National security law: for Hong Kong scholars, a fear of the unknown

Some scholars claim the ‘end of academic freedom’ is nigh, but not all of the city’s academics have reached the same conclusion

While law’s vagueness raises questions over Beijing’s red lines, calmer heads warn against alarmism. Some say city can learn a thing or two from Singapore

Reading Time:13 minutes

A government-sponsored advertisement promoting Hong Kong’s new national security law. Photo: Bloomberg

John Power,Jeffie LamandElizabeth Cheung

Published: 7:30am, 8 Aug 2020Updated: 6:16pm, 8 Aug 2020

Last month, the American Political Science Association announced it would relocate an upcoming workshop, themed “Contentious Politics and its Repercussions in Asia”, to Seoul, South Korea, due to concerns Hong Kong’s new national security law would “limit free academic inquiry and exchange”.

Also last month, the Association for Asian Studies, which has about 6,500 members worldwide, called on universities to be “extremely cautious” about recording, storing and transmitting recordings of discussion classes, especially where students’ identities could be exposed.

The moves reflect unease and concern over the national security law, which some academics fear could spell the end of the city as a regional hub of quality higher education, scholarship and academic exchange.

Under the law, which targets broadly defined offences of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, suspects can be charged even for acts committed overseas and, in “complicated” cases, may be put on trial in the mainland’s opaque justice system that activists say lacks human rights protections. Those convicted of serious crimes face penalties of up to life in prison.

In interviews with This Week in Asia, more than two dozen university academics in Hong Kong and overseas expressed serious concerns about the impact of the law on the city’s status as a welcoming and open environment for research and scholarship involving scholars from around the world.

Their fears, expressed on condition of anonymity in many cases due to fears of repercussions, come amid scrutiny of educators and their role in Hong Kong’s civil unrest movements.

Two high-profile local academics were recently removed over convictions they received for their part in the 2014 Occupy protests, well before the national security law was enacted but the timing of their dismissals fuelled concerns.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x

National security law: for Hong Kong scholars, a fear of the unknown

Some scholars claim the ‘end of academic freedom’ is nigh, but not all of the city’s academics have reached the same conclusion While law’s vagueness raises questions over Beijing’s red lines, calmer heads warn against alarmism. Some say city can learn a thing or two from Singapore

Some scholars claim the ‘end of academic freedom’ is nigh, but not all of the city’s academics have reached the same conclusion

While law’s vagueness raises questions over Beijing’s red lines, calmer heads warn against alarmism. Some say city can learn a thing or two from Singapore