Tag Archives: Hong Kong

Germany

Hong Kong summoned the German consul on an asylum case dispute | Instant News


BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s consul general to Hong Kong was brought in for talks, following reports Berlin had granted asylum to a student facing charges for demonstrating against the city’s extradition law, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry confirmed that Consul General Dieter Lamle had been summoned Wednesday by Hong Kong authorities, but would not provide further details.

The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Lamle was brought in at the request of Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, official No. 2 Hong Kong, which told him that the government “strongly objected to hiding criminals under different pretexts by other jurisdictions.”

Diplomatic friction followed a 22-year-old student revealed earlier this week that Germany had granted him asylum.

The woman, who identified herself only as Elaine and refused to provide other personal details to protect her family in Hong Kong, presented The Associated Press documents confirming that her refugee status was granted on October 14. German authorities have yet to confirm the story, citing the country’s strict privacy laws.

He told the AP that he fled Hong Kong in November on bail after being arrested on charges of rioting and violating China’s semi-autonomous region’s masks ban law, introduced last year as anti-government protests grew louder.

The Hong Kong government called him “a suspect who was reported to have committed serious crimes and released on bail”.

“Mr. Cheung reiterated that foreign governments must stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which is an internal matter of the People’s Republic of China,” the statement said.

Protests against the Hong Kong government rocked the city last year after authorities tried to introduce a law allowing criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. While the bill was eventually scrapped, protests against police violence and the erosion of liberty continued, prompting Beijing to enact new national security laws that took effect June 30.

The law prohibits subversive activity, secession and terrorism, as well as collusion with foreign powers to interfere in the inner affairs of the city. Many say the law effectively ends the “one country, two systems” framework in which semi-autonomous Hong Kong has operated since Beijing took over the former British colony in 1997.

The law prompted many pro-democracy youth to plan to leave the city for good.

Germany aroused Hong Kong’s anger in 2018 by granting asylum to two pro-democracy activists, prompting Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to summon the German consul to complain as well.

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Germany

Germany granted refugee status to 22-year-old Hong Kong protesters seeking asylum | Instant News


Germany has granted a 22-year-old student from Hong Kong refugee status after he was charged for demonstrating against the city’s extradition laws. German officials have not confirmed or denied granting refugee status due to the country’s strict privacy laws. As per The Associated Press report, the protesters only identified himself as Elain and documents stated that he received refugee status on October 14.

Read: China Warns Canada of Granting Asylum to Hong Kong Activists, Receives Strong Response

Refugee status is granted after nine months

According to reports, Elaine fled Hong Kong in November last year when she was out of bail, having been arrested on charges of rioting and also for not following the city’s anti-mask policies that were implemented when anti-government protests turned violent.

As per the report, it took nine months to process his application request. During a telephone interview with AP Elaine said, “I am very grateful to the government for meeting my basic needs, including health care when I have to be treated for mental health problems. But I hope they can simplify the application process, shorten the waiting time, and let us choose where we can stay while we wait ”.

Read: Hong Kong Eases Social Distancing Restrictions Starting This Week As COVID-19 Cases Decrease

A press release by Haven Assistance, a pro-democracy group that helps Hong Kong residents seek asylum, stated that they welcomed “the German government’s decision to grant asylum to Hong Kong protesters.” The group also urged Germany and other European countries to continue to improve their asylum processes and consider introducing a comprehensive lifeboat policy for Hong Kong residents. As per the report, the pro-democracy group consists of activists Brian Leung, Ray Wong, Simon Cheng and Lam Wing Kee.

Recently, China has warned Canada against granting asylum to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists, adding that doing so could jeopardize the “health and safety” of Canadians living in the semi-autonomous region. Like the US, Canada also has a tense relationship with China that began to deteriorate following the arrest of CFO Huawei and Canada’s decision to grant asylum to a Hong Kong couple participating in pro-democracy protests last year.

(With AP input, AP Image)

Read: Lam Aims To Make Hong Kong, Shenzhen’s Dual Growth Engine

Read: Hong Kong’s Application for Voting Rights and Land Reclamation

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Switzerland

Swiss gold exports to Asia fell as bullion poured into London | Instant News


LONDON (Reuters) – Swiss gold exports to China and India shrank in September, with the country instead importing a record volume of gold bullion from Hong Kong and shipping the metal to Britain, customs data showed on Tuesday.

Gold anode depicted at Swiss Metalor refinery in Marin near Neuchatel, Switzerland July 5, 2019. REUTERS / Denis Balibouse / File Photo

The figures underline how Western investors have overtaken Asian jewelery buyers as the main driver of gold demand since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The pandemic has resulted in the closure of jewelery shops and reduced disposable income among consumers, as well as sparking a rush of investors to hoard assets they think will hold their value during the crisis.

Switzerland is a major gold refining and transit center, while London is a storage and trading center where investors around the world stock up on gold.

Swiss gold exports to the United States, which surged earlier this year due to higher prices on the US market, fell sharply for the second consecutive month in September.

Graph: Swiss gold exports

Switzerland exported 1.5 tonnes of gold to China in September, with 2.4 tonnes exported to Hong Kong and 5 tonnes to India, customs data showed.

The previous month, they shipped 10 tonnes to China, nothing to Hong Kong and 20.2 tonnes to India as demand in that market appeared to be recovering.

The dominant flow of gold in September comes from east to west. Switzerland imported 37.7 tonnes from Hong Kong, up from 25.5 tonnes in August and the most for all months since Swiss data became available in 2012.

It exported 50.9 tonnes to the UK, up from 18.4 tonnes in August and the most since September last year.

Swiss shipments to the United States fell to 13.5 tonnes from 28.5 tonnes in August and for the second month were almost entirely offset by gold imports to Switzerland from the United States.

In total, Switzerland exported 105.9 tonnes of gold in September, up from 112 tonnes in August.

Reporting by Peter Hobson; Edited by David Goodman

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uk

The UK will start one-hour COVID-19 tests at Heathrow starting Tuesday – The Times | Instant News


FILE PHOTO: A traveler wearing a face mask walks in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London, England, July 26, 2020. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls

(Reuters) – Passengers traveling to Hong Kong and Italy from Britain’s Heathrow Airport will undergo an hour of coronavirus testing before flying out of the UK with plans to open up international travel, The Times reported on Tuesday.

Rapid tests will be introduced from Tuesday at Heathrow Airport to allow travelers to enter countries where a negative COVID-19 test result is required to pass quarantine, the newspaper said. bit.ly/3dFJxwp the word.

Passengers must pre-order the test for 80 pounds ($ 103), The Times said.

Heathrow Airport did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters.

Aviation services company Collinson and Swissport have set up rapid testing facilities for outbound passengers at Heathrow, the paper said.

The testing facility will initially be open for four weeks and can be extended depending on passenger demand, the report added.

Both Collinson and Swissport did not immediately respond when Reuters called on Tuesday morning.

The airlines include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific 0293.HK including the first to offer facilities to passengers in Terminals 2 and 5, Financial Times on.ft.com/37k42xy reported.

Meanwhile, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Monday he would push for a deal on a new travel corridor with the United States.

Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Edited by Lincoln Feast & Shri Navaratnam.

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uk

The UK will start one-hour COVID-19 tests at Heathrow starting Tuesday – The Times | Instant News


FILE PHOTO: A traveler wearing a face mask walks in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London, England, July 26, 2020. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls

(Reuters) – Passengers traveling to Hong Kong and Italy from Britain’s Heathrow Airport will undergo an hour of coronavirus testing before flying out of the UK with plans to open up international travel, The Times reported on Tuesday.

Rapid tests will be introduced from Tuesday at Heathrow Airport to allow travelers to enter countries where a negative COVID-19 test result is required to pass quarantine, the newspaper said. bit.ly/3dFJxwp the word.

Passengers must pre-order the test for 80 pounds ($ 103), The Times said.

Heathrow Airport did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters.

Aviation services company Collinson and Swissport have set up rapid testing facilities for outbound passengers at Heathrow, the paper said.

The testing facility will initially be open for four weeks and can be extended depending on passenger demand, the report added.

Both Collinson and Swissport did not immediately respond when Reuters called on Tuesday morning.

The airlines include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific 0293.HK including the first to offer facilities to passengers in Terminals 2 and 5, Financial Times on.ft.com/37k42xy reported.

Meanwhile, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Monday he would push for a deal on a new travel corridor with the United States.

Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Edited by Lincoln Feast & Shri Navaratnam.

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