The Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong on July 14, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Since the new US administration took office, it has not changed the hegemonic behavior of its predecessor on issues related to Hong Kong, having launched at least 13 smear attacks against China on those issues and raved about “standing with Hong Kong people” many times.
The US side has also churned out fallacies about the proper measures taken to boost the long-term stability of Hong Kong, including China’s implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong and measures to improve Hong Kong’s electoral system. Washington has also ganged up with some Western forces to launch a propaganda campaign against China, and even imposed so-called “sanctions” against Chinese officials.
The unprovoked attacks on China by the new US administration on issues related to Hong Kong are listed below in a bid to restore truths through an account of facts.
PART 1
After China’s National People’s Congress adopted a decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on March 11, the US State Department issued a statement to attack and discredit China’s decision. The US side also issued a statement with other Group of Seven members to defame China. On March 17, the US State Department announced so-called “sanctions” against 24 Chinese officials, including 14 vice chairmen of the NPC Standing Committee, on the eve of a high-level strategic dialogue between China and the United States in the US state of Alaska.
After the NPC adopted the decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR, a spokesperson for the US State Department claimed that the decision attacked Hong Kong’s democratic process. However, it is purely China’s internal affair to design and improve Hong Kong’s electoral system, and no foreign force is entitled to interfere.
In fact, the United States has its own strict laws against foreign interference in elections, and the US House of Representatives had passed a bill to improve the US electoral system. Why can the US itself amend its own electoral laws any time it deems necessary but go all out to denigrate China’s improvement of such laws for one of its special administrative regions?
China’s measures to maintain the long-term stability of Hong Kong have also won broad international support. During the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, 70 countries issued a joint statement urging relevant parties to stop interfering in issues related to Hong Kong and in China’s internal affairs. In addition, another 20-plus countries voiced support for China’s position and measures on issues related to Hong Kong in their respective remarks at the HRC.
After the announcement of the so-called “sanctions” by the US in 2020, anti-China and destabilizing forces rejoiced, claiming that those sanctions were “significant indicators” and “champagne corks will be opened tonight for celebration.” The truth of the claim that “the United States stands with Hong Kong people” is that the US side will always stand with those who create disturbances and undermine Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.
PART 2
On March 30, the amended Annex I and Annex II to the HKSAR Basic Law were passed at the 27th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC, with a unanimous vote from all committee members in attendance. On March 31, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken certified to US Congress that Hong Kong remains undeserving of “special treatment” under US law. On April 1, US Consul General in Hong Kong Hanscom Smith raved that Hong Kong elections would not produce “meaningful democratic results.”
The designing and improvement of the electoral system of the HKSAR is China’s internal affair. The amendments enjoy sufficient legal basis and fully embody the spirit of the rule of law in governing the country and Hong Kong by law. The newly amended Annexes I and II of the HKSAR Basic Law are systematic amendments to the method for selecting the HKSAR chief executive and the method for forming the HKSAR Legislative Council, respectively.
By focusing on reconstituting the Election Committee and increasing empowerment, the amendments represent an overall planning and design for Hong Kong’s electoral system, which have not only fixed the loopholes and defects of the original system in a timely manner, but also effectively enhanced the broad representation and balanced participation of the electoral system. They have optimized and developed Hong Kong’s democratic system, and have by no means “weakened democracy.”
It is of great significance to improve the electoral system of the HKSAR. By making institutional arrangement at the constitutional level, it combines adherence to the principle of “one country” with respect for the differences between “two systems”, and also combines the upholding of the central government’s overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong with a guarantee of a high degree of autonomy.
It has fully implemented the fundamental principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong,” thus ensuring Hong Kong’s long-term stability and prosperity, safeguarding the steady and sustained implementation of the principle of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong, and giving Hong Kong people a promising future.
In any country in the world, loyalty to one’s homeland is a basic political ethic that must be observed by civil servants and those who run for public office. In Britain, the electoral system of each region is decided by the central government of Britain. For example, with the highest degree of autonomy, Scotland’s electoral system was set by the Scotland Act passed by the British Parliament in 1998 and amended in 2012.
Smith denied the significance of improving Hong Kong’s electoral system, because under the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong,” US agents in Hong Kong, namely anti-China and destabilizing forces, will be completely excluded from the governance structure of the HKSAR. This is a huge defeat for those anti-China forces in the US and the West.
PART 3
On April 16, anti-China Hong Kong disruptors, including Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and Martin Lee Chu-ming, were sentenced by a Hong Kong court according to law.
Later, Blinken tweeted that the sentences “are unacceptable,” and called for the release of those disruptors. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also tweeted that she was “saddened and disturbed” by the sentences, and smeared the sentences as “another sign of Beijing’s assault on the rule of law.”
Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law. The evidence for the illegal activities of those anti-China Hong Kong disruptors is rock solid, and no external force has the right to butt in.
The West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts announced on April 16 to sentence Jimmy Lai to 14 months in prison for organizing and participating in illegal assemblies on Aug 18, 2019, in Hong Kong Island, and for participating in an unauthorized assembly on Aug 31, 2019.
Facts showed that such perpetrators as Lai and Lee have colluded with Western anti-China forces for a long time. It was also made public that Lai has built shady connections with the US National Endowment for Democracy, a US government-sponsored entity.
During the illegal “Occupy Central” movement in 2014 and the chaos over the amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance in 2019, the local Apple Daily newspaper, controlled by Lai, served as a propaganda tool for the anti-China and destabilizing forces.
Even after the implementation of the national security law, the perpetrators still kept “fighting for the United States” under the disguise of media workers. Their repeated breaking of the bottom line has made them a common enemy of Hong Kong society.
The sentences of those who organized and took part in unauthorized and illegal assemblies are based on sufficient factual evidence, with the procedure totally legal and the verdict made public according to law.
PART 4
On May 7, Blinken wrote on Twitter that the country “stands with the people of Hong Kong”, while asking the Hong Kong government to immediately release multiple instigators of riots in the city, including Joshua Wong.
On May 6, four instigators of the Hong Kong riots, including Wong, were sentenced to four to 10 months in prison by the District Court of the HKSAR, for knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly. The facts of the cases are well-founded, and Wong and the others are guilty as charged. The ridiculous demand for the immediate release of the defendants does not respect the rule of law, revealing Washington’s attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs.
David Gosset, a French expert on international issues and founder of the Europe-China Forum, described certain Western politicians as hypocrites who turned a blind eye to the violence in Hong Kong. He stressed that the violent and extremist acts in the city, which damaged its people’s rights, should be condemned. John Ross, former director of Economic and Business Policy of London, said that he thinks it is a typical example of hypocrisy that certain US politicians play the human rights card only when it comes to Hong Kong affairs.
PART 5
On May 27, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR voted overwhelmingly to pass the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021. On May 28, Blinken made rash criticism of the bill, calling for the release of all those charged under the national security law in Hong Kong, and dismissal of charges against them.
Under the improved electoral system in Hong Kong, the composition of the Election Committee and the Legislative Council is more broadly representative, which reflects the interests of all sectors of Hong Kong society in a comprehensive and balanced manner, safeguards the executive-led political system, ensures that the Legislative Council performs its duties in accordance with the law, and enhances the effectiveness of the HKSAR’s governance.
It is also conducive to pushing forward joint social efforts to solve deep-seated problems and promoting people’s livelihood and economic development.
Before and after the adoption of the NPC’s decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR, the central government collected opinions from people from all walks of life in Hong Kong in various ways.
More than 2.38 million signatures were collected in Hong Kong in support of improving the electoral system of the HKSAR during an 11-day campaign starting from March 11.
On March 5, Belarus delivered a joint speech on behalf of over 70 countries at the 46th session of the UNHRC, emphasizing that Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs and should not be interfered by external forces.
The US has many electoral laws. In the past two years alone, members of the US Congress have introduced more than 40 bills to improve the US electoral system.
Judging from its call for releasing all those charged and dropping charges against them under the national security law in Hong Kong, the US position is very clear: Washington stands “firmly” in opposition to the national security law in Hong Kong, which has guaranteed the transition from chaos to order in Hong Kong and effectively restored the sense of security of Hong Kong citizens.
PART 6
On June 3, Blinken issued a statement on the website of US Department of State, claiming that the US will “stand with the people of China as they demand that their government respect universal human rights.” On the following day, he tweeted a call for “the immediate release” of some people in Hong Kong that were arrested.
During the disturbance in Hong Kong following the proposed ordinance amendments in 2019, anti-China extremist and secessionist groups supported by the US did not pursue human rights, but trampled on human rights in an attempt to seize the jurisdiction in Hong Kong and subvert the state power.
From June 2019 to mid-March 2020, there were more than 1,400 demonstrations and public gatherings in Hong Kong, many of which eventually turned into serious violent incidents, such as throwing petrol bombs, vandalism, and burning shops. Rioters attacked police stations and officers, besieged innocent citizens, doxxed people who expressed opinions different from theirs, destroyed subways and public facilities, paralyzed airports, blocked traffic and “occupied” university campuses, posing a long-term grave threat to public safety and order in Hong Kong.
Luo Changqing, a 70-year-old cleaner in Hong Kong, was hit by rioters and died of serious wounds. A Hong Kong resident surnamed Lee was poured with flammable liquid and set ablaze, following an argument with rioters who were trashing public facilities. He suffered from burns on almost half of his body, and was once in a critical condition.
Chan Tze-chin, a Hong Kong lawyer, was surrounded and viciously beaten up by rioters after he berated them for trashing shops in a busy shopping area in Causeway Bay, and suffered multiple physical injuries. More than half of the stores of Best Mart 360, the Hong Kong-based snack chain, were vandalized in the social unrest.
Yonden Lhatoo, chief news editor at the South China Morning Post, wrote in an article in 2020: “So when Americans take to the streets in an eruption of rage against systemic racism that has afflicted their country since its founding, they are ‘rioters’ who deserve to be shot dead? But when radicals in Hong Kong go on the rampage, hurling petrol bombs, destroying public property ... they are mighty champions of freedom?”
Since the national security law in Hong Kong came into effect more than a year ago, human rights and freedoms of the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong residents have suffered “zero damage.” If the US really wants to “stand with” the Chinese people who “pursue” human rights, it should side with the overwhelming majority, not the other way around.
PART 7
In June, Smith, the US Consul General in Hong Kong, said in an interview that the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong had created an “atmosphere of coercion” that threatens both the city’s freedoms and its standing as an international business hub.
The disturbance in Hong Kong following the proposed ordinance amendments in June 2019 dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong’s economy and people’s livelihood. In 2019, Hong Kong’s economy posted the first negative growth in 10 years.
Since the national security law in Hong Kong took effect by the end of June 2020, the society has returned to the right track and residents have lived in peace, opening up a new situation in Hong Kong where order replaces chaos.
According to the World Investment Report 2021 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Hong Kong remained the world’s third largest destination for foreign direct investment in 2020.
The national security law in Hong Kong only targets four types of offenses, namely, secession, subversion, terrorist activities and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. It is designed to deter and punish a handful of criminals seriously jeopardizing national security, and to protect the overwhelming majority of law-abiding Hong Kong people.
All efforts and law enforcement relating to safeguarding national security will be conducted in strict accordance with legal provisions, mandates and procedures. The legislation will not affect the rights and freedoms, including those of speech, of the press, of publication and of assembly that Hong Kong residents enjoy under the law. It will enable them to better exercise their lawful rights and freedoms in a secure environment.
Washington, while chanting the slogan of “stand with Hong Kong people”, has in fact engaged in actions against the national security law in Hong Kong and imposing the so-called “sanctions.” Such self-contradictory behavior exposed its hypocrisy and despicableness.
PART 8
On June 25, the White House put out on its website a statement regarding the closing down of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, in which it falsely accused China of suppressing press freedom.
Apple Daily had long been engaged in concocting fake news to mislead the public. During the turbulence over proposed ordinance amendments in Hong Kong in 2019, the newspaper produced a flurry of fake news and peddled wrong values to perplex the public, disseminate “anti-police” and “anti-China” remarks, and instigate “Black Violence.” (The Apple Daily management’s own decision to stop publication soon after police arrest of its several personnel and seizure of limited properties remains to be clarified.)
Hong Kong is a society governed by rule of law and everyone is equal before the law. No one has extra-legal privileges, and no institution is an extra-legal entity.
It is the US which has brutally suppressed the media and restricted press freedom. Analyses by The Guardian and Netherlands-based investigative journalism website Bellingcat showed from May 26, 2020, to June 2, 2020, alone, there were 148 arrests or attacks on journalists covering protests ignited by the killing of George Floyd, among which 34 instances involved officers physically assaulting journalists, and 33 instances involved journalists being arrested or detained. In 2021, the US government forcibly shut down more than 30 foreign news media websites.
German writer Michael Lueders has revealed in his new book The Hypocritical Superpower, that the US government and its interest groups are apt at influencing and shaping public opinion by selecting information and polarizing public views, so that people are brainwashed without any realization. Washington’s repeated provocations in this respect reveal that it is in fact a mastermind of troubles and a public opinion manipulator.
In fact, the press freedom in Hong Kong has not been damaged, but consolidated. At present, there are 93 local, 69 overseas and 39 online media organizations registered with the government, respectively, showing increases from a year ago. The press and the general public exercise the right of supervision every day and enjoy the freedom to criticize the administration of the HKSAR government. There is no obstruction for overseas media to interview people with different positions.
PART 9
On July 7, the White House announced the extension of the so-called “national emergency with respect to Hong Kong” and of relevant Hong Kong-related sanctions for one year, and continued with the cancellation of preferential treatment for Hong Kong.
The so-called “national emergency with respect to Hong Kong,” a measure announced by former US President Donald Trump’s administration on July 14, 2020, is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs. The extension of the so-called “national emergency” also marked the first time that Joe Biden, since taking office as US president, continued with Trump’s thinking on Hong Kong from the perspective of policy implementation, and once again publicly intervened in Hong Kong affairs, which are China’s internal affairs. Such an act seriously undermined China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.
Sanctions on Hong Kong, however, will surely backfire and bite the US. Official data released by China last year showed that there were around 85,000 US citizens and more than 1,300 US enterprises in Hong Kong, including almost all of America’s major financial firms. Over the years, the US has gained a huge trade surplus from its trade with Hong Kong, and its interests in Hong Kong have been deep and direct. Sanctions will bring “complexities” to US enterprises in Hong Kong, subjecting their normal operations to political risks.
In 2020, there was wide condemnation around the world against the so-called “sanctions” imposed on Hong Kong by countries such as the US. “Standing with Hong Kong” on one hand and sanctioning it on the other is the absurd logic of US politicians and a logic that no one, including Hong Kong people, can understand.
PART 10
On July 10, the US Department of State posted on its website a statement issued by 21 members of the so-called “Media Freedom Coalition”, expressing “strong concerns” about the judicial organs of the HKSAR handling the case of Apple Daily according to law, and falsely claiming that “the use of the National Security Law to suppress journalism is a serious and negative step.”
Constitutions of over 100 countries in the world stipulate that the exercise of basic rights and freedoms must not endanger national security. The US, Britain, Canada, Australia and other countries have also established strict legal systems to safeguard national security, and have no mercy in cracking down on criminal acts endangering national security.
Apple Daily is also a mirror, which not only reflects the end of the anti-China and destabilizing Hong Kong forces, but also reflects the “double standards” of the US side in dealing with the Hong Kong issue.
PART 11
On July 16, as a bid to smear Hong Kong’s business environment, the US government issued a so-called “business advisory” to caution US businesses about “emerging risks” to their operations and activities in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Washington imposed sanctions on seven officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR.
Experts and scholars believe that the so-called “business advisory” from the US government will not affect corporate decisions — while the US regularly issues similar warnings, businesses make their own judgments. The enterprises did not withdraw from Hong Kong even when black-clad rioters were running wild in the city, and they are less likely to do so now as Hong Kong’s social order has been restored and the city’s development has been back on track under the protection of the national security law.
The stepped-up sanctions by the US have already backfired and bitten the country itself. US trade surplus with Hong Kong totaled US$297 billion from 2009 to 2018. When the sanctions were imposed, US trade and finance were the first to take a hit.
When even the American people are unwilling to stand with their government, the lie of the US politicians that they “stand with the people of Hong Kong” falls apart.
CONCLUSION
US politicians have been constantly claiming to defend Hong Kong’s human rights and freedom and “stand with the people of Hong Kong.” But actions speak louder than words. All their slogans have proved to be nothing but lies.
All Chinese people including people in Hong Kong have already clearly seen that what these politicians are defending is not the Hong Kong people’s human rights and freedom, but the “freedom” of a handful of rioters to disrupt Hong Kong’s stability and endanger China’s national security, and the “freedom” of these politicians to continue interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs and containing China.
Under the pretext of democracy and human rights, these politicians have been offering real endorsements for the rioters, which fully expose the double standards of these US politicians. They have enacted the world’s most thorough national security law at home, but nevertheless tried to smear China’s parallel efforts to plug the security hole in Hong Kong.
In the name of “press freedom,” they are interfering with and undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong. By making waves on Hong Kong issues, the US side has revealed itself as the “black hand” in stirring up opposition and controlling public opinion. The so-called “press freedom” is nothing but a fig leaf for their self-interests.
They twisted facts, deliberately smeared the rule of law in Hong Kong and grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs. When peace and stability were finally restored in Hong Kong, and the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong citizens were better protected in a secure environment, the US leveled accusations and attacked Hong Kong’s efforts to improve its electoral system, and continued to demonize the national security law in Hong Kong, which fully exposes Washington’s hegemonic nature.
While habitually bullying others and wielding the big stick of sanctions, those US politicians have in fact exhausted their tactics. For them, only a chaotic Hong Kong serves their interests. The more stable Hong Kong is, the more anxious they will be. And now, their “agents” have been arrested. Their plans for disturbing the city have failed. No matter how much pressure or how many rounds of sanctions the US can impose, they will be nothing but waste paper.
All in all, some US politicians’ concern about Hong Kong’s democracy is a sham. Their true intention is to meddle in Hong Kong’s politics and China’s internal affairs. Their real purpose is to use Hong Kong as a tool to realize their political interests and contain China’s development. The so-called “standing with the Hong Kong people” is nothing but a cover to deceive the world and reflects the hypocrisy of US politicians. What they are doing is to make enemies of the Hong Kong people. Those politicians are advised to stop repeating these cliches.
With the implementation of a series of effective measures, including the national security law, Hong Kong’s social order has been restored, its development has returned to the right track, and the city has opened a new chapter with good governance. Hong Kong is getting more stable and prosperous with a better implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle. This is the strongest response to those US politicians who slander Beijing’s Hong Kong policy.
