On Friday, Hong Kong will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the return of land from Britain to China, and authorities are taking no risk, ensuring that the day is filled with grandeur and grandeur – and with no signs of disagreement. Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend an anniversary ceremony, his first trip outside mainland China since the pandemic began. On July 1, 1997, the region was promised 50 years of self-government and freedoms of assembly, speech and press that are not allowed in communist-ruled mainland China. As the city of 7.4 million people marks a quarter of a century under Beijing domination, these promises have almost evaporated. As part of a plan to ensure the day goes smoothly, nearby metro stations will be closed and buses will be rerouted, while the port and other areas will be subject to temporary no-fly zones. Students walk in front of a TV screen showing footage of Xi Jinping’s previous visit to a tradition exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong tradition Photo: Anthony Kwan / Getty Images The opportunity to criticize Xi, or the Beijing-backed Hong Kong government, will be stifled. One of Hong Kong’s few remaining pro-democracy groups has said it will not protest after several members were called in by police. Access to Friday’s event was banned by local and foreign stores, citing the pandemic. On Tuesday, some media outlets reported that individual journalists had since been denied access, too late for the replacement to take the required several days of negative tests. The Hong Kong media have been seduced by the introduction of the National Security Act in 2020. Newspapers and websites have been shut down, and editors and executives have been arrested. It is a way in which Beijing has expanded its influence and control in recent years. The protest is in fact illegal following pro-democracy demonstrations destroyed by police. Schools now have to offer patriotism and national security lessons, and some new textbooks deny that Hong Kong was ever a British colony. Electoral reforms have ensured that no opposition lawmaker, only those considered “patriots” by Beijing, will be in the city’s legislature.
The “new chapter” of Hong Kong
Also on Friday will be the inauguration of John Lee, the former security chief who oversaw the crackdown on the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, as the country’s next chief executive. Lee will replace Carrie Lam, the malicious face of the crackdown that began in earnest in 2019. Asked by Bloomberg this month if she wanted to apologize for anything during her tenure, she said no, she only regrets the sacrifices she made. were made by her family “to support my mission”. Lee has pledged to unite the city for “a new chapter,” and promised an even more aggressive approach to tackling “phobic and bad expression” by critics. Prominent Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong, who was jailed by Chinese authorities for three years and covered up the tradition, says Lee has shown his faith in Beijing and will be “at most a person who will implement the idea.” of Beijing “. “John Lee’s lifelong career is security and he has no experience in other fields,” says Ching. Xi said he expects Li and his new government to “bring renewal change to Hong Kong governance.” On Wednesday, Xinhua, the official state news agency of the Chinese Communist Party, said that Hong Kong’s growth “came with leaps and bounds” under “one country, two systems”, with the necessary stability brought about by national security law. . Meanwhile, a record number of people are leaving the city for good. Police close an access barrier to Bauhinia Square and hotels used by anniversary visitors in the Wanchai area of Hong Kong. Photo: Jérôme Favre / EPA
Missing persons
In normal times, the anniversary would include celebrities from the tradition, such as Martin Lee. Nicknamed the “Father of Democracy”, Lee was a key figure in the joint Sino-British Declaration and a prominent figure in the pro-democracy movement for decades. As Prince Charles of Britain left Hong Kong, he expressed his fears: “So we left Hong Kong to its fate and the hope that Martin Lee, the leader of the Democrats, will not be arrested.” Lee, now 82, was arrested last year and sentenced to 12 months in prison for organizing and participating in an unauthorized rally – one of the pro-democracy demonstrations of 2019. Dozens of fellow activists and politicians have also been arrested or jailed. Non-prisoners, such as Lee, rarely speak in public and spend their days visiting and caring for friends and colleagues in prison. Under the National Security Act of 2020, the risk of exceeding indefinitely defined red lines is very high and at least two people – including widely acclaimed lawmaker Claudia Mo – refused to post a guarantee after submitting their WhatsApp conversations with strangers. journalists as evidence. For many former Hong Kong residents, the anniversary will be a painful reminder of the promise the city once made and its rapid collapse. Valerie was 17 when she returned to Hong Kong. That day in 1997 he watched the ceremony on television, but “without any happiness”. “In his last scenes [former British governor Chris] “Patten’s family on board the ship, I could not stop my tears,” she told the Guardian from her new home abroad. “I did not really understand politics in those days, but I could not believe that Hong Kong would get better. “Now I’m afraid that Hong Kong culture will eventually disappear.”
