Beijing has lost its patience with the former colony. Its repression may ignite fresh civil society fury
Beijing’s assault on Hong Kong is unfolding at such a pace that the daily news has become a horror show of epic proportions. July began with the imposition of draconian national security legislation enacted sight unseen, even by Hong Kong’s leader, chief executive Carrie Lam. It ended with the sacking of a tenured professor, the arrests of four students for social media posts, the electoral disqualification of 12 pro-democracy politicians, the delay of legislative elections for a year and the issuance of arrest warrants for pro-democracy activists overseas under the new legislation.
In normal times, each of these acts would spark outrage and protests, but this onslaught has been too fast and too overwhelming to fully report, let alone counter, especially during a pandemic when gatherings of more than two people have been banned. Put simply, within a single month, Beijing has dismantled a partially free society and is trying to use its new law to enforce global censorship on speech regarding Hong Kong.
Beijing is trying to use its new law to enforce global censorship on speech about Hong Kong
Related: 'Like in the Cultural Revolution': Hong Kong's educators fear being purged
The criminalisation of certain political posts and slogans heralds the advent of thought crime to Hong Kong
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