Timeline Hong Kong

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Hong Kong is about 6 times the size of Washington DC.
(SSFC, 10/9/05, Par p.27)
About Hong Kong: https://www.allstays.com/content/all-about-hong-kong.htm
Hong Kong Home Page: http://www.csudh.edu/global_options/375Students-Sp96/HongKong/Default.htm
Lonely Planet: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/nea/hong.htm
South China Morning Post: http://www.scmp.com/
USSD: http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/hong_kong_0899_bgn.html
1600-1700    Hong Kong, the name means fragrant harbor, was founded by British Naval officers in the 17th century as a western trading post for tea.
    (SFEC, 4/16/00, Z1 p.2)(SFC, 2/10/04, p.A22)

1832        Jardine Matheson was founded as a trading house in Hong Kong.
    (Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.13)

1838        Obscure oil paintings show a sophisticated irrigation system on the Island.
    (SFEC, 11/10/96, p.A18)

1839        Aug 23, The British captured Hong Kong from China.
    (MC, 8/23/02)

1841        Jan 20, The Convention of Chuenpi ceded the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain from China as part of the concessions from the Opium War. It became a capitalist bastion as opposed to the rest of China. The British won the first Opium War and forced China to open markets to foreign trade. Britain soon established a formal police force commanded mostly by British officers. Hong Kong returned to Chinese control in July 1997.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Chuenpee)(WSJ, 10/26/95, p.A-1)(SFEC, 11/10/96, Par p.14)(SFC, 3/11/97, p.A12)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)(AP,  1/20/98)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)(WSJ, 2/2/04, p.A12)

1841        Jan 26, Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British.
    (AP, 1/26/98)

1841        Britain’s Royal Mail set up a postal service for Hong Kong.
    (Econ, 10/24/15, p.42)

1842        Aug 29, Britain & China signed the Treaty of Nanking and ended the Opium war. The Treaty of Nanking opened the port of Shanghai to foreigners. The 1997 Chinese film "The Opium War" was directed by Xie Jin. It was about the events leading up to the Treaty of Nanking. The treaty of Nanking ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain in perpetuity.
    (AMNHDT, 5/98)(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Nanjing)

1842        Jardine, Matheson & Co., founded in Canton in 1832, built the first substantial house and established their head office on the recently acquired island of Hong Kong. This began an era of increased prosperity and expansion.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardine_Matheson_Holdings)

1843        Apr 5, Queen Victoria proclaimed Hong Kong a British crown colony.
    (HN, 4/5/99)

1843        Jun 26, Hong Kong was proclaimed a British Crown Colony. [see Apr 5]
    (MC, 6/26/02)

1844        Elias David Sassoon (1820-1880), an Indian merchant born in Baghdad, opened a branch of the family business in Hong Kong. He was the second son of David Sassoon, an Iraqi-Indian philanthropist Jewish businessman involved in trade in India and the Far East.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sassoon)

1850        In Hong Kong the Lane Crawford department store first opened.
    (Econ, 6/8/13, p.65)

1856-1858    The 2nd Anglo-Chinese Opium War.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1855-1910    History: Picturing Hong Kong: Photography 1855-1910.
    http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/readings/r000206.htm   

1857        Cheong Ah Lum, the colony’s foremost baker, so hated the Britons that he tried to poison 400 of the most important gwailos with arsenic laced bread. No one died but many got sick.
    (SFEC, 11/10/96, p.A18)

1860        In the Convention of Peking China ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to Britain for all time.
    (SFC, 3/11/97, p.A12)(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1861        The British firm Butterfield & Swire began trading in Hong Kong and China.
    (Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.13)

1865        Mar, Thomas Sutherland of Scotland founded the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) to finance  the growing trade between China and Europe. It established the Shanghai branch on April 3, 1865.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporation)

1888        A funicular railway, cable-based with counter-balanced up and down cars, was built to ascend Hong Kong's 1,300 foot Victoria Peak.
    (SFC, 2/10/04, p.A22)

1892        Sun Yat-Sen (d.1925), Chinese statesman and revolutionary leader, graduated from the Hong Kong School of Medicine.
    (HFA, '96, p.18)(AP, 6/22/97)(HNQ, 6/3/98)

1893        The Royal Hong Kong Police set up a police training school for its British led force.
    (WSJ, 2/2/04, p.A12)

1898        Jun 9, China leased Hong Kong's New Territories to Britain for 99 years by a convention signed in Peking, respecting an extension of Hong Kong territory, the New Territories, comprising the area north of Kowloon up to the Shum Chun (Shenzhen) River and 235 islands.
    (www.info.gov.hk/yearbook/2003/english/chapter21/21_03.html)

1898        Jul 1, China leased the New Territories and 235 adjacent islands to Britain on a 99-year lease.
    (SFEC, 11/10/96, Par p.14)(SFC, 3/11/97, p.A12)(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1903        Nov 6, In Hong Kong the South China Morning Post, founded by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, published its first issue.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Morning_Post)

1918        Feb 26, Stands at the Hong Kong Jockey Club collapsed and burned, killing 604.
    (SC, 2/26/02)

1919        Hueng Chin, father of filmmaker Charles Hueng, founded the Sun Yee On triad, a secret criminal society.
    (SFC, 2/18/98, p.A7)

1922        The British government passed Emergency Regulations Ordinance to quell a seamen’s strike in Hong Kong’s harbor. The law was later used by the colonial administration to help put down riots that rocked the trading hub in 1967.
    (Bloomberg, 10/3/19)

1933        Wing Lung Bank was founded in Hong Kong. It survived a forced relocation to Macau during the Japanese occupation. In 2008 China Merchants Bank launched a takeover of Wing Lung for $4.7 billion.
    (Econ, 6/7/08, p.86)

1941        Dec 8, Japanese troops occupied Hong Kong. [see Dec 18,19]
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1941        Dec 18, Japanese troops landed on Hong Kong. [see Dec 8,19]
    (MC, 12/18/01)

1941        Dec 19, Japanese landed on Hong Kong and clashed with British troops.
    (HN, 12/19/98)

1941        Dec 23, The Japanese occupied Hong Kong.
    (WUD, 1944, p.1683)

1941        Dec 25, Japan announced the surrender of the British-Canadian garrison at Hong Kong. Major John Crawford (d.1997) and some 1,975 Canadian soldiers were captured and incarcerated at the Sham Shui Po prison camp at Kowloon for 44 months.
    (G&M, 7/30/97, p.A24)(HN, 12/25/02)(AP, 12/25/07)

1945        Aug 14, Japanese occupation of Hong Kong ended.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1945        Aug 29, British liberated Hong Kong from Japan.
    (MC, 8/29/01)

1945        Sep 16, Japan surrendered Hong Kong to Britain.
    (HN, 9/16/98)

1945        Nov 8, A riverboat sank off Hong Kong and 1,550 were killed.
    (MC, 11/8/01)

c1945        Nadya Jacobova Moiseeva (daughter of Jacob Moiseef) and John Henry McCann, a former officer with Gen’l. Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers, managed CAT Airlines, formed by formed by former Flying Tiger pilots. The couple had met and married in Shanghai in 1944.
    (SFC, 12/2/97, p.A22)

1946        The Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific began operations with two DC3 planes.
    (Econ, 12/23/06, p.96)

1946        Eric Halpern, a Jewish émigré from Austria, started the Far Eastern Review in Hong Kong. In 1987 it was taken over by Dow Jones. In 2004 it ended as a weekly publication and re-emerged as a monthly. In 2009 Dow Jones announced its closure.
    (Econ, 9/26/09, p.58)

1949        Wang Din-shin, owner of the Chinachem real estate empire centered in Shanghai, moved his family and assets to Hong Kong. The business was later taken over by his son, Teddy Wang Teh-huei.
    (WSJ, 10/20/99, p.A23)

1949-50    Some 750,000 Chinese fled to Hong Kong as the Communists took over the mainland.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1954        In Hong Kong missionary wife Elsie Elliott (1913-2015), later Elsie Tu, set up the Mu Kuang Middle School under an army tent with 30 desks. By 2015 the school grew to a 7-storey block with 1,300 students.
    (Econ, 1/2/16, p.70)

1955-1972    Jin Yong, founder and publisher of the Hong Kong Ming Pao newspaper, authored a series of Kung Fu novels that ran to 36 volumes.
    (WSJ, 3/9/00, p.A24)

1957        Run Run Shaw (1907-2014) moved from Singapore to Hong Kong and built a studio that produced hundreds of films including “The One-Armed Swordsmith” and “Five Fingers of Death,” which began a global craze for the martial arts.
    (Econ, 1/11/14, p.38)

1959        The Ming Pao newspaper was launched under editor Louis Cha, who doubled as popular novelist of martial arts epics.
    (WSJ, 4/21/97, p.A1)

1961        Feb 22, British Foreign Sec. Douglas-Home said in a "Top Secret" letter to Defense Minister Harold Watkinson that, "It must be fully obvious to the Americans that Hong Kong is indefensible by conventional means and that in the event of a Chinese attack, nuclear strikes against China would be the only alternative to complete abandonment of the colony." The document was made public in 2006.
    (AP, 6/30/06)

1961-1971    Scotsman John Cowperthwaite, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1945, served as Financial Secretary of the British colony. Cowperthwaite died in 2006 at age 90.
    (http://garysweeten.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html)(Econ, 11/25/06, p.80)

1965        Two Hong Kong banks went bust. Depositor calls on the government to be made good were dismissed.
    (Econ, 7/17/10, p.74)

1967        The Chinese Cultural Revolution briefly spilled over into Hong Kong with street riots.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1967        In Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) received a rare license to operate by the colonial government. In the 1970s Sir Run Run Shaw gained control. Its film production ceased operations in 1985. In 1999 it sold its vast library of films to a Malaysian firm.
    (Econ, 5/24/08, p.88)

1968        The Hong Kong flu pandemic broke out and killed some 34,000 Americans. Over the next two years the pandemic killed an estimated one million people all over the world. It was caused by an H3N2 strain of the influenza A virus, descended from H2N2 through antigenic shift. Each year an average of 20,000 Americans die of the flu.
    (WSJ, 1/14/98, p.A18)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_flu)

1971        Nov 28, The Anglican Bishop of Hong Kong ordained the first two women as priests.
    (HN, 11/28/98)(http://trushare.com/Mascall%20Women%20Priests.htm)

1971        Hong Kong film "Fists of Fury" was released in the United States, making the actor a martial arts legend overnight. The film broke box office records both in Hong Kong and overseas. Raymond Chow co-produced two of Lee's best known films: "Way of the Dragon" in 1972, followed a year later by "Enter the Dragon", the first cinema collaboration between a Hong Kong studio and Hollywood.
    (AFP, 11/3/18)
1971        Vincent Lo (b.1948) founded the Shui On Group in Honk Kong with a family loan of $16,700. In 2005 Lo and his partners sold land in Manhattan and proceeded to purchase the Bank of America Center in SF.
    (SSFC, 1/1/06, p.J6)

1971-1982    Lord MacLehose (d.2000 at 82) served as the governor of Hong Kong.
    (SFC, 6/1/00, p.C20)

1972        Jan 9, The RMS Queen Elizabeth, the world’s largest ocean liner, sank after a major fire in Hong Kong harbor. It had been purchased by Tung Chao-yung at a bankruptcy sale in Florida. He had hoped to turn it into a floating school. Arson was blamed and it was scrapped.
    (WSJ, 2/6/97, p.B1)(www.ocean-liners.com/ships/queenelizabeth.asp)

1972        Hong Kong introduced its “small house policy,” which granted male villagers the rights to build a house of up to three storeys on a plot of land in their ancestral village. If they had no land they could buy it from the government at a discount. The policy only applied to villagers in the New Territories.
    (Econ, 8/12/17, p.33)
1972        China, newly admitted to the UN, said it wanted Hong Kong back.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1973        Jul 20, Bruce Lee (b.1940), [Lee Yuen Kam], American-born martial arts expert and film actor, died in Hong Kong 3 weeks before the opening of his new film "Enter the Dragon." He was born in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong. In 2000 Davis Miller authored "The Tao of Bruce Lee, A Martial Arts Memoir."
    (SFEC, 8/13/00, BR p.4)(SFC, 7/21/03, p.D8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee)

1973        The Hong Kong film "Enter the Dragon" starred Sammo Hung and Bruce Lee (d.1973).
    (SFEC, 7/12/98, DB p.54)(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1973        Peter Godber, a corrupt police official, avoided punishment by fleeing to England. People marched in protest.
    (SFC, 5/5/00, p.A14)

1974        Lord MacLehose, the British governor, set up the Independent Commission on Corruption (ICAC).
    (SFC, 5/5/00, p.A14)

1975        Apr 25, The 1st Boeing Jetfoil revenue service began between Hong Kong and Macao.
    (SS, 4/25/02)(http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/1979/PV1979_2017.pdf)

1975        Nov 5, The scrapped passenger ship Queen Elizabeth rolled over and disgorged several tons of oil in Hong Kong.
    (www.cunard.co.uk)

1975        The Hong Kong film "Hand of Death" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1975        The Hong Kong Museum of History was established.
    http://www.usd.gov.hk/hkmh/e-hkmoh/introduction.html

1975        Hong Kong established China’s first reserve to protect migrating shore birds at Mai Poi.
    (Econ, 12/20/08, p.67)

1977        The Hong Kong film "Iron-Fisted Monk" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1977        The Hong Kong film "Mighty Peking Man" starred Danny Lee. It was also called Goliathon or Colossus of the Jungle.
    (SFC, 4/23/99, p.C13)

1977        Colonial Hong Kong granted amnesty to police as part of an effort to root out extensive corruption related to local mafia.
    (Econ, 12/8/12, p.47)

1978        The Hong Kong film "Drunken Master" with Jackie Chan was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1978        The Hong Kong film "Enter the Fat Dragon" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1978        The Hong Kong film "Master Killer" was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1978        The Hong Kong film "Warriors Two" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1979        Mar, China Premier Deng Xiaoping received Sir Murray McLehose, Gov. of Hong Kong (1971-1982). McLehose raised the issue of the 1997 end of lease and Deng said Hong Kong can rest at ease.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_the_sovereignty_of_Hong_Kong)

1979        Sep, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Beijing. Deng refused her request for continued British administration of Hong Kong after 1997, but agreed to open negotiations on handover.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1979        The Hong Kong film "Knockabout" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1979        Sir Norman Foster, English architect, designed the $815 million, 41-story Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank headquarters in Hong Kong.
    (WSJ, 5/14/97, p.B1)

1980        The Hong Kong film "Encounters of the Spooky Kind" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1980        The film "Shaolin Temple" was produced by a Hong Kong company about the Shaolin monks and their unique martial arts style.
    (WSJ, 10/23/96, p.A1)

1980        The Hong Kong film "Young Master" was the directorial debut for Jackie Chan.
    (SFC, 1/26/98, p.D2)

1982        The Hong Kong film "The Dead and the Deadly" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1982        China and Britain began negotiations on Hong Kong’s future.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_the_sovereignty_of_Hong_Kong)
1982        Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz (b.1944), who had become aware of "tonic drinks" while traveling in Asia, got the idea for the Red Bull energy drink business while sitting at the bar in the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong. In the 1970s T.C. Pharmaceuticals of Thailand, founded by Chaleo Yoovidhya, had formulated an energy drink prototype called Krathing Daeng, or Red Bull in English. Mateschitz and Yoovidhya started selling the drink in Austria in 1987.
    (AFP, 3/17/12)

1983        Oct, Hong Kong pegged its currency to the US dollar. Hong Kong adopted a currency board. The board is a type fixed exchange rate system that requires currency in circulation to be fully matched by the country’s foreign exchange reserves. The Hong Kong dollar was pegged at 7.8 to the US dollar.
    (SFC, 2/16/98, p.A10)(WSJ, 8/10/98, p.A10)(Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.10)

1983        The Hong Kong film "The Prodigal Son" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983        The Hong Kong film "Project A" (Part I) starred Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
    (SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)(SFEC, 3/1/98, DB p.48)(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983        The Hong Kong film "Warriors of the Magic Mountain" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983        The Hong Kong film "Winners and Sinners" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983        In Hong Kong Teddy Wang Teh-huei, owner of Chinachem, was abducted by armed men and stuffed into a refrigerator. He was released following an $11 million ransom.
    (WSJ, 10/20/99, p.A23)

1984        Sep 19, Britain and China completed a draft agreement on transferring Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule by 1997.
    (AP, 9/19/99)

1984        Dec 19, British PM Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang signed an accord to return Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on Jul 1, 1997. China pledged to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy in everything but foreign affairs and national defense and permit it to retain its capitalist system for 50 years. This laid the ground for Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)(Econ, 7/19/14, p.11)(Econ, 10/10/15, p.42)   
1984        The Hong Kong film "Wheels on Meals" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1984        The trading firm Jardine, Matheson & Co., in Hong Kong since 1842, shifted its legal domicile to Bermuda.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardine_Matheson_Holdings)

1985        May 27, In a brief ceremony in Beijing, representatives of Britain and China exchanged instruments of ratification on the pact returning Hong Kong to the Chinese in 1997.
    (AP, 5/27/97)

1985        The Hong Kong film "My Lucky Stars" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1985        The Hong Kong film "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1986        The Hong Kong film "Eastern Condors" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1986        The Hong Kong film "North and South Shaolin" starred Jet Li.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1986        The Hong Kong film "Rouge" starred Anita Mui (d.2003 at age 40).
    (SFC, 1/1/04, p.A23)

1986        The Hong Kong film "Shanghai Express" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1987        Oct, The Hong Kong stock market suffered a 46% decline in October.
    (SFC,10/27/97, p.B2)

1987        The Hong Kong film "Dragons Forever" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1987        Richard Elman founded Noble Group, a Hong Kong-based global trading firm named after Nobel House, a novel by James Clavell. By 2015 the company had annual sales of $86 billion.
    (Econ., 3/14/15, p.65)

1988        Jun 15, Hong Kong announced a clampdown on "boat people," saying newly arriving Vietnamese refugees would be incarcerated and returned to Vietnam if they could not prove that they had fled religious or political persecution.
    (AP, 6/15/98)

1988        The Hong Kong film "Painted Faces" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1988        The Hong Kong film "Paper Marriage" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1988        Heung Wah Yim, the eldest son of Heung Chin, was convicted of being the boss of the Sun Yee On triad, but the conviction was overthrown on a technicality.
    (SFC, 2/18/98, p.A7)

1989        Dec 12, Amid international criticism, Britain forcibly removed 51 Vietnamese from Hong Kong and returned them to their homeland.
    (AP, 12/12/99)

1989-1997    More than 275,000 Hong Kong residents emigrated to Canada during this period. A Canadian residency permit could be secured by an investment of $112,000.
    (Econ., 8/1/20, p.33)

1989        The Hong Kong film "Pedicab Driver" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1990        The Hong Kong cop film "New Kids in Town" was directed by Lau Kar Leung.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1990        China promulgated the Basic Law, a mini-constitution for post-1997 Hong Kong. It granted any child of a permanent resident the right to live in Hong Kong.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)(SFC, 4/29/99, p.D7)

1990        Apr 10, Teddy Wang Tei-huei (57), Hong Kong real estate tycoon, was kidnapped for a 2nd time. Abductors demanded $60 million. His wife Nina Wang paid a $34 million installment, but it was too late. His body was never found. Wang was declared legally dead in 1999.
    (WSJ, 10/20/99, p.A23)(Econ, 7/3/04, p.52)

1990        Dec 14, In Hong Kong 10 Vietnamese boat people set fire to themselves to protest screening policy that could prevent them from settling in the West.
    (AP, 12/14/02)

1990-91    The Nung from Vietnam made their way to Hong Kong as boat people.
    (SFC, 6/18/97, p.A10)

1991        Nov 9, Police in Hong Kong forcibly repatriated 59 Vietnamese boat people, carrying them onto a transport plane.
    (AP, 11/9/01)

1991        The Hong Kong murder mystery film "Hong Kong Pretty Woman" was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1991        The Hong Kong romantic comedy film "Perfect Match" with Maggie Cheung was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1991        The Hong Kong film "Swordsman II" was directed by Ching Siu-tung.
    (SFEC, 4/13/97, DB p.44)
1991        Hong Kong decriminalized homosexuality.
    (Econ 6/24/17, p.36)

1992        Oct 5, Pres. George H. W. Bush signed America's Hong Kong Policy Act. It allowed the US government to treat Hong Kong as a separate entity for trade and other purposes, as long as it is demonstrably freer than the rest of China. It became effective on July 1, 1997. It was amended on November 27, 2019, by the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States-Hong_Kong_Policy_Act)
 
1992        The Hong Kong film "The Actress" was directed by Stanley Kwan. It was about the first Asian silent film icon, Ruan Ling Yu, and starred Maggie Cheung.
    (SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)
1992        The Hong Kong film "Dead End of Besiegers" contrasted Japanese and Chinese martial art techniques.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1992        The Hong Kong action comedy film "Twin Dragons" starred Jackie Chan and Maggie Cheung and was directed by Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam.
    (SFC, 4/10/99, p.E1)
1992        Christopher Patten became the 28th British governor. He began electoral reforms that were denounced by China. He served to 1997 and in 1998 published “East and West: China, Power and the Future of Asia.”
    (SFEC, 11/10/96, Parade p.14)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)(WSJ, 9/16/98, p.A20)
1992        The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) bought Britain’s Midland Bank as part of a strategy of global expansion.
    (Econ, 12/4/10, p.71)
1992        A US Senate report linked the Sun Yee On triad to criminal organizations in Canada, the Dominican Republic, and 7 US cities including SF. The report stated that the syndicate was in outright control of the entertainment industry in Hong Kong. The book “Hong Kong Babylon” by Fredric Dannen describes the Hong Kong movie industry.
    (SFC, 2/18/98, p.A7)

1993        The film "Drunken Master II" with Jackie Chan was produced.
    (SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)

1993        The Hong Kong cop film "Project S: Once a Cop" with Michelle Khan was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1993        The lesbian assassin film "Naked Killer" with Carrie Ng and Chingmy Yau was produced.
    (SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)

1993        China set up a Preliminary Working Committee (PWC) to shape the post-1997 Hong Kong administration.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1993        Anson Chan was named by Gov. Chris Patton as the 1st Chinese person to run the civil service.
    (SFC, 1/13/01, p.A14)

1994        The Hong Kong film "Ashes of Time" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1994        The film "Chinese Torture Chamber" was produced.
    (SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)

1994        The Hong Kong film "Chungking Express" was directed by Wong Kar-wai.
    (SSFC, 10/19/03, p.C10)

1994        The Hong Kong murder mystery film "Dream Killer" was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1994        The Hong Kong film "Great Conqueror’s Concubine, Part Two" with Gong Li and Rosamund Kwan was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1994        The film "Naked Killer" was produced in Hong Kong. It featured nonstop sex and violence
    (SFEC, 5/11/97, DB p.37)

1995        Sep 18, Pro-democracy candidates won a sweeping victory in the last legislative election under British rule. Democrats took 70% of the direct vote. China vowed to disband the legislature.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1995        Hong Kong, a weekly news magazine was published by millionaire Jimmy Lai, a virulent critic of China. 88% of Hong Kong's population speaks Cantonese. It is scheduled to revert to Chinese control in 1997.
    (WSJ, 10/26/95, p.A-1)

1995        The film "High Risk" with Jet Li and Jackie Cheung was produced.
    (SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)

1995        The Hong Kong film "Thunderbolt" starred Sammo Hung.
    (SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1996        Mar, British Prime Minister John Major visited Hong Kong and said that Britain will fight for the 1984 treaty to be respected by China.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1996        May 10, Riots broke out here where more than 18,000 Vietnamese have been held in what amounts to prison camps. The government is in the process of returning them to Viet Nam from whence they fled as boat people.
    (SFC, 5/11/96, p.A-10)

1996        May, The Hong Kong listed Millennium Group, partly owned by the Tanuwidjaja family of Indonesia, bought 25% of World Wide Golden Leaf, a tobacco company owned by Ted Sioeng.
    (WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A22)

1996        Jun 4, The financial leaders have staked out their firm intention to retain monetary and regulatory  independence after reversion to Chinese control.
    (WSJ, 6/4/96, p.A13)

1996        Nov 20, In Hong Kong a fire raged in the 16-story Garley Building and 39 people died.
    (SFC, 11/21/96, p.C3)(SFC, 11/22/96, p.A22)

1996        Nov, China formed a Selection Committee to choose the first post-colonial chief executive and provisional legislature in Hong Kong.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1996        Nov, Cambodian leader Hun Sen and businessman Theng Bunma attended the wedding of Indonesian businessman Ted Sioeng’s daughter Laureen and Subandi Tanuwidjaja.
    (WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A22)

1996        Dec 11, A panel of 400 business leaders approved Tung Chee-hwa as the chief executive of the semi-autonomous government when China recovers sovereignty on Jul 1, 1997.
    (SFC, 12/11/96, p.C3)

1996        Dec 21, China’s rulers named 60 pro-Beijing stalwarts to a new interim legislature to replace the panel elected in 1995.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1996        The Hong Kong film "Beyond Hypothermia" with Wu Chin Lin was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1996        The Hong Kong film "Comrades, Almost a Love Story" with Maggie Cheung was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1996        The Hong Kong film "The Stunt Woman" with Michelle Khan was produced.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1996        The Hong Kong film "Viva Erotica," a satire on the porn industry, was directed by Derek Yee.
    (SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)

1996        China set up the Preparatory Committee to replace the PWC and oversee the transition of Hong Kong in line with the Basic Law and decisions of China’s parliament.
    (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)

1997        Jan 16, Panama's Law No. 5 was passed and confirmed a deal in which Hutchison Whampoa, a Chinese Hong Kong corporation, agreed to pay $22.5 million a year plus what one Panamanian called "bucket loads of money" under the table.
    (www.eagleforum.org/psr/1999/nov99/psrnov99.html)

1997        Feb 1, A Beijing-appointed committee voted to repeal several key civil liberties laws.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1997        Feb 23, China’s legislature voted to dilute Hong Kong’s civil liberties laws.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1997        Apr 9, The future government unveiled plans to restrict political ties with foreigners, require police approval for protests, allow political parties to be banned and prohibit political groups from forming links with foreign organizations.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1997        Apr 27, The Tsing Ma Bridge that connects the mainland part of Hong Kong with the islet of Chek Lap Kok was opened. It was hailed as the longest road-and-rail suspension bridge in the world.
    (SFC, 4/28/97, p.A12)

1997        Apr, Shops sold out of the Tamagochi cyber pet in ten minutes on the first day of sale.
    (SFC, 6/17/97, p.D2)

1997        May 9, In Hong Kong a 3-year-old boy became ill with the flu. He died May 21 and the flu was identified as subtype H5N1, a bird flu.
    (SFC, 2/26/01, p.A9)

1997        May 16, Fei Long (Fat Dragon) was described as a local celebrity for his articles on prostitution on Portland St., the heart of the red-light district. His columns have been compiled as the “Fat Dragon Handbook.”
    (WSJ, 5/16/97, p.A1)

1997        Jun 3, The “Pillar of Shame,” a sculpture symbolizing oppression by Jans Galschiot of Denmark was erected in Victoria Park, Honk Kong.
    (SFC, 6/4/97, p.A11)

1997        Jun 5, China announced that diplomat Ma Yuzhen would be its top civilian representative in Hong Kong beginning July 1. Domestic affairs will be run by Hong Kong residents but foreign affairs will be under the central government.
    (SFC, 6/6/97, p.E3)

1997        Jun 9, The 1898 British lease of Hong Kong's New Territories from China for 99 years expired.
    (www.info.gov.hk/yearbook/2003/english/chapter21/21_03.html)

1997        Jun 14, The provisional legislature voted to give police broad powers to ban even peaceful demonstrations and to outlaw foreign donations to political parties.
    (SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)

1997        Jun 27, China announced that it would send 4,000 troops into Hong Kong six hours after the former colony is handed over to Chinese control.
    (SFC, 6/28/97, p.A1)

1997        Jun 30, In Hong Kong, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House as Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China after ruling it for 156 years. The 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) became the last British unit to leave Hong Kong.
    (AP, 6/30/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_British_Army#1990-present)

1997        Jul 1, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony. Britain relinquished Hong Kong as a colonial territory, and China became master. Many rights were guaranteed for 50 years under a Sino-British treaty. Tung Chee Hwa (b.1937) began serving as the first chief executive of Hong Kong.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tung_Chee-hwa)(WSJ, 11/14/94, p.A9)(SFC, 5/30/96, p.A9)(AP, 7/1/98)

1997        Aug 2, Typhoon Victor struck Hong Kong and one person was killed. The typhoon battered the surrounding Guangdong province and at least 65 people were killed.
    (SFEC, 8/3/97, p.A18)(SFC, 8/9/97, p.A12)

1997        Sep 27, In Hong Kong lawmakers approved an election law that reduced the number of people who could vote and increased the power of big business.
    (SFC, 9/29/97, p.A12)

1997        Oct 8, Hong Kong leader Tung Chee Hwa announced a goal to build 85,000 new housing units a year. The plan failed and the property market soon began a steep drop.
    (WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A11)

1997        Nov 14, The Hong Kong stock market was down 30% over the last month.
    (SFEC,11/16/97, p.A24)

1997        Dec 16, In Hong Kong it was reported that 2 people died of an avian flu. It was the first known instance of human infection. The flu came from chickens imported from Guangdon province in China. The first case was reported in May.
    (WSJ, 12/16/97, p.A1)(SFC,12/17/97, p.A2)

1997        Dec 29, In Hong Kong the government planned to start killing over 1.4 million chickens to combat the new strain of avian flu. Four people had already died of the illness.
    (SFC, 12/29/97, p.A1)(AP, 12/29/98)

1997        The Hong Kong film "The Day the Sun Turned Cold" was directed by Yim Ho.
    (SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)

1997        The Hong Kong film "Eighteen Springs" was directed by Ann Hui.
    (SFC,11/12/97, p.E3)

1997        The Hong Kong film "Hu-Du-Men" (Stage Door) was directed by Shu Kei.
    (SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)

1997        The film "The Soong Sisters" was produced.
    (SFC, 6/16/97, p.A8)

1997        The Hong Kong film "Summer Snow" was directed by Ann Hui.
    (SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)

1997        Wong Kwan, real-estate speculator, spent $70 million for the Genesis mansion overlooking the city. This was the most money ever paid for a house.
    (WSJ, 6/20/01, p.A15)

1998        Jan 12, The Peregrine finance house collapsed due to a debt burden to an Indonesian cab company of $260 million. It was founded less than 10 years ago by former members of Citicorp’s Hong Kong securities team.
    (SFC, 1/13/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A22)

1998        Jan 30, It was reported that real estate prices were diving down. Prices were reported down 25% since August.
    (SFC, 1/30/98, p.A1)

1998        May 24, Voters turned out in record numbers for elections of a Legislative Council. They returned to office pro-democracy politicians ousted by Beijing. Democrats won 13 of 60 seats in the legislature.
    (SFC, 5/25/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 5/26/98, p.A1)

1998        Jun 22, Hong Kong suspended government land sales to bolster prices and announced a stimulus package to revive the economy.
    (SFC, 6/23/98, p.A9)

1998        Jul 5, The 73-year-old Kai Tak Airport closed after 73 years of operation.
    (SFC, 3/18/98, p.A10)(SFEC, 7/5/98, p.A9)

1998        Jul 6, The new Hong Kong Int’l. Airport at Chek Lap Kok welcomed its first commercial flight. Pres. Clinton flew in here a week prior to the official opening. The $20.6 billion project was built on reclaimed land off the northern coast of Lantau island. Inefficient coordination led to chaos on the 1st day.
    (SFEC, 7/5/98, p.A9,T3)(WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A11)

1998        cJul, Barrie Cook helped found the Hong Kong Business Coalition on the Environment to push for a cleaner Hong Kong. Pollution kept the skies gray regardless of the weather.
    (SFC, 7/16/99, p.D3)

1998        Nov 13, Near Hong Kong 2 oil tankers collided and left a 6-mile oil slick near the Pearl River delta that threatened the local rare pink dolphins.
    (SFC, 11/21/98, p.A6)

1998        Nov, The Hong Kong freighter ship Cheung Son (Chang Sheng), loaded with iron ore, was hijacked and all 23 crewmen were lined up on deck and gunned down by pirates. In 1999 38 defendants went on trial in China on charges of murder, robbery and possession of firearms and drugs.
    (SFC, 7/7/99, p.C12)(SFC, 12/16/99, p.C9)

1998        Dec 5, Cheung Tze-keung, a reputed Hong Kong crime boss known as Big Spender, was executed in China. He had been convicted of kidnapping and arms trafficking.
    (SFC, 12/5/98, p.A14)(SFC, 11/24/99, p.C4)

1998        The Hong Kong film "Ballistic Kiss" was directed by Donie Yen. It was about the relationship between a policewoman and a loner in Hong Kong.
    (SFC, 6/15/98, p.D2)

1998        The Hong Kong film "Hero," with Takeshi Kaneshiro, was directed by Corey Yuen. It was a remake of the 1974 Boxer of Shantung.
    (SFC, 1/21/98, p.E5)

1998        The Japanese film "Mr. Nice Guy" starred Jackie Chan and was directed by Sammo Hung.
    (SFC, 3/20/98, p.D3)(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)

1998        The Hong Film "The Replacement Killers" starred Chow Yun-Fat.
    (SFEC, 2/1/98, DB p.33)

1998        The Hong Kong film "The Storm Riders" starred Eking Chang, Aaron Kwok and Sonny Chiba. it was directed by Andrew Lau.
    (SFC, 9/2/98, p.E3)

1998        Hong Kong suffered a slump in GDP of over 6% as did Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.
    (Econ, 11/22/08, p.51)

1999        Jan, An appeals court ruled that the Basic Law of Hong Kong in regards to residency extends to illegitimate children and children born before their parents acquired Hong Kong residency.
    (SFC, 4/29/99, p.D7)

1999        Jan 29, The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeals ruled that any mainland Chinese with at least one Hong Kong parent had the right to live in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government appealed to China.
    (SFC, 6/26/99, p.A16)

1999        Apr 29, China announced that 1.6 million people would be allowed to move to Hong Kong over the next 10-13 years.
    (SFC, 4/29/99, p.D7)

1999        Jun 26, China's legislature revised a Hong Kong ruling on immigration and reasserted its right to decide issues that concern the mainland and Hong Kong. In Dec the high court in Hong Kong affirmed the Chinese decision.
    (SFC, 6/26/99, p.A16)(SFC, 12/4/99, p.A12)

1999        Aug 22, In Hong Kong a China Airlines plane with over 300 passengers overturned while landing under high winds from Typhoon [Tropical Storm] Sam. 3 people were killed and 211 injured of the 313 survivors.
    (SFC, 8/23/99, p.A14)(AP, 8/22/04)

1999        Sep 16, In Hong Kong typhoon York left one man dead and 466 injured.
    (USAT, 9/17/99, p.13A)

1999        Oct 12, In Hong Kong it was reported that a $2.6 billion Cyberport was to be developed beginning in 2001.
    (SFC, 10/12/99, p.A10)

1999        Nov 1, In Hong Kong Disney announced a new theme park. Hong Kong will put up $2.88 billion and have a 57% stake.
    (SFC, 11/2/99, p.A14)

1999        Dec 14, It was reported that Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa had recently announced a $3.75 billion environmental crusade in an effort to reduce pollution. An 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions by 2005 was planned. Hong Kong's yearly emissions for sulfur dioxide was 80,000 tons. Guangdong Province on the Chinese mainland put out 630,000 tons.
    (SFC, 12/14/99, p.A,12,14)

1999        The Hong Kong film "Expect the Unexpected" starred Lau Ching Wan, Simon Yam and Ruby Wong. It was directed by Patrick Yau.
    (SFC, 11/19/99, p.C4)

1999        The Hong Kong film "Running Out of Time" starred Andy Lau and Lau Ching Wan. It was directed by Johnny To.
    (SFC, 10/20/99, p.D3)

1999        Hutchinson Whampoa of Hong Kong sold Orange, its 2G telecoms operator to Germany’s Mannesmann for some $20 billion. The company was controlled by Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man. The money from the sale of Orange was put into 3G mobile-phone services.
    (Econ, 1/8/05, p.58)

2000        Mar 6, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited together with Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited merged under a single exchange HKEX. In June Hong Kong sold shares in its combined stock exchange and clearing house to the public. In 2007 HKEX bought back a stake of almost 6%.
    (Econ, 9/15/07, p.93)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Exchanges_and_Clearing)

2000        Aug 2, Chinese immigrants set fire to the lobby of the immigration center in frustration over residency permits. The Hong Kong announced the immediate deportation of 1,000 mainlanders the next day.
    (SFC, 8/4/00, p.A16)

2000        Sep 6, Two top officials of Hong Kong Univ. resigned after it was found that they and an advisor had pressured a prominent pollster to suppress surveys critical of Tung Chee-hwa.
    (SFC, 9/6/00, p.A10)

2000        Sep 10, Elections were held. Democrats gained seats in the legislative council but most seats were filled with pro-Beijing and big-business candidates.
    (WSJ, 9/12/00, p.A1)

2000        Sep, Dredging for a new Disney theme park left some $3.5 million worth of fish dead in Penny’s Bay.
    (SFC, 1/23/01, p.A12)

2000        Richard Li, chairman of PCCW, took over Hong Kong Telecom with help from his father Francis Leung.
    (Econ, 7/15/06, p.61)

2001        Apr 8, It was reported that foot-and-mouth disease was endemic in Asia and that 3,282 cases were confirmed in Hong Kong over the past year.
    (SSFC, 4/8/01, p.C3)

2001        May 8, In Hong Kong AOL Time Warner sponsored a business conference attended by Pres. Jiang Zemin of China and Bill Clinton. Followers of Falun Gong were barred from entering Hong Kong.
    (SFC, 5/9/01, p.A16)

2001        May 10, At the Fortune Global Forum Bill Clinton urged that China be admitted to the WTO.
    (SFC, 5/11/01, p.D8)

2001        May 18, In Hong Kong officials ordered the slaughter of some 1.2 million chickens and other poultry to halt the deadly avian flu virus.
    (SFC, 5/19/01, p.A12)

2001        Anson Chan, the chief secretary for administration, resigned.
    (SFC, 1/13/01, p.A14)

2001        Lam Sai-wing, Hong Kong jeweler, opened his doors to a glittering golden bathroom complete with two 24-carat solid gold toilets. The company earned two places in the Guinness World Records by constructing the world's "most expensive bathroom," and "most expensive toilet," made almost exclusively out of gold.
    (http://tinyurl.com/5urw7t)(WSJ, 7/7/08, p.A1)

2002        Feb 28, In Hong Kong Tung Chee-hwa won a 2nd term after a nomination period expired with challengers.
    (SFC, 3/1/02, p.A17)

2002        Apr 12, In Hong Kong police began expelling an estimated 4,300 mainland-born Chinese, who were refused the right of residence.
    (SFC, 4/13/02, p.A11)

2002        May 25, A Taiwanese China Airlines Boeing 747 airliner bound for Hong Kong crashed into the sea and 225 people were killed.
    (SSFC, 5/26/02, p.A12)(SFC, 5/27/02, p.A7)(AP, 5/25/03)

2002        Jul 7, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of civil servants staged a huge street protest against a government plan to pass a law that would cut their pay by up to 4.42 percent.
    (Reuters, 7/7/02)

2002        Dec 1, Martin Lee, Hong Kong's pre-eminent champion of democracy, stepped down as leader of the territory's most popular political party.
    (Reuters, 12/1/02)

2002        Dec 15, Tens of thousands of Hong Kong people took part in one of the territory's biggest marches in years, denouncing plans for an anti-subversion law they fear will erode freedom and civil liberties.
    (Reuters, 12/15/02)

2002        Hong Kong abolished a quota on Chinese tourists.
    (Econ., 3/21/15, p.36)

2003        Mar 19, Doctors in Hong Kong reportedly identified the deadly pneumonia virus as belonging to the paramyxoviridae family. The severe acute respiratory illness (SARS) had killed at least 11 people and left hundreds ill. The outbreak is believed to have began in southern China in November. Later reports held that it could be a coronavirus, part of a group that cause the common cold. Many people treated with corticosteroids later developed an irreversible bone disease called avascular necrosis. By July 12, 2003, SARS killed 812 people worldwide.
    (SFC, 3/15/03, p.A8)(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A4)(WSJ, 4/3/03, p.B1)(WSJ, 12/23/03, p.A1)

2003        Mar 31, Hong Kong authorities quarantined more than 200 other residents in an apartment block in an effort to contain the SARS virus.
    (AP, 3/31/03)

2003        Apr 1, In Hong Kong Leslie Cheung, Chinese pop singer and movie star, jumped to his death at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
    (NW, 3/17/03, p.58)

2003        Apr 19, Hong Kong reported 12 SARS patients died in a single day. Malaysia banned workers from Vietnam, which considered sealing its border with China due to the disease.
    (AP, 4/19/03)

2003        May 5, Hong Kong reported three more SARS deaths, for a total of 187, and 8 new infections. In Singapore SARS has killed 26 of the 203 people infected, a fatality rate of 12.8 percent, more than double the global average.
    (AP, 5/5/03)

2003        Jun 23, The World Health Organization removed Hong Kong from its list of SARS-infected areas.
    (AP, 6/23/03)

2003        Jun 29, Hong Kong and China signed a free-trade agreement, the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
    (AP, 6/29/03)(Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.11)

2003        Jul 1, In Hong Kong the "Article 23" measures targeting crimes against the state drew hundreds of thousands of people into the streets in a protest that overshadowed the 6th anniversary of the handover of the territory from Britain to China.
    (AP, 7/1/03)(WSJ, 7/2/03, p.A8)

2003        Jul 4, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's leader, withdrew parts of an anti-subversion bill that triggered massive street protests.
    (AP, 7/5/03)

2003        Jul 10, In Hong Kong a double-decker bus collided with a truck and plunged off a bridge, killing 21 people and injuring 20 more.
    (AP, 7/10/03)

2003        Sep 5, In Hong Kong Tung Chee-hwa withdrew his governments controversial "Article 23" internal security bill.
    (Econ, 9/13/03, p.36)

2003        Nov 2, In Hong Kong Robert Kissel, a Merrill Lynch investment banker, was killed. Nancy Kissel was soon accused of drugging her husband with a milkshake laced with sedatives before fatally beating him on the head with a metal ornament. In 2005 Kissel testified that the day her 40-year-old husband died, he told her he was divorcing her and taking their 3 children. She said that during an argument, he hit her with a baseball bat and she struck him with a metal statue with human figurines. In 2007 Joe McGinniss authored “Never Enough,” a nonfiction account of the crime. In 2010 Hong Kong's highest court overturned her murder conviction and ordered that she be retried. On March 25, 2011, Nancy Kissel was convicted of murder for a 2nd time. The unanimous verdict carried an automatic life sentence.
    (AP, 6/8/05)(AP, 8/4/05)(WSJ, 12/27/07, p.D7)(AP, 2/11/10)(AP, 3/25/11)

2003        Nov 23, Hong Kong residents voted in elections seen as a showdown between pro-Beijing politicians and democratic candidates. Voters turned out in record numbers to hand the territory's top pro-Beijing party a stunning defeat in local elections.
    (AP, 11/23/03)(AP, 11/24/03)

2003        Dec 30, Anita Mui (40), Canto pop diva and film actress, died in Hong Kong of cervical cancer.
    (SFC, 1/1/04, p.A23)(SFC, 1/10/04, p.D3)

2003        Hong Kong made insider trading illegal.
    (Econ, 9/19/09, p.85)
2003        Tung Chee-hwa, head of Hong Kong, asked Allan Zeman, a Canadian entrepreneur, to take over the operation of Ocean Park, a failing amusement park. Zeman had already transformed warehouses into a popular drinking district called Lan Kwai Fong. By 2007 Zeman managed to revive Ocean Park as the local Disney theme park declined.
    (Econ, 10/20/07, p.88)

2004        Jan 1, Hong Kong began a de facto free-trade agreement with mainland China.
    (SFC, 10/15/05, p.C1)

2004        Jan 21, Hong Kong officials reported that Avian influenza was detected near 2 chicken farms. 5 people in Vietnam had already died from the recent outbreak.
    (SFC, 1/22/04, p.A3)

2004        Feb 9, Culturecom Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong unveiled a DVD player and word-processing device built with chips developed by Chinese computer scientist Chu Bong-foo. Chu found a way to put Asia characters in position to command binary code.
    (WSJ, 2/9/04, p.A1)

2004        Apr 6, China issued a major ruling on how Hong Kong chooses its leaders, saying the territory must submit proposed political reforms to Beijing for approval.
    (AP, 4/6/04)

2004        Apr 11, Thousands of Hong Kong residents demanded full democracy and called on their unpopular leader to quit as they marched past Beijing's representative office.
    (AP, 4/11/04)

2004        Apr 26, Mainland China dealt a crushing blow to Hong Kong's hopes for full democracy, when its most powerful legislative panel ruled the territory won't have direct elections for its next leader in 2007 or for all its lawmakers in 2008.
    (AP, 4/26/04)

2004        Jun 4, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of residents rallied on the 15th anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown.
    (AP, 6/5/04)

2004        Jul 1, Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong to demand democratic rights from China.
    (AP, 7/1/05)

2004        Aug 24, Hong Kong announced the official end to nearly 6 years of deflation.
    (WSJ, 8/24/04, p.A10)

2004        Sep 12, People in Hong Kong turned out in large numbers for a legislative election, many venting anger at their leaders and hoping to hand pro-democracy opposition politicians unprecedented clout in the Chinese territory. Pro-democracy opposition figures gained more clout in Hong Kong's legislature with three new seats, but they fell short of expectations.
    (AP, 9/12/04)(AP, 9/13/04)

2004        China and Hong Kong entered into a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The phased agreement eliminated tariffs on Hong Kong exports and by 2005 created 29,000 jobs in Hong Kong.
    (WSJ, 10/19/05, p.A11)

2004        Hong Kong-based Ruyan, which means "like smoking," introduced the world's first electronic cigarette. It patented its ultrasonic atomizing technology, in which nicotine is dissolved in a cartridge containing propylene glycol, the liquid that is vaporized in smoke machines in nightclubs or theaters and is commonly used as a solvent in food.
    (AP, 2/2809)

2005        Jan 1, Hong Kong was forecast for 4.7% annual GDP growth with a population at 7.1 million and GDP per head at $22,970.
    (Econ, 1/8/05, p.90)

2005        Mar 10, Hong Kong's leader said he tendered his resignation because of failing health and repeatedly denied speculation China pushed him out in a bid to tighten its grip on the former British colony.
    (AP, 3/10/05)

2005        Mar 12, Donald Tsang, career bureaucrat, took office as interim leader of Hong Kong.
    (SSFC, 3/13/05, p.A16)

2005        May 18, Hong Kong said it would place a cap on its currency's exchange rate to the U.S dollar, but an official denied that the move signaled China would soon revalue its currency.
    (AP, 5/18/05)

2005        Jun 15, Veteran civil servant Donald Tsang effectively won Hong Kong's leadership race, filing papers that showed he had the solid backing of an election committee that picks the Chinese territory's leaders.
    (AP, 6/15/05)

2005        Jun 21, China appointed Donald Tsang as Hong Kong's new leader for the next 2 years. The veteran civil servant expressed confidence the territory will become more democratic.
    (AP, 6/21/05)

2005        Jul 21, Hong Kong said it would maintain its 21-year-old peg to the US dollar.
    (Econ, 8/6/05, p.60)

2005        Aug 24, A Hong Kong judge ruled that laws against gay sex, including one that demands a life sentence for men under 21 who engage in sodomy, are unconstitutional and discriminatory.
    (AP, 8/24/05)

2005        Sep 1, A Hong Kong jury convicted Nancy Kissel of murdering her wealthy investment banker husband in Nov, 2003, by drugging him with a milkshake laced with sedatives and beating him to death in their luxury apartment. She received a mandatory life sentence.
    (AP, 9/1/05)

2005        Sep 12, The new Hong Kong Disneyland theme park on Lantau Island opened. Zeng Qinghong, China’s vice-president, presided over opening ceremonies.
    (SSFC, 9/18/05, p.C2)(Econ, 9/17/05, p.44)

2005        Sep 23, The newly opened Hong Kong Disneyland said it prefers that its 5,000 workers not unionize as activists described tough work conditions at the park such as long hours, harsh turnarounds and lack of breaks.
    (AP, 9/23/05)

2005        Sep 25, A group of pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong Kong crossed into mainland China for the first time since being barred for criticizing Beijing after the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989. They put their case for electoral reform directly to a Chinese communist leader for the first time, but complained that they were rebuffed.
    (Reuters, 9/25/05)(AFP, 9/25/05)

2005        Sep 27, A research team from Hong Kong reported that the horseshoe bat is the source of the SARS virus. A 2nd team from China, Australia and the US reported similar findings 2 days later. The syndrome 1st appeared in China in 2002 and killed 774 people worldwide.
    (SFC, 9/30/05, p.A12)

2005        Oct 14, A trade delegation of some 300 Chinese officials and business executives visited SF for the 1st Hong Kong-Guangdong Business Conference USA.
    (SFC, 10/15/05, p.C1)

2005        Oct 27, In Honk Kong the IPO of China Construction Bank raised $8 billion from foreign investors for a 12% stake. Ahead of the float CCB sold a 9% stake to Bank of America and a 5.1% stake to Temasek, a Singapore investment agency.
    (Econ, 10/29/05, p.71)

2005        Dec 4, Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Hong Kong to pressure the government to speed up political reforms that would allow voters to pick the territory’s leader and entire legislature.
    (AP, 12/04/05)

2005        Dec 11, About 4,000 anti-globalization activists some carrying a giant spider and others wheeling statues of emaciated people marched in the first mass protest against the World Trade Organization's summit in Hong Kong.
    (AP, 12/11/05)

2005        Dec 12, Trade ministers gathered in Hong Kong to work on a deal to open markets and boost the global economy, with the EU quickly under fire for its refusal to cut farm subsidies further.
    (AP, 12/12/05)

2005        Dec 13, A 6-day ministerial meeting of the WTO opened in Hong Kong.
    (Econ, 12/24/05, p.97)

2005        Dec 17, In Hong Kong hundreds of protesters wielding bamboo sticks broke through police lines and tried to storm the convention center hosting global trade talks. Security forces scattered the crowd with tear gas. Police said 41 people were injured and 900 were detained.
    (AP, 12/17/05)

2005        Dec 18, In Hong Kong World Trade Organization negotiators approved a draft agreement requiring wealthy nations to end farm export subsidies by 2013, a support system that poor nations say puts them at a competitive disadvantage. The agreement required approval by all 149 WTO members.
    (AP, 12/18/05)(SFC, 12/19/05, p.A3)

2005        Dec 19, US Federal prosecutors said MSC Ship Management of Hong Kong had agreed to pay $10.5 million to settle a pollution case.
    (WSJ, 12/20/05, p.A1)

2006        Jan 31, In Egypt 14 tourists from Hong Kong were killed and 30 wounded when their bus spun off the road along the Red Sea coast in one of the deadliest crashes involving foreign nationals in recent years.
    (AP, 1/31/06)

2005        A syndicate called China Int’l. Fund or China Sonangol, created by a man named Sam Pa (aka Xu Jinghua), signed contracts giving the company the right to export Angolan oil and act as a middleman between Sonangol and Sinopec. The company operated out of Hong Kong. By 2009 the company had bought the JPMorgan Chase building at 23 Wall Street, NYC. Newbright Int’l., a core company of the syndicate, was 70% controlled by Veronica Fung.
    (Econ, 8/13/11, p.21)

2006        Feb 22, Pope Benedict XVI named 15 new cardinals, including John Paul II's longtime private secretary and prelates from Boston and Hong Kong, adding his first installment to the elite group of churchmen who will elect his successor.
    (AP, 2/22/06)

2006        Feb 23, China warned Hong Kong’s new Cardinal Joseph Zen that he should avoid mixing religion and politics.
    (WSJ, 2/24/06, p.A4)

2006        Apr 29, In Hong Kong while riding a bus Elvis Ho asked Roger Chan to lower his voice while talking on his cellphone. Chan proceeded to berate Ho for nearly 6 minutes and the encounter was captured on video camera by another passenger, Jon Fong. The video became famous as “Bus Uncle.” Some phrases in the video, such as “I’ve got pressure” and “It’s not over,” quickly became part of Hong Kong’s lexicon.
    (WSJ, 6/6/06, p.A1)

2006        Jun 8, It was reported that pollution in Hong Kong is worse than Los Angeles, the most polluted city in the United States, and claims around 2,000 lives a year.
    (AFP, 6/8/06)

2006        Jul 1, Thousands chanted slogans and marched through Hong Kong's streets in a pro-democracy protest, while a pro-Beijing parade also drew a big crowd to mark the ninth anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule.
    (AP, 7/1/06)

2006        Jul 10, Francis Leung bought a 23% stake in PCCW, Hong Kong’s incumbent telecoms company, held by his son and PCCW chairman Richard Li. This move prevented a foreign takeover of PCCW.
    (Econ, 7/15/06, p.61)

2006        Jul 12, Hong Kong's supreme court struck down a ruling that allowed police to carry out controversial government wiretaps, a move activists hailed as a victory for freedoms in the Chinese city.
    (AFP, 7/12/06)

2006        Aug 6, Hong Kong's legislature passed a law regulating phone tapping and other surveillance measures, a move critics fear will curtail civil liberties in the former British colony now ruled by China.
    (AP, 8/6/06)

2007        Jan 6, Hong Kong reported that a wild bird found a few days earlier had tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
    (WSJ, 1/8/07, p.A5)

2007        Jan 30, In Hong Kong Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, told the Financial Times in an interview: "There is a bubble going on. Investors should be concerned about the risks." He said 70% of the domestically traded companies were worthless and should be delisted.
    (Econ, 2/10/07, p.81)(http://tinyurl.com/2ubmjk)

2007        Jan, A 67% stake in Hutchinson Essar, India’s 4th largest mobile operator, was put up for sale by Hutchinson Telecom, which in turn was controlled by Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest tycoon. The other 33% was owned by Essar, an Indian steel and oil refining group controlled by the Ruia family.
    (Econ, 1/13/07, p.59)

2007        Feb 26, The SEC sued Blue Bottle, a Hong Kong firm, alleging they hacked into computer systems to get corporate news releases early and traded on that information, making a profit of $2.7 million.
    (Econ, 3/10/07, p.71)

2007        Mar 17, Two cargo ships collided in the East China Sea, killing at least eight people. The collision occurred off Zhejiang province between a cargo ship from China and a Hong Kong-registered vessel. The Hong Kong ship, with 29 crew aboard, sank immediately.
    (AP, 3/19/07)

2007        Mar 25, Incumbent Donald Tsang trounced his challenger in Hong Kong's first contested leadership race since it returned to Chinese rule, but the losing candidate said the vote was rigged and demanded greater democracy. Tsang beat pro-democracy lawmaker Alan Leong 649-123 in the vote by an election committee loaded with tycoons and other elites.
    (AP, 3/25/07)(AP, 3/26/07)

2007        Apr 3, Nina Wang (69), Asia's richest woman, died in Hong Kong after reports she had been battling cancer, leaving unanswered questions over her estimated $4.2 billion (2.1 billion pound) fortune. Wang successfully battled her father-in-law for a multi-billion dollar estate left by her late husband Teddy Wang, a property tycoon who vanished in 1990. Wang left her $4 billion fortune to Chan Chun-chuen, a master of feng shui in a will dated Oct. 16, 2006. On Feb 2, 2010, a Hong Kong court deemed the will a forgery.
    (Reuters, 4/4/07)(AP, 4/20/07)(Econ, 4/21/07, p.78)(AP, 2/2/10)

2007        May 1, Kenneth John Freeman (44), a bodybuilder and computer expert from Benton County, Washington, was arrested in Hong Kong. Freeman, who fled the US 13 months earlier, was accused of raping his daughter and posting a video of the attack.
    (www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2007/050207.htm)

2007        May 7, Hong Kong newspapers reported that an unidentified animal illness has spread in two southern Chinese cities, infecting at least 1,300 pigs and killing more than 300. The diseased pigs began dying in Gaoyao and Yunfu in Guangdong province following Chinese New Year celebrations in February. The illness was soon identified as a strain of blue ear disease. Blue ear disease, also called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, was first identified in the United States in 1987. The disease this year killed an estimated 45 million pigs in China.
    (AP, 5/8/07)(SFC, 5/8/07, p.A17)(AP, 5/10/07)(Econ, 12/20/14, p.68)

2007        Aug 8, Ma Lik (55), the leader of Hong Kong's leading pro-Beijing political party, DAB, died of complications from colon cancer.
    (AP, 8/8/07)

2007        Aug 29, Hong Kong police arrested two men accused of trying to smuggle more than 7,000 live pet turtles to mainland China.
    (AP, 8/31/07)

2007        Aug 21, China’s government announced that mainland citizens would be allowed to invest in Hong Kong. State media reported that a test run of traffic controls to clear Beijing's smoggy skies for next year's Olympic Games successfully improved air quality. Media also reported that China will execute people who sabotage the electricity supply, reversing recent steps to rein in widespread use of the death penalty.
    (Econ, 10/6/07, p.86)(http://tinyurl.com/2ugksh)(AP, 8/21/07)

2007        Sep 10, Kenneth John Freeman (44), an American man accused of raping his daughter and posting the videos on the Internet, agreed to be extradited from Hong Kong to the United States.
    (AP, 9/10/07)

2007        Oct 7, Thousands of people marched through Hong Kong's streets to demand the right to pick their city's leader and legislature and hoisted yellow umbrellas to form the year 2012, their target year for full democracy.
    (AP, 10/7/07)

2007        Oct 8, One of the rarest gems in the world, a flawless blue diamond, sold for US$7.98 million (3.91 million pounds) at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, making it the most expensive gemstone in the world, per carat, sold at auction.
    (Reuters, 10/8/07)

2007        Oct 16,     A study in Hong Kong reportedly found that Lupeol, a compound in fruits like mangoes, grapes and strawberries, appears to be effective in killing and curbing the spread of cancer cells in the head and neck.
    (Reuters, 10/16/07)

2007        Nov 6, Chinese e-commerce portal Alibaba.com soared in its debut on the Hong Kong stock market. It opened at $3.86 and closed at $5.09.
    (AP, 11/6/07)(SFC, 11/7/07, p.C1)

2007        Nov 7, The Cosco Busan, a 65,131 ton Greek-owned container ship leased by Hanjin Shipping of South Korea, hit a protective shield at the base of a tower of the Bay Bridge. The Bridge was not damaged, but the ship suffered a gash and spilled 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel oil into the SF Bay. By the end of the month estimated bird deaths due to the oil topped 20,000. The cleanup cost was later estimated at some $61 million. A year later federal authorities still held 6 Chinese crew members for their testimony. In July, 2009, Cosco Busan Capt. John Cota (61) was sentenced to 10 months in prison, becoming the first ship’s pilot in US history to be sent to prison for an accident. On August 13, 2009, Fleet Management Ltd. of Hong Kong pleaded guilty to charges of water pollution and falsifying documents and agreed to pay $10 million in fines. On Dec 4, 2011, a settlement was reached to pay 120 SF Bay Area commercial fishermen $3.6 million.
    (SFC, 11/8/07, p.A1)(SFC, 11/27/07, p.A1)(SFC, 12/19/07, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/5/08, p.A2)(SFC, 7/18/09, p.C1)(SFC, 8/14/09, p.D1)(SFC, 1/5/11, p.C3)

2007        Nov 19, It was reported that Chinese regulators in recent weeks have ordered commercial banks to freeze lending through the end of the year. PM Wen Jiabao acknowledged that vast amounts of currency were flowing out of China through illegal channels. This followed the recent arrest of To Ling (43), a Hong Kong resident, whose black market foreign exchange business handled transactions worth more than $1 million a day.
    (WSJ, 11/19/07, p.A1)(Econ, 11/24/07, p.78)

2007        Dec 2, Two outspoken political veterans faced off in one of Hong Kong's most keenly watched legislative elections. Pro-democracy candidate Anson Chan, a hugely popular former government official, won a seat in Hong Kong's legislature, a win she hailed as a victory for democracy in the southern Chinese territory. Her closest opponent, former security chief Regina Ip, who had the backing of Beijing-allied parties, received 137,550, or 42.7% of votes.
    (AP, 12/2/07)(AP, 12/3/07)

2007        Dec 29, China said Hong Kong will be allowed to directly elect its leader in 2017 and all of its lawmakers by 2020 at the earliest, an announcement that sparked protests by pro-democracy activists who sought an earlier date.
    (AP, 12/29/07)

2007        Dec, The 1,588-foot-tall Int’l. Commerce Center, the tallest in Hong Kong and the 3rd tallest in the world, opened for business on the Kowloon side of the city.
    (WSJ, 12/5/07, p.B1)

2007        Anthony Hedley of the Univ. of Hong Kong calculated that bad air in Hong Kong causes 1,600 deaths a year.
    (Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.11)

2008        Feb 5, Ching Cheong (58), a Hong Kong journalist charged with spying for Taiwan, was released from prison in mainland China after being detained for nearly three years.
    (AP, 2/5/08)

2008        Feb 6, The US SEC settled with David Li, head of the Bank of East Asia, charges of insider trading regarding last year’s acquisition of Down Jones by News Corp. Michael Leung, another Hong Kong tycoon, and his family also settled for $8.1 million in disgorged profits and a similar amount in fines.
    (Econ, 2/9/08, p.83)

2008        Mar 22, Eighteen Ukrainian sailors were missing after their tug boat sank off the Hong Kong coast following a collision with a cargo ship. 7 people were rescued. On Dec 13, 2010, a Hong Kong court convicted four seamen over the deaths of the 18 Ukrainian sailors.
    (Reuters, 3/23/08)(AFP, 1/13/10)

2008        Apr 9, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines cancelled all flights and went into liquidation as a result of high fuel costs.
    (SFC, 4/10/08, p.C4)

2008        Apr 13, In Hong Kong the historical epic "The Warlords" dominated the Hong Kong Film Awards scooping 8 gongs including best film and best actor in martial arts star Jet Li.
    (AP, 4/13/08)

2008        Apr 30, The Olympic torch returned to Chinese soil after a turbulent 20-nation tour, landing in the bustling financial capital of Hong Kong where officials deported at least seven activists before the flame's arrival.
    (AP, 4/30/08)

2008        May 1, In Hong Kong 18 people were killed and at least 44 injured when a coach taking elderly local residents to a religious ceremony overturned.
    (AP, 5/1/08)

2008        Jun 7, In Hong Kong a routine inspection found chickens infected with H5N1 bird flu in a poultry market. Authorities slaughtered 2,700 birds and banned live poultry imports from China.
    (WSJ, 6/9/08, p.A12)

2008        Jun 11, Hong Kong officials found bird-flu virus  at three more food markets and ordered the slaughter of some 3,500 birds at retail outlets.
    (WSJ, 6/12/08, p.A13)

2008        Aug 22, Hong Kong issued its highest storm warning in five years as Typhoon Nuri brought hurricane-force winds and heavy rain, halting trade on financial markets and shutting down most of the city.
    (AP, 8/22/08)

2008        Sep 7, Hong Kong's pro-democracy politicians lost several legislative seats in elections, but held onto their veto power over major legislation as they push for greater political freedoms in the Chinese territory. Democratic parties won 23 of 60 legislative seats in the voting, down from their previous 26.
    (AP, 9/8/08)

2008        Sep 21, Hong Kong authorities said they found traces of melamine in a batch of Chinese-made Nestle commercial milk. The next day they forced Nestle to recall the milk line.
    (WSJ, 9/23/08, p.A22)

2008        Oct 5, Hong Kong said it found two Cadbury chocolate products contained considerably more of the industrial chemical melamine than the city's legal limit in a growing scandal over Chinese tainted food.  China attempted to contain the fallout from the tainted milk scandal, announcing a new survey of dairy products showed no traces of melamine and promising to subsidize farmers hit by the scare.
    (AP, 10/5/08)(AFP, 10/5/08)

2008        Nov 12, Hong Kong officials said they had found elevated levels of melamine in fish feed from China’s Fuzhou Haima Feed Co.
    (WSJ, 11/13/08, p.A13)

2008        Nov 14, Thailand former PM Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, who married in 1976, divorced at the Thai consul general's office in Hong Kong. A political observer suggested the divorce could have been aimed at protecting the family's considerable assets, which are mostly held in Pojaman's name.
    (AP, 11/15/08)

2008        Dec 9, Hong Kong health authorities said more than 80,000 chickens will be slaughtered after bird flu was found on a poultry farm, the first outbreak at a farm here in nearly six years.
    (AFP, 12/9/08)

2008        Dec 11, Hong Kong's government confirmed that the deadly H5N1 virus was found at a poultry farm, the first outbreak on a farm here in nearly six years.
    (AP, 12/11/08)

2009        Jan 5, In Hong Kong a new survey said one in five residents is considering leaving the city because of its dire air quality, raising fears over the financial hub's competitiveness.
    (AFP, 1/5/09)

2009        Jan 15, In Hong Kong Grace Mugabe (43), the wife of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, struck a photographer in the face repeatedly as her bodyguard grabbed him when he was trying to snap photos of her leaving the five-star Kowloon Shangri-la Hotel. She was later granted diplomatic immunity from prosecution over her alleged assault of the British journalist.
    (AFP, 3/22/09)(http://tinyurl.com/clw9hb)

2009        Feb 12, Hong Kong's High Court quashed the conviction of Australian Kevin Egan, one of the city's most high-profile lawyers, who had been jailed for leaking the identity of a protected witness to a journalist.
    (AFP, 2/12/09)

2009        Mar 11, More than 30 shipping containers of ammonium nitrate fell off a ship in stormy seas off Australia, damaging the ship's hull and leaking up to 30 tons of oil [see Mar 13]. Swire Shipping's cargo liner Pacific Adventurer released about 200,000 liters (53,000 US gallons) of heavy fuel oil off the coast of Queensland state as it travelled through cyclonic weather. Australia later sought more than 18 million US dollars in compensation from a Hong Kong-based shipping company. In August the Hong Kong-based Swire Shipping company said it will pay Australia 25 million dollars (21 million US) in compensation for the oil spill.
    (AP, 3/11/09)(AFP, 5/6/09)(AFP, 8/8/09)

2009        Mar 15, Thirty three pro-democracy legislators from Hong Kong crossed to Macao to confront the local government over banned visitors. 5 were immediately returned over “security reasons” and the rest were allowed to deliver a letter of protest.
    (Econ, 3/21/09, p.43)

2009        May 15, In Hong Kong 63 governments approved the Int’l. Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. It aimed to make the business of scrapping ships safer and greener by requiring higher standards at recycling yards mostly located in South Asia. 107 environmental rights groups complained that the UN accord, doesn’t go far enough.
    (SFC, 5/16/09, p.A2)
2009        May 15, Hugh Van Es (67), a Dutch photojournalist, died in Hong Kong. He covered the Vietnam War and recorded the most famous image of the fall of Saigon in 1975, a group of people scaling a ladder to a CIA helicopter on a rooftop.
    (AP, 5/15/09)

2009        May 16, In Hong Kong two bottles of acid were thrown into a crowd in a popular downtown shopping district. 30 people suffered burns but none was seriously injured. On the same street in December, 46 people suffered burns when two plastic bottles filled with acid were thrown at pedestrians.
    (AP, 5/16/09)

2009        May 30, Taiwan officials said they had confiscated nearly 18,000 cases of Red Bull imported from Austria after finding traces of cocaine. On June 1 Hong Kong officials reported founding traces of cocaine in Red Bull cans. Red Bull moved quickly to deny the findings and said independent tests on the same batch of drinks had found no traces of cocaine.
    (AP, 6/2/09)

2009        Jun 8, In Hong Kong an unidentified assailant hurled acid in the busy Mong Kok shopping district, injuring 24 pedestrians including a 4-year old girl. It was the third in a series of acid attacks that have hurt some 100 people.
    (AP, 6/9/09)

2009        Jun 27, In Hong Kong Michael Mudd, a student at California State University, Chico, caused the crash of a taxi and the death of its driver before commandeering the vehicle and slamming it into another cab. In 2010 Mudd (23) was sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
    (AP, 10/28/10)

2009        Sep 6, In Hong Kong a man hurled acid at pedestrians in the Mong Kok shopping district, in the neighborhood's fourth acid attack in a year. The attacker (28), arrested nearby, targeted a couple strolling through the district, but also hurt nine others.
    (AP, 9/6/09)

2009        Sep 13, In Hong Kong a construction platform inside an elevator shaft collapsed, sending 5 workers 20 stories down to their deaths inside a skyscraper. One worker was injured.
    (AP, 9/13/09)

2009        Sep 18, In Hong Kong Du Jun (41), a Beijing native and former managing director for Morgan Stanley, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for insider trading. He was also fined about $3 million.
    (SFC, 9/19/09, p.D1)

2009        Oct 13, Guinea's military government said it has signed a $7 billion mining agreement with a Chinese company. Guinea is the world's largest producer of bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum, and also produces diamonds and gold. The Hong Kong-based syndicate, China Int’l. Fund or China Sonangol, transferred $100 million to the cash-strapped junta.
    (AP, 10/13/09)(Econ, 8/13/11, p.23)

2009        Dec 1, In Hong Kong a rare, 5-carat pink diamond was auctioned off for a record $10.8 million in Hong Kong.
    (AP, 12/1/09)

2009        Dec 12, In Hong Kong 5 women and a man suffered burns in the incident in Causeway Bay, one of a spate of acid attacks in the city. One woman's face and chest were badly injured, with burns covering nearly 20 percent of her body. On Jan 14 police charged a 23-year-old man over the acid attack.
    (AFP, 1/14/10)(www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200912/13/P200912130264.htm)
2009        Dec 12, In Thailand 4 Kazakhs and a Belarusian were detained and their New Zealand registered aircraft impounded after it landed in the Thai capital with tons of war weaponry on board that originated in North Korea. The Ilyushin 76 transport from Kazakhstan was allegedly traveling from North Korea to Sri Lanka when it asked to land in Bangkok to refuel. According to a flight plan seen by arms trafficking researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd. to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, Iran, with several other stops, including Bangkok, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. A New Zealand shell company, SP Trading Ltd., had leased the airplane.
    (AP, 12/12/09)(AP, 12/23/09)(AP, 1/22/10)

2009        In Hong Kong 15 families controlled corporate assets worth 84% of GDP.
    (Econ, 2/14/09, p.88)

2010        Jan 1, Thousands of Hong Kong residents marched to the Chinese government's liaison office demanding that Beijing grant full democracy to the semiautonomous financial hub.
    (AP, 1/1/10)
2010        Jan 1, In Japan a robber bored a hole through the wall of jewelry shop and walked off with about 200 luxury watches worth 300 million yen ($3.2 million) in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district. On Jan 7-8 three men and 3 women were arrested in Hong Kong in connection with the jewelry heist. Police suspect many of the watches were mailed from Japan to Hong Kong, with some then sent to mainland China.
    (AP, 1/2/10)(AP, 1/9/10)

2010        Jan 10, Hong Kong police arrested a man after two bottles of corrosive liquid were hurled into a crowd in the city's Kowloon area. At least 30 people were injured in the city's latest acid attack.
    (AP, 1/10/10)

2010        Jan 15, In Hong Kong protesters against a national high-speed rail network scuffled with police as they tried but failed to storm the legislature. Another 500 staged a sit-in in front of the Hong Kong leader's mansion, shutting down traffic. The $55 billion Hong Kong dollar ($7.1 billion) project to link Hong Kong to a national high-speed rail network has run into a growing protest movement.
    (AP, 1/15/10)

2010        Jan 22, Sir Percy Cradock (86), the British diplomat who negotiated the terms for returning Hong Kong to Chinese rule, died. He was ambassador to Beijing in 1983 when Britain opened negotiations on the handover of Hong Kong. Britain gained an agreement on the principle of "one nation, two systems" which preserved some of Hong Kong's democratic and economic freedoms.
    (AP, 1/29/10)(Econ, 2/13/10, p.87)

2010        Jan 26, In Hong Kong 5 pro-democracy lawmakers resigned their seats, vowing to turn the resulting elections into a populist campaign for universal suffrage in defiance of warnings from China.
    (AFP, 1/26/10)

2010        Feb 4, A Chinese ministry statement ordered schools to sever all ties and cooperation with Oxfam saying school administrators must ban all campus volunteer recruitment efforts run by the group's Hong Kong office. It accused the Hong Kong branch of having a hidden political agenda. Oxfam has operated in mainland China for 20 years and worked in cooperation with the government's poverty alleviation department. Oxfam, a confederation of 14 national organizations that works in about 100 countries, was founded in Britain in 1942.
    (AP, 2/23/10)

2010        Mar 22, Google announced that its China search engine, google.cn, would automatically redirect queries to its service in China's semiautonomous territory of Hong Kong, where Google is not legally required to censor searches.
    (AP, 3/23/10)

2010        Apr 25, Police in Hong Kong seized 820 pounds (372 kg) of cocaine from a suburban house that was reportedly part of a botched drug shipment sent to the southern Chinese territory by mistake. Police later said they have arrested eight people, four men and four women aged 22 to 84, in connection to the case, their largest seizure to date.
    (AP, 4/27/10)

2010        May 8, In southeastern China Zhou Yezhong (36) stabbed to death 8 people including his wife, elderly mother and young daughter in Chengyuan village in Jiangxi province. Another two people were killed and three wounded in a stabbing spree by a man (42) in Hong Kong.
    (AFP, 5/9/10)

2010        May 16, Hong Kong held by-elections triggered by pro-democracy lawmakers seeking to pressure Beijing into speeding up the pace of electoral reform in the territory. Most Hong Kongers stayed away from special elections that five opposition lawmakers had triggered. A low turnout returned five opposition legislators who had resigned. Beijing loyalists called the engineered election a failure.
    (AFP, 5/16/10)(AP, 5/16/10)(AP, 5/17/10)

2010        May 23, In southern China a fuel rod at the Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station experienced a "very small leakage" that increased radioactivity levels slightly in the nuclear reactor's cooling water. The plant supplies power to Hong Kong.
    (AP, 6/15/10)

2010        May 26, In Hong Kong a 10th employee of iPhone-maker Foxconn jumped to his death, just hours after the company's chairman promised to make life better for employees at the sprawling production site in southern China.
    (Reuters, 5/27/10)

2010        May 29, Hong Kong police confiscated a statue mourning victims of China's 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square and arrested 13 activists, in what critics called an escalation in political censorship in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.
    (AP, 5/29/10)

2010        Jun 4, Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents marked the bloody 1989 Tiananmen crackdown with a candle-lit vigil, as agitation against Beijing intensifies in the former British colony.
    (AP, 6/4/10)

2010        Jun 23, In Hong Kong thousands of protestors chanting slogans and blaring vuvuzelas faced off as legislators debated a controversial plan to enact limited political reforms in the Chinese territory. Pro-democracy Hong Kong legislators attacked a proposal for limited political reforms made by the territory's Beijing-appointed government and tried to stall a vote expected to go in the administration's favor.
    (AP, 6/23/10)

2010        Jun 25, Hong Kong's legislature agreed to add 10 elected seats, completing a set of Beijing-backed electoral changes that critics say reinforce the territory's undemocratic political system.
    (AP, 6/25/10)

2010        Jul 17, Hong Kong adopted its first minimum wage law, but no rate was yet set
    (Econ, 7/17/10, p.73)(http://tinyurl.com/2cx6os2)

2010        Aug 23, Philippine police stormed a bus in downtown Manila after shots were heard from the hostage-taker of 15 Chinese tourists. Former Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza (55), armed with a M16 rifle, had seized the busload of Hong Kong tourists to demand his reinstatement in the force. 8 tourists were killed along with Mendoza. Ken Leung died trying to subdue the gunman, who then killed his two daughters, Doris (21) and Jessie (14). The only survivors were the mother, Amy, and son Jason (18), who fell into a coma after suffering a head wound. Jason awoke from his coma around mid October. On Dec 16 Manila said it will pay compensation to the families of 8 Hong Kong tourists killed during the botched hostage rescue.
    (AP, 8/23/10)(AP, 8/24/10)(AP, 10/20/10)(AFP, 12/16/10)

2010        Aug 29, In Hong Kong an estimated 80,000 people marched in honor of eight locals killed in a bus hijacking in Manila, denouncing the Philippine government for botching the rescue operation and demanding justice for the dead.
    (AP, 8/29/10)

2010        Nov 14, Authorities in Hong Kong detained the Decretive, a Maltese-flagged container vessel, over a debt dispute with several European banks. The target of the dispute is the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), the guarantor of bank loans which funded the Decretive's construction in 2008. Loan defaults totaled 268 million US dollars.
    (AFP, 12/23/10)

2010        Dec 8, Brazilian mining giant Vale made its Hong Kong trading debut, the first South American firm to list in the city, as the company ramps up its exposure to resource-hungry China.
    (AFP, 12/8/10)

2010        Dec 15, Hong Kong police said they have dealt a major blow to a notorious triad group, after a territory-wide series of raids rounded up dozens of people, including a suspected gang leader.
    (AP, 12/15/10)

2011        Jan 2, Hong Kong democracy activist Szeto Wah (b.1931) died. He was a leading campaigner for the victims of Beijing's 1989 crackdown on protesters at Tiananmen Square, a voice for mainland dissidents, and founder of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China.
    (AFP, 2/27/11)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szeto_Wah)

2011        Feb 17, Hong Kong’s health authority said at least 12 people have died from swine flu in less than a month, after the latest death from the disease.
    (AFP, 2/17/11)

2011        Feb 27, Britain’s Sunday Times reported that Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing is set to clinch the acquisition of a power distribution business in a deal which would see him control half of Britain's electricity network.
    (AFP, 2/27/11)

2011        Mar 5, In Hong Kong 15 families controlled more than two thirds of the stockmarket.
    (Econ, 3/5/11, p.16)

2011        Mar 30, Hong Kong said it had passed laws to comply with UN sanctions against Iran, two months after 20 shipping firms in the city were accused of having links to Tehran's weapons buildup.
    (AFP, 3/30/11)

2011        Apr 17, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Kremlin chief to tour Hong Kong, seeking fresh investment as aides and executives signaled a rise in Russian listings in the city.
    (AFP, 4/17/11)

2011        May 15, Hong Kong-based Galaxy Entertainment opened is new $1.9 billion Galaxy casino in Macao.
    (Econ, 5/21/11, p.70)

2011        May 18, Hong Kong’s new Mercantile Exchange began trading a dollar-denominated futures contract tied to the physical delivery of gold.
    (Econ, 5/14/11, p.94)

2011        Jun 29, In Hong Kong Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung (51), a one-time hairdresser turned football tycoon, was arrested by police. The next day he appeared in court and was charged with money-laundering. Prosecutors said investigations had revealed around HK$720 million ($92 million) passing through accounts connected with Yeung. He was released on HK$7 million ($900,000) bail following a brief appearance at the magistrates court.
    (AFP, 6/30/11)

2011        Jul 1, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of people vented anger over skyrocketing property prices and government policies at an annual march held on the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule. Police arrested 231 people and used pepper spray during the demonstration.
    (AP, 7/1/11)(AFP, 7/2/11)

2011        Jul 18, Hong Kong ordered pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to recall an antibiotic used to treat infections in children after tests revealed the British firm's Augmentin antibiotic tablet contained several plasticizers, including diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP).
    (AFP, 7/19/11)

2011        Aug 20, In Hong Kong about 300 reporters and photographers rallied against what they called the suppression of press freedom and freedom of expression during the visit earlier this week of China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang's.
    (AP, 8/20/11)

2011        Aug 22, In Hong Kong hearings arguments began in a case where Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a Filipino woman, challenged a legal provision denying permanent residency to the hundreds of thousands of foreign maids in a landmark court case that sees them fighting for equal treatment with the city's other foreign residents.
    (AP, 8/22/11)

2011        Sep 18, Hong Kong police said they have made the southern Chinese territory's largest ever cocaine bust, seizing more than half a ton of the drug, worth around $77 million. 8 people were arrested including an American man, a Colombian woman with Hong Kong residency and five Mexicans.
    (AFP, 9/18/11)

2011        Sep 30, A Hong Kong court ruled that a law banning foreign maids from permanent residency is unconstitutional in a landmark case that could pave the way for a flood of applications. The legal action brought by Evangeline Banao Vallejos (59), a domestic helper from the Philippines who has lived in the city since 1986.
    (AFP, 9/30/11)

2011        Oct 15, In Hong Kong some 500 people gathered in the heart of the financial district to express their anger at the inequities and excesses of free-market capitalism. Protesters across the Asia-Pacific region joined worldwide demonstrations inspired by the "Occupy Wall Street" and "Indignants" movements. The movement was born on May 15 when a rally in Madrid's central square of Puerta del Sol sparked a protest that spread nationwide, then to other countries.
    (AFP, 10/15/11)

2011        Oct 16, Hong Kong's iconic 1.8km cross-harbor swimming race made its return after a 33-year suspension forced by pollution and heavy traffic on the famous waterway. The tradition dating back to 1906 was halted in 1978 as water quality deteriorated.
    (AFP, 10/16/11)

2011        Oct 23, In Hong Kong more than 1000 protesters, including pregnant women, marched to oppose the growing number of mainland Chinese women coming to the city to give birth. Women from mainland China are keen to have babies in Hong Kong because it entitles their child to rights of abode and education.
    (AFP, 10/23/11)

2011        Nov 15, Hong Kong customs officers intercepted a record haul of 33 rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 bracelets hidden inside a container shipped from South Africa.
    (AFP, 11/16/11)

2011        Gordon Mathews authored “Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking mansions, Hong Kong.”
    (Econ, 8/20/11, p.76)

2012        Feb 10, In Hong Kong mainland woman Xu Li (29) was charged in a magistrates' court for her role as a "birth agent," the first prosecution of its kind as the southern city cracks down on the practice.
    (AFP, 2/11/12)

2012        Feb 17, Swiss authorities said they have confiscated $6 trillion in counterfeit US bonds at the request of Italian prosecutors. In Italy eight people were arrested across the country and placed under investigation for fraud and other crimes. The bonds, carrying the false date of issue of 1934, had been transported in 2007 from Hong Kong to Zurich, where they were transferred to a Swiss trust.
    (AP, 2/17/12)

2012        Mar 25, Hong Kong held elections for a new chief executive. Only 1,200 people, handpicked from the populations, were eligible to vote. Henry Tang Ying-Yen was favored to win. Self-made millionaire property consultant Leung Chun-ying (57) won the leadership election with 689 votes.
    (Econ, 3/3/12, p.58)(AFP, 3/25/12)(SFC, 3/26/12, p.A2)

2012        Mar 28, Hong Kong's court of appeal overturned a Sep 30, 2011, landmark ruling that opened the door for thousands of foreign maids to claim residency saying the High Court could not override the government's authority to decide who can live in the city and who cannot.
    (AFP, 3/28/12)

2012        Apr 1, In Hong Kong some 15 thousand people noisily protested against the city's incoming leader, Leung Chun-ying, and decried Beijing's alleged interference in the election that propelled him to office.
    (AFP, 4/1/12)

2012        Apr 16, Sex experts urged Hong Kongers to strip off their reputation as some of the least active lovers in Asia to get more out of their sex lives and overcome challenges of privacy in a cramped city.
    (AFP, 4/17/12)

2012        May 3, In Hong Kong authorities arrested Walter Kwok, the eldest sibling of the Kwok brothers, over bribery allegations in a corruption scandal. The Kwoks are among Hong Kong's richest men and Sun Hung Kai Properties is the city's biggest property developer by market capitalization.
    (AFP, 5/4/12)

2012        Jun 29, Chinese President Hu Jintao urged Hong Kong's restive people to embrace the motherland as he visited the financial citadel for the 15th anniversary of its return to rule by Beijing.
    (AFP, 6/29/12)

2012        Jun 30, Hong Kong police used pepper spray to disperse crowds demonstrating against Chinese President Hu Jintao, ahead of the 15th anniversary of the territory's handover amid tight security.
    (AFP, 6/30/12)

2012        Jul 1, Hong Kong's biggest protest for nearly a decade packed the former British colony's streets in a defiant reception for its new leader and a show of popular anger after 15 years of Chinese rule. The vast rally came after Leung Chun-ying, a millionaire property consultant seen as close to China's communist authorities, was sworn in as chief executive in front of Chinese President Hu Jintao -- who had his speech interrupted.
    (AFP, 7/1/12)

2012        Jul 6, Hong Kong officials said customs officers made the biggest ever cocaine bust, seizing 1,430 pounds of the drug worth some $98 million in a shipping container from Ecuador. Three men were arrested.
    (SFC, 7/7/12, p.A2)

2012        Jul 12, Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog said it has arrested four people including a minister and a senior civil servant for allegedly violating their government housing allowances.
    (AFP, 7/12/12)

2012        Jul 13, Two of Hong Kong's richest tycoons and a former senior official were charged with corruption in the biggest graft scandal the regional banking hub has seen. Sun Hung Kai Properties co-chairmen Thomas and Raymond Kwok, two of Asia's wealthiest men, were among five people charged with eight offences.
    (AFP, 7/13/12)

2012        Jul 24, Hong Kong authorities issued a hurricane warning for the first time since 1999 as Typhoon Vicente roared to within 100 km of Hong Kong shortly after midnight, disrupting dozens of flights to the regional hub.
    (AFP, 7/24/12)

2012        Jul 29, Thousands of stroller-pushing Hong Kong parents and activists protested a plan to introduce national education lessons, slamming it as a bid to brainwash children with Chinese propaganda.
    (AFP, 7/29/12)

2012        Jul 31, Australian police seized a record half a ton of methamphetamine and heroin worth up to A$500 million ($525 million) hidden in a shipment of terracotta pots from Thailand. Seven people, including four from Hong Kong, were arrested after a year-long investigation following a tip-off from US authorities.
    (Reuters, 7/31/12)

2012        Aug 2, Hong Kong choked under the worst smog ever recorded in the city, with residents warned to stay indoors, away from the blanket of toxic haze.
    (AFP, 8/2/12)

2012        Aug 13, In Hong Kong HSBC won a legal bid to clear out anti-capitalist protesters from a public space below the bank's Asian headquarters in the southern Chinese financial center. A judge ruled that the activists must leave by 9 p.m. on Aug 27.
    (AP, 8/13/12)

2012        Aug 15, Japan made 14 arrests after pro-China activists from Hong Kong landed on Senkaku (aka Diaoyu) island at the center of a bitter territorial dispute. On Aug 17 half of the group were put aboard a commercial airliner in the Okinawan main city of Naha and arrived in Hong Kong. The other half were taken back to their boat in Ishigaki.
    (AFP, 8/15/12)(AFP, 8/17/12)

2012        Sep 3, A Hong Kong-owned company, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), said it has completed the acquisition of bankrupt car maker Saab and will move ahead with its business plan to make electric cars under the Swedish brand.
    (AP, 9/3/12)

2012        Sep 7, It was reported that hunger-striking Hong Kong students and their supporters have taken control of a city plaza against the introduction of “national education” courses aiming to boost a sense of shared identity with China.
    (SFC, 9/7/12, p.A4)

2012        Sep 8, Hong Kong officials backed down on plans to make students take Chinese patriotism classes following a week of protests in the former British colony sparked by fears of pro-Beijing "brainwashing."
    (AP, 9/8/12)

2012        Oct 1, In Hong Kong two boats collided in local waters killing 38 holiday revelers. Police the next day arrested seven crew members but offered no theory about how the vessels ran into each other on a clear night in one of the safest and most regulated waterways in Asia.
    (AP, 10/2/12)

2012        Oct 20, Hong Kong officials said customs officers have confiscated 4 tons of ivory valued at $3.4 million in containers shipped from Tanzania and Kenya.
    (SSFC, 10/21/12, p.A4)

2012        Nov 20, A 5-year-old sex tape of an 18-year-old woman allegedly hired by developers to sleep with a city official exploded on the Chinese Internet when screenshots of it were uploaded by a Beijing-based former journalist Zhu Ruifeng to his Hong Kong-registered website, an independent online clearing house for corruption allegations.
    (AP, 11/27/12)

2013        Jan 1, In Hong Kong thousands of demonstrators in rival marches crowded the main shopping district to praise or condemn chief executive Leung Chun-ying. Critics accused him of misleading the public on a controversial real estate deal and of being a puppet installed by Beijing.
    (SFC, 1/2/13, p.A3)

2013        Jan 4, Hong Kong customs officials said they have intercepted a container with 779 elephant tusks weighing 2,900 pounds from Kenya.
    (SFC, 1/5/13, p.A2)

2013        Jan 9, In Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers made a symbolic attempt to impeach  Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. The 27 pro-democracy legislators were outnumbered by pro-Beijing representatives in the 70-seat Legislative Council.
    (AP, 1/9/13)

2013        Jan 15, A Hong Kong company controlled by controlled by Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, said that it's buying New Zealand's second biggest waste disposal company, EnviroWaste Services Ltd., from Australian private equity firm Ironbridge Capital.
    (AP, 1/15/13)

2013        Apr 4, Hong Kong hosted the 4th meeting of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET).
    (Econ, 4/13/13, p.73)

2013        Apr 5, Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto visited Hong Kong, and said "I am convinced that Mexican products should take advantage of the dynamism of China's markets." A report by a chief economist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch this week estimated that Mexico's labor costs are now 19.6 percent lower than China's.
    (AP, 4/6/13)

2013        May 13, Hong Kong's top court granted a transgender woman the right to marry her boyfriend in a watershed ruling that falls short of allowing same-sex marriage.
    (AP, 5/13/13)

2013        Jun 9, In Hong Kong some 700 activists gathered to organize a campaign for genuine democarcy under the name “Occupy Central,” Central being the city’s main financial district.
    (Econ, 6/15/13, p.46)
2013        Jun 9, Britain’s Guardian newspaper said that Edward Snowden (29), a contractor who says he worked at the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency, is the source of leaks about a phone records monitoring program and an Internet scouring program. Snowden was working in an NSA office in Hawaii until he left for Hong Kong on May 20.
    (AP, 6/10/13)

2013        Jun 12, In an interview with the South China Morning Post newspaper, Edward Snowden claimed the US has long been attacking a Hong Kong university that routes all Internet traffic in and out of the semiautonomous Chinese region.
    (AP, 6/13/13)

2013        Jun 13, Nicaragua’s Congress voted to give Wang Jing the concession to build a canal across the country. His HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. (HKND) still had to study whether the idea is truly economically viable. The vote gave his Hong Kong-based company 50 years of exclusive rights to study the plan and build and operate a canal in exchange for Nicaragua receiving a minority share of any profits.
    (AP, 6/13/13)(Econ, 10/5/13, p.40)

2013        Jun 20, An Icelandic businessman linked to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said he had readied a private plane in China to fly Edward Snowden, who has admitted leaking secrets about classified US surveillance programs, from Hong Kong to Iceland if Iceland's government would grant asylum.
    (Reuters, 6/21/13)

2013        Jun 21, US sources said the US government has filed sealed criminal charges against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has admitted leaking secrets about classified US surveillance programs. Snowden was believed to be hiding in Hong Kong.
    (AP, 6/22/13)

2013        Jun 23, Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Russia. A report said he intended to fly to Cuba on June 24 and then on to Caracas, Venezuela.
    (AP, 6/23/13)

2013        Jul 1, In Hong Kong tens of thousands took to the streets in protest, demanding that Leung Chun-ying, their widely disliked Beijing-backed leader, resign and pressing for promised democratic reforms so they can choose their own top representative. The annual protest march has become increasingly popular in recent years.
    (AP, 7/1/13)(SFC, 7/2/13, p.A2)

2013        Sep 18, A Hong Kong couple were jailed for torturing, beating and abusing their Indonesian maid, who said they once dressed her in a diaper and tied her to a chair for five days while they went on holiday. Tai Chi-wai (42), an electric appliance salesman, was jailed for three years and three months. His wife, Catherine Au Yuk-shan (41), a public hospital assistant, got five-and-a-half years. Kartika Puspitasari (30) was assaulted and tortured over a two-year period until she escaped last October.
    (Reuters, 9/18/13)

2013        Oct 3, Hong Kong officials said customs agents have seized 189 elephant tusks, valued at about $1.5 million, in the city’s 3rd biggest bust of endangered species products in three months.
    (SFC, 10/4/13, p.A2)

2013        Oct 7, In Hong Kong a 118-carat white diamond, discovered in the rough in 2011 in southern Africa, sold at auction for $30.6 million.
    (SFC, 10/8/13, p.A4)

2013        Dec 3, Hong Kong officials said they will quarantine 17 people after the city confirmed its first human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu.
    (AFP, 12/3/13)

2013        Dec 6, Hong Kong reported its second human case of H7N9 bird flu just days after the first, raising fears that the virus is spreading beyond mainland China.
    (AP, 12/7/13)

2014        Jan 1, In Hong Kong thousands marched to demand a greater say in choosing their future leaders, expressing fears China will limit long-awaited political reforms, but turnout fell short of expectations.
    (AFP, 1/1/14)

2014        Jan 7, Hong Kong movie and TV mogul Run Run Shaw (b.1907) died. He had built an empire that nurtured rising talents like actor Chow Yun-fat and director John Woo, inspired Hollywood filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and produced the sci-fi classic "Blade Runner" (1982).
    (AP, 1/7/14)

2014        Jan 19, In Hong Kong thousands of people rallied to demand justice for a young Indonesian maid who was badly beaten by her employer in a case that has sparked widespread outrage and a police investigation into accusations of torture.
    (Reuters, 1/19/14)

2014        Jan 20, Law Wan-tung (44) of Hong Kong was arrested on suspicion of abusing her Indonesian maids as she tried to leave for Thailand. The case sparked widespread outrage and drawn fresh attention to the risks faced by the migrant community. Erwiana Sulistyaningsih (23), a maid who said she had been badly beaten by her employer, was recovering at a hospital in Sragen, central Java, after flying out from Hong Kong in early January.
    (Reuters, 1/20/14)(SFC, 1/23/14, p.A2)(AP, 4/4/14)

2014        Jan 28, Hong Kong culled around 20,000 chickens after finding the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus in poultry imported from mainland China. Fears over avian flu have grown following the deaths of two men from the H7N9 strain in Hong Kong since December.
    (AFP, 1/28/14)

2014        Feb 23, In Hong Kong thousands rallied outside government headquarters demanding the city's leader uphold media freedoms amid growing anger towards perceived behind-the-scenes intrusions on local media outlets.
    (Reuters, 2/23/14)

2014        Feb 26, Hong Kong newspaper editor Kevin Lau (49), who became the center of controversy last month after being sacked from his post, struggled for his life after being stabbed multiple times by an unknown attacker in Hong Kong. On August 13, 2015, Yip Kim-wah and Wong Chi-wah were convicted of causing "grievous bodily harm with intent" in the stabbing. On August 21 both men were jailed for 19 years. The two men told police they had each been paid HK$100,000 ($12,900) to attack Lau but refused to say who paid them.
    (http://tinyurl.com/q9yfu92)(AP, 2/26/14)(Reuters, 8/13/15)(Reuters, 8/20/15)

2014        Mar 2, In Hong Kong thousands marched to support press freedom and denounce violence following the Feb 26 attack on Kevin Lau Chun-to, former editor of the Ming Pao newspaper.
    (SFC, 3/3/14, p.A2)

2014        Mar 19, In Hong Kong two senior figures from the Hong Kong Morning News Media Group were attacked weeks after Kevin Lau, a former editor of the liberal Ming Pao newspaper, was critically wounded in another assault.
    (AFP, 3/22/14)

2014        Apr 10, China unveiled a plan to give foreign investors greater access to its stock market by allowing investors in Shanghai and Hong Kong to trade shares on each other's exchanges.
    (AP, 4/10/14)

2014        Apr 13, In Hong Kong Wong Kar Wai's much lauded kung fu epic "The Grandmaster" won a record dozen honors at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
    (AP, 4/14/14)

2014        Apr 23, Hong Kong scrapped travel sanctions against the Philippines after Manila issued an apology and offered greater compensation for the deaths of eight tourists during a 2010 hostage-taking and siege.
    (Reuters, 4/23/14)

2014        May 5, Eleven crew of the Zhong Xing 2, a Chinese cargo ship, were missing as it sank following a collision with the Marshall Islands-registered MOL Motivator, a large container ship, in the waters off Hong Kong.
    (Reuters, 5/514)

2014        May 8, In Hong Kong a blockbuster corruption trial involving property tycoons Thomas and Raymond Kwok got under way. They were among five defendants pleading not guilty to bribery charges.
    (AFP, 5/8/14)

2014        May 9, The US Treasury Department said it has reached an information-sharing agreement with Hong Kong under a new law meant to combat offshore tax dodging by Americans.
    (Reuters, 5/9/14)

2014        May 15, Hong Kong started incinerating its nearly 30-ton stockpile of confiscated ivory to show it's serious about cracking down on an illegal wildlife trade that is devastating Africa's elephant population.
    (AP, 5/15/14)

2014        Jun 1, Thousands of people marched through downtown Hong Kong to remember the June 4, 1989, bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, days before the 25th anniversary of the tumultuous event.
    (AP, 6/1/14)

2014        Jun 4, In Hong Kong thousands gathered in a park to mark the 25th anniversary of the crushing of the Tiananmen Square protesters in China.
    (Econ, 7/6/14, p.49)

2014        Jun 10, China’s government issued a “white paper” asserting that autonomy granted to Hong Kong in 1997 was entirely dependent on China’s leaders.
    (Econ, 7/5/14, p.37)

2014        Jun 11, Foreign business groups in Hong Kong joined the city's billionaire tycoons in opposing a pro-democracy group's plans for an Occupy-style protest while activists burned copies of a policy document asserting Beijing's authority over the Asian financial center.
    (AP, 6/11/14)

2014        Jun 20, Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers voted in an unofficial referendum on democratic reform that has alarmed Beijing and sets the stage for a possible showdown with the government, with mass protests aimed at shutting down the Chinese capitalist enclave's financial district.
    (AP, 6/20/14)

2014        Jun 22, Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers lined up to vote, joining hundreds of thousands of others who cast electronic ballots in the first three days of an unofficial referendum on democratic reform that Beijing has blasted as a farce.
    (AP, 6/22/14)

2014        Jun 27, In Hong Kong more than 800 lawyers protested over a requirement for judges to be patriotic to China. In what was seen as a thinly veiled threat ahead of a 10-day referendum, Beijing had released a policy document that said, among other things, that Hong Kong's autonomy comes at the discretion of the central government and included a requirement for judges to be patriotic to China.
    (AP, 6/29/14)

2014        Jun 29, In Hong Kong an informal referendum aimed at bolstering support for greater democracy wound down after drawing nearly 800,000 votes and the ire of Beijing, which denounced it as a political farce.
    (AP, 6/29/14)

2014        Jun 30, In Hong Kong the results of a 10-day referendum indicated overwhelming support for the Legislative Council to reject any electoral reform proposed by China that does not meet int’l. standards. About 23% of registered voters participated.
    (SFC, 6/30/14, p.A4)

2014        Jul 1, In Hong Kong tens of thousands marched through the streets of the former British colony to push for greater democracy in a rally fueled by anger over Beijing's recent warning that it holds the ultimate authority over the southern Chinese financial center.
    (AP, 7/1/14)

2014        Jul 2, Hong Kong police arrested 511 people who staged an unauthorized overnight sit-in on an avenue running through the heart of the city after a rally the day before in which tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the streets to push for the right to elect their leader free of limits Beijing wants to impose.
    (AP, 7/2/14)

2014        Jul 9, Nicaragua’s government and HKND Group of Hong Kong unveiled the route for a proposed $40 billion canal to compete with the Panama Canal.Construction was expected to start this December.
    (SFC, 7/10/14, p.A6)

2014        Jul 15, Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying formally asked Beijing for legal changes that would ultimately let residents of the southern Chinese city elect his successor, but he downplayed calls for the public to nominate candidates free of China's vetting.
    (AP, 7/15/14)

2014        Aug 14, Hong Kong's Law Society passed an historic vote of no-confidence in its president over pro-Beijing comments, revealing a determination by the traditionally conservative lawyers to confront perceived threats from China to the legal independence in the free-wheeling, global financial hub.
    (Reuters, 8/15/14)

2014        Aug 17, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of people, many wearing red as a sign of their patriotism to China, took part in a demonstration march to protest a planned civil disobedience campaign by pro-democracy activists in the city.
    (AP, 8/17/14)

2014        Aug 27, China moved to limit 2017 elections for Hong Kong's leader to a handful of candidates loyal to Beijing.
    (Reuters, 8/27/14)

2014        Aug 28, In Hong Kong anti-corruption officers in Hong Kong raided the home of Jimmy Lai, a media magnate and outspoken critic of Beijing who has supported pro-democracy activists through his publications.
    (Reuters, 8/28/14)

2014        Sep 8, Hong Kong pulled pineapple buns and dumplings from the shelves after Taiwanese authorities said a factory in the south of the island illegally used 243 tons of tainted products, often referred to as "gutter oil", to mix with lard oil. Oil from Chang Guann, the Taiwanese oil manufacturer, was at the heart of the scandal.
    (AFP, 9/8/14)
2014        Sep 8, Harvard Univeresity announced that its school of public health has received a record $350 million donation from the philanthropic foundation established by the family of Hong Kong real estate developer T.H. Chan (d.1986).
    (SFC, 9/9/14, p.A5)

2014        Sep 9, Hong Kong democracy activists shaved their heads in a symbolic act of protest against China's increased political control over the city.
    (AFP, 9/9/14)

2014        Sep 14, In Hong Kong thousands of pro-democracy activists clad in black marched silently, holding banners saying they felt betrayed and angry at Beijing's refusal to allow fully-democratic elections for the city's next chief executive in 2017.
    (Reuters, 9/14/14)

2014        Sep 22, Thousands of Hong Kong college and university students boycotted classes to protest Beijing's decision to restrict voting reforms, the start of a weeklong strike that marks the latest phase in the battle for democracy in the southern Chinese city.
    (AP, 9/22/14)

2014        Sep 23, Hong Kong's striking students gave the city's leader 48 hours to honor his promise to listen to the people, threatening further action if he failed to respond to their demands for greater democracy.
    (Reuters, 9/23/14)

2014        Sep 27, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of people massed in the heart of the city to demand more democracy, as tensions grew over Beijing's decision to rule out free elections in the former British colony. Riot police arrested dozens of students who stormed the government headquarters compound during a night of scuffles.
    (Reuters, 9/27/14)(AP, 9/27/14)

2014        Sep 28, Hong Kong police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protests and baton-charged a crowd blocking a key road in the government district in defiance of official warnings against illegal demonstrations.
    (Reuters, 9/28/14)
2014        Sep 28, Instagram, the popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc., was reported blocked in China amid pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
    (Reuters, 9/28/14)

2014        Sep 29, Hong Kong democracy protesters defied volleys of tear gas and police baton charges to stand firm in the center of the global financial hub, one of the biggest political challenges for China since the Tiananmen Square crackdown 25 years ago.
    (Reuters, 9/29/14)

2014        Oct 1, Hong Kong student leaders of the pro-democracy protests warned that if the territory's top official doesn't resign today they will step up their actions, including occupying several important government buildings.
    (AP, 10/1/14)

2014        Oct 2, In Hong Kong crowds of protesters swelled after police were seen unloading boxes of tear gas and rubber bullets, sending tensions soaring. Huge throngs have given Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying until midnight to step down or face escalated action. Chun-ying agreed to open talks with pro-democracy protesters but refused to stand down.
    (AFP, 10/2/14)(AP, 10/3/14)

2014        Oct 3, In Hong Kong violent scuffles broke out in Mong Kok, a famous and congested shopping district, as hundreds of supporters of Chinese rule stormed tents and ripped down banners belonging to pro-democracy protesters, forcing many to retreat.
    (Reuters, 10/3/14)

2014        Oct 4, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators gathered for a peace rally, as the city's security chief furiously denied the government had used triad gangs to attack them a day earlier. More than a thousand rival protesters, some wearing helmets, faced off in the densely populated Mong Kok district, fueling concerns that the Chinese-controlled city's worst unrest in decades could take a more violent turn.
    (AFP, 10/4/14)(Reuters, 10/4/14)

2014        Oct 6, In Hong Kong pro-democracy protests subsided as students and civil servants returned to school and work after more than a week of demonstrations, but activists vowed to keep up their campaign of civil disobedience.
    (Reuters, 10/6/14)

2014        Oct 7, In Hong Kong crowds of protesters who filled the streets with demands for more democracy thinned dramatically after student leaders and the government agreed to hold talks in the increasingly frustrated city.
    (AP, 10/7/14)

2014        Oct 9, Democratic lawmakers in Hong Kong demanded anti-graft officers investigate a $6.4 million business payout to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. The city’s government canceled talks with student leaders of a pro-democracy protest that has blocked streets in the city for nearly two weeks, with a senior official saying the discussions were unlikely to be constructive.
    (Reuters, 10/9/14)(AP, 10/9/14)
2014        Oct 9, The annual Innovation Awards, sponsored by The Economist magazine, were awarded in Hong Kong. The winners were: Jay Keasling of UC Berkeley for developing synthetic artemisinin, the main ingredient in the treatment of malaria; Andrew Rubin, a former VP of Google, for developing the Android smartphone operating system; Urs Holzle, VP of Google for energy efficient data centers; Nandan Nilekani, former chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India, for the development of India’s national ID system; Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler and Charles Adler, the founders of Kickstarter, for popularizing crowdfunding; Renaud Laplanche, founder and CEO of Lending Club, for popularizing peer to peer consumer lending; Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams for pioneering microblogging using short messages (Twitter); and the Pixar company for computer animation.
    (Econ, 12/6/14, TQ p.9)

2014        Oct 10, In Hong Kong thousands of protesters poured into a main road for a pro-democracy rally, reviving a civil disobedience movement a day after the government called off talks with student leaders.
    (AP, 10/10/14)

2014        Oct 11, Hong Kong students leading pro-democracy protests issued an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, urging him to consider political reforms in the city and blaming the city's unpopular leader for the demonstrations. Thousands of people returned for sit-ins in Hong Kong's main protest zone.
    (AP, 10/11/14)
2014        Oct 11, China’s social media began reporting that authorities have ordered books by Chinese-American scholar Yu Ying-shih to be removed from sale, as Beijing expresses its displeasure with writers showing support for pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong and elsewhere.
    (AP, 10/14/14)

2014        Oct 13, In Hong Kong police began removing some barricades in the areas of Central and Admiralty, home to global financial institutions and government buildings Hundreds of people, which included taxi and truck drivers, tore down protest barriers in the business district, scuffling with protesters who have occupied the streets for two weeks.
    (Reuters, 10/13/14)

2014        Oct 14, Hundreds of Hong Kong police used sledgehammers and chainsaws to tear down barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters near government offices and the financial center, reopening a major road for the first time in two weeks.
    (Reuters, 10/14/14)

2014        Oct 15, Hong Kong's most prominent tycoon, Li Ka-shing, urged protesters who have occupied parts of the city since late last month to go home. Police arrested about 45 protesters, using pepper spray against those who resisted, and cleared a main road in the city.
    (Reuters, 10/15/14)

2014        Oct 16, Hong Kong police used pepper spray to stop protesters from blocking a major road the office of Leung Chun-ying amid public anger over the police beating and kicking a protester. Chun-ying sought to defuse tension with pro-democracy protesters, saying he hopes the two sides can talk next week.
    (Reuters, 10/16/14)

2014        Oct 17, Hong Kong riot police battled with thousands of pro-democracy protesters for control of the city’s streets.
    (SFC, 10/18/14, p.A2)

2014        Oct 19, Hong Kong police charged protesters gathered at a barricade early today, leaving many requiring medical treatment just hours after the government confirmed talks aimed at ending three weeks of pro-democracy rallies.
    (AFP, 10/19/14)

2014        Oct 21, Hong Kong student leaders and government officials talked but agreed on as the city's Beijing-backed leader reaffirmed his unwillingness to compromise on the key demand of activists camped in the streets now for a fourth week.
    (AP, 10/21/14)

2014        Oct 22, In Hong Kong about 200 protesters marched to the home of the city's Beijing-backed leader to push their case for greater democracy a day after talks between student leaders and senior officials failed to break the deadlock.
    (Reuters, 10/22/14)

2014        Nov 2, Hong Kong police questioned British financier Rurik George Caton Jutting (29), who worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, after the grisly discovery a day earlier of two female corpses, including one in a suitcase, in his apartment. Jutting was charged with two counts of murder.
    (AFP, 11/2/14)(SFC, 11/6/14, p.A3)

2014        Nov 6, In Hong Kong pro-democaracy protesters clashed with police for the first time in over two weeks. Thousands remained camped on the streets demanding open nominations in elections for the city’s leader.
    (SFC, 11/7/14, p.A2)

2014        Nov 15, Three Hong Kong student leaders were stopped from boarding a flight to Beijing to take their fight for greater democracy directly to the Chinese government after airline authorities said their travel permits were invalid.
    (Reuters, 11/15/14)

2014        Nov 18, Hong Kong police, enforcing a court order, cleared some of the pro-democracy protester barricades from in front of an office building near the government headquarters.
    (Econ, 11/22/14, p.40)

2014        Nov 19, Hong Kong police arrested at least 6 people after dozens of demonstrators attempted to break into the legislature overnight.
    (SFC, 11/20/14, p.A4)

2014        Nov 21, In Hong Kong dozens of protesters gathered outside the British consulate, accusing the former colonial power of failing to pressure China to grant free elections in the city and protect freedoms guaranteed in a joint treaty.
    (AFP, 11/21/14)

2014        Nov 25, Hong Kong authorities attempted to clear a 2-month-old pro-democracy protest camp in Mong Kok district. Hundreds more protesters flooded the crowded neighborhood. 80 people were arrested.
    (AP, 11/25/14)

2014        Nov 26, Hong Kong police cleared one of the largest protest sites that has choked the city for months, arresting scores of pro-democracy activists in what could be a turning point in the fight to wrest greater political freedom from Beijing's control. Seven police officers were arrested for the beating of a pro-democracy protester last month.
    (Reuters, 11/26/14)(SFC, 11/27/14, p.A2)

2014        Nov 27, Hong Kong police arrested 11 more people in a second night of scuffles with demonstrators angry at having their 2-month-old pro-democracy protest camp in a volatile neighborhood shut down.
    (AP, 11/27/14)

2014        Dec 1, Thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists forced the temporary closure of government headquarters after clashing with police, defying orders to retreat after more than two months of sustained protests in the Chinese-controlled city.
    (Reuters, 12/1/14)

2014        Dec 2, Three founders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protest movement called for an end to street demonstrations to prevent more violence and take the campaign to a new stage. Professors Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chan Kin-man and Pastor Chu Yiu-ming said they planned to surrender to police on Dec 3 to take responsibility for the protests.
    (AP, 12/2/14)

2014        Dec 10, China General Nuclear Power, established in 1994, floated shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Shares in China's largest nuclear power producer surged almost 20 percent on its debut.
    (Econ, 12/6/14, p.18)(http://tinyurl.com/p59lh8h)

2014        Dec 11, Hong Kong police arrested some 209 pro-democracy activists and cleared most of the main protest site, marking an end to more than two months of street demonstrations in the Chinese-controlled city.
    (Reuters, 12/11/14)(AP, 12/11/14)

2014        Dec 13, Hong Kong police said that they would clear out the third and final pro-democracy protest camp next week, putting an end to demonstrations that have blocked traffic in the southern Chinese city's streets for 2 1/2 months.
    (AP, 12/13/14)

2014        Dec 15, Hong Kong police pulled down barriers at the third and final pro-democracy demonstration camp, putting an end to rallies that blocked traffic for 2½ months.
    (SFC, 12/15/14, p.A2)

2014        Dec 19, A Hong Kong jury found Thomas Kwok, a billionaire property developer and a former top government official, guilty of corruption after a high profile trial that amplified anger at the city's elite.
    (AP, 12/19/14)

2014        Dec 23, Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok and Rafael Hui (66), the city's former deputy leader, were jailed for corruption after a trial that shocked the city and deepened anger at cozy ties between officialdom and big business.
    (AFP, 12/23/14)

2014        Dec 24, Hong Kong police overnight arrested 12 protesters blocking several roads as pro-democracy demonstrators returned to a site they had occupied for more than two months before police dispersed them.
    (AP, 12/25/14)

2014        Dec 25, Hong Kong police overnight arrested 37 more protesters blocking several roads as pro-democracy demonstrators returned to the streets for a 2nd night.
    (AP, 12/25/14)

2014        Dec 31, Hong Kong authorities began destroying 15,000 chickens at a poultry market and suspended imports from mainland China after some birds were found to be infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu.
    (AP, 12/31/14)(SSFC, 1/3/15, p.A2)

2015        Jan 12, In Hong Kong small firebombs were thrown at the home and business of pro-democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai.
    (SFC, 1/13/15, p.A5)

2015        Feb 1, In Hong Kong some 8-13 thousand pro-democracy demonstrators marched through the streets in the first major rally since mass protests last year.
    (AP, 2/1/15)

2015        Feb 10, A Hong Kong woman was convicted of assaulting her Indonesian maid, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, in a case that sparked outrage for the scale of its brutality. A judge found Law Wan-tung guilty of 18 charges including grievous bodily harm.
    (AP, 2/10/15)

2015        Feb 14, In Hong Kong Lai Sai-ming, the captain of a commuter ferry that collided with another boat on Oct 1, 2012, killing 39 people, was found guilty of manslaughter.
    (AP, 2/14/15)

2015        Feb 27, In Hong Kong Law Wan-tung (44) was jailed for six years for beating and starving her Indonesian maid, Sulistyaningsih, and keeping her prisoner, as the judge called for action over laws which leave domestic workers exposed to abuse.
    (AFP, 2/27/15)

2015        Mar 1, Hong Kong police arrested 33 people after scuffles broke out at a protest in a border town, in the latest example of heightened tensions over the growing influx of mainland Chinese shoppers in the city.
    (AP, 3/1/15)

2015        Apr 13, Chinese authorities curbed some travel from mainland China to Hong Kong to cool tensions over a growing influx of shoppers that has angered residents of the Asian financial hub.
    (AP, 4/13/15)

2015        May 22, In Hong Kong Malaysian anesthesiologist Khaw Kim-sun allegedly put a gas-filled yoga ball in the trunk of a Mini Cooper driven by his wife. Wong Siew-fung and their 16-year-old daughter were found unconscious in the car about an hour after leaving home and were later declared dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Khaw Kim-sun was allegedly having an affair and had become estranged from his wife and four children.
    (AP, 8/24/18)

2015        Jun 14, In Hong Kong thousands of people, many holding yellow umbrellas, marched to urge lawmakers to vote down Beijing-backed election reforms that sparked huge street protests last year.
    (AP, 6/14/15)

2015        Jun 15, Hong Kong police arrested ten people over the last 24 hours and seized materials for making explosives at a suburban former TV studio.
    (AP, 6/15/15)(SFC, 6/16/15, p.A2)

2015        Jun 18, Hong Kong's legislature vetoed a China-backed electoral reform package criticized by opposition pro-democracy lawmakers and activists as undemocratic, easing for now the prospect of fresh mass protests in the financial hub.
    (Reuters, 6/18/15)(Econ, 6/27/15, p.37)

2015        Jul 1, Tens of thousands of Hong Kong protesters marched for full democracy and called on the Chinese-controlled city's leader to resign.
    (Reuters, 7/1/15)

2015        Jul 14, Hong Kong students Joshua Wong and Nathan Law were charged with obstructing police during a protest earlier in the year and released on bail. They rose to fame during pro-democracy demonstrations that angered Beijing last year.
    (Reuters, 7/14/15)

2015        Aug 6, The world's first ever ant map showing the distribution of the tiny industrious creatures around the globe was launched by the University of Hong Kong in a bid to shed more light on the insect world.
    (AFP, 8/6/15)

2015        Aug 8, Hong Kong recorded its hottest day since authorities began taking temperature readings 130 years ago, due to the influence of a nearby typhoon. The daily maximum temperature hit 36.3 degrees Celsius.
    (AFP, 8/8/15)

2015        Aug 11, Hong Kong police searched Uber's office after officers posing as customers arrested five drivers offering their services through a mobile app.
    (AP, 8/11/15)

2015        Oct 9, In Hong Kong more than a thousand students and staff staged a rally at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the second demonstration in a week to protest against what they say is interference by Beijing in academic freedom.
    (Reuters, 10/9/15)

2015        Oct 15, Hong Kong police charged seven officers with assaulting activist Ken Tsang, whose videotaped beating stirred outrage among city residents at the height of pro-democracy protests last year.
    (AP, 10/15/15)

2015        Oct, Hong Kong Gui Minhai, he owner of the Mighty Current publishing house, reportedly surrendered to mainland authorities. Friends suspected he was abducted for political reasons by Chinese agents from his apartment in Pattaya, Thailand, and smuggled into China. Minhai later said in detention that he had surrendered 10 years after he fled China after killing a woman while driving drunk. Three other members of the the shop had disappeared while visiting the Chinese mainland.
    (AP, 1/17/16)(Econ, 1/9/16, p.35)

2015        Nov 13, An Indonesian court late sentenced Hong Kong drug lord Wong Chi-ping to death for smuggling 860 kg (1,900 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia earlier this year.
    (AFP, 11/13/15)

2015        Nov 22, Hong Kong voted in district-level elections that will mark the first real test of public sentiment since pro-democracy protests crippled parts of the Chinese-controlled city last year.
    (Reuters, 11/22/15)

2015        Dec 11, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said it's buying Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, as part of a plan to create a global platform for news about China.
    (AP, 12/11/15)

2015        Dec 17, In Hong Kong the film “Ten Years” was released. Its five vignettes portrayed how China has explicitly or overtly taken control of Hong Kong, where autonomy had been guaranteed for 50 years in 1997.
    (Econ, 3/5/15, p.42)

2015        Dec 30, In Hong Kong Lee Bo (65), chief editor of a publisher which produces books critical of the Chinese government, went missing. He was a colleague of the four others who had also disappeared last autumn. Bo returned to Hong Kong on March 24, 2016, but did not provide thorough information about his undocumented departure.
    (AFP, 1/1/16)(AP, 3/24/16)

2015        Scientists counted 65 Chinese White dolphins (sousa chinensis) around Lantau Island in Hong Kong. This was a drop from 188 surveyed in 2003.
    (Econ 5/27/17, p.40)
2015        Hong Kong’s population was about 7.3 million.
    (Econ, 6/27/15, p.37)

2016        Jan 1, In Hong Kong more than 1,500 people protested on New Year's day calling for the city's leader to resign and airing grievances over issues from expensive construction projects to internet freedoms. Protester’s focused on the 40-km structure linking Hong Kong with Macau and the mainland city of Zhuhai.
    (AFP, 1/1/16)(Econ, 2/13/16, p.37)

2016        Feb 8, Hong Kong riot police fired warning shots during clashes that erupted in the Chinese-ruled city when authorities tried to remove illegal street stalls set up for Lunar New Year celebrations. 124 people were injured, including 90 police officers, in the worst violence since pro-democracy protests in 2014.
    (Reuters, 2/9/16)(Econ, 2/13/16, p.10)

2016        Feb 24, Hong Kong rolled out a multi-billion dollar package of sweeteners to bolster its economy.
    (Reuters, 2/24/16)

2016        Feb 28, Hong Kong residents voted in a legislative council by-election to fill a single legislative seat vacated by a former pro-democracy politician.
    (Reuters, 2/28/16)

2016        Feb 29, Missing Hong Kong bookseller Lee Bo appeared on television insisting he had not been abducted by mainland authorities, in a case that has sparked a backlash over Chinese interference in the city. The other four booksellers, who are under criminal investigation on the mainland, appeared on Phoenix a day earlier admitting to smuggling illicit books into China. Phoenix is a private channel which broadcasts both in Hong Kong and in mainland China.
    (AFP, 2/29/16)

2016        Mar 22, In China Hilary St John Bower (60), who had worked as an English language instructor at the Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, was killed. He had been dead for more than a week by the time he was reported missing on March 30.
    (Reuters, 4/13/16)

2016        May 30, Hong Kong activist Ken Tsang was sentenced to five weeks in prison on charges related to a confrontation with police in October 2014. A TV station had videotaped police officers carrying Tsang away in handcuffs and then punching and kicking him in a dark corner of a public park.
    (AP, 5/30/16)

2016        Jun 4, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of people poured into Victoria Park to remember the victims of the Chinese military's bloody June 4, 1989, crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. In Beijing, authorities tightened security around Tiananmen Square, highlighting the enduring sensitivity over the events among the Communist Party leadership.
    (AP, 6/4/16)

2016        Jun 7, Hong Kong culled 4,500 birds after the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus was discovered in a chicken at a local market.
    (AFP, 6/7/16)

2016        Jun 11, In Hong Kong and South Korea operators of the ACT college entrance exam canceled the tests for some 5,500 students at the last moment over what they said was a verified breach of test materials.
    (AP, 6/11/16)

2016        Jun 17, In Hong Kong more than 100 activists marched on China's liaison office to protest against the detention of five booksellers. A day earlier Lam Wing-kee told reporters he had been arrested and detained in China for more than eight months, and that one of his colleagues, Lee Bo, a British national, was abducted from Hong Kong by mainland Chinese authorities.
    (Reuters, 6/17/16)(Econ, 6/25/16, p.38)

2016        Jun 18, In Hong Kong over 4,000 people marched to protest against China's detention of five booksellers whose shop published gossipy books about Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping.
    (Reuters, 6/18/16)

2016        Jun 22, Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said it will ban carrying shark fin on all its flights, a victory for conservationists concerned for endangered species of the predator.
    (AFP, 6/22/16)

2016        Jun 27, Hong Kong called for an end to local ivory trading within five years, a move activists hailed as significant given the financial hub's reputation as a wildlife trafficking blackspot, while calling for this ban to be speeded up.
    (Reuters, 6/27/16)

2016        Jul 1, Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers took to the southern Chinese city's streets for an annual pro-democracy protest march, as tensions persisted over the high-profile case of a bookseller secretly detained in the mainland.
    (AP, 7/1/16)

2016        Jul 14, Hong Kong’s government ruled that candidates for territory legislature elections in September must sign a declaration acknowledging that Hong Kong is an “Inalienable part” of China.
    (Econ, 7/23/16, p.35)

2016        Jul 21, Hong Kong convicted three student leaders of leading or encouraging the massive pro-democracy street protests that unsettled the southern Chinese city on September 26, 2014.
    (AP, 7/21/16)(Econ, 7/23/16, p.34)

2016        Jul 27, In China a court in Shenzhen sentenced four people, including Hong Kong magazine publisher Wang Jianmin and editor Guo Zhongxiao, to prison on charges of running an illegal business after they reportedly sent copies of their sensitive political magazines to mainland China.
    (SFC, 7/28/16, p.A3)

2016        Aug 3, The digital bitcoin currency plunged after Hong Kong-based Bitfinex said it had been hacked. 119,756 Bitcoins, valued at $72 million, were reported stolen.
    (SFC, 8/4/16, p.C3)

2016        Aug 5, In Hong Kong over 2,000 people gathered in support of candidates disqualified by the electoral commission.
    (Econ, 8/27/16, p.32)

2016        Aug 16, China's Cabinet announced that preparations to connect the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges are "basically completed." Charles Li, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the city's stock market operator said the link would likely launched by Christmas.
    (AP, 8/17/16)

2016        Aug 23, The police chief of the Philippines told a Senate hearing that China, Taiwan and Hong Kong were major sources of illegal drugs, and Chinese triads were involved in trafficking.
    (Reuters, 8/24/16)

2016        Sep 4, Voters turned out in force for Hong Kong's most crucial election since the handover from Britain in 1997. Pro-democracy candidates won 30 of 70 seats in the Legislative Council, gaining a foothold in the southern Chinese city's legislature and setting the stage for a new round of political confrontations with Beijing. Six of the winning Legco candidates wanted Hong Kong to be more independent from China. Pro-democracy and environmentalist candidate Eddie Chu won more votes than any other candidate. Chu soon faced death threats stemming from his campaign promises.
    (AP, 9/4/16)(AP, 9/5/16)(SFC, 9/21/16, p.A5)(Econ, 9/10/16, p.35)

2016        Sep 5, China's government said it opposed efforts by certain candidates and organizations in Hong Kong elections to promote independence.
    (Reuters, 9/5/16)

2016        Sep 7, Hong Kong politician Ken Chow of the pro-business Liberal Party said he was pressured to bow out of a city election to clear the field for a candidate favored by the Chinese government, which, if confirmed, could offer rare evidence of interference by Beijing in city politics.
    (Reuters, 9/8/16)

2013        Sep 14, In China reporters from two Hong Kong newspapers, the South China Morning Post and the Chinese-language Ming Pao, were assaulted while conducting interviews with Wukan villagers and later detained for several hours. Wukan remained under siege two days after police arrested 13 protesters on allegations that they incited violence and arrest.
    (AP, 9/15/16)

2016        Sep 29, In Hong Kong Cheng Yu-tung (91), the billionaire founder of property group New World Development Co Ltd, died late today. Cheng had amassed a fortune of over $16 billion building an empire that spans jewelry, real estate, hotels, infrastructure and telecommunications.
    (Reuters, 9/30/16) 

2016        Oct 5, Thailand stopped Hong Kong teen pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong from entering the country to give a talk and sent him home, raising questions about whether it acted at China's behest.
    (AP, 10/5/16)

2016        Oct 12, Hong Kong held a swearing-in ceremony for recently chosen legislators. Three were declared unqualified to take their posts as they snubbed China during the chaotic ceremony.
    (Econ, 10/15/16, p.41)

2016        Oct 26, In Hong Kong newly elected pro-democracy lawmakers Yau Wai-ching (25) and Sixtus Leung (30) defied an order barring them from taking their oaths after being disqualified earlier for insulting China, sparking more unruly scenes in Hong Kong's legislature. The session was adjourned until next week.
    (AP, 10/26/16)

2016        Nov 5, Leading members of China's parliament said two Hong Kong lawmakers-elect who called for the city's independence from China had damaged the territory's rule of law and posed a grave threat to China's sovereignty and security.
    (Reuters, 11/5/16)

2016        Nov 6, Hong Kong police fired pepper spray and protesters threw bottles and road cones in clashes near China's representative office where activists had gathered to demonstrate against Beijing's attempts to stop a fledgling independence movement.
    (Reuters, 11/6/16)

2016        Nov 7, A Cambodian court sentenced opposition Senator Hong Song Hour to seven years in prison for criticizing a 36-year-old border agreement with Vietnam.
    (SFC, 11/8/16, p.A2)

2016        Nov 8, In Hong Kong more than 1,000 lawyers dressed in black marched through the heart of the city in silence to condemn a move by China that effectively bars two elected pro-independence lawmakers from taking their seats in the legislature.
    (Reuters, 11/8/16)

2016        Nov 16, Hong Kong’s high court ruled that newly elected pro-democracy lawmakers Yau Wai-ching (25) and Sixtus Leung (30) were unfit to take up their posts in Legco.
    (Econ, 11/19/16, p.36)

2016        Dec 9, Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader Leung Chun-ying said he would step aside after his five-year term ends next June.
    (AP, 12/9/16)

2016        Dec 12, Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said 29 current and former staff of five financial firms, including four banks, have been arrested for alleged bribery related to the disclosure of confidential customer information.
    (Reuters, 12/12/16)

2017        Jan 1, In Hong Kong nearly 5,000 people marched in a New Year's Day protest against an attempt by the semi-autonomous Chinese city's government to disqualify four pro-democracy lawmakers.
    (AP, 1/1/17)

2017        Jan 10, In Hong Kong Clare Hollingworth (b.1911), a British war correspondent, died. She was the first to report the Nazi invasion of Poland that marked the beginning of World War II.
    (AP, 1/10/17)(Econ, 1/21/17, p.78)

2017        Jan 24, Hong Kong said it would release the nine Singaporean armored vehicles it seized in November on their way home from military exercises in Taiwan, easing tensions between China and Singapore.
    (Reuters, 1/24/17)

2017        Jan 27, Xiao Jianhua vanished after crossing the Hong Kong border to China. In 2016 The Hurun Report, a China rich list founded in 1999 by Rupert Hoogewerf in Britain, named Xiao Jianhua as China’s 32nd wealthiest man with a fortune of $6 billion.
    (Econ, 2/4/17, p.38)(Econ, 2/18/17, p.38)

2017        Jan, China’s city of Shenzhen and Hong Kong agreed to develop the Lok Ma Chau Loop as an innovation and technology park.
    (Econ, 4/8/17, SR p.12)

2017        Feb 10, Hong Kong police arrested a man, surnamed Cheung (60), for arson after a fire engulfed a subway train, injuring 17 people and triggering the evacuation of the Tsim Sha Tsui station during rush hour.
    (AFP, 2/10/17)

2017        Feb 14, Seven Hong Kong police officers were convicted of a lesser charge in the assault of pro-democracy activist Ken Tsang, whose videotaped beating during the height of 2014 pro-democracy protests sparked outrage.
    (AP, 2/14/17)

2017        Feb 17, Donald Tsang (72), a former leader of Hong Kong (2005-2012), was convicted of corruption over a luxury apartment in mainland China intended for his retirement.
    (AP, 2/17/17)

2017        Mar 21, Brazil’s agriculture ministry said Hong Kong has banned all meat imports from Brazil, another blow from a police investigation into corruption among health inspectors and the alleged selling of rotten products by some meatpackers.
    (Reuters, 3/21/17)

2017        Mar 25, Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and hundreds of supporters marched ahead of a vote for the city's next leader which they reject as a sham.
    (AFP, 3/25/17)

2017        Mar 26, Carrie Lam, a Beijing-backed civil servant, was chosen to be Hong Kong's next leader, replacing Leung Chun-ying. She was chosen from among several candidates by a 1,200-person "election committee" stacked with pro-Beijing and pro-establishment loyalists.
    (Reuters, 3/26/17)(Econ, 3/4/17, p.32)

2017        Mar 27, Hong Kong police launched a fresh round of arrests of student leaders and other prominent figures involved with the huge 2014 "Umbrella Movement" pro-democracy protests.
    (AP, 3/27/17)
2017        Mar 27, Lufthansa announced a code-sharing deal with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific under which the German airline and its Swiss and Austrian Airlines units will offer new connections to Australia and New Zealand.
    (AP, 3/27/17)

2017        Apr 4, In Hong Kong a giant diamond named the "Pink Star" broke the world record for a gemstone sold at auction when it fetched $71.2 million.
    (AFP, 4/4/17)

2017        Apr 27, Hong Kong authorities expanded their crackdown on the Chinese-controlled territory's opposition with a fresh round of arrests of pro-democracy activists. Police detained up to nine activists for their apparent involvement in an anti-China protest last year.
    (AP, 4/27/17)

2017        May 23, Hong Kong's anti-graft agency arrested 21 government contractors on suspicion of falsifying test results for the strength of concrete used in a bridge across the Pearl River estuary to southern mainland China.
    (Reuters, 5/23/17)

2017        Jun 2, Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders unveiled a bottle of Chinese baijiu marking the date June 4, 1989, when communist leaders sent tanks and troops to retake Beijing's Tiananmen Square from student-led protesters. The bottle of forbidden liquor was produced last year by Chinese activists to mark the military crackdown and arrived in Hong Kong after a trip around the world. Four Chinese dissidents were arrested last year for bottling the baijiu in a bid to raise awareness about the crackdown.
    (AP, 6/2/17)

2017        Jun 28, Hong Kong police arrested pro-democracy protesters, some of whom scrambled up a monument symbolizing the city's handover from British to Chinese rule, a day before Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to arrive for the celebrations. Student pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong was among around 30 protesters who had staged a three-hour sit-in at a harbor front statue and were led away into police vans.
    (Reuters, 6/28/17)(AFP, 6/28/17)

2017        Jun 29, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong and said China would work to ensure a "far-reaching future" for Hong Kong's autonomy, but he faces a divided city with protesters angered by Beijing's perceived interference as it marks 20 years of Chinese rule.
    (Reuters, 6/29/17)

2017        Jun 30, Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting Hong Kong for the 20th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, said the city's "one country, two systems" formula faces "new challenges" as pro-democracy campaigners ramped up protests.
    (Reuters, 6/30/17)
2017        Jun 30, China’s Foreign Minsitry said the joint declaration with Britain over Hong Kong, which laid the blueprint over how the city would be ruled after its return to China in 1997, was a historical document that no longer had any practical significance. Britain said the declaration remained in force and was a legally valid treaty to which it was committed to upholding.
    (Reuters, 6/30/17)

2017        Jul 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping swore in Hong Kong's new leader with a stark warning that Beijing won't tolerate any challenge to its authority in the divided city as it marked the 20th anniversary of its return from Britain to China. In the afternoon, tens of thousands gathered in sweltering heat in a sprawling park named after Britain's Queen Victoria, demanding Xi allow universal suffrage.
    (Reuters, 7/1/17)

2017        Jul 4, Hong Kong customs officials seized more than $9 million worth of ivory in a shipment from Malaysia that had been labeled as frozen fish. Three people at a trading company in Hong Kong were arrested in connection with the shipment.
    (AP, 7/6/17)

2017        Jul 9, The owners of Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) announced its sale to COSCO, a state-owned Chinese shipping giant, for $6.3 billion.
    (Econ 7/15/17, p.58)

2017        Jul 14, Hong Kong activists accused Beijing of crippling the parliament after four pro-democracy lawmakers were disqualified.
    (AFP, 7/14/17)

2017        Jul 25, Hong Kong announced a controversial plan to allow mainland officials to enforce Chinese laws inside a Hong Kong train station set to open next year. Critics said the immigration set-up will encroach on the city's autonomy and endanger existing freedoms.
    (Reuters, 7/25/17)

2017        Aug 3, In China two vessels collided in the Pearl River estuary. Some 1,000 tons of palm oil spilled into the water after the vessels collided, out of a total of 9,000 tons and soon began to settle on the beaches of Hong Kong.
    (Reuters, 8/9/17)

2017        Aug 9, Cambodia said it is recruiting hundreds of maids to work in Hong Kong. The minimum monthly wage for maids in Hong Kong was $550.
    (AFP, 8/9/17)

2017        Aug 11, Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Howard Lam said he was briefly abducted and tortured by suspected mainland Chinese security agents who stapled his legs as a warning against sending a signed photo of soccer star Lionel Messi to the widow of dissident Liu Xiaobo. Before Liu's death of cancer on July 13, Lam had written to FC Barcelona to ask for a signed photo of the Argentine player that he could forward to Liu because he thought it would cheer him up. On August 15 Hong Kong police arrested Lam on suspicion of providing false information.
    (AP, 8/11/17)(AP, 8/15/17)

2017        Aug 17, Joshua Wong and two other young leaders of Hong Kong's huge Umbrella Movement rallies were jailed for their role in the 2014 pro-democracy protests, dealing a fresh blow to the campaign for political reform.
    (AFP, 8/17/17)

2017        Aug 20, In Hong Kong Thousands of supporters of three jailed young democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong Sunday to protest their sentences.
    (AFP, 8/20/17)

2017        Aug 23, Typhoon Hato left five dead in the gambling hub of Macau as it brought chaos and destruction to the enclave after sweeping through neighboring Hong Kong, where one man also died. Thousands of cockroaches appeared to flee the typhoon by marching along a seawall.
    (AFP, 8/23/17)(http://tinyurl.com/y9uvksqv)

2017        Aug 29, Hong Kong-based David Tang (63), the flamboyant and outspoken socialite and entrepreneur who founded the Shanghai Tang fashion brand, died in London after a long battle with cancer.
    (AP, 8/30/17)

2017        Sep 25, A Hong Kong appeals court ruled that a British lesbian whose partner works in the city should be granted a spousal visa, a landmark decision that could lead to expatriate same-sex partners moving to the Chinese-ruled financial hub.
    (Reuters, 9/25/17)

2017        Sep 28, In Hong Kong hundreds of protesters demanded full democracy outside government headquarters, speaking out against China's suppression of civil liberties on the third anniversary of a major pro-democracy movement.
    (Reuters, 9/28/17)

2017        Oct 1, In Hong Kong thousands of pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of to protest against what they say is the Beijing-backed government's use of the courts to pursue its opponents, on the same day as a national holiday marking the founding of the People's Republic of China.
    (AP, 10/1/17)

2017        Oct 11, Hong Kong barred British human rights activist Benedict Rogers, who is deputy chairman of the Conservative Party's human rights commission, from visiting the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Rogers has criticized the jailing of democracy campaigners in Hong Kong.
    (AFP, 10/11/17)

2017        Oct 24, Hong Kong's highest court freed pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law on bail pending an appeal of their prison sentences after they were convicted of sparking massive protests in 2014.
    (AP, 10/24/17)

2017        Nov 9, Defiant Hong Kong football fans booed the Chinese national anthem at a home match against Bahrain, ahead of the implementation of a law making it illegal to disrespect the song.
    (AFP, 11/9/17)

2017        Nov 14, Hundreds of Hong Kong soccer fans booed and jeered the Chinese national anthem at an Asia Cup qualifier match in defiance of Communist Party rulers in Beijing.
    (Reuters, 11/14/17)

2017        Nov 20, The United States charged former top Hong Kong government official Chi Ping Patrick Ho (68) with links to a Chinese energy conglomerate and former Senegalese foreign minister Cheikh Gadio (61) with bribing high-level officials in Chad and Uganda in exchange for contracts for the mainland company.
    (Reuters, 11/21/17)

2017        Nov 27, Four Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers, who were ousted from the legislature this year, condemned as "political persecution" a demand that they pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses.
    (Reuters, 11/27/17)

2017        Nov 30, Top Hong Kong hurdler Lui Lai-yiu accused her former coach of sexually assaulting her when she was a schoolgirl, prompting the city's leader Carrie Lam to ask police to look into the matter.
    (AFP, 11/30/17)

2017        Dec 21, Hong Kong woman Law Wan-tung, jailed for six years for starving and beating Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, her Indonesian domestic helper, was ordered by a court to pay more than $100,000 in damages for the "inhumane" abuse.
    (AP, 12/21/17)

2017        Dec 27, China's parliament said part of a high-speed railway station being built in Hong Kong would be regarded as mainland territory governed by mainland laws, an unprecedented move that critics say further erodes the city's autonomy.
    (Reuters, 12/27/17)

2017        Dec 29, An association representing Hong Kong barristers said it was "appalled" by the Chinese parliament's move to enforce mainland laws inside a Hong Kong railway station, denouncing it as the most retrograde step since the 1997 handover.
    (Reuters, 12/29/17)
2017        Dec 29, South Korea said that it was holding a Hong Kong-flagged ship and its crew members for allegedly violating UN sanctions by transferring oil to a North Korean vessel on October 19.
    (AP, 12/29/17)

2018        Jan 1, In Hong Kong thousands marched through the streets on New Year's Day to warn China not to meddle further in the city's affairs and undermine its autonomy.
    (AP, 1/1/18)

2018        Jan 14, Hong Kong police arrested a South Korean man on suspicion of murder after his wife and seven-year-old son were found dead in a room at the five star Ritz-Carlton hotel.
    (Reuters, 1/14/18)

2018        Jan 17, A Hong Kong court sentenced democracy activist Joshua Wong (21) to three months in prison for contempt, his second prison term stemming from his role in the 2014 "Umbrella Movement" protests.
    (AP, 1/17/18)

2018        Jan 20, One fisherman was killed and nine others were rescued after their boat was involved in a collision with Vestas 11th Hour Racing some 30 nautical miles off Hong Kong as the yacht was sailing toward the finish line of Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
    (AP, 1/20/18)

2018        Jan 27, The Hong Kong government barred Agnes Chow (21), a pro-democracy activist, from an upcoming election over her party's political platform that it said violates electoral laws, in the latest move by the semiautonomous Chinese city to squelch dissent.
    (AP, 1/27/18)

2018        Jan 31, Hong Kong lawmakers gave final approval to a government proposal banning local ivory trading in the Chinese territory by 2021, with conservation groups hailing it as a major victory in the fight to save elephants.
    (AP, 1/31/18)

2018        Feb 1, A bipartisan group of US congressmen announced they had nominated Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow and the entire Umbrella Movement for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.
    (AFP, 2/1/18)

2018        Feb 6, Hong Kong’s highest court overturned prison sentences for three young pro-democracy activists (Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow) convicted for their roles in kicking off the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” protests.
    (SFC, 2/7/18, p.A2)
2018        Feb 6, China confirmed that it had detained Swedish citizen and Hong Kong-based bookseller Gui Minhai, after his daughter said Chinese police had seized him from a train last month.
    (Reuters, 2/6/18)

2018        Feb 10, In Hong Kong a double-decker bus crashed in a suburb, killing 18 people and injuring dozens more.
    (AP, 2/10/18)

2018        Mar 11, Hong Kong residents voted in by-elections that gave opposition supporters the chance to recapture lost ground in a contest measuring voters' appetite for democracy in the semiautonomous Chinese city.
    (AP, 3/11/18)

2018        Mar, US officials announced settlements with four Chinese construction firms to pay $14 million in back wages and damages to 2,400 affected workers in Saipan. The companies, contracted by Hong Kong's Imperial Pacific International, brought workers on tourist visas, paid them less than required by law and failed to secure proper work authorization by exploiting a visa waiver program that allows Chinese citizens to travel to the Northern Mariana Islands.
    (AP, 3/14/18)

2018        Apr 16, Hong Kong authorities said that a South Korean businessman accused of murdering his wife and son in a five-star hotel killed himself while in pre-trial custody. Media identified the man as Kim Min-ho (43), the chief executive officer of the South Korean franchise of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Police had arrested Kim in January for allegedly killing his wife and son at Hong Kong's Ritz-Carlton hotel.
    (AP, 4/16/18)

2018        Apr 25, China's civil aviation administration sent letters requesting airlines remove references on their websites or in other material that suggests Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are part of countries independent from China. Airlines were given 30 days to comply.
    (AP, 5/25/18)

2018        May 18, A Hong Kong court found prominent independence activist Edward Leung (26) guilty of rioting, a verdict that could see him put behind bars for up to 12 years. Another defendant, Lo Kin-man, was also found guilty of rioting and cried uncontrollably. Three other defendants also cried after they were cleared of all charges.
    (Reuters, 5/18/18)

2018        May 30, Environmental campaigners said a hidden shipment of shark fins including some from endangered species had been shipped to Hong Kong via Singapore Airlines, despite a ban by the carrier.
    (AFP, 5/30/18)

2018        Jun 1, A Hong Kong court ruled that the husband of a male civil servant was not entitled to spousal benefits, overturning a landmark lower court ruling in a setback for the city's LGBT community. In April last year, the High Court ruled that the couple were entitled to spousal benefits, but rejected their bid for a joint tax assessment as a married couple.
    (Reuters, 6/1/18)

2018        Jun 12, In Hong Kong shares in ZTE Corp. fell 42 percent on their first trading day after the Chinese telecoms equipment maker agreed to pay a $1 billion penalty to the US government and replace its top managers.
    (AP, 6/13/18)

2018        Jun 26, In Hong Kong four elderly siblings were shot, one fatally, by a relative in a rare instance of gun violence that was apparently sparked by a family dispute. A woman (44) was apprehended in a shopping mall near the site of the attack. Firearms are tightly controlled in Hong Kong and such shootings are highly unusual.
    (AP, 6/26/18)

2018        Jul 1, Hong Kong's annual pro-democracy protest saw one of the lowest turnouts in history, as thousands braved sweltering heat to protest against Beijing's tightening grip over the city on the 21st anniversary of its return to Chinese rule. Police stopped about 20 pro-democracy protesters from getting near a flag-raising ceremony marking the anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China.
    (Reuters, 7/1/18)(AP, 7/1/18)

2018        Jul 4, Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal ruled that the same-sex partner of a British expatriate is entitled to equal treatment under immigration law, marking a significant step for gay rights in the Chinese territory.
    (AP, 7/4/18)

2018        Jul 13, Activists in Hong Kong and Taiwan marked one year since the death in custody of Nobel dissident Liu Xiaobo on Friday, in stark contrast to an enforced silence in mainland China.
    (AFP, 7/13/18)

2018        Aug 6, In Hong Kong the Foreign Correspondents Club said it will defy the Chinese government and follow through with a planned speech by pro-independence activist Andy Chan of the Hong Kong National Party.
    (AP, 8/6/18)

2018        Aug 14, A Hong Kong pro-independence activist decried Beijing's rule over the city as modern-day colonialism in a speech to a foreign journalists' association that defied the Chinese government's demand that the event be canceled.
    (AP, 8/14/18)

2018        Aug 28, In Hong Kong university Prof. Cheung Kie-chung (53) was arrested after his wife's decomposing body was found inside a suitcase in his campus office. Cheung had reported that his 52-year-old wife walked out after an argument on August 17.
    (AP, 8/29/18)

2018        Sep 22, Hong Kong opened a new high-speed rail link to inland China that will vastly decrease travel times but also raises concerns about Beijing's creeping influence over the semi-autonomous Chinese region.
    (AP, 9/22/18)

2018        Sep 23, In Hong Kong Charles K. Kao (84), who shared a 2009 Nobel Prize in physics for pioneering work in optical fiber technology, died. Kao was a researcher at ITT Corp. when in 1966 he and a colleague published a paper that showed pure glass fibers could be used for communication.
    (AP, 9/24/18)

2018        Sep 24, Authorities in Hong Kong took an unprecedented step to quash separatist voices by banning the Hong Kong National Party, led by Andy Chan (27).
    (AP, 9/24/18)

2018        Sep, Two sisters (18 and 20) from Saudi Arabia fled the conservative kingdom and arrived in Hong Kong from Sri Lanka. They did so to escape beatings at the hands of their brothers and father.
    (Reuters, 2/23/19)

2018        Oct 5, It was reported that Hong Kong authorities have rejected an application to renew the work visa of Victor Mallet, Asia news editor at the Financial Times. Mallett is also an official of the city's Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC).
    (Reuters, 10/5/18)

2018        Oct 12, Hong Kong authorities barred former lawmaker Lau Siu-lai from contesting an election next month given her past advocacy of greater autonomy for Hong Kong. A small group of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists protested outside government headquarters, holding up banners decrying the decision as "political suppression".
    (Reuters, 10/12/18)

2018        Oct 23, China opened the world's longest sea-crossing bridge linking Hong Kong to the mainland, a feat of engineering carrying immense economic and political significance. The 55-km (34-mile)-long bridge linked China to the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
    (AP, 10/23/18)

2018        Oct 30, Hong Kong journalist Louis Cha (94), a best-selling Chinese martial arts novelist, died after a long illness. Cha's novels about ancient Chinese swordsmen have sold millions and are among the most widely read in the Chinese-speaking world.
    (AP, 10/30/18)

2018        Nov 2, Hong Kong organizers of an exhibition by dissident Chinese-Australian cartoonist Badiucao canceled the exhibition in the Chinese-ruled city given what they said were threats by China. The exhibition by Badiucao was to have been his first international solo event.
    (Reuters, 11/2/18)

2018        Nov 3, In Hong Kong Raymond Chow (91), film producer, died. He is credited with bringing kung fu legend Bruce Lee to the silver screen and widely regarded as the "godfather" of Hong Kong cinema. He produced more than 170 films over his career.
    (AFP, 11/3/18)

2018        Nov 8, The Asia editor of the Financial Times, Victor Mallet, was refused entry to Hong Kong, weeks after he was denied a new work visa in what critics call an ominous sign of Beijing encroaching on the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's civil liberties.
    (AP, 11/9/18)

2018        Nov 10, In Hong Kong dissident Chinese author Ma Jian (65) hit out at threats to freedom of speech saying it was the "basis of civilization" after a struggle to find a venue to host his talks at Hong Kong's literary festival.
    (AFP, 11/10/18)

2018        Nov 19, Hong Kong protest leaders went on trial for spearheading pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014. Benny Tai along with another professor and a pastor, were leaders of the "Occupy Central" campaign to press for free elections of Hong Kong's top leader.
    (AP, 11/19/18)

2018        Nov 21, Researchers said they have found a second patient in Hong Kong who contracted a strain of hepatitis carried by rats, in what appears to be the first known human cases in the world.
    (AP, 11/21/18)

2018        Dec 10, In Hong Kong a runaway school bus with no one aboard accelerated downhill and plowed into pedestrians, killing two people and injuring a dozen others.
    (AP, 12/10/18)

2018        Germany granted asylum to Hong Kong activists Ray Wong Toi Yeung fellow pro-democracy protester Alan Li Tung Sing. This was only made public in 2019 in a sign of growing concern over how dissent is dealt with in the territory.
    (AP, 5/22/19)   

2019        Jan 1, In Hong Kong thousands of demonstrators marched to demand full democracy, fundamental rights, and even independence from China in the face of what many see as a marked clampdown by the Communist Party on local freedoms.
    (Reuters, 1/1/19)

2019        Jan 8, Off Hong Kong one man was killed and two others declared missing after a Vietnamese-listed oil tanker caught fire while it was being refueled.
    (AFP, 1/8/19)

2019        Jan 16, Hong Kong customs officers and mainland officials seized 8,300 kilos of pangolin scales and 2,100 kilos of ivory tusks hidden inside a container -- declared to be carrying frozen beef -- at a customs facility. A man and a woman from a trading company in the city were soon arrested.
    (AFP, 2/1/19)

2019        Feb 1, Hong Kong's High Court refused to allow three transgender men to be recognized as males on their official identity cards because they have not undergone full sex-change operations.
    (AP, 2/1/19)

2019        Mar 7, More than 200 protesters gathered at a Hong Kong university to condemn the expulsion of a student defending free speech, in what was seen as another incremental sign of eroding freedoms in the Chinese-ruled city.
    (Reuters, 3/7/19)

2019        Mar 25, The Hong Kong-based lawyer for two Saudi sisters who fled the kingdom said the young women have secured emergency visas and departed to a new country of residence.
    (AP, 3/25/19)

2019        Mar 31, Thousands of protesters hit the streets of Hong Kong to demonstrate against a new extradition proposal. Hong Kong's government has recently announced plans to overhaul its extradition rules, allowing the transfer of fugitives with Taiwan, Macau and mainland China on a "case-basis" for the first time.
    (Reuters, 3/31/19)(AFP, 4/1/19)

2019        Apr 2, Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela visited Hong Kong amid ambitious plans and proposals for Chinese-built bridges and rail lines in pan in Panama.
    (AP, 4/2/19)

2019        Apr 9, A Hong Kong court found nine leaders of the 2014 nonviolent "Occupy Central" campaign guilty on public nuisance and other charges.
    (AP, 4/9/19)

2019        Apr 24, A court in Hong Kong handed down prison sentences of up to 16 months to eight leaders of massive 2014 pro-democracy protests on public nuisance offenses.
    (AP, 4/24/19)
2019        Apr 24, Michael Wolf (64), an award-winning photographer known for his work depicting megacities, died at his home in Hong Kong.
    (AP, 4/26/19)

2019        Apr 28, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of people marched on parliament to demand the scrapping of proposed extradition rules that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial - a move which some fear puts the city's core freedoms at risk.
    (Reuters, 4/28/19)

2019        May 10, It was reported that case of African swine fever has been detected in a Hong Kong slaughterhouse, prompting the culling of all 6,000 pigs at the facility. The incurable virus was found in a single pig imported from a farm in Guangdong province in mainland China.
    (AP, 5/11/19)

2019        May 11, Hong Kong's legislative assembly descended into chaos as lawmakers for and against controversial amendments to the territory's extradition law clashed over access to the chamber.
    (AP, 5/11/19)

2019        May 14, Hong Kong legislators clashed over a proposed extradition law that would allow people to be sent to China for trial, after ugly brawls in the legislature over the weekend.
    (Reuters, 5/14/19)

2019        May 16, Prominent Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong (22) was sent back to prison after he lost an attempt to quash a jail sentence over his leadership of huge democracy protests five years ago.
    (AFP, 5/16/19)

2019        May 22, It was reported that shady middle-men are openly advertising on Chinese social media to smuggle blood samples of pregnant women to Hong Kong to skirt the mainland's ban on gender testing.
    (AFP, 5/22/19)

2019        May 26, In Hong Kong more than 2,000 people marched to mark 30 years since a pro-democracy protest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square ended in bloodshed.
    (SFC, 5/27/19, p.A2)

2019        May 31, Hong Kong confirmed its second case of African swine fever, in a further sign that the virus is continuing to spread beyond mainland China, with the government ordering a cull of 4,700 animals.
    (Reuters, 6/1/19)

2019        Jun 4, Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong gathered to mark 30 years since China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
    (AP, 6/4/19)

2019        Jun 6, Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal said the government cannot deny spousal employment benefits to same-sex couples, in a ruling hailed as a major step forward for same-sex equality in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
    (AP, 6/6/19)

2019        Jun 7, People in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan competed in annual dragon boat races, a tradition with roots dating back more than 2,000 years.
    (AP, 6/7/19)

2019        Jun 8, Hong Kong police announced they have arrested four men in connection with two apparent gasoline bomb attacks on law enforcement a day earlier.
    (AP, 6/8/19)

2019        Jun 9, Hong Kong witnessed the largest protest since its 1997 handover to China as huge crowds massed against plans to allow extraditions to the mainland, a proposal that has plunged the city's pro-Beijing leaders into a crisis.
    (AFP, 6/9/19)

2019        Jun 12, Hong Kong students and civil rights activists vowed to keep protesting a proposed extradition bill following a day of sit-ins, tear gas and clashes with police. The bill has become a lightning rod for concerns over greater Chinese control and erosion of civil liberties in the former British colony.
    (AP, 6/12/19)

2019        Jun 13, Hong Kong's legislature suspended meetings as leaders considered their next steps following violent clashes between police and protesters opposed to a bill that would allow suspects to be tried in mainland Chinese courts.
    (AP, 6/13/19)
2019        Jun 13, Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, said that it was hit by a powerful cyberattack from China as a major protest unfolded a day earlier in Hong Kong.
    (AP, 6/13/19)

2019        Jun 15, Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam suspended a hugely divisive bill that would allow extraditions to China, in a major climbdown following unprecedented unrest, but protesters vowed to press ahead with a mass June 16 rally.
    (AFP, 6/15/19)

2019        Jun 16, Hong Kong citizens marched for hours in a massive protest that drew a late-in-the-day apology from the city's top leader for her handling of legislation that has stoked fears of expanding control from Beijing in this former British colony.
    (AP, 6/16/19)

2019        Jun 17, Demonstrators in Hong Kong gathered outside the office of the city's leader, demanding that Carrie Lam step down in the crisis over a highly unpopular extradition bill.
    (AP, 6/17/19)
2019        Jun 17, Leading Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong walked free from prison and vowed to join historic anti-government protests rocking the finance hub, as activists kept up pressure on the city's embattled pro-Beijing leader.
    (AP, 6/17/19)

2019        Jun 18, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam signaled the end of a controversial extradition bill that she promoted and then postponed after some of the most violent protests since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
    (Reuters, 6/18/19)

2019        Jun 19, A Hong Kong student group demanded that the city completely scrap a politically charged extradition bill and agree to investigate police tactics against protesters before a June 20 deadline or face further street demonstrations.
    (AP, 6/19/19)

2019        Jun 20, A deadline imposed by activist groups for Hong Kong's government to scrap highly unpopular extradition bills and accept other demands passed without an official response.
    (AP, 6/20/19)

2019        Jun 21, In Hong Kong more than 1,000 protesters blocked police headquarters into the night, while others took over major streets as the tumult over the city's future showed no signs of abating.
    (AP, 6/21/19)
2019        Jun 21, Former Philippine foreign minister Albert del Rosario was denied entry to Hong Kong, in what critics called retaliation for his attacks on Beijing's contested claims over the South China Sea.
    (AFP, 6/21/19)

2019        Jun 22, Protesters in Hong Kong ended their overnight siege of police headquarters peacefully, disappointed that their demands for the territory's leader to formally withdraw a contentious extradition bill and police to apologize for heavy handed tactics have gone unmet.
    (AP, 6/22/19)

2019        Jun 24, More than 100 people blocked a Hong Kong government building in protest against proposed legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China that they want scrapped.
    (Reuters, 6/24/19)

2019        Jun 26, Thousands of people joined Hong Kong's latest protest rally against legislation they fear would erode the city's freedoms, capping a daylong appeal to world leaders ahead of a G-20 summit this week that brings together the heads of China, the United States and other major nations.
    (AP, 6/26/19)

2019        Jun 27, In Hong Kong protesters opposed to legislation they fear would reduce judicial independence rallied outside the Justice Department, as the territory's leader remained out of public view for a second week.
    (AP, 6/27/19)

2019        Jun 30, In Hong Kong more than 50,000 people rallied in support of the police as the semi-autonomous territory braced for another day of protests on the anniversary of the former British colony's return to China. One woman (29) fell to her death from a shopping mall leaving a message that she wished for the protesters' success. Three apparent suicides were linked to the current protests.
    (AP, 6/30/19)(SSFC, 7/7/19, p.A4)

2019        Jul 1, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of others marched through the city to demand expanded democracy on the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony's return to China. Hundreds of protesters broke into the legislative building this evening and spray-painted slogans on the walls of the main chamber.
    (AP, 7/1/19)

2019        Jul 2, China's government strongly backed Hong Kong's embattled administration, saying pro-democracy protesters who occupied and vandalized the city's legislature committed "serious illegal acts" that endangered the social order.
    (AP, 7/2/19)

2019        Jul 7, In Hong Kong tens of thousands of protesters took their message to a new audience, mainland Chinese tourists, as coverage of the anti-government movement have been heavily censored by Beijing authorities.
    (SFC, 7/8/19, p.A2)

2019        Jul 9, Hong Kong demonstrators issued new calls for people to join their rallies despite Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s acknowledgment that legislation, which would for the first time allow extraditions to China, wouldn’t get passed. She stopped short of agreeing to protesters’ demand to withdraw the bill.
    (Bloomberg, 7/9/19)

2019        Jul 13, In Hong Kong several thousand people marched against traders from mainland China. Police used pepper spray to disperse protesters.
    (SSFC, 7/14/19, p.A5)

2019        Jul 14, Tens of thousands rallied in a large Hong Kong suburb, driven by abiding anger at the government's handling of an extradition bill that has revived fears of China tightening its grip over the former British colony and eroding its freedoms.
    (Reuters, 7/14/19)

2019        Jul 19, Hong Kong police found 4.4 pounds of TATP, a homemade explosive, and arrested a man in a raid on a commercial building.
    (SSFC, 7/21/19, p.A4)

2019        Jul 20, Tens of thousands gathered in Hong Kong to voice support for the police and call for an end to violence, after a wave of protests against an extradition bill triggered clashes between police and activists and plunged the city into crisis.
    (Reuters, 7/20/19)

2019        Jul 21, In Hong Kong hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched through the city. Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in chaotic scenes late today as anger over an extradition bill morphs into a fresh front against what many see as a broader erosion of freedoms by the city's political masters in Beijing. Suspected triad gangsters in the Yuen Long district assaulted pro-democracy protesters. 45 people were left wounded. Police soon arrested six men, ages 24-54, some with links to triad gangs.
    (Reuters, 7/21/19)(SFC, 7/24/19, p.A2)(Econ, 7/27/19, p.35)

2019        Jul 27, Hong Kong riot police deployed tear gas and pepper spray to disperse thousands of protesters in a suburb near the mainland Chinese border, after a day of pitched battles near the site of mob attacks on demonstrators earlier this week.
    (Bloomberg, 7/27/19)

2019        Jul 28, Hong Kong demonstrators and police clashed for a second straight day as the city’s China-backed government struggles to quell growing discontent and amid violent clashes that have marred the historic movement in recent weeks.
    (Bloomberg, 7/28/19)

2019        Aug 2, In Hong Kong thousands of civil servants joined in the anti-government protests for the first time since they started two months ago, defying a warning from the authorities to remain politically neutral.
    (Reuters, 8/2/19)

2019        Aug 3, Hong Kong police fired tear gas this evening in confrontations with black-clad activists in the city's Kowloon area, as the Chinese-controlled territory was again rocked by anti-government protests.
    (Reuters, 8/3/19)

2019        Aug 4, Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters after violent clashes a day earlier, and Beijing said it would not let the situation persist.
    (Reuters, 8/4/19)

2019        Aug 5, Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets in fresh clashes with protesters after a general strike caused transport chaos. As night fell in the Asian financial hub thousands of activists blocked roads in several districts.
    (Reuters, 8/5/19)

2019        Aug 8, Simon Cheng (28), a trade and investment officer at the Hong Kong consulate’s Scottish Development International section, disappeared on the way back from a business event in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. On Aug. 22 China’s state-backed Global Times newspaper said he was detained for involvement in prostitution.
    (The Telegraph, 8/22/19)

2019        Aug 10, Hong Kong police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters, sending tourists fleeing weeping in Kowloon, only for demonstrators to regroup and gather elsewhere during another tense, hot and restive weekend.
    (Reuters, 8/10/19)

2019        Aug 11, Hong Kong police fired tear gas at protesters as a tenth straight weekend of anti-government demonstrations intensified amid an increasingly aggressive response from the police and Beijing.
    (Reuters, 8/11/19)

2019        Aug 12, All flights were cancelled at Hong Kong airport after thousands of demonstrators entered the arrivals hall to protest at police use of force in a night of violent scenes in the city.
    (SFC, 8/13/19, p.A3)

2019        Aug 13, Protests forced Hong Kong’s airport to suspend check-ins for departing flights -- its second straight day of major service disruptions -- as embattled local leader Carrie Lam warned that the city risked sliding into an “abyss”.
    (Bloomberg, 8/13/19)

2019        Aug 14, Flights resumed at Hong Kong’s international airport as pro-democracy protesters apologized for demonstrations that shut down the global transport hub.
    (The Telegraph, 8/14/19)
2019        Aug 14, President Donald Trump linked Hong Kong’s unrest to talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a move that could reinforce Beijing’s efforts to blame the US for increasingly violent protests in the Asian financial hub.
    (Bloomberg, 8/15/19)

2019        Aug 15, The Hong Kong government unveiled a HK$19.1 billion ($2.4 billion) package to support a slowing economy as escalating political protests and the prolonged U.S.-China trade war weigh heavily on the Asian financial center.
    (Reuters, 8/15/19)

2019        Aug 16, Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Rupert Hogg resigned in a shock move, amid mounting Chinese regulatory scrutiny of the Hong Kong carrier over the involvement of its employees in the city's anti-government protests. Cathay Pacific, which has already terminated two pilots for engaging in illegal protests at the behest of the Chinese aviation regulator, named Augustus Tang as its new CEO.
    (Reuters, 8/16/19)

2019        Aug 17, Thousands of Hong Kongers including many teachers took part in more anti-government rallies, braving thunderstorms to march past shops shuttered due to growing concern that police could adopt tougher tactics to drive activists from the streets.
    (Reuters, 8/17/19)

2019        Aug 18, In Hong Kong hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters joined a mass rally, filling major thoroughfares in heavy rain in the eleventh week of what have been often violent demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.
    (Reuters, 8/18/19)

2019        Aug 21, Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA) warned that weeks of protests in Hong Kong could hit the economies of the Chinese-ruled city and mainland China itself as hundreds of demonstrators held a sit-in at the subway site of a midsummer mob attack.
    (Reuters, 8/21/19)

2019        Aug 23, Thousands of chanting Hong Kong protesters joined peaceful "Baltic Chain" links of hands, with almost three months of anti-government demonstrations showing no sign of let-up across the Chinese-ruled territory. In 1989, an estimated two million people joined arms across the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in a protest against Soviet rule that became known as the "Baltic Way" or "Baltic Chain".
    (Reuters, 8/23/19)

2019        Aug 24, Hong Kong police fired volleys of tear gas to break up anti-government protests in a gritty industrial suburb after activists threw petrol bombs and bricks. China freed British consulate worker Simon Cheng whose 15-day detention had fuelled tensions.
    (Reuters, 8/24/19)

2019        Aug 25, Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon amid running battles with brick-throwing protesters in driving rain after violent clashes a day earlier in which police fired tear gas for the first time in more than a week. Hong Kong's police said they arrested 29 people after clashes overnight.
    (Reuters, 8/25/19)

2019        Aug 26, Hong Kong’s government said that illegal violence is pushing the city to the brink of great danger, after a weekend of clashes that included the first gun-shot and the arrest of 86 people, the youngest just 12.
    (Reuters, 8/26/19)

2019        Aug 28, In Hong Kong hundreds of people protested to denounce Cathay Pacific Airways for dismissing crew taking part in or supporting anti-government rallies that have swept the Chinese-ruled city for weeks.
    (Reuters, 8/28/19)

2019        Aug 29, China sent fresh troops to Hong Kong as part of a "routine" garrison rotation, as the financial hub braced for a new round of violent protests after police refused permission for a mass rally at the weekend.
    (The Telegraph, 8/29/19)

2019        Aug 30, Tensions spiked in Hong Kong ahead of what could be a 13th straight weekend of protest, as police arrested several top opposition figures including Joshua Wong after banning a mass march scheduled for August 31.
    (Bloomberg, 8/30/19)

2019        Aug 31, Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon as pro-democracy protesters threw petrol bombs in the latest in a series of clashes that have plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its worst political crisis in decades.
    (Reuters, 8/31/19)

2019        Sep 1, Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters obstructed access to the Hong Kong airport after police arrested dozens the night before and deployed water cannon and tear gas in response to activists lobbing petrol bombs and bricks.
    (AP, 9/1/19)

2019        Sep 2, Thousands of Hong Kong university and school students boycotted class and rallied peacefully for democracy, the latest acts of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.
    (AP, 9/2/19)

2019        Sep 3, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she never asked China for permission to resign over the historic unrest rocking the city, while acknowledging that she discussed her struggles in a closed-door meeting.
    (Bloomberg, 9/3/19)

2019        Sep 4, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s moved to formally withdraw a bill allowing extraditions to China. This may well have ended the Hong Kong unrest in June, but now protesters want a lot more, and they’re ready and willing to fight.
    (Bloomberg, 9/4/19)

2019        Sep 5, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said that China "understands, respects and supports" her government's move to formally withdraw an extradition bill, part of measures she hoped would help the city "move forward" from months of unrest.
    (Reuters, 9/5/19)
2019        Sep 5, Shares in Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd fell nearly 4% in early trade following the resignation of its chairman after the market closed on the previous day. The departure of John Slosar was announced less than three weeks after mounting Chinese regulatory scrutiny led to the shock exit of its chief executive, Rupert Hogg.
    (Reuters, 9/5/19)

2019        Sep 6, Hong Kong police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray to clear protesters outside a subway station on the densely populated Kowloon peninsula, the latest clash in 14 weeks of sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations.
    (Reuters, 9/6/19)

2019        Sep 7, Hong Kong police prevented anti-government protesters from blocking access to the airport, but fired tear gas for a second night running in the Chinese-ruled city's densely populated district of Mong Kok in the 14th week of unrest.
    (Reuters, 9/7/19)

2019        Sep 8, Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the upmarket Causeway Bay shopping district, after demonstrators had rallied at the US Consulate calling for help in bringing democracy to the Chinese-ruled city.
    (Reuters, 9/8/19)

2019        Sep 9, In Hong Kong hundreds of uniformed school students, many wearing masks, formed human chains in districts across the city in support of anti-government protesters after another weekend of clashes.
    (Reuters, 9/9/19)

2019        Sep 10, Thousands of Hong Kong soccer fans booed loudly and turned their backs when the Chinese national anthem was played before a World Cup qualifier match against Iran, taking the city's months of protests into the sports realm.
    (AP, 9/10/19)

2019        Sep 13, Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters took to the hills to form flashlight-carrying human chains, using the colorful Mid-Autumn Festival as a backdrop to the latest in more than three months of sometimes violent demonstrations.
    (Reuters, 9/13/19)

2019        Sep 14, Hong Kong police moved in to break up scuffles between pro-China protesters and those denouncing perceived Chinese meddling in the Asian financial hub, the latest in months of sometimes violent clashes.
    (Reuters, 9/14/19)

2019        Sep 15, Hong Kong police fired water cannon and volleys of tear gas to disperse protesters throwing petrol bombs at government buildings, as months of sometimes violent demonstrations showed no sign of letting up.
    (Reuters, 9/15/19)

2019        Sep 20, Amnesty International alleged in a new report that Hong Kong police beat pro-democracy protesters in custody and committed acts that amount to “torture” during recent demonstrations.
    (Bloomberg, 9/20/19)

2019        Sep 21, In Hong Kong anti-government protesters burned a Chinese flag and police fire pepper spray in renewed clashes.
    (SSFC, 9/22/19, p.A6)

2019        Sep 28, Hong Kong police fired a water cannon at brick-hurling protesters after tens of thousands crammed into a park and surrounding streets to mark the fifth anniversary of 2014’s pro-democracy Occupy demonstrations.
    (Bloomberg, 9/28/19)

2019        Sep 29, In Hong Kong demonstrators marched without permission after an approved rally the day before. Police used a water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas on protesters who set a train station entrance on fire and hurled petrol bombs as they tried to march on the government offices in the city center.
    (Bloomberg, 9/29/19)

2019        Sep 30, Chinese Communist Party leader and President Xi Jinping renewed his government's commitment to allowing Hong Kong to manage its own affairs amid continuing anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
    (AP, 9/30/19)

2019        Oct 1, Hong Kong police shot and wounded a pro-democracy protester as the city was lashed by its worst unrest of the year, hours after China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule with a massive military parade. Medical authorities said 31 people were admitted to hospital, two in a critical condition. On Oct. 3 the teenage victim of police gunfire was charged with rioting and attacking police.
    (AFP, 10/1/19)(SFC, 10/4/19, p.A2)

2019        Oct 2, In Hong Kong hundreds joined spontaneous rallies to protest the shooting of a teenage student by a police officer who had come under attack by pro-democracy activists the day before.
    (The Telegraph, 10/2/19)

2019        Oct 4, Hong Kong invoked emergency powers for the first time in more than half a century to ban face masks for protesters after months of unrest, prompting demonstrators to occupy downtown streets.
    (Bloomberg, 10/4/19)

2019        Oct 6, Chinese soldiers issued a warning to Hong Kong protesters who shone lasers at their barracks in the city, in the first direct interaction with mainland military forces in four months of anti-government demonstrations.
    (Reuters, 10/6/19)
2019        Oct 6, Hong Kong police fired tear gas as protesters defied an emergency law and marched wearing masks through the Chinese-controlled city.
    (Reuters, 10/6/19)

2019        Oct 7, Hong Kong police staged a show of force in a district hit by some of the most violent clashes with protesters in recent months, but instead of being confronted by demonstrators were jeered by onlookers.
    (Reuters, 10/7/19)

2019        Oct 11, In Hong Kong hundreds of mask-wearing pro-democracy protesters marched through the central business district, occupying a main thoroughfare and disrupting traffic as the Chinese-ruled city braced for another weekend of unrest.
    (Reuters, 10/11/19)

2019        Oct 13, Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and riot police clashed in chaotic scenes around the city with police in full riot gear chasing protesters through crowds of horrified lunchtime shoppers.
    (Reuters, 10/13/19)

2019        Oct 16, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam had to abandon her policy speech because of jeering lawmakers. She then broadcast the annual address via a video link after the rowdy scenes in the Legislative Council.
    (Reuters, 10/16/19)

2019        Oct 18, Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters donned cartoon character masks as they formed human chains across the semiautonomous Chinese city late today, in defiance of a government ban on face coverings at public assemblies.
    (AP, 10/18/19)

2019        Oct 20, Hong Kong protesters set off fires and vandalized subway stations, banks and stores as another weekend of demonstrations descended into destruction and violence. Organizers estimated at least 350,000 people took part in an unauthorized march that authorities had banned.
    (Bloomberg, 10/20/19)

2019        Oct 21, Hong Kong riot police fired tear gas late today to disperse pro-democracy demonstrators gathered to commemorate the three-month anniversary of an assault by more than 100 men on protesters, commuters and journalists.
    (Reuters, 10/21/19)

2019        Oct 23, Hong Kong's legislature formally withdrew planned legislation that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but the move was unlikely to end months of unrest as it met just one of five demands of pro-democracy demonstrators.
    (Reuters, 10/23/19)

2019        Oct 24, Hundreds of Hong Kong protesters, some waving Catalan flags and banners urging "a fight for freedom together", rallied in support of a separate Catalonia, broaching an issue that is anathema to Hong Kong's rulers in Beijing.
    (Reuters, 10/24/19)

2019        Oct 27, Hong Kong police said anti-government protesters set fire to shops and hurled petrol bombs, after riot police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse thousands in the Tsim Sha Tsui harbor-front hotel district.
    (Reuters, 10/27/19)

2019        Oct 28, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary said the city has fallen into recession, hit by five months of anti-government protests that erupted in flames at the weekend, and is unlikely to achieve any growth this year.
    (Reuters, 10/28/19)

2019        Oct 29, Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong confirmed that he has been disqualified from running in District Council elections next month, in a blow to protesters’ efforts to win greater electoral influence in the former British colony.
    (Bloomberg, 10/29/19)

2019        Oct 31, Hong Kong police fired tear gas to break up masked anti-government protesters mingling with Halloween revelers in fancy dress near the upmarket club district of Lan Kwai Fong after a standoff lasting hours.
    (Reuters, 10/31/19)

2019        Nov 1, Hong Kong anti-government protests fizzled after a night of clashes in a central bar district and prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong called for 100,000 people to take to the streets of the Chinese-ruled city the following day.
    (Reuters, 11/1/19)
2019        Nov 1, China warned it would not tolerate any challenge to Hong Kong's governing system, as it laid out plans to boost patriotism in the city and change how its leader is chosen or removed after months of pro-democracy protests.
    (AP, 11/1/19)

2019        Nov 2, Hong Kong police fired tear gas at black-clad protesters after they set fire to metro stations and vandalized buildings including China's official Xinhua news agency in some of the worst violence to hit the city in weeks. At least 200 people were arrested as protesters seeking greater democracy and police accountability blocked roads, vandalized public facilities and set alight exits of subway stations.
    (Reuters, 11/2/19)(Bloomberg, 11/3/19)

2019        Nov 3, In Hong Kong more unrest broke out when police and protesters clashed at malls full of afternoon shoppers. Riot police used pepper spray and detained several people. Shopfronts were vandalized and subway turnstiles were damaged.
    (Bloomberg, 11/3/19)

2019        Nov 4, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed "high trust" in Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in a meeting with Lam in Shanghai and "fully affirmed" the chief executive's response to unrest that has rattled the city since June.
    (South China Morning Post, 11/5/19)

2019        Nov 5, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said that she has received the backing of Chinese President Xi Jinping in her handling of five months of anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, as hundreds of masked demonstrators took to the streets again.
    (AP, 11/5/19)

2019        Nov 6, In Hong Kong a knife-wielding assailant injured Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing lawmaker, and his assistant, as tensions worsen with protests nearing the start of a sixth continuous month. Police arrested the attacker.
    (The Telegraph, 11/6/19)

2019        Nov 8, In Hong Kong student Chow Tsz-lok, who fell from the third to the second floor of a parking lot in the early hours of Nov. 4, died today. Vigils mourning his death quickly spiraled into street fires, bursts of tear gas and cat-and-mouse clashes between pro-democracy protesters and police.
    (Reuters, 11/8/19)

2019        Nov 9, Hong Kong protesters held a vigil for "martyrs" and many demanded "revenge" after a student died in hospital this week following a high fall, fuelling anger among pro-democracy demonstrators who first took to the streets in June.
    (Reuters, 11/9/19)

2019        Nov 10, Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon to break up rallies as activists blocked roads and trashed shopping malls across the New Territories and Kowloon peninsula during the 24th straight weekend of anti-government unrest.
    (Reuters, 11/10/19)

2019        Nov 11, In Hong Kong a traffic police officer shot an unarmed 21-year-old pro-democracy protester at point-blank range. Hours later, a man was set on fire after defending Beijing in an argument. Both individuals were listed in critical condition.
    (The Daily Beast, 11/12/19)

2019        Nov 12, Hong Kong police fired tear gas at pro-democracy protesters in the Central financial district and at demonstrators on the other side of the harbor as a senior officer said the unrest had brought the city to "the brink of total breakdown".
    (Reuters, 11/12/19)

2019        Nov 13, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group launched the share sale for its Hong Kong listing, braving unrest in the global financial hub to try to raise up to $13.4 billion to fund its expansion plans.
    (Reuters, 11/13/19)

2019        Nov 15, Hong Kong protesters returned to the central financial district, the fifth-straight day of rallies in a broader democracy push that’s driven Asia’s premier financial hub toward recession.
    (Bloomberg, 11/15/19)
2019        Nov 15, China’s People’s Liberation Army troops appeared on the streets of Hong Kong as part of a clean-up mission that risked a backlash from pro-democracy protesters who have brought the city to a standstill in recent months.
    (AFP, 11/16/19)

2019        Nov 17, A Hong Kong police officer was struck by an arrow fired by a protester and an armored vehicle set ablaze, as fires raged into the night around a campus which has turned into a base for a pro-democracy movement that has sunk the city into turmoil. Activists dug in around Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), setting large fires to prevent police from conducting a threatened raid on the campus.
    (AP, 11/17/19)   

2019        Nov 18, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam urged protesters holed up in a university to heed police calls to surrender, as tens of thousands of protesters marched to support the trapped demonstrators.
    (Bloomberg, 11/18/19)

2019        Nov 19, Anti-government protesters holed up in a Hong Kong university searched for escape routes after more than two days of clashes with police, dramatic breakouts by rope and motorcycle and more than 1,000 arrests in 24 hours. About 100 protesters remained trapped in the Polytechnic University.
    (Reuters, 11/19/19)
2019        Nov 19, The US Senate unanimously passed a bill aimed at supporting protesters in Hong Kong and warning China against a violent suppression of the demonstrations -- drawing a rebuke from Beijing.
    (Bloomberg, 11/19/19)

2019        Nov 21, In Hong Kong only a handful of activists held out as they desperately searched for ways to escape or hide while squads of police encircled the grounds of Polytechnic University.
    (Reuters, 11/21/19)

2019        Nov 22, Hong Kong's High Court said the government could enforce a ban on face masks for one week as police readied for any unrest during contested elections this weekend.
    (SFC, 11/23/19, p.A4)
2019        Nov 22, In Hong Kong an unknown number of protesters remain holed up inside the Polytechnic University as riot police encircled the campus, which has been the site of violent clashes in recent days.
    (Good Morning America, 11/22/19)
2019        Nov 22, US President Donald Trump said he had saved Hong Kong from being destroyed by persuading Chinese President Xi Jinping to hold off on sending in troops to crush its pro-democracy movement.
    (AFP, 11/22/19)

2019        Nov 24, Polls closed in Hong Kong with no major disruptions after people turned out in huge numbers to vote in district council elections seen as a test of support for chief executive Carrie Lam following six months of pro-democracy protests. Hong Kong residents handed an overwhelming victory to pro-democracy candidates in a vote for local district councils, a stunning repudiation of the city’s Beijing-backed government after months of increasingly violent protests seeking meaningful elections.
    (Reuters, 11/24/19)(Bloomberg, 11/25/19)

2019        Nov 27, US President Donald Trump signed into law congressional legislation which supported protesters in Hong Kong, despite angry objections from Beijing, with which he is seeking a deal to end a damaging trade war.
    (Reuters, 11/28/19)

2019        Nov 30, In Hong Kong secondary school students and retirees joined forces to protest, the first of several weekend rallies planned across the city, as pro-democracy activists vowed to battle what they say are police brutality and unlawful arrests.
    (Reuters, 11/30/19)

2019        Dec 1, In Hong Kong thousands of black-clad protesters marched in the busy tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui this afternoon one day after a group blocked roads and set fire to a subway station entrance.
    (Bloomberg, 12/1/19)

2019        Dec 2, China’s Foreign Ministry said that US military vessels and aircraft would not be able to visit Hong Kong. China has also introduced sanctions against US pro-democracy NGOs after US President Donald Trump signed a bill supporting Hong Kong protesters last week.
    (AP, 12/2/19)

2019        Dec 7, In Hong Kong hundreds of pro-government demonstrators packed a local park to denounce what they say is a reign of terror by anti-government protesters.
    (SSFC, 12/8/19, p.A6)

2019        Dec 8, Hong Kong saw its biggest pro-democracy protest in months, signaling more unrest to come in 2020 as the movement that began in June to fight China’s increasing grip on the city shows its staying power.
    (AP, 12/8/19)

2019        Dec 9, Hong Kong police arrested 12 people suspected of preparing gasoline bombs.
    (SFC, 12/10/19, p.A2)

2019        Dec 10, Taiwan’s top diplomat said that his government stands with Hong Kong citizens pushing for “freedom and democracy,” and would help those displaced from the semi-autonomous Chinese city if Beijing intervenes with greater force to quell the protests.
    (AP, 12/10/19)

2019        Dec 14, Hong Kong police arrested three men for testing homemade explosives. Police said the explosives were intended for use during protests.
    (SSFC, 12/15/19, p.A4)

2019        Dec 22, Clashes broke out between Hong Kong police and protesters at a rally in support of China's Uighur minority. Police arrested two protesters who were attempting to burn a Chinese flag at the rally, which was attended by several hundred people.
    (AP, 12/22/19)

2019        Dec 25, Protests spread through Hong Kong over Christmas Eve and Day, with some demonstrators donning reindeer costumes in light of the holiday. Rallies ended in clouds of tear gas, with one police officer pointing his gun at the crowd, but not firing.
    (The Telegraph, 12/25/19)

2019        Dec 28, In Hong Kong police fought protesters who marched through a shopping mall demanding mainland Chinese traders leave the territory. 14 people were reported detained.
    (SSFC, 12/29/19, p.A4)

2019        Dec 31, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for Hong Kong to return to stability following months of pro-democracy protests.
    (AP, 12/31/19)

2020        Jan 1, Hong Kong began 2020 with a familiar sight: Tear gas, fires, vandalism and roadblocks in busy downtown areas as protesters vowed to maintain their fight for more democracy and less Chinese control. Police detained about 400 people on charges including illegal assembly and possession of offensive weapons after the huge rally.
    (Bloomberg, 1/1/20)(The Guardian, 1/2/20)

2020        Jan 8, Hong Kong's security chief said police have seized more than 3,700 mobile phones used by protesters in the last several months of protest. More than 6,000 people have been arrested since protests against a proposed extradition bill erupted last June.
    (Business Insider, 1/8/20)

2020        Jan 12, In Hong Kong more than 1,000 people attended a rally to urge people and governments abroad to support the city's pro-democracy movement and oppose China's ruling Communist Party.
    (SFC, 1/13/20, p.A2)

2020        Jan 13, China said it prevented the head of Human Rights Watch from entering Hong Kong because of the group's support for the territory's ongoing protest movement.
    (SFC, 1/14/20, p.A2)

2020        Jan 19, In Hong Kong clashes broke out between protesters and police, cutting short a rally after thousands had gathered at a park to call for electoral reforms and a boycott of the Chinese Communist Party. Ventus Lau, the rally's organizer, was arrested in the evening for allegedly breaching the authorities' conditions for the rally and repeatedly obstructing officers.
    (AP, 1/19/20)

2020        Jan 23, In Denmark an eight-meter copper statue by Jens Galschioet, entitled "Pillar of Shame," was erected in front of parliament in central Copenhagen to express solidarity with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
    (Reuters, 1/23/20)

2020        Jan 26, A group of Hong Kong protesters set alight the lobby of a newly built residential building that authorities planned to use as a quarantine facility, as public fears in the financial hub about the coronavirus outbreak intensified. Anger grew towards government plans to convert the building into a quarantine zone as the number of confirmed cases in the city climbed to six.
    (Reuters, 1/26/20)

2020        Feb 4, Hong Kong hospitals cut services as thousands of medical workers went on strike for a second day to demand the border with mainland China be shut completely, as a new virus caused its first death in the semi-autonomous territory and authorities feared it was spreading locally. The fast-spreading outbreak has killed 490 people with 24,324 confirmed cases.
    (AP, 2/4/20)(Reuters, 2/4/20)(SFC, 2/5/20, p.A3)

2020        Feb 11, The US State Dept. said it has authorized the voluntary departure of US government employees and their family members from Hong Kong in light of the outbreak of a deadly coronavirus.
    (Reuters, 2/11/20)

2020        Feb 15, In Hong Kong hundreds of anti-government protesters marched in multiple neighborhoods against government plans to potentially turn some buildings into coronavirus quarantine centers, demanding full closure of the mainland China border.
    (Reuters, 2/15/20)

2020        Feb 26, Hong Kong's government proposed a cash handout of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,282) to residents to boost the city’s flagging economy.
    (https://tinyurl.com/wbsaxn6)(Econ, 3/21/20, p.21)

2020        Feb 28, Hong Kong Hong Kong media tycoon and a prominent democracy advocate Jimmy Lai (72), who has long denounced as a traitor by Chinese state media, was among activists swept up in a fresh wave of arrests in the Asian financial hub. Lai was arrested on suspicion of participating in an unlawful assembly last year and intimidating a reporter in 2017. He was soon given police bail.
    (Bloomberg, 2/28/20)

2020        Feb 29, Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of black-clad protesters, some armed with petrol bombs, during a rally to mark six months since the authorities stormed a subway station and arrested demonstrators.
    (AP, 2/29/20)

2020        Mar 8, Hong Kong recorded its third coronavirus death.
    (Reuters, 3/8/20)

2020        Mar 13, In Hong Kong a man (80) became the fourth patient to die from coronavirus.
    (AP, 3/13/20)

2020        Mar 26, In Hong Kong opposition politician Cheng Lai-King (61) was arrested a day after she forwarded a Facebook post that identified a policeman who was believed to have fired the rubber bullet that last year blinded Indonesian journalist Veby Mega in one eye. Lai-King was released after being charged with sedition.
    (SFC, 3/27/20, p.A2)

2020        Mar 27, The Hong Kong government announced new measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak, including limiting crowd size to four people except weddings and funerals. The measures will last for 14 days. The city has found a record 65 new cases, taking its total to 518.
    (Bloomberg, 3/27/20)

2020        Apr 2, Hong Kong ordered bars and pubs to close for 14 days from April 3. The city earlier reported 37 new cases, taking its total to 802.
    (Bloomberg, 4/2/20)

2020        Apr 7, Hong Kong reported 21 new cases of the coronavirus for a total of 936.
    (https://tinyurl.com/sdefuk6)

2020        Apr 17, China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong said it was not bound by Article 22 of the 1990 Basic Law. The article banned Chinese government offices from interfering in Hong Kong's internal affairs.
    (Econ, 4/25/20, p.8)

2020        Apr 18, Hong Kong police arrested 15 veteran pro-democracy lawmakers and activists on charges of joining unlawful protests last year calling for reforms. They included and media tycoon Jimmy Lai and Martin Lee (81), a barrister and former legislator.
    (AP, 4/18/20)(Econ, 4/25/20, p.33)

2020        Apr 20, Hong Kong reported no new coronavirus infections for the first time in seven weeks.
    (SFC, 4/21/20, p.A4)

2020        Apr 24, In Hong Kong  more than 52,000 students began university entrance exams with social distancing measures in place. Hong Kong has reported 1,036 COVID-19 cases and four deaths.
    (SFC, 4/25/20, p.A4)

2020        Apr 26, Hong Kong riot police armed with shields dispersed a crowd of 300 pro-democracy activists holding a singing protest in an upmarket shopping mall, despite a ban on public gatherings of more than four people.
    (Reuters, 4/26/20)

2020        May 4, Hong Kong customs officials impounded 24 tons of shark fins from Ecuador with a retail value of $1.1 million.
    (Econ., 11/21/20, p.30)

2020        May 5, Hong Kong said it will relax restrictions on public gatherings and allow gyms, cinemas and beauty parlors to re-open this week as new cases dwindle.
    (Reuters, 5/5/20)

2020        May 8, In Hong Kong scuffles broke out in the legislature when a pro-Beijing lawmaker inserted herself as chair of a committee meeting to try to end a months-long impasse that has resulted in a backlog of legislation.
    (SFC, 5/9/20, p.A2)

2020        May 10, Hong Kong police grappled with pro-democracy protesters who gathered in shopping malls after permission for a Mother's Day march was denied.
    (SFC, 5/11/20, p.A2)

2020        May 13, Hong Kong reported its first two coronavirus cases in three weeks not linked to anyone who travelled overseas, with authorities scrambling to trace the origin of the infections. Hundreds of protesters gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong, flouting coronavirus-related social distancing rules to mock unpopular Chief Executive Carrie Lam on her birthday.
    (Reuters, 5/13/20)

2020        May 18, Clashes broke out in Hong Kong’s legislature for a second time this month as a pro-Beijing lawmaker was elected as chair of a key committee that scrutinizes bills, ending a prolonged struggle for control with the pro-democracy camp.
    (AP, 5/18/20)

2020        May 21, China's leadership struck a hard line at the annual meeting of the legislature, unveiling a plan to impose sweeping new security laws that would place Hong Kong more firmly under Beijing’s thumb and crack down on antigovernment protests. The proposed bill would forbid secessionist and subversive activity, as well as foreign interference and terrorism.
    (NY Times, 5/22/20)(AP, 5/22/20)(Econ., 5/30/20, p.8)

2020        May 24, Hong Kong police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters in a popular shopping district, as thousands took to the streets to march against China's move to impose national security legislation on the city.
    (AP, 5/24/20)

2020        May 26, Stanley Ho (98), the opportunistic casino tycoon, died in Hong Kong He led the transformation of the tiny territory of Macau off the coast of China into the world’s most lucrative gambling destination. Mr. Ho left behind 14 children and a $6 billion-plus fortune.
    (NY Times, 5/26/20)(Econ., 5/30/20, p.56)

2020        May 27, In Hong Kong thousands of protesters shouted pro-democracy slogans and insults at police as lawmakers debated a bill criminalizing abuse of the Chinese national anthem in the semi-autonomous city.
    (AP, 5/27/20)
2020        May 27, The United States and China clashed over Hong Kong at the UN after Beijing opposed a request by Washington for the Security Council to meet over China's plan to impose new national security legislation on the territory.
    (Reuters, 5/27/20)
2020        May 27, US Sec. of State Mike Pompeo notified Congress that the Trump administration no longer regards Hong Kong as autonomous from mainland China, setting the stage for the US to withdraw the former British colony's preferential trade and financial status.
    (SFC, 5/28/20, p.A4)

2020        May 28, China’s legislature endorsed a national security law for Hong Kong that has strained relations with the United States and Britain and prompted new protests in the territory. Beijing ordered that a new law be written to extend many of mainland China’s security practices to Hong Kong, creating broad powers to quash unrest.
    (AP, 5/28/20)(NY Times, 5/28/20)

2020        May, Two Chinese nuns who work at a mission in Hong Kong were arrested by mainland authorities during a visit home to Hebei province. The Vatican operates the unofficial diplomatic mission in Hong Kong, its only political outpost of any kind in China.
    (Reuters, 12/30/20)

2020        Jun 4, Hong Kong’s legislature approved a contentious bill that makes it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem. It passed with 41 lawmakers voting for it and just one voting against. Most of the pro-democracy lawmakers boycotted the vote out of protest.
    (AP, 6/4/20)
2020        Jun 4, Thousands of people in Hong Kong defied a police ban this evening, breaking through barricades to hold a candlelight vigil on the 31st anniversary of China's crushing of a democracy movement centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
    (AP, 6/4/20)

2020        Jun 8, Disgraced former Hong Kong minister Patrick Ho Chi-ping (70) was released from a New York prison, after serving a jail term over a multimillion-dollar scheme to bribe top African leaders. Ho was Hong Kong's home affairs chief from 2002 to 2007.
    (South China Morning Post, 6/9/20)

2020        Jun 9, Hundreds of people marched in Hong Kong's streets to mark a year since the start of anti-government protests, as Carrie Lam, the leader of the semi-autonomous city, called for peace and stability.
    (AP, 6/9/20)

2020        Jun 12, Hong Kong protesters marched in a shopping mall marking the one-year anniversary of a clash with police outside the city's legislature.
    (SFC, 6/13/20, p.A2)

2020        Jun 20, It was reported that China plans to establish a special bureau in Hong Kong to investigate and prosecute crimes considered threatening to national security.
    (AP, 6/20/20)

2020        Jun 22, Hong Kong reported 30 imported new coronavirus cases, taking the number of cases in the city to 1,162.
    (Reuters, 6/22/20)

2020        Jun 23, Vietnam said Hong Kong-based power tool manufacturer Techtronic Industries will invest an additional $650 million in Ho Chi Minh City to produce cordless appliances.
    (Reuters, 6/23/20)

2020        Jun 30, The top decision-making body of the Chinese legislature voted unanimously to adopt the Hong Kong national security legislation. Pro-Beijing premier Carrie Lam defended China's sweeping national security law before the UN. The Hang Seng index surged after the law's promulgation.
    (AP, 6/30/20)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.31)

2020        Jul 1, In Hong Kong protests against a new national-security law imposed by China on Hong Kong flared up. Thousands attended the illegal protests marking the 23rd anniversary of return to Chinese rule. About 370 people were arrested including ten for violating the security law that came into force at 11 p.m. the day before.
    (AP, 7/2/20)(SFC, 7/2/20, p.A2)
2020        Jul 1, Britain announced that it was extending residency rights for up to 3 million Hong Kongers eligible for the British National Overseas passport, stressing that it would uphold its historic duty to the former British colony after Beijing imposed a sweeping new national security law in the city.
    (AP, 7/1/20)

2020        Jul 2, An anti-China protester in Hong Kong was pulled from a flight to London and arrested on suspicion of stabbing a police officer the day before.
    (Business Insider, 7/2/20)

2020        Jul 8, In Hong Kong Beijing's national security office was inaugurated. Hong Kong's educational bureau announced that schools must not allow students to play, sing or broadcast the protest anthem" Glory to Hong Kong," because it contains political images.
    (SFC, 7/9/20, p.A2)

2020        Jul 9, Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extended visas for Hong Kong residents in response to China's imposition of a tough national security law on the semi-autonomous territory.
    (SFC, 7/10/20, p.A6)

2020        Jul 10, Smoore, China's biggest e-cigarette maker, launched its IPO in Hong Kong. It is now the world's most valuable vape firm, worth around $24 billion. This was a challenge to China's state-owned China Tobacco, which accounted for 6% of government revenues in 2019.
    (Econ., 7/25/20, p.53)

2020        Jul 12, Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents turned up to vote in an unofficial primary election held by the city’s pro-democracy camp as it gears up to field candidates for an upcoming legislative poll.
    (AP, 7/12/20)
2020        Jul 12, Australia's government said that it will offer 10,000 Hong Kong passport holders currently living in Australia a chance to apply for permanent residence once their current passport expires.
    (SFC, 7/13/20, p.A2)

2020        Jul 14, Hong Kong reported over 200 new coronavirus cases in the last week, following nearly a month without a single case. For at least the next week, Hong Kong is closing bars, gyms, playgrounds, pools and entertainment venues, including Hong Kong Disneyland.
    (AP, 7/14/20)
2020        Jul 14, President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and an executive order that he said will hold China accountable for its oppressive actions against the people of Hong Kong.
    (AP, 7/14/20)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.31)

2020        Jul 19, Hong Kong tightened coronavirus restrictions, with non-essential civil servants told to work from home from this week. The global financial hub reported more than 100 cases of the coronavirus, a record number, bringing the city's total to 1,777 including 12 deaths.
    (Reuters, 7/20/20)(SFC, 7/20/20, p.A6)

2020        Jul 20, It was reported that global wealth managers are examining whether their clients in Hong Kong have ties to the city's pro-democracy movement, in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China's new national security law, according to six people with knowledge of the matter.
    (Reuters, 7/20/20)
2020        Jul 20, The British government suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and blocked arms sales to the former British territory following China's imposition of a new national security law.
    (SFC, 7/21/20, p.A3)

2020        Jul 21, Hong Kong reported 61 new coronavirus cases, including 58 that were locally transmitted, adding to a slew of new cases which have hit the global financial hub over the past two weeks.
    (Reuters, 7/21/20)

2020        Jul 23, Hong Kong reported 118 new coronavirus cases, a daily record, including 111 locally transmitted cases, adding to a deluge of new infections that have hit the global financial hub in the past two weeks.
    (Reuters, 7/23/20)

2020        Jul 28, New Zealand said that it will follow the lead of its intelligence allies by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, following China's recent passing of a new security law for the semi-autonomous territory.
    (SFC, 7/29/20, p.A2)
2020        Jul 28, The US-based Recorded Future reported that the Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong have been the targets of alleged Chinese state-backed hackers ahead of September talks on renewal of a landmark 2018 deal that helped thaw diplomatic relations between the Vatican and China.
    (AP, 7/29/20)

2020        Jul 29, Hong Kong reported 118 new coronavirus cases, including 113 that were locally transmitted, as strict new measures including a restriction of gatherings to two people and a ban on restaurant dining, took effect.
    (Reuters, 7/29/20)
2020        Jul 29, Hong Kong detained four students, ages 16 to 21, for "inciting secession" on social media. They included Tony Chung, former leader of Studentlocalism, a protest group that had called for Hong Kong's independence from China.
    (Econ., 8/1/20, p.33)

2020        Jul 30, Hong Kong's government disqualified 12 opposition pro-democracy figures from running in elections. The decision was internationally condemned.
    (South China Morning Post, 7/31/20)
2020        Jul 30, Hong Kong reported 149 new coronavirus cases, a daily record, including 145 that were locally transmitted, with authorities warning the global financial hub faces a critical period as it tries to contain the outbreak.
    (Reuters, 7/30/20)

2020        Jul 31, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced that the government will postpone highly anticipated legislative elections by one year, citing a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Ahead of the announcement a group of 22 lawmakers issued a statement accusing the government of using the outbreak as an excuse to delay the vote.
    (AP, 7/31/20)

2020        Aug 2, Hong Kong reported 125 new infections as authorities tried to find the source of its latest outbreak.
    (AP, 8/2/20)

2020        Aug 3, Hong Kong reported 80 new coronavirus cases, dropping below 100 infections for the first time in 12 days, as a team of Chinese officials began preparations for widespread testing in the global financial hub, which has seen a resurgence in cases.
    (Reuters, 8/3/20)

2020        Aug 7, US treasury department head Steven Mnuchin said the US has imposed sanctions on Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam, and 10 other senior Chinese and Hong Kong officials, in response to the crackdown on free speech and political freedoms in the city.
    (AP, 8/8/20)

2020        Aug 10, The Hong Kong police arrested Jimmy Lai (72), a pro-democracy media tycoon and high-profile critic of the Chinese Communist Party, on charges of violating a sweeping new national security law imposed by Beijing. the Hong Kong Police Force said seven men between the ages of 39 and 72 were arrested on suspicion of breaching the security law. Two of Lai's sons were among those arrested.
    (NY Times, 8/10/20)(The Week, 8/10/20)

2020        Aug 11, Hong Kong supporters of the Apple Daily newspaper lined up to buy an expanded print run in a bid to help the paper survive, a day after police raided its headquarters and detained up to ten people including founder Jimmy Lai.
    (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A4)

2020        Aug 23, Chinese authorities detained 12 Hong Kong activists as they tried to reach Taiwan by speedboat.
    (SSFC, 9/13/20, p.A3)

2020        Aug 24, Hong Kong researchers reported that a 33-year-old man was infected a second time with the coronavirus more than four months after his first bout. This was the first documented case of so-called reinfection. The patient experienced no symptoms from his second infection, indicating his immune system may have learned how to respond.
    (NY Times, 8/25/20)

2020        Aug 26, Hong Kong police arrested 16 people on charges related to ant-government protests last year, including opposition lawmakers Ted Hui and Lam Cheuk-ting.
    (SFC, 8/27/20, p.A2)

2020        Aug 31, Police in Hong Kong used pepper spray and made several arrests as dozens of protesters gathered at a subway station to mark the anniversary of a violent clash last year that stirred accusations of police brutality during anti-government rallies.
    (AP, 8/31/20)

2020        Sep 1, Hong Kong began a free universal coronavirus testing program.
    (SFC, 9/1/20, p.A6)

2020        Sep 4, Seven human rights experts affiliated with the UN raised concerns over Hong Kong’s new national security law in a letter addressed to Chinese authorities, saying the legislation limits certain fundamental freedoms.
    (AP, 9/4/20)

2020        Sep 6, Hong Kong demonstrators returned to the street to protest the city's Beijing-imposed national security law and the government's decision to delay Legislative Council elections for a year. About 290 people were arrested. Police tackled a 12-year old girl to the ground and arrested her on amid a protests against delayed parliamentary elections.
    (AP, 9/6/20)(The Telegraph, 9/7/20)

2020        Sep 8, Nongfu Spring, China's most popular brand of bottled water, went public on Hong Kong's bourse. Zhong Shanshan (b.1954), founded the company in 1966 and became China's 2nd wealthiest person following the IPO.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhong_Shanshan)(Econ., 9/12/20, p.55)

2020        Sep 15, The US issued a sweeping new advisory warning against travel to mainland China and Hong Kong, citing the risk of “arbitrary detention" and “arbitrary enforcement of local laws."
    (AP, 9/15/20)

2020        Sep 24, Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was arrested for "unlawful assembly" related to a 2019 protest against a government ban on face masks - the latest in a series of high-profile arrests as the authorities seek to crack down on the Chinese-ruled city’s pro-democracy movement. Mr Wong was soon released, with a trial date set for September 30.
    (The Telegraph, 9/24/20)

2020        Oct 10, Hong Kong police said they have arrested nine people on suspicion of providing funds and other assistance to a group of 12 who sought to flee the territory by boat in August, but were intercepted by Chinese authorities.
    (SSFC, 10/11/20, p.A2)

2020        Oct 15, Hong Kong police raided the private offices of media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai (71).
    (SFC, 10/16/20, p.A2)

2020        Oct 27, Hong Kong’s new national security unit arrested three pro-democracy activists, including Tony Chung Hon-lam (19), a leading figure of a now-defunct political group that had called for independence. Mr Chung was near the US consulate where he reportedly intended to seek asylum when he was apprehended by police officers.
    (The Telegraph, 10/27/20)

2020        Oct 28, Customs agents in Hong Kong seized 100,000 counterfeit face masks with a market value of $400,000. One manager of a trading company was arrested.
    (SFC, 10/31/20, p.A6)

2020        Nov 3, Hong Kong police arrested Choy Yuk-ling, a prize-winning journalist whose work had exposed the authorities' delayed response to a mob attack on anti-government protesters last year.
    (SFC, 11/4/20, p.A2)

2020        Nov 5, It was reported that Hong Kong police have launched a hotline to report behavior suspected to breach national security as Chinese authorities continue to crack down on dissent in the territory.
    (The Telegraph, 11/5/20)

2020        Nov 11, China moved to quash one of the last vestiges of democracy and dissent in Hong Kong, forcing the ouster of four pro-democracy lawmakers from their elected offices in a purge that prompted the rest of the opposition to vow to resign en masse.
    (NY Times, 11/11/20)

2020        Nov 15, In Hong Kong at least seven people were killed and 11 injured in a fire at an apartment building that may have started at a gathering of people from the city's Nepalese community.
    (AP, 11/15/20)

2020        Nov 18, Hong Kong police arrested three former opposition lawmakers for disrupting legislative meetings several months ago.
    (SFC, 11/19/20, p.A2)

2020        Nov 20, Hong Kong reported a spike in daily coronavirus cases to 26, two days before an arrangement with Singapore to allow a limited number of passengers to fly both ways without having to go through quarantine kicks in.
    (Reuters, 11/20/20)

2020        Nov 23, Hong Kong reported 73 new coronavirus cases as the government warned the epidemic in the densely populated city is rapidly worsening with silent transmission chains feared amid a rise in asymptomatic infections. Hong Kong has recorded 5,702 COVID-19 cases and 108 deaths since the pandemic began.
    (Reuters, 11/23/20)

2020        Dec 1, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam urged residents of the densely populated city to stay at home and avoid unnecessary family gatherings as the global financial hub scrambles to contain a new rise in COVID-19 cases.
    (Reuters, 12/1/20)

2020        Dec 2, Three prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were sentenced to jail for a protest outside police headquarters as authorities stepped up a crackdown on opposition to tighten control by Beijing over the territory: Joshua Wong (13.5 months), Agnes Chow (10 months) and Ivan Lam (7 months).
    (AP, 12/2/20)
2020        Dec 2, In Hong Kong Jimmy Lai (73), the founder of Next Digital, which publishes Hong Kong’s best-selling tabloid, Apple Daily, was arrested late today. He was charged with fraud and denied bail until a court hearing in April. Senior executives Royston Chow and Wong Wai-keung were also arrested, but granted bail.
    (The Telegraph, 12/3/20)
2020        Dec 2, JD Health, a Chinese online pharmacy, raised $3.5 billion in Hong Kong.
    (Econ., 12/12/20, p.63)

2020        Dec 7, Hong Kong authorities arrested 8 people in connection with an unauthorized protest at the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus last month.
    (SFC, 12/8/20, p.A4)
2020        Dec 7, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced sanctions on 14 high-level officials in China's legislature for the body's enforcement of a controversial national security law imposed on Hong Kong.
    (South China Morning Post, 12/8/20)(SFC, 12/9/20, p.A2)

2020        Dec 8, Hong Kong said the city would once again ban dining in restaurants after 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) and close all gyms and beauty salons, to curb a rise in coronavirus cases in the densely packed financial hub.
    (Reuters, 12/8/20)

2020        Dec 10, China said it is imposing restrictions on travel to Hong Kong and Macau by some US officials and others in retaliation for similar measures imposed on Chinese individuals by Washington.
    (AP, 12/10/20)(Reuters, 12/10/20)

2020        Dec 11, City leader Carrie Lam said Hong Kong has ordered 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, split between China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Pfizer/BioNTech, twice the number of its residents.
    (Reuters, 12/11/20)

2020        Dec 23, Hong Kong's Department of Health said a new variant of the novel coronavirus spreading rapidly in Britain appears to have infected two students who returned to Hong Kong from the UK, as the city secured 22.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
    (Reuters, 12/23/20)

2020        Dec 29, The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in the case of Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho (70), a prominent Hong Kong businessman, finding he was properly convicted by a jury in December 2018 of paying bribes to the presidents of Chad and Uganda.
    (AP, 12/29/20)

2020        Dec 30, A Chinese court convicted 10 people from Hong Kong who had tried to flee to Taiwan on a speedboat of crimes relating to illegal border crossing, and sentenced them to up to three years in prison.
    (The Telegraph, 12/30/20)

2020        Dec 31, Hong Kong's highest court revoked media tycoon Jimmy Lai's bail after prosecutors succeeded in asking the judges to send him back to detention. The court said that it was “reasonably arguable" that the previous judge's decision was erroneous and that the order of granting bail was invalid.
    (AP, 12/31/20)

2021        Jan 6, Hong Kong police arrested 55 pro-democracy officials and activists over an effort to choose candidates for city elections. It was the largest roundup since Beijing’s crackdown began. The EU called for their immediate release. 52 people were granted bail on Jan. 8.
    (NY Times, 1/6/21)(AP, 1/6/21)(SFC, 1/9/21, p.A2)
2021        Jan 6, HKChronicles, a Hong Kong website that publishes material mainly related to anti-government protests in 2019, was blocked by the city's internet service providers (ISPs). Hong Kong police had invoked the city's national security law for the first time to block HKChronicles.
    (Reuters, 1/10/21)

2021        Jan 7, Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong's most high-profile democracy activists, who is already serving a 13-and-a-half-month jail sentence for illegal assembly, was arrested again on suspicion of violating the city’s controversial national security law.
    (The Telegraph, 1/7/21)

2021        Jan 10, The foreign ministers of Australia, Britain, Canada and the USA issued a joint statement expressing "serious concern" about the arrest of 55 democracy advocates in Hong Kong last week.
    (SFC, 1/11/21, p.A4)

2021        Jan 11, Hong Kong’s new top judge warned that the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s courts need to show they are impartial amid a flurry of politically charged cases or risk losing public trust.
    (AP, 1/11/21)

2021        Jan 14, Hong Kong internet service provider Hong Kong Broadband Network said it had blocked access to a pro-democracy website to comply with the city’s national security law.
    (AP, 1/14/20)

2021        Jan 15, Chinese lawyer Lu Siwei, who represented a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist, was stripped of his law license amid efforts by Beijing to crush opposition to its tighter control over the territory.
    (AP, 1/15/21)

2021        Jan 18, Hong Kong reported 107 new coronavirus cases, the highest toll in nearly a month as authorities tested thousands of residents after an outbreak in an old residential building located in a busy commercial and residential area last week.
    (Reuters, 1/18/21)

2021        Jan 23, Hong Kong's government locked down an area of Kowloon peninsula after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, saying 10,000 residents must stay home until they have been tested and the results largely determined.
    (Reuters, 1/23/21)

2021        Jan 25, Hong Kong said it has formally approved use of the Fosun Pharma-BioNTech vaccine, the first COVID-19 vaccine to be accepted in the Asian financial hub.
    (Reuters, 1/25/21)

2021        Jan 29, China said it will no longer recognize the British National Overseas passport  as a valid travel document of form of identification. This came hours after the UK said it would begin taking applications for what are called BNO visas beginning late Jan. 31. As many as 5.4 million Hong Kong residents could be eligible to live and work in the UK for five years and then apply for citizenship.
    (SFC, 1/30/21, p.A2)

2021        Jan 31, The United Kingdom opened applications for a new visa scheme that provides eligible Hong Kong residents the right to live, work, and study in the country for five years before eventually applying for citizenship.
    (AP, 1/31/21)

2021        Feb 6, It was reported that Hong Kong has ordered schools to adopt a new national education curriculum that aims to instill "affection for the Chinese people" and weed out teachers who breach a security law imposed by Beijing last year.
    (SFC, 2/6/21, p.A3)

2021        Feb 16, A Hong Kong government advisory panel on COVID-19 vaccines said it would recommend China's Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, a move that brings it a step closer to being formally greenlighted in the Asian financial hub.
    (Reuters, 2/16/21)

2021        Feb 23, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave her clear support to electoral reforms that would likely further exclude opposition voices and cement Beijing’s control over the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s politics.
    (AP, 2/23/21)

2021        Feb 26, Hong Kong began administering its first COVID-19 vaccines to the public, kicking off its program offering free vaccinations to all 7.5 million residents.
    (AP, 2/26/21)

2021        Feb 28, In Hong Kong 47 pro-democracy activists and opposition figures were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, in the largest single crackdown on the opposition under the national security law imposed by Beijing last year.
    (NBC News, 2/28/21)(SFC, 3/1/21, p.A4)
2021        Feb 28, A Hong Kong man (63) died two days after receiving China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine shot. It was uncertain if there was a direct ink between his death and the shot for coronavirus.
    (AP, 3/2/21)

2021        Mar 6, Pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker Martin Liao said China's proposal for Hong Kong electoral reforms could prevent a "dictatorship of the majority." The Chinese parliament is discussing plans to overhaul Hong Kong's electoral system to ensure Beijing loyalists are in charge.
    (Reuters, 3/6/21)

2021        Mar 13, In Hong Kong some law firms and banks faced compulsory testing for coronavirus as most of the 47 news cases recorded today were linked to a gym used by the financial and expatriate community.
    (Reuters, 3/13/21)
2021        Mar 13, Britain's foreign secretary Dominic Raab criticized China for continuing to violate the Sino-British Joint Declaration as Beijing further tightens control over Hong Kong.
    (AP, 3/13/21)

2021        Mar 15, Hong Kong authorities said that the city's vaccine scheme would be widened to include those aged between 30-60 years old and domestic helpers, as they aim to increase take up amongst residents in the Asian financial hub.
    (Reuters, 3/15/21)

2021        Mar 17, The US State Dept. announced sanctions on 24 Chinese officials for undermining Hong Kong's democratic freedoms.
    (SFC, 3/18/21, p.A4)

2021        Mar 24, Hong Kong suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine after its Chinese distributor informed the city that one batch had defective bottle lids.
    (AP, 3/24/21)

2021        Mar 30, China announced the reduction of the number of directly elected seats in Hong Kong's legislature following a 2-day meeting of its top legislature. Hong Kong's legislature will be expanded to 90 seats with only 20 elected by the public.
    (SFC, 3/31/21, p.A2)
2021        Mar 30, Britain accused China of breaching the joint declaration guaranteeing Hong Kong’s freedoms after Beijing passed a law that would bar candidates from elections on the grounds of insufficient patriotism.
    (The Telegraph, 3/30/21)

2021        Apr 1, Seven of Hong Kong’s veteran pro-democracy leaders were found guilty of unauthorized assembly, a verdict seen by their supporters as a severe assault on the freedom of speech and other civil liberties that once were core to the city’s identity.
    (NY Times, 4/1/21)

2021        Apr 13, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai (72) told his staff in a letter from jail that “freedom of speech is a dangerous job” and to “stand tall” just days before he is sentenced in two cases against him.
    (The Telegraph, 4/13/21)

2021        Apr 16, A Hong Kong court sentenced a group of the city's most prominent pro-democracy activists to up to 18 months in prison for organizing a massive unauthorized protest in August 2019 that drew an estimated 1.7 million people. Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai (73) was jailed for 12 months. Four others were jailed for between eight and 18 months.
    (AP, 4/16/21)(The Telegraph, 4/16/21)

2021        Apr 19, The US House passed a resolution to condemn China's government and Hong Kong's regional legislature for "the continued violation of rights and freedoms" in a near-unanimous vote.
    (Axios, 4/19/21)

2021        Apr 20, Hong Kong police said a 19-year-old university student, identified by his family name, Wong, has been arrested in connection to a phone scam that defrauded a Hong Kong woman (90) of $32.8 million. Callers had said they were investigators from mainland China.
    (NY Times, 4/21/21)

2021        May 6, In Hong Kong prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to ten months of additional jail time for participating in an unauthorized vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
    (SFC, 5/7/21, p.A4)

2021        May 17, In Hong Kong Next Digital Ltd shares were suspended after authorities froze assets of its jailed owner Jimmy Lai under a new national security law in Hong Kong, while the tycoon pleaded guilty to taking part in an illegal protest in October 2019.
    (Reuters, 5/17/21)

2021        May 19, The Art Basel contemporary art fair opened in Hong Kong, offering a combination of physical and virtual shows as many art collectors and curators were not able to travel to the city because of COVID-19 restrictions.
    (Reuters, 5/19/21)

2021        May 27, Hong Kong's legislature passed a bill amending electoral laws that drastically reduces the public's ability to vote and increases the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city.
    (SFC, 5/28/21, p.A2)

2021        May 28, Hong Kong authorities sentenced 10 pro-democracy politicians and activists, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, to an extra 14-18 months in prison over a 2019 protest.
    (Axios, 5/28/21)

2021        Jun 5, Hong Kong activist Chow Hang Tung was released on bail, a day after she was detained on suspicion of promoting an unauthorized assembly to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Beijing.
    (Reuters, 6/5/21)

2021        Jun 11, Hong Kong's government said it would begin blocking the distribution of films that are deemed to undermine national security.
    (SFC, 6/12/21, p.A2)

2021        Jun 12, Hong Kong democracy activist Agnes Chow was released from prison on the second anniversary of the city's huge democracy rallies, with police out in force and protests now all but banned.
    (The Telegraph, 6/12/21)

2021        Jun 16, Hundreds of Hong Kong police officers raided the newsroom of Mr. Lai’s defiantly pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, scrutinized journalists’ computers, arrested top editors, froze company accounts and warned readers not to repost some of its articles online.
    (NY Times, 6/16/21)

2021        Jun 21, Hong Kong’s embattled pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily reported that its board of directors has asked authorities to unfreeze some assets so it can pay salaries and avoid labor violations, and that the board will meet again on June 25 to decide if the newspaper will cease operations.
    (AP, 6/21/21)  

2047        Hong Kong’s status as a special administrative Region of China was scheduled to expire. Freedom of the press and free expression were guaranteed during this period.
    (SFC, 9/11/00, p.A12)

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