Over the last decade, a group of scholars and thinkers in China have articulated a systematic critique of liberalism. They argue for the superiority of political sovereignty over the rule of law, and the need to “repoliticize” the state, often echoing the view of the legal theorist Carl Schmitt. It can be argued that Hong Kong’s system of rule of law under Chinese sovereignty represented a challenge to neostaist views. Analyzed in the context of neostatism, Hong Kong’s recent National Security Law takes on a broader significance as a central component of the leading ideology gradually being enshrined as Xi Jinping thought.
Sebastian Veg is a Professor of intellectual history of 20th century China at EHESS (School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences), Paris and an Honorary Professor at the University of Hong Kong, with an interest in the history of intellectuals and social movements, the history of publications and the public sphere, as well as in the recent history of Hong Kong. His most recent book is Minjian: The Rise of China’s Grassroots Intellectuals (Columbia UP, 2019).