In just five years, the Chinese government has largely stifled the political and civilian dynamism of Hong Kong and replaced it with the uniformity of forced “patriotism”, that is to say loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.
Five years ago today, the Chinese government required the Draconian law on national security in Hong Kong. Since then, he has implemented a new legal regime and an opaque bureaucracy in matters of national security, using the courts as a weapon to inflict severe penalties on the dissidents.
Under the new national security regime, the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities largely dismantled the freedoms of expression, association and meeting, free and fair elections, the right to a fair trial and judicial independence.
For decades, Hong Kong has experienced major pro-democracy demonstrations, some bringing together more than a million people, but the authorities have not authorized any demonstration of this type since 2020. The demonstrators who participated in the 2019 demonstrations are still the subject of prosecution.
The authorities have used national security laws as a weapon to severely punish dissent. Since 2020, 326 people have been arrested for national security offenses and 187 people and 5 companies have been charged. National security damage has a conviction rate of nearly 100 %.
This had a deterrent effect on fundamental freedoms. Nearly 100 civil society organizations, unions and political parties were dissolved for fear or following repressive government measures. At least 14 independent media have closed their doors. The self -censorship is commonplace among journalists. Institutional censorship has extended beyond the political field, to books and to art.
The Chinese government has sought to impose ideological control over Hong Kong students and residents. School programs impose “patriotism” and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party from kindergarten. For example, secondary students must study the “thought of Xi Jinping”. Officials must take the oath of allegiance to the government (instead of fulfilling their traditional role in the service of the public); Hundreds of those who refused to do so were dismissed. More and more, Only the faithful of the Chinese Communist Party Can occupy key positions in society, such as those of parliamentarian or university rector.
The authorities have also tried to rewrite history, the Hong Kong media landscape being more and more dominated by pro-peak voices. Manuals deny that Hong Kong has never been a British colony.
Since 2020, the Chinese Communist Party – which is not even recorded as a political party in Hong Kong – has extended its control over all the levers of the Hong Kong government.
Although Beijing maintains that Hong Kong is still governed according to the principle “a country, two systems”, it is clear that this has not been the case since at least 2020. In 2023, the Chinese Communist Party introduced a series of “institutional reforms” which strengthened its control over state institutions in China.
Today, Hong Kong’s governance resembles that of Xinjiang and Tibet, where the leaders of the local governments of these nominally “autonomous” regions are subject to civil servants of the Chinese Communist Party. Hong Kong’s governance framework has become more and more that of “A country, a system”in which the party actually directs the city.
This increased oppression could have long -term disastrous consequences for Hong Kong, even if some courageous Hong Kong have still found subtle ways to resist tyranny.
