This just in from The New York Times:
GÖTTINGEN,
Germany — When the tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June
4, 1989, many Hong Kongers watched in horror on their TVs. A few days
before, one million of them had marched
in solidarity with the rebellious Chinese gathered in the
square to ask for more liberalism and democracy from the Chinese authorities.
Thirty years on, it is Hong Kong that is fighting for democratic values — for
its very political survival, actually — against another onslaught by the same
Communist government in Beijing.
The
situation is dire. The Hong Kong government, now apparently under the direct
influence of Beijing, has proposed amending existing extradition laws to give
unprecedented power to Hong Kong’s leader — an official essentially chosen by
the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.) — to arrest people in Hong Kong and send
them to China to face trial. The new bill would apply to anyone —
a Hong Kong citizen, a mainlander, even foreigners traveling through the city —
accused by the Chinese authorities of having broken Chinese law.
The
Chinese legal system is famously corrupt and, too often, a tool of repression.
The new extradition law could be used to squelch any form of political
opposition or dissent. Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong,
has called it “the worst thing” to
happen to the city since Britain handed control over it to China in 1997. When
the legislation passes — which now seems near certain, and imminent — it will
spell the death of Hong Kong as the world has known it.
In 2014, at age 21, I was
one of the tens of thousands of protesters in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy
Umbrella Movement. We demanded that genuinely free elections be held in the
city, as set out in its Basic Law. Yet the government ordered liberal use of
tear gas against us; some protesters were severely beaten in dark street
corners. One could say that after more than two months of sit-ins, the Umbrella
Movement failed: None of our demands were met.
But
even then I believed, as I do now, that our resistance wasn’t futile; the
courage and commitment of the people who had rallied — many of them young —
gave me hope. It still does.
I write
this essay today, 30 years after the Tiananmen Square massacre, because as the
Chinese government grows more and more repressive at home and beyond, we need
to remember, tap and revive the ideals and the spirit of both June 4 and the
Umbrella Movement.
In
early 2015, a few friends from the Umbrella Movement and I founded Hong Kong
Indigenous, an activist group that later became a political party. Our purpose was
to defend Hong Kong’s existing freedoms and the rule of law, and further build
democracy, while saving the city’s distinctive language, culture and identity —
all of which we thought the government was steadily snuffing out.
We
organized many rallies, including to protest the hordes of smugglers who were coming from the
mainland, jamming the city’s streets, to stock up on baby formula and aspirin.
In 2015, the Chinese government changed its visa policy, limiting cross-border visits and
easing the problem. This was an important victory for us, as it showed us that
activism could bring results.
In early 2016, a peaceful
protest we organized to preserve the annual Lunar New Year night market in Mongkok (which
the government had said should be suspended) degenerated after the surprise
appearance and provocations of hundreds of police officers in riot
gear. The authorities seized on the opportunity.
About 40 of us were
charged with rioting under the Public Order Ordinance,
a long-dormant but draconian holdover from the British colonial era that the United Nations Human Rights
Council had denounced in 2013.
Despite
that, a few weeks later, Edward Leung Tin-kei, a graduate of the University of
Hong Kong and a member of Hong Kong Indigenous, ran in a by-election for a seat
in the local Legislature, known as LegCo, and did well. The party’s
platform encouraged Hong Kong to keep its distance from China and promoted what
makes the city unique. Edward then set out to run in the general
election in September 2016 — only to be disqualified on grounds that he didn’t
seem committed enough to the notion that Hong Kong was
an inalienable part of China(despite having signed the requisite
forms to that effect).
Hong
Kong Indigenous transferred its support to another localist party, which
fielded two candidates. Both won, and then were
disqualified, too. We had been disenfranchised.
But the
Beijing–Hong Kong government axis didn’t stop there.
Edward
and I had a mutual understanding: One of us would stay and fight the rioting
charges against us in court; the other would flee and fight for Hong Kong from
the outside. It was a painful choice for us both. Edward flew back from
overseas to stand trial. Alan Li Tung-sing, another member of Hong Kong
Indigenous, and I came to Germany in November 2017 and received refugee status in
May 2018.
Last
June, Edward was sentenced to six years in jail. About 20 other protesters, mostly students, were handed
sentences, many of them prison terms of three years or more. In April, leaders of the Umbrella Movement, including the highly
respected university professors Benny Tai Yiu-Ting and Chan Kin-man, were also
given prison terms for the 2014 protests. And now, the extradition bill is
pending.
Back in
2016, a hot topic was what would happen to Hong Kong after 2047, the year that
the city’s current, special status is supposed to elapse. Some of us believed
then that a referendum could be held under the Basic Law to determine Hong
Kong’s future — perhaps even secure its independence from China. Beijing’s
actions since then show that there is no chance of this happening.
Today, I advocate the release of political prisoners and the full
restoration of freedoms already guaranteed by Hong Kong’s existing laws.
Sixty
years ago the Dalai Lama fled Tibet to escape persecution by the C.C.P. Thirty
years ago, Chinese dissidents fled mainland China after the Tiananmen Square
massacre. Now, some of us have fled Hong Kong.
The
Chinese government keeps repressing, but people keep resisting.
Ray Wong Toi-yeung is a political activist
from Hong Kong and a refugee in Germany.
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