{"id":1770,"date":"2025-06-29T20:44:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T20:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1770"},"modified":"2025-06-29T20:44:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T20:44:06","slug":"hong-kongs-national-security-law-five-years-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1770","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong’s National Security Law, Five Years On"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Monday marks five years since China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, criminalizing dissent and bringing the semi-autonomous city to heel after months of pro-democracy, anti-government demonstrations that drew as many as 2 million protesters into the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law itself was a weapon for Beijing to silence dissent in Hong Kong, but it also marked the turning point for a total crackdown that soon infiltrated all aspects of life,\u201d journalist Karen Cheung wrote<\/a> in 2022. \u201cWithin a year, the government would find ways to rid itself of all opposition lawmakers and district councilors, shut down the city\u2019s largest pro-democracy newspaper, and promote former cops to top political positions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Monday marks five years since China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, criminalizing dissent and bringing the semi-autonomous city to heel after months of pro-democracy, anti-government demonstrations that drew as many as 2 million protesters into the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law itself was a weapon for Beijing to silence dissent in Hong Kong, but it also marked the turning point for a total crackdown that soon infiltrated all aspects of life,\u201d journalist Karen Cheung wrote<\/a> in 2022. \u201cWithin a year, the government would find ways to rid itself of all opposition lawmakers and district councilors, shut down the city\u2019s largest pro-democracy newspaper, and promote former cops to top political positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Hong Kong has become a cautionary tale for many pro-democracy activists around the world. The collection of essays below explores how China\u2019s crackdown has reshaped life in the city, from its surreal show trials to the transformation of civil society.<\/p>\n

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The International Finance Centre in Hong Kong<\/figcaption>

The International Finance Centre towers over Hong Kong\u2019s Central District on July 12, 2009. Ed Jones\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How to Love Hong Kong Despite Everything<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Surviving in the impossible city is still worth the price, Karen Cheung writes.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Images
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Images from “You Must Take Part in Revolution: A Graphic Novel.”<\/figcaption>

Image from You Must Take Part in Revolution: A Graphic Novel<\/em>.Street Noise Books<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hong Kong\u2019s Warning Signs for America<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

A graphic novel plays out a nightmarish scenario of authoritarianism in the hopes of waking us up, FP\u2019s Lili Pike writes.<\/p>\n


\n \"Four
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Four security guards wearing matching green uniform shirts and medical face masks surround Jimmy Lai as he steps up to enter the back of a vehicle. Lai is a man in his 70s wearing khaki pants, a dark suit jacket, a face mask, and handcuffs.<\/figcaption>

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder and owner of the Apple Daily newspaper, is seen while he is handcuffed and escorted by guards leaving Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in Hong Kong on Dec. 12, 2020. Keith Tsuji\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How I Became a Prop in Hong Kong\u2019s Show Trials<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Beijing is using torture and coercion in its case against Jimmy Lai, Luke de Pulford writes.<\/p>\n


\n \"A
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A group of police officers, wearing short-sleeved uniform shirts and matching hats, chat with each other as they stand on a sidewalk outside Hong Kong’s High Court. Skyscrapers and a cloudy sky are visible behind the officers.<\/figcaption>

Police stand guard outside the High Court in Hong Kong on July 21, 2023.Isaac Lawrence\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hong Kong\u2019s Bureaucrats Don\u2019t Make Good Authoritarians<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Local officials are inflexible about implementing Beijing\u2019s orders, Joshua Yang writes.<\/p>\n


\n \"Jimmy
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Jimmy Lai supporters hold copies of the Apple Daily newspaper<\/figcaption>

Supporters hold copies of the Apple Daily<\/em> newspaper as Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai is released on bail from the Mong Kok police station in Hong Kong on Aug. 12, 2020.Isaac Lawrence\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hong Kong Is a Local Tragedy, Not a Geopolitical Shuttlecock<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Understanding oppression requires layered histories of the city itself, Shui-Yin Sharon Yam and Jeffrey Wasserstrom write.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Monday marks five years since China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, criminalizing dissent and bringing the semi-autonomous city to heel after months of pro-democracy, anti-government demonstrations that drew as many as 2 million protesters into the streets. \u201cThe law itself was a weapon for Beijing to silence dissent in Hong Kong, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}