Rappler's latest stories on Hong Kong protests
Half million Hong Kong people vote in pro-democracy primaries
(UPDATED) 'Under the vicious national security law, many people worried if such participation would risk violating the law but many people still came out,' says organizer and legal scholar Benny Tai

Hong Kongers scrub social media history in face of security law
Despite assurances from Beijing that political freedoms would not be hindered, many Hong Kongers delete digital references of their opposition to China's ruling Communist Party

Activist Nathan Law flees Hong Kong as protest slogan outlawed
'I have already left Hong Kong and continue the advocacy work on the international level,' Law says in a short English message to journalists, declining to say which country he has gone to

WATCH: Thousands defy protest ban as HK security law takes effect
Thousands of protesters defy restrictions and take to the streets, even under Hong Kong's newly passed national security law

Hong Kong Bar Association 'gravely concerned' by security law
The group says offenses 'are capable of being applied in a manner that is arbitrary, and that disproportionately interferes with fundamental rights, including the freedom of conscience, expression and assembly'

EU says 'essential' that freedoms be protected in Hong Kong
Hong Kong police say they arrested at least 180 people on Wednesday, July 1 – including 7 under a new national security law – as thousands of protesters defy a ban to rally on the anniversary of the city's handover to China

U.S. Senate approves sanctions bill over Hong Kong
The vote comes as China presses forward with a security law that would enforce punishment over subversion and other perceived threats in Hong Kong

Hong Kong satirists say self-censorship already blunting dissent
Ridicule of the powerful is ingrained in Hong Kong's culture, aided by Cantonese, a language often riotously colorful in its insults. But that is something Hong Kongers believe Beijing is determined to stamp out.

EU urges China to reconsider Hong Kong security law
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says she had warned the Chinese leaders that Hong Kong owes its economic success to its autonomy from Beijing

China to set up 'national security agency' in Hong Kong – state media
Chinese state media Xinhua says the eventual law would criminalize 'secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces' that endanger security.

Taiwan to open new office to assist Hongkongers
Tsai's government will cover 'necessary expenses' for those who come to Taiwan because their freedom and safety are under threat, says Chen Ming-tong, chairman of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council

China moves closer to passing Hong Kong security law
A draft of the controversial national security bill is submitted to the country's top lawmaking body and could be approved as soon as Saturday, June 20

Hongkongers sing protest anthem 1 year after major clashes
Thousands answer online calls to gather at 8:00 pm in local malls and neighborhoods to chant pro-democracy slogans and sing 'Glory to Hong Kong' – a protest anthem that became hugely popular during the turmoil

Fearful Hong Kongers rush to secure limited British passports
(UPDATED) Some 2.9 million people – anyone born before 1997 – are eligible for BN(O) status and Britain has said any citizenship plan will also include them

Hong Kong prosecutors add riot charges over legislature siege
Prosecutors add rioting – a colonial-era law that carries up to 10 years in prison – to existing charges against prominent pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong

Anniversary protests as Hong Kong democracy movement faces triple threat
(UPDATED) A year later, protesters are on the back foot with Beijing planning to impose a sweeping law banning subversion, secession, terrorism, and foreign interference
[OPINION] We can’t breathe
'Today, we are breathless, but we cannot be breathless for too long, for we may not have anything left to fight for and anything left to fight with'

Hong Kong protesters seek sanctuary overseas as noose tightens
The current trickle of those leaving Hong Kong could become an exodus after Beijing announces plans to impose a sweeping national security law here in response to the protests

White House says China's Tiananmen Square 'slaughter' not forgotten
Open discussion of the brutal suppression, in which hundreds if not thousands are believed to have been killed, is forbidden in mainland China

Hong Kong protesters defy ban, rally to remember Tiananmen
(UPDATED) Police arrest some demonstrators in one shopping area, in scenes reminiscent of 7 months of violent protests in 2019, although they allow the main rally to proceed

Hong Kong legislature votes for law banning national anthem insults
(UPDATED) Lawmakers approve the bill with 41 in favor and one against, but the 75-seat chamber's pro-democracy faction refuses to vote and instead shouts slogans denouncing the law

Hong Kong marks Tiananmen crackdown despite virus vigil ban
(UPDATED) This year's service is banned on public health grounds because of the coronavirus pandemic, with barricades surrounding Victoria Park, the traditional ceremony venue, and police patrolling nearby

China warns Britain interfering in Hong Kong will 'backfire'
The United States and Britain have enraged Beijing with their criticism of planned national security legislation that critics fear would destroy the semi-autonomous city's limited freedoms

UK talks to 'Five Eyes' allies about potential Hong Kong exodus
In parliament, Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says he has reached out to intelligence-sharing allies Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada about contingency plans

Hong Kong leader accuses U.S. of 'double standards' over protests
(UPDATED) Both Chinese and Hong Kong officials seize on the unrest gripping the US in their propaganda drive to justify their own crackdown on pro-democracy protests and the national security law plans

Hong Kong police ban Tiananmen vigil for first time in 30 years
Police reject permission for this year's rally saying it would 'constitute a major threat to the life and health of the general public'

Trump strips Hong Kong privileges, restricts entry of some Chinese students
The US president attacks China over its treatment of the former British colony, saying it was 'diminishing the city's longstanding and proud status'

U.S. revocation on Hong Kong: Big symbolism, less certain effect
At the most drastic, Trump could abolish all special commercial privileges and treat the financial hub as any other Chinese city

Hong Kong courts groan under weight of protest trials
Hong Kong police say nearly 9,000 people have been arrested since the often violent protests kicked off last June with 1,600 proceeding to trial so far

China refuses UN Security Council meeting on Hong Kong
'This is another example of the Chinese Communist Party's fear of transparency and international accountability for its actions,' Washington's UN mission says

U.S. revokes Hong Kong's special status as anger grows over China law
(UPDATED) 'No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,' says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Taiwan leader vows 'action plan' for Hong Kong protesters
'The cabinet will come up with a Hong Kong humanitarian assistance action plan...to provide complete planning for Hong Kong people's residency, accommodation and care,' says Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen

Hong Kong police stamp out national anthem law protests
(UPDATED) In a statement police say they 'respect the right of residents to express their views peacefully, but it must be carried out legally'

Trump sounds warning over Hong Kong's future
Trump promises a 'very interesting' US response within days

WATCH: In Hong Kong, clashes erupt over proposed security law
Pro-democracy activists say China's proposed national security law spells the end of the one country, two system agreement

Hong Kong leader tries to reassure investors rattled by China law
Beijing wants to enact legislation banning 'seccession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference' in the international finance hub after months of massive, often-violent pro-democracy protests last year

China threatens U.S. countermeasures if punished for Hong Kong law
China plans to impose a national security law on the city's financial hub, with the Hong Kong security chief backing it as needed in defeating 'terrorism'

Hong Kong police embrace China's security law plan
The statement is part of a flurry of coordinated messages from the city's different security services embracing the law

Thousands protest in Hong Kong over China security law proposal
(3rd UPDATE) Police say at least 180 people were arrested on Sunday, May 24, majority in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts

Outrage in Hong Kong as China pushes security law
(UPDATED) '#HongKong has been the safe harbor for dissent; it's the light, the conscience, the voice that speaks truth to an increasingly powerful China,' tweets Maya Wang, senior China researcher for Human Rights Watch

Hong Kong risks new unrest with China anthem bill – opposition
Pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan says the city is now in a 'very delicate and sensitive situation'

230 arrested in Hong Kong's 1st major protests since virus began
Police say 230 people between the ages of 12 and 65 were arrested on various charges including unlawful assembly, assaulting a police officer, and failing to produce identity documents

China warns Hong Kong protesters against 'stirring up trouble'
Hong Kong police use pepper spray to disperse protesters last Friday, May 1, after a largely peaceful public holiday

Balcony banners, e-rallies as pandemic curbs May Day demos
Except for arrests and a riot in some places, most gatherings on this unusual Labor Day were small and without incident

Police on alert in Hong Kong ahead of planned democracy rallies
Small protests have bubbled up in the past week and activists are hoping to use May Day to muster numbers once more

How Beijing is reigniting Hong Kong's protests
The pro-democracy camp wants to stop a bill that criminalizes disrespecting China's national anthem

Hong Kong dissident reopens bookshop in Taiwan, defying Beijing
Lam Wing-kee is 1 of 5 booksellers from Causeway Bay Books publishing salacious titles about China's leaders. Lam vanished and then resurfaced in custody on the mainland in 2015.

Hong Kong political crisis deepens despite protest lull during virus
Police arrest 15 prominent activists on charges linked to last year's demonstrations. Those detained were not masked protesters who often violently clashed with police, but rather some of the city's best-known moderates.

Hong Kong activists arrested over last year's democracy rallies
Among those arrested is media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of anti-establishment tabloid Apple Daily

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested over pro-democracy rally
Hong Kong police say they also arrested and charged along with Lai, veteran pro-democracy activists Lee Cheuk Yan and Yeung Sum
