UK House of Commons Votes to Boycott 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing

The UK House of Commons has voted unanimously to stage a boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in China next February unless China addresses the "atrocities" taking place in Xinjiang. 

China has for several years denied that it is holding Muslims against their wills in massive internment camps, and more Western Governments are speaking out about the claims of abuse

The legislative motion demands that House of Commons politicians turn down any invitation to the Winter Olympics. The motion also mentions British citizens who have had sanctions put on against them for speaking publicly about the claims of abuse against Muslims by China in Xinjiang. 

Politicians say that China will use the Olympics to push a narrative that it is a liberal and humanitarian nation open to trade and relationships with all, while at the same time pursuing autocratic policies against cities like Hong Kong.

Biden to Warn US Companies of Risks of Operating in Hong Kong

The White House will deliver warnings this week to American corporations working in Hong Kong as Beijing seeks to control more of the financial dealings within the territory, a report says. 

The announcement will pertain to warnings about the storage of private data in Hong Kong and a Beijing plan to enable retalitory sanctions against individuals or groups that impose restrictions on Chinese companies, the report in the Financial Times said. 

US President Joe Biden will issue the warning as the White House seeks to update Trump era sanctions issued against China in retaliation for actions it is taking in Xinjiang to imprison Muslim citizens of that country. China has vigorously spoken out against these claims. Earlier today, China officials claimed that Hong Kong residents and foreign firms are not at risk in the entrepot. 

The warning will also highlight recent actions that the Biden administration believes curtail democracy aims in Hong Kong. China has said that actions that seek to penalise officials and the financial hub are infringements of China's sovereignty. 

University of Hong Kong Ceases Support for Student Union as Row Over Police Attacker Widens

The University of Hong Kong has ended support of its student union after some of its members were seen to sympathise with a local man who attacked a police officer with a knife in busy Causeway Bay and then killed himself. The local attacker had left behind writing that indicated he had attacked police in protest against police handling of protests in 2019.

Chief Secretary John Lee -- Source: Hong Kong Government

In the hours and days that followed the attack, locals flocked to the site of the attack and laid flowers as an act of remberance. The student union was one of a few groups that publicly expressed sympathy for the attacker. In the student union case, student leaders of the organization had thanked the attacker for his "sacrifice." 

At the time, Hong Kong's former Secretary for Security John Lee voiced strong opposition to these acts of sympathy and likened it to supporting terrorism. Lee has since been promoted to the territory's number two role, Chief Secretary. Unlike his predecessor, the recently retired Matthew Cheung, Lee's focus will be almost entirely on the National Security Legislation passed in Hong Kong last year. 

The attack attracted criticism from the mainland and protests against local company VitaSoy after it was learned that the attacker, who later committed suicide, was an employee of the company. 

A human resources manager had circulated a memo at the time offering condolences for the deceased. That employee was fired. And VitaSoy publicly placed itself at a distance from that memo, stating that the memo was circulated without consent or review from management. 

Prosecutors in Hong Kong's First National Security Legislation Trial Debate Malcolm X's Role as a Separatist

Prosecutors leading the case against Edward Leung in a trial dealing with the controversial National Security Legislation passed in Hong Kong in 2020 spent time arguing the finer points of American legal and political philosophy on day twelve of the trial. 

Defense expert Eliza Lee didn't get far in her line of reasoning, however.

While she used her time in court today to debate the role of Malcolm X as an African-American separatist, she was stopped by Judge Anthea Pang, who said the line of questioning and debate was "far, far removed from the issues before the court." 

Prosecutors apparently wanted to use the debate about the African-American racial justice proponent to set a backdrop against which they could characterise Leung as a separatist. 

Prosecutors in Hong Kong's first national security trial, on Day 12, briefly explored the question of whether Malcolm X was a separatist.

"How much do we need to venture into the complicated history of American racial segregation?" replied defence expert Eliza Lee.

— Holmes Chan (@holmeschan_) July 13, 2021

Leung is on trial for taking part in events that the government and police have characterized as riots during the pro-democracy protests that rattled Hong Kong through much of 2019.  Leung was a founder of this now-disbanded "nativist" advocacy group called Indigenous, which advocated for self-determination for Hong Kong's citizens. 

Hong Kong has since passed a controversial National Security Legislation that experts and lawyers have said is too broad and too ambiguous to be properly deployed against questions of national security.