Hong Kong, though always geographically a part of China, has for much of recent history been a different story. A British colony since 1842, English common law had reigned until it was finally handed over to China in 1997. This erstwhile unique status guaranteed the territory a level of intellectual freedom similar to many other Western jurisdictions. In that sense, for over 150 years Hong Kong was able to develop to where its citizens expected to be able to speak, write, and read quite freely.

Is there a censorship crisis currently happening at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? The answer depends on whom you ask. On Friday, December 15, the Washington Post reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located in Atlanta, had declared at a meeting with policy analysts the previous day that it would prohibit a list of seven terms.