Subscriptions
Tommy Walker reports with eyewitness accounts of this week’s demonstrations in the former British colony and explores what Boris Johnson’s offer of refuge means to the residents of Hong Kong
Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong this week after Beijing passed its controversial national security law ending the city’s autonomy and the ‘one country, two systems’ agreement.
Coinciding with the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China, street protests lasted for the majority of Wednesday, leading to police firing pepper spray, pepper balls and using water cannons.
At least 370 people were arrested including 10 who had violated the new national security law, according to reports.
The national security law came into effect on the 30 June, but the details in its fine print were not released until 11 pm that night. The law prohibits secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference. Anyone who breaks those violations faces a maximum life prison sentence with a minimum of three years.
Of equal concern is the lack of specifics over how the law can be broken, leaving it open to the interpretation of the authorities. ‘Inciting hatred’ of China’s Government is included, whilst damage to public transport can be regarded as ‘terrorism’. National security cases can even be held without a jury, while laws can be broken on foreign soil even by non-residents.
To provide Beijing with an inside presence, a special national security team is due to be stationed within the city.
The Promise of Freedom
Last year, an unpopular extradition bill quickly developed into a pro-democracy movement, targeting anger towards the Chinese Government over fears that further freedoms in Hong Kong could be eroded.
Beijing argues that the new law is in place to prevent those scenes from happening again.
However, in 1997, when the UK handed the city back to the Chinese, Hong Kong was promised 50 years with a high degree of autonomy. Almost exactly 23 years on, it looks like those promises have been broken.
Jimmy Lai, the owner of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, believes Beijing planned all along to tighten its grip on the city.
“Their long-term plan has been definitely to control and subdue Hong Kong. Especially [Chinese the President] Xi Jinping, he doesn’t like the Hong Kong system,” he told Byline Times.
Since the law came into force, the residents of Hong Kong have become extremely anxious. While some are actively seeking to emigrate, others are erasing their social media accounts.
“My parents want me to leave Hong Kong,” one student told Byline Times. “I’m looking at studying in the UK or Taiwan.”
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s biggest pro-democracy activist group Demosisto has lost all of its leaders. Agnes Chow, one of the four co-founders, quit her leadership position on the day the law was passed. Joshua Wong, Jeffrey Ngo and Nathan Law all resigned too.
Nathan Law is reported to have left Hong Kong entirely. He was quoted by local reports as saying: “To leave the place where you grew up and not knowing when you will ever return is difficult. We must continue to speak up and advocate for our cause on the international stage. Be Water, as we like to say.”
A Day of Protest
Ahead of the 1 July protests, the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) submitted an application for the demonstration to be approved. It was rejected by authorities, which cited Coronavirus social distancing laws and previous violent encounters.
But, with the CHRF’s record of attracting big numbers to rallies, protests against the new law were always likely.
Hennessy Road – one of the widest thoroughfares stretching across the northern centre of Hong Kong Island – is usually a place for shoppers and leisure, with the glitz of the SOGO shopping mall and the glamour of Times Square taking centre stage.
For the past 12 months, it has become a well-trodden battleground and a venue for an aggressive game of cat-and-mouse between protestor and police.
Although the 1 July march was planned for two pm, crowds formed early at the mall. Protesters gathered while police, press and first-aid volunteers looked on. What unfolded next felt inevitable.
On a hot day in the city, the numbers continued to grow. Activists were standing by street stalls and on makeshift podiums addressing the crowds by microphone. Politician Lee Cheuk-Yan, who was apart of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 in Beijing, spoke to those gathered.
It was only a matter of time before the police intervened, pulling Cheuk-Yan down to the ground. Pepper spray was propelled toward the gathering protestors and press, setting the tone for the rest of the day.