China appears ready to grant visas to Hong Kong democracy activists long barred from entering the mainland, a fresh sign of a thaw in frosty relations between Beijing and the city's pro-democracy camp.
In another conciliatory move, Chinese officials also initiated a friendly meeting with Joseph Zen (
Quoting unidentified sources, the Hong Kong Economic Times and Ming Pao dailies reported yesterday that China would soon issue visas to some Hong Kong democracy advocates in a goodwill move. The newspapers gave no names.
Beijing's top envoy in Hong Kong was also reported as saying that granting such visas was now a possibility.
Newspapers quoted Yang Wenchang (
He had been asked if democracy advocates who had been denied visas would now be able to visit mainland China.
Hong Kong's democracy activists have long been a thorn in Beijing's side and some have been barred from the mainland for more than a decade. However, both sides have made conciliatory gestures in recent weeks ahead of a pro-democracy protest march on Thursday, the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule.
Commenting on the march, Yang said Hong Kong people had the right to protest but they should exercise that right correctly.
Bishop Zen, who has urged the city's 6.8 million residents to join the march, said yesterday he had met Chinese officials on Friday at their invitation.
"We had a good, frank and friendly talk. The atmosphere was peaceful," Zen told reporters.
Organizers of the rally expect 300,000 people to demonstrate for the right to directly elect their own leader and all of their lawmakers from 2007, demands that Beijing rejected in April.
In a poll by Ming Pao, 40 percent of 86 respondents said they would join Thursday's march.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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