How exactly did China turn Hong Kong into a police state? It wasn't just the national security law. It was decades in the making. The party used infiltration, co-option, fear and intimidation - tactics it is now trying in the rest of the world. Our essay: economist.com/interactive/es… In the years leading up to the handover in 1997, the Communist Party clandestinely sent tens of thousands of mainland officials to HK. It prioritised infiltrating departments like the police, customs & immigration to ensure control over the city's security apparatus

As I've been covering the escalating political crisis in Hong Kong, I’ve often wondered: does Hong Kong still have the rule of law? A thread and my story with @nicolle_liu about what we discovered 1/ on.ft.com/35dzvgp The rule of law encompasses many things inc an independent judiciary, separation of powers, effective restraint on government power and equality before the law. HK’s rule of law is ranked among the best in the world but … 2/
data.worldjusticeproject.org

I visited China’s largest surveillance tech expo with @QianerLiu this week held once every two years in Shenzhen - “the world security capital.” A thread & our story about China’s latest new surveillance craze: emotion recognition on.ft.com/2PyJhFv 1/ A policing expert and party cadre from Xinjiang’s public security bureau told us they have started using emotion recognition to identity criminal suspects. He also said they work with major Chinese tech companies like Alibaba, Tencent, Hikvision & Dahua 2/