*Hongkongers face a Kafkaesque reality as censors outlaw the words of protest.*

Some are protesting with blank signs. Some tried the word "Conscience" and were arrested for that. Hong Kongers are deleting their files, wiping out parts of their lives, fearing they will be prosecuted for that.

The one possible good side of this is that the world will see how evil China is. It will be hard for people, in any country, to convince themselves that getting close to China is safe.

China will seek to use overseas Hong Kongers as hostages, hoping that we will tone down our condemnation lest it give China the idea of punishing them. To do that would mean becoming agents of China. We must tell Hong Kongers that they should stay away from our discussions rather than ask us to censor them for China.

People discussing Hong Kong will have to watch out for Chinese agents of disinformation, provocation, or pleading, some of whom may be Hong Kongers who have cracked.

Academics have the duty to refuse to censor their judgment of Chinese tyranny in order to be able to visit Hong Kong or China again.

With all the injustices that the US has done, it is far less evil than China. We have to steer between two facile errors: (1) equating the US with China, and (2) excusing the wrongs of the US because it is not as bad as China.