Thursday, March 28

“The new Hong Kong chief executive will apply more heavy hand”



With most political activists in jail, Nathan Law is at only 28 years old the most relevant voice of the Hong Kong democracy movement that remains free. It is thanks to the fact that he escaped from the city days before the promulgation of the National Security Law imposed by the Chinese regime, which has criminalized the political opposition and claims him for secession and collusion with foreign forces. After leading the Federation of Students between 2015 and 2016, he founded with his friend Joshua Wong the Demosisto party and became the youngest member of the Hong Kong Parliament, but was disqualified for his oath at the inauguration. Seasoned in the ‘Umbrella Revolt’ that claimed universal suffrage in 2014 and 2019, he analyzes from exile in London how much Hong Kong has changed since China took control on July 1, 1997.

-How do you see Hong Kong 25 years after its return to China by the United Kingdom?

“I left Hong Kong two years ago and things have gotten worse. John Lee, the new chief executive and former police officer, is going to crack down and crack down a lot more. Even though we have already seen many political prisoners, I fear there will be more.

—After the National Security Law and the harsh restrictions due to Covid, is there hope for the democratic movement in Hong Kong?

-Many leaders of the protests are in jail, such as Joshua Wong, Benny Tai, Jimmy Lai… For the latter two we expect very long sentences because Beijing has portrayed them as the “black hands” behind the democratic movement. Right now, the jail is full of political prisoners and democratic activists. In the next five years, or more, we will see more situations like this. But, in the long term, there will be many problems in China due to its industrial transformation, its loss of competitiveness in low-cost manufacturing and the impact of the ‘Covid 0’ policy. All this will destabilize the Chinese regime and if it loses the attraction of its economic benefits on the people, it will have a crisis of legitimacy. As the Chinese regime has no intention of liberalizing and being more open, it is really difficult for Hong Kong to get its freedom.

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—At the 20th Congress of the Communist Party scheduled for this fall, how will the pandemic, the impact of the lockdowns on the economy and the war in Ukraine affect President Xi Jinping’s plans to perpetuate himself in power?

—I don’t think there is the slightest opposition to Xi Jinping in the Chinese Communist Party and he will be appointed to continue his leadership. But we will see more uncertainties and challenges to his status. For example the war in Ukraine, since Russia is Beijing’s closest ally. Russia will suffer great losses in economic and diplomatic terms. Internationally, her power is weakened and that will undermine China’s ability to promote its totalitarianism in the world and to suppress her people.

—Are Western democracies still trapped by their economic interests with China?

– China’s economy is interconnected with the world and many Western companies have huge interests in that country. If China launches a war against Taiwan, or if its violation of human rights has to be punished, it is much more difficult to cut ties than with Russia. The world really should start thinking about how to reduce its dependence on China.

The world should really start thinking about how to reduce its dependence on China

—Was the violence in the 2019 demonstrations the perfect excuse for the National Security Law that China wanted to impose since 2003?

— The violence we saw in Hong Kong in 2019 was unprecedented. The reason why there was a use of force by the protesters was because of the unlimited use of police violence. For me it was very sad because I am a peaceful protester and I practice civil disobedience. The National Security Law is Beijing’s blueprint to make Hong Kong ‘one country, one system’. It was their goal and I don’t think the violence of the protests contributed to its implementation.

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—The National Security Law has criminalized political opposition. What can the parties that ask for democracy do in this new legal scenario?

—It is really difficult to carry out campaigns for democracy now. If you say that the chief executive should resign, you are accused of instigating hatred and the government can arrest you. If you say that we should end the one party system and have democracy, it will be considered a seditious message and you can also be arrested.

—Until now, Hong Kong was the only place on Chinese soil where the Tiananmen massacre was remembered. How can such historical memory survive?

—This has been the third year that an event has not been authorized in Hong Kong to commemorate the Tiananmen massacre. Before 2020, his surveillance was big news around the world and served to keep people aware of the brutality of the Chinese regime. Although it is difficult to organize something like this in Hong Kong right now, we have seen many rallies around the world.

“Will you be able to go back to Hong Kong some day?”

—I will return, but not now nor in the next few years, but in the next decades. I have faith in it and what I am doing is preparing my return home.



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