Social activism in Hong Kong is unlikely going to be renewed following prominent activists’ detention

After three prominent Hong Kong activists pleaded guilty in court on Monday, some in the city think it’s unlikely for Hong Kong people to be “encouraged” by their examples. They think Hong Kong people have realized the consequences of political participation.

Question: How do you think today’s ruling on Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam’s case will reflect the current state in Hong Kong?

Michael Mo: Whether the judges go tough or lenient on Joshua, Agnes and Ivan will reflect the state of Hong Kong’s government system. Usually, if the court is lenient, like when they used to be back in the beginning of 2010, the sentence could be as lenient as community service order or a jail term of three weeks.

We see the court is going way tougher recently, including Benny Tai’s sentence of 7 to 8 months. I expect the court to be even tougher on this case, and it will reflect the patriotic requirements for judges that Beijing has been repeatedly citing.

Question: Do you think the three of them pleading guilty can reignite the resistance from Hong Kong’s civil society? Or do you think due to the implementation of the national security law, the determination to resist against Beijing has already died down?

Michael Mo: Sadly, the movement is already dying down. It’s not just because of the national security law or the encroachment of civil liberties that we are used to. It’s the sentiment that Beijing would like to inject the thought of “you must be patriotic” in all aspects of our lives.

If you are not patriotic enough, you might be reported to the national security department and you might lose your job if you are a teacher. If you work for private corporations, you might lose the opportunity to get promoted. This encroachment of freedoms is not visible, but it’s more apparent on Hong Kong people’s heart.

Hong Kongers are used to respect others’ opinions. When the Chinese government would like to require everyone to be patriotic, it is simply too risky to go against the government’s rules. Hong Kongers do have to pay their bills. It’s really hard to lose jobs during this difficult time.

Some families have already decided to emigrate to other countries like the United Kingdom. The whole movement is actually dying and the city is dying as well. I’ve known Joshua for a decade and I know he really tried his best to encourage Hong Kongers.

But the inconvenient truth is that it’s so hard to get Hong Kongers fired up again as we were back in 2019. If we look at the dynamics of the protest, things have changed.

Question: You were one of the elected district councilors during last year’s district council election. However, we have seen some district councilors and legislators being arrested or charged since this year. There was also the mass-resignation of the pan democrats inside the legislative council last year. How do you feel about all this and how do you plan to continue the work that you’ve been doing?

Michael Mo: I’m always prepared for this kind of unfortunate situation. Today, there is another district councilor being brought to the court. We also have two other district councilors arrested yesterday on charges related to election fraud.

The majority of district councilors would treat every day as their last day of service because no one knows if they will be the next in the legal and administrative harassment. This trend won’t stop before the Chief Executive election in 2022.

Certainly, Beijing will not let this happen. Carrie Lam might even try to seek her second term and she doesn’t like to see that happen as well. I guess they will try their best to strike down as many district councilors as they can to get a safe margin to win in 2022.

Question: It seems like no sector can be spared from the government’s crackdown under the national security law. Do you expect Hong Kong’s civil society to undergo a major change that could be greater than what happened after the end of the Umbrella Movement in 2014? How is that going to influence Hong Kong’s values and identities for the years to come?

Michael Mo: I think the aftermath of the 2014 movement has some positive influence on Hong Kong’s civil society. Even though some of our leaders were harassed or jailed, the whole civil society paved the way for more people to get involved in the resistance.

This time, it doesn’t seem to be the case. People begin to be aware of politics, and what they see is that those leaders or civil society organizations that they always trust have been purged or cracked down. That fear is not depoliticization. I’ll say people are over-politicized and so frightened that they have to find a way to go.

Unlike the fact that many Hong Kongers were fed up by the protest and stopped following all the political stuff in 2014, this time they are leaving because of their consciousness on the protest movement.

This interview was first published in Mandarin on DW’s Mandarin website.