On Christmas Day, 2009, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment and two years deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power”. Two days before his sentence, he wrote his “I Have No Enemies: My Final Statement”. It was intended to be read out in court but he was not allowed to finish reading it. A year later, Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. His death on Thursday made him the second winner of that prize to die in captivity. The first, Carl von Ossietzky, who was awarded the prize in 1935, also died in hospital while detained by the Nazi regime. Like Liu, he had been banned from collecting the award himself. Governments and organisations around the world had pleaded for Liu to be allowed to leave China for treatment. Here in Hong Kong, pro-Beijing lawmakers refused to allow his plight to even be debated in Legco, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam said it’s not her role to exert “pressure” on the central government over Liu’s fate. Coverage of Liu Xiaobo’s death in China has been muted. On social media, messages saying “RIP” or even showing candle emojis are being deleted. With me in the studio is William Nee, China Researcher at Amnesty International Hong Kong. When Chinese President Xi Jinping came to town two weeks ago to mark the 20th anniversary of the Handover, he laid down red lines Hong Kong should not cross. He said that, on day-to-day matters, we must “be guided by a strong sense of “one country”, and firmly observe the principle of “one country””. Any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security and challenge the power of the central government is “an act that crosses the red line, and is absolutely impermissible.” The president’s hard line and incidents such as the treatment of Liu Xiaobo and other dissidents continue to unnerve many Hongkongers, some of whom are planning to leave, but many mainlanders Hong Kong are keen to live here as they the SAR as a land of opportunity.

As happened with Occupy movements in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, private injunctions are being used as a legal weapon against Hong Kong’s protests, and – as many predicted – it’s likely their enforcement will come very shortly now that the APEC meeting in Beijing has ended. In the meantime, two new organisations have sprung up in Hong Kong to examine the causes of the political conflicts here, and – they say – to suggest ways forward. With us in the studio to comment on the latest development are China commentator Willy Lam and Law Professor Deva Surya from City University. It’s now seven weeks since the Umbrella Movement got under way. As we reported in last week’s show, there’s been interest from all over the world in what’s happening here. Among those who turned up to take a look for themselves is a former mainland student leader for whom the sight of tents in a major thoroughfare is all too familiar. He’s Zhou Fengsou.

Around one thousand eight hundred people from different places and of different sexual orientations gathered last Sunday in Wanchai under the banner : “Be Proud, Be Yourself”for this year's Gay Pride parade. One of the organisers says that this year’s Gay Pride parade is not just an event parade for people who want to express their identity, but also a great opportunity for businesses to promote themselves. Many though, are reluctant to do so.

Since the Handover, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary has reported to parliament every six months on the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The latest report, released last month, covers the second half of last year. Among matters mentioned are the banning of the Hong Kong National Party, the political screening of election candidates, and the expulsion of the Asia News Editor of the Financial Times. It suggests that Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy is “being reduced”, and that there’s a “move towards a mainland Chinese interpretation” of civil and political freedoms. The UK Parliament’s Human Rights Committee also published a report last month. It says the government’s six-monthly reports “appear insufficient” to protect the basic freedoms of people in Hong Kong, and that such freedoms are eroding. With me is the British Consul General to Hong Kong and Macao, Andrew Heyn to talk about it. And that’s it for this week but we’ll leave you with images of the massive fire that broke out on Tuesday at the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris which has towered over France’s capital since the Middle Ages. President Macron promises it will be rebuilt within five years but for now the people of France are still shocked by what appears to have been a tragic accident.