Hong Kong will elect its Legislative Council on Sept. 4, and Beijing is alarmed that among the candidates are young activists with a more confrontational policy toward the mainland. Its solution is to require candidates to sign a loyalty pledge affirming that Hong Kong is an “inalienable” part of China before they can register to run. In the past week, election officers have disqualified six candidates for refusing to sign the pledge or, in the…
Posts published in “Day: August 5, 2016”
WASHINGTON—Voters in Hong Kong will be electing members of the territory’s Legislative Council September 4. During past election cycles, candidates only needed to attest they would uphold the freedoms guaranteed in Hong Kong’s Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the territory; this time, however, candidates running for office needed to sign an additional pledge saying Hong Kong was an inalienable part of China. Chan Ho-tin and Yeung Ke-cheong refused to sign the pledge, which then…
BEIJING — President Xi Jinping of China in effect wrote an epitaph to the shrunken influence of his predecessor and former rivals this week when the Communist Party announced major changes to its once-powerful Youth League, a training ground for many officials who have been marginalized under Mr. Xi. The Communist Youth League served as a cradle for generations of Chinese leaders, who rose through it into the high ranks of the party. Mr. Xi’s…
ccA former senior official with the Beijing government went on trial Thursday for allegedly taking bribes totaling 1.9 million US dollars, a local court said Friday. Liu Zhi, former deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, appeared at Beijing’s Second Intermediate People’s Court on Thursday. Liu sought benefits for others by taking advantage of his positions and gained more than 12.66 million yuan (1.9 million US dollars) in illicit profits in the form of cash,…