# The Resistance in [[Hong Kong]] https://www.getrevue.co/profile/thesignal/issues/the-resistance-in-hong-kong-791390 Scream to a Whisper How’s China’s clampdown on civil society affecting life in Hong Kong? Glacier Kwong on Beijing’s tightening grip and what’s next for the pro-democracy movement. The forced closure of Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy newspaper, [[Apple Daily]], back in June was a massive blow against free society in the former British colony, a year after [[China]] imposed an authoritarian national-security law on the city. In the months since, police have continued to arrest pro-democracy activists and civil-society groups have continued to disband. How is life changing in Hong Kong, as Beijing continues to press its policies there, and what’s left of the fight for democracy? Glacier Kwong is a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong, who was a columnist for Apple Daily—now living in exile in Germany, where she’s studying for a Ph.D. in law at the University of Hamburg—speaking at this week’s Oslo Freedom Forum in Miami. **According to Kwong, most Hong Kongers mourn the death of Apple Daily, and the paper’s closure intensified a climate of fear in their city. Visible political actions like protests are essentially nonexistent now, Kwong says, but people are still trying to express themselves politically through art and organizing community gatherings.** Many activists, meanwhile, are attempting to figure out ways to campaign while incarcerated or outside the country. “I basically grew up in activist circles,” she says, “so most my friends are activists, and 80 percent of them are either behind bars or in exile in different places around the world.” Graham Vyse: In the West, a lot of people saw the closure of Apple Daily as a big moment in Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong. What ripple effects did it have in Hong Kong? Glacier Kwong: The closing of the paper means a lot to civil society in Hong Kong and to me personally. For civil society, it’s a huge shock, Apple Daily being the only newspaper that was pro-democracy instead of pro-Beijing. It had been one of the most prominent voices, though quite moderate in my eyes and never radical. I grew up reading Apple Daily, getting it out of my dad’s suitcase or his bag. It was really crazy seeing it shut down over the course of a week. It’s something I never imagined. I always thought Apple Daily would be there no matter how bad things were, because it had always been that one very stable factor in Hong Kong’s civil society. **As for ripple effects, it’s the fear it brought for all of us. Recently, 49 civil-society groups were disbanded. For example, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements, a group that organized June 4th vigils [marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre], disbanded. A lot of groups formed after the 2014 Umbrella Movement disbanded. ** “Everybody is sad, basically. They might not feel the impact that I feel as an activist, but you can tell how upset and desperate Hong Kongers are. After Apple Daily announced it would print its last edition, people went out at midnight and 4 a.m. to line up in front of convenience stores and bought it in bulk. They were sold out everywhere. Of course, there were pro-Beijing people celebrating, saying the paper should have gone down ages ago, but most people thought this shouldn’t happen. They went out to buy those last copies to remember what happened and honor the spirit of journalists fighting until the last minute, doing their jobs.” “**The-national security law effectively dismantled every possible means of resistance in Hong Kong. If you’re demanding democracy and freedom, you’re either committing secession or subversion of the state. If you’re protesting on the ground, you’re committing terrorism, using force to intimidate people. If you’re urging for international support—calling for sanctions or global attention—you’re colluding with foreign forces. The authorities can now put people under surveillance without receiving a court order. They can require that information be removed online. They can require internet service providers to block certain websites that they deem illegal. The government and the police now enjoy impunity. They can do a lot without legal consequences.”** “A lot of things kind of died—visible protests and political actions—but there’s still a lot happening. **Under a police state or an authoritarian regime, non-political acts often become political. Organizing community gatherings, hosting screenings, doing art, being a journalist—these normal things turn extremely political.** There are still a lot of people trying to do them—writing theater, writing music. Of course, when something becomes very visible, it gets cracked down on very easily, but resistance in Hong Kong is like the grass that always grows through the cracks. We’re in this phase of trial and error, trying to figure out how we’re going to preserve ourselves in really difficult times.”