The Hong Kong government said on Thursday that candidates for the legislature must acknowledge the semiautonomous city as an “inalienable part” of China and faced possible criminal penalties if they did not uphold the pledge. Some scholars and lawmakers said the announcement, made days before nominations open for a legislative election in September, could harm political freedoms guaranteed under Hong Kong law. Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese control in 1997, maintains much of its own legal and economic system. But after 2047, that model of “one country, two systems” will expire, and many worry it is already eroding under increasing pressure from mainland China. Read more
