by Li Ping

The mass arrest targeted the pro-democratic parties’ Legislative Council (LegCo) primary by Hong Kong’s national security police has shocked the international society. The accusations of the so-called “35+ evil plan” and “subversion of state power” are too evil, too crazy. Could that really frighten the Hongkongers? Could that really stop the pro-democratic parties from participating in this year’s LegCo election (if any)? Could the government really ignore the reactions from western countries? The CCP can fool itself, but in the end, what the mass arrests subvert is the idea of a democratic election, the political system depicted in the Basic Law, and the political ethics of Hong Kong national security law. It really has pushed Hong Kong down into an eternal abyss.

As the U.S. Congress confirmed the presidential election result, the Hong Kong national security police made a large-scale arrest on those who took part in the pro-democratic parties LegCo primary. This is undoubtedly the biggest irony on the CCP’s characteristic democracy. This U.S. presidential election is full of controversies. On the day the Congress confirmed the electoral vote, demonstrators still broke into the Congress to protest, which led to conflicts and fatality. Nevertheless, the Congress has, as planned, confirmed Biden as the elected president. Trump has also promised to handover the power orderly, which shows the binding force a democratic system has on a political leader.

On the contrary, the CCP’s authoritarian rule always builds on a foundation of “party bigger than law.” Not only has it written “one-party dictatorship” into the constitution, but it can also add or abolish the limitation and resumption of the highest leader’s lifetime term from the constitution at any time. The so-called democracy under the party’s leadership cannot cover up the fear CCP has of democratic elections. But it has to keep the facade of a democratic election in Hong Kong, so it does not embarrass itself in the international society when it is being compared with England’s colonial rule.

Therefore, the CCP can only use its dictatorship tools and unfounded charges to suppress Hong Kong’s pro-democratic parties as revenge for causing it embarrassment when it has to postpone the LegCo election and try and get rid of all the competitive pro-democratic candidates, paving the way for the future election. Section 39 of the Legislative Council Ordinance states if the person has been sentenced to imprisonment, whether suspended or not, for a term exceeding 3 months, the said person is not allowed to join the election in the next five years. Nearly half of those 50 odd pro-democratic party members arrested for violating national security law are the primary winners. That would surely hit the pro-democratic election team hard. The government would do anything to increase the winning chance of a party-led election, even if it means ignoring the universal and equal right to elect and right to be elected.

The mass arrests also subvert the Hong Kong political system depicted from the Basic Law. Article 52 stipulates that the Chief Executive must resign when, after the LegCo is dissolved because he or she twice refuses to sign a bill passed by it, or it refuses to pass a budget bill, then the new LegCo again passes or refuses by a two-thirds majority of all the members the original bill in dispute. So forcing the Chief Executive to bear the political responsibility through the budget bill is a constitutional power given to the lawmakers by the Basic Law, which is now being considered by the national security police as paralyzing the government and subverting the state’s political power. How ridiculous. Shouldn’t the national security police also arrest those drafting committee back then and the deputy to the National People’s Congress who passed the Basic Law?

With the “I, the Emperor, am the law” mentality, distorting the Basic Law has become the norm. The interpretation of the right to abode in Article 24, the regulation of central authorities in Hong Kong in Article 22, the self-Enactment in Article 23, and the provisions for an oath in Article 104, including the development timing of the relevant political system in the annex, have all been changed beyond recognition. After the Sino-British Joint Declaration is seen as an expired historical document, the Basic Law clauses have been torn down one by one like a roll of toilet paper.

The objective of legislation in a normal country is to protect human rights from being attacked. It protects, not deprives, or violates the rights of people even when it safeguards national security. Article 4 of the Hong Kong national security law also states, “human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security in Hong Kong. The rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, of the press, of publication, of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration, which the residents of the Region enjoy under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong, shall be protected in accordance with the law.” However, the primary mass arrests indicate this article will not really be implemented, as the government will deprive the Hongkongers their civil rights in the name of protecting national security to safeguard the one-party rule

The 610,000 people who took part in the primary have neither received any money nor have they been forced to vote. All they did was to express their wish by voting, exercising their civil right and duty. Why is that a crime? The preposterous national security police claimed they will not hold the voters liable for any crime, as if they have shown mercy and pardoned the world. Does it mean those 610,000 should vote what the CCP wants in the next election to show how grateful they are?

Click here for Chinese version

We invite you to join the conversation by submitting columns to our opinion section: [email protected]

Apple Daily reserves the right to refuse, abridge, alter or edit guest opinion columns for accuracy, length, clarity, and style, and the right to withdraw and withhold columns based on the discretion of our editorial page editors.

The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board.

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play