Supporters of the democracy protesters in Hong Kong rallied in Sydney as Labor issued a call for the Australian government to provide more assistance to those fleeing the region.
Killing Hong Kongâs free press will harm its economy
Beijing is betting expats will flock to the city despite Chinaâs media crackdown - but business and markets thrive on news.
Suzanne Nossel
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The Chinese government is making a high-stakes bid to force Hong Kong âlong an outpost of freedom â into abject political and civic submission while sustaining the territoryâs status as a global hub for finance and a gateway to the mainlandâs vast markets.
But key features of Hong Kongâs cosmopolitanism â its free press, provisions for access to government data, and international media presence â are facing dire pressure and constraints, interrupting the flow of news and information that commerce and culture depend on.
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All the above exist in Hong Kong and were exposed, in part, by investigations using Hong Kong s Companies Registry, a public database that has become the subject of a fierce debate between the city s government and a coalition of investors, lawyers, journalists and advocates for transparent governance.
Though the registry s online search engine looks and operates like it was created 20 years ago, it is a crucial tool for a smattering of industries because it contains identifying information for the nearly 1.4 million active companies in Hong Kong and the people in charge of them.
Investors use the registry to research the business connections of potential partners. Lawyers use it to find the addresses of businesses they want to sue. Labor unions use the registry to issue complaints against management. And journalists use it to investigate possible wrongdoing.
Hong Kong s zealous anti-doxxing campaign could make it even easier to hide dirty money in the city kitv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kitv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.