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China Converts Hong Kong Hotel into New National Security Office

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China opened its new national security office in Hong Kong on Wednesday, turning a hotel near a city-centre park that has been one of the most popular venues for pro-democracy protests, into its new headquarters.

The office, in the bustling shopping and commercial district of Causeway Bay, near Victoria Park, will oversee the Hong Kong government’s enforcement of the sweeping national security legislation that China imposed on the city last week.

The law empowers the office to take enforcement action beyond existing city laws in the most serious cases.

The legislation allows agents to take suspects across the border for trials in Communist Party-controlled courts and specifies special privileges for its agents, including that Hong Kong authorities cannot inspect their vehicles.

The newly appointed Chief of the Office, Zheng Yanxiong, Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam and Luo Huining, the head of China’s Liaison Office in the city – Beijing’s top representative office – attended the opening ceremony at the former Metropark Hotel, which was popular with tourists for its harbour views.

Luo said the office was “the gatekeeper of national security’’ and people who loved China and Hong Kong welcomed it.

“Those with ulterior motives and who are anti-China and seek to destabilise Hong Kong have not only stigmatised the office but also smeared the legal system.

“They also smeared the rule of law in the Chinese mainland in an attempt to stir up unnecessary worries and fears among Hong Kong residents,’’ Luo said.

Security was tight around the hotel, with tall barriers raised and numerous police on duty nearby.

The law has pushed China’s freest city onto a more authoritarian path and drawn condemnation from some Western governments, lawyers and rights groups.

It punishes acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Police have arrested at least 10 people, including a 15-year-old, under it for suspected threats to China’s national security.

Critics fear it will crush coveted freedoms in the Chinese-ruled city, while supporters say it will bring stability after a year of sometimes violent protests that plunged the former British colony into its biggest crisis in decades.

Zheng said the office would enforce the law strictly “without infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of any individual or organisation’’.

A Communist Party cadre, prominent during a 2011 clampdown on land rights protesters in a south China village, 57-year-old Zheng most recently served as secretary-general of the Communist Party committee of Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong.

Leaked footage during the 2011 dispute showed him berating villagers and calling foreign media “rotten”.

Zheng has never held a post outside Guangdong and has extensive experience in propaganda, having worked at the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily in its southern regional bureau for four years.

He was vice-minister in charge of propaganda for Guangdong from 2013 to 2018.

But in a reflection of the widespread unease over the legislation, major U.S. internet companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Twitter and Zoom have announced they have suspended the processing of requests for user data from the Hong Kong authorities while they study it.

Chinese-owned social media platform, TikTok, which only operates outside China, said on Tuesday it would exit the Hong Kong market within days.

Its departure means Hong Kong users, like those in mainland China, will be cut off.

The U.S. has begun removing Hong Kong’s special status in U.S. law as Washington no longer deems the global financial hub sufficiently autonomous from mainland China.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s top advisers weighed proposals to undermine the Hong Kong currency’s peg to the U.S. dollar, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, although the idea did not appear to gain traction. (Reuters/NAN)

Foreign News

China to Eliminate Tariffs on Imports from African Countries

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 China has announced the full removal of tariffs on imports from all African countries, ENA, a partner of TV BRICS, has reported.

The tariff elimination falls under the new China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development, a framework designed to accelerate Africa’s integration into global trade by increasing market access, improving customs procedures, and strengthening institutional trade capacity.

The initiative is part of a broader effort by Beijing to support industrialisation, diversify imports, and reinforce economic links with African states beyond raw materials.

President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China’s readiness to welcome all African exports under zero-tariff treatment.

He emphasised that the new arrangement would be accompanied by enhanced cooperation in customs, quarantine, logistics, and capacity building.

China also pledged to support training programmes and expand the visibility of high-quality African goods in the Chinese market.

In 2024, China–Africa trade reached nearly 300 billion dollars, consolidating China’s position as Africa’s largest trading partner.

Observers note that the new tariff policy may further strengthen the African Continental Free Trade Area by encouraging intra-African production and export diversification.

The strategic shift is expected to unlock new opportunities for value-added goods and services from across the continent, reinforcing Africa’s role in global supply chains. (TV BRICS/NAN) 

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CRIME

Man in Germany Charged with Serial Rape After Drugging Victims

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Court Sentences Applicant to 6 Months in Prison for Stealing Cell Phone
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 German prosecutors on Tuesday have charged a 43-year-old Chinese national with 22 offences, including attempted murder and aggravated rape after drugging victims, in some cases involving women he knew.

The accused, who was not identified, is suspected of sedating women with sleeping pills and raping them in eight cases.

Prosecutors in Frankfurt said some victims knew the defendant and were unaware of what was happening.

In four cases, the man is suspected of overpowering, anaesthetising and raping the victims during property viewings and of videoing or photographing the acts.

In seven cases, the drug dose was so high it may have endangered victims’ lives, prosecutors said in a statement.

The accused is alleged to have been a member of the Telegram online platform for several years, where he exchanged information about how to sexually assault unconscious women.

He is also believed to have illegally sold sedatives to other chat participants, prosecutors said.

The man from Offenbach, near Frankfurt, is believed to have committed the offences between January 2020 and November 2024, and has been in custody since November 2024, prosecutors said.

The charges follow the high-profile case of Dominique Pelicot in France, convicted in December of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife for almost a decade and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her unconscious body. (Reuters/NAN) 

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Foreign News

Man Bites Off Part of Another Man’s Ear On Train

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A fight on a German train saw a man bite off a piece of another man’s ear, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred on a Deutsche Bahn train between the south-western cities of Mannheim and Stuttgart.

An argument broke out after an unknown man accused a 43-year-old man of looking at his partner.

The former bit the ear of the 43-year-old, who retaliated by biting the man’s finger.

According to police, the unidentified man and his companion were able to leave the train at the central station in Stuttgart and fled.

Police said that they are searching for the man’s identity.

The 43-year-old was taken to the  hospital, where the piece of his ear was sewn back on.

(dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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