Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the huge protests in Hong Kong that erupted over a controversial amendment to the city’s extradition law — and why the fight is really about protecting the city’s freedoms from Beijing’s attempts to repress them. They play audio clips recorded and sent to the show by protesters in Hong Kong explaining why they’re demonstrating and what it’s like on the ground, and discuss the big-picture issues surrounding democracy and rights in China. Zack ends the show with a characteristic monologue, Alex makes the obligatory Guns N’ Roses joke, and Jenn declares herself “old.”

Links:

Alex’s explainer has the background on Hong Kong and the recent extradition law change.

Jenn described this video in which protesters rushed to put out tear gas grenades as they rained down on the crowd.

How Hong Kong remembers Tiananmen.

This is a good article on the belief that economic liberalization in China would produce a shift toward democracy — and why that didn’t happen.

The details on Xi Jinping’s historic power grab last year.

A past episode on China’s “concentration camps” for Muslims in Xinjiang province.

The Great Firewall, explained

Vox’s Johnny Harris, who helped us with this show, did an episode of his YouTube show “Borders” on the Hong Kong-mainland divide.

The Worldly live show taping is at 6:30 ET on June 24 at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy! Here’s the registration link.

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