How Hong Kong’s political opposition was silenced

0:00This message comes from Schwab. At Schwab, you can get everything from self-directed investing to full-service wealth management all in one place. No matter your investing goal, life stage, amount to invest, or know-how, you can invest your way with Schwab. Today on State of the World, how Hong Kong's political opposition was silenced. You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Monday, July 6th. I'm Greg Dixon. Last week marked two political anniversaries in Hong Kong. It's been 29 years since control of the territory was handed over from Britain to China, ending colonial rule.

0:47And it's been six years since the Chinese government imposed its sweeping national security law on Hong Kong. Among other things, it restricted free speech and increased government surveillance. At the time, officials said the law would only affect a small number of people. But critics say it's transformed life in Hong Kong. Today, most of the city's political opposition has dissolved, been jailed, or gone into exile. Reporter Danny Vincent takes us to Hong Kong to see how things have changed. At night, supporters gather outside a shuttered bookstore to mourn its closing. They wear black, the color of Hong Kong's protest movement, and stand quietly looking at the metal shutters.

1:34Last week, Hong Kong media reported that owners were arrested for allegedly selling seditious material. For many in Hong Kong, the bookstore arrests are the latest sign that the space for public dissent continues to shrink. In an undisclosed location, veteran activist W flips through a local newspaper. They are not reporting anything political. Until six years ago, she'd been active in Hong Kong's once vibrant protest movement. Now she asks NPR to only use the first initial of her name for fear of government reprisal. July 1st has been a divisive day in Hong Kong's recent history. While officials celebrated the anniversary of the city's return from British to Chinese rule in 1997, activists like W rejoined a large political march.

2:22But since Beijing imposed a controversial national security law on June 30th in 2020, W says she began to notice something different in the lead-up to the anniversary. On July 1st, NPR saw plainclothes men following W from a gathering across several stops on the subway and into a busy shopping district where small groups of activists gathered to quietly mark the anniversary of the handover. W says on days like this, she feels she's under surveillance. Hong Kong police told NPR that they take action in accordance with the law and made appropriate deployments due to the threat of public safety, public order and national security.

3:05Do you know where the red lines are? I don't know. Because some people are still saying things that's against the government on Facebook, but nothing happened to them. but some only have less than 100 followers in Facebook and they got jailed. No, I don't know the red line. That invisible line also haunts the city's streets on historically sensitive dates. On June 4th, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, mass vigils are a thing of the past. On the anniversary in central Hong Kong, police quickly surrounded a lone protester His T-shirt reads, The Sound of Silence. Across town, we meet C.

3:55He is retired, but also a long-time activist. Like W, he asks not to be named for fear of reprisal. It's not just a law. It's like a weapon. They weaponise it. I think it's more like to claim down the political opponents. They try to erase, not only rewrite, erase the history. like nothing happened before. Six years after Beijing's national security law triggered a diplomatic tit-for-tat with Washington, Hong Kong's leadership isn't backing down. Powers continue to expand. This past June, Chief Executive John Lee was granted the unilateral authority to designate any criminal case a national security matter.

4:37Here he is speaking to the press on June 9th. National security is a state responsibility. the fact the state has dedicated some of the responsibility to Hong Kong SAR is not just a trust, it's also a requirement that we do this well. It's an uncompromising stance that activists like W believe has fundamentally changed daily life. Yes, they have restored peace in a sense that it's all quieted down. but the anger building up inside people is growing more and more. Some people chose to leave this place, immigrate to other countries and some are still very angry inside and trying to do something in their own way.

5:32But she admits in today's Hong Kong the cost of doing something their own way are higher than ever. For NPR News, I'm Danny Vincent in Hong Kong.

5:47That's the City of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.

6:10Of all the protests in the summer of 2020, for a moment there, it was utopia, one took a unique turn. Somebody over there, has anyone seen how to use a gun? This is the story of how violence came to occupy an anti-violence occupation in Seattle. Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new true crime series on the Embedded podcast from NPR. Are We Doomed helps you understand humanity's biggest threats. Climate change, pandemics, nuclear weapons. Stuff still hits planets. We stand, divided we fall. How worried should you actually be? And what can we do? I'm Ben Bradford. Join me for Are We Doomed? Part of the NPR network.

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