Excl: Hong Kong activist Nathan Law slams firms ‘colluding’ with Beijing January 21, 2021 Western firms operating in China and Hong Kong are “compromising their integrity,” one of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy activists has told City A.M. Nathan Law, one of the leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests in the territory and now in exile in London, warned that “Beijing manipulates its economic power to conduct and expand [...]
Outgoing Trump official warns of China telecoms threat January 21, 2021 A top official in the departing Trump administration has issued a stark warning over the threat of Chinese espionage to US telecoms networks and internet freedom. Ajit Pai, who stepped down as chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week, said Beijing-backed spying was the biggest threat to national security facing regulators over the [...]
US says China has committed genocide against Uyghur Muslims January 20, 2021 The US has declared that China has committed “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” against Uyghur Muslims in the country’s northern province of Xinjiang. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo made the announcement yesterday, less than 24 hours from when Donald Trump’s term as President ends. Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state Tony Blinken said [...]
Exclusive: City of London Corporation chief says ‘not our place’ to criticise China human rights abuses January 19, 2021 The City of London Corporation’s policy chief has said it is not the powerful local authority’s role to hold China to account for human rights abuses. Catherine McGuinness told City A.M. that she was “really not clear it’s our place” to publicly criticise the Chinese government for human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and that [...]
Chinese consumer still ‘cautious’ despite impressive 6.5 per cent Q4 growth January 18, 2021 This morning’s economic numbers showed that the Chinese economy expanded by 6.5 per cent during Q4, with the last three months suggesting that economic activity had more or less returned to normal. Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA, called China’s industrial production rise of 7.3 per cent “impressive.” “Made in [...]
Before the Bell: Europe set for lower open on delayed recovery concerns January 18, 2021 After the early week exuberance of the first week of 2021, investor appetite for risk has taken a little bit of a knock the last week, largely down to concerns that the recovery story being priced in may well be a little premature, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, tells City A.M. [...]
The City View: Hong Kong activist Nathan Law January 17, 2021 In this latest edition of The City View podcast, Andy Silvester speaks to exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law. The youngest legislator ever elected in Asia and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people on the planet, Law has been a thorn in the side of Beijing ever since he emerged as a leader [...]
Nathan Law: I’m not entitled to lose hope in Hong Kong’s struggle January 17, 2021 City A.M. Editor Andy Silvester talks to Nathan Law, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people on the planet – discussing the territory’s battle against repression, Beijing’s war on free expression and the need for a global solution to authoritarianism Nathan Law should not be in London [...]
Best of travel: A food odyssey across the South China Sea January 16, 2021 Throughout January we’re remembering better times and sunnier climes by reposting some of our favourite travel stories from the last decade. In this instalment, our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen eats a path across the South China Sea. ••• Hong Kong’s most celebrated restaurants are the kind of Michelin-rated palaces to gastronomy that you can find [...]
Before the Bell: Details of Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package January 15, 2021 Overnight, US President-elect Joe Biden revealed a stimulus package of $1.9 trillion. Ahead of the announcement there was speculation the package would be in the region of $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion. “It was at the upper end of estimates,” David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, tells City A.M. this morning. The programme [...]