Hague writes
Supporting the pretence of judicial independence is lending legitimacy to a system that’s incompatible with our values
In June 2019 I happened to be in Hong Kong when one million people took to the streets in protest. From my hotel room I watched, transfixed by this extraordinary spectacle passing by for hours: the greatest mass of humanity I had ever seen, overwhelmingly young, utterly inspiring in their unity, conscious of their fragile freedoms and fearful they were about to lose them. They were.
Soon after that, the law permitting extradition to mainland China was passed despite their protests. Within a year, Beijing would make the most of the global distraction with Covid to pass a national security law of a kind beloved of one-party rulers everywhere. All dissent has been effectively criminalised, with terrorism, subversion, secession and collusion with foreign powers so
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