The Hong Kong version of national security law not being found on the agenda of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress does not connote backpedalling, but just a brief lull for the international community to come to terms with it and Hong Kong people to assimilate its impact. The introduction of the law will be right back on track at the right moment after that.

In the international community, except for North Korea and several other nations, all civilized countries condemned the law. China has been besieged and isolated since. Although, by whistling past the graveyard, the HKSAR government claimed that the impact of stern sanctions allegedly to be imposed by the US is limited, China and Hong Kong will be buckling with merely a ban on using SWIFT for international money transfer. No wonder Yang Jie-chi inquired for US Secretary of State Affairs Mike Pompeo in Hawaii on behalf of Xi Jin-ping in no time. The intention of China to mitigate the enmities of Hong Kong and the world towards the national security law is just plain as a pikestaff.

In Hong Kong, in the very beginning, the announcement of enacting the law did make a commotion in the mass, yet later on, quite some lawyers, politicians and democrats started to succumb to it. Being oblivious to the fact that the Basic Law shall deny Beijing the legislative power over Hong Kong, they have been dickering whether the law should be effectuated in accordance with Hong Kong’s legal procedure by the law enforcement institutions in Hong Kong and the defendants tried by the courts in the city. By doing so, they have no objection to the law anymore in effect, but a rather humble request for a smidgen of rickety protection for Hong Kong people, and the legal professionals so that they can still wrest a living from lawsuits, which is indeed chipping away at the rights of Hong Kong people.

Meanwhile, China is working hard. Deng Zhong-hua, an unknow Deputy Director of Hong Kong and Macau Office, said in Shenzhen: The SAR has the major responsibility for conserving national security, and the law enforcement and jurisdiction should be accomplished by the SAR. But he indicated that the central government shall preserve its jurisdiction over some “extremely serious cases” under particular conditions. He did not elaborate what “extremely serious cases” are, but just said that the cases are “scarce”.

We are already familiar with the abovementioned situation. In the early 80s, a commotion and general feeling of insecurity in the mass was also created in the very beginning when China was believed to recover Hong Kong’s sovereignty. Before long, Hong Kong people had succumbed to “one country, two systems” and “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” by concocting a course of self-comforting medicine called “democracy ruling Hong Kong” for the democrats and those who were unwilling or unqualified to emigrate. Having taken the drug for decades, has “democracy ruling Hong Kong’ been realized yet?

With the iron law upheld by most countries that vested interest comes first, the authoritarian rests assured: no plans are unsuccessful by baiting traps. Believe it or not.

Seeing the legal professionals tend to succumb to the introduction of the law after initiating the objections by themselves, the Hong Kong people who are still clear-headed are more than despondent. About a month ago, an elderly KOL named Yuen Kung-yi popped up. Despite having been living in the US, Beijing and Shanghai for decades, where he has gained ample experience in establishing relationships with politicians and businessmen, he has carried off most endorsements from Hong Kong netizens by scoring 6-digit views for each video clip he posted. With persistence in the Hong Kong values and unique perspectives and deliberations concerning Hong Kong, he is sincere and pragmatic, neither flinching nor self-seeking. He has even flied to Washington, D.C. to lobby the US politicians in the past few days with the belief that actions speak way louder than words. Amid the low morale among Hong Kong people, his remarks are pretty inspiring and heartening.

In his early speech, he objected to Hong Kong’s politicians and legal professionals pulling back, deeming that a discouragement to US’s sanctions. Yesterday, his daughter Erica Yuen, former TV artiste, wrote on her Facebook page that her father “is smeared out of context with fake old news and conspiracy after having just a few words of criticism of a local politician, but he “is being occupied with serious business in Washington, D.C., so will not have time and effort on tattle and prate.

“Tattle and prate” is, however, bitterly disappointing. Hong Kong has been descending for more than 20 years, not only because of the intervention of the CCP, but also the mentality of dragging out an ignoble life advocated by some politicians and KOLs. Whenever an incisive viewpoint is found, they are busy witch hunting. No wonder the CCP has Hong Kong by the short hairs.


I admire Mr. Yuen Kung-yi for his coming forward as a businessman to speak up in the darkest hour, not to mention the enormous number of views online that has suggested his viewpoints represent mainstream public opinions. One of his most significant remarks is: The last laugh lies on Hong Kong people’s resolve.

www.facebook.com/mrleeyee

(Lee Yee, a prominent political commentator in Hong Kong who embarked on a career of writing and subediting in 1956, has been contributing unremittingly political commentaries to the local press.)

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