The arrest of seven pan-democracy legislators in Hong Kong this past weekend has provided the world with a familiar coup d’oeil of the island’s rapidly diminishing political and human rights guarantees, which had already been severely fractured in June this year with the imposition of China’s so called ‘national security law.’

Hong Kong is the victim of an unambiguous power-grab at the hands of Xi Jinping. Many governments from Africa to Asia will understandably now be asking what value can be attached to negotiations entered into with the Beijing government.

While we welcome the growing international pressure placed on China, manifest by the joint UN statement from 39 countries endorsing a UN mechanism for monitoring human rights in regions such as Hong Kong and Xinjiang, we urge UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to speak out publicly and without delay on the abuses unfolding in Hong Kong and China.

We firmly agree with our colleagues from the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats that stability does not flow from the absence of opposition and call on China to reconsider its Hong Kong strategy. Dialogue with opposition members of the Legislative Council must be prioritised to reduce tensions. The people of Hong Kong know what liberty can feel like. We know that they will not be deterred from the pursuit of freedom and liberals around the world will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Hong Kong people until they have won their fight. 

Main image by Studio-Incendo on Flickr