The national security law in Hong Kong has been passed for just over a month, but the scope of Beijing’s plans are now clear. This is a constitutional coup. The safeguards which have historically defended human rights in Hong Kong have been shattered. Rule of law has been replaced with rule by law – and the Communist Party’s word is law.
Thursday 30 July brought home the reality of the new status quo. Hong Kongers woke up to the news that four young people aged between 16 and 21 years old – representing a small group of students who campaigned for Hong Kong independence last year – heard a midnight knock on the door and were arrested. Their crime? Posting on social media, or ‘organising and inciting secession’ in the new dystopian Hong Kong. This carries up to ten years in jail. It’s akin to Boris Johnson choosing to lock up members of the youth branch of the SNP.
Rule of law has been replaced with rule by law – and the Communist Party’s word is law
Later in the day, 12 democratic election candidates were then disqualified from standing.
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