Hong Kong Tycoons Emerge as Losers From Xi’s Election Revamp Bloomberg 2 hrs ago Shirley Zhao
(Bloomberg) When China regained control of Hong Kong more than two decades ago, the Communist Party entrusted the city’s wealthiest tycoons with enormous influence over local politics.
This week President Xi Jinping took his most dramatic step yet to grab some of that power back.
Xi’s sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system aimed at neutralizing pro-democracy voices will curtail the clout of billionaires such as Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau-kee who used to wield effective control over a quarter of the seats on the 1,200-member Election Committee that decides Hong Kong’s chief executive.
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Hong Kong sent hundreds of people, including a playgroup of infants, into quarantine and locked down residential areas as it tried to contain a coronavirus outbreak that began in a gym near the city center last week.
Hong Kong Outbreak Ensnares Expats With Hundreds Quarantined Bloomberg 3/12/2021
(Bloomberg)
Alarm spread among Hong Kong’s business and expatriate community as a coronavirus outbreak linked to a gym widened and hundreds of people including children were told to go to government centers for quarantine that can last 14 days.
The Department of Health reported 47 new cases linked to the gym, Ursus Fitness, on Friday. Seven were connected to staff and their close contacts, while the remaining 40 were customers. Confirmed cases tied to the gym in Sai Ying Pun, a bustling neighborhood on Hong Kong Island, stand at 64.
“We can’t say the outbreak is under control, I can’t predict how bad it will be,” Department of Health official Chuang Shuk-kwan said at a briefing Friday. “We are still tracing the contacts.”
China to Beef Up Legal Tool Kit; Hong Kong Patriots: NPC Update
Bloomberg 3/8/2021 Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) Beijing pledged to speed up legislation aimed at countering U.S. sanctions, as it seeks to narrow Washington’s advantages in disputes after the Trump administration levied waves of penalties against China. Measures were announced by National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Li Zhanshu as part of his annual report to the Chinese legislature Monday. “We will upgrade our legal tool kit for meeting challenges and guarding against risks in order to oppose foreign sanctions, interference and long-arm jurisdiction.”
Among other highlights on the fourth day of the NPC, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she is unsure if upcoming legislative elections will be delayed again, as Chinese lawmakers work behind closed doors in Beijing to curb opposition candidates’ influence over future votes. The election overhaul announced Friday by