Hong Kong’s so-called “patriotic legislature” passed a bill to amend Article 23 of the Basic Law on March 19.
This legislative body had shelved a similarly awful bill to allow extradition to China before half a million Hong Kongers took to the streets in 2021 to protest and pro-democracy parties opposed it.
Now there is nobody in the Legislative Council to oppose such bills, and the bill never underwent a proper, normal legislative process of public review. The second and third readings of the bill were quickly rushed through.
Every member of the “patriotic legislature” showed their subservience to Beijing through their participation in the Article 23 bill. They gleefully expressed the completion of their so-called “constitutional duty” — their “glorious” mission.
They said the legislation would make Hong Kong’s development more stable and robust, and yet they have completely turned a blind eye to the reality of how the territory’s economy, residents’ livelihoods, society and security have all eroded and withered following 2019’s “Revolution of Our Times” movement, reflecting the “fawning with Chinese characteristics” displayed by Hong Kong officials — attitudes which have utterly pervaded the territory.
Hong Kongers’ taxes are being misused to feed a group of voracious officials who have completely walled off Hong Kong from any real progress. The violent suppression of taxpayers by so-called “law enforcement” reflects the importance of a democratic system.
As Hong Kong passed Article 23 of its own accord, Beijing can use this to make a fake declaration to the world that its promises of “one China, two systems and a Hong Kong governed by Hong Kongers” still exists.
Compared with Beijing’s National Security Law, the scope of Article 23 is far broader. Not only does the law add the crimes of “treason,” “stealing state secrets” and “fanning insurrection,” it also includes the related crime of “external interference from outside forces.”
It includes prohibiting Hong Kong groups from establishing exchanges with foreign counterparts. Under such a vague legal framework, foreign institutions and investors in Hong Kong could be designated “foreign government organizations” at will.
Media outlets such as Radio Free Asia and non-governmental organizations like Amnesty International could very well find themselves the first to bear the brunt of this law. This would be tantamount to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) using Hong Kong to carry out China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy. We can only imagine what this would mean for China’s future relations with the free world.
The “crime of concealing traitors” stipulated within Article 23 states that “knowing, but not reporting ... someone who has committed, or is about to commit treason,” is a criminal act in itself. The law encourages people to monitor and report each other.
The intention of the law is clearly to advance the isolation of Hong Kong and sever the relationship between the territory and former residents who have emigrated.
Article 23 targets and indiscriminately arrests people with different ideas than the government in the name of “safeguarding national security.”
As a legal weapon used to exact revenge on the freedom and democracy movement, the “Hong Kong martial law era” has begun, impacting visitors and even those transiting at the airport.
Taipei should raise its travel advisories and warnings for anyone traveling to or through Hong Kong, and recommend that Taiwanese avoid going there.
Hong Tsun-ming, originally from Hong Kong, is a specialist in the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s international section.
Translated by Tim Smith
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