AMONG THE BRAVES

In the trenches with the last remnants of the Hong Kong protestors, who “present[ed] the Chinese Communist Party with the greatest challenge to its rule on Chinese soil since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.”

Washington Post journalist Mahtani and Atlantic writer McLaughlin arrived in Hong Kong in early 2018, and they witnessed events from the last valiant protests through the pandemic and the ensuing crackdown, which left hundreds arrested and many rushing to leave the city. The authors descended into the chaos of the streets and befriended a handful of people whose lives they follow closely here. Tommy, one of the “braves” on the violent frontlines of the movement, had already been arrested several times and needed to escape to Taiwan. Ironically, his own grandmother had escaped China during the Cultural Revolution by fleeing to Hong Kong via makeshift boat. Chu, born during the Japanese occupation in World War II, had roots in mainland China like many other Hong Kongers. With little education, he became a minister and was involved in the protests that led to Tiananmen Square, and he helped organize the underground movement Operation Yellowbird to help dissidents flee China in the wake of the crackdown. The authors trace China’s slowly tightening grip on Hong Kong over the decades, from the Joint Declaration signed in 1984 by Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping to ensure that promised “current social and economic system in Hong Kong will remain unchanged, and so will the life style,” for 50 years after the British handover; to the 1997 handover; to the 2017 election of a leader hand-picked by Beijing, Carrie Lam. The authors also examine the dissenters’ disappointment in U.S. government, a once-staunch ally they believe has capitulated to China’s strong-arm policies.

Compelling and poignant insider tales of China’s devastatingly complete anti-democracy actions.