Hong Kong is trying to reopen after years of Covid restrictions and Chinese-imposed crackdowns
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In announcing the end of one of the worldâs longest mask mandates, Hong Kong leaders declared the city is finally returning to normal. But for many in the former British colony, the city changed forever in July 2020 when the measure first took effect. It coincided with Beijing imposing a national security law that has fundamentally altered a city with a proud history of protest, press freedom and vigorous debate. Three years later, key democracy proponents sit in jail and newspapers that criticized the Communist Party have been shuttered. Key reading: - [Hong Kong Ends One of the Longest Mask Mandates After 945 Days](
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- [Hong Kongâs Reopening Drive Curtailed by Airport Worker Shortage]( Authorities in Hong Kong are moving to revitalize an economy battered by Covid restrictions. Gross domestic product contracted in 2022 for the third time in four years, while the population has fallen by a net 187,000 in the past three years as residents left for other cities. Hong Kong still has many positives to lure foreigners back. Taxes are low, nightlife is vibrant and the territory is blessed with great hiking trails and scores of beaches. Skyrocketing rents in nearby rival finance hub Singapore may push some expats to return. As long as money can be made, foreign companies will still operate in Hong Kong â just as they do in the mainland. Yet even as the bars fill up, bands come to town and global executives start visiting employees they havenât seen in years, the old days arenât coming back. Itâs now firmly established that loyalty to the Communist Party remains the key qualification for government officials, putting anyone who challenges Beijing at risk of being expelled. As Hong Kong residents finally take off their masks, itâs hard to ignore that Beijing has used the time to reveal its true face to the city. â [Daniel Ten Kate]( Passengers wear masks at MTRâs Central station in Hong Kong today. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. Find out how the worlds of money and politics intersect in the US capital. [Sign up now for the new Bloomberg Washington newsletter](, delivered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Strings attached | US President Joe Bidenâs administration warned companies seeking funding from the US Chips and Science Act that the money will come with [limits](, including on investing in other countries (namely China) and on stock buybacks. The $39 billion in incentives is aimed at helping pay for semiconductor factories in the US, but some of the biggest producers such as Intel are learning the risks of taking the cash. Hard sell | After announcing a new post-Brexit deal with the European Union yesterday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak now needs to convince [skeptical]( unionist politicians in Northern Ireland to back it. It may be that Sunak has to rely on the main opposition Labour Party to get his deal through Parliament in what would be a potentially damaging move politically. - The deal [underwhelmed]( investors, with UK stocks lagging the broader gains witnessed across Europe yesterday on assessments that it will have little immediate impact on the UK economy. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will get at most half of the additional â¬10 billion ($11 billion) he wants to modernize the military after decades of underfunding, sources say. Despite a pledge by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to ramp up spending, officials say Germany may again [fail to reach]( the NATO guideline of spending at least 2% of economic output on defense this year. Domestic troubles | As Xi Jinping prepares to begin his second decade as Chinaâs president, heâs facing a new phenomenon: a [much more skeptical public](. He will have a chance to start restoring confidence this week, when the rubber-stamp legislature meets in Beijing for its annual session. The event will give the public a chance to hear from his new right-hand man, Li Qiang, on plans to revive an economy growing at the slowest pace in decades, as well as the direction of foreign policy as US-China tensions surge. - A womanâs killing in the central Chinese province of Henan prompted crowds to clash with local police, another sign that citizens are more willing to [challenge authority]( in the one-party state.
- Volkswagen says itâs committed to an automotive plant in Xinjiang despite allegations of [human rights abuses]( committed by Communist Party officials in the far western region against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
- China will welcome the leader of [Russian ally Belarus]( today for a state visit.
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