China BriefingNational security law: does Hong Kong’s Journey to the West have a happy ending?

Like the rebellious Monkey King Sun Wukong, Hong Kong must come to terms with the limits set by its master

And like Tang Sanzang, Beijing should apply the ‘constrictive headband’ of its new law with caution if it wants Hong Kong to continue to thrive

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This image may be republished, journey to the West2: The Demons Strike Back

Published: 9:30am, 4 Jul 2020Updated: 9:30am, 4 Jul 2020

Back in July last year when the anti-government and anti-Beijing mass protests in Hong Kong were at their peak and turning increasingly violent, George Yeo, Singapore’s former foreign minister with a deep knowledge of China’s culture and politics, made an intriguing analogy between Hong Kong and the Monkey King Sun Wukong in the great Chinese classic Journey to the West.

In the classical novel, the Monkey King is rebellious in nature and possesses magical powers, including the ability to travel tens of thousands of kilometres in one somersault. But in the end, he fails to escape the Buddha’s palm in an encounter.

“Hong Kong cannot leave the Buddha’s palm. If one day, the Buddha decides to put a ring around the forehead of the monkey, then the monkey will have to take note,” Yeo said in a talk, according to Singapore media reports.

According to the classic, Sun Wukong wore such a golden headband around his head which he could not take off. His master the Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang could recite a particular spell to constrict the band to cause searing pains to punish the monkey and bring him under control.

Alas, Yeo has proved prescient with his analogy.

The Monkey King, as depicted in the film Journey to the West 2: The Demons Strike Back. File photo

Nearly one year later, the constricting headband for Hong Kong came in the form of the national security law Beijing directly imposed on the city, just hours before July 1, the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule.