From border spats against India, to air incursions over the Taiwan Strait, to increasing assertiveness in the East and South China Seas, 2020 has seen a clear escalation of China’s authoritarian ambitions on all fronts. Perhaps most notably, Beijing has seized upon this moment of international disorder to break its promise to the world and subjugate Hong Kong.
Through a so-called “National Security Law” imposed over the territory, China has managed to effectively eliminate Hong Kong’s cherished freedoms. Now, the question becomes: how will Western nations work together to respond? Whether through legislation, sanctions or diplomacy, policy-makers must coordinate their efforts in order to pressure Beijing to reverse course.
MLI hosted a webinar that brought together some of the world’s leading voices to provide insights on the situation facing Hong Kong and what the democratic nations of the world should do to push back.
Speakers
- The Rt. Hon. Lord Chris Patten, last Governor of Hong Kong and Chancellor of Oxford University
- Dr. Miles Yu, China Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, United States Department of State
- Nathan Law, Activist; Ambassador on Canada-Hong Kong Policy, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
- Garnett Genuis, Member of Parliament, Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism & Canada-China Relations; Co-Chair IPAC Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China
- Dr. Mareike Ohlberg, Senior Fellow in the Asia Program, German Marshall Fund
- Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chair of Hong Kong Watch
- Dr. Charles Burton, Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute (moderator)
- Dean Baxendale, President, Optimum Publishing International
