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Shades Off | Why I’m still in Hong Kong and still writing, despite national security law uncertainties
- For some, the best thing to do is stay out of politics, avoid areas of uncertainty and toe the government line
- Then there are others, myself among them, driven by professionalism or raised in a system that espouses freedom and equality, who feel the need to speak out
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I have been asked of late why I remain in Hong Kong despite not liking the ever-greater erosion of my values by Beijing’s rules. Why do I continue writing a column that more often than not is political in nature when others have determined that expressing such opinions are no longer worth the risk?
The scope of the national security law seemingly knows no bounds; even on the first anniversary of its introduction, I am still unsure precisely what constitutes a violation. My Western upbringing and education are clearly at odds with the thinking of the Communist Party, which is calling the shots.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and other officials repeatedly deny that the freedoms Hong Kong has long enjoyed and been promised have been diminished.
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They brush aside criticism from free societies over the forced closure of Apple Daily, a newspaper critical of Beijing and the Communist Party. They deny the arrest of several of its top journalists – on charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publishing reports calling for overseas sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland China – is conclusive evidence of the erosion of liberties.
The promotion of former deputy police commissioner John Lee Ka-chiu from security secretary to chief secretary – the second-highest government job – and commissioner of police Chris Tang Ping-keung taking his post confirm suspicions in some circles that this special administrative region has become a police state.
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Authorities contend that both men are superlative administrators who care deeply for the needs and well-being of citizens.
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