The Odyssey - Democracy in Hong Kong

[eseum]

"The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong." What does that even mean? How do we stand with them, and what can we actually do for them? Don't mean to be negative, but I don't see a way forward for us, them, and China with the current people in charge on any side. Maybe instead of standing up, everyone should just take a seat.

[Randy W]

Only the US and UK have leverage against China's actions in Hong Kong. The viability of Hong Kong as an international financial and commercial hub is as important (if not more so) to China as it is to the US.

If Hong Kong no longer has the autonomy promised in the handover in 1997, then it's time for American citizens and American companies to ready their exit plans.

Portugese citizenship was offered to the residents of Macau - that was not the case for Great Britain and Hong Kong. They were instead offered British National Overseas - BN(O) - passports which allow only 6 month stays in the UK. No path to British citizenship is currently offered to Hong Kong residents.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=574879896760621&id=355665009819

Hu Says, "It won't work!", which is all the more reason for Western interests to leave.

 

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

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

Trump says US to eliminate Hong Kong trade privileges

 

• ‘We will take action to revoke Hong Kong's preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China,’ the US president says
• Statement comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted at imminent punitive measures against Beijing

Quote

The move will affect “the full range of agreements” the US has with Hong Kong “with few exceptions”, Trump said in the Rose Garden at the White House, including its extradition treaty with the city and economic privileges enshrined in US law that differentiate it from mainland China.

“We will take action to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China,” said Trump, indicating that the State Department’s travel advisory for the city would be updated “to reflect the increased danger of surveillance and punishment by the Chinese state security apparatus”.

The US would also take steps to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials “directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy”, he said, echoing the language of legislation enacted in November that requires a punitive response from the executive branch in such circumstances.

 

 

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

[Randy W]

from the WSJ

China’s Cash Cow—How Hong Kong Bankrolls the Mainland

Here’s what’s at stake for China in the U.S. declaration that Hong Kong’s autonomy has been curtailed

 

 

Quote

When Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control in 1997, its economy was more than one-seventh the size of the mainland’s. But rapid growth on the mainland since then has shrunk Hong Kong’s relative economic importance.

And it has been the main offshore center for the yuan—a currency China hopes will grow in international importance.

However, Hong Kong remains a key financial gateway between mainland China, which maintains strict capital controls, and the wider world. For example, much of the foreign direct investment flowing into and out of China is routed through Hong Kong.

. . .

And it has been the main offshore center for the yuan—a currency China hopes will grow in international importance.

 

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

[Randy W]

From the SCMP - the next Hong Kong ?

China unveils plan to make Hainan a free trade hub like Hong Kong, Singapore as risks of US decoupling loom

• Beijing has outlined plans to turn Hainan into a ‘free trade port’ similar to Hong Kong, as China faces the risk of decoupling with the United States
• The tropical island will benefit from a low income tax rate, freedoms in trade, investment, capital flows and an easier investment environment

 

 

Quote

China has unveiled a package of special policies for Hainan, including scrapping import duties, in an effort to turn the tropical island into the mainland’s answer to Hong Kong or Singapore and dampen the risk of decoupling with the United States.

Beijing on Monday outlined its plan to make the 35,000 sq km island a “free trade port” by lowering the income tax rate for selected individuals and companies to 15 per cent, and relaxing visa requirements for tourists and business travellers.

The island province of 9.5 million people will also enjoy freedoms in terms of trade, investment, capital flows and the movement of people and data by 2035, as it moves toward becoming a hub of “strong international influence” by the middle of the century.

The project to make Hainan, which covers an area 30 times that of Hong Kong, into a regional trade, shopping and shipping centre has been “planned, arranged and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping personally”, according to the government statement.

 

 

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

[Randy W]

from the NY Times

Why China May Call the World’s Bluff on Hong Kong

The U.S. looks weak. Business is falling in line. Protests have been muted. For Beijing, the damage to the city and its own reputation from seizing greater control may be worth it.

Quote

China long depended on Hong Kong to be everything it was not. The city’s freewheeling capitalism and personal freedoms, both absent from the mainland, made it one of the world’s premier financial hubs. Together, they flourished for decades.

 

Now China is doing what was once unthinkable: imposing its will on Hong Kong in a way that could permanently damage the former British colony economically and politically. In pushing for a new national security law that many fear will curtail the city’s liberties, the Chinese Communist Party is calculating that control and stability outweigh the benefits the city has long provided.

. . .

China relies heavily on Hong Kong’s unlimited access to U.S. dollars, the world’s de facto currency. China tightly limits the amount of its currency that flows past its borders, making the Chinese renminbi less useful in making global payments and loans, striking deals or participating in international finance. About three-quarters of all renminbi payments flow through Hong Kong, according to data from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a network that facilitates global financial transactions.

American retaliation may be enough to get many businesses to leave. In a survey released on Wednesday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, more than a quarter of companies questioned said they were considering moving elsewhere.

Individuals may leave, too. The British government, which says the national security law violates the handover agreement, said it would offer a path to citizenship to nearly three million Hong Kong residents — almost half the city’s population — if China proceeded.

 

 

 

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

[Randy W]

from China Pictorial on Facebook

I guess this means no more booing

https://www.facebook.com/553929144732479/posts/2830775743714463/

Quote

Hong Kong's legislature passed the long-delayed National Anthem Bill on Thursday, which outlaws insults to China's national anthem.

The National Anthem Law will take effect on June 12, after the bill was passed in the Legislative Council by a vote of 41 to 1.

According to the bill, misuse of and acts insulting the national anthem are liable to a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000($6,450).

 

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

The US has been going through something similar in the past few years with the kneeling thing. Of course, what is going on now.

[Randy W]

Otherwise known as (my words) "2047 is NOW"

from the SCMP

Beijing to retain jurisdiction in ‘serious’ Hong Kong security law cases: senior official

• But direct control expected to be utilised in ‘very, very few’ instances, according to Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office deputy director Deng Zhonghua
• Deng also stresses that new mainland security office in city is an ‘unequivocal demand’ of the government and will ‘supervise’ enforcement of the new law

Quote

“But under very special circumstances, the central government retains the jurisdiction over some cases involving criminal acts that seriously endanger national security,” said Deng, one of the top officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs.

“[The central government’s jurisdiction over such cases] would not affect the independent judicial and final adjudication enjoyed by Hong Kong in accordance with the Basic Law,” he said.

Under the legislation, the Hong Kong government is required to set up new institutions to safeguard national security and also allow mainland agencies to operate in the city “when needed”.

 

 

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

[Randy W]

from the WaPo

Hong Kong families, fearing a reign of terror, prepare to flee the city

Quote

The exodus of talent recalls the pre-handover years, when anxiety over Beijing’s rule drove tens of thousands of people out of Hong Kong. Many eventually trickled back, having obtained second passports as insurance, when the initial period of Chinese control seemed relatively benign.

This time is different; many say they have no plans to return and see little hope for a better Hong Kong. Those preparing to leave say they are wracked with guilt about abandoning their home at a pivotal moment, yet deeply worried about their futures and those of their children if they were to stay.

 

Families spoke to The Washington Post on condition of partial or full anonymity for fear of retribution from the authorities or their employers.

 

 

 

 

 

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

[Randy W]

from the Atlantic

The Leader Who Killed Her City

Carrie Lam has been a unique failure. Yet she is merely a symptom of Hong Kong’s ills.

Quote

Pundits long speculated that Hong Kong would meet its demise if the People’s Liberation Army came out of its barracks, but that no longer seems necessary. History will perhaps judge Lam as the leader who killed her city without needing any tanks.

 

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

[Randy W]

from Xinhua

China's top legislature reviews draft law on safeguarding national security in HKSAR - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Quote

BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature reviewed a draft law on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China.

The draft law was submitted for deliberation at the 19th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) from Thursday to Saturday.

Entrusted by the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, an official with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee explained the draft law to the session Thursday.

With 66 articles, the draft law has six chapters, namely the general principles; the HKSAR's duties and institutions of safeguarding national security; crimes and penalties; jurisdiction over national security cases, application of law and procedures; institutions of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR for safeguarding national security; and supplementary provisions. Enditem

 

 

 

 

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

[Randy W]

Zheese - what could go wrong? From the SCMP

Hong Kong leader rejects call for Chinese-only security law judges

• Lam says she will compile judges list after consulting chief justice, adds excluding foreign judges ‘not realistic’
• She defends arrangements after former chief justice warns of threat to judiciary’s independence

Quote

Speaking before her weekly meeting with her Executive Council, Lam said the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, only required two judicial positions to be held by Chinese nationals – the chief justice of the Court of Final Appeal and the chief judge of the High Court.

Allowing the city’s leader to designate judges for national security proceedings would represent a heavy blow to the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, To insisted.

“They are turning the city’s judiciary into a model of ‘one court, two systems’,” he said. “So some of the cases could only be handled by certain judges anointed by the puppet of the Chinese Communist Party.”

 

 

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

[Randy W]

But you won't know what's in it until they're (Beijing) ready to tell you

from China Pictorial on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/553929144732479/posts/2875330655925638/

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Hu says - FORGET the "Autonomy" stuff. HONG KONG IS PART OF CHINA.