On June 25, the US Senate unanimously approved the Hong Kong Autonomy Act that would lay out sanctions on Chinese officials and Hong Kong police who undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, as well as banks that conduct significant transactions with them. This came at a time when China is pushing forward with the national security law on Hong Kong to punish acts of separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers. As Hong Kong people’s freedoms are in peril, it is believed that there is an urgent need to subject the said officials, police and banks to sanctions. The bill is expected to be passed at the House of Representatives swiftly and without a hitch before being sent to US President Donald Trump for it being signed.
On June 26, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo further announced visa restrictions on current and former CCP officials believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, human rights and fundamental freedoms. Family members of such persons may also be subject to the restrictions. That is without precedent.
The CCP’s move to crush Hongkongers’ freedoms and human rights by speedily imposing the national security law on Hong Kong has turned out to be a powerful catalyst that lays the ground for the US government to impose counteractive measures. For months, many Hong Kong people have been looking forward to such a groundbreaking move by Washington, much as we know the demise of Hong Kong is nearing and irreversible in the short term.
There is no need for the US government to unveil a list of individuals, companies and banks to be punished. Without a list, the new US law will have the maximum deterrence effect - government officials, 30,000 police officers in Hong Kong and 90 million CCP members would be left guessing and worrying whether they would be included in the sanctions. The targets of the law can be any one of them. Among them, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, and Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Xia Baolong may be on top of the list. Even if a list is publicised, it should be indicative and non-exhaustive.
Washington can also consider taking legal enforcement actions against terrorist acts committed by the CCP, Hong Kong officials and Hong Kong police. Such crimes are subject to universal jurisdiction. Any of such suspects who have entered the US may be lawfully detained, interrogated, prosecuted, tried, punished or expelled. They, together with their close family members, may also be subject to lifelong visa restrictions and their assets in the US and in any US bank worldwide frozen. Overall, there should be more effective sanctions than merely visa restrictions. Hong Kong people would like to see how much the US government means what it has said and to what extent the sanctions would be put into practice.
The situation in Hong Kong has been deteriorating quickly. The other night a large number of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) trucks were reportedly seen in Kowloon. It is said that at the time people in the area found their smartphones stopped functioning, possibly because the mobile signals were intervened by some unknown mobile data transmission blockage devices installed in the PLA trucks. Apparently that was a scare tactic adopted by the PLA to spread scare among Hong Kong people about a planned massacre in the city comparable to the one in Beijing in 1989.
Meanwhile, China has so far refused to disclose details of the draft on the national security legislation to be imposed on Hong Kong. It treats the plan as a top secret, as it waits and sees how the game of brinkmanship between China and the US will play out. Nonetheless, the way Beijing conceals the bill actually violates the provisions of the Legislation Law of China, which requires full disclosure of all government bills for public consultation.
The limited amount of disclosed information on the Hong Kong version of the national security law suggests the law may well override all existing and future Hong Kong laws (including statutory and case laws) and the Basic Law of Hong Kong. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) would have the exclusive authority to “interpret” the dreaded law. Take the word “subversion”. A Chinese court convicted well-known human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang for “subversion of state power”. Who can say for sure the CCP will not slap the same charge against lawyers in Hong Kong who defend or advise Hong Kong protestors? Besides, under the imminent national security law, the chief executive of Hong Kong has the sole power to appoint judges to adjudicate national security cases in accordance with his or her own political objectives. Worse still, Hong Kong courts would be deprived of the exclusive jurisdiction over national security cases, but CCP national security enforcement agents, mainland police, courts and even prisons can all intervene and override all legal apparatus in Hong Kong under “special circumstances”, which would likely remain ill-defined and open to the ever-changing interpretation of the CCP totalitarian regime. So once the law takes effect, Hong Kong’s autonomy will be a thing of the past.
In terms of timing, the bill on the national security law may well be passed by the NPCSC on June 28 to 30. My guess is the disastrous law would be enacted shortly, likely within a few days, regardless of the level of sanctions the US government would impose on CCP and Hong Kong officials. As I mentioned in the past, in the new Cold War between China and the US, Xi Jinping is eager to “win” in the first battle that is taking place in Hong Kong. It is not likely that he will back down. He doesn’t seem to be thinking in a logically coherent or reasonable manner. Perhaps he sees himself as the “spiritual son” of Mao Zedong and reckons his totalitarian regime is now afforded with a golden opportunity whereby the claws of the imperial red dragon can finally stretch out and revolutionize the values of the free world. If free nations, especially those in the European Union, continue with their “warn-China-and-let-it-be” diplomacy, China will only accelerate its aggressive strategy. Let’s just face the music and stop all forms of appeasement. Fight for freedom and stand with Hong Kong.
(Sang Pu, graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree of Master of Laws, is a political commentator and host of talk shows(including RFA) and qualified lawyer in Hong Kong, Taiwan and New York State. He has been writing on topics about Hong Kong, China, Taiwan , and international politics and economy at Apple Daily and other media since 2007.)