By Yang Sheng,
Wang Wenwen in Beijing and Wang Cong, Zhao Juecheng in Hong
Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act moves closer to becoming law
China warned of effective countermeasures after the US
House of Representatives approved legislation that authorizes the US government
to launch diplomatic action and economic sanctions against officials and
law-enforcement personnel from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(HKSAR).
The House on Tuesday backed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, moving it closer to becoming law.
Aside from being condemned by authorities of China, the US move was also criticized by Hong Kong lawmakers, legal professionals and scholars from the mainland and Hong Kong.
Some experts suggested that China should prepare for countermeasures if the bill
eventually becomes law, including sanctions against institutions and US
officials who act inappropriately on Hong Kong-related issues, as well as a ban
on US politicians who back the bill to traveling Hong Kong and the mainland,
and an investigation of their business interests in China.The House on Tuesday backed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, moving it closer to becoming law.
Aside from being condemned by authorities of China, the US move was also criticized by Hong Kong lawmakers, legal professionals and scholars from the mainland and Hong Kong.
Some experts suggested that China should prepare for countermeasures if the bill
US indulging violence
National People's Congress Foreign Affairs Committee strongly condemned and firmly opposed the US House of Representatives after the later passed the act, for serving its real intent of containing China and inciting troubles in Hong Kong, on the pretext of "human rights and democracy". It also slammed the lower chamber of the US Congress for paying a blind eye to the acts of criminality inflicted by radical anti-government activists and rioters, having similar characteristics of terrorist attacks.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at a press conference on Wednesday after she delivered the 2019 policy address that "We don't need other countries to tell us what human rights, democracy or freedom is. These are core values of Hong Kong that we are making efforts to safeguard."
Stanley Ng Chau-pei, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, said that passing the act shows that some US politicians want to use human rights and democracy as tools to indulge violence, encourage separatism and create hatred in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong legislator Junius Ho Kwan-yiu on Wednesday blasted the US House for passing the bill, calling the move a double standard and flagrant interference in Hong Kong affairs, and that it supports violence and is in contempt of HK laws and courts.
Tian Feilong, an associate professor at Beihang University in Beijing and a Hong Kong studies expert, said that this is not a surprise to China, and whether the act is passed or not, it has no international legal basis because it is a long-arm jurisdiction move based on US hegemony.
"What US politicians want is to keep the fire burning, and further meddle with the upcoming 2019 Hong Kong District Council elections, to support pro-US anti-government forces to gain political power in the city," he said.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Wednesday, saying, the top issue for Hong Kong right now has nothing to do with human rights or democracy, but to stop violence and restore public order and safeguard the rule of law
The US ignored the fact that the violence committed by the anti-government protesters is escalating, Gu Min-kang, director of the Chinese Association Hong Kong and Macao Studies and former deputy president of the School of Law of the City University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The move shows that the US is increasing its support for the opposition in Hong Kong in an attempt to further cause chaos in Hong Kong, Gu said.
Lawrence Ma, a barrister and chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, told the Global Times that it is just a political red herring. "No legal significance to be concerned about," he added.
Draconian measures
"Regarding the wrong decision of the US, China will surely take effective countermeasures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests," the foreign ministry said.
"The US also has interests in Hong Kong. If the bill becomes law, it would not only hurt China's interests and China-US relations, but US interests as well," the ministry warned.
Gu called on the HKSAR government to implement more draconian measures, such as banning some foreign officials and politicians who support or even create turmoils in Hong Kong from entering the city.
Tian said the Central Government of China and the HKSAR government can act jointly to ban US politicians and officials who back the bill from entering Hong Kong and the mainland, and to sanction and investigate their business interests in China.
In October, US Senators, including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, visited Hong Kong and met anti-government forces to support the lengthy turmoil which is hurting the city. Other US politicians like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Marco Rubio have frequently voiced support for the radical protests and protesters.
Tian noted that the Chinese government also needs to provide protection and assistance to HKSAR officials affected by the US bill.
(Rioters set fire at Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, south China, Oct. 4,
2019 Photo: Xinhua)
Playing 'old tricks'
"We urge the relevant US politicians to immediately stop advancing the bill and stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs," and "playing the 'Hong Kong card' will not succeed as it only means lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own feet," said the Commissioner's Office of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong on its website on Wednesday.
"What makes you [US lawmakers] think you are qualified to lecture a region that ranked higher than the US, whether on the level of freedom or the rule of law? US police shot and killed about 1,000 people in 2017, but you never questioned this, and now, you dare criticize and accuse the Hong Kong Police Force's restrained law-enforcement," said the statement released on the office website, adding "if this is not double standard, then what is it?"
Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, solicitor of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, told the Global Times that the US is unqualified to interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs, and it is playing an old trick to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, with excuses like "democracy," "human rights" and "freedom."
The political elites of the US have reached a consensus to contain China and interfere in China's internal affairs, so the US Senate will likely pass the act as well, and the US President will sign it, Wong noted.
Ma suggested that if the act becomes law, people affected by it could challenge the act's validity and constitutionality in a US court.
Xu Keyue contributed to this story
Related articles:
BRICS,
China/Ted Cruz’s pernicious agenda in Hong Kong
2019/10/14 15:58:39, Global Times (China) http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1166810.shtml
US Republican Senator Ted Cruz arrived in Hong Kong on
Saturday to rally support for radical demonstrations that were losing steam. He
dressed in black to mark "his solidarity with Hong Kong protesters."
It is well known that the black shirt is increasingly associated with violence
in Hong Kong, because almost all rioters are masked and dressed in black. For
many, a person in black became synonymous with a thug.
Cruz said he supported non-violence, but that was only a cover for his public support for violent demonstrations in Hong Kong. He came to Hong Kong with the intent to disrupt rational thinking in the city and fuel the fire.
Look at the people who Cruz is most interested in Hong Kong. They are Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Anson Chan Fang On-sang and radical opposition figures whose names the Senator refused to disclose. It is not difficult to imagine how Cruz will encourage those people to continue to confront.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam called off the meeting with Cruz who immediately accused the chief executive of "weakness." Cruz's arrogance and conceit has breached diplomatic protocol that politicians deserve. There may be different levels of reception given to a visitor. The world does not grant US senators the privilege of meeting at the highest level. Cruz takes himself too seriously.
While Cruz was glorifying violence in Hong Kong, rioters vandalized property and attacked police in several parts of the city on Sunday. A police officer was attacked by a thug who slashed his neck from behind. Cruz, who was in Hong Kong, was not heard condemning the rioters' action. Instead, he falsely accused the Hong Kong police of repression.
Cruz became one of the most prominent disruptive elements of Sunday's events in Hong Kong, giving a reason to some radical protesters to delude themselves amid flagging demonstrations. Cruz is definitely in the same league as Hong Kong's violent demonstrators.
Cruz has created a political label for himself: anti-Chinese, anti-Communist and pro-Taiwan. With this visit to Hong Kong he wants to make political capital in the US and show himself to be more like a flag-bearer anti-China politician.
This is a blatant intervention in Hong Kong affairs, but Cruz has been an active voice among American politicians who accused China of "infiltration" and "trying to undermine US democracy." Hypocrisy has been programmed in this man. People like him even have the audacity to take the moral high ground.
Cruz came to Hong Kong with the sole purpose of destabilizing Hong Kong and making political capital out of it in the US. We think that if the US passes the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, people like Cruz should be blacklisted from visiting Hong Kong in the future and subjected to more sanctions. Their relatives should also be restricted in response to American moves.
Hongkongers who love the country should not be afraid of the US' anti-China forces. They may make some trouble, but they can't lead the way in the city. With the firm support of the central government, as long as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the forces that love the motherland and Hong Kong act more resolutely, we will be able to keep accumulating achievements in stopping violence and curbing chaos. No matter how hard some American politicians try, they will eventually be pushed to the edge in Hong Kong.
Cruz said he supported non-violence, but that was only a cover for his public support for violent demonstrations in Hong Kong. He came to Hong Kong with the intent to disrupt rational thinking in the city and fuel the fire.
Look at the people who Cruz is most interested in Hong Kong. They are Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Anson Chan Fang On-sang and radical opposition figures whose names the Senator refused to disclose. It is not difficult to imagine how Cruz will encourage those people to continue to confront.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam called off the meeting with Cruz who immediately accused the chief executive of "weakness." Cruz's arrogance and conceit has breached diplomatic protocol that politicians deserve. There may be different levels of reception given to a visitor. The world does not grant US senators the privilege of meeting at the highest level. Cruz takes himself too seriously.
While Cruz was glorifying violence in Hong Kong, rioters vandalized property and attacked police in several parts of the city on Sunday. A police officer was attacked by a thug who slashed his neck from behind. Cruz, who was in Hong Kong, was not heard condemning the rioters' action. Instead, he falsely accused the Hong Kong police of repression.
Cruz became one of the most prominent disruptive elements of Sunday's events in Hong Kong, giving a reason to some radical protesters to delude themselves amid flagging demonstrations. Cruz is definitely in the same league as Hong Kong's violent demonstrators.
Cruz has created a political label for himself: anti-Chinese, anti-Communist and pro-Taiwan. With this visit to Hong Kong he wants to make political capital in the US and show himself to be more like a flag-bearer anti-China politician.
This is a blatant intervention in Hong Kong affairs, but Cruz has been an active voice among American politicians who accused China of "infiltration" and "trying to undermine US democracy." Hypocrisy has been programmed in this man. People like him even have the audacity to take the moral high ground.
Cruz came to Hong Kong with the sole purpose of destabilizing Hong Kong and making political capital out of it in the US. We think that if the US passes the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, people like Cruz should be blacklisted from visiting Hong Kong in the future and subjected to more sanctions. Their relatives should also be restricted in response to American moves.
Hongkongers who love the country should not be afraid of the US' anti-China forces. They may make some trouble, but they can't lead the way in the city. With the firm support of the central government, as long as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the forces that love the motherland and Hong Kong act more resolutely, we will be able to keep accumulating achievements in stopping violence and curbing chaos. No matter how hard some American politicians try, they will eventually be pushed to the edge in Hong Kong.
Related articles
Hong Kong's future lies in being part of China
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário