Hong Kong is a liberal non-democracy
- Because it’s liberal, people can protest, have freedom of speech, freedom of assembly
- Because it’s a non-democracy, the government can ignore them.
Table of Contents
- Hong Kong is not a stable combination
- 5 years ago, in its response to Occupy Central
- The Hong Kong High Court declared the ban of face masks unconstitutional
- The CCP response was a government spokesperson said Hong Kong courts should be stripped of the power to interpret the “Basic Law”.
- Interpretation of the Basic Law by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee is binding on the Hong Kong courts. But the Basic Law also says quite explicitly that Hong Kong courts can interpret it, subject to an overriding interpretation by the NPCSC.
- Now Beijing is threatening not allowing any interpretation by Hong Kong courts, disabling the entire field of its institutional law.
- Is the US meddling
Hong Kong is not a stable combination
Will this be Tiananmen Square all over again? No:
- Hong Kong is where Chinese elites launder their money. You don’t burn down your own money laundering operation..
- You don’t have an open square full of unarmed, unsuspecting protesters that can be run over.
- You’d have urban guerilla warfare in a hyperdense environment
The Chinese don’t have good options for dealing with a purely political mass movement with popular support and legitimacy. The public has turned against the police, the police response is not a sign of control but of desperation.
5 years ago, in its response to Occupy Central
…Beijing make zero concessions and it threw the peaceful protest leaders in jail. This is different.
The Hong Kong High Court declared the ban of face masks unconstitutional
The CCP response was a government spokesperson said Hong Kong courts should be stripped of the power to interpret the “Basic Law”.
Interpretation of the Basic Law by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee is binding on the Hong Kong courts. But the Basic Law also says quite explicitly that Hong Kong courts can interpret it, subject to an overriding interpretation by the NPCSC.
Now Beijing is threatening not allowing any interpretation by Hong Kong courts, disabling the entire field of its institutional law.
Do not expect UK to be adversarial to the CCP: The former UK consulate worker who was arrested in China and says he was tortured for weeks, crickets from UK diplomats.
Is the US meddling
No foreign government has the soft power capacity to get a million-plus people to protest on the streets in Hong Kong.
The Chinese government projects internal propaganda that the unrest is inorganic, the result of foreign meddling, another humiliation and the “Five Powers doing it again”, playing the victim card.
The end?