Vatican City, May 17, 2021 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Stephen Chow, S.J. as the next bishop of Hong Kong.
Chow, 61, has served as the provincial of the Jesuits’ Chinese Province since 2018. In that role, he led the Jesuit order in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China as the Vatican-China deal was first signed and during the crackdown on Hong Kong’s democracy protest movement.
The Vatican announced Chow’s appointment on May 17, more than two years after the death of Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung left Hong Kong without a permanent bishop.
Fr. Stephen Chow Sau-yan, 周守仁, was born in Hong Kong on Aug. 7, 1959. He studied in the United States, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota, before entering the Society of Jesus in Dublin, Ireland at the age of 25.
HK tycoon assets freeze a warning to investors: MAC
By Ben Blanchard / Reuters, TAIPEI
The government yesterday warned that Hong Kong’s decision to freeze assets belonging to jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英) was a sign to the international community that doing business in the Chinese-controlled territory was becoming increasingly risky.
The assets freeze, announced on Friday, includes all shares in his company, Next Digital the first time a listed firm has been targeted by Hong Kong’s National Security Law.
Shortly before the announcement, the Taiwanese arm of Lai’s popular
Apple Daily newspaper said it would stop publishing its print version, blaming declining advertising revenue and more difficult business conditions in Hong Kong linked to politics.
HKSAR s legislature requires district councilors to take oath By GANG WEN in Hong Kong | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2021-05-13 07:57 Share CLOSE Photo taken on March 12, 2021 shows the exterior of the headquarters of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. [Photo/Xinhua]
Hong Kong s legislature passed a bill on Wednesday that requires district councilors to swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region when assuming office. The bill will come into effect on May 21.
The Public Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices)(Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021 was passed by a 40-to-1 vote.
The bill requires district councilors to take the oath, which was previously required only to five categories of public servants. Those who decline or neglect to do so, or breach their oath, will be disqualified and banned from running for public office for five
HK’s Joshua Wong pleads guilty over vigil last year
Reuters, HONG KONG
Hong Kong democracy advocate Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) and four others yesterday pleaded guilty of participating in an illegal assembly on June 4 last year to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.
It was the first time the vigil had been banned in the territory, with police citing, as it did for all demonstrations last year, COVID-19 restrictions on group gatherings. It is expected to face a similar fate this year.
Still, tens of thousands of people lit candles across Hong Kong in what was largely a peaceful event, bar a brief skirmish with riot police in one neighborhood.