China strips license of lawyer for Hong Kong activist
A Chinese lawyer who represented a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist was stripped of his law license on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 amid efforts by Beijing to crush opposition to its tighter control over the territory. (Ren Quanniu via AP)TAIPEI โ A Chinese lawyer who represented a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist was stripped of his license amid efforts by Beijing to crush opposition to its tighter control over the territory. They are part of an exodus of Hong Kong residents following Beijing's imposition of a tough new security law they say is destroying the territoryโs Western-style civil liberties. Beijing says the legislation allows Hong Kong to โenjoy more social stability, economic development and greater freedom." Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called the 12 activists โelements attempting to separate Hong Kong from China,โ not democratic activists.
The Latest: Hong Kong re-imposes restaurant dining bans
Hong Kong on Wednesday reported an additional 100 cases, bringing its two-week total to 1,274. Hong Kong has reported a total of 7,075 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, with 112 deaths. The Texas Department of State Health Services also said 9,028 people were hospitalized across the state. Since late November, the new daily cases have soared past 10,000 on several days, with 15,103 new cases reported Tuesday, according to state health officials. ___BOISE, Idaho โ Idaho public health officials abruptly ended a meeting Tuesday evening after the Boise mayor and chief of police said intense anti-mask protests outside the health department building โ as well as outside some health officialsโ homes โ were threatening public safety.
Flag lowered as US departs Chengdu consulate in China
Chinese policemen prepare for duty around a neighborhood sealed off before the official closure of the United States Consulate in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province, Monday, July 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)CHENGDU The American flag has been taken down at a U.S. consulate in southwestern China, according to state media, as officials vacate the premises under order of the Chinese government. State broadcaster CCTV said on its social media account that the flag was lowered at 6:18 a.m. on Monday at the U.S. mission in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan provine. China ordered the closing of the consulate on Friday in retaliation for a U.S. order to close the Chinese Consulate in Houston. A little boy posed with a small Chinese flag before plainclothes police shooed him away as foreign media cameras zoomed in.
Police corral crowds as movers enter US Consulate in China
A bus is guided out of the United States Consulate in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province on Sunday, July 26, 2020. China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. A little boy posed with a small Chinese flag before plainclothes police shooed him away as foreign media cameras zoomed in. China ordered the closing of the Chengdu consulate in retaliation for a U.S. order earlier in the week to close the Chinese Consulate in Houston. The U.S. alleged that the Houston consulate was a nest of Chinese spies who tried to steal data from facilities in Texas, including the Texas A&M medical system and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
China accuses US of improperly entering Houston consulate
Chinese police officers form up in front of the United States Consulate in Chengdu in southwestern China's Sichuan province Saturday, July 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)BEIJING โ Chinaโs foreign ministry complained Saturday that American law enforcement officials improperly entered its consulate in Houston, which was ordered to close in an escalating diplomatic feud. The Trump administration ordered the Houston consulate closed this week, saying Chinese agents tried to steal medical and other research in Texas. โAs for the U.S. sideโs forcible entry into the premises of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston, China expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition,โ said a foreign ministry statement. โChina will make a proper and necessary response to this.โThe statement said that the Houston consulate was Chinese property, and that under diplomatic treaties American officials had no right to enter.
China tells US to close consulate in Chengdu after closure in Houston
BEIJING China on Friday ordered the United States to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu in an increasingly rancorous diplomatic conflict. The order followed the U.S. closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston. WHAT HAPPENED: US orders China to close Houston consulate amid swirling accusations of espionage, theftThe Chinese foreign ministry appealed to Washington to reverse its erroneous decision.The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered the Houston consulate closed within 72 hours. The United States has an embassy in Beijing and consulates in five other mainland cities Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Wuhan. WATCH: Videos show flames, activity in courtyard of Consulate General of China in HoustonEXPLAINED: Most important things to know about whats going on with the Consulate General of China in Houston
China tells US to close Chengdu consulate in growing spat
BEIJING China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. The measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the United States, said a foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin. On Tuesday, the Trump administration ordered the Houston consulate closed within 72 hours. The United States has an embassy in Beijing and consulates in five other mainland cities Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Wuhan. Alongside the eviction of the Houston Chinese Consulate, the risk of the U.S.-China conflict escalating into a Cold War is worrying, Hayaki Narita of Mizuho Bank said in a report.