You may have seen headlines about the National Security Law being passed in Hong Kong last week. It's already had an effect since then, not all of the consequences deemed worthy of an international headline. THREAD!
(to be updated as things happen & I'm told what I forgot)
(to be updated as things happen & I'm told what I forgot)
1) Before the law went into effect, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, Nathan Law & Jeffery Ngo preemptively left their party Demosisto, which subsequently dissolved hongkongfp.com/2020/06/30/bre…
2) Before the law went into effect, several explicitly pro-independence groups announced they would stop their operations in Hong Kong
3) Before the law went into effect, many Hongkongers scrubbed, deleted and/or anonymised their social media accounts to avoid getting into legal trouble once the law they had still not seen went into force
4) Before the law went into effect, activist/politician Nathan Law left Hong Kong, assuming he would never be able to return if he continued his activism abroad
5) On July 1, less than 24 hours after the law went into effect, police arrested several women, including a 15 y/o, for subversion because they had subversive stickers and flags on them
6) At the same protest, police raised a new flag warning people e.g. that they were chanting slogans or "conducting [themselves] with an intent such as secession or subversion" & that they might be prosecuted nytimes.com/2020/07/01/wor…
7) On July 2, the Hong Kong Government declared that the protest slogan "Liberate HK, Revolution of our Times" (just quoting the HKSAR government here) connoted separatism and/or subversion info.gov.hk/gia/general/20…
8) On July 3, a pro-democracy cafe was reportedly told that hanging up protest posters inside the cafe constituted subversion & many others took down all their posters & colorful Lennon Walls nytimes.com/2020/07/05/wor…
9) On July 3, some people noted that the political satire "Headliner", which was taken off the air recently, removed several of their episodes on Youtube and re-uploaded shorter versions, seemingly with some politically controversial parts removed
10) On July 4, Hong Kong public libraries removed several "subversive" books from their shelves
11) Police reportedly collected the DNA of the ten people arrested for breaching the National Security Law at the July 1 protest nytimes.com/2020/07/05/wor…
12) On July 8, the Education Bureau tells schools to review & remove books breaching the National Security Law
13) On July 8, the HK government invoked the NSL to expand powers of police, including entering premises without a warrant, intercepting communication & requesting ISPs remove (censor?) information in breach of the law
14) On July 8, Telegram, Facebook, Whatsapp & Twitter announce they will temporarily refuse any requests for data from Hong Kong authorities
15) On July 8th, Hong Kong Police used the purple flag to warn people holding up blank pieces of paper that they were acting, chanting or holding banners subversively
(Typo correction: 12-15 happened on July 6, not July 8)
16) On July 7th, TikTok tells Reuters they will leave the HK market "within days", "because it was not clear if Hong Kong would now fall entirely under Beijing’s jurisdiction in light of the new law." reuters.com/article/us-tik…
17) On July 7th, LinkedIn and Zoom also say they will pause processing data requests from HK law enforcement while reviewing the NSL.
18) On July 7, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference warns foreign journalists in HK that they "could be expelled if they “cross the line” while reporting on demands for independence for the territory" in an interview
ft.com/content/f5ca94…
ft.com/content/f5ca94…
19) Belated addition: On July 3, Canada suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in light of the NSL globalnews.ca/news/7135477/c…
20) On July 7, a spokesperson for the Taiwanese government says on Twitter that the NSL is being used to pressure TW authorities to turn over information on "politically prosecuted HKers" (maybe those who fled to Taiwan, want to migrate or request asylum?)
(side note: It has now been seven days and ~8 hours since the National Security Law went into effect at 11pm HK time on June 30, so all of the above things have happened in that short time)
21) On July 8, the education minister confirms that protest hymn "Glory to Hong Kong" is a "political propaganda activity" and basically banned in schools, so students cannot "play, sing or broadcast" it
