Live from Hong Kong
China has approved a shocking new security law for Hong Kong which is expected to be approved by their puppet government in Hong Kong this week.
The BBC reported earlier this week that a law was being proposed by the China government covering actions in Hong Kong. The law was to include the following:
So the details are thin but we know this much. A law would make criminal any act of:
- secession – breaking away from the country
- subversion – undermining the power or authority of the central government
- terrorism – using violence or intimidation against people
- activities by foreign forces that interfere in Hong Kong
One part that has got people worried is the suggestion that China could set up its own institutions in Hong Kong responsible for security.
…Many are also afraid Hong Kong’s judicial system will become like China’s.
“Almost all trials involving national security are conducted behind closed doors. It [is] never clear what exactly the allegations and the evidence are, and the term national security is so vague that it could cover almost anything,” Professor Johannes Chan, a legal scholar at the University of Hong Kong, says.
Finally, people worry that a threat to Hong Kong’s liberties could affect its attractiveness as a business and economic powerhouse.
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, shared that the new law could be significant in US trade with Hong Kong – causing severe economic damage on the already challenged economy in Hong Kong:
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said developments in Hong Kong meant it could no longer be considered to have “a high degree of autonomy” from mainland China.
That meant that Hong Kong no longer merited being treated differently from the mainland under US law.
The declaration could have major implications for Hong Kong’s trade hub status and is likely to anger Beijing.
China has killed their golden goose
Having lived in Hong Kong these past nine years I know what a beautiful city, country it is. For years Hong Kong was rated near the top in the world, if not at the top:
- In the Freedom Index as the world’s most free nation
- As the world’s global financial center (competing with New York, London and Singapore)
- As the top tax regime in the world with taxes maxing out at 17% for individuals and companies
- With public health care that is free and available (with a budget surplus year after year)
The city is modern and first class:
(photo taken from the Peak)
The people in Hong Kong are gentle, kind and hard working. But the people never forgot the day China signed their agreement with the UK allowing the small country to move under the Chinese regime. Each year there are massive peaceful protests on the anniversary of this day where millions participate.
Hong Kong was the hub that connected China to the West. It was free and prosperous. Thousands of Chinese would come visit Hong Kong every day. They would go shopping and buy things they could take back to China and sell and pay for their trips. They would purchase investments and insurance policies as a means to get their money out of China. They would go to Hong Kong’s neighbor, Macau, and gamble, also with an opportunity to get money out of China.
But over the past few years, you could feel something different. The stores were not as busy. The pulse of Hong Kong had slowed. This was due to China’s slowing economy. You could feel it.
Then came the protests which further damaged the Hong Kong economy and its relationship with the mainland. Finally, came the China coronavirus, where Hong Kong literally shut down for months.
Hong Kong has the highest priced real estate in the world but this no doubt will soon change. Supply and demand, something the regime in China may not fully understand but certainly does not care about.