TOP NEWS

China’s on Monday said it had imposed sanctions on unspecified U.S. Congress members, government officials, and heads of non-governmental organisations in response to their advocacy in support of Hong Kong freedoms, and following the U.S. State Department’s March 31 sanctioning of six Hong Kong and Chinese government officials.

A U.S. federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must rehire staff at U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA), calling dismissals linked to the March closure of RFA’s parent company unlawful.

North America – Hong Kong

Canada’s Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force identified a wide-ranging repression campaign targeting Joe Tay, an activist wanted by the Hong Kong authorities who is a parliamentary candidate in Monday’s general election.

Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Frances Hui wrote an opinion piece in the New York Post on how it felt to watch from afar as her parents were paraded in front of the press after being detained by Hong Kong’s national security police.

In National Review, Jay Nordlinger followed up Jimmy Lai’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, calling him “one of the heroic figures of our age” and tracing some notable past winners, including South African anti-apartheid activist Albert John Lutuli and Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo.

UK – Hong Kong

On May 6, CFHK Foundation President Mark Clifford will join host Neil Coyle MP, Chair of the Labour Friends of Hong Kong, for “Political Prisoners: the UK’s response,” a panel discussion highlighting the need for stronger action from the British government on political prisoners and enhanced consular support for its own citizens. Register here to join us.

CFHK Foundation Public Affairs and Advocacy Junior Manager Chloe Cheung appeared on the CTRL ALT DECEIT podcast to share her story and explain how Hong Kong’s situation fits into the global struggle between democracy and authoritarianism.

CFHK Foundation Head of UK Public Affairs and Advocacy Robert Clark told the Daily Mail that an expanded People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine fleet will give China a “strategic edge” in its effort to dominate important sea lines of communication as far as Australia and the Indian Ocean.

Hong Kong

A biannual Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club survey of 69 members found that 62 percent thought the professional environment had worsened since the last poll, while a majority reported self-censoring and about one-third said they were considering leaving due to press freedom concerns.

Jimmy Lai Biography, ‘Troublemaker’ Updates

Elizabeth Economy reviewed “The Troublemaker” in Foreign Affairs, noting that in reading about Jimmy Lai’s life, “one finds it difficult not to feel inspired by a man of boundless generosity and fearlessness, whom even prison cannot truly contain.”

Mark Clifford returned to the “John Batchelor Show” to talk about Jimmy Lai’s perseverance and the prescience of his previous book, “Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: What China’s Crackdown Reveals about Its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere.”

Iris Hsu interviewed “Troublemaker” author Mark Clifford for Radio Taiwan International.