Good morning Quartz readers,
It happens in fits and starts, bursts of draconian crackdowns punctuated by periods of deceptive calm. But the direction is clear: the democratic scaffolding of Hong Kong’s civil society is being taken apart at startling speed.
Make no mistake: Hong Kong was never an actual democracy. The international treaty that framed its handover from British colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty guaranteed the city’s rule of law and human rights protections. But baked into Hong Kong’s Basic Law—the constitution that lays out the parameters of the city’s existence under Chinese rule—were levers with which Beijing could exert ultimate control.
For two decades the city was suspended between the hope of democratic reform that dangled overhead, and the ominous potential of a total takeover by Beijing’s authoritarian regime. That takeover is now almost complete, after Beijing effectively forced out the entire opposition from the city’s legislature.
Many steps have paved the way to where Hong Kong is now, where dissent has essentially been outlawed and all aspects of life are increasingly subject to scrutiny and state control. There are headline items like opposition lawmakers’ expulsion, activists’ arrests, the vilification of the press, and the weaponization of history. But littering this road to unfreedom are a series of less dramatic, though no less significant, developments: slogans outlawed, songs censored, teachers fired, books removed, and spurious arrests on farcical charges.
Eventually, even seemingly small changes—like a museum revamp—set off the fear that something will be lost forever.
In The Power of the Powerless, Czech writer and former president Václav Havel writes that one form of opposition is to “live within the truth.” That may well be the sole remaining avenue of opposition still available to Hong Kongers: to hold on to their values, and refuse to be sucked into the state’s all-encompassing edifice of repression—and the official account that nothing bad is happening and everything is fine. —Mary Hui
Five things on Quartz we especially liked
The loudest silences. Many world leaders have been quick to express their congratulations to US president-elect Joe Biden in various forms. These words, often tweeted out in 240 characters or less, are small, expected tokens of soft power—but that makes them all the more glaring when omitted. With help from Jane Li, Quartz’s Europe reporter Annabelle Timsit breaks down what to make of the silence from the leaders of Russia, Turkey, and China (though Xi Jinping belatedly spoke up). —Katherine Ellen Foley, health and science reporter
Chrome extension. The US Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Google could end up causing some casualties, namely Chrome. The government could force the tech giant to sell the popular web browser, which is a key way Google keeps its market dominance over search. Nicolás Rivero explores the ways the world would be impacted by a Chromeless Google, including what it would mean for “cookies,” which allow advertisers to track web users across the internet. —Dan Kopf, data editor
Taxation without transportation. When Deutsche Bank Research announced the idea of a work-from-home tax to help offset the lack of workers not buying coffee and sandwiches in a business center, my first reaction—as someone who has been remote for over three years—was indignation. I still buy caffeine and lunch in other ways, and wouldn’t this tax disincentivize green practices? Lila MacLellan’s exploration into how taxes can be used to backsolve an issue while the concept of a city center shifts around us made me rethink my initial stance, at least a little. —Susan Howson, email editor
Supreme coolness. On the heels of this week’s announcement that VF Corp would be buying cultish streetwear company Supreme, Marc Bain rightly asks: Will joining a multibillion-dollar apparel conglomerate kill the coolness factor upon which Supreme has built its brand? The answer, he writes, is probably yes, but it depends how you define “cool.” —Alex Ossola, special projects editor
Leaning into the meme. Four Seasons Total Landscaping did not know they would suddenly have the national spotlight shone on them when the Republican Party booked the small Philadelphia business for a press conference. Anne Quito thoughtfully shows how the company is turning its sudden global notoriety into an opportunity to highlight other small businesses, not to mention promote an 11-mile run to the actual Four Seasons hotel in Center City. —Karen Ho, global finance and economics reporter
Two fun facts
For a limited time our Weekly Obsession is a Twice-Weekly Obsession, as we take an extra day to examine the future of mobility. To get the full experience, sign up for the email using the button below.
👠 High heels: In the 10th century, Persian soldiers adopted high heels to keep their feet in their stirrups. Around six hundred years later, heightened footwear made its way to Europe, but it wasn’t until the following century that women began sporting heeled shoes. Read more about the past, present, and teetering future of chopines, spool heels, and stilettos.
🛴 Micromobility: French teenagers as young as 14 can zip around Paris in a small, car-like box named Ami, a small “urban mobility object” developed by auto manufacturer Citroën. Released this spring, the teeny tiny electric vehicle is technically classed as a “light quadricycle,” meaning it doesn’t require a driver’s license to operate. Discover why more of us are using micro vehicles to get from point A to point B.
One membership thing that made us think
Betting on climate change. You might think that anything promising to fix the broken climate would be a surefire win for Silicon Valley investors. But in the early 2000s, billions of dollars vanished after a wave of pioneering climate tech startups couldn’t quite nudge their products from the lab to the market. Now, as both the global crisis and the transition away from fossil fuels gain steam, venture capitalists are ready to try again. In his field guide to the new world of climate capital, Michael Coren introduces the investors and inventors who believe this time is different, and are lining up to get rich by saving the planet. “Ask founders why they’re starting a climate startup,” he writes, “and most will recall a moment when they couldn’t ignore it anymore.” —Tim McDonnell, climate reporter
Five things from elsewhere that made us smarter
Charting authoritarianism through Hong Kong’s newsstands. Long a fixture of the city’s streetscape, the humble stall has struggled in recent years as media increasingly went digital. For a while, newsstands found a lifeline in selling gossipy political books banned in mainland China, but even that’s impossible now amid Beijing’s political crackdown. The city’s new national security law threatens lengthy jail sentences for anyone who opposes the Communist party’s rule. For the BBC, Grace Tsoi examines the history of the newsstands, and how they reflect a changing Hong Kong. —Mary Hui, Asia reporter
We accept Zelle. In economically bonkers Venezuela, locals are repurposing the app, which transfers money between US-based bank accounts, to buy everyday stuff like groceries and sneakers. At least 17% of purchases at Caracas stores go through Zelle, report Andrew Rosati, Alex Vasquez, and Jennifer Surane for Bloomberg Businessweek. It’s a clever solution to bypass the country’s worthless currency, and a reminder that often it’s individuals, not governments or companies, who are the globalization pros. —Ana Campoy, deputy finance and economics editor
Behavioral changes can happen. As governments ask citizens to wear masks and take other steps to stop the pandemic, critics say these efforts are doomed to failure, insisting that various ethnic and national groups are culturally unable to adapt. History is replete with counterfactuals, including the adoption of seatbelts in the US. Joanne Silberner explains in STAT that the high rate of seat belt use today depended on empirical evidence about lives saved, coherent messaging from government public health agencies, and, yes, enforcing the mandate with financial penalties. —Tim Fernholz, senior reporter
In March, Chimére got sick. Since she didn’t have a cough or fever, she couldn’t get a Covid-19 test. But she kept getting sicker. At the point at which she began experiencing severe neurological symptoms, she tested negative, and therefore was brushed off by doctors. There are thousands with similar experiences and still much we don’t know about the virus, particularly its long-term effects. Writing for The Cut, Anna Silman looks at those gaps in knowledge through the lens of the prejudice and discrimination experienced by women of color every day. —Sudie Simmons, support manager
44 weighs in. The Atlantic shares an excerpt from Barack Obama’s forthcoming memoir, A Promised Land, in which the former US president declares himself “not yet ready to abandon the possibility of America—not just for the sake of future generations of Americans but for all of humankind.” Read on to receive a good dose of optimism, best enjoyed while not watching cable news. —Annabelle Timsit, geopolitics reporter
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Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, definitions of “cool,” and discarded pumps to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Weekend Brief was brought to you by Mary Hui, Liz Webber, and Susan Howson.