Underground Asia Global Revolutionaries and the Assault on Empire by Tim Harper Harvard University Press, 2021 This dauntingly detailed book on the roots of Asia’s anti-colonial movements documents the early influence of anarchism, and how it was ultimately displaced by… Read moreBook review: Underground Asia
The first “patriots only” vote under Hong Kong’s new political system was held Sept. 19, to choose members for a 1,500-member Election Committee—although only some 360 of the seats were actually contested. Voting was restricted to some 5,000 individuals representing different professions and… Read moreHong Kong: ‘patriots’ in, democrats out
Four key members of the group behind Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Massacre vigil were arrested Sept. 8. The arrests came the morning after the activists publicly refused a police demand for information as part of a “national security” probe into the… Read moreMembers of HK Tiananmen vigil group arrested
Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Aug. 2 charged pro-democracy activist Au Nok-hin and Cantopop singer Wong Yiu-ming, AKA Anthony Wong, with “corrupt conduct” for allegedly breaching election laws by having Wong perform two songs at a rally for Au in… Read moreHong Kong: crackdown on dissident Cantopop
In Episode 78 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg offers a report and analysis of the “100 Years of Chinese Communist Party Oppression” rally outside the Chinese consulate in New York City, jointly organized by groups including Project Black Mask Hong… Read morePodcast: democracy or separatism for China?
Hong Kong police arrested 11 people for distributing “seditious publications” on July 1, as the force erected tight cordons across the city on the 24th anniversary of its handover to China. Citing pandemic restrictions, the Security Bureau warned that those taking… Read moreHong Kong police thwart Handover anniversary demos
For the second year running, authorities in Hong Kong banned the annual June 4 vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Citing the ongoing restrictions imposed to contain COVID-19, hundreds of police officers closed off Victoria Park, where the vigil has traditionally… Read moreHong Kong authorities shut down Tiananmen massacre vigil
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong and three others pleaded guilty on April 30 to charges related to their participation in last year’s June 4 vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre. Wong, one of the city’s most prominent pro-democracy advocates, is… Read moreJoshua Wong pleads guilty to Tiananmen vigil charge
Ten veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy activists—all aged 60 or older—were sentenced on April 16 for participating in two unpermitted demonstrations, both in August 2019. They include Martin Lee, 82, hailed as Hong Kong’s “Father of Democracy,” and former lawmaker Margaret Ng, 73, who… Read moreHong Kong: pro-democracy activists sentenced
A Hong Kong court on April 1 found seven prominent democracy activists guilty of unauthorized assembly for their involvement in a 2019 peaceful anti-government protest. The defendants, all 60 years or older, include media figure Jimmy Lai and veteran Democratic… Read moreHong Kong: pro-democracy activists found guilty
Erik Prince, former CEO of the notorious private military company Blackwater, violated the UN arms embargo on Libya with a clandestine pipeline to a rebel warlord, according to a confidential report to the Security Council obtained by the New York Times. The report… Read moreLibya: Blackwater CEO trafficked arms to Russia-backed warlord
An utterly maddening story in the Princeton Planet Dec. 8 informs us that exiled Chinese dissident Teng Biao has been facing protests at his home in New Jersey’s Princeton Junction—by fellow opponents of China’s dictatorship. They are, absurdly, accusing him of being… Read moreTrump co-opts Chinese dissidents —stirring dissent
