Club Lunch: Hong Kong’s Freedoms Under Threat? The Challenge for Academia and the Media in 2018

In recent months, the Chinese Communist Party and its supporters in Hong Kong have continued to ratchet up the pressure on anyone who challenges its policies and its version of history in academia, the media and politics in Hong Kong, Taiwan and around the world. Chinese authorities have recently dubbed Benny Tai a national security threat after he suggested that independence for Hong Kong would be one option for the autonomous region of China in the event of a collapse of the Communist party; The People’s Daily wrote that it was time to use a sledgehammer to crush pro-independence advocates, whilst one Hong Kong lawmaker suggested Prof. Tai be sacked for his “irresponsible remarks” that could lead to violence and “great bloodshed”. Benny Tai and Kenneth Chan discussed whether the freedoms and the autonomy enshrined in the Basic Law are really under threat, and whether there is anything that academics, journalists and Hong Kong legislators can do about it.

Benny Tai was born and educated in Hong Kong and is an associate professor of law at HKU. He specialises in constitutional law, administrative law, human rights law and law and religion, and has published various works on constitutional matters affecting Hong Kong and China.

Kenneth Chan is a former LegCo member for the Civic Party who is an associate professor of political science at Baptist University of Hong Kong. He is a frequent commentator on Hong Kong, Chinese and international politics.