The ‘China Model’ Is Expanding in Hong Kong There are new signs of Hong Kong’s internet, legal, and press systems following in Beijing’s footsteps. By March 02, 2021 Advertisement From website blocking to SIM card registration to bail denial and a major shakeup at the public broadcaster, more signs of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s political, legal, and media controls have appeared in Hong Kong over the past month. The encroaching hand of Beijing was especially noticeable in three crucial areas: internet controls, criminal prosecutions, and public broadcasting. Internet Controls Internet controls restricting free speech and anonymity, which recall those in mainland China, had not previously been evident in Hong Kong. But such controls are starting to emerge in the territory. On February 12, internet service providers blocked access to the Taiwan Transitional Justice Commission website, according to internet users and reporters who said they could only access the site through a Virtual Private Network (VPN). The latest block comes a month after authorities ordered a block on the activist website HKChronicles, a platform that had been used by activists to dox police officers (among them, those involved in attacking protesters) and expose pro-Beijing businesses.