Yonden Lhatoo

Just Saying | My first death threat since the arrival of Hong Kong’s much-feared national security law

Yonden Lhatoo gets personal while reflecting upon the intolerance and intimidation that goes on unchecked in this city in the name of democracy and the fight for freedom

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The national security law was introduced in Hong Kong about a year after the eruption of anti-government protests, initially sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill. Photo: Sun Yeung

Yonden Lhatoo

Published: 3:40pm, 11 Jul 2020Updated: 10:18pm, 11 Jul 2020

I received a death threat this week – not really something new, but my first since the arrival of Hong Kong’s much-feared national security law.

It came in the form of an email message that assumed I must be feeling “at ease, smug maybe” and warned that I should not be “lulled into a false sense of security” under the new legal regimen.

“That would be a terrible error on your part. We watch you at home, we watch you commute from your private residence to work, and we watch you at work. We watch you meeting with your friends. We are always watching,” the purportedly passionate supporter of the protest movement wrote.

Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong took effect on June 30. It was not long before the Post’s chief news editor received a death threat warning him not to be ‘lulled into a false sense of security’. Photo: AP

“We haven’t yet decided precisely how to ‘fix’ you. But rest assured (or don’t) that we are in the final stages of a permanent solution to your problem … We have plans for you. We’ll be taking you far, far away from your beloved HK [sic].”

It could well be some harmless, neck-bearded nutjob having a laugh from somewhere overseas, but his tone is rabidly anti-China, apparently provoked by my temerity to criticise the fascist and violent elements of what is supposedly a noble fight against repression and a heroic struggle for greater freedom and democracy in this city.