Jun 30, 2022, 12:33 PM ETOther

How China crushed Hong Kong

Under the 1984 agreement, Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997 with a guarantee of preserving its free society and autonomy for 50 years (until 2047).
In the 1990s, Hong Kong served as Asia's primary gateway to the global market, possessing a GDP one-fifth that of mainland China.
By the mid-2000s, economic dynamics reversed as China's GDP grew rapidly, eroding the leverage Hong Kong once held through its business connections and financial expertise.
Following Xi Jinping's rise to power in 2012, the Communist Party intensified its grip on the mainland and targeted Hong Kong as a threat to its dominance rather than an asset.

In 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed an extradition bill allowing criminal suspects to be tried on the mainland, sparking massive public outrage.
On June 9, 2019, approximately one million people marched in Hong Kong, marking the largest demonstration in the city's history.
Despite the scale of the protests, the Communist Party proceeded with a crackdown rather than negotiating.
In 2020, Beijing imposed a National Security Law, effectively ending Hong Kong's autonomy and triggering minimal resistance from society.
Thousands of Hong Kongers have since been arrested, jailed, or forced into exile; the author characterizes the current state of Hong Kong as a "police state."
Commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, previously held annually in Victoria Park, has been banned, leaving the park empty for the past two years.

An estimated 80,000 mainland officials entered Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s using fake identities to infiltrate key civil service roles and establish underground party cells.
The Communist Party utilized a shadowy "United Front" department to cultivate individuals and organizations through money, power, and social influence.
Business leaders were targeted with offers of special market favors across the border in exchange for loyalty.
Security forces, including police, Customs, and immigration, were successfully infiltrated decades prior to the 2020 crackdown, ensuring their loyalty remained with Beijing.
Civil society figures, including journalists, teachers, lawyers, and academics, were approached by "middlemen" acting as proxies for the party for over two decades.
Initially, these intermediaries maintained a courteous and friendly demeanor, often inviting academics to social dinners over six-year periods.
Following the imposition of the National Security Law, these intermediaries shifted tactics to intimidation, issuing veiled threats and advising targets to leave the country.

Dr. Chung Kim Wah, an academic, fled Hong Kong for the UK after witnessing a friend sentenced to three weeks in prison and receiving direct warnings from intermediaries.
Dr. Chung continues to host a weekly podcast in the UK, refusing to "switch off his mic" despite ongoing contact attempts from mainland proxies.
Anna Kwok, an exiled activist now based in Washington, DC, works with the Hong Kong Democracy Council to influence global policy regarding China's erosion of freedoms.
Exiled individuals face difficult decisions regarding the trade-off between returning to their homeland and the necessity of self-censorship to avoid imprisonment.
Thousands of Hong Kongers have gathered in London's Parliament Square in recent years to protest, emphasizing that their true identity remains "Hong Kong."

Exiled voices argue that the strategies used to crush liberalism in Hong Kong are now being applied to free societies globally.
The Chinese Communist Party is alleged to be using its economic influence as leverage to control speech and discourse in the "free world."
Former residents warn that the erosion of rights in Hong Kong is an isolated incident but serves as a critical warning for the rest of the world.
Advocates urge the international community to stop taking freedom and democracy for granted, framing the defense of Hong Kong as a defense of their own liberties.