Opinion | China’s national security law: why are the elite assigned to defend Hong Kong not speaking out?

Name: Hong Kong police fire pepper spray as hundreds gather to mark first anniversary of historic march
Uploaded: 2020-06-13T22:30:09.000Z
Duration: 1 min 36 s
Description: Hong Kong police fire pepper spray as hundreds gather to mark first anniversary of historic march

We are told Beijing must act because Hong Kong failed to fulfil its duty under Article 23 to enact such laws ‘on its own’. But why was an opportunity for reform squandered in 2003?

Local officials tasked with guarding the city have either gone silent or joined the chorus of voices in support of the new legislation

Reading Time:3 minutes

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Demonstrators hold up their phones during a procession in Central on June 9 to mark the first anniversary of the protests against the Hong Kong government. Photo: Dickson Lee

Michael C. Davis

Published: 6:30am, 14 Jun 2020Updated: 6:40am, 14 Jun 2020

I cry for Hong Kong. At a time when citizens worldwide are marching against racism, people are protesting because they recognise America is not alone in its racial disparities. They see that the problems of injustice in all its forms are widespread. For this reason, the wider world may also cry for Hong Kong.

One year ago, a million protesters took to the streets in Hong Kong’s cry for justice, for its “high degree of autonomy” to be protected. A week later, 2 million joined their cause, and yet officials did not hear their cry.

For months, our young people marched against official failings. Like those in America today, they railed against police abuse. Why, in this diverse, multicultural economic hub on China’s shore, would such injustice be allowed to prevail? Isn’t too much at stake?

To answer this, consider what “one country, two systems” at a minimum must mean and why China and Britain signed this agreement. The “two systems” are necessary because Beijing was, and still is, a threat to the rule of law and human rights in Hong Kong.

In their wisdom, Chinese leaders recognised the mainland system of rule by law was no match for the rule-of-law-based open society of Hong Kong. They made a commitment to protect Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, the rule of law and local self-rule.

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Hong Kong police fire pepper spray as hundreds gather to mark first anniversary of historic march

The Hong Kong government was to “be responsible for the maintenance of public order in the region”, the military stationed in Hong Kong for defence was to “not interfere in local affairs” and “abide” by local laws. Hong Kong “on its own” was to enact laws related to national security.

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