At the start of 2021, the Hong Kong police arrested more than 50 opposition figures under the Hong Kong National Security Law. This was a huge crackdown on activists and those seeking to defend democracy in Hong Kong.

By Li Hsueh-Li (李雪莉), Yang Chih-Chiang (楊智強), and Chang Shi-Yun (張詩芸)
Photography by Chan Long Hei (陳朗熹) and Liu Er-Long (劉貳龍)
Translated by S. Chung
Edited by Yu-Han Huang

This piece first appeared on the Facebook page of The Reporter (報導者) and was translated and reprinted under the permission of the publisher.

At 6 am today (January 6), over 50 Hong Kong democrats who organized or participated in the unofficial legislative primaries for the 2020 Legislative Council election were searched and arrested by the Hong Kong police. Those arrested included university professors, lawyers, former members of the Legislative Council, members of the District Council, and more. They were charged for their involvement in the legislative primaries, an activity allegedly construed as “the subversion of state power” under the Hong Kong National Security Law (《港區國安法》). Precisely, this round of action materializes what the legal scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷) referred to as “ten steps to laam chau (burn with us)” (真攬炒十步).

Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), a prominent figure in the 2014 Occupy Central Protest and the organizer of the legislative primaries, was among those arrested.

Among those arrested were Benny Tai Yiu-ting, a prominent figure in the 2014 Occupy Central Protest and the organizer of the legislative primaries; Robert Chung Ting Yiu (鍾庭耀), director of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI), an institute which conducted public opinion polls for the primaries; Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (朱凱迪), Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu (楊岳橋), and Leung Kwok-hung/Longhair (梁國雄／長毛)—former pro-democracy Legislative Council members; Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit (岑子杰), Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai (袁嘉蔚), Andrew Chiu Ka-yin (趙家賢), Lawrence Lau Wai Chung (劉偉聰), Roy Kwong Chun-yu (鄺俊宇), and Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying (楊雪盈)—current District Council members; Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, (何桂藍／立場姐姐), former journalist from Stand News (立場新聞); Prince Wong Ji-yuet (黃子悅), former spokeswoman of the now disbanded pro-democracy student group Scholarism (學民思潮); and many others. Jeffrey Andrews (安德里), a registered social worker of Indian descent who also participated in the legislative primaries, was also arrested. He is the first ethnic minority Hong Kong resident who was arrested for the violation of the Hong Kong National Security Law. The home of Joshua Wong Chi-fung (黃之鋒)—a pro-democracy activist recently jailed along with Agnes Chow Ting (周庭) and Ivan Lam Long-Yin (林朗彥) for their June 2019 protest—was also raided by police for 1.5 hours. The raid was carried out for Joshua Wong’s alleged violation of the national security law. A total of more than 50 arrests were made, and this number is still escalating.

The now-arrested former legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (朱凱迪) paid frequent visits to young people jailed for their involvement in the anti-extradition bill protests.

Moreover, at about 9 a.m. this morning, officers of Hong Kong police’s national security unit also headed toward the headquarters of two media outlets—Stand News (立場新聞) and Inmediahk.net (獨立媒體) with a “disclosure of documents” court order in hand. Both media outlets were given seven days to disclose documents legally deemed relevant to the national security law for police inspection. Frankie Fung Tat Chun (馮達浚), also a participant of the legislative primaries and one of the founders of DB Channel (加山傳播), was detained. The police seized his computer and other advertisement materials and documents related to the primaries.

Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang (張崑陽), a primaries participant who now lives in overseas exile, explained on Facebook that the scale of this round of political purge is unprecedented. The ruling regime is seeking to entirely rule out all chances of survival for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp. “Without a doubt, this round of arrest is the very reincarnation of the Formosa Incident in Hong Kong.”

DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE: TOTAL SUPPRESSION OF THE STREET PROTEST APPROACH AND THE ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY APPROACH

Held in July last year, the unofficial legislative primaries for the 2020 Legislative Council election attracted more than 610,000 voters. Pro-democracy participants who scored a landslide victory in the primaries included Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, the former Stand News journalist who was arrested this morning, and Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the jailed activist whose house was raided today. The goal of the unofficial legislative primaries was to maximize the chance for pro-democracy candidates of the 2020 election to secure a majority of seats—“35+”—in the Legislative Council, a majority which could help pro-democracy lawmakers to supervise legislative agenda setting and veto government budget plans, in turn compelling the HKSAR government to make greater concessions.

According to Article 52 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the Chief Executive “must resign” under any of three circumstances. One of these three circumstances is established “When, after the Legislative Council is dissolved because it refuses to pass a budget or any other important bill, the new Legislative Council still refuses to pass the original bill in dispute.”

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) has sought to understand the purpose of the legislative primaries as that which obstructs the passage of all government policies, allegedly “subverting state power” under the Hong Kong National Security Law. A spokesman of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (中聯辦) also condemned the primaries as an “illegal” activity in collusion with foreign forces, throwing blame at Benny Tai Yiu-ting, the organizer of the legislative primaries. Benny Tai was later dismissed from his teaching position at the University of Hong Kong and was also put in police custody today.

The Hong Kong Legislative Council election was scheduled to take place in September 2020. In late July, Carrie Lam announced that due to public safety concerns during the outbreak of Covid-19 in Hong Kong, the election would be postponed to September 5, 2021. Yet pro-democracy candidates’ landslide victory in the legislative primaries and their potential success in winning the majority seat in the Legislative Council was likely the real reason behind the postponement of the 2020 election.

SOCIAL ACTIVISTS IN OVERSEAS EXILE: THIS IS ANOTHER PROOF OF LAWLESSNESS AND A DEMOCRACY WITHOUT PEOPLE

Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang wrote on Facebook, “Vetoing government budget plans is a right granted by legislators in accordance with the Basic Law of Hong Kong. There is nothing subversive in exercising this right. In the foreseeable future, mobilizing any non-cooperation movement in the Legislative Council could be regarded by the government as an act of subversion. This only proves once again that the democratic significance of what can possibly take place in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has been severely curtailed by the larger structures of China’s National People's Congress (全国人民代表大会) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (中国人民政治协商会议).”

Nathan Law Kwun-chung (羅冠聰), a disqualified pro-democracy legislator living in exile in the UK, also wrote on Facebook, explaining that this round of arrest allowed the government to spread the message, “this regime observes no law,” and further suppress all future possibilities of resistance. He urged the people of Hong Kong not to be discouraged: “Even when working through distressing emotions and unsettling news, we need to remind ourselves—Never give up hope.”

JURIDICAL PERSECUTION IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS

In the past two months, the Hong Kong government has made rounds of arrests targeting activists from the Hong Kong pro-democracy camp and the localist camp. On December 2, former members of the pro-democracy organization Demosistō (香港眾志) including Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam were sentenced to imprisonment for 13.5 months, 10 months, and 7 months respectively. Jimmy Lai Chee-ying (黎智英), founder of Next Digital Ltd. (壹傳媒集團) and the news outlet Apple Daily, was detained again after the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal revoked his bail on December 23. The revocation mainly pertained to the Department of Justice’s (律政司) final court appeal to send Jimmy Lai back to continued detention. Lai was charged with fraud and “collusion with foreign forces” under the Hong Kong National Security Law.

Since the beginning of 2021, this latest round of purge was the most encompassing in terms of the number of democrats prosecuted, political parties affected, and political spectrum involved. Many of the arrested have been interviewed by The Reporter in the past two years. When interviewed in 2019, Benny Tai Yiu-ting mentioned, “The will of Hong Kong people will not be crushed by political suppression. . . . Brainwashing education campaigns are of no use. The will, creativity, and resilience of Hong Kong people flashes up in the face of danger (from Beijing). Even the People’s Liberation Army cannot smother it at any cost. What is engulfing us right now is the darkness before dawn. I hope the people of Hong Kong will not have to pay a high price before the return of the light.”

For Hong Kong’s younger generation—many of whom have been involved in election campaigns and social movements—the price is precisely measured by the strength of their will.

“THE PEOPLE WILL STAND FOR THEIR CONSCIENCE”

Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit (岑子杰), a District Council member who was arrested today, was assaulted by a masked man once. His head and feet suffered from heavy blows, leaving multiple injuries to his head. When interviewed by The Reporter, Jimmy Sham indicated that he remained fearless and would participate in the District Council election scheduled at the end of 2019. He had not considered the possibility of withdrawing from the election, and suggested that as a political novice about to engage in local community affairs, he wanted to ignite tiny sparks of hope for democracy. Former legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (朱凱迪) also mentioned in an interview that he had paid frequent visits to young people jailed for their involvement in the anti-extradition bill protests. “They wouldn’t know how many years of imprisonment are befalling on them. But I can tell that they got themselves well prepared.” Today, Eddie Chu was also under arrest.

Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit (岑子杰), a District Council member who was arrested during the Hong Kong police’s latest crackdown on opposition figures, was assaulted by a masked man.

Among those arrested was Lawrence Lau Wai Chung (劉偉聰), a lawyer who had provided legal assistance to many young people arrested during the anti-extradition bill protests. In an interview with The Reporter, Lawrence Lau stated that these young protesters were persecuted by a disproportionate share of state power. Elected to the District Council in 2019, Lawrence Lau’s transformation from a politically indifferent lawyer to a politically engaged District Council member was a gradual process. He observed, “Democracy blazes forth during the anti-extradition bill protests. The people will stand for their conscience.”

Among those arrested was also Lawrence Lau Wai Chung (劉偉聰), a lawyer who has provided legal assistance to many young people arrested during the anti-extradition bill protests. He observed, “Democracy blazes forth during the anti-extradition bill pro… — Among those arrested was also Lawrence Lau Wai Chung (劉偉聰), a lawyer who has provided legal assistance to many young people arrested during the anti-extradition bill protests. He observed, “Democracy blazes forth during the anti-extradition bill protests. The people will stand for their conscience.”

Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam (何桂藍), a primaries participant who scored a landslide victory but was later disqualified for her criticism against the Hong Kong National Security Law, mentioned in a podcast interview with The Reporter in August 2020, “The collective will of Hong Kong people is what compels it (the CCP regime) to take up measurements that put the greatest pressure on its own.” As Gwyneth Ho surmised, the people of Hong Kong will have to insist that there is always a road to march on, a road to be made. Hong Kong is no tragedy, and she expressed her gratitude to the support the Taiwanese extended to Hong Kong.