The power of Technology Behind the Hong Kong Protests
“Democracy is not negotiable”
If you are interested in real-life applications of #tech , #hongkong #foreignpolicy #democracy #asia #humanrights this article is for you. Please enjoy reading even if you don’t agree :)
One country two systems they were promised.
Hong Kong has own language, own religion, own legal system (Common Law vs Civil Law in the #PRC), own currency, own history, own culture & customs. By law it could be defined as an own country, as it’s characteristics identifies itself as one. However, this is not an independence movement. This is just an exercise of legally granted right to manifest as #HongKong was promised to maintain governing & economic systems that are separate from those of #mainland China and the influence of the Chinese Government in HK is increasing day by day.
The government has already installed digital surveillance #technologies such as smart lamps with the ability of #Facerecognition & #RFID reading. These tools are used to supervise the behavior of the citizens. #Protestors could be photographed and the information on their personal identities could be sent to the government.
Questions like #Dataprivacy come immediately into my mind. What about data leakage, hacking, or the secure transfer of the data? (The memory of #IoT devices is limited which means that your data is transferred to the #cloud) As the technologies evolve I would at least encourage to draft a data privacy regulations or enhance the transparency of the data transfer process. Until now Hongkongers have enjoyed rights and freedoms guaranteed under British law; this includes the right to read about subjects banned in China online, for example, #democracy, #humanrights, and critiques of the #Chinesegovernment.
What about the #extraditionbill that permits extradition of fugitives to mainland China? By Law “The freedom of the person of Hong Kong residents shall be inviolable”, “No Hong Kong resident shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful arrest, detention or imprisonment. Arbitrary or unlawful search of the body of any resident or deprivation or restriction of the freedom of the person shall be prohibited”
HK is a Special Administrative Region (the essence of the world in it self describes clearly: Administrative Region means that they administrate themselves with independent rules & regulations. The Chinese national law does not generally apply in the region as Hong Kong is treated as a separate jurisdiction.
On the other side of the border, millions are arrested, prosecuted, sent to re-education camps in #Xinjiang and the situation in #Tibet has been unstable for a very long time.
Why doesn’t the UN intertwine? #UN’s, specifically #UNESCO’s main function is to protect & preserve culture.
The UN Declaration on minorities affirms that: “States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories, and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity”
The world’s biggest international organization watches aside a #culturalgenocide happening in 2019 and doesn’t stop it. Around 1.5 million people. As a reference that corresponds to around 1.2x of the whole population of Estonian held in re-education camps in Northwest China because of their ethnicity.
Back to HK; The unstable situation affects extensively the stability of the country’s: economy, trade, foreign relations, overall tourism, the health of the citizens, financial security, tourism, productivity. It has lost over 4 billion dollars to #Singapore during the manifestations.
Hong Kong has for years been an economic miracle, one of the Asian Tigers. It has multiple free trade Agreements and a seat in various Trade organizations such as the World Trade Organization & Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Hong Kong is a highly developed territory, ranking seventh on the UN Human Development Index & its residents have some of the longest life expectancies in the world. All this is breaking into pieces…
As we have seen this one has been the largest-scale protest movement in Chinese history. The younger generations seem to be the most enthusiastic in preserving democracy in their country and I am utterly surprised by the collective support of #hongkongnese and their loyalty & pride in their country.
#Hightech is used extensively in the protests to protect privacy:
#Facemask & umbrellas as anti #facialrecognition, one way tickets to prevent #GPS traceability, Tinfoil to wrap ID cards equipped with RFID technology to prevent identification, Anonymous #Encrypted messages to prevent traceability, #Blockchain for safe anonymous transfer of funds, #Laser to blind the cameras, #airdrop for file sharing, #Pincode for personal data protection in case of detention (incriminating personal information)
The Younger generations are just simply fighting to conserve what they had: a peaceful democracy, high tech, high growth innovative society, a future with hope.
I leave up on air some questions:
Do we want a future in a state of Supervision with no rights for privacy? Do we want people to be imprisoned for “#politicalcrimes? Should we tell the citizens to forget about the freedom of speech or expression? If all this is what we want we are on the right way… (everyone who thinks that data privacy issues or digital surveillance do not affect them at all; these tools are implemented ALL around the world, yes everywhere, not just in HK)
My sincere support to all the uncensored media who are brave enough to talk about the cultural genocide happening for #Uighurs. As well as everyone who instead of going to work priorities the future of their nation to money and goes to the streets of Hong Kong, as well as to everyone who helps the businesses and makes donations to enable the protestors to exercise their rights.
Note: I am Specialized In International Law, Tech Law & Cyber Security not in HK Law & Foreign Policy
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#HongKongProtests #AnitELAB #freehk #AntiTraditionBill#NoExtraditionToChina #StandwithHonKong