When Hong Kong recently arrested 53 activists in relation to national security offenses, it became the butt of international condemnation. Most of those arrested have been released on bail and so far, none has been charged with any offense. Yet when the US arrested and charged hundreds of protesters for storming Washington’s Capitol Building, the authorities are commended for their actions. Double standards? Maybe, as both are related to national security.
Those arrested in Hong Kong have a long history of radical activism, which is okay as long as it does not involve plans to overthrow the Hong Kong SAR government. This is a worldwide understanding, but the international community does not see that being applicable to Hong Kong. Instead, it seems, they want Hong Kong to be ruled by rioters destroying the city and threatening citizens who don’t share their politics.
Ever since Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997, there have been undercurrents of distrust among some in the international community that China would not fulfil its part of the Joint Declaration with Britain on the future of Hong Kong. The “one country, two systems” Hong Kong governance formula is naturally difficult to maintain, but against all odds, China has managed to fulfil its part of the bargain. Hong Kong’s lifestyle has remained unchanged, all freedoms are maintained, and its reputation as an international business hub continues. The only issues of contention are political.
Hong Kong’s constitutional document, the Basic Law, provides for universal suffrage for its legislature and Chief Executive in an appropriate way and timing. As a temporary measure, Hong Kong has settled for a fully elected legislature of 50 percent by universal suffrage and 50 percent by functional constituents (election by peers). The Chief Executive is elected by a 1,200-strong electoral college, similar to the election of the president of the United States. It would be unwise to opt for universal suffrage when the political climate is unstable, and Hong Kong is at its most vulnerable state, and ripe for interference by foreign forces, especially the US, which is hellbent on weakening China to ensure the world’s second-biggest economy will never overtake its international influence. To kill the Hong Kong model of “one country, two systems” would be the death knell of China’s core interest of enforcing sovereignty over Taiwan thereby unifying the country.
The 53 arrestees were held for questioning for their role in the destabilization of Hong Kong and their connivance with foreign powers which make up the “Five Eyes” alliance of 20 spy agencies. The five member countries are the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and together they share intelligence and political strategies aimed at China. Collectively they are involved in wiretapping and electronic surveillance as well as ground contact with individuals, corporations and other governments in their intelligence gathering. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was outraged when she found her phone had been hacked by the Five Eyes. Most of the agencies have operated in Hong Kong, initially during the “cultural revolution”, to spy on China and later to spy on North Vietnam with huge listening devices at Little Sai Wan operated by the Australians.
Because of its advantageous strategic location, Hong Kong has been an ideal base in Asia for spy networks as immortalized in John le Carre’s novel The Honourable Schoolboy, citing the Foreign Correspondents’ Club as a favorite hangout for spies. Indeed, that is still true today, where suspected US agents use psychological warfare to demoralize journalists who investigate the National Endowment for Democracy and its involvement with Hong Kong’s “pro-democracy activists”.
What the international community does not understand or were not told by the Five Eyes was the ulterior motive of the arrestees, which was to destabilize Hong Kong’s political system. They were involved in an illegal primary voting poll on July 11-12 which drew about 600,000 participants. Although the avowed purpose of the poll sounds innocent enough, it’s the sinister motive behind it which the authorities cannot ignore. Three months before the poll, on April 28, University of Hong Kong associate law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting wrote in Apple Daily that it was the destiny of Hongkongers to adopt a “laam chau” strategy to “fight for freedom and democracy”. “Laam chau” can be roughly translated as: “If we burn, you burn with us,” a line used in The Hunger Games, a Hollywood movie. Tai was later sacked from the university.
Tai outlined “10 steps to mutual destruction” which would eventually bring about the downfall of the Hong Kong SAR government by stacking the legislature with lawmakers from their ranks who would continually veto the government budget thereby paralyzing the government. This, he said, would force Beijing to declare a state of emergency in Hong Kong in December 2021, resulting in more protests and confrontations in the city, and Western sanctions against the Communist Party of China in early 2022.
Eminent barrister and retired Court of Final Appeal judge Henry Litton opined in the local press: “That, in essence, led to the arrests. Nothing happened, because the LegCo elections were postponed. No facts have been established but what is known seems to point to all the elements of a conspiracy to subvert state power, contrary to Article 22(2) and (3) of the National Security Law. This is a very serious crime requiring a high standard of proof.”
The author is a former chief information officer of the Hong Kong government, a PR and media consultant, and a veteran journalist.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
