Did Hong Kong’s Protests Matter?

The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) cordially invites you to a public panel discussion and book presentation:

What the Struggle for Hong Kong Tells Us About Growing Authoritarianism in China

Under President Xi Jinping, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has charted a path toward greater authoritarian rule. Looking at developments within the PRC and in Hong Kong provides insight into how China’s slide toward authoritarianism is actually occurring. It also reveals how citizens or visitors might experience this slide firsthand.

In this discussion, our experts will analyze the receding freedoms of Hong Kongers, the role of underground historians in China who challenge the party line, and how the art world in Hong Kong is navigating censorship to survive and even flourish in the once open, cosmopolitan city. They will also evaluate the role of technology in codifying and entrenching Beijing’s grip over the lives of Chinese people – those who live within the borders of the PRC and beyond them. In doing so, they will assess what these changes mean for Germany’s policy toward China and how Germany’s scholars, business community, and civil society actors should engage with the more authoritarian China of today.

This discussion is based on Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s upcoming book Vigil: The Struggle for Hong Kong, an updated edition of his earlier work Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink, which will be released in January 2025 by Bui Jones.

Speakers: 
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor’s Professor of History at UC Irvine 
Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, teacher, and researcher with a focus on China 
Minh An Szabó de Buca, cultural journalist and documentary filmmaker 
Shi Ming, Chinese-German journalist and publicist

Moderator: 
Michael Laha, Senior Research Fellow for China and Technology Policy, DGAP

This event will be held in English.

Please register for the event at [email protected].

Link: 

https://dgap.org/en/events/what-struggle-hong-kong-tells-us-about-growing-authoritarianism-china