The Civil Human Rights Front's turn to disband

Out on the street with the Civil Human Rights Front

in what can seem like another lifetime

 

Just like that, another iconic pro-democracy Hong Kong institution is no more.  The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) announced its disbandment earlier today -- two days later than a South China Morning Post article predicted would be the case earlier this week but, well, we knew the end was nigh for some time already.

 

Among other things, the CHRF has not organized a protest rally for some time now -- no thanks in large part to the Hong Kong police force objecting to their requests to stage them -- and its two most recent convenors, Figo Chan and Jimmy Sham, being currently behind bars.  Additionally, back in March, a campaign was already being waged by the pro-Beijing media to discredit this (previously) influential pan-democratic protest coalition which was founded in 2002 to coordinate protests by a network of pro-democracy and social issue advocacy groups in Hong Kong.  

 

Actually, in view of how quickly Hong Kong's largest union was taken down (in just 11 days), it's a testament to the people behind the largest of civic organizations in Hong Kong thus far to have disbanded that it managed to battle on for as long as it did.  On a more negative note: it's a clear sign of how much the Hong Kong government's attitude towards the 19-year-old umbrella organization of civil society groups has changed over the years.  

 

A Hong Kong Free Press report on precisely this noted that back in 2013, the then Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying, referred to representatives of the CHRF as "friends" when addressing Hong Kongers after that year's July 1st protest march organized by the CHRF.  For the record, here's the pertinent section of the speech in question: "Friends from CHRF who hosted this protest, other friends who participated in organising it, as well as Hongkongers who attended the demonstration… You’ve worked hard. The government will carefully listen to all demands expressed in the protest".  Also for the record: this very fact was pointed out by Figo Chan back in May and Leung Chun-ying can indeed be heard stating this (in Cantonese) in a video clip posted on Twitter by Citizen News' Alvin Lum in April. 

 

In recent years, however, the CHRF was seen as a trouble-making thorn in the flesh of the government -- and, increasingly, an organization that needed to be brought down; this despite the CHRF having long espoused non-violence, always havin sought police approval when planning demonstrations, and never going ahead with organizing protests that did not receive a police-issued “letter of no objection”.  Even more amazingly, Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu has alleged that the CHRF might have violated the national security law in recent years even though this pro-democratic coalition has not organized any protest marches or rallies in the one year and one and a half months since the imposition of China's security law on Hong Kong on June 30th, 2020.         

 

Three questions arise from Raymond Siu's allegations.  Firstly, what happened to the declaration/promise (including by the likes of Carrie Lam) that the national security law is not/won't be retrospective?  Secondly, does this mean that Raymond Siu believes -- and the Hong Kong police force that he commands -- considers that every single participant in the protest marches and rallies organized by the CHRF that he alleged to have violated the national security law also have violated that draconian and uber broad law?  If so, so much for yet another Carrie Lam claim: this one about the national security law "will only target an extremely small minority of illegal and criminal acts and activities"!  Thirdly, since the police granted permission for all the protests that the CHRF organized to take place (beginning in 2002 and all the way through to 2019), are they criminally liable too?      

On a personal note: the CHRF organized the first Hong Kong-centric protest event that I took part in -- the July 1st protest march of 2012.  (I was a regular attendee of June 4th candlelight vigils in Victoria Park even before 2012 but those memorial events for the Tiananmen Square massacre are ones I see as as more international in scope.)  And over the years, I came to associate them with peaceful protests that often had a carnival-like atmosphere.  

 

Even in 2019, my sense was that the protests that took place under the aegis of the CHRF were likely to be more peaceful and safe to participate in than certain others.  Incidentally, another organizer of protests that I had thought of as having a greater likelihood of being peaceful and safe to attend was Ventus Lau.  And the fact that he too is behind bars along with the likes of Jimmy Sham and Figo Chan shows how extreme is this ongoing government clamp down on dissent and freedoms.  

 

In their farewell statement, the individuals who made the decision to dissolve the organization stated that: "Even though CHRF no longer exists today, we believe that different organisations will still keep their beliefs, not forget about their original intentions, & support civil society".  I would like to believe that this will indeed be the case.  

 

Even so, there's no denying that the efforts to try to support and be part of Hong Kong civil society has gotten harder with the dissolution of civic organizations with deep roots and wide impact like the CHRF.  Also, as journalism professor Yuen Chan already shared prior to the confirmation of the CHRF's dissolution today: "Two years of so much loss and brutality, but the deliberate, brick-by-brick dismantling of civil society may be the most painful thing see so far."