltwirtschaft genauso viel Gewicht wie Erdöl und Textilien. Die dreiteilige Dokumentation zeichnet die Geschichte des globalen Drogenhandels nach. In dieser Folge: Von den Anfängen im 19. Jahrhundert bis hin zu den neuen synthetischen Drogen

Heroin und Kokain haben in der Weltwirtschaft genauso viel Gewicht wie Erdöl und Textilien. Für die Entstehung der mächtigen Drogenkartelle sind die Kolonialmächte ebenso verantwortlich wie Pharmaunternehmen, Bankensysteme und Geheimdienste der ganzen Welt. In drei Folgen zeichnet ARTE die Geschichte des globalen Drogenhandels nach. Im 19. Jahrhundert breitete sich Opium auf Betreiben der Kolonialmächte in ganz Asien aus. Zur gleichen Zeit entdeckte die pharmazeutische Industrie des Westens mit Morphium, Kokain und Heroin neue Wundermittel. Während sich die Rauschgiftabhängigkeit zum weltweiten Problem entwickelte, wurden Drogen nach und nach verboten. Infolge der Prohibition entstanden die ersten Drogenkartelle, die immer wieder den Schutz der Staaten suchen sollten. Einen beispiellosen Boom erlebten diese kriminellen Netzwerke während des Kalten Krieges, als Geheimdienste Drogen politisch instrumentalisierten. Die USA mussten das teuer bezahlen: Ein Drittel ihrer Soldaten in Vietnam waren 1970 heroinabhängig. Im Jahr darauf rief US-Präsident Richard Nixon in einer historischen Rede den „Krieg gegen die Drogen“ aus.

Dokureihe, Regie: Christophe Bouquet (F 2020, 52 Min)
Video auf YouTube verfügbar bis zum 23/01/2024

Hong Kong’s Multimillion Dollar Cliffside Mansions on Brink of Collapse after Record Rains

THE GUARDIAN: Police cordon off some properties in Redhill Peninsula and evacuate at least one after typhoon Haikui brought extreme weather

Heavy rains and landslides spell trouble for Hong Kong’s coastal multi-million properties.Photograph: Daniel Ceng/EPA
Luxury cliffside homes in Hong Kong are on the brink of collapse after record breaking rains which killed at least two people, injured more than 100, and caused landslides across the city.

Hong Kong police have cordoned at least three properties in Redhill Peninsula, a coastal housing estate on the southern side of Hong Kong island, and evacuated one which was in “imminent danger”. Photographs of the multimillion dollar residences show large sections of the cliff have fallen away beneath swimming pools and gardens. » | Helen Davidson in Taipei | Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Could Hong Kong's New Immigration Law Ban Residents from Leaving? | DW News

Aug 1, 2021 • A new amendment to Hong Kong's immigration law takes effect today. Critics say the change could give the government power to ban residents from leaving the city.

Hong Kong’s administrators say the law, part of China's crackdown in Hong Kong, targets "illegal refugees." But it has prompted a growing exodus.

The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are offering extended work and residency permits to those who have left Hong Kong, and the US Congress is debating a bill to give special visas and refugee status to Hong Kong citizens fleeing political persecution.

Hong Kong Man Arrested for Allegedly Booing Chinese Anthem While Watching Olympics

THE GUARDIAN: Man allegedly also waved colonial-era flags while watching fencer Edgar Cheung’s medal ceremony at a mall

Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of insulting the national anthem, after he allegedly booed the Chinese national anthem while watching an Olympic event at a mall. » | Associated Press | Saturday, July 31, 2021

Hongkong: Das Ende der freien Presse | DW Reporter

Jul 11, 2021 • Nachdem Peking ihre Konten gesperrt hatte, musste die Zeitung "Apple Daily“ aufgeben. Damit ist eine der letzten chinakritischen Stimmen Hongkongs verstummt. Wie geht es für die Stadt nun weiter? Wir begleiten einen Reporter und einen Fotografen.

One Year of China's Hong Kong Security Law | DW News

Jun 30, 2021 • Global rights group Amnesty International sharply criticized the national security law the Chinese government imposed on Hong Kong one year ago. It has created a "human rights emergency" in the city, it said.

Hong Kong authorities have been using the law to target dissent and justify "censorship, harassment, arrests and prosecutions that violate human rights," Amnesty added.

"In one year, the National Security Law has put Hong Kong on a rapid path to becoming a police state and created a human rights emergency for the people living there," Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said.

China introduced the controversial national security law a year ago to crack down on what it deems subversion, secessionism, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Beijing insisted the measure was needed to restore stability in Hong Kong, which witnessed huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. But rights activists and critics of the Chinese government view it as a means for Beijing to impose its will on Hong Kong and crush dissent.

‘A Form of Brainwashing’: China Remakes Hong Kong

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Neighbors are urged to report on one another. Children are taught to look for traitors. Officials are pressed to pledge their loyalty.

HONG KONG — With each passing day, the boundary between Hong Kong and the rest of China fades faster.

The Chinese Communist Party is remaking this city, permeating its once vibrant, irreverent character with ever more overt signs of its authoritarian will. The very texture of daily life is under assault as Beijing molds Hong Kong into something more familiar, more docile.

Residents now swarm police hotlines with reports about disloyal neighbors or colleagues. Teachers have been told to imbue students with patriotic fervor through 48-volume book sets called “My Home Is in China.” Public libraries have removed dozens of books from circulation, including one about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Hong Kong had always been an improbability. It was a thriving metropolis on a spit of inhospitable land, an oasis of civil liberties under iron-fisted rule. A former British colony that returned to China in 1997, the city was promised freedoms of speech, assembly and the press unimaginable in the mainland, in an arrangement Beijing called “one country, two systems.” » | Vivian Wang and Alexandra Stevenson | Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, Symbol of Pro-democracy Movement, to Close

THE GUARDIAN: Tabloid founded by Jimmy Lai and targeted by police raid last week will print final edition on Thursday

Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily will shut down online at midnight on Wednesday and print its final edition on Thursday, in a move observers fear signals the death-knell for press freedom in the territory.

The paper and its activist founder, Jimmy Lai, had become symbols of the pro-democracy movement and a thorn in the side of Hong Kong’s government and police, making it a prime target in the government’s efforts to stifle Hong Kong’s media.

National security police raided its offices last week as part of a crackdown that also included the freezing of its assets and accounts, crippling the company and guaranteeing its demise. » | Helen Davidson | Wednesday, June 23, 2021

A Hongkong, cinq responsables du journal prodémocratie « Apple Daily » arrêtés

LE MONDE : Une descente a eu lieu jeudi dans les locaux du quotidien. Son rédacteur en chef, Ryan Law, a été arrêté.

Cinq responsables du journal prodémocratie de Hongkong Apple Daily, dont son rédacteur en chef Ryan Law, ont été arrêtés jeudi 17 juin en vertu de la loi de sécurité nationale, ont annoncé la police et le média.

Les cinq dirigeants ont été arrêtés au cours d’une descente dans les locaux du média « pour collusion avec un pays étranger ou avec des éléments externes visant à mettre en danger la sécurité nationale », a fait savoir la police de Hongkong dans un communiqué. Apple Daily a précisé que M. Law figurait parmi les personnes interpellées.

« Tous sont des dirigeants d’Apple Daily. Ils connaissent donc très bien les activités quotidiennes de l’entreprise », a déclaré à la presse le commissaire principal, Steve Li. » | Le Monde avec AFP et Reuters | jeudi 17 juin 2021

Hong Kong on the Brink of a Total Breakdown? | DW News

A Hong Kong police chief has said pro-democracy protesters are pushing the city to "the brink of a total breakdown". The last two days have been among the most violent since the demonstrations began five months ago. The main flashpoint has become the university district, where there have been clashes between demonstrators and police.

Hong Kong Protesters Attack Metro Stations after Face Mask Ban

Thousands of people swept into the streets of Hong Kong for a night of violent protests after the government activated sweeping colonial-era powers for the first time in over half a century, using them to ban face masks. After darkness fell, crowds set fire to two metro stations and vandalised shops and businesses considered pro-China, leading riot police to respond with teargas Violence grips Hong Kong as Lam activates emergency powers

THE GUARDIAN: Violence grips Hong Kong as Lam activates emergency powers » | Emma Graham-Harrison in Hong Kong | Friday, October 4, 2019

The Last Hong Kong Governor: Chris Patten on 20 Years after the Handover

Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s last governor, handed the former colony back to China on 1 July 1997 to be ruled with a degree of autonomy under a system called “one country, two systems”

Inside Story - Is China Nervous about the Latest Election in Hong Kong?

Beijing reiterates that calls for Hong Kong independence will not be tolerated. Presenter: Adrian FinighanGuests:Joseph Cheng - coordinator of the Power for Democracy GroupXia Jiudong - senior research fellow at the China Institute of International StudiesSteve Tsang - professor of contemporary Chinese studies at the University of Nottingham.

Hong Kong Tycoon Rescinds £80 Million Dowry for Lesbian Daughter

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hong Kong businessman withdraws £80 million 'marriage bounty' for gay daughter after her heartfelt open letter – but refuses to accept partner

A Hong Kong tycoon has withdrawn his £80 million "marriage bounty" to find his lesbian daughter a male suitor after she defended her sexuality in a heartfelt open letter, but emphatically refused to accept her partner into the family.

Gigi Chao asked her father, flamboyant property developer Cecil Chao, in an open letter on Wednesday to treat her partner of nine years as a "normal, dignified human being".

Her plea came after Chao, who refuses to recognise her as a lesbian, last week doubled the "marriage bounty" on his daughter to HK$1 billion (£80 million).

The initial offer of HK$500 million two years ago attracted 20,000 candidates after the outlandish declaration made international headlines.

"If this is what she wants to be for the time being, it's all over," the elder Chao, wearing a bright orange textured coat and dark-tinted sunglasses, told CNN in an interview on Thursday. » | AFP | Friday, January 31, 2014

Related »

Hong Kong Tycoon's Daughter Defends Lesbian Relationship

BBC: Gigi Chao, the daughter of a Hong Kong tycoon has urged her father to accept she is a lesbian, after he offered millions to find her a husband.

In a open letter Ms Chao says Cecil Chao should accept her partner and "treat her like a normal, dignified human being".

Ms Chao, 33, who married her long-term partner Sean Eav in France in 2012, also emphasised: "There are plenty of good men, they are just not for me."

Mr Chao last week reportedly offered to double his 2012 offer of $65m (£40m).

She told the BBC she wrote the letter to set the record straight. (+ BBC audio) » | Thursday, January 30, 2014

U.S. Urges Russia to Hand Over Snowden
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — An increasingly frustrated Obama administration escalated its criticism on Monday of Russia, China and Ecuador, the countries that appeared to be protecting Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive former government contractor wanted for leaking classified documents, who has eluded what has become a global American manhunt.

The White House spokesman, Jay Carney, told reporters that relations with China had suffered a setback over its apparent role in approving a decision on Sunday by Hong Kong to let Mr. Snowden board a flight to Moscow and avoid arrest — even though his passport had been revoked. Mr. Carney also warned the Russian authorities that they should expel Mr. Snowden into American custody. » | Peter Baker and Rick Gladstone | Monday, June 24, 2013

Snowden 'Arrives at Moscow Airport from Hong Kong'

BBC: A plane believed to be carrying US intelligence fugitive Edward Snowden has arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong, from where the US was seeking his extradition on charges of espionage.

There is speculation that he might now fly on to another country.

Hong Kong said Washington had failed to meet the requirements for extradition.

Mr Snowden, an intelligence contractor, fled to Hong Kong in May after revealing details of internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence.

The Aeroflot flight, SU213, landed in Moscow at 17:10 local time (13:10 GMT).

The Russia 24 TV channel has said Mr Snowden does not have a Russian visa, so will stay in the airport overnight before, the channel says, flying to Cuba on Monday.

A source at the airline company was quoted as saying that, from Cuba, he would fly on to Venezuela. Both countries are believed unlikely to comply with any US extradition request.

Whistleblowing website Wikileaks has issued a statement saying that it has helped to find him "political asylum in a democratic country". » | Sunday, June 23, 2013

Hong Kong Rally Backs Snowden, Denounces Allegations of U.S. Spying
REUTERS.COM: A few hundred rights advocates and political activists marched through Hong Kong on Saturday to demand protection for Edward Snowden, who leaked revelations of U.S. electronic surveillance and is now believed to be holed up in the former British colony.

Marchers gathered outside the U.S. consulate shouting slogans denouncing alleged spying operations aimed at China and Hong Kong, but the numbers were modest compared to rallies over other rights and political issues.

"Arrest Obama, free Snowden," protesters shouted outside the slate grey building as police looked on. Many waved banners that said: "Betray Snowden, betray freedom", "Big brother is watching you" and "Obama is checking your email". » | Grace Li and Venus Wu | Reuters | Hong Kong | Saturday, June 15, 2013

Escobar: Obama Starts Syria War to Deviate from Snowden Scandal
CIA whistle blower Edward Snowden has reportedly been stopped from flying to the UK. The man who lifted the lid on America's secret surveillance activities is being pursued by Washington. For his latest revelation, he told a Hong Kong newspaper that the U.S. repeatedly hacks into Chinese computer networks. For more about the leaks and Snowden's future we're now joined live by Pepe Escobar, a roving correspondent for the Asia Times.