Highlights
- Since the introduction of the national security law, many Hongkongers have found themselves silenced either by authorities through prosecution or by self-censorship due to fear
- Those who were able to resorted to migrating to other countries, with statistics showing the number of newly-arrived migrants to Australia from Hong Kong has surged in recent years
- Activists and academics said the "vaguely defined" legislation has "muffled political discussion", creating a "chilling effect" in the former British colony
Read this story in Chinese:
【國安法兩周年】移澳港人不斷增加 工黨政府首回應「避風港」未來
It had been a silent past two years for Australian pro-democracy activist Kevin Yam in Hong Kong prior to his move to Melbourne’s north this May.
The commercial lawyer, who “made” his 20-year career on the island, had attended rallies and supported the pro-democracy movement that had jailed and exiled many of his friends under China’s national security law.
Political opposition has been largely crushed as a result of Beijing imposing the law in Hong Kong. Anyone found trying to undermine the Chinese authority ended up being tried in mainland China behind closed doors and facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The law came into effect on June 30, 2020, an hour before the 23rd anniversary of the city’s handover from British rule to China.
Two years later and after a “very difficult” decision to move back to Australia, Mr Yam says he is again able to exercise his right to free speech.
He started by appearing at rallies in Melbourne in support of the democracy movements of Hong Kong and mainland China.
The Australian citizen and Melbourne University Law School graduate told SBS Chinese that one of the main reasons for his leaving of his beloved city was the enactment of the “vaguely defined” national security legislation by the Chinese Government, despite him describing himself as “just an insignificant person” who may not be threatened by the new law.
“Everyone in Hong Kong is now living in fear. You never know how the law will be enforced and where the red line is drawn,” Mr Yam said.
This has created a chilling effect where Hongkongers had to resort to silencing themselves or migrating to somewhere else.
The legislation, passed by China’s legislature without widespread consultation or release of contents prior to passage, outlawed acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign organisations.
It also entitled authorities to surveil, detain, and search persons suspected of violating its provisions, and to require publishers, hosting services, and internet service providers to block, remove, or restrict content deemed in violation.
Law damages Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a global financial hub
Mr Yam said the national security law had been “the last straw” that damaged Hong Kong’s long-standing attractiveness as a global financial hub, despite other factors that could have already drastically reduced the competitiveness of the former British colony, including high rental and labour costs.
“Hong Kong’s freedom of speech and information, which enabled the city to remain as the bridge between mainland China and the Western world, was the last reason for businesses to continue operating in the city,” he said.
“With many freedoms gradually taken away by the national security law, why would finance and business corporations around the world continue to operate in Hong Kong?”
Since the law’s enactment, many pro-democracy icons have either been charged and jailed, migrated overseas, or left the city in exile, including former Legislative Council member Ted Hui who sought refuge in Australia, but also numerous personal friends of Mr Yam’s.
Mr Yam said he feared that he could be targeted by the legislation in the future.
“You cannot guarantee that in the next few years, I will not be targeted by the authorities, even being an insignificant person. By then, it could be too late,” he said.
Like Mr Yam, many Hongkongers have left the city amid the worsening political and social environment, with some countries offering them visa concessions, including Australia.
The former Morrison government announced in July 2020 a plan to deliver pathways to permanent residency for eligible Hong Kong passport holders, days after the national security law was enacted.
Under the plan, eligible graduates from Australian institutions or skilled workers who hold Hong Kong passports can apply for a five-year Temporary Graduate visa, and subsequently for permanent residency after three or four years .
Those who apply for permanent residency would only need to meet basic character and health requirements, which immigration lawyers say are “very low” thresholds.
Record breaking numbers of migrants from Hong Kong to Australia
According to statistics provided to SBS Chinese by the Home Affairs Department, since the newly established permanent residency streams were opened for application in March, almost 200 applications have already been lodged, with at least 33 of these approved.
Meanwhile, the number of temporary graduate visa applicants for Hong Kong citizens has reached an all-time high since the introduction of the 485 Visa subclass in 2008, reflecting the increasing interest by Hong Kong students to remain in Australia upon graduation.
In the 2021-22 financial year until May 2022, close to 1600 Hong Kong graduates from Australian institutions have applied for the temporary graduate visa, with at least 767 of applications approved within the same period – also the highest since 2008.
Number of Hong Kong applicants applied for and was granted Visa 485 from 2007/08 to 2021/22 (until May 2022). Source: Department of Home Affairs; SBS
He said many wealthy high income-earners who had outstanding professional skills were seeking to migrate to Australia, but were unable to do so due to the relatively strict requirements compared to countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
From the perspective of rebuilding Australia’s economy after the pandemic, Mr Yam said failing to attract skilled workers from Hong Kong created a “lose-lose situation”.
Australian journalist and academic, Louisa Lim, who was raised in Hong Kong, says she agrees.
“By all metrics, Hongkongers are incredibly good migrants. They’re well-educated, often come with lots of financial resources, and they will work really, really hard,” she said.
“But I would also [point to] the situation in 1989, after the Tiananmen Square [massacre], when Bob Hawke allowed Chinese students to stay in Australia… It will be nice if the current government could also match [that].
“What’s happening in Hong Kong is not tanks rolling down the streets, as it was in Beijing in 1989. But it is a kind of slow-motion suppression whose results are similar in a way which drastically cut down on freedoms and civil liberties.”
‘Slow-motion suppression’ that remade Hong Kong
She said the national security legislation has “basically remade Hong Kong and its institutions in particular” such as news outlets as well as civil society organisations and trade unions.
“It’s led to sort of widespread fear amongst Hongkongers. You don’t really know where the lines are anymore, what is safe to talk about and what isn’t,” Ms Lim said.
I think that kind of ambiguity in the law is intentional. It has a chilling effect, and that chilling effect really muffles political discussion.
“It’s also worth noting that the national security legislation is extra-territorial. So, in theory, it could even impact how we talk about Hong Kong in classrooms in Australia. And that’s a threat to academic freedom worldwide.”
On June 10 this year, Hong Kong investigative news agency FactWire became the 10th Hong Kong news outlet to cease operations in the past year.
Journalist and academic Louisa Lim. Source: Supplied; Laura Du Vé
According to a report published by the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, since the implementation of the national security legislation, at least 62 trade unions have been forced to dissolve, with 11 officials arrested and even prosecuted.
This Friday (July 1) marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to Chinese rule after 156 years of being a British colony, with Chinese President Xi Jinping swearing in the city’s new Chief Executive John Lee at a ceremony.
Ahead of the ceremony, President Xi said Hong Kong has "risen from the ashes".
"In the past few years, Hong Kong has withstood severe tests again and again, overcoming risks and challenges one by one. After the wind and rain, Hong Kong has risen from the ashes, and also demonstrated a high level of vigour and vitality," he said.
Mr Lee was the sole approved candidate by China in the 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election, becoming the first person taking the office with a policing background.
He had previously served as the city’s Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Secretary for Security, as well as the Chief Secretary for Administration, the second-highest position in the Hong Kong Government.
“John Lee was in charge of suppressing the protests in 2019. He’s someone who’s been chosen for his loyalty. I think his choice shows the Central Government’s priorities,” Ms Lim said.
“I think we’ll see more of the fake news laws being pushed through, (and) probably more changes to the education system.
“He will be a national-security-focused Chief Executive.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Hong Kong Chief Executive-elect John Lee. Source: Xinhua
‘All freedoms are lost’
Looking back at the past 25 years, Ms Lim said a lot of freedoms that Hongkongers could enjoy had been lost.
“Twenty-five years ago, although Hongkonger did not have full democracy, there was the ability to protest, to speak freely, to discuss anything they liked in classrooms. And all of these have been lost,” she said.
Ms Lim, who covered news in the city for more than a decade, has recently published a book about the region, Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong to “tell the Hong Kong story from a Hong Kong perspective”.
The book recounts some key moments of the city such as the British takeover in 1842, the negotiations over the 1997 “handover” to China, as well as the future of the city that Beijing seeks to impose.
She said the story of Hong Kong had always been told by successive sovereign powers, including both the British and the Chinese, and the book aimed to unearth some untold stories and myths.
“What I’ve tried to do with this book is to restore Hong Kong faces and Hong Kong voices to Hong Kong’s own history and tell it in a way that centres Hong Kong voices,” Ms Lim said.
In , Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia remains deeply concerned by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong's rights, freedoms, and autonomy.
"The National Security Law has been applied broadly to arrest or pressure pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, the media, trade unions and civil society. The electoral reforms imposed by Beijing in 2021 have further eroded Hong Kong’s democratic governance," she said.
"We urge the Chinese Government and Hong Kong authorities to uphold and protect those elements which have been so crucial to Hong Kong’s success, including its high degree of autonomy, the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law and the Sino-British Declaration, to which Beijing committed."
