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The People’s Republic of China has maintained its frontal attack on the technically independent city of Hong Kong. On Monday, prominent members of the Democrat movement, including Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam, were arrested. A court is expected to decide his fate next week.
Demosisto was dissolved in July after Beijing introduced a national security law that effectively branded Hong Kong’s pro-democracy campaigns a crime. Beijing has not shied away from kidnapping pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, and in light of such political developments, the island could lose its position as a major global financial center.
Read more: ‘Five Eyes’ alliance rebukes China over Hong Kong
DW columnist Alexander Görlach
DW columnist Alexander Görlach
Singapore well positioned to take over
Both Singapore and Taiwan could take the place of Hong Kong, and the former may have an advantage, as it is already a major financial center in Asia. But this de facto one-party state is also far from a democracy: here too, rights activists can also be jailed for very little.
In March, activist Jolovan Wham, 40, who has primarily advocated for migrant workers’ rights in Singapore, was arrested by authorities for standing on a street corner and holding a piece of cardboard with a scribbled smiley face. .
Singapore is at a fork in the road and must decide which path it will take: As a partner of the free world, it could take advantage of what is happening in Hong Kong and introduce more democracy and the rule of law to attract talent. and cash, but a further reduction in already limited citizenship rights could propel things in the opposite direction.
Singapore’s population is predominantly Han Chinese. Many citizens still maintain relations with the People’s Republic. At the same time, Singapore also partners with Taiwan, for example, to conduct joint military exercises. Chinese President Xi Jinping has threatened Taiwan with violence and annexation more than once.
Taiwan as a partner?
Currently, Taiwan appears to lack the drive and ambition to replace Hong Kong as an Asian financial center. And the constant threats from Beijing are unlikely to encourage investors to jump from Singapore to Taipei.
Therefore, it would appear to be a win-win situation for (the majority) of all if Singapore were to commit to joining the league of free and democratic countries. It makes no sense for the small country to be as restrictive as the People’s Republic, while a gradual democratization, which some hoped would take place in China through Hong Kong, could propel the country forward.
In this case, too, Taiwan could prove to be a valuable partner: it was a dictatorship after all until 1990, but then it was able to make a peaceful transition to democracy.
Linguist and theologian Alexander Görlach is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a senior research associate at the Cambridge Institute on Religion and International Studies. From 2014 to 2017, he was a visiting fellow at Harvard University, and in 2017-2018 he was a visiting fellow at National Taiwan University and Hong Kong City University.
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