Hong Kong's top court rejected an appeal by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to overturn the permission to allow a UK barrister to represent Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned owner of Next Digital Media, in an upcoming national security trial, which is seen as a disappointing result.

The top court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday reserved a ruling on local prosecutors' last-ditch attempt to prevent jailed Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying from hiring a UK lawyer for his upcoming high-profile national security trial.

Officials and experts on the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are working together to treat the seriously ill giant panda Tuan Tuan despite the strained situation across the Straits since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reckless visit to the island in early August. Authorities on the mainland are helping two experts from the mainland to go to Taiwan island as soon as possible to help treat Tuan Tuan, a mainland official said Friday.

Newly joined teachers and those who eye on a promotion in all the publicly-funded schools in Hong Kong are required to join a study tour to the Chinese mainland, Secretary for Education told local media on Saturday.

In a report made by Xi Jinping to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which started on October 16 in Beijing, Xi stressed upholding and improving the One Country, Two Systems policy, saying that the policy is a great innovation of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and must be adhered to over the long term. Officials in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong said that the report provides fundamental guidelines for Hong Kong and Macao-related work. Over the last few years, Hong Kong has experienced unprecedented challenges and witnessed many changes. Global Times reporters Chen Qingqing and Bai Yunyi recently interviewed Lau Siu-kai, vice president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, who is also a senior policy advisor on Hong Kong affairs. Lau, talked about why it's time for Hong Kong residents to learn about the Party correctly, comprehensively, and objectively.

As the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened on Sunday in Beijing, people of all walks of life in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) are not only paying more attention to the event that carries historic political significance for the entire Chinese nation, but also intently studying the important political agenda of the CPC with great interests, in a marked shift from previous years.

​Secondary schools in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) will change the name of the "life and society" course to "citizenship, economics and society," and strengthen national security education and the understanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law, said the Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB) on Wednesday.

Some Taiwan-based media, citing secessionist observers, welcomed the US idea on Monday, saying that stockpiling weapons in Taiwan island would be a "logistical asset," as they can immediately be obtained from the depot, without waiting for weeks to get them.

Chinese mainland officials and experts blasted Taiwan's secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for twisting the nature of cross-Straits relations, hyping "mainland threat" and colluding with external forces to seek secession, an attempt they believed is daydreaming and will be doomed to fail, in response to a provocative so-called "Double Ten" speech made by Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen on Monday.

The US government has been exerting pressure on Asian countries and regions, especially China's Taiwan region, to hobble the Chinese mainland's chip industries after the US' efforts to lure Asian chip companies away from Chinese mainland markets had proved unsuccessful. In particular, the US is eyeing Taiwan island as a "sally port" to meet its ends, and some Taiwan politicians have showed an inclination to comply with US orders under the latter's pressure.

With the US' so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy getting more aggressive, countries in Asia including China and North Korea appear on high alert ahead of US Vice President Kamala Harris' first official visit to Japan and South Korea in the wake of what is called a fourth instance in which President Joe Biden committed to defending the island of Taiwan from a "potential attack" from the Chinese mainland.

Only by returning to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus can peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait be effectively ensured, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday after a media report claimed the US is considering sanctioning China to "deter it from invading Taiwan."

The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will consider a draft of the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022, which is described as the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy toward China's Taiwan region since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. Chinese experts warned that if the bill passes, it will lead to the complete elimination of the US' "one-China policy," and that China will take strong countermeasures.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry urged US politicians to immediately stop any form of official exchanges with China's Taiwan region, and stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists, in response to the ongoing trip by a US bipartisan delegation led by Representative Stephanie Murphy, vice chair of the House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations.

A few days after US-based Boeing Co sealed an aircraft deal worth $4.6 billion with Taiwan island's largest airline to replace aging Airbus planes, a French Senate delegation was reportedly about to start a visit to the island next week, as observers said the salespeople-like politicians aim to squeeze profits from the secessionist Taiwan authorities, who conventionally pursue those countries' "support" by offering economic incentives in any form.

The US on Sunday, more than 20 days after the PLA's massive drills encircled Taiwan island to respond to the provocative visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island, sent two Ticonderoga-class cruisers to sail through Taiwan Straits, with the PLA announced that the entire passage of the US warships have been monitored and everything is under control.

After China-US relations seriously worsen due to the provocative trip to Taiwan made by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this month, Washington, instead of reflecting on its own mistakes and correcting them, continues to provoke China with the latest reported trip by US lawmakers to Taiwan on Thursday night. It keeps its chicanery and tries to make the world believe that China's legitimate actions, including military drills that encircled the island, to safeguard its sovereignty are "overreaction," and to cover the fact that it was the US who ignored China's repeated serious warnings to damage the regional peace and stability to serve Washington's selfish and hegemonic anti-China strategy. China on Thursday released 11 facts to clearly refute the US lies and reaffirmed China's rights to take military countermeasures.

After issuing "a letter to Taiwan compatriots," Chinese embassy in Cambodia has received more than 10 requests for help from Taiwan people via telephone and email, most of whom are forced to engage in online gambling, telecommunications fraud and subject to personal restrictions, or have even lost contact, the embassy told the Global Times exclusively on Thursday.

In the context of the great power game between China and the US, the situation across the Taiwan Straits has entered a more dangerous and fragile new stage featuring long-term confrontation, experts on the Taiwan question said. They noted that the new stage would also be a preparation and transition period for the mainland to further create conditions for the final settlement of the Taiwan question.

Six former employees of Hong Kong's secessionist media Apple Daily are going to plead guilty on the charge of violating the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong, according to the court's hearing on Monday. They faced charges of colluding with foreign forces to jeopardize national security, as well as printing, publishing, distributing, displaying, or copying inflammatory publications.

The governor of Indiana's visit to the island of Taiwan shows a toxic trend of US politicians using Taiwan as a pawn after US house speaker Nancy Pelosi's provocative visit to this island earlier this month, said Chinese experts.

"Taiwan compatriots are Chinese citizens, so if you have any difficulties, please contact the embassy," Chinese Embassy in Cambodia told the Taiwan compatriots after some of them were reportedly forced to join online gambling, telecommunications fraud and other illegal activities and have been subjected to movement restriction in Cambodia.

Keiji Furuya, head of a bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers working to advance so-called relations with the island of Taiwan, is reportedly planning a visit to the island next week, amid heightened cross-Straits tensions as the result of a provocative visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and on the heels of a sudden visit to the island of Taiwan by a US congressional delegation led by US Senator Ed Markey on Sunday.

Chinese Ambassador to the US said that China is handling the "serious fallout" from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's highly provocative visit to China's Taiwan region despite China's firm opposition and repeated representations, urging the US to draw lessons from it and stop its words and actions that would escalate the tension.

People arriving in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) from overseas will be required to be quarantined in designated hotels for three days instead of seven, starting from Friday, HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee announced at a news conference on Monday.

Chinese netizens have swarmed to social media to express firm and full support for and confidence in the central government's measures to tackle the US after Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday announced countermeasures against the US' provocation and sanctions against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi due to her Taiwan island visit.

Chinese netizens on Friday heatedly discussed the detailed maps of Taiwan island cities provided by Baidu and Gaode map services, which allegedly became newly available since Thursday, the day the People's Liberation Army kicked off live-fire missile drills surrounding the island following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reckless visit to the island.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Mission to the EU on Thursday slammed the statement of the G7 foreign ministers and the EU high representative over China's Taiwan region following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island, saying it is “ugly” and “shameless,” and is reminiscent of the “Eight-Power Allied Forces” that invaded China a hundred years ago.

Chinese authorities announced Wednesday that a number of diehard “Taiwan secessionist” individuals, two funds, and multiple companies related to secessionist activities will be punished in accordance with the law, after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan island Tuesday night in disregard of stern warnings from China, a visit that has sent a wrong message to “Taiwan independence” forces and has escalated the tension across the Taiwan Straits.

The intensity of the situation across the Taiwan Straits has drastically escalated as the military deployment from the Chinese mainland, US and the island of Taiwan continues creeping up, after US and Taiwan-based media disclosed that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit the island on Tuesday night, a serious provocation and violation to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity which would be met with severe countermeasures from the Chinese military.

If anyone tries to separate the island of Taiwan from the country, if anyone wants to challenge China's bottom line, Chinese military will take forceful measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese Ambassador to the US told at a recent event.

While US government officials remain divided over the still unannounced Taiwan trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said he would visit the island with her. Chinese observers believe that Pompeo is pinning his hopes on "making a mess" and fanning the flames of Pelosi's unannounced visit in order to politically rise again for the 2024 presidential election, but as the two are completely opposed on most domestic issues, it's impossible for Pompeo and Pelosi to visit Taiwan island together.

Anyone who dares to challenge the bottom-line of the “one country, two systems”, to and assume an anti-China stance and instigate riots in Hong Kong and in Macao will be severely punished, Xia o Baolong, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, told said at a panel discussion in studying Chinese President Xi Jinping's latest speech in Hong Kong on Monday.

The Patriotic Education Center established by the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers – the largest teachers union in the city – was officially launched on Saturday with the aim of promoting patriotic and national security education. Industry representatives said pushing forward the patriotic education tops the agenda of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government with more measures expected to be rolled out.

​Ahead of the first Executive Council meeting held by the sixth-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, John Lee Ka-chiu, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR government, along with the 16 senior unofficial members, met the press, vowing to work on issues such as shortening the quarantine period for arrivals and accelerating the supply of public housing.

Bidding farewell to the era of saying "Yes, Sir!" in English, the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) will embrace more new changes starting Friday, from taking Chinese-style marching, to new uniforms for counterterrorism units, and equipping officers with domestically produced anti-riot vehicles - all of which have been hailed by the Chinese people as they recalled the historical moment 25 years ago when the city's defense was handed over back to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), washing away a century of humiliation from the West.

President Xi Jinping arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) by train on Thursday afternoon to inspect the city and attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of the city's return to the motherland.

Taiwan island officials attempted to sneak into the United Nations Ocean Conference on Monday by hiding in the Tuvalu delegation but failed. Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at Wednesday's media briefing that stooping to join the entourage of a foreign country in order to tag along and wedge into the United Nations Ocean Conference only brings disgrace to themselves.

Over the past 25 years, the country has been treating Hong Kong very well, but some in Hong Kong do not feel grateful for that, and now they have to understand it and be grateful for the care shown by 1.4 billion compatriots, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, the president of the first-term Legislative Council after the city returned to the motherland, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview. Over the past years, Hong Kong made achievements not by itself but they are backed by the country's overall strength, she said.

Hong Kong has to walk on a path of democracy that fits its own, and the essence of the universal suffrage in the election of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and a Chief Executive is a procedural matter of how a governing team generates. While the democracy has multiple aspects, it is not just a question of how the leadership arises but to the general public, any political system needs to fix economic and livelihood issues that people concern the most, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, the chairperson of the New People's Party, who was also appointed recently as convener of the Executive Council (ExCo) meeting of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

On the day marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, some officials of the sixth-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will be sworn in. Recently, the State Council approved the list of key officials proposed by the sixth-term chief executive of the HKSAR government, and veteran official Paul Chan Mo-po will continue serving as Financial Secretary.

On the day marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, some officials of the sixth-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will be sworn in. Recently, China's State Council approved the list of key officials proposed by the sixth-term chief executive of the HKSAR government, and veteran official Chris Tang Ping-keung will continue serving as Secretary for Security.

Malcolm Clarke, a two-time Oscar winner for best short documentary and a 16-time Emmy winner, has made a series of documentaries on the year of social turmoil in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 2019, triggered by the anti-extradition movement. These documentaries, in sharp contrast to the mainstream narrative about Hong Kong in the West, have won applause from netizens and observers in the city for presenting what happened three years ago with an unbiased perspective. In a new interview with Hong Kong media outlet hk01.com, Clarke said that he was angry and disappointed at the biased coverage of the movement in the Western narrative about the chaos. The site started to air the documentaries Hong Kong Returns starting on Thursday, featuring 10 episodes focusing on different scenarios during the social turmoil in 2019. The UK director, who used to work at the BBC, said that the movement was simplified by European and US media outlets, which described it as “a group of courageous young people seeking democracy against an authoritarian China.”

A US-made S-70C anti-submarine helicopter with over 30 years of service crashed in Taiwan island on Wednesday, injuring four local officers and killing one.

The Office of the Chief Executive-elect was unveiled on Wednesday together with the list of the new Executive Council (Exco) meeting members, and among 16 non-official members, nine will continue serve the position and Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, the chairperson of the New People's Party, will serve as the convener of the meeting. The nomination is expected to take effect from July 1.

With the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) being ranked as the fifth most competitive place in the world in the latest World Competitiveness Yearbook released on Wednesday, the HKSAR government said the city's competitiveness is underpinned by its institutional strengths under the “one country, two systems” principle.

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland on July 1, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Carrie Lam vowed on Tuesday to make every effort to control the local epidemic and create favorable conditions for leaders of the central government to visit.

Astonishment and ridicule broke out on the island of Taiwan on Friday, after a Slovakian delegation of politicians staged a mock scuffle in the island's "legislature" inspired by the local politicians. Despite the Slovakian politicians' "sense of humor" was forcefully explained as a friendly gesture by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, most of the local residents saw it as an offensive and embarrassing scoff to the island's "kung fu democracy."

The approval rating of Taiwan's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen has dropped to a historic low since the start of her second term, as the island's COVID-19 mortality rate broke through the warning line of one in 1,000. Chinese mainland experts said for the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP）, which has long touted its success in COVID-19 control, the failure in the ongoing outbreak has made it a joke.

TV commentator Wang Rui-de on the island of Taiwan was mocked by netizens on both sides of the Straits after he claimed that "the missiles from the mainland would not be able to hit eastern Taiwan as the Earth is round."

The practice of the “one country, two systems” principle is universally recognized as successful, providing the best guarantee for Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability. Only when there's stability, the city can see further development, John Lee Ka-chiu, the newly appointed sixth-term chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said in a latest article.

China needs to be alert to Japan's escalation of substantive engagement with Taiwan secessionist authorities and the possibility of the island becoming a new intelligence stronghold against the Chinese mainland, Chinese experts said on Sunday, following Japanese media's reports that Japan has decided to send active-duty military staff to the island of Taiwan for the first time.

With no suspense, the World Health Assembly (WHA) - the decision-making body of the WHO - rejected the proposal of inviting the island of Taiwan to the WHA as an observer for the sixth consecutive year, as any ill-intentioned attempt to use the occasion to deceive the international community and play political tricks to challenge the one-China principle will end up in vain.

The regional leader of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen marked her 6th year in office on Friday amid a COVID fiasco and sinking approval rate, which observers viewed as a full exposure of the secessionist's incompetence and neglect of people's livelihoods.

COVID-19 cases have exceeded one million in the island of Taiwan, but Washington and Taiwan authorities still focus on playing political games to advocate for the World Health Organization (WHO) to invite the island of Taiwan to participate as an observer at the World Health Assembly, which sparked a backlash on the island with netizens slamming island authorities' incompetence.

Hong Kong Chief Executive-elect John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled a local government restructuring plan on Tuesday, including adding new positions such as deputy financial secretary, deputy chief secretary for administration, and deputy secretary of justice, and expanding 13 bureaus to 15, aiming to enhance the governance efficiency.

Taiwan authorities kicked off their annual Han Kuang military exercise on Monday. However, while attempting to attract attention with scenarios drawn from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the first phase of the war games, an "all-out defense" computer simulation, will surprisingly be changed this year into a map-based one, a less accurate and objective format without a final outcome, which experts said reflects a lack of confidence of the Taiwan military and is self-deceiving.

Hongkongers see double standard in UK's forcing through new anti-protest offences

The day after John Lee Ka-chiu won the Hong Kong chief executive (CE) election on Sunday with the highest votes, he met with incumbent CE Carrie Lam, President of the Legislative Council Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen and Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Andrew Cheung Kui-nung before paying a visit to the four central government offices in Hong Kong on Monday afternoon.

In two days, 1,461 Election Committee members in Hong Kong are expected to cast their votes at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai as the sole candidate John Lee Ka-chiu is aiming for the city's top job.

About a week after US cancelled its first arms deal to Taiwan authorities under the Biden administration, the island announced to abandon the plan to buy anti-submarine warfare helicopter from the US as "the price is too high." The seemingly-surprising snub attracted observer speculation that the secessionists Democratic Progressive Party is somehow at odds with Biden administration due to the divergence in interests.

The latest US effort to help separatist forces on the island of Taiwan "regain observer status" at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the WHO, will prove futile again, just like how numerous political stunts pulled by the separatists over the past five years failed to achieve any meaningful results, Chinese experts said on Thursday.

The suspension of the YouTube account of John Lee Ka-chiu, the only candidate for Hong Kong's Chief Executive Election, sparked discussions in Hong Kong about whether it's necessary to come up with countermeasures - for example, by introducing the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law into China's Special Administrative Region (SAR). As the suspension came after US sanctions on Chinese officials on Hong Kong affairs, some experts said the sanctions could be a badge of honor for true patriots, who will not be deterred by those unilateral moves.

The Election Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced on Monday the only validly nominated candidate - John Lee Ka-chiu - for the upcoming Chief Executive election, who told reporters that if he is elected, he will immediately launch the work aimed for border reopening with the Chinese mainland.

About a week after the farce of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's aborted plan to reportedly visit Taiwan, a delegation composed of six US congressmen from the military, intelligence, foreign affairs, justice and finance committees arrived on Taiwan island, kicking off a stopover that analysts said targets the Chinese mainland with the Taiwan card and boosts more military sales to the island by hyping "mainland threats."

Spokesperson of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the US' so-called 2021 Human Rights Reports, which again pointed fingers at Hong Kong affairs, smeared the National Security Law for Hong Kong and the new electoral system, slandered the SAR governance and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs.

Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council on Wednesday denounced the collusion of Taiwan secessionists Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority and the US, urging them to stop provocation against the one-China principle. The comments came following the recent US arms sale, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's possible Taiwan tour as well as DPP's hostile move against mainland enterprises.

After meeting with about 100 Election Committee members online and listened to their feedback about the government's future policies , John Lee Ka-chiu said he had secured more than 700 nominations as of 6 pm Tuesday. The former chief secretary for the administration, who is now running in the upcoming chief executive election, also highlighted the national security legislation before he planned to submit his nomination form to the Electoral Affairs Commission on Wednesday.

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) refuted on Wednesday the inaccurate statements that questioned the independence and impartiality of judges after the resignation of the President and the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom who served as non-permanent judges (NPJs) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA), stressing that the judicial independence in the region is constitutionally guaranteed by the Basic Law.

A team of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts from the mainland arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday in response to a request by the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The team will visit makeshift hospitals and care homes for the elderly to advise on epidemic prevention and plan treatments with local experts.

Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), sent condolences to the family members of those who passed away due to COVID-19, stressing the necessity of carrying out a comprehensive review on response to such large-scale public crisis and that she remained open to a review committee, according to a press conference on Sunday.

The Taiwan chip industry is facing a historic foreign capital flight amid the escalating tense situation in the Taiwan Straits sparked by Taiwan regional leaders, combined with the potential risks of a supply chain cutoff due to the ongoing tensions in Europe.

Some politicians in Japan are openly colluding with Taiwan secessionists and pointing fingers at the Taiwan question, which China is firmly opposed to and strongly dissatisfied with, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, noting that China has lodged solemn representations with Japan after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen spoke on Tuesday.

In light of developments and changes in the situation, China will strengthen the use of the rule of law to combat Taiwan secessionist forces and advance the process of national reunification, Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday, in response to a question regarding the proposal submitted by a political advisor during the just concluded two sessions that suggests the country formulate a law on national reunification to deter Taiwan secessionists.

As the media and politicians hype that the Ukraine story “may become that of tomorrow's Taiwan,” the island's external affairs department claimed in a report Thursday that the Chinese mainland will pay a “painful price” if it takes “military actions” against Taiwan. Experts said that although the Taiwan question, which is China's internal affair, and the Ukraine crisis are different in nature, Taiwan secessionists should know that it is nothing but a US pawn to be discarded at any time.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HSAR) government had submitted request to the mainland to dispatch medical teams to aid Hong Kong for dealing with severe COVID-19 cases and boost efficiency of treating patients among public hospitals, Carrie Lam, chief executive of the SAR government, announced Wednesday.

As cross-Straits relations now face greater risks and more challenges from increasingly arrogant Taiwan secessionists and brutal interference from the US government, Zhang Lianqi, a member of the Standing Committee of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, said he will submit a proposal that suggests the country formulate a law on national reunification during the upcoming two sessions.

Taiwan media have stopped cheering the latest US bipartisan delegation dispatched to the island after noticing a "lack of respect" and "inappropriate" attire from a former US senior official. Taiwan's secessionists Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority, which always toes Washington's line, has yet to make comments on the issue.

The first freight train from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong carrying anti-epidemic supplies, including more than 1.1million COVID-19 testing kits and 10,000 protective garments, was launched on Wednesday, providing aid to the city amid rising infections and panic purchase among residents.

The Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has urged certain politicians to end their political publicity stunts over Hong Kong affairs, respect facts and refrain from further political grandstanding. The spokesperson of the Commissioner's Office strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected the statement of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China and misleading remarks of a few American politicians for making a case for anti-China elements in Hong Kong. “They clamored for sanctions against Chinese officials in addition to slamming the Central Government's policy towards Hong Kong and the national security law.”

Hong Kong has been recording surging COVID-19 infections in recent days, heavily weighing on its local public health system, regarding which Fan Hung-ling, chairman of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Hong Kong society acknowledged shortcomings in dealing with the epidemic ahead of the fifth wave, and the city has to learn from the Chinese mainland in its dynamic zero-COVID policy in tracking patients, increasing medical resources like temporary hospitals, and rigorously carrying out quarantine measures.

The Chinese mainland sent its first batch of experts on Thursday to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), one day after instructions from President Xi Jinping were reported to aid Hong Kong in the fight against the surging COVID-19 epidemic in the city, which reported 6,116 confirmed cases on Thursday.

A Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopter of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was spotted for the first time near the island of Taiwan on Wednesday, apparently operating from a warship sailing in the region, as Chinese mainland experts said Thursday that the PLA's routine drills near Taiwan likely often feature joint operations of aircraft and vessels, but the defense authority on the island only reported aircraft but failed to track vessels.

The Liaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong said in a Wednesday statement that it will implement the instructions of Chinese President Xi Jinping on the COVID-19 control work in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and will fully support the government's anti-epidemic fight amid a fresh surge in the city, which reported over 4,000 new cases on Wednesday.

​Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government should prioritize the task to control its local COVID-19 epidemic, and central government departments and other local governments should fully support and help Hong Kong in anti-epidemic work, Hong Kong media reported.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that the government has mobilized everything it can to fight the epidemic, including the arrangement of isolation facilities and testing kits, saying that it is not an option to surrender to the COVID-19 virus. Her remarks come as the city recorded 2,071 new confirmed cases and about 4,500 preliminary positive cases on Monday amid the latest COVID-19 flare-up.

As tensions rise in Ukraine and attract the world's attention, Taiwan, an island that has been largely ignored for a while, has begun to link its discourse to the Ukrainian crisis, along with collaboration from some US officials who recently claimed that the Biden administration believes that the US' response to the Ukrainian crisis would be seen as a "proxy" for how it would respond to the Taiwan question. Chinese experts pointed out Tuesday that the US and the Taiwan authority's hype is nothing but a game of political calculations as the island needs to assuage its anxieties about being a pawn that could be discarded by the US, while Washington, now less powerful, wants to make more economic and military gains by fabricating a war crisis.

At request of the Hong Kong SAR government, the Guangdong government has deployed liaisons to learn about the city's need to improve testing and experts from the province said that they would offer help after Chief Executive Carrie Lam asked for help as the city sees record-high daily increases of coronavirus cases influenced by the Omicron variant.

This is supposed to be the time for family reunion and Spring Festival shopping as the grandest festival for Chinese people is less than a week away. However, Taiwan residents are facing an acute egg shortage and rising prices.

Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday said it is "deeply shocked" and "strongly opposes" Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa's plan to establish a representative office on the island of Taiwan.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Monday reaffirmed that Taiwan is China's sacred territory and China has indisputable sovereignty over the island. This is the premise and starting point for discussing all issues concerning Taiwan, he added.

Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung vowed to fully support further regulations on fake news, as some media outlets had played the inflammatory role in the past few years in instigating social conflicts.

No matter how hard US-led Western forces such as politicians and media outlets try to distort law enforcement on Hong Kong news site Stand News and use so-called freedom of the press to slander Chinese authorities, their ill-intentioned attempts won't change the fact that the site is suspected to have violated local laws, and Chinese authorities, including the HKSAR government, will spare no efforts to safeguard national security. Such resolute determination only makes foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs much weaker, even trivial, experts said.

After the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) arrested seven people on suspicion of sedition on Wednesday and searched the offices of Stand News in Kwun Tong, the online news site announced it would cease operations after police froze HK$61 million ($7.82 million) of its assets. Some senior executives and former senior executives of the news site such as the former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and a board member Denise Ho, who is also an infamous secessionist singer, were among the arrestees, on the charge of colluding and publishing multiple inflammatory articles.

The Lin Rui-yang case is a business-related matter and has nothing to do with relations across the Taiwan Straits, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday, after the Taiwan entrepreneur's company was reportedly under investigation for suspected pyramid selling.

After Hong Kong concluded a successful Legislative Council (LegCo) election, G7, EU and Five Eyes alliance could not wait to point a finger at it, which was considered as a staged political farce and a scene of "crying foul" after the West-led cliques completely lost the battle to contain China by interfering in Hong Kong affairs, experts and officials said. They noted that using so-called democracy as cover for such an ill-intentioned attempt is their last fig leaf as China wields an anti-interference battle.

Shortly after the Legislative Council (LegCo) election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) concluded on Monday morning with all 90 seats elected, the Chinese central government released a white paper on Monday titled Hong Kong: Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems, which stresses that there is no question that the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government designed, created, safeguarded and pushed forward Hong Kong's democratic system.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam will be visiting Beijing from Monday to Thursday for this year's duty visit to report to the central government leaders on Hong Kong's status. Speaking at a news conference on Monday morning, Lam noted that her 2020's duty visit was postponed and was held virtually in January 2021.

As some Western media outlets, along with secessionists like Nathan Law Kwun Chung and Ted Hui Chi-fung, questioned the legitimacy of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) elections by hyping the absence of pan-democratic candidates, Tik Chi-yuen, former vice chairman and founding member of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview that as a candidate from the opposition camp who had been nominated and supported by pro-establishment figures, his participation in the election fully shows that the central government is expecting a diverse LegCo with broad representation.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) sued two people on Thursday for reposting a post of Ted Hui Chi-fung, the absconded former opposition lawmaker, which was instigating others to cast blank votes in the upcoming LegCo election. It was also the first time to bring up such new offense since the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance amendment in May. Legal experts in Hong Kong pointed out that the case also showed that relevant regulations play a role of deterrence, and such determined law enforcement could stop anti-government rioters from manipulating the election.