Hong Kong's decline began in 1997 when the Chinese Communist Party took control of the city from the British government. Since then, for more than two decades, Hong Kong people have witnessed the gradual erosion of their freedoms by the CCP. The pandemic presented the CCP with a perfect opportunity to accelerate its control of the city and its 7.5 million residents.
Last summer, Beijing imposed a draconian National Security
Law on Hong Kong, bypassing the local Hong Kong legislature. Dennis Kwok, a
pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong, said Beijing's action "basically
spells the end of 'One Country, Two Systems." Hong Kongers and the rest of
the world didn't even know what the law entailed until the Hong Kong government
of Kong posted it on its website at midnight on June 30, 2020, when the law
went into effect.
The NSL penalizes any act of “secession, subversion,
terrorism and collusion with a foreign country or external elements”, with a
maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The definition of each alleged
"crime" and even what constitutes "national security" is so
loosely defined, yet a simple tweet supporting Hong Kong's pro-democracy
movement could land one in jail.
To enforce the NSL, Beijing established a new law
enforcement agency in Hong Kong with broad powers, which included taking over
certain Hong Kong police cases. This agency is exempt from complying with the
Hong Kong Basic Law, a de facto constitution. All those arrested will be tried
on the mainland, which means that the accused will not have due process,
adequate legal representation, or a fair trial.
The NSL also gives the Hong Kong police unprecedented power,
including "the ability to conduct warrantless searches, seize property,
investigate suspects, intercept communications, freeze assets and prevent
people from leaving."
According to the Wall Street Journal, eight months since NSL
took effect, Hong Kong "has almost been dominated." Beijing has
applied the law on multiple fronts to crack down on dissidents and dismantle
the institutions established to protect the freedom of Hong Kong residents and
guarantee the rule of law.
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