We can see some early sparring between Facebook, Google, Twitter and LinkedIn and the Hong Kong government, which is increasingly the Chinese goverment. It seems inevitable that this will intensify. The only logical outcome is that the Chinese government will extend its Great Firewall to include Hong Kong, meaning cutting off all independent flows of information or subjecting them to monitoring.
That would have enormous implications for American companies and media institutions. American companies have been able to use Hong Kong’s civic and legal protections to retain sensitive information related to their China operations in the former British colony. They’ve been able to trust the integrity of their communications systems between Hong Kong and the rest of the world. No more.
Many media organizations maintain large staffs in Hong Kong to help cover the mainland. Their communications will start to be monitored and their access to international news sources could be walled off. Even before China’s new security laws took effect, the Hong Kong government rejected a visa application by a Financial Times correspondent for hosting a politically sensitive event at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club. Now China could impose visa restrictions across the board. Western journalists will have to get visas to work in Hong Kong and those visas could be revoked or not renewed.
So, sadly, it’s time for American businesses and news organizations to consider their alternatives to Hong Kong. Japan, Taiwan and Singapore all are beckoning. None of them is as ideal an operating platform as Hong Kong has been. But Hong Kong as we knew it is disappearing.
