香港デモ１年　逮捕、コロナ、国家安全法…抗議活動は後退

【香港ＡＦＰ＝時事】香港で9日、中国本土に容疑者の身柄引き渡しを可能にする「逃亡犯条例」の改正案に反対する大規模なデモが起きてから1年を迎えた。多くの市民の逮捕、新型コロナウイルスを理由とする集会の禁止、そして政権転覆を禁じる「国家安全法」の導入──今、香港ではあらゆる抗議活動の再開が阻止されている形となっている。（写真は資料写真）
　２０１９年６月９日のデモは最大で１００万人の規模に達し、それから７か月、激しい衝突を含む大規模な抗議行動が続いた。
　香港政府の強硬姿勢が強まると、警察とデモ隊の衝突は日常化。香港の治安への評判は地に落ち、多くの市民が中国政府のルールに反旗を翻すようになった。
　大規模デモから１年を迎えるに当たり、民主派活動家らはオンラインでメッセージをやりとりしながら夜に突発的な集会の開催を呼び掛けているが、開催場所は１時間前まで非公開となっている。
　中国政府寄りだとして人気のない香港政府トップ、林鄭月娥（キャリー・ラム）行政長官は９日の記者会見で、１年前のデモについて記者から質問され、「香港はあのような混乱に直面する余裕はない」と答えた。
　また、全当事者が「経験から学ぶ」必要があると述べ、香港市民が自由と自治を維持したいのであれば「分別があり、思慮深い中国の国民であることを示す必要がある」と発言した。
　「逃亡犯条例」改正案は事実上撤回されたものの、それ以外の抗議運動の大きな要求である普通選挙の実施や警察の暴力に対する調査の実現は、香港政府や中国政府から拒絶されている。
　それどころか、中国政府は香港への「国家安全法」導入を決定。香港の立法会（議会）を迂回（うかい）し、国家転覆や分離活動、テロリズム、外国勢力の介入を阻止する措置を策定するとしている。
　中国政府は国家安全法について、「少数の人々」のみを標的とし、香港経済への信頼を取り戻すためのものだと主張している。
　昨年はおよそ９０００人が逮捕され、１７００人以上が起訴されているが、新型コロナウイルスの影響が出てくる今年１月ごろには抗議運動の勢いはすでに弱まっていた。
　ウイルスの流行により抗議活動は事実上すべて違法とされ、地域レベルでの感染拡大がほぼ収束した後も、８人以上の集会は禁止となった。
　しかし、国家安全法の導入が発表されて以降、再び抗議活動が活発化する動きも見られている。今月４日に開かれた天安門事件の３１年周年追悼集会には、当局の禁止令に反して数万人が参加している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/10-12:16）

Hong Kong on Tuesday marks a year since pro-democracy protests erupted, as mass arrests, coronavirus bans on gatherings and a looming national security law keep a lid on any return to city-wide unrest.
Seven months of massive and often violent rallies kicked off on June 9 last year when as many as one million people took to the streets to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China.
As the government dug in, battles between police and protesters became routine, leaving the city's reputation for stability in tatters and swathes of the population in revolt against Beijing's rule.
Messaging groups used by protesters have called on people to hold flashmob gatherings in the evening, although locations will only be announced an hour ahead of time.
The tactic is a bid to thwart police, who now move swiftly against such gatherings to enforce anti-virus restrictions.
Student groups and unions have also announced plans to canvass members over possible strike action in coming days, but Hong Kong's labour movement has limited influence.
City leader Carrie Lam, an unpopular pro-Beijing appointee, was peppered with questions from reporters on Tuesday about the unrest under her tenure.
Hong Kong cannot afford such chaos, she said, adding all sides needed to learn lessons.
Residents needed to prove that Hong Kong people are reasonable and sensible citizens of the People's Republic of China if they want their freedoms and autonomy to continue, Lam added.
- 'Anti-virus software' -
Under a deal signed with Britain ahead of the 1997 handover, authoritarian China agreed to let Hong Kong keep certain freedoms and autonomy for 50 years.
Protests over the last decade have been fuelled by fears those freedoms are being prematurely curtailed, something Beijing denies.
Analysts say the space for Hong Kongers to voice dissent has rapidly diminished in the last year.
I don't think the passion has subsided much, but the problem is that many actions are now not allowed in the current circumstances, Leung Kai-chi, an analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), told AFP.
People are waiting for a chance, they of course want to come out again... but they will not do that carelessly, added Francis Lee, head of CUHK's journalism school.
Beyond a withdrawal of the extradition bill, the protest movement's core demands -- such as universal suffrage and an inquiry into police tactics -- have been rejected by the city's leadership and Beijing.
Instead, China has unveiled plans to impose a more sweeping law -- one that will bypass the city's legislature entirely -- banning subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign interference.
China says an anti-subversion law will only target a small minority and will restore business confidence.
International companies like HSBC and Standard Chartered, which are hugely reliant on access to mainland markets, have issued supportive statements in recent days.
In a speech on Monday, Zhang Xiaoming, the deputy head of Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, likened the law to anti-virus software.
Radical separatists have been mistaking the central government's restraint and forbearance for weakness and timidity, he said.
Opponents fear the law will bring mainland-style political oppression to the business hub.
Anti-subversion laws are routinely used on the mainland to stamp out dissent.
First (Beijing) loses the hearts and minds of Hong Kong's people and then it seeks to force them to be loyal, said Kong Tsung-gan, an activist who has published three books on the protest movement.
This is a long-term struggle, the Communist Party is upping the ante, and Hong Kong people will have to be willing to suffer and sacrifice much more than they have up to now to see their way through, Kong said.
Over the last year around 9,000 people have been arrested and more than 1,700 people charged, but by the time the deadly coronavirus hit the city in January, the protest movement was already on the back foot.
The virus has made any protest effectively illegal, with emergency laws banning gatherings of more than eight people even though local transmission has been virtually eradicated.
Still, protests have bubbled up again since the security law plans were announced -- including tens of thousands defying a ban on a June 4 gathering to mark the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.