ANARCHY IN THE HK: MEET THE NEW BOSS / WORSE THAN THE OLD BOSS

[defrog]

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region turned 25 yesterday.

Chief executive Carrie Lam, who “decided” not to seek another term, is gone.

Replacing her is John Lee, a former cop who (as Secretary of Security) led the hardcore crackdown on the 2019 protests. He was personally selected by the CCP as their preferred candidate, and he ran unopposed in what we laughably call an “election” (in which the Election Committee – 1,461 elites vetted by Lee himself and approved by Beijing – are the only voters allowed – Lee won 99.4% of the vote, and the 0.6% are probably under investigation by now).

 

So you have an idea of how the next 25 years are going to go. To clarify, Lee’s term is only five years (and he can run for re-election, though that’s a rare thing in HK), but it’s a fair bet that Lee’s successors will run with whatever ball they’re handed – because it is after all Beijing’s ball, and that’s the nature of the gig.

 

Do I have thoughts? I do, though there’s too much to say and at the same time nothing much to say.

 

1. It’s probably worth starting with sharing some links, like where HK is now in terms of the national security law, press freedom, civil society, and in general. On the whole, it’s not good. Unless you happen to share the views of GovHK and the CCP (or accept their highly idiosyncratic definitions of One Country Two Systems, free speech, press freedom, universal suffrage, judicial indepencdence, etc –  in which case, yr probably enjoying yourself.

 

2. Here’s another link explaining how we got here – and it’s worth reading as a cautionary tale for other countries who are experiencing creeping authoritarianism right now. Simply put, it’s not an overnight thing – it’s a long game, years in the making. And you'd be surprised how many people will accept it as long as it works in their favor. 

 

3. Here’s a link reviewing Carrie Lam’s legacy and her role in taking a wrecking ball to HK’s freedoms, and her Beijing-directed zero-COVID policies that have decimated the economy.

 

4. And here’s one about John Lee and what we can expect from him.

 

5. The HKSAR 25^th Anniversary itself was somehow a perfect metaphor for where we are right now – the convention centre walled off for blocks around, most media banned from attending it (though they could cover it using govt-supplied video), and a typhoon poised to shut down the rest of the city. No fireworks, no gala event, no party, just lots and lots of Chinese flags everywhere. China President Xi Jinping came down to swear in Lee and make a big speech about HK’s prosperous future now that it’s been brought to heel and the pro-democracy camp in jail or in exile. Good times.

 

6. And so, what now? Likely more of the same, only more so – an expansion of the national security law to cover even more vaguely defined offenses against the state, a “fake news” law that is very likely to be used to keep the media in line and crack down on social media, the June 4 candlelight vigil permanently banned, book bans, and of course the usual official gaslighting: Hong Kong has lost none of its freedoms, the protests were funded and run by foreign forces out to overthrow China, HK was never a British colony, etc. To say nothing of the continued and accelerated blurring of boundaries as Hong Kong gets co-opted into the Greater Bay Area project.

 

Which is a drag, of course.

 

7. To answer the inevitable question (and one which now regularly appears when meeting local people I haven’t talked to for awhile) – “Are you planning to leave HK?” – the answer is: no. Not right now. I’ve lived here 26 years now, longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, so this is home. The one thing that would convince us to go back to the US is if my mom (who is 90, bless her) needs more looking after than my sister can provide on her own.

 

But apart from that, the political aspects don’t affect me too much right now. Perhaps they will later, especially with US-China relations deteriorating. I don’t feel in any real danger of being arrested, if only because GovHK isn’t interested in jailing literally everyone who says bad things about them – and that’s mainly because it’s logistically impossible. They know full well how much support the pro-Demo movement and the protesters had then (and have now). It scares them. So they’re hoping to make enough public examples of the high-profile ringleaders who have actual influence to encourage the rest of us to shut up.

 

My social media presence is modest and my follower numbers meagre. I think I’ll be fine. Perhaps that’s naïve. We’ll see.

 

Staying put,

 

This is dF