Another Dark Day in Hong Kong

Pan-democrat bloc says they will resign en masse tomorrow

 

Today marks the end of "one country, two systems" that paramount leader Deng Xiaoping had promised back in 1984. He said there would be no change for 50 years, which at the time seemed far off.

But only 23 years after 1997, Hong Kong's institutions are being destroyed to make the city into a Chinese one, and very quickly too.

Is this what Deng had in mind back in 1984?

The National People's Congress Standing Committee today endorsed a resolution (unanimously of course) to oust Hong Kong lawmakers immediately if they are deemed to have engaged in acts ranging from endangering national security to dishonouring their pledge of allegiance and refusing to support China's sovereignty over the city.

Then the Hong Kong government used this ruling to immediately disqualify four lawmakers: Civic Party's Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Kwok Ka-ki, and Dennis Kwok, along with Kenneth Leung of the Professional Guild.

When that happened, the immediate thought was, now that the four had been ousted, would the pan-democrat bloc follow through with their threat yesterday to quit the Legislative Council?

Indeed they have.

Four ousted lawmakers walk out of Legco

On this tumultuous day that saw the announcement, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made long-winded explanations on why these disqualifications had to happen, and that she did not initiate this, that she was only the messenger and so on; then the four lawmakers made statements in the Legco chamber and solemnly walked out, saying they were honoured to be forced out; and then the other 15 pan-democrats spoke one by one in another press conference encouraging Hongkongers to add oil and that the fight for democracy was not over.

They will resign en masse tomorrow. Beijing might even arrest them tomorrow.

For Hongkongers this means the opposition they had democratically voted four years ago in are now wiped out except for two independents. Beijing does not care to respect the Basic Law anymore -- instead it will rule the city how it wishes and expects Lam to execute these demands.

There is no legal recourse to fight Beijing on these changes. You are either deemed patriotic enough by Beijing or you can't serve Legco. This means bills the government wants to pass will be passed. Interestingly lawmakers in the pro-establishment camp say they will continue to hold the government accountable...

Lam claims she is only the messenger

Hongkongers are collectively wondering what happened to their city. Last year it was torn apart by clashes between protesters and the police, and now life appears to be going on normally but the city's institutions are being destroyed, the judiciary possibly next.

How much longer can people accept what is happening to their city? Everyday there is a new outrageous development they have no choice but to absorb and move on.

Last year's District Council elections may have been the last time people were able to have a voice that Beijing refuses to listen.

 

Pan-Democrats Play into Beijing's Hands

Pan-democrats are united, but are they doing the right thing?

 

The pan-democratic lawmakers in the Legislative Council are outnumbered by the pro-establishment politicians, so when bills need to be passed, the former use whatever tools they have to prevent or at least have a decent debate before it is basically rubber stamped.

One of the tools they use is filibustering, and every other democratic opposition uses this strategy at one time or another.

For the Hong Kong opposition, it's basically all they have left. They don't even have a chance of having a majority elected in Legco and Beijing wants to make sure it stays that way.

Baggio Leung crosses his fingers in swearing-in

In recent years the National People's Congress has decimated the opposition by disqualifying them. In 2016, six newly-elected pan-democrats, including Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang were disqualified for displaying a banner that said "Hong Kong is not China" and not taking their oath seriously, mispronouncing "People's Republic of China" as "people's re-f***ing of Chee-na".

Now four more pan-democrat lawmakers may also be disqualified for... filibustering.

The NPC is meeting this week and has this issue on its agenda. 

The warning came from Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's only delegate to the standing committee, saying the lawmakers' delaying tactics since the beginning of Legco's extended term made them unsuitable for office.

"As lawmakers, you must act in accordance with Article 104 of the Basic Law, [which states that lawmakers] need to swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and uphold the Basic Law," he said before flying to Beijing.

Tam says bills need to be passed, not filibustering

"It isn't good to use various means to disrupt Legco's normal operation. We need to face this problem."

The four at risk of being thrown out of Legco are: Civic Party's Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Dennis Kwok and Kwok Ka-ki, and Kenneth Leung of the Professionals Guild.

This evening 19 pan-democrats decided to raise the stakes if the four are disqualified.

"We have decided that we will resign en masse without hesitation if the central government decides to push ahead with the disqualification," Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai, co-convenor of the pan-democrat bloc said during a hastily arranged press conference.

"It is to demonstrate our extreme discontent and strong protest against the authorities' ruthless attempt to trample the legislature."

But isn't that exactly falling into Beijing's hands? If they all resign, there will be no opposition in Legco, and the people who elected them in are powerless to oppose this, as public protests are practically impossible now due to the pandemic.  

Beijing wants antics like this to end in Legco

Is this the right course of action for the pan-democrats to take? While filibustering is allowed in Legco, Beijing has had enough of it and wants bills to be passed.

Some don't deserve to be passed, such as the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, where Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposes to solve the housing crisis by building a massive 1,700-hectare manmade island through land reclamation costing HK$500 million (US$68.3 billion) off Lantau.

We will find out in the next day or so what Beijing has to say about the four lawmakers; it may force the hand of pan-democrats to resign en masse. 

Then what? 

Who will represent the interests of Hongkongers?

Security Bill Destroying Hongkongers' Trust

Lam and her administration support the national security law

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will meet next weekend, and it is believed the national security law will be up for discussion and possibly promulgation, as if it couldn't happen fast enough.

While some believe the passage of this law will put an end to protests, this may be true, but the reality is that it will be the end of Hong Kong as we know it. The city is rapidly changing into a mainland city whether we like it or not, and our government officials and elites trying to one up themselves on telling the public how the national security law is a good thing when they haven't even seen the wording of such an important document.

Kwok says Beijing has lost the trust of HKers

There is a media report that when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was meeting with the senior leadership in Beijing, she tried to get a copy of the draft but was told it was highly confidential.

So even the leader of Hong Kong has no idea what's in there and not even allowed to have a sneak peek.

That's what loyalty to Beijing gets you these days -- nothing.

And that's what Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki has said on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong today. He accused Beijing of destroying people's trust in the city.

As a result of Beijing making "one country, two systems" null and void, Hongkongers are frantically looking into emigration, applying for British National (Overseas) passports, and businesses moving out of the Central business district.

But what upset him the most is how some pro-establishment figures have chosen to give away Hong Kong's rights and freedoms so easily.

Beijing crushed dissidents like Liu

"Beyond the mainland government's infringement on our city's founding principles, it is even more disappointing to see how local elites and government officials have turned their backs on Hong Kong people," he said.

"Members of the Executive Council and many prominent business owners voiced their support for the legislation. Perhaps fearing backlash from China, top executives from companies like HSBC have also stood by the draconian law."

He said the mainland authorities use the national security law to intimidate political opponents and suppress dissent, citing the examples of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, recently released Wang Quanzhang, and just sentenced Yu Wensheng.

"With the passing of the national security law, Hong Kong may follow the same dark path of political oppression," Kwok said.

In addition, he accused the SAR government of already using intimidating language towards those who opposed the impending bill.

"To intimidate voices of opposition, Chief Executive Carrie Lam has even called critics of the National Security Act 'enemies of the people'," he said.

Cohen has many questions about the new law

"Anyone who is publicly opposing the national security bill will very likely face prosecution and other consequences. Just this week, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Erick Tsang Kwok-wai (who has a painted plate of Xi Jinping in his office) said that critics of the legislation may be barred from running in the upcoming Legislative Council elections."

Therefore, Kwok said, people who call Hong Kong home are left with no choice but to stand firm and fight against what he calls "this intrusion into our city's autonomy".

Esteemed law professor and China expert Jerome Cohen of New York University School of Law has been blogging non stop about the national security law. He puts it pretty succinctly in his June 20 blog post:

"The Handover has clearly become the Takeover".