Commentary
The Hong Kong national security law (NSL) gives impetus to “laam chau” (also called “burnism”), which means mutually assured destruction, a term first used by the radical protesters in the anti-extradition movement to describe their ideal means of checking the government. That is, any harm done to Hong Kong also harms mainland China, a strategy that many deem is being paradoxically materialized by the government itself under the draconian NSL.
Laam chau is a saying of the Hongkongers. How might it be understood in the Chinese communist culture? Last week I had tea with some friends and we talked about this. We agreed that one possibility is the “end of the united front.”…