Under the National Security Law, the Chinese Communist Party has liquidated the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong. 47 pro-democracy protesters have been charged with “subversion of state power” and are facing jail Time, while some civil protest groups have disbanded and some members of pro-democracy political parties have announced their withdrawal from their parties.
These personal choices in response to the dire situation are unquestionable, and they are all necessary responses in the face of brutal authoritarian rule.
I dare not question their choices, I just have some thoughts to put forward and discuss with you.
First of all, Hong Kong people still have the freedom of association at present. Hong Kong people do not need to get government approval to set up any organization, they just need to register. The question is not what kind of organization you set up, but whether the activities of the organization you set up are “legal”. If your activities are legal, there is no reason why your organization cannot exist, so before disbanding your organization, you should first ask whether our activities can be carried out “legally” in the future.
Currently, the National Security Law is in place, so if we want to be legal, we can only be within the scope of the National Security Law, but within the scope of the National Security Law, there is not no room for activities. As I mentioned in my article a few days ago, we can show solidarity with the Burmese people in their struggle, review the history of the democracy movement in Hong Kong, and even conduct book exchanges, commemorate meaningful days, and honor the pioneers of democracy.
The question is not whether there is room for legal existence, but to study the national security law and to use a smart way to deal with the Chinese Communist Party.
Now that the situation is dire and the CCP is doing everything it can, the pressure on democratic political parties will of course be great. But if all the political groups are disbanded and become a group of wandering soldiers, it will be very difficult to organize and plan the resistance in the future. What the Chinese Communist Party fears most is not one single discrete person (in the mainland, a dissident, the government will send out a dozen or twenty people to monitor and restrict you, without much effort), what the Chinese Communist Party fears most is the organization of these discrete people, only the organization has political energy, only the possibility of lasting resistance, only the prospect of struggle.
My view is that, under the current conditions, we must first preserve the political party organizations that have existed for one or two decades, even if they do not do any activities, their existence is necessary and legitimate. We should not disband the organization in a hurry, but discuss clearly what survival opportunities and functions there are, and then we should keep our eyes open and do what we can do, and if we cannot do big things, we should do small things, and if we cannot do anything, we should not do anything for the time being, and we should maintain an organization and have regular gatherings to keep warm.
Political parties should not be scattered, whether individuals should quit the party, this certainly can not be generalized. Each person’s character is different, the situation is different, should not be forced. It is really necessary to quit, and those who do should not be criticized, because the struggle is long-term, the situation must be cruel, if someone wants to quit, we should understand.
But isn’t it better for everyone to opt out? Of course not. Everyone is in, the popularity is in, people in the organization, there is a common struggle goal, there is a vision, there is confidence, there is also the fighting spirit. Once the heart is scattered, people will be scattered, it is difficult for people to gather, it is easy to scatter, scattered to get together again, it is more difficult.
Therefore, my view is that first do not be so quick to say retreat, first consider the various possibilities of staying. To sink your teeth into regional work, individuals can do it alone, or organize it, but it must be better to organize it. If you intend to withdraw from the political struggle forever, there is nothing wrong with withdrawing, if you still want to continue to participate in the struggle, it must be better not to withdraw than to withdraw.
Under the National Security Law, safety is the first priority, do not send your head, before doing anything, put the safety factor as the first consideration. As said above, how much can be done to do how much, big things can not be done to do small things, small things can not be done to do nothing. We can always talk about Family Life together, sing karaoke, talk to the neighbors and understand their difficulties in life, what can be done when the opportunity arises, and do small things and big things. There are many things that can be done, and there is no problem to do it in the name of the organization. In that case, what is the need to quit one by one, without waiting for the Chinese Communist Party to suppress us, we ourselves will be scattered first.
When pressure comes, hearts must not be scattered, people must be close together, and scattering when pressure comes, that is the result the CCP wants most. If the pressure does not disperse, the CCP may not have the means to forcibly dissolve, because to do so, he would have to amend the Basic Law and risk the notoriety of suppressing freedom. Even if we have to be forced to disband eventually, then we have to make the CCP pay the price before we come to disband.
In mainland China, many civil protesters are also seeking the possibility of some kind of open and secret association, not to mention Hong Kong. Striving for the possible under impossible conditions is the symbol of the undying spirit of fighting. If we all break up, we will slowly be cleaned up by the CCP and Hong Kong will soon be no different from mainland cities.
This is also the reason why I advocate the merger of the Democratic Party, the Civic Party and the Labor Party, all three parties have withdrawn, the power is even thinner, the merger will have a chance of survival.
There are no more voices of resistance in Hong Kong, which means that Hong Kong people have accepted the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression and recruitment, even if there are foreign dynasties that want to support us, how can they do it? Foreign governments are only talking to Hong Kong, but if the people of all countries put pressure on the government, the government still has to listen. To get all peoples to support us, first of all, our voices have to get out, and we have to have voices to get out, first of all, in our own land.
There is nothing profound in the reasoning, the problem is to have a consensus. I just raise the question and hope that we can discuss it.
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