HONG KONG (AP) – An American lawyer who became the first foreigner 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 represses dissidents in Asia Financial Capital.
John Clancey was one of 55 people arrested last week for involvement in an unofficial primary election last year, which officials say is part of a plan to paralyze the government and subvert state power. He was released on bail and was not formally charged.
His adopted home in Hong Kong, where he has lived since 1968, went from a British colony to a semi-autonomous Chinese territory in 1997, which enjoyed Western-style civil rights. Now it is in transition again, as China wields tough new security legislation against activists, opposition lawmakers and others who challenge the central government in Beijing.
“On the one hand, we have all these basic rights, including the right to democracy, to vote, to freedom of expression, embedded in the Basic Law,” he said in an interview on Friday, referring to the mini-constitution that has ruled Hong Kong since his return to China.
“On the other hand, we have this new national security law. Both were approved by the National People’s Congress (of China). So the Hong Kong courts, the judges, will ultimately have to decide which takes precedence and which is stronger: internationally recognized rights that we have had since birth, or is it the national security law? “
Clancey first came to Hong Kong as a missionary. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, speaks Cantonese and is married to a Hong Kong woman.
“Until now, I have never considered, you know, 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 conviction. He worked with activists to fight for basic freedoms, such as voting before the British transferred to China.
At that time, many residents had left the city, fearful of returning to China under the rule of the Communist Party. Clancey stayed.
“In view of what was established in the Basic Law and the Joint Declaration, I was very hopeful, 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, established the general conditions for the 1997 return.
“I was in the optimistic field that said, well listen, it is in the law, so we will continue to work to make this a reality, and we will do it sooner or later,” said Clancey.
In the same year as the transfer, he started working as a lawyer. Later, Clancey joined Ho Tse Wai & Partners, a company known for its civil rights work. She challenged the ban on wearing a face mask 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 Power for Democracy, a political organization that was involved in the unofficial primaries that the pro-democracy camp held last year.
Although the pendulum in Hong Kong has shifted to more restrictions, rather than less, he said it was important to keep moving forward.
“My approach has been: you live according to your conscience, you live according to your principles, you live according to the people you work with and you move on,” he said. “And even on the darkest days, I think it is very important to keep hope.”