HONG KONG (AP) – A U.S. lawyer who became the first foreigner to be arrested in Hong Kong’s national security law said on Friday the courts now have a choice between the new law and the city’s legally entrenched freedoms disagreement in Asia is tight. financial capital.
John Clancey was one of 55 people arrested last week for their involvement in an unofficial primary election last year, according to authorities, as part of a plan to paralyze the government and undermine state power. He was released on bail and was not formally charged.
His adopted home from Hong Kong, where he has lived since 1968, changed in 1997 from a British colony to a semi-autonomous Chinese territory that enjoyed Western-style civil rights. It is now in transition again as China uses the harsh new security legislation against activists, opposition lawmakers and others challenging the central government in Beijing.
“On the one hand, we have all these basic rights, including the right to democracy, vote, freedom of expression, built into the basic law,” he said in an interview on Friday, referring to the mini-constitution that governs Hong Kong. . since his return to China.
‘On the other hand, we have this new law on national security. Both were adopted by (China)’s National People’s Congress. The courts in Hong Kong, the judges, will therefore ultimately have to decide which is preferred and which is stronger: internationally recognized rights that we have from birth, or will it be the national security law? ‘
Clancey first came to Hong Kong as a missionary. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he speaks Cantonese and is married to a woman from Hong Kong.
“Until now, I have never considered, you know, going away or going back,” he said.
He has a long history of working with the city’s poor as a priest and has dedicated his life to social justice, inspired by his religious convictions. He worked with activists to fight for basic freedoms, such as voting before the British handed over to China.
At that time, many residents left the city, for fear of returning to China under the rule of the Communist Party. Clancey stayed.
“Given what is set out in the Basic Law and the Joint Declaration, I was very hopeful because it says very clearly that internationally recognized rights would be part of Hong Kong society,” he said. The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984, sets out the general conditions for the 1997 return.
“I was in the optimistic camp that said, ‘Listen, it’s in the law, so let’s keep working to make it happen, and let’s make it sooner rather than later,'” Clancey said.
In the same year as the handover, he started working as a lawyer. Clancey later joined Ho Tse Wai & Partners, a firm known for its civil rights work. It disputes a ban on face masks during protests against the government that rocked the city in 2019. Albert Ho, the founder of the firm, is a veteran pro-democracy activist.
Clancey was arrested for his work as treasurer for Power for Democracy, a political organization involved in the unofficial primary elections held by the camp for democracy last year.
Although the pendulum in Hong Kong has changed to more restrictions instead of less, he maintained that it is important to continue.
“My approach was: you live according to your conscience, you live according to your principles, you live according to the people you work with, and you keep moving forward,” he said. “And even in the darkest days, I think it’s very important to maintain hope.”