Beijing has “mainlandized” Hong Kong and transformed it into a region under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) direct rule, a report by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
The National Security Law, which China last year imposed on Hong Kong, has totally undermined the democracy, human rights and rule of law in the territory, the council said in a report marking the 24th anniversary of the former British colony’s handover to China.
Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for Hong Kong exists only in name and its demise is but a matter of time, it said.
Despite the territory’s retention of free trade and control over tariffs, and the stability of the Hong Kong dollar, the risks for foreign investors have surged due to the National Security Law, it said.
Beijing’s aggressive expansion of its influence in Hong Kong’s financial, insurance, bond and stock markets creates further uncertainty in business, it said.
The CCP’s hardline stance on the protests against an extradition bill, its show of force in deploying the People’s Liberation Army and the overt propagandistic displays of its apparatuses are public displays of its rule over the people of Hong Kong, the council said.
Beijing has touted the economic integration of the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area” as beneficial to Hong Kongers, but polls suggest the measure has little support from the territory’s residents, it said.
As for Beijing’s demand that staffers at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong sign documents supporting the “one China” principle, the council said that it would continue mutually beneficial interactions without yielding on sovereignty.
Furthermore, the government might review the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例) to prevent Chinese infiltration originating from Hong Kong, it said.
A system based on observable indicators has been established and legal amendments to the law would be devised if the mechanism is tripped, the council said.
Article 60 of the law authorizes the president to suspend all or part of the act “should any change occur in the situation of Hong Kong or Macau such that the implementation of this Act endangers the security of the Taiwan Area,” it said.
Since the article is close to an emergency declaration and would have a significant effect on the rights of Hong Kongers, it would not be invoked lightly, the council added.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
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