Latest: Despite being disqualified alongside 11 other pro-democracy candidates last month, #HongKong politician and journalist Gwyneth Ho isn't planning to stay silent. She thinks it's more important now to maintain #HongKong civil society's vitality.
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"Since the Basic Law has a lot of protection for fundamental freedoms for the citizens of Hong Kong, I personally think that if I am upholding the Basic Law, there is no way that I can agree to the current version of the national security law. That’s why I’m against it."
"I do feel it’s impossible for a person to be upholding the Basic Law and not opposing the national security law at the same time. We see that no matter what we answer, it didn’t make a difference."
"It’s only a necessary proceeding for them to ask the questions, but I personally suspect that they actually have a list of people to disqualify. They come up with the reasons. This is not a legal decision. It is totally arbitrary and political."
"I personally think that the government made a political statement. If they just postponed the election without disqualifying anyone, then they couldn’t make it clear that whoever is against the #NSL wouldn’t be able to run. I think they are setting a new red line."
"Some may say that only 12 pro-democracy candidates were disqualified, but in the coming year, I would say when the election comes, all the candidates that have not been disqualified would have to make a decision:...
... do they still voice their opposition towards the national security law and do they still announce their plans to boycott the government budget?"
"The #HK government is sowing seeds for a new wave of division among the pro-democracy candidates. They have to make it clear to both the pro-democracy candidates and HK society that if they are against the national security law, their fundamental rights will be stripped away."
"In our case, it is our right to run for public office and stand in the office. For the four students who were arrested, it is their freedom of speech. The disqualification and the arrest are connected. I think it is to show HK people how far can the national security law reach."
"I think why the government decided to postpone the election is also due to the results of the democratic primary, which was held on July 11 and 12. The results made Beijing realize that...
... there is no way for them to stop a democratic majority from happening unless they cancel or postpone the election."
"The turnout made Beijing realize that no matter what they do and how many people they disqualified, the people in Hong Kong are very eager to support their democratic candidates.
At that time, they made a decision that unless the election is delayed, there is no way for them to stop a democratic majority inside the legislative council from happening."
Ho also talked about the reasons why she gave up her journalism career and went into politics: "One of the reasons why I gave up my career in journalism and switched to politics is because I see that as the Hong Kong government becomes more and more authoritarian,...
... the room for journalists to exercise their social responsibility becomes smaller and smaller."
"At the scene of protests, there is no way for journalists to objectively monitor the use of force by the police, because whenever the police carried out arrests, they would force all journalists to leave the cordoned area.
The only thing that journalists can capture is the blood on the ground after the police cleared up everything."
"Journalists can argue with the police on the ground but that often results in journalists being pepper sprayed in the face. Whenever we demand the police to reveal the number of arrests, they can decide whether they want to reveal this information to the public or not."
"They don’t have the legal responsibility to do it, so it is at their mercy to determine whether they have to reveal the important information or not. While I feel that we need journalists to stay in the profession, we also need someone to try to change the system fundamentally."
"Otherwise, there is basically no way for us to guarantee the freedom of the press. It’s the same in every profession. We all face the same problem, because the problem is in the system."
"I think the purpose of the national security law has transformed Hong Kong’s society, making it more similar to China’s civil society. The Hong Kong government has actually complemented the national security law with other documents."
"They have established an unlawful right for them to control speech and conversation online, but they haven’t used it yet. For the case of the four students arrested under the national security law, there was no action involved.
It was just a few posts on social media. They are now facing charges that can put them in jail for years."
"I think the national security law is enacted to silence the political voices in Hong Kong. Under the current circumstances, the pro-democracy camp is still discussing what our next step would be.
One of our baseline principles is we can’t stop voicing our opposition even if there are risks involved. Now the legislative council election has been postponed, the government claimed that it will happen in 2021, but people in Hong Kong are very skeptical about that."
"Within one year, the government can change all the laws and regulations regarding elections. Carrie Lam suggested that the HK government should be able to set up polling stations in the Chinese mainland, so HKers dwelling on the mainland can vote."
"However, we all know that is a path for election manipulation by the Chinese authorities. The Hong Kong government can also change other regulations during the one-year period to make the elections totally controllable for Beijing."
"Additionally, all candidates from the democratic camp may face persecution, either under the national security law or other laws. For example, two fellow candidates are already under rioting charges, so by this time next year, they may already be in jail."
I think the upcoming year will be very bloody. Even if there is still an election one year from now, it would not be a democratic, free and fair election. That’s for sure.
Given the situation in Hong Kong now, I think the utmost important task now is to maintain the vitality of civil society in Hong Kong."
"My tentative plan is to join some civil society organizations and keep advocating and voicing my political views. It’s not that I have retreated from the political field, but...
... I do think I need to be involved in organizations and I will still voice without censorship from those positions."
"I do expect the government to extend their pressure on the political sector to other sectors in Hong Kong, so we need more attention and awareness about that. I will personally choose this path."
