A pro-China activist holds up the national flag, with a billboard in the background referring to the national security Law, in Hong Kong. Recent statements by government officials and more arrests of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists add to the sense of foreboding and uncertainty around the city’s freedoms. Photo: AFP A pro-China activist holds up the national flag, with a billboard in the background referring to the national security Law, in Hong Kong. Recent statements by government officials and more arrests of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists add to the sense of foreboding and uncertainty around the city’s freedoms. Photo: AFP
A pro-China activist holds up the national flag, with a billboard in the background referring to the national security Law, in Hong Kong. Recent statements by government officials and more arrests of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists add to the sense of foreboding and uncertainty around the city’s freedoms. Photo: AFP
Michael Chugani
Opinion

Opinion

Michael Chugani

Mass arrests and intimidation of the judiciary signal a gloomy 2021 for Hong Kong’s freedoms

  • Free speech and media freedom now involve second-guessing to avoid the national security law’s red lines, and freedom of assembly is virtually non-existent
  • Meanwhile, our chief executive has defended state media attacks on the judiciary and blamed Hongkongers for disrupting social harmony by exercising their rights

Michael Chugani
Michael Chugani

Updated: 6:47am, 7 Jan, 2021

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A pro-China activist holds up the national flag, with a billboard in the background referring to the national security Law, in Hong Kong. Recent statements by government officials and more arrests of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists add to the sense of foreboding and uncertainty around the city’s freedoms. Photo: AFP A pro-China activist holds up the national flag, with a billboard in the background referring to the national security Law, in Hong Kong. Recent statements by government officials and more arrests of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists add to the sense of foreboding and uncertainty around the city’s freedoms. Photo: AFP
A pro-China activist holds up the national flag, with a billboard in the background referring to the national security Law, in Hong Kong. Recent statements by government officials and more arrests of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists add to the sense of foreboding and uncertainty around the city’s freedoms. Photo: AFP
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Michael Chugani

Michael Chugani

Michael Chugani is a Hong Kong journalist and TV show host