At the end of September, Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law was denied entry into Singapore. While no reason was given, Law’s denial, in all likelihood, was due to pressure from the Chinese communist party. Law’s denial is an example of the CCP’s transnational repression that the West needs to counter.
Nathan Law is from Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China. After Britain returned Hong Kong to China, the city was promised a high degree of autonomy, including free markets, independent courts, and rights like freedom of speech. Unfortunately, Beijing has spent the past few decades eroding Hong Kong’s freedoms. This culminated in the National Security Law (NSL) in 2020, a law that criminalized all dissent as sedition. Hundreds of democracy advocates have been arrested under it, including Joshua Wong, Jimmy Lai, and many others.
Law was once elected to the Hong Kong Legislative Council but was disqualified due to issues with his loyalty oath. Since then, Law has been active in the Hong Kong democracy movement and eventually fled the city. Exile is not enough for the Hong Kong government, which has issued a bounty of $1,000,000 HK ($128,000 US) on Law. In response to the news of Law’s visa denial, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee demanded that Law return to Hong Kong to face justice for his alleged crimes.
Lee’s silence on the question of whether or not Hong Kong pressured Singapore to deny entry to Law is quite telling. While Singapore traditionally follows a policy of neutrality, it did approve Law’s visa to visit the country. The fact that it was then denied Law entry speaks to external pressure from either Hong Kong or mainland China.
CCP pressure isn’t limited to places like Singapore; they are also active in silencing dissidents in the West in what is known as transnational repression (TNR). In the United Kingdom, Chinese agents have been harassing and stalking members of the Chinese diaspora, including Hong Kong dissidents. The presence of Chinese police stations in the UK has raised questions about the ‘super embassy’ China is building in London. Activists fear the super embassy will be used to heighten the repression of Chinese dissidents in the UK.
These concerns are exacerbated by the fact that China submitted blueprints for the building with parts of the plans redacted. The fear is that the redacted sections will be used for espionage purposes, if not as a holding facility for dissidents. If China’s plans for the super embassy are innocuous, why not submit blueprints without redactions?
TNR isn’t just something our friends across the pond have to worry about; it’s happening in the US, too. Secret Chinese police stations are operating in US cities in an effort to silence dissidents. Numerous individuals have been arrested on charges of spying on critics of the Chinese government. Freedom of speech is at the core of our national identity, so allowing these censorship efforts is completely unacceptable.
What can be done to prevent China from exporting its authoritarianism to our shores? First, our leaders and policymakers need to make a fuss about this. China is counting on Western cowardice and desperation for trade to get away with TNR. If our leaders put principle first, we can take a stand against TNR and protect our freedom.
Second, intelligence agencies need to continue working with local law enforcement to prevent Chinese agents from silencing dissidents. The arrests made so far are a good start, but more needs to be done to make a difference. Increased awareness at the Department of Justice, updated legal protections, and more scrutiny for visa applicants are some of the reforms that are needed.
Finally, the State Department needs to be active in calling out other nations that succumb to Chinese pressure to silence dissent. Singapore is an independent nation, but that doesn’t mean the US can’t express its displeasure. If other countries are aware that the US is concerned about TNR, they will be more likely to counter it on their own. International cooperation via the Five Eyes and other alliances can help counter China’s transnational repression.
It is bad enough that the Chinese Communist Party actively violates the rights of its people every single day. While we are more limited in changing the situation in China, there is far more we can do to prevent CCP authoritarianism from coming to our own countries. Nations across the West and elsewhere need to be aware of the dangers of transnational repression and work to counter it.
