HONG KONG (AP) – A US attorney who became the first foreigner to be arrested under Hong Kong’s national security law said on Friday that courts now have a choice between the new law and the city’s legally enshrined freedoms, while China tackles disagreements in Asia. financial capital.
John Clancey was one of 55 people arrested last week for their involvement in an unofficial primary last year, which authorities say was part of a plan to paralyze the government and undermine state power. He was released on bail and has not been formally charged.
His adopted home, Hong Kong, where he has lived since 1968, turned from a British colony into a semi-autonomous Chinese territory enjoying Western-style civil rights in 1997. It is now in transition again as China enforces tough new security laws 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, voting, freedom of speech, built into the Basic Law,” he said in an interview Friday, referring to the mini-constitution that has ruled Hong Kong. since returning to China.
“On the other hand, we have this new national security law. Both passed the (Chinese) National People’s Congress. So the courts in Hong Kong, the judges, will ultimately have to decide which one has precedence 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 leaving or going back,” he said.
He has a long history of working with the poor of the city 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 ahead of the British handover to China.
At the time, many residents had left the city for fear of returning to China under the rule of the Communist Party. Clancey stayed.
“Given what was outlined in the Basic Law and the Joint Declaration, I was very 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 terms and 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 this happen, and make it sooner rather than later,” said Clancey.
In the same year as the transfer, he started working as a lawyer. Clancey later joined Ho Tse Wai & Partners, a company known for its work in the civil rights field. It contested a ban on face masks during anti-government protests that turned the city upside down in 2019. The company’s founder, Albert Ho, is an accomplished pro-democracy activist.
Clancey was arrested for his work as treasurer for Power for Democracy, a political organization involved in the unofficial primaries that the pro-democracy camp held last year.
While the Hong Kong pendulum has shifted to more restrictions rather than less, he insisted it was important to keep going.
“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, it’s very important to keep hope.”