The Future of Hong Kong

Nearly 6 weeks after the introduction of the controversial National Security Law in Hong Kong, I look at the impact of the bill.

As China continues to arrest Hong Kongers at a staggering rate, the wide focus of the incarcerations has somewhat shifted away from the protesters of yesterday, and towards media moguls and anti-Beijing journalists. Celebrated pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow - hailed for her courageous fight for freedom in Hong Kong and selfless sacrifice of her UK citizenship - was arrested on Monday along with Jimmy Lai, an anti-Beijing media mogul. Amnesty International has previously called arrests of Mrs Chow “an outrageous assault” on freedom of expression. Mrs Chow described her experience as “terrifying”. 

As countless individuals find themselves in the custody of the mainland Chinese authorities, the government continues to silence those who disagree with their policies with familiar aggression. If you watch the videos online, the brutal treatment Hong Kongers can expect from the Chinese police forces is self evident.

If you read the accounts of Simon Cheng, a former British consulate worker abducted in August of last year, one can presume the violent and brutal torture that awaits Hong Kongers that are exported to mainland China. Or perhaps they will be joining the Uyghurs for the “summer camps” China has provided, summer camps which include barbed wire, forced consumption of pork and alcohol, and death. Or perhaps they could be taken to Tibet, where the Chinese enact forced abortions, torture, infanticide and extrajudicial executions. This is a fate awaiting many, and a fate already suffered by millions, at the hands of the CCP.

While Dominic Raab (UK foreign secretary) has condemned the new National Security Law, which allowed China to send its police force into the enclave for the first time, largely with impunity, Beijing have stated that they will not tolerate foreign interference with its “domestic” affairs. And while the UK government has made positive declarations of solidarity with Hong Kong, the Chinese government continues to restrict the liberties of the island territory, thus making these effort unsatisfactory. The West abides, China arrests more protesters. 

Joshua Wong, another frontline activist and hero of the pro-democracy movement, states that Hong Kong will continue to resist; but what happens if the media and these leaders have been silenced, or fled abroad? And yet conversely, what purpose does this article serve? Did this kind of thing help Tibet? How can the West and those who are appalled by the CCP help those who are being persecuted? How can we learn from Tibet and prevent a repeat in Hong Kong, and stop the genocide that is currently taking place in Xinjiang?

Will Western governments ever take the actions that are necessary - cutting ties with China, nay threaten the CCP with conflict - to uphold the rights of millions of people? What if there was a financial incentive?

Photo: Al-Jazeera