Zack and Jenn talk about China's new national security law in Hong Kong, a ploy by Beijing to seize more control of the semi-autonomous city. They explain how the law vacates Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms and how Hongkongers have been responding. Then they zoom out to talk about what the world can do to address the increasingly horrific human rights abuses of Xi Jinping’s government — and why the integration of China into the global economy, while tremendously beneficial in many ways, makes this all so much harder.

References:

Here’s Jenn’s piece with Conor Murray on the Hong Kong national security law and the immediate aftermath, which includes the photo Jenn mentioned of a pro-democracy lawmaker being arrested by riot police.

And Vox’s Jen Kirby’s bigger explainer on the law and what it means for Hong Kong’s future.

You can read the official English translation of the law itself here. 

This is the tweet from the Hong Kong Police Force announcing the first arrest under the new law.

A good piece from the Atlantic detailing how the law was crafted in secrecy without the input of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam or Hong Kong’s legislature.

The NPR report Jenn referenced that talks about the new “National Security Committee” established under the law that allows Beijing to oversee prosecutions of the law in Hong Kong.  

Here’s a chapter from a book from the Peterson Institute for International Economics that looks at the question of whether and under what conditions economic sanctions work to compel countries to change their policies.

This is a great video explainer on China’s secret internment camps for Uighur Muslims; Jen Kirby has a thorough written explainer on the subject here; and Vox’s Sigal Samuel, who spent months reporting on the Uighur situation, did a Reddit AMA on the subject, the highlights of which you can read here.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

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