And ‘much worse than expected. ‘Law Because with the Hong Kong national security is such a deterrent

After more than a decade, suddenly leaving Martin to write his column. He said goodbye to his readers, editors and colleagues. But he has no name, the fear that drove him, his comments, at least not let go until he left Hong Kong. passed “The Day [Law on national] security I can not at all easy to write. I stared at the screen for hours,” he messaged when boarding her flight from the semi-autonomous enclave. “I hate to self-censorship, then, that rather call it an end.” Martin, who asked that her real name not be used because it needs to return in the future is certainly not alone in silence rather than risk tangling with draconian new restrictions. he spent three and a half weeks after the entry into force of the law, at the end of June to maintain a sense of fear and insecurity occurred in Hong Kong, where all the hatred visa for the Chinese government to provoke now punishable by up to life imprisonment. Some people have their places of social media changed and deleted messaging app stories. Journalists have removed their names from digital archives. Books are washed from libraries. Shops have walls Post-it degraded pro-democracy messages wear while activists codes have resorted protest songs suddenly expressed prohibited. The first arrests took place just hours after the law was implemented. On July 1, the 23 th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China from Britain, hundreds of protesters have been rounded for unauthorized meeting in the middle of the crown pandemic. Ten, including a 15 year old girl and a motorcyclist of 23 years who led the police force, the new law were accused of violating, Independence Pro-carrying banners mainly adhesives and separatists. In at least one respect, the rules already proving successful largely evaporated The sometimes violent demonstrations that Asia through free financial capital flared wheel of last year. The agitation that universities took public transportation paralyzed and led police and Molotov bombs in residential areas, in millions of dollars damage batted and threw Hong Kong into recession. And ‘even in Beijing’s bottom line that the movement of the Communist Party turned into an open challenge to the authorities of China, with protesters sporting American flags challenged petition foreign governments to intervene and, increasingly, chanting “Independence, the only way out. ” Their battle has brought these previously stable financial capital directly into the nucleus of the implosion of the US-China relations. After Beijing, the legislation is needed to guarantee its sovereignty over the area. Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of “Hong Kong people can still see the Chinese Communist Party after the handover criticize” the office of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs of the Chinese government, said that reportedly at a press conference at ‘beginning of this month. “However, you can not turn them into actions.” Read more: Hong Kong caught in the middle of the Great Power US-China raid some hope the fight will be temporary as Beijing restores stability. But others fear the far-reaching new law marks the arrival of authoritarian control in a city that has long cherished their freedom and an independent judiciary. “During the night, Hong Kong’s rule of law rule by fear away,” said Lee Cheuk-yan, veteran activist and former legislator. chairs Lee Hong Kong in support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which established only museum in the world dedicated to the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The fear, the museum and its support for an end to one-party rule in China, could fall foul of the new law, the alliance is $200,000 to increase its archives to digitize rushes. While Lee and his colleagues discussed abroad, to move the artifacts killed by a donor mothers of video material of the bloody military crackdown students and objects, I have delivered the victory of the Chinese government and the experiment as it seemed the event the collective memory cancellation. But keeping the operation is now a betting game much higher. “Our concern is that the law defines in a vague way about everything and so broad that we do not know how they will categorize our organization,” says Lee. “Will you fight?” The sense of foreboding dominates many organizations as they speculate what make them a target. We should all plans Compiled secret, only the law has become public since it came into force just before midnight on June 30 morning, storage giant red and yellow flag above the port of Victoria, sailed announced the new legislation. Although the new special measure prohibiting subversion, sedition, terrorism and collusion, several lawyers who once said expert in Chinese law, the formulation of these crimes can be interpreted as expansive of almost any business use, or language. On the mainland, similar charges are exercised regularly to crush even moderate dissent. “It ‘s much worse than expected. It can be anything, including the actions that we did last year in the protests,” says Lee, illegal Monday faced multiple charges gives it before the entry into force of the law. The Hong Kong government insists the new law affects only a small minority of people, and that the freedom of speech, the city is not in danger. But officials also say the law includes popular slogans including “Free Hong Kong” and “Hong Kong independence” that are now considered incitement to commit secession or undermine state power. It is still unclear to what extent the 66-law provisions that touch on education, media, non-governmental organizations, universities, internet, social organizations, international organizations, the elections-and becomes longer. “Every day the government will learn something new about this law proclaims,” ​​says Fung Wai-Wah, president of the pro-democracy specialist teachers union. concern “The red line moves as before.” Stokes academic freedom, he said the schools control the educational materials, books and libraries, so that nothing is in violation. “This complaint is irrational because it is not unique,” adds Fung. For the first time, the Chinese security agents will work openly in Hong Kong, while the more serious criminals can be delivered on the mainland in court in the Communist Party-controlled courts. Simon Young, associate dean of the University of Hong Kong Law School, suggested that if the extradition have used their powers: “It may be that we do not know until the person has entered the state land. And ‘certainly guess something that we hold and fear. “senior officials of the town, CEO Carrie Lam, denies” widespread fear [sic] “under Hongkongers, is perceived as an official of the Chinese government the law, to” a strong high hanging sword “over the heads look like potential criminals. “This is not only a new law, it is really a new order in Hong Kong,” says Fred Rocafort, a diplomat and former lawyer on China at the law firm Harris bricken. He expects “relatively constant applications of law for even relatively minor facts” is established this condition. Read more: Freer Hong Kong than you think ‘Some deterrent effect can be seen in the deliberate ambiguity of the law. “The purpose of incept the minds of people so that they have to ask the question if all they do is perhaps a violation,” said Peter Yam, a film producer at the time of an independent documentary about the protests in Hong Kong work. It could be while the article in the current political climate incendiary contemplated Yam says, the crew discussed the law and do not want to focus on. “If our films are made in relation to censorship, and then there’s nothing we can do,” he says. Since the law was enacted, Yam has a flow of messages from friends and colleagues will receive it’s time to leave, discuss around the city for good, “I want to stay until the last moment” itself. He says. “At the same time, we must be all the plans.” While Australia, Taiwan and the U.K. are all equipped with facilities for Hongkongers on the run can not afford an exit strategy, many of the 7.4 million inhabitants of the city starkly unequal in the world. Those who need to be sailing it means losing some of the freedoms that have made their home from the mainland. In 1997, the former British colony was re-grafted known as a political formula for China to preserve the “one country, two systems”, developed their own legal and political systems separated in an authoritarian state. meaning the presumption of Hong Kong is the only place in China where political reform was required only by the imagination of his lungs, and the color and coarseness of anti-government abuse were limited. Here Hawking promote the publication of banned books and literature of Falun Gong practitioners banned spiritual movement could only access across the border. Free of censorship, local press hard-nosed documented any perceived interference from Beijing. Lam, the leader of the city, said it could guarantee the press not be targeted only by the new law, if all journalists were also “owned a 100% guarantee that they will not commit any crime for this piece of legislation national. “Rachel Cartland, a former officer and guest presenter of long date for Hong Kong’s public broadcaster RTHK, the statements found less reassuring the government. It announced that it was to withdraw from a radio program about the new law, a few days after its adoption. “I put aside the idea of, well, as they are likely to come after me? ‘, And dispassionately only seen her,” he says. “Want to get people to really think through: What impact will go,” The cost of the policy is much higher ‘The government is expected to’ strengthen management ‘of foreign non-governmental organizations and news agencies, after the law, a provided deep concern and accelerated the plans of corporate relocation he asked. On July 14, the New York Times also sweeping new powers announced it postponed its digital news operation in Hong Kong to South Korea, visa problems, citing the city and the “new era under the worse. Chinese Domain” The police It has to regulate content and intercept online communications. Companies can be forced to content to remove a threat to national security and the performance of private user data. In response technology giants like Facebook and Google have announced a break on data requests from Hong Kong. could be the meantime, primary pro-democratic parties in mid-July elections held a violation of the Law on national security is seen by way of “subversion of state power”. (Supports the government that the primaries were potentially subversive, because the stated goal of many candidates, if elected, will be the government budget and legislative veto, even though such situations of deadlock under the mini-constitution, the city allowed.) the organizers claim that more than 600,000 votes cast in two days of favorable vote with the results of young Democrats who tend to be more confrontational with the Chinese government. It is unclear whether these candidates, many of whom have protested the new law will be disqualified or face other consequences. Read more: “will be the cost of the policy exceeds much more than before,” one country, two systems are still the best model for Hong Kong, but needs a bad reform ‘, says Tanya Chan, a legislator and convenor the pro-democracy camp. His book was a distance of several from circulation to libraries, waiting to be reviewed. The aims of their travelogue was “staggering,” she says, although she believes that this law “will affect almost every aspect of our normal life.” “Sooner or later” Some groups have dissolved beforehand. Demosisto, the young political party founded by Joshua Wong prominent activists, ended the same day to be the law was passed, while other political organizations upstart transferred abroad. testified Nathan Law, co-founder of Demosisto and often went Kong in Chinese state media as a conspirator by foreign governments about his lobbying for US sanctions against Hong reviled in voluntary exile in London, a day after on -line in a conference, listen. “It creates a chilling effect,” says Law “and destroyed Hong Kong, which we used.” But for some, unnerved by the violence and destruction of last year’s protests, the law brings peace Welcome to the streets of Hong Kong. Ronny Ng, a 52-year-old IT expert, says wearily was unable to walk or to go to work in protest after the protest turned his neighborhood into a battlefield. “If you are not against the government or against China, then the new law will not be a problem,” he says during a cigarette break outside his office. Those who admits, “should probably leave if they can not adapt.” Among the companies in the financial center were mixed reactions. Once the details have been revealed, it showed a survey by the Chamber of Commerce, the majority of companies in the US hub operation in question by the growing American, especially about the ambiguity of the law. But an exodus seems unlikely anticipated with 51% of respondents would give either no effect or a positive effect on their business, the suspension of the protests. However, the resistance is not completely extinguished. Protesters have your face the law as with numbers, abbreviations and homonyms instead of words banned protest bypass singing. The Post-it have returned walls, even if they bring no more messages. White paper the last marker of resistance has become. So too did the first few lines of the Chinese national anthem, “Get up, refuse to be slaves” before the implementation of the new law, journalists and scholars the “death” had predicted Hong Kong. But Yam, the film’s producer, insists that this is not the end of his beloved city. “I’ve never been so alive to see Hong Kong in a sense,” he says during a lunch break during the last days of shooting. “It turns out we really want freedom.”
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