Freedom: How we lose it and how we fight back
Nathan Law with Evan Fowler
Bantam Press: 2021
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It’s late November and Nathan Law is chatting with fellow Hongkongers at one of several linen-covered cocktail tables inside a small conference room, tucked away to the side of London’s Central Hall Westminster. The sky is dark and quiet outside, but the room is bright and buzzing. It feels a bit like a corporate social, but cosier, with the comforting sound of boisterous Cantonese and the clinking of glasses. Law—sporting a suit and white dress shirt with a mandarin collar—makes his way through the tables and is encircled at every turn. Between parties, I manage to catch him to say hello and introduce myself; he turns and greets me warmly without missing a beat.

We’re at the launch ceremony of the Hong Kong Umbrella Community (HKUC), an initiative set up by Law and other activists to connect and support the growing number of Hong Kong communities in the United Kingdom. A self-proclaimed non-profit, non-political community interest company, HKUC aims to ‘be an international symbol of Hong Kong, preserving and promoting the city’s culture and values’ through establishing a community fund of £20,000 as well as a physical hub for Hongkongers in three to five years.

• Tags: Evan Fowler, Hong Kong, Issue 26, Nathan Law, Yan Lee