foreignpolicy--2020-12-30--Beijing’s Hong Kong Fables Have Unhappy Endings

Hong Kong ’ s freedoms and international stature have taken a dramatic hit this year .
In the last two decades , Beijing and the global financial community have tried to construct particular narratives about Hong Kong .
None of those have held up—but a new story may emerge .
Around the turn of the millennium , Beijing had a story to tell about Hong Kong ’ s past , present , and future that connected the local , the national , and the global in an appealing way .
It was , moreover , a narrative that was comforting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hong Kong ’ s government spokespeople to present to international audiences .
It went something like this : Until the handover of July 1 , 1997 , Hong Kong was an impressive place but was prevented from being all that it could be by colonial structures that kept the local population from determining their own fate and having a satisfying connection to the land from which most of them came .
When the handover made Hong Kong a Special Administrative Region of the People ’ s Republic of China , a glorious new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the taint of being under the thumb of a distant capital .
Before the government had been headed by a governor appointed in London but now a local chief executive was in charge .
Gone was the sense of Hong Kong being disconnected from China , and this liberation of the city would not come at the cost of its global appeal and cosmopolitan characteristics , thanks to the protections afforded to it by the “ One Country , Two Systems ” framework .
Deng Xiaoping famously reassured people that the horses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dance after 1997 .
Hong Kongers have been able to exercise a wide range of civil liberties , guaranteed until 2047 .
Hong Kong ’ s people can , in short , have the best of both worlds , share in the glow of China ’ s rise while living in a city where local traditions and an international flavor that made it different from any mainland metropolis will continue to flourish .
As late as 2008 , this narrative still made sense .
Hong Kong got to host the equestrian events of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ One Country ” idea ) , yet newspapers could run stories about the crackdown in Tibet before the Games began and criticisms of Olympic-related scandal that could not have been aired on the mainland .
That same year , the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong published a paper that argued for Tibet ’ s self-determination .
Another story that still seemed to work well in 2008 was one that some international commentators had been telling about the city since before the handover .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese Communist Party ’ s leaders privately feel about the features of Hong Kong that set it apart , they will not interfere too much with the territory and will respect the stronger rule of law there for pragmatic reasons and take care not to do anything that directly undermines the “ One Country , Two Systems ” framework .
Respecting that framework will be important to them for three pragmatic reasons .
First , they hope to convince Taiwan ’ s people that something similar can be worked out with Taiwan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being seen as respecting the agreement will be considered important for moving toward reunification .
Second , they want to be seen as leaders who can be depended on to live up to promises globally by bodies such as the International Olympic Committee that have the power to withhold beneficial things—as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put it during a 1990 BBC show when pressed about trusting a government to keep its word that had carried out the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre , China ’ s leaders would want to be seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” as trustworthy .
Third , they will have an interest in Hong Kong remaining an attractive place with just enough but not too much freedom for foreign businesses to feel comfortable having bases within China , even if they might hesitate about opening operations on the mainland .
Beijing would not , in other words , want to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs .
Chris Patten , the skeptical last colonial governor of Hong Kong , quipped once that the golden goose idea was fine , except that history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decapitated geese , ” but as the Beijing Games began , this story was still easy to defend .
Today , neither narrative holds up .
In 2020 , blow after blow has hit the “ One Country , Two Systems.
” Since the implementation of the National Security Law ( NSL ) on June 30 , 2020 , intellectual freedom and freedom of expression have both come under widespread attack in Hong Kong .
The sweeping and opaque law criminalizes any acts that can be construed as secession , subversion , terrorism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While Hong Kong was once regarded by journalists as a safe haven for press freedom , under the NSL , journalists now face rampant harassment , state persecution , red tapes , and censorship .
Two months after the implementation of the NSL , the Hong Kong government denied a visa to a foreign correspondent , echoing Beijing ’ s suppression of international media outlets .
More recently , i-Cable news abruptly dismissed the entire team of News Lancet , which was widely regarded as one of Hong Kong ’ s best investigative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ranking in the World Press Freedom Index dropped from 70th in 2018 to 80th in 2020 .
Along with journalists , activists , pro-democracy lawmakers , and educators are also under assault .
In 2012 , Joshua Wong , Agnes Chow , and Ivan Lam came of age in public as youth activists who successfully pressured the Hong Kong government to table the mandatory national education .
In 2020 , however , they would all be sentenced to prison for chanting alongside fellow protesters .
Between June 2019 to the end of October @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were arrested , and more than 2,300 were charged with protest-related offenses .
In addition to activists and protesters , pro-democracy district councilors and lawmakers have also been repeatedly arrested for their involvement with the movement .
The notion once pushed by Beijing that Hong Kong could become freer and more itself after British rule now seems like a dark joke .
In addition to using arrests and prison sentences to retaliate against pro-democracy voices , the Hong Kong government has had help from Beijing to foreclose all institutional outlets for dissent .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Council election , which would likely have resulted , given earlier victories in municipal elections , in a landslide victory by the pro-democracy camp , Beijing announced that any lawmakers who were unpatriotic should be disqualified .
The pro-democracy caucus swiftly resigned en masse after four of its sitting members were removed from the Legislative Council .
The chilling effect of the NSL extends beyond activism and policymaking into the education sector .
Since the law ’ s implementation , textbook publishers were forced to erase any content related to June 4 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; teachers and students have both been censored and sanctioned for allegedly promoting anti-government messages .
While a middle-school student was suspended for displaying the words “ Liberate Hong Kong , Revolution of Our Times ” as his profile picture , a teacher lost their teaching license for asking students to reflect on the freedom of speech in a worksheet .
In higher education , Hong Kong university administrations have also encouraged self-censorship , as professors with ties to Hong Kong worry they could be prosecuted or fired for their research .
Pro-democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and denied tenure .
Renowned sociologist was accused by local pro-Beijing newspapers of violating the NSL simply for having remarked in an academic talk that “ Hong Kong belongs to the world.
” That same week , the Chinese University of Hong Kong reported its own students to the national security police for chanting protest slogans , resulting in the arrests of eight activists as young as 16 .
All these point to the increased willingness among university administrations to compromise the freedom of expression of their members in compliance with the NSL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long done well in international rankings of higher education institutions , the network Scholars at Risk , along with others , argued that the suppression of intellectual freedom would wreak irrevocable damage on Hong Kong ’ s status as a world city .
This critique , however , has not stopped Hong Kong universities from simultaneously promoting its world-renowned status while suppressing intellectual freedom .
A month after tearing down the pro-democracy message board on campus , Hong Kong University announced a global professoriate recruitment campaign to attract high-achieving academics .
Hong Kong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are attempting to create world-class academic institutions without intellectual freedom and freedom of speech .
The death of the idea of the golden goose doubles as a cautionary tale against what political scientist Victoria Tin-bor Hui calls “ capitalism without freedom.
” As long as international corporations and Western states continue to profit off Chinese capitalism that is made possible by systemic suppression of freedom , they are all complicit in the goose ’ s demise .
At the time of writing , Chinese financiers with ties to Beijing and Wall Street have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at restraining what they call “ extremist voices ” in a Legislative Council that is already devoid of opposition representation from the pro-democracy camp .
There is a clear collaboration among Beijing , local tycoons , and international financiers to undermine institutional outlets for Hong Kongers to voice their dissent .
In the coming years , as crackdown and takeover intensify simultaneously in Hong Kong , the public sphere is likely to be filled increasingly with only state-sanctioned voices , coupled with news stories about yet another round of arrests .
But it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the voices of Hong Kongers who are most impacted—Hong Kongers who are facing protest-related charges or long prison sentences , Hong Kongers who have gone into exile , and Hong Kongers who make the difficult decision to uproot and emigrate .
With an increased number of Hong Kong emigrants and refugees , the pro-democracy movement will take on a more transnational edge .
While some in the diaspora harness the tension between China and Taiwan , the United States , Canada , and Australia to lobby for sanctions against Beijing , some will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local activists .
Locally , while Hong Kong ’ s pro-democracy movements have in the past advocated for dual universal suffrage , Beijing ’ s successful takeover of the Legislative Council signals that the struggle will likely shift away from electoral democracy towards community-based organizing that seeks to protect and strengthen Hong Kong ’ s civil society .
Yet the 2019 protest and subsequent crackdown have strengthened Hong Kongers ’ collective identity and have led to more robust discourse on grassroots organizing .
While the situation in Hong Kong appears grim , its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet another story for their city .

Jeffrey Wasserstrom and Shui-Yin Sharon Yam

Hong Kong’s freedoms and international stature have taken a dramatic hit this year. In the last two decades, Beijing and the global financial community have tried to construct particular narratives about Hong Kong. None of those have held up—but a new story may emerge.
Hong Kong’s freedoms and international stature have taken a dramatic hit this year. In the last two decades, Beijing and the global financial community have tried to construct particular narratives about Hong Kong. None of those have held up—but a new story may emerge.
Around the turn of the millennium, Beijing had a story to tell about Hong Kong’s past, present, and future that connected the local, the national, and the global in an appealing way. It was, moreover, a narrative that was comforting to the Davos set and easy for Hong Kong’s government spokespeople to present to international audiences. It went something like this:
Until the handover of July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was an impressive place but was prevented from being all that it could be by colonial structures that kept the local population from determining their own fate and having a satisfying connection to the land from which most of them came. When the handover made Hong Kong a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, a glorious new chapter in its history began. Gone was the taint of being under the thumb of a distant capital. Before the government had been headed by a governor appointed in London but now a local chief executive was in charge.
Gone was the sense of Hong Kong being disconnected from China, and this liberation of the city would not come at the cost of its global appeal and cosmopolitan characteristics, thanks to the protections afforded to it by the “One Country, Two Systems” framework. Deng Xiaoping famously reassured people that the horses would still race and dancers would still dance after 1997.
Hong Kongers have been able to exercise a wide range of civil liberties, guaranteed until 2047. Hong Kong’s people can, in short, have the best of both worlds, share in the glow of China’s rise while living in a city where local traditions and an international flavor that made it different from any mainland metropolis will continue to flourish.
As late as 2008, this narrative still made sense. Hong Kong got to host the equestrian events of the Beijing Olympics (a benefit of the “One Country” idea), yet newspapers could run stories about the crackdown in Tibet before the Games began and criticisms of Olympic-related scandal that could not have been aired on the mainland. That same year, the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong published a paper that argued for Tibet’s self-determination.
Another story that still seemed to work well in 2008 was one that some international commentators had been telling about the city since before the handover. It went roughly as follows:
However the Chinese Communist Party’s leaders privately feel about the features of Hong Kong that set it apart, they will not interfere too much with the territory and will respect the stronger rule of law there for pragmatic reasons and take care not to do anything that directly undermines the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.
Respecting that framework will be important to them for three pragmatic reasons. First, they hope to convince Taiwan’s people that something similar can be worked out with Taiwan to bring it into the PRC, so being seen as respecting the agreement will be considered important for moving toward reunification. Second, they want to be seen as leaders who can be depended on to live up to promises globally by bodies such as the International Olympic Committee that have the power to withhold beneficial things—as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put it during a 1990 BBC show when pressed about trusting a government to keep its word that had carried out the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, China’s leaders would want to be seen by the “forum of the world” as trustworthy.
Third, they will have an interest in Hong Kong remaining an attractive place with just enough but not too much freedom for foreign businesses to feel comfortable having bases within China, even if they might hesitate about opening operations on the mainland.
Beijing would not, in other words, want to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. Chris Patten, the skeptical last colonial governor of Hong Kong, quipped once that the golden goose idea was fine, except that history is “littered with the carcasses of decapitated geese,” but as the Beijing Games began, this story was still easy to defend.
Today, neither narrative holds up. In 2020, blow after blow has hit the “One Country, Two Systems.” Since the implementation of the National Security Law (NSL) on June 30, 2020, intellectual freedom and freedom of expression have both come under widespread attack in Hong Kong. The sweeping and opaque law criminalizes any acts that can be construed as secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. While Hong Kong was once regarded by journalists as a safe haven for press freedom, under the NSL, journalists now face rampant harassment, state persecution, red tapes, and censorship. Two months after the implementation of the NSL, the Hong Kong government denied a visa to a foreign correspondent, echoing Beijing’s suppression of international media outlets. More recently, i-Cable news abruptly dismissed the entire team of News Lancet, which was widely regarded as one of Hong Kong’s best investigative news program. Hong Kong’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index dropped from 70th in 2018 to 80th in 2020.
Along with journalists, activists, pro-democracy lawmakers, and educators are also under assault. In 2012, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam came of age in public as youth activists who successfully pressured the Hong Kong government to table the mandatory national education. In 2020, however, they would all be sentenced to prison for chanting alongside fellow protesters. Between June 2019 to the end of October 2020, more than 10,148 Hong Kongers were arrested, and more than 2,300 were charged with protest-related offenses. In addition to activists and protesters, pro-democracy district councilors and lawmakers have also been repeatedly arrested for their involvement with the movement. The notion once pushed by Beijing that Hong Kong could become freer and more itself after British rule now seems like a dark joke.
In addition to using arrests and prison sentences to retaliate against pro-democracy voices, the Hong Kong government has had help from Beijing to foreclose all institutional outlets for dissent. After the postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council election, which would likely have resulted, given earlier victories in municipal elections, in a landslide victory by the pro-democracy camp, Beijing announced that any lawmakers who were unpatriotic should be disqualified. The pro-democracy caucus swiftly resigned en masse after four of its sitting members were removed from the Legislative Council.
The chilling effect of the NSL extends beyond activism and policymaking into the education sector. Since the law’s implementation, textbook publishers were forced to erase any content related to June 4, civil disobedience, and separation of powers; teachers and students have both been censored and sanctioned for allegedly promoting anti-government messages. While a middle-school student was suspended for displaying the words “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times” as his profile picture, a teacher lost their teaching license for asking students to reflect on the freedom of speech in a worksheet.
In higher education, Hong Kong university administrations have also encouraged self-censorship, as professors with ties to Hong Kong worry they could be prosecuted or fired for their research. Pro-democracy professors have been jailed, fired, and denied tenure. Renowned sociologist was accused by local pro-Beijing newspapers of violating the NSL simply for having remarked in an academic talk that “Hong Kong belongs to the world.” That same week, the Chinese University of Hong Kong reported its own students to the national security police for chanting protest slogans, resulting in the arrests of eight activists as young as 16. All these point to the increased willingness among university administrations to compromise the freedom of expression of their members in compliance with the NSL.
While universities in Hong Kong have long done well in international rankings of higher education institutions, the network Scholars at Risk, along with others, argued that the suppression of intellectual freedom would wreak irrevocable damage on Hong Kong’s status as a world city. This critique, however, has not stopped Hong Kong universities from simultaneously promoting its world-renowned status while suppressing intellectual freedom. A month after tearing down the pro-democracy message board on campus, Hong Kong University announced a global professoriate recruitment campaign to attract high-achieving academics. Hong Kong university administrations, in other words, are attempting to create world-class academic institutions without intellectual freedom and freedom of speech.
The death of the idea of the golden goose doubles as a cautionary tale against what political scientist Victoria Tin-bor Hui calls “capitalism without freedom.” As long as international corporations and Western states continue to profit off Chinese capitalism that is made possible by systemic suppression of freedom, they are all complicit in the goose’s demise.
At the time of writing, Chinese financiers with ties to Beijing and Wall Street have formed a new political party, aiming at restraining what they call “extremist voices” in a Legislative Council that is already devoid of opposition representation from the pro-democracy camp. There is a clear collaboration among Beijing, local tycoons, and international financiers to undermine institutional outlets for Hong Kongers to voice their dissent.
In the coming years, as crackdown and takeover intensify simultaneously in Hong Kong, the public sphere is likely to be filled increasingly with only state-sanctioned voices, coupled with news stories about yet another round of arrests. But it’s harder and harder to hear the voices of Hong Kongers who are most impacted—Hong Kongers who are facing protest-related charges or long prison sentences, Hong Kongers who have gone into exile, and Hong Kongers who make the difficult decision to uproot and emigrate.
With an increased number of Hong Kong emigrants and refugees, the pro-democracy movement will take on a more transnational edge. While some in the diaspora harness the tension between China and Taiwan, the United States, Canada, and Australia to lobby for sanctions against Beijing, some will continue to cultivate cross-movement grassroots coalitions with local activists. Locally, while Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movements have in the past advocated for dual universal suffrage, Beijing’s successful takeover of the Legislative Council signals that the struggle will likely shift away from electoral democracy towards community-based organizing that seeks to protect and strengthen Hong Kong’s civil society.
Yet the 2019 protest and subsequent crackdown have strengthened Hong Kongers’ collective identity and have led to more robust discourse on grassroots organizing. While the situation in Hong Kong appears grim, its people may still be able to find yet another story for their city.


foreignpolicy--2020-12-30--Foreign Policy News Stories That Packed a Punch in 2020

Many of our articles looked at the ways in which Trump administration officials purged or decimated key government agencies ; others examined how U.S. President Donald Trump ’ s transactional style of foreign policy meant rewarding friends and punishing perceived enemies—such as withholding aid to Ethiopia over a controversial Nile dam .
Still others laid bare the incoming Biden administration ’ s agenda on critical issues like financial transparency—raising hopes for a breakthrough in the fight against dirty money .
Other news pieces looked at the tragedy of whistleblowers , examined the State Department ’ s inability to push through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking action on a key nuclear arms control treaty .
Here are five of Foreign Policy ’ s most compelling news stories of 2020 .
Whistleblowers in the federal government attracted plenty of attention this year , after officials in the intelligence community raised alarms about Trump ’ s improper dealings with Ukraine , eventually leading to impeachment .
But as Amy Mackinnon showed in her in-depth investigation , for many whistleblowers , there ’ s no public day of reckoning—only pressure and despair .
2 .
Fighting for U.S .
Values Abroad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Home With the country convulsed by protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd this spring , the State Department was confronted with its own legacy of discrimination—and the difficulties of selling the American ideal abroad when it isn ’ t even honored inside the building .
“ Floyd ’ s death has laid bare how injustices at home can disarm American diplomats trying to advocate for human rights and rule of law in foreign countries , ” Robbie Gramer wrote .
Now , the incoming Biden administration has made overhauling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decades-old racial disparity , one of its top priorities .
Like many Trump political appointees , Peter Marocco took a wrecking ball to the bureau he was meant to run , slashing funding that would mediate conflicts and promote democracy , and hamstringing operations in the field to curry favor with the White House .
Unlike many of those other appointees , Marocco was pushed out of the U.S. Agency for International Development ’ s Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization after this article was published—then he returned , before a final exit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump Administration Might Let Key Nuclear Treaty with Russia Die After dithering for three years over renewal of a critical nuclear arms treaty with Russia , including a quixotic bid to rope China into the accord , the Trump administration ended up alarming allies , who worried Washington was deliberately trying to dismantle a key post-Cold War treaty .
By shining light on internal documents that showed allies ’ concerns , Detsch and Gramer gave lawmakers ammunition to argue for staying in the treaty—and ensured a broad , ongoing push to keep the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese corporate records , Isaac Stone Fish revealed that U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross—whose manifold conflicts of interest dogged him during his years in Trump ’ s cabinet—remained on the board of a Chinese joint venture years after vowing to step down , and while leading the trade war with Beijing .
The exclusive article showed how Ross maintained interest in Chinese investments even while crafting U.S. policy that could affect his firms ; the Biden administration is now putting the prevention of conflicts of interest by senior officials at the top of @ @ @ @

There’s been no shortage of impressive journalism across the internet in a year marked by impeachment, pandemic, and a president’s failed bid to overturn the U.S. election. At Foreign Policy, we’re particularly proud of the stories that made an impact—in Washington and around the world.
There’s been no shortage of impressive journalism across the internet in a year marked by impeachment, pandemic, and a president’s failed bid to overturn the U.S. election. At Foreign Policy, we’re particularly proud of the stories that made an impact—in Washington and around the world.
Many of our articles looked at the ways in which Trump administration officials purged or decimated key government agencies; others examined how U.S. President Donald Trump’s transactional style of foreign policy meant rewarding friends and punishing perceived enemies—such as withholding aid to Ethiopia over a controversial Nile dam. Still others laid bare the incoming Biden administration’s agenda on critical issues like financial transparency—raising hopes for a breakthrough in the fight against dirty money.
Other news pieces looked at the tragedy of whistleblowers, examined the State Department’s inability to push through real reform, or galvanized lawmakers into taking action on a key nuclear arms control treaty.
Here are five of Foreign Policy’s most compelling news stories of 2020.
by Amy Mackinnon, March 20
Whistleblowers in the federal government attracted plenty of attention this year, after officials in the intelligence community raised alarms about Trump’s improper dealings with Ukraine, eventually leading to impeachment. But as Amy Mackinnon showed in her in-depth investigation, for many whistleblowers, there’s no public day of reckoning—only pressure and despair.
by Robbie Gramer, June 11
With the country convulsed by protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd this spring, the State Department was confronted with its own legacy of discrimination—and the difficulties of selling the American ideal abroad when it isn’t even honored inside the building. “Floyd’s death has laid bare how injustices at home can disarm American diplomats trying to advocate for human rights and rule of law in foreign countries,” Robbie Gramer wrote. Now, the incoming Biden administration has made overhauling the State Department, including fixing a decades-old racial disparity, one of its top priorities.
Dockers unload humanitarian aid.
by Colum Lynch, Robbie Gramer, and Jack Detsch, Sept. 2
Like many Trump political appointees, Peter Marocco took a wrecking ball to the bureau he was meant to run, slashing funding that would mediate conflicts and promote democracy, and hamstringing operations in the field to curry favor with the White House. Unlike many of those other appointees, Marocco was pushed out of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization after this article was published—then he returned, before a final exit.
by Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer, Sept. 24
After dithering for three years over renewal of a critical nuclear arms treaty with Russia, including a quixotic bid to rope China into the accord, the Trump administration ended up alarming allies, who worried Washington was deliberately trying to dismantle a key post-Cold War treaty. By shining light on internal documents that showed allies’ concerns, Detsch and Gramer gave lawmakers ammunition to argue for staying in the treaty—and ensured a broad, ongoing push to keep the deal alive.
by Isaac Stone Fish, Oct. 29
By tapping previously unpublished Chinese corporate records, Isaac Stone Fish revealed that U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross—whose manifold conflicts of interest dogged him during his years in Trump’s cabinet—remained on the board of a Chinese joint venture years after vowing to step down, and while leading the trade war with Beijing. The exclusive article showed how Ross maintained interest in Chinese investments even while crafting U.S. policy that could affect his firms; the Biden administration is now putting the prevention of conflicts of interest by senior officials at the top of its to-do list.


foreignpolicy--2020-12-30--Argentina Legalizes Abortion In Historic Senate Vote

Here is today ’ s Foreign Policy brief : Argentina ’ s Senate approves abortion legislation , Brexit deal to be approved by the U.K. Parliament , and the new coronavirus variant is detected in the United States .
A note for our readers : This is the last Morning Brief of 2020 .
We will resume normal weekday delivery on Jan. 4 .
We welcome your feedback at morningbrief @ foreignpolicy.com .
Argentina has become only the third country in Latin America—after Cuba and Uruguay—to allow unmitigated access to abortion after the country ’ s Senate approved legislation in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ access to abortion up to 14 weeks of gestation , and allows for doctors to refuse the procedure based on their personal beliefs .
The vote is a victory for Argentina ’ s grassroots pro-choice movement , which has kept the topic in the national spotlight even after a 2018 bill failed to pass the Senate .
President Alberto Fernández has indicated that he will sign the bill into law and has made support for the issue a key plank of his presidency .
Francis ’ s failed intervention .
The decision will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ growing evangelical Christian bases , who also mobilized en masse in recent weeks to pressure lawmakers to block the legislation .
It also means the intervention of Argentinean-born Pope Francis—who in November asked supporters , “ Is it fair to eliminate a human life to solve a problem ?
Is it fair to hire a hit man to solve a problem ?
” —ultimately came to nothing .
More to come ?
“ Although there will certainly be resistance , I think it ’ s fair to predict that , as it occurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2010 , this new law could have a domino effect in the region , ” Juan Pappier , an Americas researcher at Human Rights Watch , told Reuters .
Pushback .
That resistance is likely to be swift .
Silvia Elías de Pérez , a senator opposed to the bill , has accused President Fernández of pressuring lawmakers to pass the legislation .
“ If the bill becomes law , we will go to court to have it declared unconstitutional , ” she said .
Coronavirus variant reaches the U.S. A new variant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United Kingdom has been detected in the United States for the first time .
State officials in Colorado said a man in his 20s had tested positive for the variant , although he showed no history of travel .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more cases of the variant are likely to emerge in the coming days and that it should not affect immunity acquired through a vaccine or natural means .
House of Commons vote on Brexit deal .
The British Parliament is today likely to rush @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed on Dec. 24 before the transition period ends on Jan. 31 .
Hardline MPs in Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’ s Conservative Party have given their backing to the measure amid a flurry of positive reviews from the country ’ s conservative press , and many members of the opposition Labour party have also indicated their support .
The deal is expected to become law as soon as tonight and Johnson is expected to tell lawmakers that the United Kingdom will be “ the best friend and ally the EU could have.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hong Kong activists who attempted to flee to Taiwan by boat in August have been sentenced to prison terms of up to three years after being found guilty of making an illegal border crossing by a court in Shenzhen .
The activists had been denied access to lawyers and only notified of their court date three days in advance , their families said .
“ Their so-called ‘ crime ’ was to flee tyranny , ” a U.S. embassy spokesperson in Beijing told AFP .
Hindu-Muslim tensions .
The state of Madhya Pradesh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state to pass a law targeting intermarriage between Hindus and Muslims .
Without naming a specific faith , the law would make a husband pressuring his wife to convert to his religion a crime punishable by prison time .
A similar law was passed last month in Uttar Pradesh , and 30 Muslim men have since been arrested under the new rules .
The legislatures of both states are controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’ s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) .
The states of Haryana , Karnataka , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considering enacting the same legislation .
Kushner ’ s dodgy dealings ?
The family business of White House adviser Jared Kushner , Kushner Companies , is to raise at least $ 100 million by way of a bond sale in Israel , the Wall Street Journal reports , raising concerns about the independence of a senior aide who has been the public face of the Trump administration ’ s recently brokered peace deals between Israel and Arab states .
The news comes after the New York Times reported that Kushner Companies received $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before Jared Kushner and U.S. President Donald Trump visited Israel in May .
Ghana election contested .
Ghana ’ s main opposition party is to formally challenge the results of last month ’ s presidential contest , a rarity in a country normally free of such turmoil .
Former President John Mahama lost out to incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo by roughly four percentage points .
Mahama ’ s party said the vote was the product of a “ rigged election ” and that it will take the case to the country ’ s Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last candidate to contest the results of a presidential election when Mahama won the race in 2012 .
Take+Back+CTRL .
References to an obsolete internet suite and outdated encryption buried in the text of the 1,246-page Brexit deal have prompted fears that parts of the rushed agreement may have been copied and pasted from elsewhere .
The text refers to Netscape Communicator , a web browser and e-mail client first released in 1997 , as an example of suitable software to use to share sensitive information online .
The reference was likely taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same language .
“ I believe this looks like a standard copy-and-paste of old standards , and with little understanding of the technical details , ” Bill Buchanan , a security researcher , told the BBC .
Buchanan added that much more worrying than the retro browser reference was the document ’ s recommendation of security standards that were ten years out of date .
For more from FP , visit foreignpolicy.com , subscribe here , or sign up for our other newsletters .
Send your tips , comments , questions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: Argentina’s Senate approves abortion legislation, Brexit deal to be approved by the U.K. Parliament, and the new coronavirus variant is detected in the United States.
Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: Argentina’s Senate approves abortion legislation, Brexit deal to be approved by the U.K. Parliament, and the new coronavirus variant is detected in the United States.
If you would like to receive Morning Brief in your inbox every weekday, please sign up here.
Argentina Legalizes Abortion
Argentina has become only the third country in Latin America—after Cuba and Uruguay—to allow unmitigated access to abortion after the country’s Senate approved legislation in a 38-29 vote.
The law grants access to abortion up to 14 weeks of gestation, and allows for doctors to refuse the procedure based on their personal beliefs.
The vote is a victory for Argentina’s grassroots pro-choice movement, which has kept the topic in the national spotlight even after a 2018 bill failed to pass the Senate.
President Alberto Fernández has indicated that he will sign the bill into law and has made support for the issue a key plank of his presidency.
Francis’s failed intervention. The decision will anger the country’s Catholic and growing evangelical Christian bases, who also mobilized en masse in recent weeks to pressure lawmakers to block the legislation. It also means the intervention of Argentinean-born Pope Francis—who in November asked supporters, “Is it fair to eliminate a human life to solve a problem? Is it fair to hire a hit man to solve a problem?”—ultimately came to nothing.
More to come? “Although there will certainly be resistance, I think it’s fair to predict that, as it occurred when Argentina legalized same sex marriage in 2010, this new law could have a domino effect in the region,” Juan Pappier, an Americas researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.
Pushback. That resistance is likely to be swift. Silvia Elías de Pérez, a senator opposed to the bill, has accused President Fernández of pressuring lawmakers to pass the legislation. “If the bill becomes law, we will go to court to have it declared unconstitutional,” she said.
What We’re Following Today
Coronavirus variant reaches the U.S. A new variant of the coronavirus first discovered in the United Kingdom has been detected in the United States for the first time. State officials in Colorado said a man in his 20s had tested positive for the variant, although he showed no history of travel. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more cases of the variant are likely to emerge in the coming days and that it should not affect immunity acquired through a vaccine or natural means.
House of Commons vote on Brexit deal. The British Parliament is today likely to rush through approval of the Brexit trade deal agreed on Dec. 24 before the transition period ends on Jan. 31. Hardline MPs in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party have given their backing to the measure amid a flurry of positive reviews from the country’s conservative press, and many members of the opposition Labour party have also indicated their support. The deal is expected to become law as soon as tonight and Johnson is expected to tell lawmakers that the United Kingdom will be “the best friend and ally the EU could have.”
Hong King activists jailed. Ten Hong Kong activists who attempted to flee to Taiwan by boat in August have been sentenced to prison terms of up to three years after being found guilty of making an illegal border crossing by a court in Shenzhen. The activists had been denied access to lawyers and only notified of their court date three days in advance, their families said. “Their so-called ‘crime’ was to flee tyranny,” a U.S. embassy spokesperson in Beijing told AFP.
Keep an Eye On
Hindu-Muslim tensions. The state of Madhya Pradesh is set to become the second Indian state to pass a law targeting intermarriage between Hindus and Muslims. Without naming a specific faith, the law would make a husband pressuring his wife to convert to his religion a crime punishable by prison time.
A similar law was passed last month in Uttar Pradesh, and 30 Muslim men have since been arrested under the new rules. The legislatures of both states are controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The states of Haryana, Karnataka, and Assam have also said they are considering enacting the same legislation.
Kushner’s dodgy dealings? The family business of White House adviser Jared Kushner, Kushner Companies, is to raise at least $100 million by way of a bond sale in Israel, the Wall Street Journal reports, raising concerns about the independence of a senior aide who has been the public face of the Trump administration’s recently brokered peace deals between Israel and Arab states.
The news comes after the New York Times reported that Kushner Companies received $30 million from an Israeli investor shortly before Jared Kushner and U.S. President Donald Trump visited Israel in May.
Ghana election contested. Ghana’s main opposition party is to formally challenge the results of last month’s presidential contest, a rarity in a country normally free of such turmoil. Former President John Mahama lost out to incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo by roughly four percentage points. Mahama’s party said the vote was the product of a “rigged election” and that it will take the case to the country’s Supreme Court. Ironically, Akufo-Addo was the last candidate to contest the results of a presidential election when Mahama won the race in 2012.
Odds and Ends
Take+Back+CTRL. References to an obsolete internet suite and outdated encryption buried in the text of the 1,246-page Brexit deal have prompted fears that parts of the rushed agreement may have been copied and pasted from elsewhere.
The text refers to Netscape Communicator, a web browser and e-mail client first released in 1997, as an example of suitable software to use to share sensitive information online. The reference was likely taken from a 2008 EU law which used the same language.
“I believe this looks like a standard copy-and-paste of old standards, and with little understanding of the technical details,” Bill Buchanan, a security researcher, told the BBC. Buchanan added that much more worrying than the retro browser reference was the document’s recommendation of security standards that were ten years out of date.
That’s it for today.
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