Apple Daily: 'Youths in Hong Kong and Myanmar: Does the free world have our backs?', Benedict Rogers

There are two places in the world, beside my own country, which mean more to me than any other, and right now both are in crisis, their freedoms and democracy ripped up under the cruel boot of authoritarianism. Those two places are Hong Kong and Myanmar. And in both places, most of my friends are now either in jail, on trial, in hiding, in danger or in exile. But this week one of my closest friends, Dr Sasa, whom I have known for 15 years, was charged by the junta in Myanmar with treason.

In almost 30 years of human rights activism I have known dissidents, rebels, former political prisoners and refugees from many dictatorships, including survivors of the North Korean gulag, those who struggled for East Timor’s liberation, those who counter religious intolerance in Indonesia and Pakistan, the Maldives’ democracy movement, Uyghurs, Christians, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and human rights defenders from China. Many have been in jail and endured torture, two of my friends have been assassinated, some have had miraculous escapes and all have suffered courageously in pursuit of their cause. But to my knowledge, this is the first time a dear friend of mine has been charged with treason, which carries the death penalty.

As the recently appointed Special Envoy of the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – the body of Members of Parliament elected last November, who should be forming the country’s government but instead are in hiding with arrest warrants issued against them – Dr Sasa is the voice of the legitimate representatives of the people of Myanmar to the world.

Thankfully, he escaped the country after the coup, and has spent all day every day since then connecting to policy-makers, governments, influencers, media and activists around the world to garner support.

His message? It is the coup leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, who is guilty of treason, not himself. Indeed in his statement in response to the charge, Dr Sasa – with typical courage – said: “I am proud to have been charged with treason by the military junta – because treason against the junta means that I am standing with the people of Myanmar, giving my life for their freedom, for federal democracy and for justice”. He described the charge of treason as “a declaration of war on federal democracy, freedom and justice. And we will not rest, until we have brought these criminals to justice.”

Two of Hong Kong’s most high-profile exiles are in a similar situation to Dr Sasa. Nathan Law and Ted Hui, both friends and heroes of mine, have arrest warrants out for them. Both are elected legislators with a mandate from the people, but both were pushed out of the legislature by a repressive regime, and prosecuted simply for standing for freedom and democracy. And both show the same spirit that Sasa shows – defiance, determination and devotion to their cause, and a commitment to mobilize the world.

Hong Kong was once my home, where I began my career as a journalist and a human rights activist, and Myanmar is a country I have visited more than 50 times over 20 years and written three books about. More than that, Myanmar was where my spiritual journey of faith developed, as I was inspired – and then received – into the Catholic Church by Myanmar’s courageous Cardinal Charles Bo, in St Mary’s Cathedral, Yangon, on Palm Sunday almost exactly eight years ago. And to further cement the bond, I have been deported from both Hong Kong and Myanmar.

So in the midst of the grief over the tragedy in both places, it inspires me to see the bonds between the two developing so strongly. The Milk Tea Alliance has helped bring the movements across South-East Asia together, and the similarities in the situations have clearly resonated with each other. In Hong Kong the protest movement was crushed brutally by severe beatings, teargas and pepper-spray; in Myanmar it has reached a whole different level, with gunfire, live ammunition and snipers. In Hong Kong, more than 10,000 protesters were arrested – and not a single police officer was held accountable for their extreme brutality. In Myanmar, over 200 people have been killed in recent weeks by an army trained for jungle warfare rampaging through city streets in a reign of terror, firing at protesters and into apartments indiscriminately. Some news reports wrongly describe it as a ‘warzone’, but it’s a one-sided battle, a scene of carnage in which soldiers turn their guns on unarmed, peaceful civilians. Over 2,100 have been arrested. The two situations, Hong Kong and Myanmar, differ only in the tactics used by oppressor, not in the illegitimacy of the acts.

Hong Kong’s freedoms were torn up first by batons and boots, and then by Beijing’s diktat and draconian legislation. Myanmar’s have been torn up by bullets, fired by soldiers who failed to win a ballot. Both deserve to be met with outrage by the entire free world.

Many friends from Myanmar and Hong Kong have asked me how they can help and support each other. Earlier this week, Myanmar’s Cardinal Bo called for a designated Week of Prayer for China to take place from 23-30 May ( Catholic News Agency/CNA report: Cardinal Bo urges prayer octave for China). And Pastor Roy Chan, founder of Hong Kong’s Good Neighbour North District Church, who helped so many Hong Kong protesters in 2019, delivered a beautiful message at the Global Day of Prayer for Myanmar (On Youtube: Myanmar/Burma Day of Prayer event). He spoke movingly of his experiences of police brutality in Hong Kong, and identified with the cries of protesters in Myanmar who carried placards with the slogan: “We need your help”. He concluded: “Let’s stand with Burma/Myanmar, stand with Hong Kong, fight for justice.” I stand with my friends Cardinal Bo and Pastor Roy in that mutual solidarity. And that mutual recognition that at the heart of both crises lies the responsibility of the Chinese Communist Party regime – the regime that tore up its promises to the people of Hong Kong and the regime that provides cover to the criminal junta in Myanmar.

I wish the free world would be as clear-minded as Cardinal Bo, Pastor Roy and the Myanmar and Hong Kong protesters. Earlier this week the British Government announced its new ‘Integrated Review’ of foreign policy. Although it recognizes China’s grave human rights violations and increasing aggression beyond its borders, it continues to cling to a desire for “a positive economic relationship, including deeper trade links and more Chinese investment in the UK.” It promises to “stand up for our values and interests where they are threatened, or when China acts in breach of existing agreements” and to “increase protection of our core national infrastructure, institutions and sensitive technology, and strengthen our critical supply chains,” but it still hedges its bets and outlines a policy of having one’s cake and eating it. But kowtowing for trade and standing up for values requires a feat of political agility and dexterity that is increasingly difficult to imagine. A stand has to be taken, sooner or later.

The very next day, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab gave a speech on Britain’s role in the world, in which he positioned Britain as “a force for good”. He acknowledged “the fraying of the world order”, he noted that “democracy is in retreat”, but he promised that these could be “repaired and reinforced”. He declared that “we should be optimistic because we see that the flame of human freedom still burns brightly, even at the bleakest moments”. On the streets of Myanmar and Hong Kong, he said, we see “young people risking their lives to stake their claim to the future, demanding democracy, freedom, a better quality of life. Telling the old guard in their palatial offices that a different time is coming.”

All of that is very true. I agree entirely with Dominic Raab. But when those young people on the streets of Myanmar and Hong Kong are risking their lives to stake their claim to the future, and are met with batons and bullets and draconian laws that land them in jail for the rest of their lives, their message “We need help” needs to be heard. When their fledgling, quasi, fragile democracy – in both places – is ripped up, breaching constitutional pledges and international treaty promises, they need to know the free world has their backs.

I will always stand with my friends Dr Sasa, Nathan Law, Ted Hui, Cardinal Bo and Pastor Roy Chan and others. I will always speak out for them. And I am so encouraged that they will stand with each other. The key question is: Will the free world stand with them too, not only with fine words – though statements are better than silence – but also with meaningful action, now, before it’s too late? That’s the test for any country that sets itself the mission to be a ‘force for good’.

Benedict Rogers is Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch. This article was published in Apple Daily on 19 March 2021. (Photo: Apple Daily)