Freedom under threat? The struggle for the soul of Hong Kong
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 9 June 2020
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Last week Britain offered a possible route to citizenship for around three million Hong Kong residents. Why might that be needed? As Beijing passes a new national security law which could undermine Hong Kong's freedoms, we speak to a veteran pro-democracy campaigner on what has changed in the territory.
Guests:
Didi Tang, Times' Beijing correspondent.
Emily Lau, former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Nathan Law, Pro-democracy activist.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Clips: CNBC, BBC News, Sky News, CNN, CBS.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What does it mean to live in Hong Kong right now? |
| 0:05.7 | People fear that we're going to lose our freedoms, |
| 0:09.6 | personal safety, the rule of law and all that, and become just another Chinese city. |
| 0:15.5 | As protests against a new Chinese national security law continue, Boris Johnson has offered |
| 0:21.5 | a route to UK citizenship for up to 3 million people from Hong Kong. |
| 0:29.0 | People in Hong Kong have seen this as one victory, a small one, I have to say, but nevertheless it's a |
| 0:35.8 | small victory. |
| 0:37.7 | As the world's attention is drawn elsewhere, are the city's freedoms under threat? |
| 0:43.0 | And what responsibilities does the UK have to its former territory? |
| 0:48.0 | You're listening to stories of our times, |
| 0:51.0 | from the Times and the Sunday Times. I'm Manveen Rana. Today, the |
| 0:57.6 | Hong Kong crisis. This is a passenger announcement. You can now book your train on Uber and get 10% back in credits to spend on Uber eats. |
| 1:20.0 | So you can order your own fries instead of eating everyone else's. |
| 1:26.0 | Trains now on Uber. |
| 1:28.0 | T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app. |
| 1:40.3 | Prime Minister, on Wednesday you sign an agreement with China promising to deliver over 5 million people into the hands of a communist dictatorship. |
| 1:43.0 | It's 1984. |
| 1:47.0 | The grainy video that survives from that time |
| 1:50.0 | shows a press conference with the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, sitting stiffly behind a desk, |
| 1:56.0 | fielding questions from the press. |
| 1:58.0 | So I was sent to cover that press conference. |
| 2:01.3 | Emily Lau is now a veteran of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and a former |
... |
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