The phones rang on Friday, one month earlier than expected. More than 50 pro-democracy politicians and activists across Hong Kong received a call from the authorities: they were to report to police on Sunday last week.
Expecting to be charged and held for lengthy jail terms, many spent the weekend making last-minute preparations. They picked out books to take into custody, arranged for pets to be taken care of, said goodbye to their loved ones. Tiffany Yuen (袁嘉蔚), 27, spent the day at home, where she was photographed cuddling a Buzz Lightyear toy, before visiting constituents in Tin Wan.
“When the police called, I knew it’s bad news,” said one, who spent most of the weekend quietly hugging his child. “I probably won’t be able to hold my kid for some years. I said: ‘You might not see daddy for several years. You have to be brave and look after mummy.’”
“I never thought things would come to this,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, fearing his comments would be used as further evidence against him under the national security law. The legislation, introduced in Hong Kong in June, penalizes acts seen by the authorities as subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces or terrorism with up to life in prison.
“I don’t know what sort of ‘one country, two systems’ this is,” he said, referring to the policy meant to uphold Hong Kong’s freedoms and rights under Chinese rule after the 1997 handover of sovereignty.
“Now, even the mildest forms of opposition — chanting slogans and wearing certain color masks — are seen as a potential breaches of national security law,” he said. “The red line is constantly shifting — we feel very insecure.”
In a dawn raid on Jan. 6 that sent shock waves across Hong Kong, 55 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, from former lawmakers, local district councilors to young campaigners and activists, were arrested over primary polls held last year. The sweeping police crackdown marked the single biggest operation conducted under the controversial national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong last year.
Last Sunday, Hong Kong police charged 47 of them with conspiracy to commit subversion, and held them in custody before they appeared in court the next day. Prosecutors alleged they had schemed to select candidates who could win a majority of the 70 legislative council seats in an election — subsequently postponed by the government — and then to indiscriminately block legislation to “paralyze” parliament and force the resignation of the chief executive.
They were detained in custody, appearing in marathon bail hearings that ran for most of the week. Some fainted from fatigue while others complained they were not able to change clothes for several days.
To show their eligibility for bail, some of the most prominent political figures announced their departure from their democratic political party. On Thursday last week, the judge denied bail to 32. As of Friday, 11 out of the 15 granted bail remained in custody pending the government’s immediate appeal. Those refused bail included veteran politicians Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Eddie Chu (朱凱迪) and Gary Fan (范國威), who were often criticized by younger activists as being too moderate.
The judge barred the media from reporting on arguments made by either side at the bail hearing, during which the defendants made speeches that drove families and even journalists to tears.
Accused of “conspiring to subvert state power,” the 47 face terms up to life imprisonment if convicted. The eight who have not been charged so far — including US lawyer John Clancey, pro-democracy legislators James To (涂謹申) and Roy Kwong (鄺俊宇) — had their bail extended to May 4.
The operation leaves nearly every key voice of dissent in Hong Kong now in custody or jail.
SEVERE PUNISHMENT
The sudden detentions came a few days after China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong (夏寶龍) said those who “opposed China and caused chaos in Hong Kong” should be banished from public office. Xia said at a high-level symposium on Feb. 22 that the “extremely vicious ones,” including detained Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai (黎智英), law academic Benny Tai (戴耀廷) and jailed activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), should also be “severely punished,” according to a transcript published by the Beijing-backed Bauhinia magazine. Chinese officials also stressed that the new laws would ensure that only “patriots” could govern Hong Kong.
The speed and the magnitude of the crackdown on the pro-democracy camp has shocked even the most experienced politicians. Many had anticipated that the national security law would initially only target those involved in violent protests, or advocates of independence and believed China would tolerate some pro-democracy politicians for the sake of window-dressing.
“It was a big surprise to be charged with subversion,” said 79-year-old US lawyer Clancey, who came to Hong Kong over 50 years ago as a Catholic priest. “I never foresaw this.”
“Obviously they are saying clearly they only want patriotic people to govern Hong Kong ... they want to rule out anyone from the democratic camp,” said Clancey, who was the first foreign national detained under a sweeping national security law. He was serving as the treasurer for Power of Democracy, an organizer of the primaries.
Since the imposition of the national security law, the authorities have stoked pressure on the judiciary, media, schools and universities and the civil society at large, including churches and NGOs, as Beijing-backed media increasingly lashed out on judges, professors, school teachers and church pastors seen as pro-democracy.
Emily Lau (劉慧卿), a veteran politician and former chair of the Democratic Party, lamented the muting of voices of dissent in the city that once prides itself as a bastion of freedoms in the region.
“The Hong Kong as we know it is crumbling before our very eyes,” Lau said. “It is disheartening to see a once vibrant, free and safe city degenerating into its current state. Beijing may decide to snuff out the dissenting voices, but that would be a big mistake. Allowing different voices in Hong Kong is a part of the city’s strength and shows Beijing is willing to tolerate opposing views.”
As the National People’s Congress convened its annual meeting in Beijing this week, officials say a key focus is the overhauling of Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure the city is governed by “patriots.”
Hong Kong Baptist University political science professor Kenneth Chan (陳家洛) said the crackdown would send the message to the world that “the ‘one country, two systems’ policy has been prematurely terminated.”
“There is no limit to a populist authoritarian drive for ‘political purity’ to bring the city under total subjugation,” he said.
“We have now ‘show trials’ to make the democrats examples of how the party-state fights and struggles with the enemies... To ‘legalize’ the political struggle is the Leninist legal tradition, whereby the law is viewed by the Chinese government as a mere tool to facilitate the Party agenda,” he said, citing party edicts that stress that “to implement the law is to implement the will of the party.”
“The message to the world is that Beijing will not succumb to pressure from the Western coalition about human rights violations in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet etc,” Chinese University of Hong Kong adjunct professor Willy Lam (林和立) said.
Meanwhile, many still brave prosecution by protesting outside the courtroom this week, chanting “Give us justice!” amid heavy police presence.
“You can’t live in fear... I wouldn’t stop working because of fear,” Clancey said. “In perfect love, there is no fear.”
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump’s second administration has gotten off to a fast start with a blizzard of initiatives focused on domestic commitments made during his campaign. His tariff-based approach to re-ordering global trade in a manner more favorable to the United States appears to be in its infancy, but the significant scale and scope are undeniable. That said, while China looms largest on the list of national security challenges, to date we have heard little from the administration, bar the 10 percent tariffs directed at China, on specific priorities vis-a-vis China. The Congressional hearings for President Trump’s cabinet have, so far,
For years, the use of insecure smart home appliances and other Internet-connected devices has resulted in personal data leaks. Many smart devices require users’ location, contact details or access to cameras and microphones to set up, which expose people’s personal information, but are unnecessary to use the product. As a result, data breaches and security incidents continue to emerge worldwide through smartphone apps, smart speakers, TVs, air fryers and robot vacuums. Last week, another major data breach was added to the list: Mars Hydro, a Chinese company that makes Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as LED grow lights and the
US political scientist Francis Fukuyama, during an interview with the UK’s Times Radio, reacted to US President Donald Trump’s overturning of decades of US foreign policy by saying that “the chance for serious instability is very great.” That is something of an understatement. Fukuyama said that Trump’s apparent moves to expand US territory and that he “seems to be actively siding with” authoritarian states is concerning, not just for Europe, but also for Taiwan. He said that “if I were China I would see this as a golden opportunity” to annex Taiwan, and that every European country needs to think
RSS