John Mok Chit Wai*

Legislative Council elections saw the rise of new, brash student-based political groups. As Beijing warns against “social disaster” caused by secession, new lawmakers backtrack. Pro-democracy camp must find a new way to deal with the mainland. A public administration expert comments.

Talking about "China" is risky because the word can refer to China’s culture, civilization, and people but also to its one-party Communist state, i.e. the People's Republic of China. With his interview to Asia Times, the pontiff might be renewing with the policy of Ostpolitik pursued by the late Vatican Secretary of State Agostino Cardinal Casaroli, which had disastrous effects on religious freedom in Communist countries. Here is an analysis by a Hong Kong-based scholar.