Why Beijing’s best option is to wait for Hong Kong to appeal mask ban
- Beijing’s ill-timed rebuke of the High Court ruling raised fears about Hong Kong’s judicial independence
- But any intervention would carry huge political risks for Beijing, given Taiwan’s upcoming election and US trade talks
While Chinese officials have not explicitly indicated that the central government would take further action, the swift manner in which the statements were released and the forceful language used in them suggest Beijing is very likely to ensure the ruling is overturned.
On Friday evening, the High Court suspended for seven days the ruling that the government’s face mask ban was unconstitutional.
Beijing has largely refrained from taking a direct approach on the anti-government protests until now, instead vowing to fully support the Hong Kong government to end the violence and restore order.
The local government’s decision last month to invoke the colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance to pass the ban on protesters wearing masks may prove to be ineffective, but Beijing feels compelled to respond to the lower court’s ruling.
The judges ruled that some elements of the ordinance were not in line with the Basic Law and did not rule on the whole ordinance, but if it is not challenged, the ruling would make it difficult for the Hong Kong government to invoke it again as part of measures to combat violence and restore order.
Pro-government supporters have been urging the Hong Kong authorities to invoke the ordinance to give police more power to search and detain suspects, shut down protesters’ communication platforms and set up a special court to accelerate the handling of cases related to violent incidents, among other measures.
Beijing’s angry reaction to mask ban decision prompts fears it will overturn ruling
On the mainland, the state media has ramped up its rhetoric over the past few weeks to urge the Hong Kong government to take a more hardline approach to end the violence.
The state media commentaries have also been increasingly vocal about the perceived leniency shown by the Hong Kong courts to protesters, highlighting the fact that as soon as they are arrested, these lawbreakers are released on bail and could go right back onto the streets. This serves as little deterrent, they say.
Any aggressive move by Beijing would come with huge political risks
Other commentators have lamented the fact that many of the High Court and Court of Final Appeal judges are foreign passport holders, questioning where their allegiances lie.
It is against this background that Beijing is compelled to show it has the ultimate power to settle the disputes involving the Basic Law, as Article 158 of the law grants Beijing the power to do so. It also believed that the ruling, if not overturned, would further embolden the radical protesters.
But any aggressive move by Beijing would come with huge political risks. Its previous interpretations of the Basic Law have already raised concerns that it tried to curtail the city’s judicial freedom guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” status.
In the current politically charged atmosphere, if Beijing decides to interpret the law it would certainly be played up as another move that would weaken not only Hong Kong’s judicial independence, but also international confidence in the city as a financial hub.
Court postpones decision on ruling which deemed anti-mask law unconstitutional
Under such circumstances, the best option for Beijing is to wait for the Hong Kong government to appeal the lower court’s decision at the Court of Final Appeal, where judges can reinstate the face mask ban or make a decision on whether it should be referred to the NPCSC for an interpretation of the Basic Law – a process laid out in the city’s mini-constitution.
This looks increasingly to be the case, but that also makes Beijing’s strong rebuke on Tuesday ill-timed, to say the least. ■
Wang Xiangwei is the former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post. He is now based in Beijing as editorial adviser to the paper
