John Clancey, an American lawyer who became the first foreigner arrested under Hong Kong's national security law, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021.
His adopted home of Hong Kong, where he has lived since 1968, turned from a British colony to a semi-autonomous Chinese territory in 1997 that enjoyed Western-style civil rights.
"On the other hand, we have this new national security law.
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he speaks Cantonese and is married to a woman from Hong Kong.
Although the pendulum in Hong Kong has shifted toward more restrictions instead of less, he maintained that it was important to keep going forward.