S2E6: Can democ­ra­cy sur­vive in Hong Kong?

The pro-democ­ra­cy move­ment in Hong Kong is fac­ing its most severe cri­sis today. The Chi­nese gov­ern­ment has been tight­en­ing its grip over the island slow­ly but sure­ly to sti­fle polit­i­cal protest, impose restric­tions on free­dom of press, and ham­per free and fair elec­tions. Activists have been fight­ing for civ­il lib­er­ties and demo­c­ra­t­ic rights, e.g. from the Umbrel­la Rev­o­lu­tion of 2014 to the huge anti-extra­di­tion law demon­stra­tions in 2020. Jean-Pierre Cabestan (Hong Kong Bap­tist Uni­ver­si­ty) explores the events lead­ing up to the back­lash against civic activism, the cur­rent state of democ­ra­cy in Hong Kong and its future prospects.

Since the record­ing of this episode, the Apple Dai­ly News has been forced to close. It was the last print news out­let open­ly crit­i­cal of the Chi­nese government.