Hong Kong's democracy supporters were dealt a huge blow Friday as authorities postponed local elections for a year because of the coronavirus, capping a devastating month of political disqualifications, arrests for social media posts and activists fleeing overseas.Chinese state media reported late Friday that Hong Kong police have ordered the arrest of six pro-democracy activists living in exile on suspicion of violating a new national security law.The city's democracy camp has come

Thailand's premier said Tuesday he was "worried" about a burgeoning student movement calling for the dissolution of his government, as pro-democracy protesters plot rallies and other creative displays of dissent across the kingdom.His comments come days after thousands of mostly young, black-clad protesters amassed at Bangkok's Democracy Monument in one of the city's largest shows of defiance in years, shouting vitriolic chants directed at the pro-military establishme

Thousands of mainly young and black-clad Thai protesters converged on Saturday at Bangkok's Democracy Monument as the city's largest and rowdiest anti-government protest in years stretched deep into the night.Thailand, a kingdom whose rambunctious politics is defined by coups and often deadly street protests, is facing an unprecedented economic shock due to the coronavirus pandemic.With the economy in freefall, anger is boiling against a government stacked with elderly former genera

China promised Thursday to take "strong countermeasures" if the US presses ahead with tough new sanctions that target banks over infringements on Hong Kong's autonomy, after Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on the restless financial hub.Beijing has faced a groundswell of criticism from primarily Western nations over its decision to impose a law outlawing acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces in Hong Kong.That includes from Britain, wh

Hong Kong police arrested about 370 people Wednesday - including 10 under China's new national security law - as thousands defied a ban on protests on the anniversary of the city's handover to China.Police used water cannon, pepper spray and tear gas in a series of confrontations with protesters, one day after China drew global criticism for imposing the controversial legislation on the financial hub. Beijing said the law would restore stability after nearly a year of unres

China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong Tuesday, dramatically tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city in a historic move decried by Western nations as a threat to the financial hub's freedoms.Described by Beijing as a "sword" hanging over the heads of those endangering national security, the law took effect hours after it was signed by President Xi Jinping and just six weeks since it was first unveiled.Fed up with pro-democracy protests that rocked t

Thais on Wednesday marked the anniversary of a 1932 revolution which ended absolute monarchy with heavily symbolic events, demanding reforms to a political system dominated by the arch-royalist army.Protesters dressed as soldiers and a pre-dawn holographic display were among the subversive ways activists chose to commemorate Thailand's transition from absolutism to a constitutional monarchy on 24 June, 1932.Marking the revolution has become increasingly taboo under the government of form

China will set up a "national security agency" in Hong Kong to oversee a forthcoming new law aimed at cracking down on dissent in the city, state media said on Saturday.The new law also would override any existing Hong Kong laws that may conflict with it once it is implemented, Xinhua news agency said in a report detailing the draft legislation.The report followed the conclusion of a meeting in Beijing of China's top law-making committee that reviewed draft provisions aimed at

Hong Kong is on a knife’s edge. Once one of Asia’s freest and most open cities, it now faces the spectre of a new China-imposed security law that would curtail its people’s liberties and create a climate of fear. The law is in flagrant breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which is registered at the United Nations (UN), and would open the way for widespread human-rights violations.

On Monday, about 30 activists gathered outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, calling on the Cambodian government to help find pro-democracy Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsksit.