I was just a teenager when I watched The Killing Fields for the first time in the mid-1980s. It was then difficult for me to fathom what it would mean by the impact of “the fall of a country”, the tragic story of Cambodia during the reign of terror with dictator Pol Pot in power in the 1970s. It is a good movie by any standard. I have revisited The Killing Fields story again recently, and I have gained some new perspectives. To a certain extent, it has warned me of the worst case scenario of what Hong Kong would look like, if Beijing wants to initiate her self-inflicted “nuclear option” on its own people.

Anyhow, the movie had 7 Oscar nominations, and ended up winning 3 awards, including best supporting actor, best cinematography and best editing. The Killing Fields is based on a true story of a New York Times columnist and a local interpreter. They were covering stories of Cambodia in turmoil in the early 1970s when there was civil war and unrest in Cambodia. Not to spill the beans, I would say The Killing Fields is hypnotic and historical background to it was well researched. In April 1975, the political situation of Cambodia deteriorated, and literally crumbling fast, and the country was subsequently cut off on its contact with the outside world.

The 70s was an interesting time. Polaroids were used for instant pictures. Reporters and columnists were respected during the golden era of print media, and photojournalists were highly esteemed. In mid-April of 1975, the last U.S. embassy personnel member in Cambodia was evacuated from the compound with a Chinook helicopter. The New York Times columnist left Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, before the fall of the country in April 1975, leaving behind his Cambodian sidekick interpreter. In real history, the Khmer Rouge rolled in the tanks after defeating the Khmer Republic, and declared “liberation” of Phnom Penh, some sort of a ceasefire to end the civil war.

Soldiers of the Khmer Rouge were easily recognizable because they wore a red scarf. April 17, 1975, was a significant day that the Khmer Rouge entered the capital, and the civilians thought that peace finally came. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hope quickly turned into fear. Cambodians who supported the old regime, the Khmer Republic, were purged and executed. The ruler of the Khmer Rouge was Pol Pot, who was responsible for a full scale genocide of 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians during 1975-1979, which constituted ¼ of the country’s population.

Fast forward time. I had a weird dream the other day about Hong Kong. Americans, foreigners, locals and journalists jammed inside and outside of the U.S. Embassy compound on Garden Road. No vehicles could go downhill because the people just took over the roads for a massive assembly, and everyone was expecting imminent attacks by the “green armed soldiers”. Hong Kong declared martial law. Those who supported democracy would be punished, tortured or in a “best case scenario” quickly executed to avoid further pain. Osprey helicopters were deployed for rescue mission. The “green armed soldiers” were firing shots in the air, not aimed at the helicopters, but scaring off the people looking for protection.

The “green armed soldiers” went inside the US embassy through a gate, facing the U.S. marines head-on. At first, nobody dared to move. Whoever fired first would lose big time. More people rushed to the U.S. embassy for vertical airlifting; the airport was locked down, and all the sea routes were blocked, with “Coast Guard vessels” in sight everywhere.

The “green armed soldiers” were in the thousands now around Garden Road and Central waiting for the final order, but were outnumbered by the tens of thousands of Hong Kong people who gathered around Garden Road. The sky suddenly turned dark, a gigantic IMAX dome shaped screen dropped from the sky.

Snapshots and detailed accounts of what actually happened during the social movements from 2019 to early 2020 re-appeared on the “Skynet” screen. Recollection of peaceful marching demonstrators, geared up protesters in black, and undercover cops who dressed as protesters all re-appeared on “Skynet”. But most importantly, the causes of deaths of a university student and a 15 year old girl got revealed finally. The “green armed soldiers” were about to shoot, but suddenly all fell on their knees. All the “weapons” were dumped by themselves in the middle of Garden Road, signifying peace with the people.

I woke up from that weird dream. I am now back to reality. The fall of Phnom Penh symbolized the Khmer Republic defeated by the Khmer Rouge on April 17,1975, the ending of the Cambodian Civil War. But not quite. Genocide followed from 1975 to 1979 when nobody seemed to notice. How could this have happened? Fast forward time, and look at communist Hong Kong today. The level of uncertainty of this city grows by the minute, and a lot of Hong Kong people are in retreat mode, literally.

We are now living in the days of darkness, just like what the Cambodians encountered during 1975-1979, the time when the genocide took place and millions got killed. In our case, we have lost our rights to assembly and protest, and the Hong Kong police have deliberately been using the breach of the NSL to deter Hong Kong people from coming out.

Cambodia experienced the worst case of genocide in the 20th century, and “Big Brother” Pol Pot got the idea of torture and execution from Communist China Chairman Mao Zedong. In the case of Hong Kong, the city has definitely fallen, in terms of both spirt and freedom, and we have all witnessed the police brutality, which they have consistently been denying.

Hong Kong is not free anymore, and the city is in tears. The ruthless regime has been trying anything possible to incarcerate its people. Outspoken individuals are now silenced, and most of the recent arrests have been politically motivated. Like “The Killing Fields” in modern times, we are already on the fall, and we have to find a way out before millions got buried. We cannot be forced to dig our own graves, and get buried alive.

(Edward Chin runs a family office. Chin was formerly Country Head of a UK publicly listed hedge fund, the largest of its kind measured by asset under management. Outside the hedge funds space, Chin is Convenor of 2047 Hong Kong Monitor and a Senior Advisor of Reporters Without Borders (RSF, HK & Macau). Chin studied speech communication at the University of Minnesota, and received his MBA from the University of Toronto. Twitter: edwardckchin Youtube: Ed Chin Facebook.com/edckchin Email: [email protected])

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play