Hong Kong Protest: “Front Line in the Battle Between Freedom & Repression”—Activist Benedict Rogers

Just what galvanized 2 million people, over a quarter of Hong Kong’s population, to protest in the streets? And why are so many of them still out there? If Hong Kong loses rule of law, what would be the broader implications? What are some of the most egregious abuses occurring in China today, to people who refuse to be subservient to the ruling regime? And how does all this impact Americans and freedom-loving people around the world? This is American Thought Leaders, and I’m Jan Jekielek. Today we sit down with Benedict Rogers, a prominent British human rights activist who specializes in Asia. He is the founder of Hong Kong Watch and the co-founder and deputy chairman of the United Kingdom Conservative Party’s human rights commission. Because of his activism for the Chinese people he has been harassed, and his family and neighbors have been sent bizarre anonymous letters. We discuss the watershed protests in response to the Hong Kong extradition bill, the Chinese communist regime’s ongoing persecution of faith groups and human rights defenders, including forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, Uyghurs, Tibetans and other prisoners of conscience, and the importance, in Rogers’ eyes, of recognizing that doing business with China equates to engaging with a “criminal state.”