The United States and the United Kingdom are concerned about Article 23 legislation accelerating the closure of Hong Kong, China criticizes the West for smear campaign

After the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed Article 23 of the Basic Law, the U.S. State Department stated that it would accelerate the closure of Hong Kong. The British Foreign Secretary issued a statement pointing out that the hasty passage of the legislative process will have a profound impact on Hong Kong's rule of law and high degree of autonomy. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said: "This is a setback in the protection of human rights in Hong Kong." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs countered with three "firm determinations", saying that Western smear campaigns will not succeed.

Hong Kong Journalists Association issues "23" legislative opinions: national security criminalization is vague and wide-ranging

U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said at a regular press conference on Tuesday: "We believe these actions may accelerate the closure of Hong Kong's once open society. We are shocked by the broad coverage and vague definition of the 23 legislative provisions." He said , the 23 pieces of legislation were quickly passed by the "undemocratically elected Legislative Council" after shortening the public consultation period.

"Many of the enumerated crimes are poorly defined and extremely vague. They use extremely vague terms such as 'external interference.' We are analyzing this legislation and looking at the impact on U.S. citizens and other U.S. interests." There may be potential risks," Bartel said.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron issued a statement stating that the hasty passage of Hong Kong legislation will have a profound impact on Hong Kong's rule of law, institutional independence, and high degree of autonomy. He is concerned that the broad definitions of national security and overseas interference, as well as the lack of certainty for international organizations including diplomatic missions in Hong Kong, will exacerbate the culture of self-censorship in Hong Kong society.

He urged the Hong Kong government to respect the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law, maintain a high degree of autonomy and the rule of law, and act in accordance with its international commitments and legal obligations.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Tuesday that "the passage of important legislation that has a significant impact on human rights without thorough deliberation and meaningful consultation is a setback for the protection of human rights in Hong Kong."

However, Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Chen Guoji asked, Western countries have regulations to protect national security, but Hong Kong cannot? He declared that the crimes targeted by the National Security Law and Article 23 of the Basic Law are different, and emphasized that it is very important that the National Security Law and the Basic Law complement and cooperate with each other and become a legal system to ensure national security.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian pointed out at a regular press conference on Wednesday that the Chinese government is unswervingly determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, implement the "one country, two systems" policy, and oppose interference from external forces. Any attack or smear on national security regulations will never succeed.

Wu Ruiren: China governs Hong Kong with safety and control first

Wu Ruiren, an associate researcher at the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, who once won the Hong Kong Journalists Association's "Human Rights Journalism Award" for his commentary, analyzed that "Xi Jinping's attitude towards Hong Kong is to put security first and control first."

He said that from the outside, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hopes to reconcile with the United States and Western countries and is trying to attract foreign investment back to China. But on the other hand, we are worried about internal unrest. Recently, social conflicts in China have intensified. There are no channels to express public grievances, and various forms of riots are emerging in endlessly.

“The ruler of Beijing has many goals that he wants to achieve at the same time. However, if these different goals conflict with each other, he prefers to tightly control the Chinese empire under his rule. When he cannot have his cake and eat it too, he prioritizes Choose safety and control over reconciliation," Wu Ruiren said.

Poon Ka-wai: Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” has completely changed

Pan Jiawei, a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo who has been engaged in human rights work for many years, told this station that many parts of the Article 23 legislation are vaguely defined, giving law enforcers a lot of power. He believes that the current legal situation in Hong Kong is the same as in mainland China. The same vague definition makes it easy for law enforcement officials to abuse bad laws to suppress dissent.

"For example, what is meant by 'collusion with foreign forces' and 'state secrets'? What kind of behavior constitutes 'subversion'? It is entirely up to those in power and law enforcers to decide. This is completely the consistent practice of totalitarian governments to stifle civil society. Hong Kong has gone one step further It has become continental, and 'one country, two systems' has completely changed."

After the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed Article 23 of the Basic Law, international media reported extensively. The BBC headlined that Hong Kong passed Article 23 of the draconian Basic Law, which has been opposed for many years; CNN reported that Hong Kong passed the second national security law, expanding the power of crackdowns, and even more China is approaching; the New York Times said that Hong Kong's security law may harm Hong Kong's status as a financial center; France's "Le Monde" described that Hong Kong hastily passed a new set of security laws targeting political crimes; Al Jazeera also reported that the Hong Kong Legislative Council With the passage of Section 23 of the tough new national security law, rights groups and foreign governments fear the law will silence critics and erode civil liberties.

Article 23 legislation may end Hong Kong’s status as a financial center

Prior to this, Stephen Roach, the former Asia chairman of Morgan Stanley who was considered the most supportive of China, once wrote in the Financial Times, "It pains me to say that Hong Kong is finished." "say Hong Kong is over", the "Fugitive Offenders Ordinance" introduced in 2019 became a turning point in Hong Kong's economy from prosperity to weakness. Since then, Hong Kong's advantages have been gone forever.

After Article 23 passed legislation, Bloomberg quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that Bank of America is cutting back on leasing some office space at its Central headquarters in Hong Kong, which also highlights the resistance faced by Hong Kong commercial landlords.

Wu Ruiren said that foreign investors have the most accurate sense of smell. In the past, Luo Qi was China's most loyal supporter, but now even Wall Street has pronounced the fate of Hong Kong. He believes that as early as after the passage of Hong Kong's "National Security Law", China should stop and not go any further. At least it should retain Hong Kong's different space from mainland China. But now in the field of national security, Hong Kong is essentially "one country". One system.”

He pessimistically believes that Western society’s sanctions targeting only senior Hong Kong officials will be difficult to achieve because Hong Kong has no autonomy and Beijing is behind the scenes. He said: "Beijing has written a script and asked Hong Kong people to act it out to prove the self-determination of Hong Kong people. The most bizarre thing is that Hong Kong people themselves decided to declare martial law in their own territory. The international response will not have much effect unless the Communist Party collapses and the effects of sanctions It’s already very limited.”

Wu Ruiren pointed out that after the 1970s, Hong Kong's role as a financial center will officially end. In the past, Hong Kong's status was a special status granted by the compromise between China, the United States, Britain and other powerful countries. Now that China is taking back its "concession", foreign investment from various countries will leave one after another. Hong Kong will lose its original specialness and completely become a "Chinese city". Accept rule under a Chinese-style system. He suggested: "The most important thing is to decouple the Hong Kong dollar from the US dollar and terminate the most-favored nation status. This should happen soon."

Pan Jiawei analyzed that what foreign investors have to worry about is that some private entrepreneurs in China, such as Ren Zhiqiang and Sun Dawu, will suddenly be framed at some point. In the past, no one expected that their outcome would be like this. He reminded that totalitarian governments have the final say, and no matter how rich and powerful they are, they will not be safe. As long as it is under the control of the CCP, anyone may become the next victim, and foreign investors must not take any chances. "It will also put pressure on foreign-funded employees. Maybe one day the government will find out what you said online and accuse you of colluding with foreign forces. How will the parties involved explain it clearly? So, there is definitely a big risk."