Latest news with #LeagueofSocialDemocrats
Kuwait Times
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Hong Kong court hears appeals by jailed campaigners
HONG KONG: Pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung (front center in black), also known as "Long Hair", demonstrates with student protest leader Joshua Wong (left), League of Social Democrats chairman Avery Ng (second left), and pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law (front right) in Hong Kong.-- AFP HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court began hearing appeals on Monday from 12 democracy campaigners jailed for subversion last year during the city's largest national security trial. They were among 45 opposition figures, including some of Hong Kong's best-known democracy activists, who were sentenced in November over a 2020 informal primary election that authorities deemed a subversive plot. Critics including the United States, Britain and the European Union said the case showed how a Beijing-imposed national security law has eroded freedoms and quashed peaceful opposition in Hong Kong. Ex-lawmakers 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helena Wong and Raymond Chan are among those contesting their convictions and sentences in hearings that are scheduled to last 10 days. Owen Chow, a 28-year-old activist who was sentenced to seven years and nine months in jail—the harshest penalty among the dozen—has also lodged an appeal. Former district councilor Michael Pang withdrew his appeal application on Monday morning, leaving a total of 12 appellants. Some of them have already spent more than four years behind bars. The activists were accused of organizing or taking part in an unofficial primary election that aimed to improve the pro-democracy camp's chances of winning a majority in the legislature. They had hoped, once a majority was secured, to force the government to accede to demands such as universal suffrage by threatening to indiscriminately veto the budget—a plan that trial judges said would have caused a 'constitutional crisis'. Defense lawyer Erik Shum said that vetoing the budget was a form of 'check and balance' built into Hong Kong's mini-constitution that lawmakers could deploy as a last resort. 'In order to check the unpopular exercise of powers by the executive, one of the important measures is to tie the purse,' he told the court. Shum said lawmakers should not be answerable to the courts over how they vote because of the separation of powers.'Let politics remain in (the legislature) and let the public decide, not the judges.' Prosecutors also challenged the acquittal of lawyer Lawrence Lau, one of two people found not guilty in May 2024 from an original group of 47 accused. Lau's 'overall conduct' showed that he was party to the conspiracy and he should be tried again because the lower court made the wrong factual finding, the prosecution said. Lau, representing himself, said the trial court's findings should not be 'casually interfered' with. 'I have never advocated for the resignation of the chief executive, I have never advocated the indiscriminate vetoing of the financial budget,' Lau told the court, referring to core tenets of the alleged conspiracy. Beijing has remolded Hong Kong in its authoritarian image after imposing a sweeping national security law in 2020 following months of huge, and sometimes violent, pro-democracy demonstrations. Authorities arrested figures from a broad cross-section of the city's opposition in morning raids in 2021, the group later being dubbed the 'Hong Kong 47'. Aged between 27 and 69, they included democratically elected lawmakers and district councilors, as well as unionists, academics and others ranging from modest reformists to radical localists. Dozens of police officers were deployed outside the West Kowloon court building on Monday morning as people queued to attend the hearing. 'They made a sacrifice... I hope they understand that Hongkongers have not forgotten them,' said a public hospital worker in his thirties surnamed Chow. Amnesty International's China director Sarah Brooks said the appeal would be a 'pivotal test' for free expression in the Chinese finance hub. 'Only by overturning these convictions can Hong Kong's courts begin to restore the city's global standing as a place where rights are respected and where people are allowed to peacefully express their views without fear of arrest,' Brooks said. – AFP
Perth Now
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
HK activists appeal convictions in '47 democrats' case
Twelve Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are appealing their subversion convictions and jail terms in a national security case that's spotlighted Beijing's crackdown on dissent and drawn international criticism. The appeal stems from the "47 democrats" case, named for the number of activists who were arrested and charged with 'conspiracy to commit subversion' in 2021. The court eventually found 45 of the defendants guilty of organising and holding an unofficial primary election in July 2020 after massive pro-democracy protests brought the city to a standstill. Prosecutors considered the action to be a "plot" to undermine the Hong Kong government. Security was tight around the West Kowloon law courts building on Monday as scores of police officers, some with police dogs, patrolled the area and occasionally searched passers-by. "I want to see all of them," said an elderly man who was among around 100 people queuing to get a public ticket for the hearing. "They're not criminals." Foreign diplomats from over half a dozen countries were in attendance for this latest stage of the legal saga that began with dawn police raids on the homes of high-profile democrats in early 2021. Some countries such as the United States have condemned the case as "politically motivated" and are calling for the immediate release of the democrats who were sentenced last November to prison terms of up to ten years. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have defended the independence of the judiciary and say no one is above the law and the democrats have received a fair trial. Of the 16 democrats who pleaded not guilty during the trial, 11 have decided to appeal, including Gordon Ng, Gwyneth Ho and Owen Chow, who were all jailed for over seven years. Another democrat, Prince Wong, who pleaded guilty, is appealing her sentence. One defendant, Michael Pang, decided to withdraw his application on Monday. The appeals are expected to take around 10 days, and will also include a government appeal against the acquittal of one of the democrats, barrister Lawrence Lau. A years-long crackdown under a China-imposed national security law has resulted in arrests, the closures of liberal media outlets and civil society groups. The last two remaining pro-democracy parties, the Democratic Party and the League of Social Democrats, disbanded this year citing growing pressures. The case is one of the most prominent so far under a 2020 national security law that was imposed by China in response to mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
HKFP
13-07-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
The League of Social Democrats: A brief history of Hong Kong's now-disbanded left-wing party
On one sunny Sunday, the second-to-last day of June, seven members of the League of Social Democrats (LSD) held a press conference. Around 70 reporters and photographers had to squeeze into the small venue, which measured only 400 square feet, to hear an important announcement. It was an extraordinary occasion for the 19-year-old left-wing political party – not only because it was announcing its disbandment but also because, over the years, the LSD had spent more time carrying out street actions than holding official events like this. The LSD had a colourful, if not polarising, nearly two decades of existence – from staging street protests with eye-catching props like paper coffins to throwing bananas at the city's chief executive at the Legislative Council (LegCo). On the one hand, its stunts earned condemnation from pro-establishment figures and Beijing-backed newspapers for 'disrupting' Hong Kong, 'bringing disorder,' and 'encouraging rioting.' On the other hand, its candour won supporters, praising it for challenging authorities. They said the left-wing party made politics, once an activity reserved for Hong Kong's elites, more appealing to the general public. Considered one of the few progressive forces in local politics, the LSD fought not only for democratic political reform but also for equality and the rights of the underprivileged. HKFP looks back at the LSD over the years, from the beginning to the end. The Beggar's Sect The LSD's history began on May 1, 2006 – Labour Day – when dozens of people dressed in red gathered on Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok to announce the founding of a new left-wing, pro-democracy political party. Among them were activists, lawmakers and district councillors, such as Leung Kwok-hung, nicknamed 'Long Hair;' Raymond Wong; and Albert Chan. There were also Bull Tsang, an industrial worker who served as a lawmaker before the Handover, from 1995 to 1997, and Chan Po-ying, who married Leung in 2021 and became the party's last chairperson. Some people on that day held red roses – a symbol of socialism and social democracy – which was adopted as the party's logo. It was a time when Hong Kong's pro-democracy parties grew. Just three months prior, a group of scholars and lawyers founded a pro-democracy party called the Civic Party. While advocating democratic political reform like many pro-democracy parties, the LSD – staying true to its socialist ideals – was regarded as closer to the grassroots, the working class, and the marginalised groups. At the final press conference last month, the LSD chair, Chan Po-ying, likened the LSD to the 'Beggars' Sect.' A popular trope in wuxia, or Chinese martial arts stories, such as novels written by popular writer Jin Yong, the Beggars' Sect is often depicted as a group without material possessions but keen to help the weak and fight for justice. She said the LSD held a strong belief that power belongs to the people. It advocated universal suffrage – one person, one vote – while supporting the poor and opposing 'white elephant' projects, which she said wasted public resources. Among the many issues the LSD was concerned about were economic inequality, particularly the effects on underprivileged groups; rights of marginalised groups such as the LGBTQ community and domestic workers; and Hong Kong's political reform towards universal suffrage, which is guaranteed by the Basic Law. The LSD Trio The party's most prominent figures, nicknamed 'the LSD Trio,' were three key founding members who served at LegCo. They were: Albert Chan, a social worker and a politician who was elected as a lawmaker in 1991, during British colonial rule; Wong, a well-known political pundit nicknamed 'Mad Dog'; and Leung, an avowed leftist activist. The trio believed in carrying out direct non-violent actions to pursue democracy and equality. 'There will be no changes without fighting!' was the slogan of the party. They were also concerned with the rights and livelihood of ordinary Chinese, especially the underprivileged, and called for ending the one-party rule of the CCP. Leung, a.k.a. Long Hair, was an outlier in Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp. At only 19, shortly after graduating from secondary school, he joined the now-defunct Revolutionary Marxist League in 1975. He worked part-time in canteens, bars and factories, while having meetings with party members and carrying out protests against both British colonial rule and the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 1988, Leung founded the political group April Fifth Action. One year later, his group joined Hong Kong's pan-democrat parties and organisations in supporting the Chinese pro-democracy movement in 1989, which ended with the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Leung and other April Fifth Action members rose to fame as radical activists on the street. In 1998, just as then Chinese president Jiang Zemin was arriving at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, they burned a mock coffin outside the Wan Chai venue to call for the end of authoritarian rule and rehabilitate the 1989 pro-democracy movement. Mock coffins later became a symbolic prop of Leung and the LSD's protests. Leung was elected to the legislature in 2004, two years before the LSD was founded. In 2008, Wong was elected as a LegCo member. Along with Albert Chan, the LSD Trio formed a radical group in LegCo, protesting, raising critical questions, and staging filibusters with marathon-long speeches. Radical actions in LegCo Leung's election as a legislator transformed the gentlemanly culture of Hong Kong's legislature. When he first appeared at LegCo as an elected representative, he did not wear a suit, breaking the norm. Instead, he showed up in jeans and his signature Che Guevara T-shirt. 'It's like a commoner suddenly arriving in an aristocratic place. At that moment, both the chairman and the secretariat [of LegCo] were a bit at a loss, not knowing how to restrict him,' former pro-democracy lawmaker Fernando Cheung told Initium Media in an interview in 2017. In the interview with Initium, Leung said he became a lawmaker hoping to better inform the public about what the government was doing and, at the same time, to empower his voters through direct action. In LegCo's chamber, the street activist adopted radical means to question officials and even the chief executives. He brought all kinds of props to the chamber, such as fashioning a photo of then chief executive Leung Chun-ying into a 'Pinocchio.' He also left his seat to confront officials at close range, threw bananas at them, and snatched or even ripped up government documents. While the LSD politician was serving as a lawmaker from 2004 to 2017, it was often heard during live debates that the LegCo president gave an order: 'Member Leung Kwok-hung, please leave the chamber immediately.' When taking the LegCo oaths of office, Leung added chants such as 'To fight for democracy, justice, human rights and freedom,' or held up a yellow umbrella symbolising his support for the Umbrella Movement. For his first three terms, his oaths of office were accepted by the legislature. However, in 2016, despite the pan-democrats' objections, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress interpreted the Basic Law after Leung and five lawmakers did not take the oath as requested. The six legislators were later disqualified by the court and were ousted from the legislature. The LSD Trio heckled then chief executive Donald Tsang when the city's leader announced a plan to introduce a means test for the Old Age Living Allowance – popularly called 'the fruit money' – during the 2008 Policy Address. Wong then threw three bananas towards Donald Tsang to express his disapproval, which led the three lawmakers being ejected from the chamber. Other lawmakers, including the pan-democrats, criticised Wong for using 'violent means.' Albert Chan and Raymond Wong quit the LSD in 2011, following an internal dispute within the party, while Long Hair remained in the LSD. The two later established People Power, another radical pro-democracy party. 'Alternative referendum' In September 2009, the LSD proposed a plan that surprised the pro-democracy camp: pro-democracy legislators would resign from five constituencies across Hong Kong, thereby triggering a by-election that would serve as an ' alternative referendum ' for citizens to vote on the issue of universal suffrage. The party hoped the by-election could reflect Hongkongers' opinions and push Beijing to implement a timeline for Hong Kong to hold general elections for chief executives and all lawmakers. The Civic Party decided to support the LSD's proposal. However, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy party, and the other two traditional pan-democrat parties, the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) and Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre (NWSC), refused to join. Unsurprisingly, China's top office overseeing Hong Kong and Macau affairs slammed the proposal, saying that staging a referendum was illegal in Hong Kong. Ultimately, the LSD Trio and two Civic Party legislators, Tanya Chan and Alan Leong, resigned from LegCo. A by-election was held in May 2010, which saw only 580,000 people cast their votes, reflecting a 17.1 per cent turnout. The move was widely criticised for wasting taxpayers' money. It also signalled a fragmentation of different political forces within the pro-democracy camp. While the old guards, such as the Democratic Party, resorted to moderate means and hoped to maintain communication with the government, the LSD and new forces preferred a more confrontational approach to fight for democracy. Punishment and policy changes Throughout their activism and political careers, LSD members have been fined or even jailed for their unusual protest actions. As early as 1979, Leung was fined HK$250 for painting slogans in public spaces. He was also jailed for one month that year for illegal assembly. Since then, he has faced nearly 30 court cases related to his actions in LegCo, his protests at official events, and more recently, his participation in an unofficial primary election. Raphael Wong, 36, part of a new generation of LSD leaders, has also experienced multiple imprisonments due to his protests. According to a report by Photon Media, he was jailed four times between 2019 and 2024. LSD members also used the courts to attempt policy changes, filing judicial reviews and making legal challenges against government policies. According to HKFP's research, from 2006 to 2019, Leung, sometimes along with other activists, filed at least seven judicial reviews. While some of these were dismissed, others resulted in permanent policy changes. For example, in 2008, Leung and two inmates challenged the government's ban on prisoner voting. In December that year, the High Court ruled that prisoners have the constitutional right to vote. Having been forced to cut his long locks after being sentenced to jail in 2014, Leung challenged the Correctional Services Department, arguing its compulsory haircut rule, which only applied to male prisoners, was discriminatory. The Court of Final Appeal ruled in favour of Leung in 2020. In 2018, LSD member and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham launched a legal challenge to have overseas same-sex marriages recognised in Hong Kong – resulting in a landmark, partial victory for marriage equality. In September 2023, the top court obliged authorities to establish a framework recognising same-sex marriage, giving the government two years to do so. However, the government's proposed framework, unveiled two months before the deadline, was not only slammed by Sham and other LGBTQ advocates, but also opposed by many pro-establishment lawmakers. LSD's last years After the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and the Mong Kok unrest in 2016, the LSD's protest tactics were considered no longer radical. Moreover, Hong Kong's localist movement gained traction in the early 2010s. Unlike the 'old-school' pro-democracy camp, the localists were more focused on differentiating Hong Kong from mainland China. Leung, who is concerned with human rights in China and believes in non-violent street actions, was considered 'outdated' by some localist supporters. However, the party continued to campaign for universal suffrage, to advocate for the underprivileged, and petition against human rights condition of mainland China. Since the Beijing-imposed national security law came into effect, the LSD encountered unprecedented difficulties. Its leaders were remanded one by one. In 2021, Leung and Sham were among 47 prominent democrats arrested, detained, and charged with 'conspiracy to commit subversion' under the 2020 security law linked to primaries in a bid to win the 2020 legislative election. Last year, the High Court acquitted two and sentenced 45 others to prison. Leung was jailed for six years and nine months, while Sham was sentenced to four years and three months' imprisonment. Sham was released from prison on May 30, while Leung is still in jail. In May 2021, LSD member Figo Chan was sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment for taking part in five marches and assemblies during the 2019 protests and unrest. In August 2021, Wong, then LSD chair, was jailed for 14 months over illegal assembly linked to his participation in a march during the 2019 protests and unrest. With Wong in jail, Chan Po-ying, a founding member of the party and Leung's wife, became the last chair of the LSD. Under her leadership, the LSD retained its standing as one of the last opposition parties. Every fortnight, the LSD had a street booth in Causeway Bay to distribute leaflets and deliver speeches about poverty and protesting against social issues such as imported labour and large-scale development projects. However, street booth activities, once common among Hong Kong's political groups, landed the LSD in trouble. In 2023, Chan Po-ying and a party volunteer, Christina Tang, were fined HK$1,000 and HK$800 respectively, after being found guilty of collecting money in a public space without a permit. In June this year, Chan Po-ying, the LSD's vice-chairs Dickson Chau and Yu Wai-pan, and activist Lee Ying-chi were fined up to HK$6,600 after being found guilty of raising funds and displaying posters in public without a permit in 2023. By 2025, the LSD street booths no longer displayed banners. Instead, for most of the time, Chan Po-ying stood alone on Great George Street, Causeway Bay, delivering a speech while several police officers monitored and filmed her from across the street. Speaking at the party's disbandment press conference on June 29, Chau, who was elected vice chair in 2021 to replace Leung, who was in detention, recalled that he joined the LSD in 2011. LSD members 'hoped to maintain a left-wing voice in Hong Kong and to speak up for the working class… We have faced many difficulties over the past four years,' he said in Cantonese. 'In the past, we produced a lot of creative props to express our opinions, held referendums and staged demonstrations. In the end, we could only give handouts and deliver speeches in the street, which were already as difficult as walking on a tightrope.' He added that the party did not even have a bank account over the past two years. In 2023, HSBC terminated three accounts of the LSD without giving any reasons. The party attributed the disbandment to 'tremendous political pressure,' saying they could not provide any further details. Chau said that in today's Hong Kong, while they were distributing flyers on the streets, people's expressions indicated that it was an impossible task. 'We hope that the next generations can remember how common and ordinary it once was to hand out [political] leaflets on the streets,' he said.
AllAfrica
07-07-2025
- Politics
- AllAfrica
Hong Kong's light fades as another pro-democracy party folds
The demise of one of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties, the League of Social Democrats, is the latest blow to the city's crumbling democratic credentials. The league is the third major opposition party to disband this year. The announcement coincides with the fifth anniversary this week of the national security law, which was imposed by Beijing to suppress pro-democracy activity. The loss of this grassroots party, historically populated by bold and colourful characters, vividly illustrates the dying of the light in once-sparkling Hong Kong. The city is now greyed and labouring under a repressive internal security regime that has crushed civil society's freedoms and democratic ambitions. The world witnessed Hong Kong at its brightest during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, when hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters camped out on city streets for several months. We also saw the brutal sequel in 2019, when paramilitarized police sought to put down further civil unrest and protesters fought back. Since then, 'lawfare' has been the preferred strategy of China's national government and its Hong Kong satellite. The new approach has included a vast security apparatus and aggressive prosecutions. When Beijing intervened in July 2020, it was nominally about national security. In reality, the new law was designed and used to bring Hongkongers to heel. Civil freedoms were further curtailed by a home-grown security law, introduced last year to fill the gaps. International standards such as the Johannesburg Principles, endorsed by the United Nations, require national security laws to be compatible with democratic principles, not to be used to eliminate democratic activity. The League of Social Democrats occupied the populist left of the pro-democracy spectrum. It stood apart from contemporaries such as the Democratic Party and the Civic Party, which were dominated by professionals and elites and have since been disbanded. The League was most notably represented by the likes of 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung– known for his Che Guevara t-shirts and banana-throwing – and broadcaster and journalism academic Raymond Wong Yuk-man, also known as 'Mad Dog'. Despite their rambunctious styles, these men had real political credentials and were repeatedly elected to legislative office. But Leung is now imprisoned for subversion, while Wong has left for Taiwan. Pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, known as 'Long Hair', announces his candidacy for Chief Executive, at a news conference in Hong Kong, China February 8, 2017. Photo: Asia Times files / REUTERS / Bobby Yip Party leaders such as Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit and Figo Chan Ho-wun were also prominent within the Civil Human Rights Front. It was responsible for the annual July 1 protest march, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people every year. The front is yet another pro-democracy organization that has dissolved. Sham and Chan have been jailed for subversion and unlawful assembly under the colonial-era Public Order Ordinance, which has been used to prosecute hundreds of activists. The demise of these diverse organisations are not natural occurrences, but the result of a deliberate authoritarian program. Under China, Hong Kong's political system has been half democratic at best. But it now resembles something from the darkest days of colonialism, with pre-approved candidates, appointed legislators and zero tolerance for critical voices. The effort to eliminate opposition has seen the pro-independence National Party formally banned and scores of pro-democracy figures jailed after mass trials. Activists and watchdogs are stymied by the national security law. It criminalizes – among other things – engagement and lobbying with international organizations and foreign governments. Distinctive voices such as law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and firebrand politician Edward Leung Tin-kei have been jailed and silenced, as have many moderates and lesser-known figures. Then there are the millions of ordinary Hongkongers whose dreams of a liberal and self-governing region under mainland China's umbrella – as promised in the lead up to the 1997 handover – have been shattered. Some activists have fled overseas. The more outspoken are the subjects of Hong Kong arrest warrants. But countless ex-protesters remain in the city, where it is impermissible to speak critically of power, and where mandatory patriotic education may ensure new generations will never even think to speak up. Much blame lies with the British, who failed to institute democratic elections until the last gasp of their rule in Hong Kong. This was despite the colony tolerating liberalism and habit-forming democratic activity over a longer period. Now China, after almost three decades in charge, has responded to democratic challenges by defaulting to authoritarian control. Hong Kong can only be grateful it has been spared a Tiananmen-style incident. Nor has it experienced the full genocidal extent of the so-called 'peripheries playbook' Beijing has used in Tibet and Xinjiang. Turmoil and authoritarian swings in the United States and elsewhere give China an opportunity to present as a voice of reason on the international stage. But we should not forget its commitment to repressive politics at home, nor what its support of belligerent regimes such as Putin's Russia might mean for Taiwan, the region and the world. Above all, we should not forget the people, in Hong Kong and elsewhere, who made it their life's work to achieve democracy only to be rewarded with prison or exile. Brendan Clift is a lecturer in law and justice at UNSW Sydney. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Yomiuri Shimbun
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
5 Years since H.K. National Security Law Took Effect: The Chinese-style Rule being Extended Overseas is Abnormal
Hong Kong's 'high degree of autonomy' is a thing of the past — it has been replaced by 'Chinese-style rule' that allows no dissent from the Chinese Communist Party. The international community must not stand by and watch a situation in which human rights are backsliding significantly due to the authoritarian rule over Hong Kong. Five years have passed since the national security law that cracks down on anti-government activities came into effect in Hong Kong at the end of June 2020. Since then, more than 330 people have been arrested over alleged violations of the law and related charges. Authorities have cracked down widely on senior members of pro-democracy groups critical of China and the pro-China Hong Kong government, as well as the leading supporters of those groups, among others. It is obvious that the authorities are using the law as a tool to suppress pro-democracy groups. In addition to the law, the electoral system has been altered to allow only people who are recognized as 'patriots' by the authorities to run in elections. There are now no seats for pro-democracy groups in the Legislative Council, the territory's parliament. China is apparently aiming to eradicate political activities by pro-democracy groups. The pro-democracy League of Social Democrats party announced its disbandment at the end of June, citing 'immense political pressure' as the reason. Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, is also in the process of dissolving itself. With the disbanding of both these parties, pro-democracy parties will effectively disappear. Rallies in memory of the Tiananmen Square incident and anti-government protests that used to be held in Hong Kong are no longer allowed. A Hong Kong newspaper known for its criticism of the Chinese Communist Party has also been forced to cease publication. There are concerns about the current state of Hong Kong society, which no longer reflects the diverse will of the people. In response to this situation, pro-democracy activists and others have fled overseas from Hong Kong one after another. It is serious that even people who have fled overseas have become targets of surveillance and intimidation. Flyers were distributed in Britain bearing the address and physical description of a former Hong Kong pro-democracy district councillor. Chinese authorities or their collaborators are believed to have been involved in this incident, and the flyers also said a bounty would be paid if the former councilor was taken to the Chinese Embassy. A similar incident occurred in Australia. Cross-border intimidation is nothing short of abnormal. The introduction of the national security law is contrary to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, which stated that Hong Kong would maintain a 'high degree of autonomy' for 50 years after its return to China. Japan, the United States and Europe should continue to point out that the 'Chinafication' of Hong Kong is a violation of this international commitment. Hong Kong's economy is currently strong, partly due to active investment in Hong Kong from China. However, the number of Japanese, U.S. and British companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong has decreased compared to the level before the implementation of the national security law. The loss of freedom may reduce the credibility of Hong Kong, an international city, thereby damaging China's national interests as well. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 2, 2025)
