Crossing the border between mainland China and Hong Kong has always illuminated stark differences. On one side, the internet is censored, any dissent could lead to imprisonment, unregistered churches meet quietly, and the Chinese Communist Party rules with an iron fist. On the other, people access a free internet, protest for their freedoms, worship freely, vote for some of their lawmakers, and have long enjoyed one of the world’s freest economies.

Nearly a year after protesters launched a pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, the Chinese government is preparing to drastically undercut the territory’s autonomy. The National People’s Congress will discuss new security laws for Hong Kong as it begins its annual meeting on Friday. It has scheduled a vote on the measure for May 28, the South China Morning Post reported.

In April, videos and images of African migrants facing discrimination in the southern port city of Guangzhou began flooding social media. In one, a Chinese official shows up at an African man’s apartment and forces him and his family to undergo a mandatory quarantine, even though his Chinese neighbors are allowed to move about freely. In another, a man holds up a notice at a Guangzhou McDonald’s that bans black people from entering the restaurant.

With global attention focused on the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong authorities arrested 15 veteran pro-democracy figures April 18 for their involvement in last year’s protest movement.

Among those arrested is the founder of the Democratic Party, 81-year-old Martin Lee. Freshly released on bail, the “father of democracy” told media that after seeing so many young people arrested and prosecuted for protests, “I feel proud to finally be able to join the outstanding youth of Hong Kong to continue our path of democracy.”

The United States will cut $1 billion of assistance to Afghanistan. After his urgent trip to the Islamic republic to revive a peace deal failed, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said he might reduce other forms of cooperation unless Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah agree to a power-sharing deal.

Since 2008 I’ve interviewed seven times international strategist George Friedman, chairman of Geopolitical Futures. We have different perspectives—he’s a materialist—but his analysis is valuable and his forecasts are often accurate. For example, when the United States a decade ago was emphasizing Libya, and Syria’s civil war tragedy had not yet begun, Friedman said our Libya focus was a mistake: Syria would be the crucial cockpit. Here are edited remarks from our visit last month. 

We hear China is so big, so strong, and so mighty. Is it?

Ashraf Ghani won a second term as president with a little more than 50 percent of the vote in the Sept. 28, 2019, election, Afghanistan’s independent election commission declared on Tuesday. But his main opponent and the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, refused to recognize the results, as did the Taliban.