Thread by @KongTsungGan

In response to impending ‘national security’ legislation foisted upon #HK by #CCP, @chrf_hk says it can’t announce its plans for action yet (the circumstances are difficult with all protests banned) but calls on all HK people to stand up. m.facebook.com/CivilHumanRigh…

Surely 1 reason for #CCP’s timing is to avail itself of #HK police ban on all protests on spurious public health grounds. Police have been perfecting their techniques of repression for months. CCP had to have full confidence in police to carry out its will before proceeding.

There’s a march on Sunday against another impending law inserted into Basic Law by #CCP, the PRC anthem law. It was planned before CCP announced the ‘national security’ law. But this is last weekend to protest before NPC passes the latter.

If large numbers of people don’t come out this weekend, rest of world will happily turn away from #HK, preoccupied with the coronavirus epidemic: ‘HK people don’t seem too upset, so why should we care?’ Only US has spoken. EU & UK are silent so far. It’s up to us alone.

Imagine: 1 of the most important pieces of legislation in #HK’s history & less than a week from the time it’s announced til when it’s passed, almost no one sees it before then & no involvement from the people it concerns. That’s HK’s reality. That’s ‘rule of law’ #CCP-style.

The speed with which the #CCP is undertaking this theft of #HK people’s autonomy & rights is essential to the shock&awe strategy of crackdown. The only thing that’ll frustrate if not stop it is HK people standing up en masse, which also means standing up to police repression.

What #HK people did to #CCP in stopping the extradition bill & the way we did it in such huge numbers was a huge embarrassment that it couldn’t allow us to get away with. The ‘national security’ legislation is punishment. Plus CCP genuinely fears we’re slipping from its control.

Imposing ‘national security’ legislation on #HK is #CCP’s nuclear option- it thinks it will solve the problem of HK once & for all, but it’s testing how far mainland-style repression can succeed in a semi-free society still somewhat buffered from its direct rule.

#CCP will fail miserably at this & #HK could even be its Waterloo but ONLY IF #HK people stand up en masse & are willing to suffer & sacrifice (including going to prison & being brutalised by police) much more than we have up to now.

As I always say, as long as there is resistance, there is hope, & not only hope but eventually, victory. So the question now is, where is the resistance? Is the #HK freedom struggle stymied by the combination of speedy #CCP crackdown & police repression? We shall see.

I never get down about what #CCP does: oppression is in their nature. They’re predictable even when they do extreme things like this. The only thing that can depress me is if my own side isn’t up to the task. We should be encouraged by CCP’s desperate move & keep the pressure on.

It is not that we are hopeful & therefore we persist; it is that through our persistence, hope is created. This has been the motto of the #HK freedom struggle all along, & in this spirit, we must persist.