By Mackenzie Hastie
As China continues to exert its influence over the Hong Kong Region, the future of Hong Kong’s freedoms are dire. As a result of the oppression Pro-Democracy citizens are facing, protesters have implemented tactics they’re calling Laam caau, tactics that can be likened to that of ‘Scorched Earth’, a policy usually used in a military sense in which a [usually retreating] defending force ensures that there can be no assets left behind for invaders to utilize, be it land, resources, infrastructure, agriculture etc. These tactics were most famously used in just about every invasion of Russia that’s occurred within the last few hundred years.
One of the larger driving forces behind the use of these tactics is the belief that because the system in Hong Kong is so set up to be RIGGED against them that the only way to achieve any form of victory is to operate outside the normal rules of engagement. The situation can be likened to this philosophical question: “When faced with evil that cannot be overcome by just means, is it better to turn to evil to destroy it, or do you remain true to being just even if it means surrendering to evil?”
The question itself is a paradox, as evil still remains regardless of your choice. In the eyes of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy citizens, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is the greatest evil they are facing & they must fight for change outside of the system.
It seems that Hong Kong’s citizens who are fighting for their rights have come to the conclusion that they cannot overcome this force that they feel to be evil through just means and will resort to tactics that can only be summed up as ‘If we’re going to burn, we’re going to take you with us” . A quote from a well-known protester whose identity was asked to remain secret summed it up as this:
“[Lamm caau is]a bargaining move for Hong Kong against a major power in the world… if we are not allowed to be autonomous, we will use our own leverage to bring CCP down with us.”
“Finn”* https://qz.com/1873189/hong-kong-protesters-gamble-national-security-law-will-backfire-on-china/
*Not real name
It is a risk-filled strategy that Pro-Democracy supporters are utilizing when engaging with one of the world’s major powers and it is their most offensive tactic against China’s most recent aggressive move against Hong Kong’s independence: the National Security laws that allow arrests to be made on circumstantial evidences, half-truths & finger pointing.