HONG KONG (AP) – A US lawyer who became the first foreigner arrested under Hong Kong’s national security law said on Friday that the courts now have a choice between the new law and the city’s legally enshrined freedoms, while China prevents dissent in Asia financial capital.
John Clancey was one of 55 people arrested last week for their involvement in last year’s informal primary, which authorities say is part of a plan to paralyze the government and undermine state power. He was released on bail and was not officially charged.
The foster home in Hong Kong, where she has lived since 1968, was transformed from a British colony into semi-autonomous Chinese territory in 1997, enjoying Western-style civil rights. It is now in transition again, as China exercises tough new security legislation against activists, opposition lawmakers and others who are provoking 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, enshrined in the Basic Law,” he said in an interview on Friday, referring to the mini-constitution that governed Hong Kong. since his return to China.
“On the other hand, we have this new law on national security. Both passed the National People’s Congress of China. So the Hong Kong courts, the judges, will ultimately have to decide which has priority and which is stronger: do we have internationally recognized rights from birth or will it be the law of national security? ”
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.
“Until now, I never thought about knowing, leaving or coming 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 beliefs. He worked with activists to fight for basic freedoms, such as voting before the surrender of the British to China.
By then, many residents had left the city, fearing a return to China under the leadership of the Communist Party. Clancey stayed.
“Given what was set out in the Basic Law and the Joint Declaration, I was quite hopeful, because it is very clear 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 camp that said, listen well, it’s in the law, so let’s continue to work to make this a reality and do it sooner rather than later,” Clancey said.
In the same year as teaching, he began working as a lawyer. Clancey later joined Ho Tse Wai & Partners, a firm known for its civil rights work. He challenged a face mask ban during anti-government protests that rocked the city in 2019. The company’s founder, Albert Ho, is a veteran pro-democracy activist.
Clancey was arrested for his work as treasurer for the Power for Democracy, a political organization that was involved in the unofficial mayors that the pro-democracy camp held last year.
Although the Hong Kong pendulum shifted to more restrictions instead of fewer, he argued that it was important to continue.
“My approach was, you live by your conscience, you live by your principles, you live by 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 keep hope.”