Dennis Kwok was with his two children, hiking through the lush jungles of Hong Kong¡¯s Victoria Peak in April, when he realized how far China was willing to go to quell dissent in the former British colony.
Kwok¡¯s phone lit up with texts and calls asking about an alarming and unprecedented statement from China¡¯s top agency overseeing Hong Kong. It said Kwok ¡ª an opposition lawmaker who was participating in a filibuster effort in the city¡¯s elected legislature ¡ª may have committed misconduct and violated his oath of office, offenses that could cost him his seat.
¡°It ruined the day with my kids,¡± Kwok, 42, said. But the London-trained lawyer also realized that ¡°something fundamental had changed¡± in the months while Hong Kong protesters had withdrawn from the streets to escape the coronavirus.
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