WATCH: Benedict Rogers' Interview on Al Jazeera

Benedict Rogers, Chair and Co-founder of Hong Kong Watch, gave an interview on Al Jazeera on 27 May.

Ben shared his thoughts on whether the implementation of National Security Law will see the end of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. Ben said that even though Carrie Lam's government is highly unpopular, they will continue to govern as long as Beijing keeps them there as the government of Hong Kong is effectively the Beijing's representative.

When asked about the weight of responsibility of the protestors who in the latter part of last year caused a great deal of damage and undermining the confidence of Hong Kong, Ben said that the overall responsibility lies with Carrie Lam and the Central Government of China as they have promises that they should uphold under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. What they have done so far was introducing laws that are repressive and therefore provoked the fury of the people. Ben acknowledged that there is a small minority of protestors who have resorted to violence which he does not condone any of those actions. However, Ben said that those incidences of violence were mostly in response to the police brutality and out of frustration to the non-responsive government.

Lastly, Ben said that the passage of the national security law will cause huge damage to investors' confidence in Hong Kong and to its economy, as the law destroys the freedoms and autonomy of Hong Kong. This will call into question whether Hong Kong remains viable as international financial hub as our research report "Why Hong Kong Matters" revealed that the openness and the autonomy of the city are what makes Hong Kong an international financial centre.