Set to impose an oppressive anti-sedition law in Hong Kong, Communist China has asserted its sovereignty over the once British Crown Colony returned to China July 1, 1997 after its 100-year-lease ran out. Under British rule, Hong Kong became a mighty economic engine for all of Asia, particularly the international banking community, who helped developed the economies of Asia and Southeast Asia, today some the world’s fastest growing markets. Since March 16, 2019 Hong Kong has experienced at times violent protests, with 23-year-old pro-Democracy activist Joshua Wong leading protests against Hong Kong’s Beijing-friendly government of 63-year-old administrator Carrie Lam. Under pressure from Beijing, Lam tried to install an extradition laws, sending pro-Democracy protesters to Beijing for prosecution. Under heavy protests, Lam reneged on the ex tradition law July 19.
While the United States and European Union [EU] stands idly by over the last year, 67-year-old Chinese President Xi Jinping quietly cracked down on pro-Democracy protesters, now imposing a new anti-sedition law today, harshly punishing anyone daring to defend Beijing’s once promise to Hong Kong. When Hong Kong was turned over to Beijing, China’s 93-year-old Communiist leader Jiang Zemin promised, “One country, two systems” government for Hong Kong, respecting Hong Kong’s residents wish for Western style freedoms. When the turnover to Beijing was complete July 1, 1997, Hong Kong residents didn’t trust Beijing’s promise to let Hong Kong run independently of Mainland China. Watching Lam impose today’s anti-sedition laws puts Hong Kong residents on notice that things have changed. Whatever tolerance Beijing showed in 2019, it’s different now.
Battling with China over the origin and response to the coronavirus AKA CoV-2 or Covid 19 global pandemic, 56-year-old Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said today that Hong Kong would no longer enjoy preferred trade status. Pompeo has been slammed by Beijing’s Communist Party for saying that China leaked the deadly coronvirus from the Wuhan Institute of Virology [WIV], where U.S. and EU scientists have worked together studying deadly bat-originated coronaviruses. “No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” referring to China’s new anti-sedition law,” said Pompeo Pompeo said there would be consequences to Hong Kong’s banking system, now that Beijing meddled in Hong Kong’s Western-style government. Under the new anti-sedition law, Hong Kong would lose its preferential trade status.
Trump has been juggling too many balls since last year when Beijing began to crack down on Hong Kong’s freedoms. It took courageous protesters like Joshua Wong to remind the foreign press that the Chinese Communist Party cracked down on Hong Kong’s 100-years of governance. “While the United States once hoped that free and prosperous Hong Kong would provide a model for a free and prosperous China, it is now clear that China is modeling Hong Kong after itself,” Pompeo said. Hong Kong could now see the same tariffs as Mainland China. Global reactions to Beijing’s draconic anti-sedition law came from many quarters. “Ultimately, we could see capital flight. We could see US. Businesses moving out of Hong Kong, expats leaving, and the end to Hong Kong as an international finance center as we know it,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of China Power Project at Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Wong asked global corporations doing-business-in-Hong Kong to oppose Beijing’s heavy-handed approach. “That may be a worst case picture, may not be that bad but I think we have to consider that is one possible outcome,” said Wong. “That may be a worst case picture, it may not be that bad but I think we have to consider that is one possible outcome,” said Wong. “I . . urge U.S., European and Asia’s leaders to reconsider whether Hong Kong’s special trade status can still be held since once the law’s implemented, Hong Kong will be assimilated into China’s authoritarian regime, on both the rule of law and human rights protections,” Wong tweeted. Wong’s been incarcerated before for protesting by Hong authorities. Today’s sedition law could put Wong away for many years. Xi showed restraint for last year’s pro-Democracy protests but looks to crack down in 2020.
Whether admitted to or not by the West, Hong Kong’s lost for the foreseeable future to Communist China. Whatever the promises in the past to respect “one country, two systems, Xi has cracked down on protesters like Wong, no longer tolerated with Beijing’s new anti-sedition law. “The U.S. has intensified the suppression and containment of our side since the [coronvirus] outbreak, and the Sino-U.S. strategic confrontation has entered a period of high risk,” said China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, speaking at the National People’s Congress in Beijing. China’s intolerance in Hong Kong and new confrontational stance stems from U.S. accusations that China leaked the deadly coronavirus from the WUI AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 causing 5,781,637 cases and 356,826 deaths worldwide, sending China into a new belligerent foreign policy.
