The world is watching on agog as China removes Hong Kong’s special status bit by bit, quashing any dissent as it does so. China is a superpower. It is one of the world’s foremost economic and military powers. It is also an expansionist power, with its influence being felt ever more keenly the world over. But how did Hong Kong get here? Why is Beijing behaving as it is? What, if anything, can the world do to help Hong Kong? The answers to these questions lie, not in Hong Kong, but in Beijing.
Author: Luke Sandford
Luke Sandford is Libel’s Brussels correspondent. He is from South-East England and extensively campaigned for a people’s vote on Brexit during his years studying for his undergraduate degree at Goldsmiths College, Univeristy of London. He now lives in Sweden where he studies European Studies at Lund Univeristy. His Swedish is middling; his journalistic skills are better.
On Brussels: All Eyes on Poland
Find Luke‘s other articles On Brussels here. On 28 June, the EU got to enjoy a rare moment of optimism. Poland’s ultra-conservative head of state Andrzej Duda failed to secure an outright win in the first round of the country’s…
Behind Black Lives Matter Sits the Ghosts of Apartheid
More than sixty years ago, the Selma Race Riots in Alabama shone a spotlight on appalling racial inequality across the US and in other Western countries. It is a damning indictment of our times that, more than six decades later,…
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On Brussels: Europe Reopens, and Agonises over Israel
Find Luke‘s other articless On Brussels here. Europe is reopening. The world’s largest common market and borderless travel area is starting to return to pre-Covid times. There are hopes that the summer tourist trade could yet recover, kick-starting the economic…
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Covid-19 in Europe: Successes and Failures
Across most of the continent, the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have passed. What began with a single confirmed, imported case in France on 24 January soon spiralled out of control. By mid-March, the border control-free Schengen Area…
On Brussels: The Unlocking Dilemma – Will the EU Get It Right?
Find Luke’s other articles On Brussels here. Over the past few weeks, a stark home truth has been laid bare across Europe: the Covid-19 pandemic is a public health issue with economic consequences — and it is an economic issue…
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On Brussels: a Bigger Problem than Brexit
Over the past few weeks, the response to COVID-19 has gone from being an internationally coordinated effort, to a series of largely domestic political and socio-economic issues. Ending the lockdown in Denmark is now very much a Danish issue, salvaging…
Sweden: a Unique Approach to COVID-19 – or a Country in Denial?
Sweden is the Nordic country worst-hit by the COVID-19 virus. As of 14 April, Sweden has 10,948 confirmed cases, which have resulted in 919 deaths. Sweden’s neighbours – particularly Denmark – have repeatedly accused the Swedish government – led by…
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On Brussels: A Tricky Response to Another Crisis
On 31 January 2020, the UK left the EU – bringing the tumultuous three-and-a-half year process to an end. As the EU prepared to begin negotiating a new UK-EU trade deal, it was also hoping for a period of recalibration.…
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Final Brexit Update
Brexit has happened. Britain has left the European Union. The Brexit process, however, is still very much ongoing – with future trade arrangements, the UK-EU relationship going forward and some aspects of longer-term citizens’ rights still yet to be agreed…