More blows landed in Hong Kong but please don't count its people out yet!

Two pages of the June 5th, 2021, edition of Apple Daily

 

As I write this blog post, there's been no report that the Goddess of Democracy statue at City University of Hong Kong has been removed/dismantled/destroyed; ditto re the erasure of the June 4th message written on the surface of Swire Bridge over at the University of Hong Kong's main campus.  This is not to say though that there's no bad news to report from Hong Kong today.  

 

More specifically, before noon today came news that government prosecutors have slapped one more charge on Jimmy Lai, the six former members of his Apple Daily staff who are accused alongside him of having broken the National Security Law (by "colluding with foreign powers"), and three related companies (i.e., Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited).    

 

This new, British colonial era charge against Lai and co involves "seditious publications"; with their standing accused of conspiring to "print, publish, sell, offer for sale, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications".  As far as I can tell, what it means in plain English is that they were involved in the printing, publishing selling, offering for sale, distributing, displaying and/or reproduction of issues of Apple Daily, the openly pro-democracy newspaper which was in print for some 26 years before it was shut down by the authorities; with those between April 1st and June 24th of this year being deemed to have been "seditious".  

 

A reminder: April 1st is April Fool's Day but this is no April Fool's joke, alas.  Another reminder: Apple Daily's final edition came out on June 24th.  A third reminder: Jimmy Lai was already behind bars prior to April 19th.  Specifically, after being arrested last December and denied bail, but then allowed out for a few days later that month, he was put back in custody on December 31st and has remained behind bars ever since!  So it does seem particularly unjust that he's accused of committing crimes even when he was already languishing in a government detention facility.  

 

Also, as Nikkei Asia's Hong Kong-based deputy editor, Zach Coleman was moved to Tweet: "As the rationale of denying Jimmy Lai bail and keeping him locked up was to eliminate the risk of him further offending against national security, sounds like there be some problems with the HK jail...."!  So, actually, this latest charge looks to provide added grist for the mill for critics of the Hong Kong government, particularly those who accuse it of waging "lawfare" against pro-democracy Hong Kongers and the media.

Meanwhile, at "ground" level, you have the Hong Kong police doing their best to give further ammunition to those who believe that Hong Kong has become a de facto police state.  A Tweet today by journalist Ben Lucas: "After having regularly witnessed many young male hongkongers between the age of 13 - 35 be arbitrarily stopped and searched by police on a daily basis in this city since the protests ended, today was my turn. It’s just shitty and completely pointless. There’s no need for it."

 

A member of the Hong Kong Twitteratti known as mazzamazza2022 was prompted to follow up by sharing the following: "Arbitrary stop and search options has one purpose, and that's intimidation. I was able to evade popo without being searched throughout 2019-20 despite being in that age band. That was mainly due to having the protest map which told me where raptors and dogs were lurking"; and "I remember the general strike on [August 5th, 2019] and seeing young students being subjected to [stop and search by the police]. Thought about my students being intimidated, so I called in sick that day and cancelled my tutoring classes. My boss was unhappy, of course".  

 

Adding to the tragedy: "Later we had a discussion around stop and search, and her response was "if you don't do anything wrong you have nothing to fear". Entirely missing the point that innocent youngsters are being targeted. Because being young is a crime."

 

Given the present state of affairs, it would seem that all hope is lost for Hong Kong.  And yet, the Hong Kong Free Press' offerings today includes an opinion piece by Kent Ewing about something to cheer about "this dismal year" that includes the following observations:  

Hong Kong is a profoundly different city than the one we remember from two years ago — a city whose leaders have grown cold to the hopes and dreams of their own people in order to satisfy the authoritarian demands issuing, in ever-increasing number, from the north. A city which no longer aspires to the quest for democracy, sound governance and human rights. In too many respects, a lost city...

 

Yet it cannot be denied that, despite all the alarming setbacks, there remains a spirit and verve about this place — perhaps much dampened and downtrodden but still very much alive — that the Chinese leadership and their local lackeys have been unable to squash and, let’s hope, never will...

 

At this point, in the wake of the promulgation of the national security law, Hongkongers may not feel safe standing up to a government that has abdicated its responsibility to represent their interests and aspirations to the Chinese leadership. But they have also refused to lie down. 

In such dreary New Year’s circumstances, that’s something to celebrate.