Fleeting Freedoms
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
June 25, 2021
Earlier this month marked the 32nd anniversary of Tiananmen Square, a tragic day in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forced the silence of thousands of pro-democracy activists and killed hundreds.
Unfortunately, no Chinese citizen will find mention of that day in their history books. That’s because the CCP continues its suppression of democratic values.
This past week, China forced Apple Daily, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper to shut down, citing violation of its year-old national security law.
Under Beijing’s new national security law, any act of subversion or collusion with foreign forces as deemed by the authoritarian regime may be punishable up to life in prison.
The forced shutdown of Apple Daily comes just one week after hundreds of officers raided their office. Several of the newspaper’s top editors and executives were arrested, the company’s assets were frozen, and reporters’ computers were seized.
In the company’s final press release, they noted they could no longer continue publication, given the pressuring circumstances.
With the doors closing at Apple Daily, the CCP has taken down the last Hong Kong based pro-democracy paper. Not only is this move alarming for its crackdown on democratic freedoms, it brings Beijing another step closer to reining in what little autonomy Hong Kong has left.
Two years have passed since democratic protests rocked Hong Kong. The U.S. must continue to stand by Hong Kong and its fight for freedom while standing up to the Chinese government, which is shaping up to be the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States in the 21st century.
A free press is the lifeblood of democracy. It is enshrined in our Constitution as a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. While the Founders could never have envisioned the magnitude and sophistication of what media has evolved into, they understood the inextricable bond between a free press and a lasting democracy.
As we advocate for democratic freedoms around the world, we must continue to preserve those same freedoms in our homeland.
Free Speech applies universally.
Thank you for fighting for free speech.
If midterms have integrity, we’ll have a chance to do something more substantive.
It’s the famous final scene.
Here’s hoping we see each other on the other side of this thing.
BRACE.