Having decided to force through the national security law in Hong Kong, Beijing is intolerant of any voice of dissent, and forward the legislation in compliance with the same old rut: 1. The decision is made by the central authorities; 2. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passes the resolution; 3. Propaganda machines are out on duty to create vibes of public consensus espoused by people of all ranks and foreign bosom friends by overwhelmingly staging a rally; 4. The law is promulgated promptly to shock and awe dissenters.

What Hongkongers are witnessing now are propaganda machines out on duty, which purported that the legislation was backed by 2.92 million Hong Kong citizens(representing the grassroots) who signed up online and on the streets to show support, industrial and business tycoons, vice-chancellors of universities(representing the intelligentsia), except that the Hong Kong Bar Association, who does not know chalk from cheese, keeps damnably demonizing the law.

The central authorities are drawing on various means to exert pressure on people at all levels. To tackle industrialists and businessmen, the most efficacious lure is money. Is the China market not tantalizing enough? Having benefited most from the Opium Wars, and hence burdened down with the original sin inherited from the tragedies, Jardine Group obediently placed a full page advertisement in state-owned press, declaring support for the Hong Kong version of national security law. Standard Chartered is the 2nd runner up. When it comes to the Kadoories, who have taken root in Hong Kong for more than a hundred years, it has been barely impossible for them to forgo the city since they were stripped of all their assets in Shanghai in 1949. Dare they confront the central authorities? HSBC is funnily secretive about its stance. Putting on a T-shirt like a passerby, Peter Wong, the Asia-Pacific Chairman of the bank, signed up to support the legislation on the street in passing. Coincidentally, the live show was pictured and uploaded to WeChat. The last shift followed: the embarrassed veteran banker was placed in an interview as the Chairman of Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to pledge support for the law unsparingly.

All of the abovementioned manoeuvrings were most likely squeezed out of the parties concerned by the attacks from CY Leung and the People's Daily. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine how difficult it had been for HSBC to place such an advertisement in the state-owned press early on. Pitifully, the detour did not escape from the penetrating insight of the journalists and parliament members of the UK. Financial commentators of the Daily Telegraph severely criticized HSBC for its being flagrantly against the national policy of Brexit in the UK while going on a pilgrimage to Beijing, and lambasted that from then on, it would lose all its political ascendancy. Parliament member Tom Tugendhat, the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons of the UK, heckled HSBC and Standard Chartered: How is support for an authoritarian state suppressing liberty and the rule of law compatible with your definition of corporate social responsibility? Andrew Adonis, senator of the House of Lords of the UK and member of the Labour Party, accused HSBC of acting shamefully, and pledged to discuss the matter with the Chairman and CEO of HSBC Holdings. Nevertheless, it is no big deal for HSBC to get British politicians riled for it does not even care for the markets in the UK, Europe and the US where it can hardly earn any money. Hereafter, it will lay the strategic focus on China and Hong Kong. For the sake of money, HSBC’s primary task is to yield to China. However, Peter Wong, a 68 year old senior who is still at the helm, should have retired long ago, which lays bare the fact that the upper echelon of HSBC’s management is wanting in Chinese. Mostly probably, Peter Wong’s successor is a returnee from the mainland. When the time comes, HSBC will look out upon a serious question: Shall I pledge loyalty to the UK or China?

---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app
To know more: https://bit.ly/2yMMfQE
Apple Daily mobile app latest version DOWNLOAD NOW