BloombergBusinessweek August 10, 2020terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.
Human Rights Watch has called it “a roadmap
for repression” that seeks to “prosecute peaceful
speech, curtail academic freedom, and generate a
chilling effect on fundamental freedoms.” Since it
went into effect, 12 candidates for legislative elec-
tions, including four incumbents, were disqualified
over their opposition to the law or to government
actions; a total of 15 people, including street pro-
testers and teenage activists who posted on social
media, have been taken into custody under its
provisions. On July 31 the Hong Kong government
announced that the elections, originally sched-
uled for Sept. 6, would be postponed for as long
as a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Opposition politicians have said the real motive is
to prevent the pro-democracy camp from winning.
The vintage posters in yellow businesses are
not only ironic: Their calls for change are also
inspirational, says the co-owner of Just’er Bar &
Restaurant in Hong Kong’s Tsim Tsa Tsui district,
whogoesbyPong.Plus,theykeeppolicefromhas-
slinghim,hesayswitha chuckle.Before,when
thepro-democracyeaterydisplayedposters with
slogans demanding freedom for Hong Kong—now31deemed illegal under the national security law—
police would come in almost daily at the busiest
times, he says, to measure the space between tables
and ensure compliance with Covid-19 distancing reg-
ulations. So Pong went online and ordered a bunch
of the historical posters for about HK$2 (25¢) each.
He believes he’s the first restaurateur to start dis-
playing them, having replaced his pro-democracy
posters on July 2, just after the law came into effect.
“The police see these now, and they don’t want
to give me trouble anymore,” Pong says. “If they
were to come in and say, ‘You are breaking the
law by posting these,’ I can say, ‘Well, then you are
against the Chinese government.’ ” A spokesman for
the Hong Kong police denied that enforcement of
Covid regulations is based on any political stance.
At Mainichi, a Japanese fusion restaurant in
Mongkok where protesters took refuge during
nearby clashes with police last year, blank Post-it
notes have replaced political slogans, and some
protest fundraising items previously for sale are
gone. Yet a number of the pro-democracy images
remain, including one of a yellow-helmeted pro-
tester in a cloud of tear gas raising his hand to the
sky. One poster still proclaims “Never Give Up,”
which the restaurant’s owner, who gives his name
as Chong, says shouldn’t be seen as a violation of
the national security law.
A resurgenceofcoronaviruscases,however,
mayturnouttobe moredamagingto yellow
establishments than the new law. The Hong Kong
economy is reeling from the pandemic: Gross
domestic product dropped 9% in the second quar-
ter from the same period a year earlier, and unem-
ployment is at a 15-year high. To combat a third
wave of the virus, Hong Kong’s strictest measures
yetbaneveningdiningatrestaurantsandlimitdin-
erstotwopertableatbreakfastandlunch,with
restaurants restricted to half capacity. But Chong
says yellow restaurants may survive because of
loyal clients who will keep supporting them with
takeout orders. One of the primary apps listing yel-
low restaurants has shut down, but another is still
functioning. Many supporters have migrated to pri-
vate yellow Facebook and Instagram groups, where
photos of establishments posting Mao-era posters
have started circulating. Pong, of Just’er, says there’s
debate in these forums about whether Mao posters
indicate support for China’s Communist Party, but
those who know China’s history can understand the
appropriation of the message.
Pong’sbusinessisdown 90% thisyear.He
sayshecanhangonforsix monthsusingpre-
Covidprofits,buthe’sconcernedthathismenuof
spaghetticarbonara and steaks doesn’t lend itself◀ Pong, at his Just’er
Bar & Restaurant● Decline in Hong Kong
restaurants’ revenue in
the first half of 202029%