It was, at last, the end of Hong Kong. The media were quick to frame China’s national security laws for the city as a doomsday clock, although Hongkongers have always prepared for the end even before the 1997 handover.
A few days after China’s legislature approved the legislation, Hong Kong authorities banned the annual Tiananmen vigil on the grounds of public health concerns. And yet, thousands of Hongkongers defied the police ban, hopped over the metal barriers, and sang Flowers of Freedom to commemorate the victims. The acts of defiance showed that Hong Kong is far from reaching its end and death.
“We can’t lose hope. If we feel discouraged and leave, then we’ve really lost the battle,” a Hong Kong environmental activist surnamed Lau told me.
