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end game for HK protests...
- Thread starter zhihau
- Start date
Time to send in the PLA with machine guns.
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai arrested over pro-democracy protest - ABC News
Posted Yesterday
Jimmy Lai and his media empire are at the forefront of Hong Kong's democracy movement.(AP: Kin Cheung)
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Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper says the outspoken head of its publishing group, Jimmy Lai, has been held by police over his participation in a protest march in August that was part of a months-long pro-democracy movement.
Key points:
It also said the vice-chairman of the opposition Labor Party, Lee Cheuk-yan, and others were also detained at the same time in connection with the August 31 march, called to mark the fifth anniversary of a decision by China against fully democratic elections in Hong Kong.
Veteran democracy activist Yeung Sum was also arrested on the same charge of attending an illegal protest.
Organisers called off the action after the police banned it, but hundreds of thousands of people defied the order and filled the streets in several areas of the Asian financial hub.
Protesters threw gasoline bombs at government headquarters and set fires in the streets, while police stormed a subway car and hit passengers with batons and pepper spray in some of the most violent scenes up to that point in the protest movement.
Hong Kong protests escalate as police use water cannons, tear gas
Hong Kong broadcaster TVB showed police on the platform of Prince Edward subway station swinging batons at passengers who backed into one end of a train car behind umbrellas.
The video also shows pepper spray being shot through an open door at a group seated on the floor while one man holds up his hands.
Police arrested thousands during the protest movement that began in June but fizzled out toward the end of the year amid harsher tactics by authorities.
Many have been given prison sentences on charges including rioting and possessing offensive weapons.
Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have grown increasingly violent.(AP: Vincent Yu)
The demonstrations began in opposition to proposed legislation which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial, but later included demands for democratic elections and an investigation into police use of force.
Mr Lai is a serial entrepreneur and longtime activist who sold his clothing chain under political pressure and has since focused on media in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Mr Lai's home was firebombed in September last year. Nobody was hurt in the attack.
The media tycoon fled mainland China as a child, reaching the island territory as a stowaway on a fishing boat.
YoutubeAttempt to firebomb the house of Next Media's Jimmy Lai
At the age of 12, he went to work in a garment factory for around $4.50 a month — by the age of 27, he had purchased his own factory and by his mid-30s he had created the international fashion label Giordano.
He later founded the pro-democracy Next Magazine in 1990. After the magazine published criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party, officials threatened to close Giordano stores on the mainland.
Mr Lai subsequently sold out his shares in the fashion company and founded a second publication, Apple Daily, in 1995.
He told the ABC last year that "many mainland Chinese people cannot understand the feeling of having freedom, because they had never really lived in a free society."
The arrests come after a period of relative calm in the Asian financial hub following months of intense anti-government protests.
Lee Cheuk-yan and other opposition figures were detained by police in connection with the August march.(AP: Vincent Yu)
Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested more than 7,000 people for their involvement in the protests, many on charges of rioting that can carry jail terms of up to 10 years. It is unclear how many are still in custody.
Hong Kong Democracy Council, a Washington-based non-government organisation, said the arrests were "blatant acts of political suppression by the Hong Kong Government and the Chinese Communist Party".
The group said in a statement that it was demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Lai and the other pro-democracy activists.
Mark Simon, Mr Lai's top aide and a senior executive at Next Digital, said on Twitter that Mr Lai, along with Mr Lee and Mr Yeung were "not in any way a flight risk. They need to be processed quickly and out of that police station as quickly as possible."
Hong Kong police said in a statement they would hold a media briefing on the arrests later on Friday. They did not give any further details.
ABC/wires
Posted Yesterday
Share
Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper says the outspoken head of its publishing group, Jimmy Lai, has been held by police over his participation in a protest march in August that was part of a months-long pro-democracy movement.
Key points:
- More than 7,000 people have been arrested for joining Hong Kong protests
- Jimmy Lai's publications have long criticised the Chinese Communist Party
- Protests and violence in Hong Kong have died down in recent months
It also said the vice-chairman of the opposition Labor Party, Lee Cheuk-yan, and others were also detained at the same time in connection with the August 31 march, called to mark the fifth anniversary of a decision by China against fully democratic elections in Hong Kong.
Veteran democracy activist Yeung Sum was also arrested on the same charge of attending an illegal protest.
Organisers called off the action after the police banned it, but hundreds of thousands of people defied the order and filled the streets in several areas of the Asian financial hub.
Protesters threw gasoline bombs at government headquarters and set fires in the streets, while police stormed a subway car and hit passengers with batons and pepper spray in some of the most violent scenes up to that point in the protest movement.
Hong Kong broadcaster TVB showed police on the platform of Prince Edward subway station swinging batons at passengers who backed into one end of a train car behind umbrellas.
The video also shows pepper spray being shot through an open door at a group seated on the floor while one man holds up his hands.
Police arrested thousands during the protest movement that began in June but fizzled out toward the end of the year amid harsher tactics by authorities.
Many have been given prison sentences on charges including rioting and possessing offensive weapons.
The demonstrations began in opposition to proposed legislation which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial, but later included demands for democratic elections and an investigation into police use of force.
Mr Lai is a serial entrepreneur and longtime activist who sold his clothing chain under political pressure and has since focused on media in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Mr Lai's home was firebombed in September last year. Nobody was hurt in the attack.
The media tycoon fled mainland China as a child, reaching the island territory as a stowaway on a fishing boat.
YoutubeAttempt to firebomb the house of Next Media's Jimmy Lai
At the age of 12, he went to work in a garment factory for around $4.50 a month — by the age of 27, he had purchased his own factory and by his mid-30s he had created the international fashion label Giordano.
He later founded the pro-democracy Next Magazine in 1990. After the magazine published criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party, officials threatened to close Giordano stores on the mainland.
Mr Lai subsequently sold out his shares in the fashion company and founded a second publication, Apple Daily, in 1995.
He told the ABC last year that "many mainland Chinese people cannot understand the feeling of having freedom, because they had never really lived in a free society."
The arrests come after a period of relative calm in the Asian financial hub following months of intense anti-government protests.
Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested more than 7,000 people for their involvement in the protests, many on charges of rioting that can carry jail terms of up to 10 years. It is unclear how many are still in custody.
Hong Kong Democracy Council, a Washington-based non-government organisation, said the arrests were "blatant acts of political suppression by the Hong Kong Government and the Chinese Communist Party".
The group said in a statement that it was demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Lai and the other pro-democracy activists.
Mark Simon, Mr Lai's top aide and a senior executive at Next Digital, said on Twitter that Mr Lai, along with Mr Lee and Mr Yeung were "not in any way a flight risk. They need to be processed quickly and out of that police station as quickly as possible."
Hong Kong police said in a statement they would hold a media briefing on the arrests later on Friday. They did not give any further details.
ABC/wires
The end game turned out to be the virus
Hong Kong political crisis deepens despite protest lull during COVID-19
Activists have accused Chief Executive Carrie Lam's government of taking advantage of the world being distracted by the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: AFP/Anthony WALLACE)
23 Apr 2020 04:15PM
Bookmark
HONG KONG: A roundup of Hong Kong activists and a row over the powers of Beijing's office in the city have deepened the political crisis engulfing the financial hub even as a coronavirus lockdown prevents large-scale protests.
The mass demonstrations that convulsed the semi-autonomous Chinese city for seven straight months last year have dissipated during the COVID-19 crisis as cautious residents stick to social distancing.
But over the past week, political tensions have soared once more, threatening to upend the calm in a city still ruptured by ideological divides and where many fear China's strengthening grip is eroding their freedoms.
There is a "new, gritty nastiness emerging", risk management consultants Steve Vickers Associates warned in a note this week, and with neither Beijing nor the democracy camp willing to make compromises, future unrest was near inevitable.
On Sunday, police arrested 15 prominent activists on charges linked to last year's demonstrations.
Those detained were not masked protesters who often violently clashed with police, but rather some of the city's best-known moderates - including former lawmakers, academics and a media tycoon.
READ: China says 'resolutely' supports Hong Kong's arrest of activists
Among them was 81-year-old barrister Martin Lee, who in the 1980s helped draft the Basic Law - the city's mini-constitution that grants liberties and a high degree of autonomy unseen on the Chinese mainland.
The police swoop came during a row over whether Beijing was reinterpreting a key part of that document.
CONSTITUTIONAL ROW
The spat began when the Liaison Office - which represents China's central government - issued a statement condemning pro-democracy lawmakers for filibustering in the legislature.
The office suggested the politicians had breached their oath of office and could be prosecuted.
That sparked accusations that Beijing had crossed a line.
While China's control over Hong Kong's foreign policy and defence is undisputed, Article 22 of the Basic Law forbids Beijing departments from "interfering" in areas where the city governs itself - such as its legislature and separate judicial system.
As criticism mounted, the Liaison Office made a landmark announcement: It was not governed by the provision - even though documents previously submitted to Hong Kong's legislature stated it was.
Instead, it argued it had a "distinctive" role and could exercise a "supervisory power" over the city.
Hong Kong's government deepened the confusion when it issued a statement initially saying the Liaison Office was governed by Article 22, only to retract it hours later and issue two more corrected versions.
The cabinet member whose office provided the advice for the initial statement was moved to a new position in a reshuffle on Wednesday, although city leader Carrie Lam denied it was linked to the furore.
READ: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says reshuffle aimed at economic recovery after COVID-19
Critics seized on the move as the latest attempt by Beijing to increase control over Hong Kong's politics.
The Progressive Lawyers Group called it "brazen in its intention to tighten Beijing's grip on the city by unconstitutionally expanding the powers of the Liaison Office".
And the Bar Association published a legal analysis concluding there was "no question" Beijing's offices in the city were bound by the non-interference clause.
"NO CHOICE"
Prominent activist Joshua Wong told AFP he believed China's leaders were taking advantage of the world being distracted by the pandemic.
"Beijing in the upcoming future will just strengthen and enhance interference in Hong Kong local affairs," he said.
Others disputed the idea that the Liaison Office crossed a legal rubicon.
"Merely commenting and expressing one's view on a matter of public interest would not count as intervention," Simon Young, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, told AFP.
Jasper Tsang, a former president of Hong Kong's legislature and a pro-Beijing heavyweight, said the Liaison Office felt it had "no choice" but to wade into the paralysis in the legislature, which had left a dozen Bills languishing for months.
Opponents are filibustering to delay a Bill outlawing insults to the Chinese national anthem - a serious provocation to Beijing.
Tsang said the Liaison Office would likely be more confrontational in future.
"How can you stop it?" he said.
Expectations are now rising that last year's unrest will return, especially with legislative elections due in September, when the pro-democracy camp is hoping to score large gains.
Beijing has also made it clear it wants Hong Kong to have a new national security law - a proposal that sparked huge protests in 2003.
Now, some dissidents have started calling for a protest on Jul 1 even if social distancing measures against the virus are still in place.
"Businesses should prepare for further civil unrest, as the threat from the virus recedes and friction rises," said Steve Vickers Associates.
Activists have accused Chief Executive Carrie Lam's government of taking advantage of the world being distracted by the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: AFP/Anthony WALLACE)
23 Apr 2020 04:15PM
Bookmark
HONG KONG: A roundup of Hong Kong activists and a row over the powers of Beijing's office in the city have deepened the political crisis engulfing the financial hub even as a coronavirus lockdown prevents large-scale protests.
The mass demonstrations that convulsed the semi-autonomous Chinese city for seven straight months last year have dissipated during the COVID-19 crisis as cautious residents stick to social distancing.
But over the past week, political tensions have soared once more, threatening to upend the calm in a city still ruptured by ideological divides and where many fear China's strengthening grip is eroding their freedoms.
There is a "new, gritty nastiness emerging", risk management consultants Steve Vickers Associates warned in a note this week, and with neither Beijing nor the democracy camp willing to make compromises, future unrest was near inevitable.
On Sunday, police arrested 15 prominent activists on charges linked to last year's demonstrations.
Those detained were not masked protesters who often violently clashed with police, but rather some of the city's best-known moderates - including former lawmakers, academics and a media tycoon.
READ: China says 'resolutely' supports Hong Kong's arrest of activists
Among them was 81-year-old barrister Martin Lee, who in the 1980s helped draft the Basic Law - the city's mini-constitution that grants liberties and a high degree of autonomy unseen on the Chinese mainland.
The police swoop came during a row over whether Beijing was reinterpreting a key part of that document.
CONSTITUTIONAL ROW
The spat began when the Liaison Office - which represents China's central government - issued a statement condemning pro-democracy lawmakers for filibustering in the legislature.
The office suggested the politicians had breached their oath of office and could be prosecuted.
That sparked accusations that Beijing had crossed a line.
While China's control over Hong Kong's foreign policy and defence is undisputed, Article 22 of the Basic Law forbids Beijing departments from "interfering" in areas where the city governs itself - such as its legislature and separate judicial system.
As criticism mounted, the Liaison Office made a landmark announcement: It was not governed by the provision - even though documents previously submitted to Hong Kong's legislature stated it was.
Instead, it argued it had a "distinctive" role and could exercise a "supervisory power" over the city.
Hong Kong's government deepened the confusion when it issued a statement initially saying the Liaison Office was governed by Article 22, only to retract it hours later and issue two more corrected versions.
The cabinet member whose office provided the advice for the initial statement was moved to a new position in a reshuffle on Wednesday, although city leader Carrie Lam denied it was linked to the furore.
READ: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says reshuffle aimed at economic recovery after COVID-19
Critics seized on the move as the latest attempt by Beijing to increase control over Hong Kong's politics.
The Progressive Lawyers Group called it "brazen in its intention to tighten Beijing's grip on the city by unconstitutionally expanding the powers of the Liaison Office".
And the Bar Association published a legal analysis concluding there was "no question" Beijing's offices in the city were bound by the non-interference clause.
"NO CHOICE"
Prominent activist Joshua Wong told AFP he believed China's leaders were taking advantage of the world being distracted by the pandemic.
"Beijing in the upcoming future will just strengthen and enhance interference in Hong Kong local affairs," he said.
Others disputed the idea that the Liaison Office crossed a legal rubicon.
"Merely commenting and expressing one's view on a matter of public interest would not count as intervention," Simon Young, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, told AFP.
Jasper Tsang, a former president of Hong Kong's legislature and a pro-Beijing heavyweight, said the Liaison Office felt it had "no choice" but to wade into the paralysis in the legislature, which had left a dozen Bills languishing for months.
Opponents are filibustering to delay a Bill outlawing insults to the Chinese national anthem - a serious provocation to Beijing.
Tsang said the Liaison Office would likely be more confrontational in future.
"How can you stop it?" he said.
Expectations are now rising that last year's unrest will return, especially with legislative elections due in September, when the pro-democracy camp is hoping to score large gains.
Beijing has also made it clear it wants Hong Kong to have a new national security law - a proposal that sparked huge protests in 2003.
Now, some dissidents have started calling for a protest on Jul 1 even if social distancing measures against the virus are still in place.
"Businesses should prepare for further civil unrest, as the threat from the virus recedes and friction rises," said Steve Vickers Associates.
You must be ignorant. Those are fake protestors from Tiong Cock meant to instigate rife among the real protestors.
The only way to restore calm is for the CCP to fall.
China says Hong Kong will never be calm unless violent protesters removed
HK protesters gather in Victoria Park in the Causeway Bay area
Protesters gather in Victoria Park in the Causeway Bay area ahead of a planned march in Hong Kong on Jan 1, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Isaac Lawrence)
06 May 2020 01:47PM
(Updated: 06 May 2020 01:57PM)
Bookmark
BEIJING: China's Hong Kong affairs office on Wednesday (May 6) condemned Hong Kong protesters as a "political virus" who seek independence, warning that the city will never be calm unless "black-clad violent protesters" were all removed.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office warned that China's central government will not sit idly by "with this recklessly demented force in place" and that China's central government has the greatest responsibility in maintaining order and safeguarding national security.
"The scorched-earth action of the black-clad violent protesters is a political virus in Hong Kong society and a big enemy to 'one-country-two-systems'," the office said in a statement on Wednesday.
"As long as the protesters are not removed, Hong Kong will never be calm," it said.
READ: Police fan out but Hong Kongers eschew May Day rallies
The Asian financial hub was rocked in 2019 by months of massive, and sometimes violent, political protests after an attempt to introduce an extradition bill to mainland China.
Many young protesters dressed in black fought running battles with Hong Kong police.
Protesters said Beijing was seeking to erode the “one country, two systems” style of governance that guarantees broad freedoms for Hong Kong since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Beijing rejects criticism that it is seeking to encroach on the city’s much-cherished freedoms.
Hong Kong riot police dispersed a crowd of 300 pro-democracy activists, some wearing black, late last month - the first sizeable protest since the government imposed a ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb coronavirus infections.
Political tensions have risen after 15 pro-democracy activists were arrested in April.
China says Hong Kong will never be calm unless violent protesters removed
HK protesters gather in Victoria Park in the Causeway Bay area
Protesters gather in Victoria Park in the Causeway Bay area ahead of a planned march in Hong Kong on Jan 1, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Isaac Lawrence)
06 May 2020 01:47PM
(Updated: 06 May 2020 01:57PM)
Bookmark
BEIJING: China's Hong Kong affairs office on Wednesday (May 6) condemned Hong Kong protesters as a "political virus" who seek independence, warning that the city will never be calm unless "black-clad violent protesters" were all removed.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office warned that China's central government will not sit idly by "with this recklessly demented force in place" and that China's central government has the greatest responsibility in maintaining order and safeguarding national security.
"The scorched-earth action of the black-clad violent protesters is a political virus in Hong Kong society and a big enemy to 'one-country-two-systems'," the office said in a statement on Wednesday.
"As long as the protesters are not removed, Hong Kong will never be calm," it said.
READ: Police fan out but Hong Kongers eschew May Day rallies
The Asian financial hub was rocked in 2019 by months of massive, and sometimes violent, political protests after an attempt to introduce an extradition bill to mainland China.
Many young protesters dressed in black fought running battles with Hong Kong police.
Protesters said Beijing was seeking to erode the “one country, two systems” style of governance that guarantees broad freedoms for Hong Kong since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Beijing rejects criticism that it is seeking to encroach on the city’s much-cherished freedoms.
Hong Kong riot police dispersed a crowd of 300 pro-democracy activists, some wearing black, late last month - the first sizeable protest since the government imposed a ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb coronavirus infections.
Political tensions have risen after 15 pro-democracy activists were arrested in April.
Who runs Hong Kong: party faithful shipped in to carry out Beijing's will | Hong Kong
Illustration: Guardian Design
Mon 28 Sep 2020 10.30 AEST
A senior communist party operative whose only previous experience in Hong Kong is a business trip two years ago; a former Guangdong mayor who oversaw the mass arrests of villagers protesting against land seizures; a former provincial party secretary best known for tearing down hundreds of churches and crosses in eastern China.
These are China’s top officials charged with Hong Kong affairs, hardliners and allies of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, who are remaking the semi-autonomous territory into a city that is directly under Beijing’s control in all but name.
They remain behind the scenes, rarely making public appearances. Little is known about them or how they work. Still, their influence is felt, now more than ever, under the auspices of a national security law that has given mainland agents unprecedented powers in Hong Kong.
In the three months since China shocked Hong Kong residents and the international community by imposing the sweeping and punitive security legislation on 30 June, the city that was once a haven for Chinese dissidents and a rare enclave of freedom has been transformed with remarkable speed.
Authorities have delayed legislative elections by at least a year, citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Using various political slogans is now tantamount to secession – a crime under the new law. Schools are changing their curriculum to better promote patriotism. At least 28 people have been arrested, many of them prominent pro-democracy activists.
Riot police detain protesters during a rally against the new national security law in July. Photograph: Miguel Candela/EPA
Many others have been detained under a ban on demonstrations. Academics, writers and once outspoken commentators have gone silent while the police have placed new restrictions on the media. Critics of the law, which was a response by Beijing to months of anti-government protests last year, say it has led to the most serious period of crisis and uncertainty since the former British colony was transferred to Chinese control in 1997.
“This is regime change. It has already happened,” said John Burns, a professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong. “It took 17 years for the party to implement.”
Just over a week after the law came into effect, mainland security officers took over a 33-storey hotel near Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, which was the site of many of last year’s marches calling for democratic reforms. A few miles away is China’s top body in the city, the central government’s liaison office, a tall glass and concrete building surrounded by barricades and police patrols. The site of many protests last year, the building was vandalised several times before the barriers were set up. Many see it as the true seat of power in Hong Kong.
China’s liaison office is seen by many as the true seat of power in Hong Kong. Photograph: Vincent Yu/AP
“I think that’s the new normal. They [the liaison office] operate quietly in the background, but we can feel their impact and their influence in all these arrests,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor of Chinese government and politics at Hong Kong Baptist University.
After the 1997 handover, the Hong Kong government – with its own legislature, judiciary and executive branch – operated with a certain degree of autonomy under the one country, two systems framework. While the head of the government, the chief executive, ultimately answered to Beijing, they still made their own policies and decisions.
“[They] did what they thought Beijing wanted to be done, which means they would not always be interfered with,” said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at Soas University of London.
But after witnessing months of protests last year turn into an entrenched movement of resistance, Beijing has begun to radically overhaul how it governs Hong Kong.
Following a major leadership meeting last October, the central committee of the Communist party of China released a communique pledging to strengthen the central government’s ability to “exercise comprehensive governance” over Hong Kong. More telling is that senior officials loyal to Xi have been brought out of semi-retirement to direct Hong Kong affairs.
Beijing’s new range of influence
Luo Huining, 65, who made his name tackling corruption in Shanxi province as party secretary, the top provincial party position, presides over the liaison office. His only known experience in Hong Kong is a business trip made in 2018. Described by some as an old-school party hack, he has also been named adviser to a new security commission headed by the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam – an appointment that observers say shows who is now calling the shots.
Luo Huining speaks to media to mark his first day at the office in Hong Kong. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters
“Luo Huining is the person in charge, not Carrie Lam,” said Suzanne Pepper, a Hong Kong-based writer who focuses on Chinese politics. “The power structure has changed drastically with the introduction of the new law.”
Above Luo is Xia Baolong, 67, another former party secretary who oversaw the razing of churches in Zhejiang province in 2014 and 2015. Xia, a protege of Xi’s who previously declared himself a proud member of the top leader’s “iron army”, was also brought out of semi-retirement. Xia directs the state council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) in Beijing and, as a vice-chairman of a top political advisory body, is the highest-ranking official to hold the post in a decade.
Xia Baolong, a protege of Xi Jinping, made his name as a party secretary who oversaw the razing of churches in Zhejiang province. Photograph: Imaginechina Limited/Alamy Stock Photo
Over the years both the liaison office and the HKMAO have increased their influence over Hong Kong – a trend now accelerated by the new law, according to local politicians and experts.
“Carrie Lam will have to look over her shoulder for what Beijing will think. Over the first shoulder is the head of the liaison office, and over the other is the head of the Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office,” said James Tien, a former lawmaker.
Neither Xia nor Luo have experience in Hong Kong, a sharp departure from past appointments and a sign of a move to methods more similar to those on the mainland – an alarming trend given the vast powers of security agents in China and the frequency with which political dissidents and critics are jailed on charges of national security.
“That is a danger for Hong Kong. That is a real dark cloud. They may apply the same method as in mainland China in an environment that is very different and more open,” said Cabestan.
Riot police block a street during a rally on the day that should have been legislative elections in Hong Kong. Photograph: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
The clearest indication of that direction is the establishment of a national security office headed and run by mainland agents. The office, which has broad remit to gather intelligence, handle “complex” national security cases and regulate foreign media and organisations, is not bound by local laws and its work will remain secret.
Its director, Zheng Yanxiong, comes from Guangdong province, just across the border where he is best known for suppressing mass protests in the fishing village of Wukan in 2011 through a police siege that prevented food and supplies reaching residents.
Zheng Yanxiong, the director of national security office. Photograph: Reuters Tv/Reuters
His approach is typical of mainland security officers, as are his views of foreign journalists. Zheng was recorded criticising international attention on Wukan, saying at the time: “If the foreign media could be trusted, then sows could climb trees.”
Other powerful security officials have been entrusted with overseeing Hong Kong such as Zhao Kezhi, China’s minister of public security, who is a deputy of China’s highest body for deciding Hong Kong policies, the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. Zhao is also part of a newly formed committee on the mainland, the Secure China Development group, tasked with creating a “safe political environment” by targeting issues like subversion, separatism and religious extremism.
Observers say Beijing’s new range of influence is obvious in everything from the push for patriotic education to seemingly benevolent acts of charity such as the deployment of health workers from China to test everyone in the city for Covid-19 and how local officials have adjusted their tone to match Beijing’s.
“We see finger prints of Beijing all over the place,” said Ma Ngok, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong. “It is going to get worse. Beijing will continue to intervene.”
Experts of party politics say that the chain of command leading up to Beijing is murky but it is clear who has the final say in Hong Kong today.
“We know that Beijing is pushing certain things but who is giving instructions to whom - we don’t see them,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong.“But it is believed that the major, the most important decision are made by Xi Jinping.”
Yet, Beijing’s efforts are not without difficulty. Mainland officials are operating among a population that has had decades of an independent judiciary, a free press and open, uncensored access to the internet. .
“You have the majority resisting Beijing. Hong Kong society cannot be easily subdued,” said Victoria Tin-bor Hui, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame who follows Hong Kong politics closely.
Carrie Lam and Luo Huining, clink champagne glasses at a ceremony celebrating the anniversary of the Hong Kong’s handover. Photograph: China News Service/Getty Images
Less than 12 hours after the national security law went into effect, on 1 July Luo clinked champagne glasses with Lam, celebrating the anniversary of the Hong Kong’s handover. In a speech, Luo warned the new legislation would be a “high hanging sword” over the heads of those who dared to violate it.
Still, demonstrators filled the streets and by the end of the day, more than 300 people were arrested. In the last three months, resistance has taken more indirect forms, from residents buying up shares in the media company of activist Jimmy Lai after he was arrested to supporting pro-democracy businesses.
“We’re all uncertain but know deeply that we have to keep doing something, anything,” said one demonstrator, who asked not to be named.
“The risk of stepping out on to the streets is way too high for most people and even speaking out is dangerous,” she said. “It’s harder to feel like people are still in it with you but I still have hope because I know people will keep going.”
Topics
Illustration: Guardian Design
Mon 28 Sep 2020 10.30 AEST
A senior communist party operative whose only previous experience in Hong Kong is a business trip two years ago; a former Guangdong mayor who oversaw the mass arrests of villagers protesting against land seizures; a former provincial party secretary best known for tearing down hundreds of churches and crosses in eastern China.
These are China’s top officials charged with Hong Kong affairs, hardliners and allies of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, who are remaking the semi-autonomous territory into a city that is directly under Beijing’s control in all but name.
They remain behind the scenes, rarely making public appearances. Little is known about them or how they work. Still, their influence is felt, now more than ever, under the auspices of a national security law that has given mainland agents unprecedented powers in Hong Kong.
In the three months since China shocked Hong Kong residents and the international community by imposing the sweeping and punitive security legislation on 30 June, the city that was once a haven for Chinese dissidents and a rare enclave of freedom has been transformed with remarkable speed.
Authorities have delayed legislative elections by at least a year, citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Using various political slogans is now tantamount to secession – a crime under the new law. Schools are changing their curriculum to better promote patriotism. At least 28 people have been arrested, many of them prominent pro-democracy activists.
Riot police detain protesters during a rally against the new national security law in July. Photograph: Miguel Candela/EPA
Many others have been detained under a ban on demonstrations. Academics, writers and once outspoken commentators have gone silent while the police have placed new restrictions on the media. Critics of the law, which was a response by Beijing to months of anti-government protests last year, say it has led to the most serious period of crisis and uncertainty since the former British colony was transferred to Chinese control in 1997.
“This is regime change. It has already happened,” said John Burns, a professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong. “It took 17 years for the party to implement.”
Just over a week after the law came into effect, mainland security officers took over a 33-storey hotel near Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, which was the site of many of last year’s marches calling for democratic reforms. A few miles away is China’s top body in the city, the central government’s liaison office, a tall glass and concrete building surrounded by barricades and police patrols. The site of many protests last year, the building was vandalised several times before the barriers were set up. Many see it as the true seat of power in Hong Kong.
China’s liaison office is seen by many as the true seat of power in Hong Kong. Photograph: Vincent Yu/AP
“I think that’s the new normal. They [the liaison office] operate quietly in the background, but we can feel their impact and their influence in all these arrests,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor of Chinese government and politics at Hong Kong Baptist University.
After the 1997 handover, the Hong Kong government – with its own legislature, judiciary and executive branch – operated with a certain degree of autonomy under the one country, two systems framework. While the head of the government, the chief executive, ultimately answered to Beijing, they still made their own policies and decisions.
“[They] did what they thought Beijing wanted to be done, which means they would not always be interfered with,” said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at Soas University of London.
But after witnessing months of protests last year turn into an entrenched movement of resistance, Beijing has begun to radically overhaul how it governs Hong Kong.
Following a major leadership meeting last October, the central committee of the Communist party of China released a communique pledging to strengthen the central government’s ability to “exercise comprehensive governance” over Hong Kong. More telling is that senior officials loyal to Xi have been brought out of semi-retirement to direct Hong Kong affairs.
Beijing’s new range of influence
Luo Huining, 65, who made his name tackling corruption in Shanxi province as party secretary, the top provincial party position, presides over the liaison office. His only known experience in Hong Kong is a business trip made in 2018. Described by some as an old-school party hack, he has also been named adviser to a new security commission headed by the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam – an appointment that observers say shows who is now calling the shots.
Luo Huining speaks to media to mark his first day at the office in Hong Kong. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters
“Luo Huining is the person in charge, not Carrie Lam,” said Suzanne Pepper, a Hong Kong-based writer who focuses on Chinese politics. “The power structure has changed drastically with the introduction of the new law.”
Above Luo is Xia Baolong, 67, another former party secretary who oversaw the razing of churches in Zhejiang province in 2014 and 2015. Xia, a protege of Xi’s who previously declared himself a proud member of the top leader’s “iron army”, was also brought out of semi-retirement. Xia directs the state council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) in Beijing and, as a vice-chairman of a top political advisory body, is the highest-ranking official to hold the post in a decade.
Xia Baolong, a protege of Xi Jinping, made his name as a party secretary who oversaw the razing of churches in Zhejiang province. Photograph: Imaginechina Limited/Alamy Stock Photo
Over the years both the liaison office and the HKMAO have increased their influence over Hong Kong – a trend now accelerated by the new law, according to local politicians and experts.
“Carrie Lam will have to look over her shoulder for what Beijing will think. Over the first shoulder is the head of the liaison office, and over the other is the head of the Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office,” said James Tien, a former lawmaker.
Neither Xia nor Luo have experience in Hong Kong, a sharp departure from past appointments and a sign of a move to methods more similar to those on the mainland – an alarming trend given the vast powers of security agents in China and the frequency with which political dissidents and critics are jailed on charges of national security.
“That is a danger for Hong Kong. That is a real dark cloud. They may apply the same method as in mainland China in an environment that is very different and more open,” said Cabestan.
Riot police block a street during a rally on the day that should have been legislative elections in Hong Kong. Photograph: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
The clearest indication of that direction is the establishment of a national security office headed and run by mainland agents. The office, which has broad remit to gather intelligence, handle “complex” national security cases and regulate foreign media and organisations, is not bound by local laws and its work will remain secret.
Its director, Zheng Yanxiong, comes from Guangdong province, just across the border where he is best known for suppressing mass protests in the fishing village of Wukan in 2011 through a police siege that prevented food and supplies reaching residents.
Zheng Yanxiong, the director of national security office. Photograph: Reuters Tv/Reuters
His approach is typical of mainland security officers, as are his views of foreign journalists. Zheng was recorded criticising international attention on Wukan, saying at the time: “If the foreign media could be trusted, then sows could climb trees.”
Other powerful security officials have been entrusted with overseeing Hong Kong such as Zhao Kezhi, China’s minister of public security, who is a deputy of China’s highest body for deciding Hong Kong policies, the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. Zhao is also part of a newly formed committee on the mainland, the Secure China Development group, tasked with creating a “safe political environment” by targeting issues like subversion, separatism and religious extremism.
Observers say Beijing’s new range of influence is obvious in everything from the push for patriotic education to seemingly benevolent acts of charity such as the deployment of health workers from China to test everyone in the city for Covid-19 and how local officials have adjusted their tone to match Beijing’s.
“We see finger prints of Beijing all over the place,” said Ma Ngok, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong. “It is going to get worse. Beijing will continue to intervene.”
Experts of party politics say that the chain of command leading up to Beijing is murky but it is clear who has the final say in Hong Kong today.
“We know that Beijing is pushing certain things but who is giving instructions to whom - we don’t see them,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong.“But it is believed that the major, the most important decision are made by Xi Jinping.”
Yet, Beijing’s efforts are not without difficulty. Mainland officials are operating among a population that has had decades of an independent judiciary, a free press and open, uncensored access to the internet. .
“You have the majority resisting Beijing. Hong Kong society cannot be easily subdued,” said Victoria Tin-bor Hui, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame who follows Hong Kong politics closely.
Carrie Lam and Luo Huining, clink champagne glasses at a ceremony celebrating the anniversary of the Hong Kong’s handover. Photograph: China News Service/Getty Images
Less than 12 hours after the national security law went into effect, on 1 July Luo clinked champagne glasses with Lam, celebrating the anniversary of the Hong Kong’s handover. In a speech, Luo warned the new legislation would be a “high hanging sword” over the heads of those who dared to violate it.
Still, demonstrators filled the streets and by the end of the day, more than 300 people were arrested. In the last three months, resistance has taken more indirect forms, from residents buying up shares in the media company of activist Jimmy Lai after he was arrested to supporting pro-democracy businesses.
“We’re all uncertain but know deeply that we have to keep doing something, anything,” said one demonstrator, who asked not to be named.
“The risk of stepping out on to the streets is way too high for most people and even speaking out is dangerous,” she said. “It’s harder to feel like people are still in it with you but I still have hope because I know people will keep going.”
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Good to dream. I hope for cantoland independence but alas it's just a dreamI predict Hong Kong (and Taiwan) will gain independence.
As for those ethnic minority 'autonomous' regions... it's possible they might become independent too. Either peacefully (referendum) or by force.
Bookmark this comment for future reference.
The tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union were also a dream for those people living during that tumultuous period.
The chicoms have got alot of control in tiongland and has brain washed the ah tiongs very well. They also play their games against the ang mors using ang mor tactics. The chicoms can use the ang mor courts to overturn the ban on tiki tok but the ang mors have no such recourse in tiong land courts. So the chicoms will be around for a long time.
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