Hong Kong in limbo 25 years after British handover to China

By ZEN SOO
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Twenty-five years after Britain handed Hong Kong over to China, the city is in limbo. Beijing has been expanding its influence and control over this vibrant, bustling global business hub and has curbed freedoms it promised to respect for at least 50 years after taking sovereignty over the territory. Pro-democracy newspapers openly critical of the government have been forced to close. Hong Kong residents still enjoy greater autonomy and more civil liberties than other Chinese, but many protests are now banned. As one expert puts it, Hong Kong is in a “middle ground,” without leverage to determine its future, while Beijing is “learning as it goes.”