This blog is authored by Chloe Cheung, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation Advocacy and Public Affairs Junior Manager.

I’ve just returned to London, still feeling the fire after participating in the Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF), an annual gathering of human rights and democracy advocates that takes place in the Norwegian capital.

There’s always something raw about the forum. It’s a place where activists from across the world, who’ve been through unimaginable suffering, each carrying their own traumas and scars, come together and, somehow, create something beautiful from the pain.

Every year I leave a little heavier, carrying heart-breaking grief, but also feeling more alive. When we listen to others’ stories, it’s always possible to find shared truths that resonate. We’ve all lived through repression, and hearing others share their memories stirred recollections of my own about what I’ve felt, what I’ve survived. Being among fellow activists is also a powerful reminder that we are not alone. Our traumas may differ, but our resistance beats to the same rhythm. We understand each other, and we stand by each other.

This year, I was honoured to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum on a panel titled “From Hub to Crisis: Hong Kong’s Shift,” moderated by Benedict Rogers of Hong Kong Watch, alongside Carmen Lau from the Hong Kong Democracy Council and Samuel Bickett, author of the CFHK Foundation report “Beneath the Harbor: Hong Kong’s Leading Role in Sanctions Evasion.” Together, we pieced together how Hong Kong, once a trusted international financial centre, has become a key node in authoritarian repression.

(Left to right) Hong Kong Watch Co-Founder Benedict Rogers, CFHK Foundation’s Chloe Cheung, Hong Kong Democracy Council’s Carmen Lau, and researcher Samuel Bickett discuss Hong Kong in crisis.

We raised the case of Jimmy Lai, a 77-year-old press tycoon and pro-democracy advocate, who sits in a tiny cell, often in solitary confinement, simply for publishing independent news and speaking out. Nearly the entire democratic opposition is now in jail, or has recently been released, for the ‘crime’ of holding a primary election.

We highlighted Hong Kong’s complicity in the Russian war on Ukraine. While officials in the city hosted global investors, Russian weapons components were being routed through Hong Kong to hide their true destination. Since the National Security Law, institutions once known for transparency and the rule of law have been repurposed to shield dictators and suppress dissent. Yet, major Western banks continue to operate in Hong Kong as if nothing has changed, as if businesses are “as usual,” turning a blind eye, or worse still, enabling repression.

That’s why the CFHK Foundation is supporting legislative efforts in the U.S. House and Senate to designate Hong Kong a Primary Money Laundering Concern jurisdiction, alongside a push for stronger enforcement of existing sanctions. Hong Kong has become a powerful example of how a once-free society can be twisted and weaponised. It is no longer just a local issue. It is on the frontline of the battle between and authoritarian regimes and democracy.

This speaks to the heart of the OFF’s theme for 2025: “Imagine.” Imagine a world where everyone is free. Imagine a world where no one lives in fear. Imagine the fall of authoritarianism. We must imagine, and we must believe, because imagination is not just hope. There is power in the ability to imagine change as this is how we begin to build a different future. We must stand together, hold each other up, and to fight as one. Because when we are united, we are harder to silence and harder to break. I believe the illusion these regimes are projecting cannot hold forever. Truth will outlive them and one day we will win.