[Interview in UK] Steve Vines: I have never seen a situation worse than this. I dare not think about “not able to return to Hong Kong forever”

Before leaving Hong Kong, a place he lived for thirty-four years, unlike many others, Steve VINES did not revisit places of great significance to him. Doing so would just make him even sadder.

“If I did that, I would be so depressed I wouldn’t be able to function,” he said.

He has a friend who also left Hong Kong but spent two weeks traveling around the city capturing memories.

"It surprised me how he could do this."

Vines didn't even say goodbye to his friends - to almost anyone - before he left.

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This is Britain. This is Hong Kong.

Vines boarded a flight bound for the UK on July 20th, but it was not until August 2nd before he emailed his relatives and friends to say he had already left. The following day, the news was widely reported by the Hong Kong media, spilling into international news. Foreign media reporting on Steve’s departure from Hong Kong included Reuters, The Times, and even French media La Croix. People saw his departure as the death knell for Hong Kong's freedom of press - as if the death knell wasn’t loud enough already.

A week later, on a rainy afternoon, I met Vines in St Albans, north of London. We met in a quiet tavern, ten minutes walk west from the town centre of St. Albans, where you can hear Cantonese everywhere. St Albans is one of the main settlements of BNO-holding Hong Kongers.

Although he was born in the UK and now lives there, during the interview, Vines often said "here", actually meaning Hong Kong. "I’ve got to clear up my mind," he smiled bitterly.

He really likes Hong Kong…..

Probably before many Hong Kong people started to like it. He still remembers the day he landed at Kai Tak Airport and saw many students doing their homework in the noisy arrival hall. Later he learned that these students were trying to get out of their crowded homes and work in somewhere with air-conditioning. He was surprised that Hong Kong students had such strong concentration, ignoring the noisy environment around them. This was his first glimpse into how people of this city survived in the face of adversity. This was in 1987.

"I like the atmosphere of Hong Kong," he said. "I just feel that this is a place where great things can be done."

Steve found in Hong Kong a place with much in common with his own background. Coming from a Jewish family, he said, first, Jews are always very noisy, and second, Jews are "superstitious" in education. Hong Kong people are very much similar.

Only intending to stay in Hong Kong for a few years as an East Asian reporter of The Observer, he ended up living here for several decades.

Those who stayed at the time of transfer of sovereignty

Unlike many foreigners — perhaps, including Hong Kong people — Vines has independently regarded the city as a distinct entity when he first came to Hong Kong. In academic terms, it is called giving Hong Kong "subjectivity." In 1998, he published a book called "Hong Kong: China's New Colony".

"Let’s face the reality," he said. "The experience of Hong Kong people is fundamentally different from that of Chinese. Not just language, even the experience of living in freedom is very different."

And he wrote about Hong Kong as China's "colony" because he noticed that after Chinese officials took over Hong Kong, they wanted to retain colonial control over Hong Kong. For example, only limited democracy is given to Hong Kong while all matters, big or small, must be reported to the central government.

"Chinese officials often claim that Hong Kong people have been under British rule for too long and their minds have been poisoned by the British Empire. What they actually mean is that Hong Kong people should be poisoned by them."

This is an argument he already published in 1998.

At that time, whether Hong Kong people or foreigners, the mainstream opinions were: after Hong Kong returns to China, the latter would gradually get better. Many people believed that China's economy was already reforming and opening up, and the political pressure brought about by open market will eventually bring about political openness.

"I never believed in these views." Vines said. Because for him, the turning point in Hong Kong was not in 1997, but in 1989, two years after he came to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, he witnessed how people reacted to the June 4th incident.

"Do you know how many people took to the streets at that time? Because everyone in Hong Kong knows that the mainland will rule Hong Kong; for them, the trauma of June 4th is the opportunity to build a democratic China disappeared."

Nevertheless, Vines did not choose to leave. In fact, after 1997, many foreign media reporters felt they have witnessed the end of an era and therefore left, but Vines chose to stay.

1997 - "Beginning of a story"

"I never feel that the story of Hong Kong is over. Hong Kong was handed over to China — I think this is the beginning of a story. The world's largest authoritarian country takes over Hong Kong. How could it not be the beginning of a story?"

In fact, Vines already regarded Hong Kong as his home at the time. Many British friends asked him when he would go back, but he didn't know how to answer. When the editor of the "Observer" wanted to lay off staff and spoke to Vines, who had been in Hong Kong for too long but did not want to return to China, his reaction was, “What the hell!?” The bottom line in his heart was “Pay me”. “Leaving Hong Kong?” He didn't want to leave. He also planned to use the severance pay to do business in Hong Kong. In the end, he opened a catering company, with restaurants and meal outsourcing services. The company is still there, but he is no longer the boss.

His work as foreign media continued - writing for the Guardian, Asian Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail, BBC, ABC and Deutsche Welle. He also founded newspapers and magazines, including Eastern Express in 1994, and Spike Magazine in 2004. Vines also won many awards, including four human rights journalism awards (2002, 2003, 2005 and 2015) and an SOPA (Asian Publishing Association) Commentary Award (2015).

Of course, there is also the morning music show “Morning Brew” on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) that he is most well-known for and hosted for ten years, and the current affairs show “The Pulse” which was eventually suspended.

I was asked if I would leave. “That’s ridiculous," I once said 

After several decades in Hong Kong, Vines really felt that this is a city with perseverance. SARS, financial tsunami, 1967 riots - no matter how many setbacks Hong Kong suffers, it seems that she can rebound from the bottom and rise in one go. “Just work hard, don't give up,” he always thought this way.

In 2018, "Financial Times" editor Victor Mallet, acting chairman of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Association, presided a meeting in which the former convener of Hong Kong National Party, CHEN Ho-tin, delivered a speech. Half a month later, Mallet’s visa renewal application was rejected by the Hong Kong government and he was expelled. Vines confessed that he was shocked at that time, "We have never seen foreign journalists expelled from Hong Kong." But his conclusion was still "because of this, local media cannot stop speaking out and report hard." In May 2019, the Extradition Law Amendment Bill was becoming a hot topic. He knew that there might be a risk of extradition in political reporting. However, when interviewed by The Stand News, he still said that he would continue to report and do his best.

Even when the Hong Kong NSL was implemented in July 2020, Vines still believed that even if the situation was extremely pessimistic, he could still go on and so could Hong Kong. "If someone asked me if I would leave, I would have said “that’s ridiculous."

Until recently.

At work, Vines began to feel that every time he returned to RTHK, he heard of unreasonable things. Just six months before he left, TSANG Chi-ho was suddenly dismissed; a year-long show was removed from social media; interns were required to sign allegiance declarations; the team of “Hong Kong Connection” was replaced; "Viewpoint 31" disappeared; “RTHK Talk Show” was suspended; and Allan AU, host of "Free Wind Free Phone", was replaced. Vines said, "It's like fighting a battle every day. How can I work in a place like this? It’s too depressing.”

On the last day of June, Vines announced his departure from RTHK.

In addition, he began receiving warnings from pro-China figures. "You'd better watch your steps," he quoted them saying. He was also asked why he was so anti-China and so fond of talking about democracy in Hong Kong. "You know, these will have consequences”. Vines even saw his name on some kind of suspected blacklist of unknown origin. "Unfortunately, it was just too easy to recognise my name, because most of the others are in Chinese."

He was also afraid of the amendments to the Immigration Ordinance that will come into effect in August, and that he will not be able to leave Hong Kong. What frightened him the most was that Alvis LO, the former head of the English edition of Apple Daily, was arrested while attempting to leave the city and charged with “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security”. Vines was also a contributor of the English version of Apple Daily while LO was his editor.

 “Will I be next?” Vines thought.

"I haven’t got the courage to go to prison” he said, admitting that this was a form of cowardice.

“Didn’t you say that even after the National Security Law (NSL), you could still push on?”

"I was wrong," he said. "I have never seen anything worse than it is now. The cornerstones of Hong Kong, the rule of law and freedom of speech, have all been destroyed."

"Will I be next?"

There was no such thing as suddenly making up my mind up to leave, but a gradual feeling that I had to withdraw, over the past two to three months. When he announced his resignation from RTHK at the end of June, Vines was already preparing to leave just before the Immigration Ordinance amendment came into force. The biggest difficulty was arranging the flight for his two dogs. It took a lot of time.

To ensure safety, like many Hong Kong people who left, he did not tell anyone his plans, "not even people close to me."

Nevertheless, when he tried to sell his property, he received a call from someone he knew but was not familiar with. She said she was in contact with some retired senior police officers and asked him why he intended to sell the building. Vines saw this as either a threat or a signal that he was being watched.

“Leave as soon as possible.”

It was July 9th when he finally arranged his dogs’ flight. After that everything was straightforward.

On July 20th, he put the contact information of three lawyers in his back pocket before going to the airport. When checking in, he saw a large group of Hong Kong people there. No one smiled. Vines successfully cleared immigration and breathed a sigh of relief.

The boarding gate was far away, but instead of taking the driverless train like most people, he held his one-way ticket and walked slowly. The airport that used to be crowded with people has its shops closed, with very few people. But it was still an airport. Vines felt that the scene was almost a metaphor for Hong Kong, the body was still there, but the soul was nowhere to be seen.

“Hong Kong will be replaced”

After the news that Vines arrived in the UK broke, many friends contacted him, saying that this is a good thing and that he should have left long ago. He disagreed. He really did not want to leave Hong Kong.

He still reads news from Hong Kong every day: the disbanding of the Professional Teachers’ Union; the possible disbanding of the Civil Human Rights Front; the National Security Bureau’s investigation of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions; and Carrie LAM’s announcement of RTHK establishing a partnership with CCTV to broadcast mainland programmes.

One day before I interviewed Vines, another reporter asked him to comment on current affairs in Hong Kong. After finishing, the reporter joked, "We will call you when there is another bad news in Hong Kong." Vines replied, "Hey, you can also contact me for good news." The problem is - he does not think there will be any good news. For him, they will not be good news at all. Even when Hong Kong won one gold, two silver and three bronze medals in the Olympics, people were arrested for insulting the national anthem.

Some people say that Hong Kong will not die because as an international financial centre, she is too important. Vines compares this to Lebanon. Before setting foot in Hong Kong, he used to run the Middle East reports and was very familiar with the locale. He remembered Lebanon was also a financial centre, and many people said that she could not fall. In 1975, a civil war erupted in Lebanon. The war destroyed her and she fell. Business and commerce naturally flowed to other countries. “What about Hong Kong?” Vines thought. Shanghai and Shenzhen are waiting in the wings. "The fact is Hong Kong is not irreplaceable. She will be replaced."

However he still hopes to report and write about Hong Kong, even though he feels that it is not so easy to talk about the city when he is not there. "I don't want to ‘comment on Hong Kong matters’ when there is insufficient information and incomplete experience.” What's more, he affirmed that the international community's attention to Hong Kong is time-sensitive. "I guarantee that they will not focus on Hong Kong again within a year."

I asked what he planned for his future.

He said he didn't know.

I said whatever happens, he probably cannot return to Hong Kong.

He still said he didn't know.

“Not able to return to Hong Kong forever? That’s a terrible thought. I don’t even want to think about it.”

Inteviewer: Mok Mok

Source: The Stand News #Aug13

#FreedomOfPress #fcc #SteveVines

https://bit.ly/3JR36S5 (archive.org)