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The alleged Hong Kong NSL violators – a ‘death sentence’ already?|Edward Chin

蘋果日報 2021/03/06 10:06


To understand Hong Kong nowadays, we need to scrutinize it from all angles: legal development, legal protection of assets, economic freedom, human rights conditions, job prospects, just to name a few. From a pure business perspective, Hong Kong has lost its autonomy and competitive edge, with the imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in the second half of 2020. The city’s uniqueness is gone, and it is now just indistinguishable from other big cities in China. With the NSL in place, Hong Kong has quickly adapted under the direct pressure from China; the executors of the Hong Kong government have since been misrepresenting it and abusing the power entitled by the Law so as to disintegrate the credibility of the old Hong Kong system.
On a serious note, the Hong Kong judicial process has also been undermined and compromised with the imposition of the NSL. It is just disturbing and concerning only to know that close to 100 Hong Kongers, including students, a medical doctor, lawyers, radio broadcasters, politicians and a media tycoon, have now been charged under the NSL. They are going to go through a painful trial process in the coming months, or possibly years, before a verdict is given. In the meantime, the pro-democracy activists are being locked up in jail, as Beijing claims these Hong Kong heroes are “security threats” to communist Hong Kong and communist China.
And on a more macro level, the Heritage Foundation from the US recently dropped Hong Kong and Macau from its annual Index of Economic Freedom, citing the lack of autonomy in the two cities. Macau was already subdued when it self- imposed its own de facto national security law years ago, under Article 23. As for Hong Kong, it comes as no surprise that the once famed international city is dropped from the Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation ̶ “doing businesses in Hong Kong is the same as doing businesses in China” ̶ for there is no clear distinction between the two places now in terms of freedom and protection. The “one country, two systems” model just exists in name only.
I have also witnessed at first-hand that asset management firms in Hong Kong are looking for an alternative place where common law is practiced and the political system is robust to relocate to. Sadly, once famed for an outstanding business environment, Hong Kong is now crumbling fast ̶ political uncertainty, deterioration of freedom of expression and association, and worsening human rights conditions are all signs of degradation of Hong Kong.
Two weeks ago, I wrote in this column that finance professionals from the pro-democracy camp have tried to reach out to President Xi Jinping, and expressed their concerns that without genuine rule of law and a democratic election for Hong Kong, the city would not last. It was summarized in the “10 Requests to the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) – by Hong Kong Finance Professionals”. I was involved in the drafting process. Let me give a more in-depth analysis (interpretation) of Point # 2 of the Request:
Point # 2: Establish a system of genuine universal suffrage that conforms to international standards and recognize that this is the political freedom that all the people in Hong Kong seek. To implement the principle of “one country, two systems”, the Central Government must accord the Hong Kong Government with high degree of autonomy and recognize its legitimacy.
Interpretation on Point # 2: We urge the Chinese communist leaders to respect Hong Kong citizens’ wish, and demonstrate and exercise the rule of law regarding the city’s political reform. Only by doing so can we unite Hong Kong, mitigate deep-seated contradictions in the political, economic, and social aspects in the future, and do a good job in carrying out “one country, two systems”. If a bogus universal suffrage with pre-selection or screening is implemented in 2017, then this so-called universal suffrage will remain a small-circle election. The Chief Executive thus elected will continue to suffer from the lack of legitimacy and the governance of Hong Kong will be in a predicament. We understand the central authorities’ concern regarding the Chief Executive candidates’ political allegiance. However, the central authorities should have confidence in Hong Kong citizens who are mature enough, in terms of civil awareness, not to pick a chief executive who confronts the central authorities. Confidence and people’s support are interrelated. If the central authorities have faith in the people of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong people will trust and support the central authorities in return.
And one last comment on the above. For all intents and purposes, the Beijing masters just won’t listen. They think all requests are forms of intrusion into their authority. But the pro-democracy finance sector will still keep trying.
The annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, known as the Two Sessions, just started on Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the 47 pro-democracy activists had already gone through 4 days of gruelling bail hearings due to the alleged violation of the National Security Law – subversion of state power. 15 of the 47 were originally granted bail, but the government prosecutor intervened, and as a result all 47 were taken into custody again.
The democratic leaders that are locked up under the NSL are highly regarded and respected – they come from all age groups, and now all of them are resigned to their fate and subject to unjust lengthy prison terms. The crime they allegedly committed -”subversion of state power”- is purely political accusation, and their rights as citizens are forcibly removed. And from a business perspective, under the new communist China’s strategy for Hong Kong, the crème de la crème of business and finance opportunities will disproportionately steer towards privileged mainlanders and princelings of the CCP. The most talented Hong Kongers have been fleeing the city for months now, so it is getting harder and harder for those who remain behind to keep battling on.
If this is the CCP’s model of assimilation of Hong Kong into the so-called Greater Bay Area, then Hong Kongers are in big trouble. And on the judicial level, the Hong Kong court that used to be perceived as independent and impartial are now questionable. For any cases related to national security, alleged violators will have his rights denied before trial. We all witnessed the harsh treatment and mental torture of the 47 activists who went through 4 days of marathon trials. The outcome is also predictable. In this regard, even though the rule of law is perceived as intact on the outside, the Hong Kong court operates like a kangaroo court. All the alleged NSL violators have been given a “death sentence” already.
(Edward Chin (錢志健) runs a family office. Chin was formerly Country Head of a UK publicly listed hedge fund, the largest of its kind measured by asset under management. Outside the hedge funds space, Chin is Convenor of 2047 Hong Kong Monitor and a Senior Advisor of Reporters Without Borders (RSF, HK & Macau). Chin studied speech communication at the University of Minnesota, and received his MBA from the University of Toronto. Twitter: edwardckchin Youtube: Ed Chin Channel Facebook.com/edckchin Email: [email protected])
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