The Struggle Continues

From Tiananmen vigils to Alexey Navalny to protests in Iran

Of course, early June is always the time to remember the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 and until only a few years ago the only place on Chinese soil where that was possible was of course Hong Kong. No longer. The crackdown on the annual candlelight vigil that used to be attended by tens of thousands at the local Victoria Park started early, and encompassed even the slightest hint of remembrance. A guy driving a car with the 8964 license plate got his car impounded, people displaying minuscule electric candles were arrested and a lady holding a flower disappeared into a police van. Under the infamous National Security legislation they may well be charged with sedition or whatever insane violations the current Hong Kong leadership deems appropriate to prosecute. It is a legal labyrinth with no end for those that end up in it. The police actions were brutal, even the UN was alarmed by the level of repression and the only place where candles could be visibly lit was the US consulate in central Hong Kong.

Thousands of miles away, another act of protest took place by jailed dissident Alexei Navalny who is languishing in solitary confinement in a Russian jail. It is unclear to me how he gets his message out, but yesterday on his 47th birthday this tweet appeared and it is revealing in understanding the struggle he has chosen. In particular if you consider he hopped on a plane voluntarily two years ago to be arrested and to suffer through the deeply inhuman treatment he is living through in the penal colony. It reminds us of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong who equally decided to stand his ground and sacrifice what may be his life (he is well into his seventies) for the struggle against a ruthless dictatorship.

You may be able to eventually walk out of a Russian or Hong Kong prison, chances you can do the same once you are incarcerated in the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran are remote. Yet, protests in Iran continue and women there continue to take off the hijab in defying the regime, even at the peril of ending up in Evin or some other hell hole used to silence those that dissent and protest.

Although hard to measure, there has been this sense globally that democracies are in retreat and that authoritarianism is winning the day. It certainly looks like that and my sometimes gloomy take on things has added to that, but I think that if we add up all this ongoing defiance - and include the brave fight in Ukraine - we can only celebrate that even in the darkest places resistance remains strong and unbroken. With good reason by the way: shifts in the global power balance, economic crises and power struggles can change the scenery in any country rapidly and put those that resist now in a situation where they can actually win and succeed. And like Navalny argues, it is a job to be done and if people choose this bitter and unforgiving struggle then we should support them all the way we can, even if it is only lighting a candle.