HONG KONG (AP) – A US lawyer who became the first foreigner arrested under Hong Kong’s national security law said on Friday that courts can now choose between the new law and the city’s legally enshrined freedoms , while China suppresses dissent in the Asian financial capital.
John Clancey was one of 55 people arrested last week for running in an unofficial primary election last year, according to authorities, which was part of a plan to paralyze the government and subvert state power. He was released on bail and has not been formally charged.
His foster home in Hong Kong, where he has lived since 1968, moved from a British colony to semi-autonomous Chinese territory in 1997 that enjoyed Western-style civil rights. It is now in transition again when China exercises harsh security legislation against activists, opposition lawmakers and others who challenge Beijing’s central government.
“On the one hand, we have all these basic rights, including the right to democracy, to vote, to freedom of expression, incorporated into the basic law,” he said in an interview Friday, referring to the mini-constitution. who has ruled Hong Kong since his return to China.
“On the other hand, we have this new national security law. Both passed through the People’s National Congress of China. So the Hong Kong courts, the judges, will have to decide, ultimately, which one. has priority and which is stronger: do we have internationally recognized rights from birth or will it be 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 Hong Kong woman.
“So far, I’ve never considered, you know, leaving or coming back,” he said.
He has a long history of working with the city’s poor as a priest and has committed his life to social justice, inspired by his religious conviction. He worked with activists to fight for basic freedoms, such as voting before the transfer to China by the British.
By then, many residents had left the city, fearing a return to China under the Communist Party government. Clancey stayed.
“Given what is set out in the basic law and the joint declaration, I had high hopes, because it states very clearly that internationally recognized rights would be part of Hong Kong society,” he said. The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984, set out the general conditions for the 1997 return.
“I was in the optimistic field saying, well listen, it’s in the law, so we keep working to make that a reality and we do it sooner rather than later,” Clancey said.
In the same year of the delivery, he began working as a lawyer. Clancey later joined Ho Tse Wai & Partners, a company known for its civil rights work. He challenged the ban on face masks during anti-government protests that shook the city in 2019. The firm’s founder, Albert Ho, is a veteran pro-democracy activist.
Clancey was arrested for his work as treasurer of Power for Democracy, a political organization that participated in the unofficial primaries the pro-democracy camp held last year.
While the pendulum in Hong Kong has shifted to more restrictions rather than fewer, he said it was important to move forward.
“My approach has been, live according to your conscience, live according to your principles, live according to the people you work with and move forward,” he said. “And even on the darkest days, I think it’s very important to keep hope alive.”