by Li Ping

After Carrie Lam sneered at the so-called sanctions and threats from foreign countries, Paul Chan Mo-po was asserted to examine anti-sanction measures, while C.Y. Leung hollered that if the U.K. insisted BNO passport holders can be British citizens, those British citizens should be deprived of voting rights in Hong Kong. These people thought they were invincible under CCP’s wings. They took the temporary market rebound as proof of the U.S.’ empty threats. They tried to please their masters in Beijing by stirring up issues with the U.S. and U.K.. They probably had no ideas of what lies ahead.

Financial Centers Are Not CCP’s Playground

Carrie Lam was summoned to meet Hong Kong and Macau affairs leader, Han Zheng, in Beijing on Wednesday to take orders regarding the national security laws. She asserted afterwards that Hong Kong’s unique position as a separate customs territory, free port and financial center was granted by the “One Country, Two Systems” policy and the Basic Law, and that she could not see how so-called sanctions and threats from overseas could affect Hong Kong.

If separate customs territories, free ports and financial centers could be built by CCP’s under-the-table deals, Hainan, Shenzhen and Shanghai would long have replaced the status of Hong Kong. Also, the Hainan Free Trade Port Master Plan established earlier this month to boost Hainan’s competitiveness over Hong Kong’s is then not needed. It was in 1988, long before the Handover of Hong Kong, that Hainan became a Special Economic Zone. Both Guangzhou and Shanghai have also been trying hard for decades. Now they are indeed financial centers, yet only for Southern and Eastern China, with skyscrapers named International Financial Centers.

If Carrie Lam does not know how Hong Kong became an international financial center, she should at least know it happened before 1997 and the Basic Law. The “One Country, Two Systems” policy and the Basic Law were, in a sense, used to protect the status of Hong Kong. Carrie Lam always confuses right with wrong, but this time she is too ignorant and shameless. If she lacks common sense to this point, then who is she to claim that she “understands the deep-seated conflicts in Hong Kong?”

Unfortunately, the current Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan Mo-po is as ignorant as Carrie Lam, on matters regarding Hong Kong as a separate customs territory. He stated in an interview by the China state media that the status was given to Hong Kong by China and has nothing to do with the U.S.. He also told foreign media that he anticipated China’s support in securing the linked exchange rate, as if Hong Kong dollar is linked to Renminbi instead of U.S. dollar. When asked whether to retaliate overseas sanctions, he said that the government would consider different options but not details were given. Revoking the special treatments to Hong Kong implies that the U.S. is willing to let go of their profit or interest in Hong Kong. That makes people wonder what kind of revenge plans Paul Chan Mo-po can possibly come up with.

Countries Back Hongkongers Up To Fight On

What is more ridiculous is indeed CY Leung’s response over U.K.’s strong reaction against national security laws by planning to give more rights to BNO passport holders to reside and work in the U.K.. He said, “If the U.K. government insists that BN(O) passport holders are British citizens, all these people should be deprived of voting rights.” China state media applauded his “sharp wit.” But smarter were the netizens, who replied by saying that “BC (British citizens) could elect functional constituencies, and BNO holders cannot even vote? Eat shit!”

In fact, CY Leung maintains the communist mindset of keeping the land over people. They would rather more Hongkongers emigrate and give up the fight, so that Hong Kong could absorb more Mainland Chinese immigrants. Therefore, when asked about the 37% of Hongkongers considered to emigrate after the National Security Law, Chinese Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, people are free to come and go to China. This is a complete negligence to how China restricts citizen’s freedom to cross borders, and a complete negligence to the Hongkongers’ opposition to the National Security law.

The U.S., U.K. and Taiwan stepped in to adjust their immigration and residency policies for Hong Kong people, in response to CCP’s imposition of the National Security Law. However, they are indeed measures to sanction the communists and back up plans for Hongkongers, but not calls for Hongkongers to leave the city and stop fighting. At the same time, many protesters vowed to stay and fight on, “Hong Kong is my home. Who are you to drive me out?” True that, we are not the ones who should leave. Hongkongers’ continuous protests and sanctions imposed by democratic countries, will one day bring communists’ rule in Hong Kong to an end.

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