The Odyssey - Democracy in Hong Kong

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

Breaking | China to put visa restrictions on US officials over Hong Kong

Any American efforts to undermine introduction of national security law for the city will not succeed, foreign ministry says

Quote

China has announced visa restrictions on US officials who “behave egregiously” in relation to Hong Kong affairs.

The move is in retaliation for Washington’s decision to restrict visas for Chinese officials who undermine Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status.

Announcing the restrictions on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said any efforts by the US to hinder Beijing’s introduction of a national security law in Hong Kong “would not succeed”.

More to follow....

 

. . . and Xinhua on Facebook

Quote

中方决定对在涉港问题上表现恶劣的美方人员实施签证限制。

 

针对美方日前宣布对中方有关涉港官员等实施签证限制，外交部发言人赵立坚6月29日说，美方通过所谓制裁阻挠中方推进香港国家安全立法的图谋绝不会得逞。针对美方错误行径，中方决定对在涉港问题上表现恶劣的美方人员实施签证限制。

 

China has decided to impose visa restrictions on U.S. personnel who have shown poor behavior on Hong Kong-related issues.

 

In response to the U.S. recently announced visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved in Hong Kong, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on June 29 that the U.S. plan to block China's national security legislation through so-called sanctions will never succeed. In response to the Wrong Actions of the United States, China decided to impose visa restrictions on Us personnel who have performed badly on Hong Kong-related issues.

https://www.facebook.com/369959106408139/posts/3833252393412109/?substory_index=0

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

An editorial from the Global Times

National security law will be new start for HK: Global Times editorial

Quote

The national security law for Hong Kong will definitely become a new starting point for the city, but struggles will continue. Chinese society, including Hong Kong society, must be prepared to support the enforcement of the law in the city after it is passed, to punish a few diehards who have been committed to jeopardizing national security, and to fight some tough battles against US interference in Hong Kong, to truly establish a line of defense on national security there.

 

The few die-hard radical forces in Hong Kong should be warned that the national security law could never be overthrown by mobilizing enough people to protest in the streets as they did with the extradition bill last year. This time, it is the National People's Congress which enacted the legislation, and the whole country will play a role in Hong Kong. The strength and will of 1.4 billion Chinese people will not let it fail.

 

Hong Kong has returned to China, but a handful of extremists are willing to be pawns of anti-China force of the US. They use the latter's support as their leverage in Hong Kong to stir up trouble for political gain. They have betrayed Hong Kong and their country. They have made the wrong bet, and now it's their last chance to stop their wrongdoings before it's too late.

 

The law will not change Hongkongers' way of life, nor will it deprive people of any legal rights there, including freedom of speech. But instigating Hong Kong secession and encouraging foreign forces to "sanction" Hong Kong are equivalent to treason. They have nothing to do with the freedom required by Hong Kong people, and are loopholes in the rule of law.

 

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the Global Times on Facebook - 162 to 0

Quote

The National Security Law for Hong Kong was passed unanimously on Tuesday. Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a presidential decree about the legislation. The law is expected to become effective once it is unveiled. #HK

 

SCMP said:

The six-chapter law, which consists of 66 articles, had clearly stipulated the responsibilities of the institutions responsible for maintaining national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and defined the four offences, it said.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3050132775036333&id=115591005188475

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from Xinhua on Facebook. Kind of ominous that these pictures were chosen. Two of them are Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow of the umbrella movement

Quote

「」志「人各有志」

I'm not sure about the translation - maybe

"People will change - everyone has their own aspirations"

https://www.facebook.com/369959106408139/posts/3838090959594919/?substory_index=0

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the Global Times on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/115591005188475/posts/3208567312557480/

HK extremists, secessionists flee, disband groups after security law passed

Quote

The deterrent effect of the #NationalSecurityLaw for #HK has begun to show, as three infamous secessionist leaders in Hong Kong – Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Agnes Chow – announced their withdrawal from anti-government group Demosisto, experts said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1193049.shtml

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP on Facebook

Security Law in HK Draws Global Criticism

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=215093916260202&id=355665009819

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

Hong Kong government unveils details of national security law

• Beijing has given mainland China authorities broad powers to hear ‘complicated’ cases, with life imprisonment for the most serious offences
• Mainland agents will be allowed to operate freely in Hong Kong and outside any supervision of local law enforcement

Quote

Key points:

• Beijing will exercise jurisdiction over “complicated” cases such as those relating to foreign interference, or when local authorities cannot enforce law effectively, or the nation’s security is under major threat
• For cases Beijing has jurisdiction over, the mainland agency in Hong Kong will launch an investigation and Supreme People’s Procuratorate will assign prosecution authorities. The Supreme People’s Court will assign courts to hear the cases
• The law is not retroactive
• A dedicated police unit is to investigate cases, while a mainland security office will be set up in Hong Kong

Beijing’s sweeping new national security law, which Hong Kong adopted on Tuesday, has turned out to be a tougher-than-expected set of rules that will be overseen and enforced by a new mainland agency with the power of the state behind it to take over some cases and operate in the city without falling under local jurisdiction.

The full draft of the controversial legislation, in six chapters consisting of 66 articles, was released late on Tuesday night after it became effective in the city amid widespread concerns about its implications, despite official reassurances that only a small minority would be targeted.

 

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Continued . . .

Quote

The law also grants wide powers to mainland agents stationed in Hong Kong. Under Article 60, the officers and the vehicles they use to carry out their duties are not subject to checks by local law enforcement.

. . .

Professor Fu Hualing, law dean at the University of Hong Kong, said the provisions concerning Beijing’s jurisdictions over “very few cases” allowed for a large degree of discretion, which remained to be clearly defined.

“Once the central government takes over [jurisdiction], it takes away everything,” Fu said. “There is a ‘nationalisation’ of certain crimes. For the first time, national laws on criminal matters apply in Hong Kong and there is built-in rendition.”

 

. .

 

Media and members of the public can be banned from observing cases if the hearings involve state secrets or public order. Suspects will not be granted bail unless the judge is convinced they will not continue to take part in activities endangering national security.

 

. . .

 

“Beijing has the final say on what cases will fall into the category of China’s jurisdiction,” Yeung said. “They can arbitrarily arrest and extradite anyone to China for secret trials. It’s shameless for them to say they are safeguarding the ‘one country, two systems’.”

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the Global Times on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/115591005188475/posts/3209829332431278/

Quote

More #HK secessionists have announced to withdraw themselves from subversion after China's top legislature approved the #NationalSecurityLaw on Tue. The new law's heaviest penalty is life imprisonment and it will continue to deter subversive powers. https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1193049.shtml

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

National security law: Hong Kong police make first arrest over independence flag

• Protesters in Causeway Bay encounter strong police presence, with officers standing by to handle a planned illegal march
• Legislation was passed by Beijing a day before and adopted by local government close to midnight

Quote

The flag reads: “This is a police warning. You are displaying flags or banners, chanting slogans, or conducting yourselves with an intent such as secession or subversion, which may constitute offences under the HKSAR [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] National Security Law. You may be arrested and prosecuted.”

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP. Macau citizens have always (since the handover) had a path to citizenship in Portugal.

Britain offers millions of Hongkongers path to citizenship

• Around 3 million holders of the BN(O) passport and their dependents will be allowed to move to UK for five years and then apply for permanent residency
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces new rights after imposition of law Britain says is a ‘clear and serious’ breach of the agreement guaranteeing autonomy

 

Quote

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Parliament that holders of BN(O) passports would have the right to remain for five years after which they can apply for settled status – effectively giving them permanent residency. After 12 months of settled status, they can apply for citizenship.

 

Raab added: “There will be no quotas on numbers.”

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the WSJ

What’s in Hong Kong’s New National-Security Law

Broad language and sweeping authority transform the city’s legal landscape; ‘the new law is like a scarecrow’

Quote

Hong Kong police made their first arrests while enforcing the city’s extraordinary new national-security law hours after it took effect—even as legal experts scrambled to parse its full implications.

The law took immediate effect when it was published late Tuesday, the first time the full text—at roughly 10,000 characters spanning 66 articles—was publicly revealed. Experts say its provisions fundamentally alter the legal landscape in Hong Kong, carving out space within the city’s Western-style rule-of-law system for mainland Chinese methods of enforcing Communist Party control.

“All in all, this is a takeover of Hong Kong,” said Jerome Cohen, a veteran China legal scholar at New York University.

. . .

Beijing will oversee national-security issues in Hong Kong through a new Office for Safeguarding National Security, a central-government agency. The law says the office’s personnel are immune from Hong Kong law when carrying out official duties, which include directly investigating major cases. Legal scholars say this allows the office to operate in Hong Kong with few legal restraints.

. .

The law requires Hong Kong authorities to “strengthen supervision” and regulation over schools, universities, social organizations, the media and the internet. In Communist Party speak, calls to strengthen supervision often refer to the tightening of political controls.

. . .

The Foreign Ministry is the main agency overseeing foreign news organizations operating in mainland China, and issues press credentials to foreign journalists that are tied with their residence visas. Foreign reporters in Hong Kong aren’t currently subjected to such arrangements.

. . .

The law is silent on what constitutes such secrets. Legal experts say Hong Kong authorities would likely refer to existing Chinese law, which offers an expansive definition of state secrets—an added risk for anyone who trades in information.

“‘State secrets’ are whatever the police choose to define them as,” said Mr. Cohen, the NYU legal scholar.

. . .

One of the law’s more surprising provisions, Article 38, says that even nonresidents living outside Hong Kong can be held liable for offenses committed outside the city. In other words, the law claims to apply everywhere.

Some legal experts warn the provision could be used to detain people who have irked Beijing should they enter Hong Kong. “If you’ve ever said anything that might offend the [People’s Republic of China] or Hong Kong authorities, stay out of Hong Kong,” Donald Clarke, a George Washington University professor who specializes in Chinese law, wrote on his blog.

Such claims to extraterritorial jurisdiction aren’t uncommon. The U.S. has made them on national-security grounds, notably in its efforts to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for espionage-related charges.

China’s criminal law claims jurisdiction over foreigners who commit crimes outside of the country against the Chinese state and its citizens. But its scope is limited to offenses that warrant at least three-year jail sentences, and are also punishable under local laws in the places where they occurred. Legal experts say the Hong Kong security law appears to assert a cross-border reach without those restrictions.

. . .

“The new law is like a scarecrow,” one Western diplomat said of the legislation’s broad and often vague language. “Looks rough and ragged on the edges, so that it appears scary to people.”

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the Global Times about the Hong Kong Autonomy Bill. Sounds like they're worried. Besides, they can just use Mainland banks.

HK autonomy bill points gun at UK, US banking giants

By GT staff reporters Source:Global Times

Published: 2020/7/2 21:13:40

Last Updated: 2020/7/3 0:04:25

 

Obsolete imperialists using HK to prove existence: observer

Quote

China firmly opposed the US House's passage of the bill and urged the US to stop advancing the negative bill, otherwise, China will resolutely counter it, and the US should bear all the consequences, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday's routine press briefing.

"Most Chinese officials are not businessmen and their needs for financial services are very limited. So the effect of the restrictive US bill is very marginal," Mei Xinyun, an expert close to China's Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times on Thursday.

 

Instead of depositing savings in foreign financial institutions, Mei suggested those officials could open accounts in banks based in the Chinese mainland - which are more immune to US sanctions compared to their foreign counterparts.

 

"Chinese banks will probably not yield to US bullying as they could complete fundraising in the Chinese mainland," Mei explained.

 

Foreign banks and financial institutions will not be scared away, by the bill, from doing businesses in Hong Kong or the Chinese mainland, as what they really care about is profit rather than politics, Shen Yi said.

 

Hong Kong's benchmark the Hang Seng Index was unshaken by the bill, showing that foreign financial institutions are confident about Hong Kong, he said.

 

. . .

 

Britain frequently used the Sino-British Joint Declaration as an excuse to interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs, but China has reiterated that the declaration does not contain any words or clauses that entrust the UK with any responsibility for Hong Kong after its return to China in 1997, and the UK has "no sovereignty, governance or supervision over Hong Kong".

 

Britain just wants to save face and indulge itself in old imperial dreams of being the suzerainty over Hong Kong although it is fully aware that it cannot change anything, Shen said.

 

Suzerainty is a situation in which a powerful region or people controls the foreign policy and international relations of a tributary vassal state while allowing the subservient nation internal autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain.

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the NY Times

In Hong Kong, a Proxy Battle Over Internet Freedom Begins

• As the city grapples with new restrictions on online speech, American tech giants are on the front line of a clash between China and the United States over the internet’s future.

With some slogans now potentially illegal, people in Hong Kong have begun demonstrating with blank sheets of paper. Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Quote

A standoff is already brewing. Many big tech companies, including Facebook, Google, Twitter, Zoom and LinkedIn, have said in the past two days that they would temporarily stop complying with requests for user data from the Hong Kong authorities. The Hong Kong government, in turn, has made it clear that the penalty for noncompliance with the law could include jail time for company employees.

 

Based on the law, the Hong Kong authorities have the remit to dictate the way people around the world talk about the city’s contested politics. A Facebook employee could potentially be arrested in Hong Kong if the company failed to hand over user data on someone based in the United States who Chinese authorities deemed a threat to national security.

 

“If Facebook refuses to give national security data, its service may be terminated in Hong Kong, and it will lose access to the Hong Kong market,” said Glacier Kwong of Keyboard Frontline, a nongovernmental organization that monitors digital rights in Hong Kong.

 

The new law could punish the company with fines, equipment seizures and arrests if it again declines takedown and data requests. It also would allow the police to potentially seize equipment from companies that host such content.

 

“We see the trend. It’s not just that they’re making more requests, it’s the growing power in the hands of the authorities to do this arbitrarily,” Mr. Mok said, adding that “some of the local smaller platforms will be worried about the legal consequences and they may comply” with government requests.

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

A security tale of two cities: differences in law between Hong Kong, Macau

• Many see new legislation in Hong Kong as much tougher than that adopted by Macau much earlier
• Casino hub enacted its law 11 years ago when the global political landscape was vastly different, and under deeper trust from Beijing

Quote

1. Who has the final say over the law? Beijing can wade in on “complicated” Hong Kong cases, but this is not so for Macau

“Beijing did not need to require the Macau leader to designate judges like in Hong Kong, as a significant proportion of them were trained on the mainland,” Au said.

2. Mainland agents have a wider reach in Hong Kong, while enforcement in Macau is localised

“China’s counterterrorism effort over the years has equipped mainland agents with the capabilities to deal with new trends of crimes that involve advanced technologies and complicated ties with foreign forces,” he said.

3. Non-violent acts could constitute secession in Hong Kong, but not in Macau.

4. Life imprisonment in Hong Kong, but up to 25 years behind bars in Macau

5. Terrorism: covered in Hong Kong’s law but not in Macau’s

Terrorism has been included as one of the four major offences in the legislation for Hong Kong, but such acts were mainly regulated in a local ordinance in Macau – not in its national security law passed in 2009.

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)