With the National Security Law, the regime seems to have received a jail-free card to do as it pleases. Any means of opposition can be threatened to be charged with “subverting the state power”; any behaviors that it does not like can be said to be “endangering national security”.

In theory, all laws in a society under the rule of law should be passed through representative public opinion mechanisms, and should also have enough checks and balances to prevent the laws from being abused. Without these, any kind of exalted legal provisions is just tyranny. Moreover, what is contained within the National Security Law basically and fundamentally contradicts the various human rights protections offered by the Basic Law, and does not conform to the majority of the Human Rights Law.

Beijing would rather time and again go back on its promises than allow Hong Kong to continue to develop its democratic system, which seems like it just cannot accept any form of checks and balances of power. To this day, this tendency of feudal tyranny cannot be explained through any civilized values. It can only continue to deceive under the guise of “socialism” and the solicitation of “national renaissance”. This, in fact, can’t fool many people, but can only provide an excuse for a few to clamor and make noises.

The National Security Law’s content is empty and vague, but can be easily manipulated by the regime into an all-encompassing universal key. Coupled with the context of an outdated system, the SAR government and its minions think that this is a win-win for all. Whether it is Beijing or the SAR government, they now simply go ahead and accuse other people of violating agreements, while they are the ones who keep abusing the law and ignore the norms; under the watchful eyes of the world, they keep exposing their own double standards. How are they to win any support?

What the force of retrogression most fears is progress and development, because they simply cannot keep up with the pace, nor adapt to civilization and progress. The situation in Hong Kong today is exactly this kind of retrogressive force that drags Hong Kong back into an even more unbearable situation than half a century ago. What it uses is no different from the Cultural Revolution that was once deemed as a “historical error” by the CCP itself.

In the past few weeks, Hongkongers had the chance of experiencing a Cultural Revolution-esque absurdity. M+’s collection went through a professional selection process, but is now under scrutiny because of one mouthpiece newspaper’s report that was nothing short of party gobbledygook; because of some speeches of a pro-establishment lawmaker, it was said that certain exhibits will be withdrawn. On the other hand, a bureaucrat with zero media experience is playing the role of a “master of broadcasting” and repeatedly canceling programs produced by professional media workers. There are also members of the medical team, bearing the banner of “experts”, who do not hesitate to place political needs above professional judgment.

Aren’t these behaviors no different from the political censorship and the brutality of resorting to violence during the Cultural Revolution? Hongkongers obviously know what is going on. Even if the pro-establishment camp throws out any sort of so-called reasonings and reasons, most Hongkongers are not to be deceived. However, at the same time, the practice of having to confess and bow to power and getting a political “pass” is more and more intense. The senior officials and pro-establishment minions fighting to get ahead is one thing, the oath-taking mandate of the civil servants is another to ensure that everyone only speaks according to the standard of one. The Xinjiang cotton fiasco that has recently been stirred up again turned into a full-fledged Chinese-style boycott and sanction. Seeing the bunch of celebrities voluntarily surrendering is a kind of ugliness that has not been seen in Hong Kong for more than half a century!

In the short term even if the international community is willing to continue to speak out for Hongkongers, it is unlikely that there will be direct intervention. Hongkongers are being placed on the chopping board, resisting would cost them a very heavy price. However, as long as we don’t cheat ourselves, telling a naked lie a thousand times changes nothing about it being a lie. Everyone knows in their hearts who the “Big Brother” is in 1984, or in the context of Hong Kong, who “Grandpa” is. Lies might work to deceive people for a short while, but it cannot always deceive most people forever. The Hong Kong re-make of the Cultural Revolution is not going to make what is happening today correct, just as how the Emperor Qin-style laws failed to safeguard the emperor’s fantasy of a forever dynasty.

Let’s all begin with ourselves and live in the truth. Start from ourselves and speak the truth. Do not let organizational deception and the border-crossing servile loyalty displayed by everyone trick you. When we come together to resist deceptive words and deeds, the heinous acts of the regime will not succeed, and the power of procession will inevitably reverse the reactionary and retrogressive barbarism.

(Chung Kim-wah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute)

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