“The man does not voluntarily fall, nor could the man avoid falling. The unintentional action of falling is no longer a self-autonomous movement dominated by our body and will.”

Falling Carefully (2020), Isaac Chong Wai, Hong Kong artist

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During the time of a global pandemic, curfews, social distancing rules, compulsory quarantines, lockdowns, and other precautionary measures were quickly enforced to prevent the spread of COVID-19. People panicked as a result of an unforeseen virus and inevitably followed the governments’ new rules to protect themselves and others. Unfortunately, public health and safety also became the perfect excuse to suppress social movements that were rising before COVID-19. 

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Hong Kong was one of the places that faced a crackdown on democracy before the pandemic. In particular, on February 17 2018, a Hong Kong man murdered his girlfriend Poon Hiu-Wing in Taiwan. One year later, on February 15 2019, the Hong Kong government Security Bureau proposed the extradition bill citing the Poon Hiu-Wing murder case. The Extradition Bill proposed to detain and transfer people to countries with which Hong Kong does not have an official extradition agreement, including Taiwan, and mainland China. As a result, if the Bill were to pass, residents of Hong Kong  who commit a perceived ‘crime’ by China, including political activists, would be detained in China . This could have endangered freedom of expression, as well as freedom of the press, restricting dissidence. The Extradition Bill, however, was officially withdrawn in October 2019, after unrest and thousands of protests  took place in Hong Kong. 

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In 2020 COVID-19 started spreading in Hong Kong. Social and public gatherings were easily shut down, as compulsory social distancing of 1.5 meters was imposed and public assemblies were limited to approximately four or six people. The use of public health safety to shut down protests is obvious since the police has shut down public gatherings that adhere to social distancing rules due to political reasons. In particular, during Labor day in 2020, 8 Hong Kong Members of the League of Social Democrats and the Labour Party protested in two groups of four, abiding by the social distancing rules at the time. However, the protesters were still arrested, convicted, and found guilty by the court. As a result they received a 14-day prison term, while one of them received a fine of 2,000 HKD for not showing his ID to the police. The Department of Justice argued that even though the protesters did not violate the social distancing rules per se, they shared a “common purpose,” which is also an infringement of containment measures. This statement is a threat to democracy as it is clear that the decision of the judges was not related to the spread of  COVID-19 and the safety of Hong Kong citizens. Hence, the criminalization of sharing a “common purpose” is politically charged and aims to limit any form of resistance against the government. 

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The political interpretation of the phrase “common purpose” is also obvious when considering the different reaction of the police to larger social gatherings that did not have a political motive. For instance, in April 2022, thousands of fans gathered in Causeway Bay to celebrate the 23rd birthday of the famous Cantonese pop singer Keung To. Experts warned that there was a high infection risk that could lead to a new outbreak since the public gathering was overcrowded. Even though there were many more people that did not abide by the social distancing rules and they also shared a common purpose–celebrating the artist’s birthday–, there were no arrests or convictions, and no fines issued despite the police’s presence. This is a blatant example that showcases that social distancing measures are not primarily for pandemic control only but rather aim to suppress any socio-political movements that are against the status-quo. 

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In addition to the selective application of containment measures, China, in an attempt to reduce social unrest, opportunistically introduced the National Security Law during a period where people could not protest, as compared to when the Extradition Bill was proposed. The National Security Law is a 66-article law that essentially criminalizes four acts: 

1. Secession

2. Subversion

3. Terrorism

4. Collusion

The National Security Law has resulted in major human right violations. According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) there have been over 100 arrests under the national security law and more than 10,000 people have been arrested for being involved in the protests in 2019. Furthermore, many journalists have been arrested, resulting in a severe media crisis in Hong Kong. In particular, Apple Daily was the first pro-democracy newspaper that was forced to close in June 2021, after the arrests of six people who worked there including the editor-in-chief and executives from Next Digital –Apple Daily’s parent company. The assets of the company were frozen, the headquarters was raided by the police and the six aforementioned people were charged with “collusion with foreign forces” under the National Security Law. During December 2021, another Hong Kong pro-democracy media outlet, Stand News, decided to close after they were also raided by the National Security Department. As a result, three men and three women were arrested for alleged sedition under the NSL, including previous board members and activists Denise Ho and Margaret Ng. Finally in January 2022, Zhongxin News (Citizen News), decided to close in order to make sure that their employees were safe. The closure of three pro-democracy media outlets in less than half a year showcases the prevalent media crisis in Hong Kong, which has been discussed by international press outlets. 

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Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s former Chief Executive, replied to the local and international criticism regarding Hong Kong’s crackdown on political dissent and freedom of the press by stating that “These actions are law enforcement actions. These actions have nothing to do with the so-called suppression of press freedom or suppression of democracy. (...)  Journalism is not sedition. But seditious acts and activities and inciting other people through public acts and activities could not be condoned under the guise of news reporting.” Her announcement is indicative of the government’s support of the National Security Law, the suppression of freedom of democracy, and the many arbitrary arrests of journalists. 

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In addition to the many arbitrary arrests and media outlet shut downs that have been taking place, which have resulted in a fear of resisting against the authorities, the government has taken further actions that symbolize Hong Kong’s crackdown on democracy and China’s increasing control over the territory. For example, the “Pillar of Shame” sculpture that commemorated the hundreds of pro-democracy protesters who died during the Tiananmen massacre was removed over a night. The University of Hong Kong ordered this decision as they could not show any public display of defiance after the implementation of the National Security Law. The removal of the statue constitutes a symbol for the demise of democracy, as the commemoration of the bloodshed that occurred in 1989 is one of Hong Kong’s collective memories that is slowly being erased. 

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In conclusion, COVID-19 measures in combination with the Hong Kong national security law, suppressed the protests in the city under the guise of ‘public health concerns,’ forcing a ‘mainlandification.’ This is evident not only by the contradicting actions by the police, who purposefully target protesters by shutting down any kind of social unrest, regardless of its size and purpose, but also the introduction of the National Security Law in a time during which people could not legally protest. Unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic, the containment measures, and legislation that was passed during that time seem to be permanent and pervasive, changing Hong Kong’s political landscape, and posing a threat to democracy.