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Chinese state media warns Hong Kong's former No. 2 ‘retiring from politics’ won't be the end

蘋果日報 2020/06/27 22:15



Retiring from politics would not spare a former No. 2 leader of the Hong Kong government the punishment she deserved, China's state broadcaster told chief secretary turned democracy activist Anson Chan.



China Central Television issued the thinly veiled threat to the 80-year-old in an opinion piece titled "Would the culprit responsible for Hong Kong's chaos be spared the rightful punishment by announcing her decision to retire from politics?", published on its website on Saturday.



"As the legislation of the Hong Kong national security law is making steady progress, the once arrogant instigators of chaos in Hong Kong are now scurrying for cover and trying to shed their responsibilities," the commentary wrote.



The piece ended on a threatening note: "As the national security law will soon be enforced in Hong Kong, do these troublemakers really think they can escape judgment day? Certainly they won't! As some put it on social media, 'Traitors will certainly come to a bad end!'"



A China-watcher told Apple Daily that CCTV’s opinion piece fell short of a typical editorial that would speak for Beijing.



Just a day ago, Chan released a statement relinquishing her political activism in favour of a more peaceful life after the death of her daughter late last month.

"I reached the age of 80 at the start of this year, an age at which I long ago promised my children I would step back from civic and political engagement and lead a quieter life," she wrote.



"The recent loss of a beloved daughter is a devastating blow. I want to give myself time and space to mourn and recover. I also want to spend as much time as possible with my family, particularly my granddaughters and son-in-law."



Chan was the first woman and the first ethnic Chinese to hold the second-highest position in the Hong Kong government during the British colonial era. She continued to serve as the city's No. 2 official after the city's transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, before retiring in 2001 amid reports of a strained relationship with then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.



Since her retirement from government, Chan has been an outspoken campaigner for constitutional reform toward full democracy. Her lobbying of the United States and its allies for greater democracy in Hong Kong has been a source of irritation to Beijing.



At the height of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong last year, Chinese state media ramped up verbal attacks on Chan and named her one of a “new Gang of Four” that “colluded” with Western forces to “instigate unrest”, along with Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee and former lawmaker Albert Ho.



In response, pro-democracy lawmaker Charles Mok, who visited the U.S. alongside Chan in March last year, told Apple Daily that "no civilized person would know how to respond to such hate speech, which borders on madness."

Click here for Chinese version.
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