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Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy activists, has been arrested as authorities crack down on protest leaders in the city.

The former leader of the now-dissolved political group Demosisto said he was arrested and released on bail on Thursday for allegedly participating in an unauthorized assembly in October last year. He also allegedly violated a law that prohibits protesters from wearing masks.

“They can prosecute us, they can arrest us, they can put us in jail, but they cannot censor our commitment to fight for freedom,” he said.

Wong is expected to appear in court on Wednesday. His arrest is one of the scores in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed a national security law on the financial center in June aimed at those who oppose China’s growing political control over the city. (FOOT)

Coronavirus digest

• Increase in new Covid-19 infections in Myanmar raises questions about whether the country will be able to hold its general elections on November 8.

• Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak announced a new “job support scheme” ahead of the impending Covid-19 winter, but warned: “I can’t save all the jobs.”

• Minister of State for Railways of India, Suresh Angadi, died from Covid-19, the fourth member of the country’s parliament to fall from the disease.

• Governor of New York He said his state would do a separate Covid-19 review because it “doesn’t trust the federal government.”

• Pacific Asia shares fell on Thursday. US stocks rose even as European stocks hit a three-month low, and investors weighed the latest data on how the coronavirus is affecting different regions of the global economy.

Finland has one of the lowest infection rates in Europe and its economy held up better than others. How did you manage? Follow our live coverage here and the coronavirus tracker here.

In the news

ByteDance asks China to approve the agreement with Oracle The Chinese company has asked Beijing for permission to export its technology as it rushes to finalize a deal and prevent its viral video app TikTok from being blocked in the US An American judge says the Trump administration must defend or delay its proposal TikTok ban for Friday. (FT, Reuters)

Donald Trump’s Refusal to Commit to a Peaceful Transition The US president was roundly rebuked by Republicans after he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, a stance he reiterated Thursday if he loses to Joe Biden in the November election. Trump was booed when he visited Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s coffin on Thursday. (FT, NYT, tutor)

World leaders praise China’s commitment World officials welcomed China’s new climate target in speeches to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, saying next year “will determine the fate” of the Paris climate agreement. (FOOT)

Retail craze fuels Chinese brokers An increase in online trading by retail investors has propelled China’s brokers to online valuations with the world’s best-known banks. Zhong Shanshan, the owner of China’s largest bottled water producer, has surpassed Alibaba’s Jack Ma to become the richest person in the country. (FOOT)

US police clash with protesters over Breonna Taylor case More than 100 people were arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, when protests erupted at the news that only one of the three officers involved in the murder of Breonna Taylor would face criminal charges, and none for the death of Taylor, a black woman, directly. . Jack Dorsey’s Square has announced a plan to invest $ 100 million in black communities. (FT, New York Times)

Warren Buffett bets on old media EW Scripps will acquire Ion Media for $ 2.65 billion in a Berkshire Hathaway-backed deal from Warren Buffett, marking the latest round of consolidation in the US broadcast industry. (FOOT)

China Expands Xinjiang Reeducation Fields, Expert Group Says A study by the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy collected satellite video evidence of construction in at least 61 re-education and detention centers between July 2019 and July 2020, despite assurances from Beijing that all of its prisoners had been released. “graduate”. (FOOT)

South Korea demands an explanation from the North for the gruesome death Tensions have escalated between Seoul and Pyongyang after a South Korean maritime official who disappeared in waters near North Korea on Monday was shot, allegedly by North Korea, and his body burned, according to intelligence reports. (FOOT)

Facebook Launches Oversight Board Before US Elections An independent “Supreme Court” -style oversight board, which will decide on what is allowed on Facebook platforms and whether its policies are fair, will begin accepting cases from mid to late October, people familiar with the plans said. From Facebook. Meanwhile, the former head of Cambridge Analytica has been removed from his management positions. (FOOT)

The days to come

Ford to close UK engine plant The workers have been laid off in phases since June 2019 before the Bridgend factory shutdown on Friday. Ford cited “changes in customer demand and cost,” but denied that Brexit was a factor. (BBC)

Kyle Rittenhouse Hearing An extradition status hearing will be held on Friday for the 17-year-old from Illinois who is accused of killing two people when he opened fire during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (ABC News)

Trump to announce Supreme Court candidate The president of the United States will announce his choice for the seat he vacated on the highest court in the country in the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Saturday. (NYT)

FirstFT Asia comes out on Monday. Have a good weekend. We will return to your inboxes on Tuesday.

What else are we reading

The next financial crisis may come soon Oxford Economics asked global companies the probability of a new financial crisis. Their average response: 20 percent over the next two years, twice the perceived risk of a second global wave of Covid-19, and the likelihood of an early effective vaccine, writes Gillian Tett. Meanwhile, the pandemic has deepened the pit of poverty. (FOOT)

Why autocrats are lining up for Trump The president of the United States may have few friends among the usual allies of the United States, but he sweeps the board by the authoritarian vote, writes Philip Stephens. It’s a depressing reflection of the damage Trump has inflicted on the so-called free world. Next week’s televised presidential debate could be the most momentous in two decades, writes Edward Luce. (FOOT)

See the latest moves in the US presidential race with our survey tracker.

The rise of Ms. Europa The key to understanding Europe is understanding Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. A second-generation Eurocrat, he is part of a class that will determine the future of the continent, whether the EU becomes the United States of Europe or begins to separate. (The critic)

A Covid-19 story about two cities Madrid is once again the European region most affected by the coronavirus, with almost a quarter of the tests testing positive. In New York, the figure is less than 1%. The sad story of how cities fell apart lies in the mistakes made by the gradual removal of the blockade. (FOOT)

FT / McKinsey Business Book List Books on the future of work, corporate culture, technology and the US economy were included in the shortlist of the FT and McKinsey Business Book of the Year. The winner will be announced on December 1 (FT).

Covid-19 exposes fragile and complex food supply chains There was nothing like the empty supermarket shelves we saw in March to draw the public’s attention to the issue of food supply. The pandemic threat to the food supply has abated slightly, but Brexit is looming and half of Britain’s food comes from abroad. (FOOT)

A unique point of view Sirkhane Darkroom, founded by Serbest Salih, offers young Syrian and Iraqi refugees the opportunity to document their lives through photography. The images they return with are constantly surprising. Meanwhile, this cover story argues that we must stop waiting for capitalism to cure inequality. (How to spend it, Bloomberg)

A new series As for the legal sector’s response to digitization, it begins by looking at how the pandemic is driving change; in addition to what the legal profession reads on FT.com.