Hong Kong is putting a senior citizen in jail because they disagree with his daughter's political views

"EU deplores the heavy prison sentence of 20 years imposed on British citizen and media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai by the Hong Kong High Court. The EU reiterates its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Jimmy Lai, also in consideration of his advanced age and health condition"

Pressemelding: Straffeutmålingen mot Jimmy Lai Chee-ying hongkongkomiteen.org/press-releas...

Jimmy Lai: Response from his children, Sebastien & Claire, & from the international legal team to this predictable but nonetheless disgraceful sentence. Press queries: see contact details here & please direct queries through them. Thank you.

For further comparison: Liu Xiabo was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for "suspicion of the subversion of state authority" in 2008. He died 8 1/2 years later, when he was 61 years old. Jimmy Lai is currently 78 years old. I sincerely hope he will not transferred to a Mainland Chinese prison.

Xi Jinpings forsøk på å få japanerne til å gå mot statsminister Takaichi ble en spektakulær katastrofe.

Hong Kong Federation of Students has announced plans to disband after 68 years in operation, citing "increasing pressure." In full: buff.ly/DGlI3EE

"Among the Braves" co-author @shibanim.bsky.social disclosed on Twitter today that she's among the more than 300 journalists laid off by the "Washington Post". 😞

I Klassekampen tok Trond Giske til orde for at Norge må få en frihandelsavtale med Kina. Men bakteppet, Mike Carneys tale i Davos, bør få Norge til å prioritere pålitelige partnere og legge vekk ambisjonen om frihandel med et notorisk avtalebrytende diktatur. hongkongsettfranorge.org/2026/01/29/s...

Experts (incl Nobel Prize laureate Maria Ressa & ex-Taiwan digital minister Audrey Tang) warn of threat to democracy from ‘AI bot swarms’ infesting social media Early versions of AI-powered influence operations have been used in the 2024 elections in Taiwan, India and Indonesia.

Trump påstår at regjeringen bestemmer hvem som får fredsprisen. Det er selvsagt tull. Men regjeringen må stilles til ansvar for innblandingen i tildelingen til den kinesiske dissidenten Liu Xiaobo. Regjeringen må ta avstand fra normaliseringserklæringen fra 2016. www.aftenposten.no/meninger/deb...

I den siste har det vært knuter på tråden i Norges forhold til Trump-administrasjonen. I all beskjedenhet har jeg sendt en e-post til Norges ambassadør til USA der jeg formidler et forslag til en erklæring for normalisering av forholdene mellom Norge og USA. hongkongsettfranorge.org/2026/01/21/n...

Our staffer @chloecheung.bsky.social reacts to today's U.K. govt decision to approve #China's mega-embassy at Royal Mint Court in #London: “I’m deeply angry & disappointed at the government’s decision to ignore the opposition of so many..." Full statement: thecfhk.org/cfhk-foundat...

Januar blir en viktig måned for britisk-kinesiske relasjoner. Jeg skriver om dette på debattsidene til Minerva. @gryblekastadalmas.bsky.social www.minerva.no/demokrati-ki...

Tidlig i dag startet sluttprosedyrene i saken der Jimmy Lai ble funnet skyldig i brudd mot Beijings sikkerhetslov for Hongkong. Jeg har skrevet en lang artikkel med bakgrunn og om rettssaken så langt. Artikkelen vil oppdateres når mer informasjon foreligger. hongkongsettfranorge.org/2026/01/12/p...

Residents of Houjiao Village in Guangzhou City, China report that the local government is creating "artificial sandstorms" with heavy construction machinery to force villagers to abandon their homes built on land that the Chinese government is trying to acquire

Chinese consulate security guard in San Francisco arrested after deploying pepper spray on activists holding protest rally.

🔥FLAME OF FREEDOM: @joeysiu.bsky.social reflects on complicated emotions at a difficult time of year for diaspora #HongKongers in exile, and offers thoughts on ways to feel more connected to loved ones in #HongKong. thecfhk.org/for-hong-kon...

Talsmann for Kinas UD i dag: «Vi motsetter oss alle handlinger som strider mot FN-pakten eller truer andre staters suverenitet.» Fra regimet som daglig bryter folkeretten i Sør-Kina-havet, og bistår Russlands krig og overgrep i Ukraina.

34 Labour MPs urge UK government to not retroactively apply new immigration policies regarding English language proficiency and a minimum annual income to British National Overseas (BNO) visa migrants from Hong Kong.

"A free society cannot exist without a media that speaks the truth." laments Apple Daily reader & court watcher Ms Chan, saying that with the loss of Apple Daily, nobody is monitoring society, adding that maybe the Tai Po fire could have been avoided if Apple Daily still existed.

Minst 160 mennesker døde i den tragiske brannen i boligkomplekset Wang Fuk Court i bydelen Tai Po i november. Alle i byen var i sjokk over katastrofens enorme dimensjoner. Bakteppet er dystert: Et system for boligrehabilitering som er preget av korrupsjon. hongkongsettfranorge.org/2025/12/17/d...

Yes, bamboo structures are a thing in Hong Kong; not just bamboo scaffolding.

SPJ condemns Jimmy Lai conviction as press freedom in Hong Kong continues to decline tinyurl.com/5n8satnh #FreeJimmyLai #NSL #HongKong #JimmyLai

New: EU slams verdict in Jimmy Lai trial as "politically motivated and emblematic of the erosion of democracy and fundamental freedoms in HK since the imposition of NSL in 2020" "A free & independent media is vital for resilient societies and ensuring government accountability"

Also new: the EU "condemns" Chinese Coast Guard deploying water cannon and cutting anchor lines against Philippine fishing vessels "EU calls... China to exercise restraint, refrain from use of force or coercion, resolve disputes peacefully, in full respect of international law"

1/2 I dag ble Jimmy Lai funnet skyldig etter Beijings sikkerhetslov for Hongkong, en dom som er lite annet enn uttrykk for Bejiings frykt ytringsfrihet. En dom for å praktisere journalisme. Her er vår pressemelding.

1/3 I natt norsk tid vil Jimmy Lai, Hongkongs fremste frihetsikon, bli funnet skyldig i oppkonstruerte anklager. Dermed vil Jimmy forbli i fengselet til sin død. Jimmy, en rik forretningsmann og mediegründer, visste at dette ville komme. Likevel valgte han å bli, i solidaritet med byens befolkning.

The final nail in the coffin; Hong Kong no longer has any pro-democracy opposition groups left. 2020: Demosisto, HK National Front - disbanded June [2020 National Security Law enacted] 2021: United Democrats of HK - June Civic Passion, HK Professional Teachers' Union - Sep

I 2023 ga jeg ut boken Europa uten USA? Antiamerikanismen og dens følger. Muligens enda mer aktuell nå. Signerte eksemplarer selges direkte av meg for 300. Følg lenken for info om denne og mine andre bøker. Lover at dette er siste boksalgmas i år ;-). snoen.substack.com/p/mine-bker

Today is Human Rights Day. Human rights are eroding across the globe, yet governments, businesses, and the media are talking about them less. History has made one thing clear: sidelining people's desire for freedom, dignity and equality is always a mistake.

De juger om alt, absolutt alt, også ting som er lett å motbevise.

A unprecedented expenditure of public funds to promote yesterday's "elections" in Hong Kong, for the second lowest voter turnout on record and lowest number of votes cast.

Oh hey! It's @antd.bsky.social ! (He really needs to come visit Bluesky more often) www.theguardian.com/world/commen...

The EU has quietly renewed its sanctions on four Chinese officials and one organisation for their role in human rights violations in Xinjiang - procedural move, done last week without fanfare along with other sanctions rollovers - via @engineroglu_fw

so-called ☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️ strongly condemn ☑️ strongly disapprove ☑️ smear ☑️☑️ despicable ☑️ baseless ☑️ absurd ☑️ untrue ☑️ fact-twisting ☑️ blatant hypocrisy and double standard ☑️ endangering national security ☑️☑️ stop interfering in internal affairs of China ☑️ www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...

A reminder that in 2019, Tai Po has the city's largest Lennon Wall, and the government tore it down.

#Taiwan’s representative in #Finland has just performed on stage in a bit of metal diplomacy. Apparently his wife was on bass. All other diplomats watch and learn. ;-) m.youtube.com/shorts/rADk5...

The owner of a major Chinese drone parts supplier has taken a stake in one of Russia’s leading drone companies, highlighting a deepening relationship between Moscow and Beijing’s military-industrial complexes. on.ft.com/3MueoBn

Trump og Hegseth synes det er artig å henrette påståtte narkosmuglere uten lov og dom i dataspillet sitt, og truer Venezuela med krig av samme grunn, samtidig som Trump benåder en dømt narkobaron fra Honduras. Han har vel husket å si "thank you". www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...

They should arrest themselves because their brains have obviously seceded from their bodies

The HK pro-democracy camp recognised what the Chinese Communist Party ironically did not want to admit publicly - livelihood issues *are* political

NEW:🦁The Lion Rock spirit in action: hongkongfp.com/2025/11/28/g... #hongkong @hongkongfp.com A grassroots relief effort has sprung to life across Tai Po, and online, as Hongkongers rally to volunteer, offer food, shelter and clothing to the victims of the #TaiPo fire tragedy.

A Vantor handout satellite image taken on November 22, 2025, shows Tai Po's Wang Fuk Court before a major fire swept through several blocks at the complex. The bottom image, taken on Thursday, shows smoke rising from apartments during the blaze. Photo: AFP/©2025 Vantor." In full: buff.ly/RSwXkVU

International media, you can do better than this. "Bamboo" is maybe exotic and a compelling hook but it is too easy. The real story here is the growing culture of corruption, including a lack of accountability and oversight, that enabled a chain of human errors that led to this disaster.

Japans nye statsminister Sanae Takaichi holder forbindelsen til myndighetene i Taipei varm. Hun har uttalt at en militær konflikt som truer Taiwans selvstendighet kan komme til å bli en eksistensiell trussel for Japan. Til Beijings vrede. hongkongsettfranorge.org/2025/11/19/j...

1/2 Regjeringen ville ha i pose og sekk. Det gikk ikke. Så de er «uenige»… www.nrk.no/nyheter/eu-v...

Mamdani is going to implement Aria law. Everyone will be able to sing for their scrambled eggs instead of paying cash. Sriracha available on request.

Dagens dobbel! Spørsmålet om opprinnelsen til SARS-CoV-2-viruset har fått fornyet interesse i det offentlige ordsikftet i Norge de siste månedene. Jeg har skrevet to relaterte innlegg, begge ble publisert i dag. 1. Sensur fra Beijing mørklegger koronavirusdebatten www.minerva.no/kina-koronav...

VDL: "We are in an era of geoeconomics" Viktig tale om EUs planer for kursendring. Risikoen er som vanlig at EUs konsensuskrav gir betydelig forsinkelse eller manglende oppfølging. Tråd ⏬ @europabevegelsen.bsky.social @altinget.bsky.social @ingridskovdahl.bsky.social @jettefc.bsky.social