On January 18, 2024, the Institute for Global Governance Research (GGR) hosted a workshop/webinar, “Hong Kong as a Political Subject in the US, UK, and Japan.” We invited three panelists: Kennedy Wong (Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, University of Southern California), Venita Yeung (Policy Officer at Stand with Hong Kong, UK / Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong in UK Parliament), and Alric Lee (Executive Director, Japan Hong Kong Democracy Alliance).
The event began with some introductions by the three panelists on the current situation of Hong Kong and the overseas Hong Kong community in the UK, the US, and Japan in relations to the CCP. Most people think that the situation outside Hong Kong would be free of CCP surveillance. However, the Party’s presence is still felt by the diasporas, volunteers, and activists in other subtle ways, apart from direct involvement or interference. Three panelists from three different backgrounds and regions gave various insights about the situation from the academic side, the legal side, and the community. There was also an intersection of ideas across the backgrounds, and it was interesting to observe how the shared opinions were relevant to each other.
From the talks, the participants (online and on-site) raised some questions, which also were related to each other. The responses from the panelists can be summarized as follows. When Hong Kongers overseas are responding to the concerns of local Hong Kong residents, providing a proactive response becomes the challenge, alongside the issue of deliverable information. Cross collaboration among overseas Hong Kongers in different parts of the world is a strategy where communication is emphasized to devise new approaches to help. This involves not only communication with and for each other; the support provided in their place of residence can unleash opportunities for engagement and give opportunity for new players to support those in Hong Kong.
【Event report prepared by】
Sulastri (Master’s student, School of International and Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University)
