NEW DELHI: Pressure against pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong is increasing ahead of the expected enactment of the Chinese national security law. They say they are being intensely monitored and can be arbitrarily arrested if and when the law is cleared. Thousands of people in Hong Kong also defied a ban to mark the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre on July 4. Nathan Law, founding chairperson of pro-democracy party Demosistō, accepts the first ban on such protests in over three decades is a message that the city faces the end of the road with the imminent enactment of the Chinese communist party’s cleared national security law. ‘Freedom will vanish and Hong Kong will become just another Chinese city,’ he cautions, if the law that can be used for terrorism, treason, subversion and sedition charges is legalised and used to target political dissidents and activists. The 26-year-old youngest Hong Kong legislator (2016-17), who was disqualified for his oath-taking protest speaks to StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi about unity in protests, criticism of escalation of mostly non-violent activism, companies like HSBC, Standard Chartered and Jardine coming out in support of the Chinese law and the UK offer of immigration. The Yale Masters student hopes U.S. sanctions similar to those against North Korea and Iran and continuing protests on the ground force China to revoke its move. On India not vocally supporting the pro-democracy movement or at least making Beijing uncomfortable with its stand, Nathan Law calls for a ‘global front to preserve liberal and democratic values,’ adding, ‘it’s really important to go up against the expansionist nature of the Chinese Communist Party’.
