Interview: Hong Kong Freedom Fighter (Part 2)
Part 2 of my discussion with a pro-democracy protestor in Hong Kong
Antonio: So, when you combine the NSL and the arresting of the political candidates with the recent announcement that only “patriots” would be allowed to run in future LegCo elections, is “one country, two systems” dead?
Michael: Yes, it’s basically dead. There’s still a little bit more freedom of speech, freedom of the press here, but even the press is getting intimidated. I have friends who work at some of the major western newspapers and they get called in by the administration of foreign affairs and threatened on a regular basis. A lot of them have moved their operations out of the mainland to Hong Kong because they didn’t feel safe, but now they’re reassessing. I’m sure you saw the BBC reporter that moved to Taiwan last week.
In terms of democracy, it was never real democracy here in Hong Kong because only half of the LegCo was elected by the people directly; but now they’ve changed it so that only 20 percent are. And even those 20 percent have to be vetted and appointed by a committee of, basically, pro-Beijing, CCP types. It’s ridiculous.
In the district council elections back in 2019, around 75 percent of eligible voters voted, but this time around I think most people are just going to boycott the election. They’ve already canceled it one time around because they thought we were going to win. They claimed it was because of COVID but everyone knows that’s garbage. And now they’ve made it that it’s basically impossible to win so I don’t think anyone is going to even run.
A: The speed with which Hong Kong went from a shining example of capitalism and democracy to a Communist-controlled city is terrifying and should be an example to nations all around the globe.
So, moving to the mainland, and more specifically the Xinjiang region, how serious is the Uyghur situation?
M: [Long pause] Well, you know, based on all of the reports and the people I’ve talked to, it’s very serious. There’s a lot of concern about what is going on. Reporters are not allowed in there. The government has admitted that they have camps, but they call them “educational camps.” Clearly, they’re something else. I think it’s a big deal and something that the world should be focused on.
A: You seemed a bit apprehensive there. Can you tell me why?
Self-censorship has become a huge problem.
M: I guess I’m just a bit wary of directly saying something against the NSL. Honestly, self-censorship has become a huge problem.
A: I see. When the citizenry begins to self-censor, tyranny will grow unabated. So, how do you think President Trump handled President Xi and the CCP?
M: Listen, I don’t want to be seen as encouraging any policies because that’s not something I can do, but I can say that he illustrated and brought to light some of the major problems that exist, particularly with the US-China relationship and some of the things China has been doing. In my view, I think he did a good job of bringing those issues to light. Although, I would question whether his tactics were effective as they could have been. I don’t necessarily believe in confrontation for confrontation’s sake.
A: So far, how do you think the Biden Administration has handled President Xi and the CCP?
M: They haven’t changed much. The policies are very, very similar in practice to Trump’s policies. They really only differ in style. The one major difference is that they are working more closely with the allies, which in my view is a requisite for success. And they are doing so without being needlessly antagonistic to the Chinese.
A: Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked on CNN if China should be held accountable for COVID-19, and he kind of punted on the question. Is that worrying?
M: Well, I think the Biden Administration wants to follow the evidence and not be, like I said, needlessly antagonistic. So, I think there’s a lot of information that has not yet come to light and I think Biden is interested in waiting and seeing what comes forth. I think criticizing the Chinese for the sake of criticizing them without really having a strategy or an outcome in mind is not useful.
A: So, I think as Americans, we can become very introspective and ignore the very important geopolitical issues. I know a lot of people who know nothing of what is going on with China and Hong Kong. Is there something else you would like to leave with my readers and something you would like to say to Americans, in general, who don’t follow what’s going on around the world as closely as they should?
M: Yeah. You know America has shown the world what real democracy is and what real free speech is. And there are some blemishes, obviously, the last year and a half have been difficult there as well, but people still want freedom. People in Hong Kong still really want freedom. They want to be able to speak freely, they want democracy, they want to be able to vote, and they want a government that represents them. And I think that is one of the things America has, a government that tries to represent the citizens and if you don’t like them, you can vote them out.
If you just keep ignoring it, it’s going to be much more difficult to deal with.
And on how it affects you, if you take a look at the world we live in, and the world of technology, most of the semi-conductors in the world are built in Taiwan. A lot of the goods you have are built in China. Everything is so interconnected. I think everybody has to care. China right now is holding two Canadian citizens hostage. It’s not something you can just ignore. Because if you just keep ignoring it, by the time it gets around to affecting you, it’s going to be much more difficult to deal with. So I do think it’s very important that people are involved.
A: I hope people hear what you have to say and realize that they can’t go through life with their heads stuck in the sand. Thank you, Michael, for taking the time to talk with me. This has been a great conversation and I hope to talk again.
M: Ok, thanks, Antonio. I appreciate it. Take care.