The assault on a Hong Kong resident in Japan exposes tensions Beijing is using to pressure Tokyo – and the risk that ordinary travellers pay the price
Beer Bottle Attack in Sapporo Triggers Diplomatic Tension
A Hong Kong resident was struck on the head with a beer bottle at a restaurant in Sapporo, Japan, in the early hours of Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Japanese police apprehended the suspect involved. But the incident did not remain a simple criminal matter for long. Within hours, the Chinese consulate in Sapporo had issued a warning advising Chinese nationals against travelling to Japan, a statement that escalated a local incident into a bilateral diplomatic signal. By Thursday, the Hong Kong government had formally expressed its concern to the consul general of Japan in Hong Kong, urging Tokyo to ensure the personal safety of Hong Kong travellers in Japan in accordance with the law.
Why This Matters Beyond the Incident Itself
The South China Morning Post reported on February 19 that local tour operators believed the attack was likely an isolated incident that would not affect Hongkongers’ appetite to visit Japan. Japan remains one of the most popular destinations for Hong Kong tourists, valued precisely for its safety, cleanliness, and hospitality. A single incident in Sapporo should not, in normal circumstances, trigger diplomatic correspondence between two governments. The reason it did is the broader context: relations between Beijing and Tokyo are, as the Post noted, at a low point. Tensions over Japanese politician Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan, among other flashpoints, have created an environment in which the Chinese government is prepared to use incidents involving its nationals abroad as diplomatic leverage.
Hongkongers: Neither Fully Mainland, Nor Fully Independent
The case illustrates the deeply uncomfortable position in which ordinary Hongkongers find themselves. When a Hong Kong resident is attacked abroad, their protection is routed through Beijing’s diplomatic apparatus. The Hong Kong government contacted the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong to follow up, not an independent consular service. This is the practical consequence of the 2020 dismantling of Hong Kong’s separate international status. Before 2020, Hong Kong maintained a degree of separate international representation in areas like trade and some bilateral relations. The progressive absorption of Hong Kong’s external affairs into Beijing’s direct control means that when its residents need help abroad, they are dependent on a diplomatic service that has its own political agenda and will use their welfare as a bargaining chip when it suits.
Japan and the China Question
Japan is not a country that has been passive in the face of Beijing’s expansionism. Its government has been increasingly vocal about Taiwan, about the South China Sea, and about the risk of Chinese military adventurism in the western Pacific. The Chinese consulate’s warning against travel to Japan, issued immediately after an assault that Japanese police were already investigating and that did not involve any official Japanese misconduct, reads in this context as a pressure tactic rather than a genuine safety advisory. Amnesty International’s China report documents extensively how Beijing uses its diplomatic apparatus to pursue political goals rather than to serve the genuine interests of Chinese nationals. The Hong Kong dimension adds an additional layer: a population that does not feel represented by Beijing’s government being formally protected by that government in ways that may not reflect their actual interests.
Travel Safety and Political Reality
For Hongkongers planning trips to Japan, the practical advice remains that Japan is a genuinely safe country where the rule of law functions effectively and where violent crime against tourists is extremely rare. The Japan Tourism Agency safety guidance reflects a country that takes visitor welfare seriously and maintains comprehensive systems for protecting tourists. The Sapporo incident should not deter travel. But the diplomatic response to it is a reminder that for Hongkongers, the simplest acts of everyday life, including a holiday abroad, are now filtered through the politics of a relationship between Beijing and the world that they did not choose and cannot control.
Solidarity With Hongkongers Abroad
For the international community and for Hongkongers in the diaspora, the Sapporo incident is a small window into a large problem. When Beijing speaks for Hongkongers, it does not speak for the hundreds of thousands who marched in 2019 demanding genuine democracy, the rule of law, and protection from arbitrary detention. It speaks for a political project that has destroyed those things. The free world has an obligation to support Hongkongers in maintaining independent access to international protection and not to allow Beijing to position itself as the sole gateway through which that protection can flow.
Mei Ling Chan
Education & Social Policy Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: meiling.chan@appledaily.uk
Mei Ling Chan is an education and social policy journalist specializing in school systems, youth development, and public policy impacts on families. She trained at a top-tier Chinese journalism institution, where she focused on policy reporting, data interpretation, and media ethics, building a strong analytical foundation.
Her professional experience includes reporting for Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese publications, producing coverage on education reform, student movements, social welfare programs, and inequality in access to public services. Mei Ling’s reporting combines document analysis with interviews involving educators, students, and policy experts.
She has worked in fast-paced newsroom environments while maintaining high standards for accuracy and context. Her stories are known for precise attribution, careful interpretation of policy language, and avoidance of speculation.
Mei Ling’s authority is rooted in subject-matter expertise and consistent publication within reputable news organizations. She follows established editorial review and correction procedures, reinforcing reader trust.
At Apple Daily UK, Mei Ling Chan delivers fact-based reporting that helps readers understand complex policy issues through clear, verified, and responsible journalism.
