A huge thanks to Law Council of Australia, the country’s peak national legal body, for speaking out against my Hong Kong disbarment within a day of it being made public. My disbarment is not just about me. It is a reflection of where the Hong Kong legal system is at right now.

Here is my response to being struck off from the roll of Hong Kong Solicitors, which was made public today in the Hong Kong Government Gazette. (Link to Gazette entry: www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/eng...)

I am grateful to Foreign Minister Penny Wong for this. Not all transnational repression are this brazen - they can be quite subtle or even take on airs of due process. I hope the Australian Government will act against all forms of transnational repression. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Great to see @badiucao.bsky.social, Cheng Lei, Kylie Moore-Gilbert and many other friends at Badi’s exhibition at Goldstone Gallery in Melbourne last night!

The HK Government extended the terms of 3 HK Court of Final Appeal non-Permanent Judges by another 3 years. One of them is former Australian High Court Justice William Gummow. His extension at a time when Hong Kong’s crackdown on dissent continues to intensify is highly disappointing.

Tried doing a half marathon race for the first time at the ripe old age of nearly 49! Am pretty slow, but the main thing is to get to the finish line. The road is long, and I’m always that so many of you are running and fighting alongside me.

This piece reminds me of one thing that I often get asked, which is whether China’s current attempts to force-feed “patriotic” propaganda in Hong Kong through education, media and the like would turn HK people into pro-CCP Chinese nationalists, like at least… (1/7) apnews.com/article/hong...

Today marks the 5th anniversary of Hong Kong’s National Security Law. This day 5 years ago, things were going very well for me - I just got promoted from salaried partner to equity partner at an international law firm. 5 years on, I am now a PhD student with a HKNSL bounty over my head. (1/3)

Hong Kong solicitor and democracy movement veteran Albert Ho has had his right to practice as a solicitor suspended for 3 months and ordered to pay HK$180000 in the costs of the Hong Kong Law Society in prosecuting him. He was found to have “engaged in conduct … (1/4)

I have nothing against Jimmy O. Yang talking up Hong Kong (hey, lots of HK shops and eateries are doing it tough), nor his outdated nostalgia about the city he once called home. But I do object to him taking blood money from a repressive regime that caused HK’s doldrums.

Downloading and playing an online game (and paying to play the game and for certain of its settings and features) is now considered national security crimes in Hong Kong. It’s the best advertisement that the makers of the game can have.

On this day 13 years ago, Tiananmen activist Li Wangyang was killed by PRC days after he gave a defiant interview to Hong Kong media. On this day, jailed HK democracy activist Joshua Wong has more trumped up NatSec charges piled on him. RIP Li Wangyang. Free Joshua Wong.

The last time Hong Kong had a water safety scandal, it was Democrat Helena Wong who called the authorities to account and forced them to fix things quickly after they initially tried to fob things off just like now. Helena is now in prison on trumped-up NatSec charges. www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

History will not be forgotten, even if tyrants spent 36 years trying to wipe out all memory and hope. Let us also remember the likes of Hong Kong political prisoner Chow Hang Tung, who is on a 36-hour hunger strike as an act of remembrance. Lest We Forget. #TiananmenMassacre

The Law Society of South Australia has spoken out against attempts to intimidate lawyer Ted Hui, which coincides with Hong Kong’s ruthless authoritarian turn in recent years. I’m not holding my breath for the Law Society of Hong Kong to speak out in my defence.

Great musical with lots of meaning for those of us fighting tyranny. The performance was brilliant. Alas - the lady who sat to my left thought that she was at karaoke, and it was not always easy to block out her at best very ordinary voice and focus on the performance.

I won’t go into details, but I know for a fact that this abusive use of HK tax authorities to go after critics of HK and Chinese governments is not confined to HK-based independent media companies and journalists. hongkongfp.com/2025/05/21/h...

I have been a disillusioned Catholic for a while now, thanks mainly to the Holy See’s caving into China. But compared with the social media tidal wave of “Christians” (they really mean a certain type of … (1/3)

OK - Poilievre has a fellow Conservative giving up their own safe seat to facilitate Poilievre returning to Canadian Parliament. I somehow can’t see anyone in the Coalition party room giving up a safe seat for Dutton to return to Australian Parliament. #auspol #cdnpoli

Donald Trump has now lost elections in Germany, Canada and Australia.

The party that governed and campaigned from the moderate, sensible centre has won the election with a swing towards it. Proud to be Labor. #auspol

Fantastic profile of my mate Ted Hui. And it would be great if Ted can become an Australian parliamentarian! www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/li...

ANZAC Day glorifying war? What? The whole idea of choosing 25 April to commemorate veterans was to remind everyone of the futility and callousness of Empire in using Aussie and Kiwi boys as cannon fodder in Gallipoli. Stop smearing ANZAC Day. www.theage.com.au/politics/vic...

Watch for endless talk of doomsday if Pietro Parolin becomes Pope, with attempts to cast him as “Peter the Roman” in the alleged prophecies of St Malachy.

Life as a person wanted by China/Hong Kong on trumped up political charges is never straightforward, and I would be lying if I were to say that I never feel worn down. But there is no better pick-me-up than going down to the MCG to support my mighty Hawks!

1. This resignation means, amongst other things, that there are now no former Australian High Court Chief Justices serving on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. (1/6)

You know you’re speeding headlong towards authoritarianism when people start spouting “good emperor, bad mandarins” narratives…

One of the stories from Trumpism is that his support from the financial world had tended to come from buy-side guys (eg hedge funds, private equity) while sell-side guys (eg investment bankers) tended to stay neutral or backed Democrats. How idiotic do buy-side guys look now?

“Inspired by Banksy’s subversiveness” tells you everything that is wrong with significant sections of the art world. Tbh Banksy isn’t subversive - he makes moderately edgy points in places where doing so carry no consequences apart … (1/4)

There is bipartisanship in Australian politics on not cosying up geopolitically to authoritarian China (the lease was granted by a territory level conservative government, and neither major party lined the deal at a federal level), even if the US might be less reliable nowadays.

A lesson on businesspeople and authoritarians: businesspeople think they can side with authoritarians to get rid of things that they don’t like (eg workers’ rights, regulations, corporate taxes) while their wealth would keep authoritarians … (1/3) www.reuters.com/markets/view...

NOW THIS IS COURAGE.

This is another case where the 4 local judges are deadlocked 2-2, and on this occasion the Australian judge James Allsop broke the deadlock by siding with Chief Justice Cheung and Justice Ribeiro to convict Lam Cheuk-ting. hongkongfp.com/2025/04/01/b...

So 6 #HongKong officials have been sanctioned by the US for their roles in, amongst other things, the transnational repression of HK democracy activists in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. It is time the UK, Canadian and Australian governments followed suit … (1/4)

Paul Chiang, why don’t you f***ing try having a f***ing bounty placed over your similarly bald (like mine) f***ing head by the world’s biggest authoritarian state and see how you f***ing feel about your c***ish remarks. Your apology is not accepted.

So Chinese antitrust regulators put a hold on Hutchison’s Panama port deal. In addition, subject to working through complex deal and corporate structures and any Stock Exchange Listing Rules issues, under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, … (1/3)

Another strong response from Senator Penny Wong after Ted Hui also got the same sorts of threatening letters that I received. Ted and I are lucky to have the support of Australian Government and media - when are their UK counterparts … (1/2) Weblink: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The fact that Americans seem surprised and disappointed with how big US commercial law firms have caved in the face of Trumpist authoritarianism shows how little Americans have noticed how their corporate and legal titans have behaved overseas. Examples from Hong Kong include the following: (1/4)

Personally I should thank @thetimes.com for letting its British audience know about my plight. But why didn’t it and many of the major UK media cover identical things happening in the UK to @carmenlau.bsky.social and Tong Chung back in February? If there was more noise … (1/3)

Thank you to Melbourne’s The Age for publishing my op-ed on the wider implications for Australia-China relations arising from the latest threats against Hui and me. (1/2) Op-Ed Weblink: www.theage.com.au/national/i-h...

And if you think what the Chinese Communist Party is doing to me is nasty, look at what they’re doing to Ted Hui - they are trying to exploit Australia’s social divisions for transnational repression purposes. Real evil stuff. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

I have no comments on this report save for the following: 1. I thank Senator Penny Wong and Senator James Paterson. 2. I will continue to live my everyday life. 3. I will not voluntarily return to Hong Kong before it is free. 4. I will not kill myself. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Mahmoud Khalil is the Voltairean Test of our time. (FWIW I despise his views) Actually even in self-interest terms Khalil should be defended even by those who have problems with his views. If they can do it to Khalil today, they (or another mob) can do it to you one day too.

It’s time major parties in Australia grasp the historic opportunity of luring world class researchers to Australia, a country with academic freedom (unlike China and parts of Asia), good weather and living environment, lower cost of living, relatively safe cities etc. www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Mediating between police and protesters to try and prevent escalation makes you a rioter in Hong Kong. The absurdity never ends.

The US-led massive stock markets falls across the West may have the unintended (or intended?) impact of making Hong Kong stock market a less unattractive place for new listings, as the post-covid gap between Hong Kong and Western stock markets valuations narrow. www.reuters.com/markets/us/i...

When Taylor Swift chose Singapore over Hong Kong, the face-saving out for Hong Kong back then was that its world-class 50000-seater mega-venue was still being built. But for Lady Gaga to choose SG AFTER HK’s Kai Tak Stadium has opened is a real blow to HK’s prestige.

The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over. The days of rule by unelected kleptocrats have begun.

Some personal news: in accordance with university milestones requirements, one year into my PhD at Melbourne Law School, I am now confirmed as a PhD candidate! I thank my PhD supervisors, supervisory committee chair, and academic assessor. AND I DEDICATE MY PHD TO BENNY TAI.

The last time a US Government deliberately put its economy into a deep recession was when the Fed (before it became more independent as it is now) hiked interest rates in the early days of the Reagan Administration. But this policy had rigorous intellectual foundations in terms of … (1/4)