Suppression of Free Speech in Hong Kong

Independent Hong Kong news site Citizen News says it will shut down on Tuesday, citing the deteriorating media environment in the city and the need to protect its staff. Citizen News was the largest remaining independent news outlet in Hong Kong following the shuttering of Apple Daily in June and Stand News last Wednesday. The news outlet announced the decision on Facebook, saying it was made to protect the safety of everyone involved. "Unfortunately, the major changes in our society in the last two years, and the deteriorating media environment, have made it impossible for us to realize our mission without worries," it wrote. "At the centre of a brewing storm, we found ourself in a critical situation. In the face of a crisis, we must ensure the safety and well-being of everyone who are on board.” Citizen News was founded in 2017 by a number of veteran Hong Kong reporters and is supported entirely by crowdfunding. The statement said its website will cease to be updated from Tuesday and will be removed "after a period of time." Since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong in 2020, pro-democracy groups have dissolved, activists and journalists have been arrested, and independent media outlets have shut down. Last summer, Apple Daily, Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy publication, closed after the arrests of multiple journalists and the freezing of millions of dollars of assets under the national security law. And Stand News shuttered after police raided its office last Wednesday, arrested seven people associated with the publication and froze about 61 million Hong Kong dollars ($7.8 million) worth of assets from the company. While an initial government notice referenced a "conspiracy to publish seditious publications" — allegations that stem from a colonial-era crimes ordinance — the police involved with the Stand News case were national security officers. Police said the arrests were connected to multiple "seditious" articles published by the outlet between July 2020 and November 2021. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended the raid, claiming it had nothing to do with what they wrote. "This was purely enforcement work. This has nothing to do with journalistic or media work," Lam said Thursday. — By CNN's Eric Cheung and Tara John ---------- Around Asia ---------- An unidentified man who crossed the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea on Sunday is presumed to be a North Korean defector who made the journey in the opposite direction more than a year ago, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has again admitted there is a "food problem" in the country, during a speech which brought an important five-day meeting of his Korean Worker's Party to a close. Seven states in Malaysia were hit by floods on Sunday and thousands of people were evacuated, taking the total affected by heavy rain in the past two weeks to more than 125,000. A stampede at one of India's holiest shrines left at least 12 people dead on New Year's Day, a local official said.

Unending cycle of lockdowns tests limits of China's zero-Covid policy

Meanwhile in China Nectar Gan and Steve George ---------- A drug store worker rides a bicycle to deliver medicine in Xi'an, a city under lockdown in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on December 31, 2021. For residents in China's northwestern city of Xi'an, the start of 2022 is looking a lot like 2020 — only worse. Since December, the ancient city known as the home of the Terracotta Warriors has been grappling with China's largest community coronavirus outbreak since Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic. To date, more than 1,600 cases have been reported in the city. While the number pales in comparison to those in many other countries, the outbreak pushed China's caseload in the final week of 2021 to the highest level since March 2020. For 12 days and counting, Xi'an's 13 million residents have been confined to their homes. The city, formerly a tourist hotspot, welcomed the new year with deserted streets, shuttered stores, sealed-off residential compounds and an empty airport. The lockdown is the strictest and largest since Wuhan, which sealed off 11 million people in early 2020. But it is also among the most chaotic, leaving residents short of food and other essential supplies and affecting access to medical services. A groundswell of anger and frustration at the local government has ensued, underscoring the growing challenge facing China's zero-Covid policy, which relies on a playbook of mass testing, extensive quarantines and snap lockdowns to stamp out any resurgence of the virus. For almost two years, these stringent measures have shielded the majority of the country from the worst aspects of the pandemic, winning overwhelming public support. But as local outbreaks continue to flare up, the outcry in Xi'an raises the question of just how long zero-Covid can be sustained before public support begins to taper off, with millions of residents trapped in an seemingly endless cycle of lockdowns. Over the past week, Chinese social media was inundated with cries for help and criticism over perceived incompetence of the local Xi'an government. Residents flooded a livestream of a government Covid news conference with demands for groceries — prompting embarrassed officials to disable all comments. Despite some censorship, the issue has continued to gain traction. On Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, the hashtag "Grocery shopping in Xi'an is difficult" has been viewed 380 million times as of Monday. Many expressed frustration they hadn't hoarded food in advance because local authorities had repeatedly reassured them food supplies were abundant and there was no need for panic buying. In the first few days of the lockdown, each household was allowed to send one designated person out to buy groceries every two days. But as cases continued to rise, Xi'an further tightened lockdown measures, requiring all residents to stay at home unless permitted to go outside for mass testing. "Previously I thought those panic buying folks were stupid. Now I've realized I am the stupid one," said a comment on Weibo. Faced with the public outcry, local officials pledged steady deliveries of groceries to residents, with state media carrying footage of food arriving at residential compounds. While the supply shortage was eased in some neighborhoods, other residents complained on social media — including in comments below state media posts — that they had not received such deliveries in their communities. Meanwhile, the heavy-handed approach adopted in some areas to enforce the lockdown has fueled further outrage. On Friday, footage emerged on Weibo of a man being beaten by Covid prevention workers at the gates of a residential compound when he tried to enter with a bag of steamed buns. The video, which immediately went viral, showed the buns scattered on the ground as the man tumbled. The ensuing outcry prompted a statement from police, which said the two attackers were punished with a seven-day detention and a fine of 200 yuan (about $30). For some, the cost of the lockdown was just too high. Last week, state media reported on two incidents of individuals going to extreme lengths to escape from Xi'an before restrictions kicked in. A man trekked for 100 kilometers (62 miles) across the Qinling mountain range from the Xi'an airport, avoiding multiple village checkpoints on the way before he was finally spotted and taken into quarantine on December 24, eight days into his journey, according to a statement from the Ningshan county police. In the other incident, a man cycled for 10 hours overnight in close to freezing temperatures in an attempt to return to his hometown, after he learned Xi'an would be locked down the next day. He was taken into quarantine and fined 200 yuan, according to a statement from the Chunhua county police. Despite the difficulties, Xi'an officials have repeatedly pledged their resolve to contain the outbreak in public. At a news conference Sunday, Liu Guozhong, the Communist Party boss of Shaanxi province, of which Xi'an is the capital, vowed to "further lift our spirits, entrench the awareness of achieving 100% prevention, control and isolation, prioritize epidemic prevention and control in urban villages, and achieve the goal of bringing cases back to zero in society as soon as possible." In a show of resolve, the party secretary of Yanta district, one of the worst-hit areas in the outbreak, was dismissed, joining a long list of local officials who were fired for failing to contain Covid flare-ups. The harsh lockdown measures appear to be working. On Sunday, Xi'an's daily case count dropped for the first time in more than a week to 122, followed by Monday's 90 cases. If the trend continues, it will likely be only a matter of weeks before Xi'an successfully contains its outbreak as other cities have in the past. But it won't be the last time the coronavirus — and the stringent response to eradicate it — causes significant disruption to daily life and the local economy. For now, it's a zero-Covid goal that China seems determined to achieve — even if it pushes public patience to the limit. Nectar Gan, Digital Producer, CNN International Nectar Gan is China Reporter for CNN International in Hong Kong. She covers the changes taking place in China, and their impact on the world. Steve George, Senior Editor Steve George is Senior Editor for CNN International in Hong Kong. He oversees coverage from across the Asia-Pacific region, with a special focus on China.

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Why George Soros Is Responsible for the Largest Spike in Murder in American History by S.H. BLANNELBERRY on DECEMBER 30, 2021

Related Tags: Buzz, News George Soros at the 2011 World Economic Forum. (Photo: Michael Wuertenberg/Wikipedia) In a recent opinion piece published on RealClearPolitics, Sen. Tom Cotton makes the argument that George Soros is responsible for the 2020 spike in murder, the largest in American history. Cotton contends that the 91-year-old billionaire and his ilk have created a revolving door of justice that puts hardened criminals back out on the streets. “Last year, our nation experienced the largest increase in murder in American history and the largest number of drug overdose deaths ever recorded. This carnage continues today and is not distributed equally. Instead, it is concentrated in cities and localities where radical, left-wing, George Soros progressives have captured state and district attorney offices,” writes Cotton. SEE ALSO: NSSF Goes After New York ‘Public Nuisance’ Law “These legal arsonists condemn our rule of law as ‘systemically racist’ and have not simply abused prosecutorial discretion, they have embraced prosecutorial nullification,” he continues. “As a result, a contagion of crime has infected virtually every neighborhood under their charge.” Cotton goes on to name names and list examples of how the Soros prosecutors have gone soft on crime: In Chicago, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx allows theft under $1,000 to go unpunished. In Manhattan, District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. refuses to enforce laws against prostitution. In Baltimore, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has unilaterally declared the war on drugs “over” and is refusing to criminally charge drug users in the middle of the worst drug crisis in American history. For a time, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon even stopped enforcing laws against disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, and making criminal threats. The result? As you’d imagine, they’re pretty grim. Cotton writes: All of these cities have paid a terrible price for these insane policies. Last year, the number of homicides in Chicago rose by 56%, and more than 1,000 Cook County residents have been murdered in 2021. In New York City, murder increased 47% and shootings soared 97%. In 2020, the murder rate in Baltimore was higher than El Salvador’s or Guatemala’s — nations from which citizens often attempt to claim asylum purely based on gang violence and murder—and this year murder in Baltimore is on track to be even higher. Murder in Los Angeles rose 36% last year and is on track to rise another 17% this year. Not enforcing the rule of law is a recipe for chaos. Which raises the question, why would Soros progressives want to foment widespread civil disorder? Your thoughts?

Biden’s Blundering Energy Policy & The Global energy crisis:

Energy prices continued to surge to fresh records as renewed fears stoked panic about the worst shortage in decades. India warned that it only had four days of coal reserves left, German power plants ran out of fuel and China unloaded an Australian coal shipment despite an import ban and icy relations. Supply was just not there as economies rebounded from a pandemic-induced lull, while problems like logistical logjams and transport bottlenecks added to the pressure (OPEC+ didn't come to the rescue, but Vladimir Putin tried to, and the U.S. tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve).

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Biden Loves this Economy: From Evergrande crisis to tech crackdown: The biggest business stories from China in 2021

---------- It's been a tumultuous year for business in China. A sweeping regulatory crackdown, championed by President Xi Jinping, has shaken private enterprises in sectors as diverse as tech, finance, property, education, gaming and entertainment. Beijing has said it wants to fix longstanding concerns about economic inequality in the country and promote "common prosperity." But analysts say the unprecedented regulatory action is also about Beijing's desire to rein in the growing power of Big Tech and reassert the Communist Party's dominance in every aspect of the economy and society. However, the world's second-largest economy is also looking a lot shakier now than it did at the start of this year. Faced with the prospect of an economic hard landing, Beijing appears to be backing off the tough stance it took on the private sector for most of this year and may focus on maintaining stability in 2022. Here are the business stories that have shaped China over the past 12 months. Economic recovery meets speed bumps China was the only major economy to grow in 2020 — but expansion slowed this year as the country faced repeated Covid outbreaks, supply chain disruptions, and a deepening real estate slump. That could threaten social and political stability in the country and have serious consequences for the global economy. Beijing's regulatory crackdown triggered huge layoffs among many companies, pressuring the job sector as it tries to recover from the pandemic. China's economy is still expected to grow significantly in 2021 — but not as quickly as previously projected, with the World Bank cutting its forecasts for the country's economic expansion this year and next. Power shortages hit manufacturing A boom in construction and manufacturing drove much of China's economic recovery this year, and continues to play a vital role in growth. But that work requires tons of power and thus massive amounts of coal. Power shortages began to bite in June, and worsened in the fall when coal prices soared. For weeks, the power crunch triggered blackouts for households and forced factories to cut production — a threat to the country's vast economy. And Beijing's targets to reduce carbon emissions only added to the pressure. Finally as winter approached, factories began recovering from the impact with the help of a big jump in coal supply. Power shortages eased, and the price of raw materials had dropped significantly by the start of December. China's disappearing ships Ships in Chinese waters are disappearing from industry tracking systems, creating yet another headache for the global supply chain. China's growing isolation from the rest of the world — along with a deepening mistrust of foreign influence — may be to blame. Analysts say they started noticing the drop-off in shipping traffic toward the end of October, as China prepared to enact a new legislation to increase government control over data and information. A loss of information from mainland China — home to six of the world's 10 busiest container ports — could create more problems for an already troubled global shipping industry. Supply chains have been under strain this year as badly congested ports struggle to keep up with a rapidly rebounding demand for goods. China's desire to retain absolute control over all data and information within its borders isn't surprising. The country has been pushing for economic self-sufficiency as it faces external threats, such as US sanctions on key technologies. Didi to delist from New York after disastrous IPO Ride-hailing giant Didi announced in early December that it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange and move to Hong Kong. The move came just five months after Didi launched its blockbuster, $4.4 billion IPO in the United States — a decision that turned into a fiasco for the company. Its share price collapsed as Beijing cracked down on the firm, saying shortly after the offering that it would ban Didi from app stores in China because it broke privacy laws and posed cybersecurity risks. Beijing's decision to target Didi was widely seen as punishment for its decision to go public overseas, and the company became a poster child of China's efforts to rein in what the government sees as unruly Big Tech firms. In the weeks after the IPO, Chinese authorities proposed that companies with data on more than 1 million users seek approval before listing overseas. Evergrande's debt default Evergrande, the embattled Chinese property developer, has defaulted on its debt. Now Beijing is intervening to prevent a disorderly collapse of the indebted real estate group that could wreak havoc on the economy. Fitch Ratings earlier this month declared the property developer has entered "restricted default," reflecting its inability to pay overdue interest on two dollar bonds. Evergrande's apparent failure to pay that interest has revived fears about the future of the company, which is reeling under more than $300 billion of total liabilities. Evergrande is massive — it has about 200,000 employees, raked in more than $110 billion in sales last year, and owns more than 1,300 developments in over 280 cities, according to the company. Analysts have long been concerned that a collapse could trigger wider risks for China's property market, hurting homeowners and the broader financial system. Real estate and related industries account for as much as 30% of GDP. The US Federal Reserve warned in November that trouble in Chinese real estate could damage the global economy. There's already plenty of evidence that Beijing is taking a leading role in guiding Evergrande through a restructuring of its debt and sprawling business operations. But analysts warned the real estate crisis remains a looming threat for China. Laura He, Reporter & Digital Producer, CNN Business Laura He is a reporter and digital producer for CNN Business. She covers