Tian Feilong: End of Apple Daily Marks New Start of “HK-Style Freedom of Speech”

Tian Feilong: End of Apple Daily Marks New Start of “HK-Style Freedom of Speech”

Original: https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%e8%a7%80%e9%bb%9e/article/20210628/s00012/1624817933988/%e7%94%b0%e9%a3%9b%e9%be%8d-%e8%98%8b%e6%9e%9c%e7%9a%84%e7%b5%82%e9%bb%9e-%e6%98%af%e6%b8%af%e5%bc%8f%e8%a8%80%e8%ab%96%e8%87%aa%e7%94%b1%e7%9a%84%e6%96%b0%e8%b5%b7%e9%bb%9e 

on 28 June 2021, Ming Pao Daily 

Apple Daily did not make it to the Party's centennial celebration on 1 July and officially collapsed on 25 June (the last issue was published on 24 June). The final moment of Apple Daily triggered public sentiment and even "sympathy" inside and outside of Hong Kong. Foreign powers "mourned" Apple "with their eyes closed", disregarding any legal facts and due process. They believe the National Security Law (NSL) caused all of this and that it is the NSL that killed Apple Daily, suppressed the so-called Hong Kong-style freedom of speech and press freedom, and caused a "chilling effect" in Hong Kong's democratic environment. They questioned the regulatory quality of the NSL, saying that the charge was "vague" and authoritarian.

These criticisms, which rely on Western "universal values" and “standards of the rule of law”, are quite inflammatory and confusing at first glance, and if placed in the context of the 2019 protests, they may again incite an extremely large-scale "Apple” storm. However, with the NSL in place, this will definitely not come.

Anyone with a basic conscience, historical memory, and common sense in law would understand that the NSL is a law that protects "one country, two systems" and all the rights and freedoms it promises, including, naturally, the protection of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The NSL truly reclaims the "state" in the context of "one country, two systems" and gives the power of the state an institutional foothold in the day-to-day governance of Hong Kong.

The spokesperson of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council issued a statement on 25 June regarding the distorted comments of foreign media and foreign forces involved in the Apple Daily incident. It points out that the police enforcement and judicial procedures under the NSL are fully in line with the standards of the rule of law in Hong Kong, and that the crackdown is on criminal acts suspected of endangering national security by the organizations involved, not on freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Further, no freedom of speech and freedom of the press are separated from the law. The spokesperson called for attention to specific facts and legal principles, and cited basic facts such as the stronger protection of Hong Kong residents' rights and freedoms since the implementation of the NSL, and the increased presence of media organizations in Hong Kong, to counter the distortions made by foreign media and foreign powers.

Similar official statements and explanations of facts and jurisprudence have been made many times since the implementation of the NSL and China has done its best to explain and explain each time. But the explanations fall on deaf ears.

When Jimmy Lai and the "Apple faction" were steadily identified by Western forces as "their own", every specific law enforcement action and judicial trial seemed to evolve into a dry and uninteresting struggle over "universal values". Every time we review our own propaganda and discourse in accordance with the rule of law and democratic framework, we find we are still not understood by the West, cannot change the West’s rhetoric and our lower hand in the entire matter.

In fact, the West does not care about the facts and the sincerity of our explanations and only distorts and pressurises us by virtue of their so-called hegemonic advantage. They want to manipulate the truth and justice and politicise and stigmatise China. They know they have trampled on basic facts and legal principles but all they care about is that there is still a large number of countries and people cheering for them as they approach their demise.

The public opinion struggle and legal battle triggered by the Apple Daily incident cut to the heart of the new Cold War between China and the United States, exposing the "hegemonic" undertones of Western human rights and democratic discourse, as well as the confusion and shortcomings of a declining Western power.

In the long term, the Western discourse is bound to weaken with their decline. The continued rise of China, the ability to prevent and control the new epidemic, the contradictory logic and misplaced practice of the Trump/Biden doctrine, and third-party forces getting neutral or slowly siding with China are all factors that are dismantling the West and further exacerbating its illogical and disorderly behaviour.

But the world is still in the midst of helpless chaos. From facts to values, from remarks to a say on the global stage, from ethnicity to universality, from the right to development to equality and dignity, from the "orientalisation trap" to the centre of the world stage, endurance, the combination of knowledge and action, collective strive and determination to breakthrough form an inevitable path for us. We still have the duty and responsibility to continue to explain clearly to the nation and the world what the NSL is, why the "Apple faction" has fallen, and what the future freedom of Hong Kong will be.

We need to return to the basic facts and the process of institutional change to discuss the issues.

First, the 30-year history of the "Apple faction" is from a small local tabloid to the "first agent" of foreign powers. The history of the newspaper is a perfect microcosm of Hong Kong's own political history and we can trace its long-term threat of "endangering national security".

Secondly, since Hong Kong's reunification, the loophole for Article 23 [Security] legislation has been unplugged and the "Apple faction" has been radically opposed to the Basic Law and mobilised a "colour revolution" using the gaps and grey areas under the Basic Law.

Third, the key to the success of the "Apple faction" is not the legitimate enjoyment of press freedom and journalistic professionalism, but the excessive politicised manipulation and the excessive exaltation and assistance from external forces, which is, in essence, a subversive "political organization" in the name of a news organization.

Fourth, during Occupy Central in 2014 and the anti-extradition protests in 2019, the "Apple faction" colluded internally and externally, incited lawlessness and violence, produced a large number of "fake news", and requested foreign powers to sanction Hong Kong and China, and was the vanguard of anti-China sentiments and against Hong Kong. They seriously undermined the rule of law in Hong Kong, everyone's personal safety, freedom and rights, tarnished the law-abiding ethic of Hong Kong's democratic culture and movement and posed serious damage.

Fifth, with the enactment of the NSL in 2020, the grey areas of the past abuses of press freedom have been clarified in law. The "Apple faction" has ignored the new law and continued to engage in anti-China and anti-Hong Kong activities, and eventually violated the law with criminal prosecution repercussions.

The fall of the "Apple faction" is the result of a long history of endangering national security, undermining the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and directly violating the norms of national security law. Everyone who understands and accepts modern rule of law will agree with this conclusion. However, the Americans, the Europeans do not agree with their double standards and in reality, humiliates their own rule of law and values of democracy.

Originally. the modern Western hegemony had coercion and virtues, resulting from competition amongst civilisations. But in today’s West, virtue is decreasing and strong-arm coercion is increasing. A typical example is the US, degenerating from liberal imperialism to "sanctions" imperialism.

In the case of Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and China's economic, trade and high-tech development, the remaining "virtues" [moral high ground] of the West are almost non-existent. On the surface, the banners of Western discourse and sanctions still have some compelling and destructive power. However, in reality, it is a sign of internal crisis and decline of Western civilisation and a manifestation of its inability to live up to its own principles and virtues, and to stick up to propriety and virtues.

Apple Daily has incited "local laam chaau” (mutual-destruction-style “localism”), forced shops to support the "Revolution of the Times”, encouraged and condoned the riot violence of the youth, and colluded with external forces to promote a "Hong Kong version of colour revolution". This is using the social rift arising from the anti-ELAB storm and the negative sentiment against China to boost confrontation between the government and the people, causing a post-election usurping of power.

This has pushed Hong Kong’s democratic movement into an abyss of radicalism and misled the people. The protest violence and "freedom of the press" is the beautiful backdrop claimed by American politicians, but they completely ignored the "chilling effect" caused by the movement and the damage to the freedom of speech of those with different opinions.

At that time, Hong Kong's "Article 23" was lacking and local law and order was not sufficiently enforced. The courts were unable to provide strong decisions to stop violence and control chaos, and individual judges even had the wrong judicial orientation to praise the rioters. However, Western politicians praise and promote this riot violence without realising or deliberately missing that such freedom is not moral freedom at all, but rather a "terrorist" act that the US itself suffers from. The NSL punishes only such "riot violence” and is just and powerful.

The NSL has done its job, the "Apple faction" has got what it deserves, and justice and the rule of law are being rapidly re-established in Hong Kong. Only after getting rid of riot violence can all the rights and freedoms in Hong Kong be protected and effectively exercised by law. Instead of mourning the fall of Apple Daily, Western politicians should review the evil in their hearts and the internal collapse of Western civilisation, and seek ways of cooperation and renewal between Eastern and Western civilisations. Otherwise, the West will eventually fail with zero virtue, leading to an unpleasant destiny and demise.

The end of Apple Daily is a symbolic event in which the national security defects of Hong Kong's rule of law and the lack of the "one country, two systems" system are effectively remedied, and it is a brand-new starting point for Hong Kong-style freedom of speech and freedom of the press. From now on, the freedom of speech of different groups in Hong Kong can be expressed without incitement or fear, different news organisations can report facts and monitor the government within the scope of legal protection, and people can engage in rational discussions and democratic participation on institutional and policy issues, and receive timely responses from the SAR government and the Central Government. Such Hong Kong-style freedom of speech, freedom of the press and democracy are what the NSL aims to pursue and protect, and what the "one country, two systems" institutional system is designed to regulate.

Changing CE Can Reshape Gov's Credibility as Trust Remains Crux; Declining Check & Balance by Media, LegCo May Lead to Unrestrained Power: Scholar

Changing CE Can Reshape Gov's Credibility as Trust Remains Crux; Declining Check & Balance by Media, LegCo May Lead to Unrestrained Power: Scholar

Translated by HKCT, written by Cheung Tung @ Ming Pao (11 Jun 2021)
Original: https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20210611/s00002/1623350391769/%e8%91%89%e5%81%a5%e6%b0%91-%e6%8f%9b%e7%89%b9%e9%a6%96%e5%8f%af%e9%87%8d%e5%a1%91%e6%94%bf%e5%ba%9c%e5%85%ac%e4%bf%a1%e5%8a%9b-%e7%a8%b1%e6%9e%97%e9%84%ad%e9%9b%a3%e6%8c%bd%e5%b8%82%e6%b0%91%e4%bf%a1%e4%bb%bb-%e5%80%a1%e6%b8%9b%e5%9c%8b%e5%ae%89%e7%b3%bb%e7%b5%b1%e3%80%8c%e8%83%bd%e8%a6%8b%e5%ba%a6%e3%80%8d 

 

The ripple of the anti-ELAB movement in 2019 remains. In an interview with Ming Pao, Professor Ray Yep Kin-man of the Department of Public Policy at the City University of Hong Kong said that the government's credibility is bankrupt and its administration is getting half the result with twice the effort. He pointed the finger at Chief Executive Carrie Lam, saying that she could not gain people's trust and changing the CE would be the way to let Hong Kong start afresh. In view of the current confidence crisis, he hoped the next government would restore the "rule of law tradition" and advocate a sound culture of accountability; take into account the public perception and reduce the "visibility" of the national security system; and officials should exercise self-discipline and avoid arbitrarily warning the public that they might break the law.

In the aftermath of the anti-ELAB controversy, Yep believes that the biggest crisis in the governance of the Hong Kong government is the bankruptcy of its credibility, pointing the finger at Carrie Lam. He said that if the previous election system cannot be restored, "replacing the Chief Executive" is also a way to rebuild the government's credibility, and the new government should seize the "honeymoon period" after taking office to build a smoother relationship between the government and the people.

When asked about his evaluation of Mrs Lam, Yep said, "If she were to leave now, I would give her 1 point". He said the anti-ELAB movement had caused turmoil in Hong Kong, the Central Government had become highly involved and the international community had questioned "one country, two systems", all because of Mrs Lam's misjudgement. "Even according to the Mainland's approach, if you fail to fight the epidemic, you will have to 'lose your seat'. ...... People don't care how (Mrs Lam) can restore confidence, they just ask: why are you still here?"

The trust crisis is hindering the government's administration. Yep believes that the government is getting half the result with twice the effort, as it is causing doubts among the public, regardless of whether the policies are reasonable or not, as evidenced by its work in fighting the epidemic. He said he had received the COVID vaccine, but refused to download the LeaveHomeSafe app, not because he was worried that the app was under government control. "Many people think that if there is a way to express dissatisfaction towards the government and the cost is nearly nothing, I will do it too. It's not very useful, but it's a way to send a message to the government that I'm not happy with you".

It has been almost a year since the National Security Law came into force. Fear is now prevalent in civil society and 'strong measures' have been effective in suppressing resistance. But as the epidemic has prevented the organisation of activities, the 'resilience' of the community's resistance will need to be tested when the epidemic subsides. "The fact that a certain number of people will not forget is an important breeding ground for the next wave of conflict", said Yep. He said research showed that the some frontline protesters in the 2019 anti-ELAB movement were also involved in the 2014 Occupy movement. As the Gordian knot builds up in people's mind, he believes the worst thing to do is to "tell people to 'move on'".

The Chief Executive election will be held in March next year. In terms of expectations for the next government, Yep said that the line between breach of the law under the National Security Law is blurred, and that freedom is becoming narrower and narrower as people set their own limits out of fear. He hopes that Hong Kong will return to its "rule of law tradition" and that officials will exercise self-discipline and not warn people of possible violations of the law, otherwise society will be "ruled of man rather than by law". As for law enforcement and prosecution, he also hoped that the process will be more stringent, otherwise detention will be a punishment for the victim. "It may sound reasonable to leave it to the court to decide, but the process has already detained the victim for a long period of time, and the police or the prosecution are almost replacing the court".

Yep hoped that the next government will minimise the "visibility" of the national security system and balance the practical needs with the public perception. The national security system cannot be part of life, or it would be unfavourable to the healthy development of society, said Yep. In addition, he hopes that the government will establish a sound culture of accountability and respect the monitoring of public power by the media, "I dare not ask for much else."

The Central Government has reshaped Hong Kong's electoral system and repeatedly emphasised the "executive-led" approach. According to political scientist Ray Yep, Beijing has downplayed the "separation of powers" in recent years, and the purpose of revising the electoral system is to make the "executive-led system unbeatable" and to dwarf the role of the Legislative Council, "the (future Legislative Council) has to be cooperative with the Chief Executive's administration, and it can put forward some views, but it should not stir up trouble, and it should not drag the government's feet as it did before. He is concerned that the lack of monitoring by legislators has gradually bred a culture of arrogant officials who are unwilling to accept any criticism.

With direct election seats slashed to 20 seats in the next Legislative Council, Yep said that the chances of people electing their preferred candidate through the ballot box have diminished and the representativeness of the Legislative Council has decreased. He expects that the new system will not allow any "troublemakers" to enter the legislature, and that there will be no real opposition in the legislature, which is already seen by Hong Kong people as a place for "going through the motions". Some members of the pro-Beijing camp said that the government would consult lawmakers in advance before proposing policy proposals, so most bills could be passed by the Legislative Council. He stressed the importance of the deliberation process, which can show public opinion.

The ImmD's rebuttal of the audit report was made public earlier. Yep said the report's almost moralistic criticism still caused a backlash, showing that officials were hostile to the internal monitoring system and could not even criticise "their own people". For example, when the Chief Executive (Carrie Lam) encountered different views, she would use the term 'so-called experts and scholars', and would easily accuse others of having 'ulterior motives'.

With the weakening of the media and the Legislative Council's monitoring function over the government, Yep is worried that when power is not restrained, there may be corruption within the government, which will bring hidden worries to the quality of governance. "In the end, we can only leave it to fate and hope that the officials are good people. ...... Similar to the ancient Chinese people, they hope that a good emperor will appear, and if not, they hope that his son will be good."

Won’t Refuse Young HKers for Protests or Charged under NSL: Cdn Consul General on Canada’s Lifeboat Scheme; Concern NSL’s Detrimental Effect on HK’s Rule of Law

Won’t Refuse Young HKers for Protests or Charged under NSL: Cdn Consul General on Canada’s Lifeboat Scheme; Concern NSL’s Detrimental Effect on HK’s Rule of Law

Originally posted on 11 Feb

Original: https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E4%B8%8A-%E5%8A%A0%E6%8B%BF%E5%A4%A7%E6%8E%A8%E6%95%91%E7%94%9F%E8%89%87%E8%A8%88%E5%8A%83-%E9%A7%90%E6%B8%AF%E9%A0%98%E4%BA%8B-%E4%B8%8D%E6%9C%83%E6%8B%92%E7%B5%95%E5%9B%A0%E7%A4%BA%E5%A8%81-%E5%9C%8B%E5%AE%89%E6%B3%95%E8%A2%AB%E6%8E%A7%E7%9A%84%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%B9%B4%E8%BC%95%E4%BA%BA/ 

Since the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), the Canadian Government announced last November the Lifeboat Scheme to enable Hongkongers to move to Canada. The first round of work via applications began taking applications this Monday (8 Feb), in that Hong Kong residents who received a university degree or college diploma from a Canadian institution within the past 5 years or an equivalent qualification via an overseas certificate would be eligible to apply for a work visa up to 3 years, with no ceiling on the age of the applicants.

Three days after the launch of the Scheme, Canadian Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau Jeff Nankivell was interviewed exclusively by Stand News. He pointed out that the Lifeboat Scheme set a relatively lower threshold than existing immigration policies, hoping to provide young Hongkongers a “more convenience, easier” means to live and work in Canada.

Nankivell also stressed that if young Hongkongers had been charged for their participation in political activities, they would not lose out on their chance to emigrate to Canada, “We don’t want the young people who had been charged for participating in protests or for allegedly violating the National Security Law to mistaken that they would be disqualified from applying.”

“In Canada, political activity is not a crime.”

Having lived in Hong Kong for 4.5 years, Nankivell told reporters, “I have deep feelings for Hong Kong,” and that he felt that he was not the only Canadian with great passion for the city. “Many Canadians share this affection. In Canada, anything that happens in Hong Kong is big news.”

Canada had long been a choice for Hongkongers for studies and emigration. Nankivell shared that the Canadian Government’s target number of immigrants for the year was 400,000, approximately 1% of the current national population. He laughed that this was an “aggressive” target, that Canada is “one of the few countries that actively recruits such a large number of immigrants.”

Besides the first round of work visa applications that it had announced recently, the Canadian government had also previously foretold that there would be forthcoming announcements of two other means to permanent residence this year, including one for those Hong Kong residents who had at least one year’s work experience in Canada and fulfilled the language and education standards; another means would be for Hong Kong residents who graduated from Canadian tertiary institutions, with a path that would allow them to apply directly to receive permanent residence.

With a low threshold for application, it was certainly good news to young people.

Nankivell pointed out that Hongkongers can apply for the work visa via an online system, but it was still difficult at this point to estimate the number of applications, “One thing we could be sure is that many young people are interested in this scheme.”

Canadian Minister of Immigration, Marco Mendicino, previously said publicly during a parliamentary hearing last November that “no one would have their refugee application or other Canadian immigration application banned for being charged with violating the National Security Law or having been convicted for participating in peaceful protest.” As for how the Canadian government would define “peaceful protest”, would charges of unlawful assembly and rioting be excluded?

“Political activity is not a crime in Canada.”

Nankivell reiterated, “We don’t want the young people who had been charged with participating in protests or violating the National Security Law to mistaken that they would be disqualified from applying.”

He promised to young Hongkongers that Canada had a well-established vetting system and will carefully review each Lifeboat Scheme application to confirm whether the applicant has committed a crime for political reasons or some other criminal offense.

- No One Seeking Political Asylum from Cdn Consulate Generate Yet -

New Hong Kong Cultural Club, a group that assists Hongkongers in exile in Canada, pointed out last month that since the end of last year, Canada had approved refugee status for 14 asylum seekers from Hong Kong (see HKCT’s previous report here: https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2851808418369872). As for the number of Hongkongers in exile in Canada, Nankivell did not respond directly, but claimed that such matters were not part of the responsibility for the Consulate in Hong Kong and Macau. He also said that thus far, no one has visited the Consulate to seek any sort of asylum.

- Concerned that NSL Destroys HK’s Rule of Law -

Every time the NSL is brought up, Nankivell shows concern.

“(The NSL) clearly violates the Sino-British Joint Declaration, undermines One Country, Two Systems, is inconsistent with the Basic Law, and also counters internationally protected Hong Kong human rights.”

In the international arena, Canada has repeatedly spoken out against the NSL, first issuing a joint statement with the U.S. and U.K. condemning Beijing for pushing through the NSL in Hong Kong, then issuing a statement as a member of the G7, announcing the suspension of the Canada-Hong Kong extradition agreement, and banning the export of sensitive military goods to Hong Kong.

On the other hand, the Consulate also reminded Canadians in Hong Kong about the NSL through its website and social media.

“As soon as the NSL came into effect, we immediately updated our travel advisory to remind our nationals that mainland national security agencies will be able to legally carry out their duties in Hong Kong without local court or legal oversight, and that nationals are at risk of extradition to the mainland for trial.”

To Nankivell, however, there had been a fundamental change to both the Hong Kong judicial system and court trials.

- Fundamental Change to the Courts -

One of the most high-profile NSL cases was that the founder of Next Digital, Jimmy Lai, on charges of colluding with a foreign country or foreign forces to endanger national security." This past Tuesday (9 Feb), the Court of Final Appeal handed down the verdict on his bail appeal case, and among the long lines of people outside the courtroom that morning, there were also European Union diplomats and Canadian consulate staff waiting to enter the courtroom to observe the case.

Nankivell said that the consulate staff had attended the case as an observer in the hope of following the progress and development of the trial, but the trial was still at an early stage, making it far too early to make further interpretations of the NSL, but the Consulate would continue to closely monitor the developments.

Paul Harris: We Mustn't Give Up; Calls HKNSL “Disgrace”, Plans to Persuade Gov to Amend even It’s Hard

20:16 22 Jan: Paul Harris Calls HKNSL “Disgrace”, Plans to Persuade Gov to Amend even It’s Hard

Translated by HKCT, written by Leung Hoi-ching, Chan Tsz-kwan, Chan Wing-chi (梁凱澄, 陳紫君, 陳詠姿)@Stand News, photography by Lau Tsz-hong (劉子康)
Original: https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E6%96%A5%E5%9C%8B%E5%AE%89%E6%B3%95%E6%81%A5%E8%BE%B1-%E6%93%AC%E4%BF%83%E6%94%BF%E5%BA%9C%E4%BF%AE%E8%A8%82%E6%A2%9D%E6%96%87-%E5%A4%8F%E5%8D%9A%E7%BE%A9%E4%B8%8A%E4%BB%BB%E5%A4%A7%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%AB%E5%85%AC%E6%9C%83%E4%B8%BB%E5%B8%AD%E7%9A%84%E7%AC%AC%E4%B8%80%E5%A4%A9/ 

Paul Harris, 68, a veteran barrister, was elected unopposed as the new Bar Association President on 21 Jan, succeeding his predecessor, Philip Dykes.

Speaking to the media after his election that night, Harris said that the Bar Association and the rule of law in Hong Kong were facing a difficult time, adding in Cantonese, “I am worried that Hong Kong's freedom will not continue. I will try to protect freedom in Hong Kong, I will try my best. I don't know if I'll succeed.”

Taking over the baton at a time of turmoil entails an unpredictable course of challenges. In an interview with Stand News the morning after his election, he confessed that until early December last year, he had never thought about becoming chairman of the Association.

“But many senior members of the Bar came to me and asked me to run for the chairman seat, and they were very convincing. I guess they wanted my background in human rights law, and they were thinking that someone with absolutely no relatives in mainland China would be a good candidate.” As far as Paul Harris knows, no one had been willing to take over the chairmanship until he was approached by his peers. “I guess it has something to do with the fact that the situation of the rule of law is so difficult now,” he said.

After he was elected that night, he said he hoped that during his term he would be able to negotiate with the government for changes to some of the provisions of Hong Kong's national security laws. In an interview with Stand News, he also said that he hoped that fighting for the resumption of extradition agreements with European and American countries would be an incentive for the government to consider amending those provisions of the National Security Law that are clearly in conflict with the Basic Law or the spirit of the rule of law.

“But I have no illusions — this will be a very difficult, if not impossible, task," Paul Harris said, "but the constitution of the Bar Association says we have to defend the rule of law and that is what I will try to do... But I am clear in my mind, that's got to be my main task.”

- “We can’t have the rule of law if some people are above the law” -

A specialist in public and human rights law, Harris became a Senior Counsel in 2006 and was the founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. He has acted in a number of notable cases relating to the right to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration in the early years of handover. For example, Harris represented in the David Ma case in 1997 (arguing the legality of the Provisional Legislative Council), the Ng Kung-siu flag burning case in 1999 (arguing the legality of the restrictions on freedom of expression under the National Flag Law) and Christine Chan’s case involving a Tibetan flag in 2008 (arguing whether police arrests infringed the right to assembly). The case of Yeung May-wan [FACC19/2004], a Falun Gong member who demonstrated outside the Liaison Office in 2005, was a landmark case, as the Court of Final Appeal ruled that the arrest of Falun Gong practitioners for "street obstruction" was unlawful, as the Basic Law protects their constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully.

In the 6 months since the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, a total of 4 people have been formally charged and nearly 100 arrested for alleged national security offences. Harris criticised the recent arrests of participants and organisers of the pro-democracy primaries by the National Security Department of the police, saying that the national security law is pushing Hong Kong further towards a police state.

He said he did not agree with the concept of “mutual destruction” (laam chaau) and agreed that those who advocate it may have violated the national security law, but he noted that not every primary election participant agreed to the “mutual destruction” agenda and there was no reason for the police to arrest them simply because they were involved, “I am shocked, like most people... This is absolutely travesty.”

In the early morning of 6 Jan 2021, more than 50 pro-democracy activists were arrested at almost the same time by officers of the National Security Department, some of whom were detained at different police stations for more than 30 hours and even 40 hours before being released on bail. “This is completely unnecessary, and is another example of how the National Security Law undermines Hong Kong's freedom," he said.

“Most of them [primaries candidates] are law-abiding people. If you appoint them to go to a police station to be arrested, they will go. This seems to be a deliberate attempt to intimidate people, which is very disgusting.” said Harris.

Harris expects that after the epidemic is over, the people will have street demonstrations again, as the national security law has failed to bring real calm to Hong Kong. While he is strongly against violence and violent demonstrations, he said “It is completely untrue to say that the national security law was used to prevent violent demonstrations... Beijing is making these demonstrations out to be directed by foreign forces, and I don't see any evidence to prove it. I've met a lot of people who were involved in the demonstrations and they were Hong Kong people who had very strong opinions about what was going on, and they were definitely not instigated by any forces.”

“The Hong Kong National Security Law is designed to take away Hong Kong’s freedom, bring in more of the Mainland system to Hong Kong. It has nothing to do with maintaining public order.”

He agrees with the criticism that the national security law is a disgrace. But unless the Hong Kong Legislative Council can legislate on its own in the near future, he believes it is not realistic to call for the withdrawal of the entire national security law. In his view, a possible option is to negotiate with the government, especially the Secretary for Justice, Teresa Cheng, to amend some of the most controversial provisions of the national security law, or to add some new provisions to make the national security law more acceptable than it is now.

Why did the Hong Kong government do as Harper says? Harper believes the incentive is that 9 countries have already suspended their extradition agreements with Hong Kong. I hope this will make the government stop and think, or at least consider making some changes to reassure the public," he said. But he is not too optimistic, "Or maybe it's a total impossibility, I might hit a brick wall and (the government) refuses to have a dialogue at all, I don't know yet. I don't know the Secretary for Justice personally, I haven't met her before.” said Harris.

Harris’ main concern is that articles 14 and 60 of the National Security Law stipulate that the decisions of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security and the conduct of the personnel of Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR are not subject to interference by the jurisdiction of Hong Kong.

“This is of paramount importance. The meaning of the provisions is that they can kidnap people at will without legal consequence, not to mention assault, burglary, intrusion into homes, and any other acts. We cannot enjoy the rule of law when some people are above the law,” he said.

Harris also cited a number of provisions in the National Security Law, such as Article 46, which provides for cases to be heard without a jury; Article 43, which empowers national security departments to require persons in possession of information to answer questions; and Article 19, which exempts national security spending from existing legal requirements. Another provision that has caused many people to worry is articles 55 and 56, which provide that if 3 specific circumstances are met, including complex circumstances involving foreign intervention, Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR will exercise jurisdiction over the case and refer it to the People's Court of China for trial.

Harris criticised these 2 provisions as a clear violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration's commitment to Hong Kong. “We need to acknowledge frankly that there are no independent judges in the Mainland and no fair trials as we understand them in Hong Kong. If someone can be brought back to the Mainland for trial, that's terrible and it can happen to anyone.”

- Independent ruling by the courts? Harris: confident and concerned -

Beyond the content of the legal provisions, how the court interprets them also affects their substantive impact. Harris is currently representing Adam Ma Chun-man, who has been charged with "inciting secession” for allegedly chanting slogans. In his bail application for Ma, Harris argued that the "act without the use of force" in Article 20 of the National Security Law meant a serious unlawful act, but that the defendant was only chanting slogans and "peacefully advocating secessionist ideas", and that he should be granted bail. However, the trial judge, Alex Lee, found that the provision had already stated that force was not an element of the charge of secession, and that Harris had misinterpreted the provision.

Paul Harris told Stand News that if the prosecution's understanding was that it was an offence to call slogans or write articles advocating Hong Kong's independence, this would be inconsistent with the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Basic Law. He argued that to strike a balance between the national security law and the Basic Law, the interpretation of "non-forceful acts of secession" should be narrowed to include only unlawful acts such as sabotage of infrastructure and computer hacking. But he said that the final interpretation of the national security law would have to be determined by the courts.

“But if the way the government is interpreting the law, you will be arrested if you shout for independence, it is very offensive and creates a very bad atmosphere in society.”

The new Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Andrew Cheung, responded to the media earlier, saying that the Hong Kong courts are "battle-hardened" and appealed to the public to trust the courts' ability to interpret national security laws in accordance with common law principles. Does the new Chairman of the Society have confidence?

The courts in Hong Kong have become very accustomed to having to interpret the Ordinance or the Basic Law, according to Harris, but when it comes to national security law, it depends very much on the relationship between the national security law and the Basic Law, and the answer is still very unclear. “Do they have the same legal status? Or does the Basic Law have higher status? When we ask this question, is the answer based on the Mainland law? Or is the answer based on Hong Kong law? This is undoubtedly a very unclear and difficult issue. So... I don't know what the court will ultimately decide.”

What's more, the National Security Law states that the power to interpret the law rests with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. “My biggest concern is not that the CFA cannot defend the interests of the people, but that it can still be overturned by the NPC Standing Committee in the end. This is one of the shortcomings of the Hong Kong system,” he continued.

In recent years, the court has ruled on sensitive political cases, with local newspapers controlled by the Liaison Office and even Mainland authorities making remarks ahead of the verdict from time to time. Before the NPC Standing Committee intervened, could judges' decisions be free from the influence of central government pressure? Harris described himself as "confident and concerned".

He also criticised the newspaper Ta Kung Pao for its absurd accusations against judges: "Most judges ignore these pressures, but they can still have an impact. Especially when people try to harass judges in their private lives and even their families, it's a horrible and disgusting campaign.”

- The call for judicial reform is to undermine judicial independence” -

In early September 2020, Henry Litton, former CFA permanent judge, wrote an article “For Hong Kong’s sake, the judiciary must regain Beijing’s trust”, in which he wrote: “consistently, the courts have subordinated the common good to the assertions of personal right” and “The courts have, in effect, helped to create the social environment leading to the mayhem wrought on the streets over the past year.” He also said ruling in the anti-mask law case last year showed “total insensitivity” to the policy of “one country, two systems”.

Litton also said, “How did it come about that Beijing has developed such mistrust of the Hong Kong judiciary? The courts have put a slant on the Basic Law, by applying obscure norms and values from overseas which are totally unsuited to Hong Kong’s circumstances.” He ended the op-ed on SCMP by calling for urgent judiciary reform.

Zhang Xiaoming, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, subsequently praised the article, saying that the Hong Kong judiciary needed to be "reformed". What followed was a wave of criticism of Hong Kong courts and even attacks on individual judges from the pro-China media, the pro-Beijing camp and Mainland scholars, who accused the judiciary of using judicial independence as a pretext for being unregulated, allowing "yellow judges" to make "absurd judgments" and “let rioters off the hook”, and called for the establishment of a "Sentencing Commission" and a “Judicial Officers Supervisory Commission”.

In response to calls for judicial reform, former Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma and Chief Justice Andrew Cheung both reiterated the principle of an independent judiciary and stressed that the current appeal mechanism was more effective. In a recent interview with Stand News, the former chairman of the Bar, Philip Dykes, also reiterated the need for the legal profession to monitor unfounded criticism.

But the more important question is whether the pressure on the judiciary today is the result of systematic pressure from Beijing, or perhaps even the beginning of a complete overhaul? Harris thinks the answer is yes.

I don't think these 'concerns' about 'reform' are really about the quality of justice. The purpose of 'reform' is to undermine judicial independence, which is one of the few remaining defences against the absolute power of the executive in Hong Kong. As for the pro-Beijing legislators’ proposal to set up a 'sentencing commission', Harris said they "have no idea how the [judicial] system works.

However, in an era of extreme politicisation and sensitivity, it seems that people's understanding of the justice system is dependent on the court's decision on the case, with convictions and lenient sentences shaping people's conclusions about the current state of justice. He warned that it is "very foolish" to comment on a case simply because of a news report.

The journalists asked Harris what more the legal profession could do, given that the Judiciary and the Bar Association have issued numerous statements reaffirming the principle of judicial independence in the past, but this does not seem to have helped restore public confidence. Harris believes that it is still very important to reaffirm the right principles.

"Everyone in the legal profession needs to continue to reaffirm these principles... about how judges work, that judges should be independent, and that they get very detailed sentencing guidelines from the cases.

- Looking forward amid uncertain times -

What are the Bar Association's key issues for the coming year, apart from the National Security Law, as new officials take office? “In these uncertain times, it is difficult to say what long-term plans there are, as we do not know what is going to happen in a few months' time,” he said.

Harris said “Last year, no one expected the sudden ousting of four lawmakers, which was a shock. They are good lawmakers. But the seats were suddenly cancelled without due process, as if Beijing had just given the order.”

“I don't know how many unprecedented things will follow, I hope there will be some good news, but at the moment the road ahead looks a bit gloomy.”

Apart from the judiciary, the Bar Association itself is also a frequent target of criticism by the Communist Party’s mouthpiece. Asked if he was worried about a political score-settling one day, Harris said the Bar Association is not a political organisation, but a professional body concerned with the rule of law, which is now seen as a highly politicised issue.

“We are living in very uncertain times and it is impossible to predict what will happen [afterwards], things look gloomy.” Nevertheless, Harper says he will continue to try and sends a message to his peers: "Do not lose hope - if we give up, we lost. We have to keep on trying. Hong Kong's legal system still has resilience and it’s a good system that’s worth fighting for.”.

HKCT Review 2020: October to December 2020

HKCT Review 2020: October to December 2020

With the 79th Chinese National Day coming on 1 October 2020, almost nobody in Hong Kong under 30 identifies themselves as “Chinese”. According to HKPORI’s final tracking survey results on Hong Kong people’s ethnic identity, rift widens between Chinese and Hong Kong identities and national pride plunges to one in four. All these indicators are at their record lows since the handover and the reasons are nothing more than open secrets. Pieces over pieces of news have been breaking Hongkongers’ hearts.  

19yo Tony Chung - Second Person Charged under Hong Kong's National Security Law

On 29 Oct, Tony Chung, a former leader of pro-independence group Studentlocalism, was denied bail after appearing in West Kowloon Magistrates' Court charged with secession, money laundering and conspiracy to publish seditious material. The teenager is accused of organising, planning, committing or participating in acts with other people with a view to committing secession between 1 July 2020 and 27 October 2020 – the day of his arrest. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2790388994511815)

See also:

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2791128804437834 

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2790683481149033 

External Voting/Out-of-Hong Kong voting

The pro-Beijing camp has always wanted Hongkongers on the Mainland to cast votes because they are sure these voters will all be their supporters. By doing so they can effectively win pan-democrats by lengths. The issue of external voting was mentioned on in the Electoral Affairs Commission's (EAC) Report on the 2020 LegCo General Election released on 12 Oct. In response to the concerns from the members of the public (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2789876991229682), CE responded that the idea of external voting was put forward by the Hong Kong SAR Government based on the aspirations of Hong Kong people living and working on the Mainland conveyed over the years.

See also:

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2782397188644329 

Cathay Pacific’s Massive Lay-off; Cathay Dragon Slayed

COVID-19 means people are grounded and countries are not going to have that many flights everywhere. Unlike SARS, which lasted for less than half a year, COVID-19 is still affecting us as you read. The aviation industry, among others, bears the brunt in suffering losses, and redundancy is inevitable. Cathay Pacific on 21 October announced the lay-off of 5,900 actual positions across the entire Group, which accounts for around 17% of its established headcount. This means some 5,300 Hong Kong-based employees will be fired and about 600 employees based outside of Hong Kong also possibly being affected subject to local regulatory requirements. In view of the devastating news, Eaton HK published a statement to support staff members being affected. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2785570278327020)

All Civil Servants to Take Oath / Sign Declaration

The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) issued a circular to all departments on 12 Oct requiring all civil servants joining the HKSAR Government on or after 1 July 2020 to take an oath or make a declaration that they will uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to the HKSAR and be responsible to the HKSAR Government, as one of the conditions for appointment. From July to October 2020, there were a total of about 2 980 civil servants who joined the HKSAR Government and duly made the declaration. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2820848721465842) They come from around 140 grades. Around 180,000 civil servants will soon be required to take an oath of allegiance to the Basic Law and the SAR (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2830912547126126), and they will be given a month to do so. 

See also:

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2840258532858194 

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2816004541950260 

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2839413999609314 

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2829197687297612 

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2841973002686747 

Mass Resignation of Pan-dem Lawmakers to Respond Four Disqualifications

The controversy of letting some lawmakers deem ineligible to run in the original LegCo election 2020 stay in the extended LegCo term dragged on and perplexed some. Beijing wanted to give these pan-dem lawmakers the benefit of doubt but it turns out they remain "disobedient" in LegCo. In November, the four disqualifications were confirmed after the National People's Congress Standing Committee announced a list of reasons why a lawmaker should be stripped of their seats, including asking external forces to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs or refusing to accept China's sovereignty over the territory. One of the 4 disqualified lawmaker Dennis Kwok said he had no regrets. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2802739149943466) In response to the disqualifications, 15 pan-democratic lawmakers submitted to LegCo Secretariat their resignation letters. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2804070693143645)

See also:

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2804495659767815 

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2803314009885980 

Death of 22yo HKUST student Alex Chow Tsz-lok #AlexChowInquest

22yo HKUST student Alex Chow Tsz-lok who fell into a coma after falling from a height at a parking lot during a clash in Tseung Kwan O succumbed to his injuries and died on 8 Nov 2019. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2799868830230498)

In the early hours of 4 Nov, protesters had blocked roads and thrown objects at the police in Tseung Kwan O. The police launched tear gas to disperse the crowd, and Chow had fallen from a height at Sheung Tak Car Park during the clash. The police subsequently admitted that when Chow fell from a height, the riot police had launched tear gas outside the carpark, but whether that was related to the fall, the police didn’t exclude any possibilities. The death inquest of Alex has been carried out for over 20 days and the giving of testimony was expected to be completed on 4 Jan 2021. After that, case would start to be summed up in two days. For more details exposed during the inquest, please read this.

CUHK Reported Students' Protest in Campus to Police

Over 100 graduating students rallied, chanted slogans and raised flags at the campus of the Chinese University on 19 Nov, the day of graduation ceremony. They displayed flags that read “Hong Kong independence, the only way out” and “Reclaim Hong Kong, the revolution of our times,” sprayed graffiti of the slogans and sang the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2810560219161359) The CUHK filed reports to Police. Around a dozen police officers entered Chinese University's campus on the next day. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2811488772401837) Several student unions in CUHK condemned the university reporting it to the police (xxx).

See also:

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2810559709161410

CFA: Requiring Male Inmates to Cut Hair Breaches Sex Discrimination Ordinance

While some may think being jailed means one should be deprived of all freedom and dignity, some may not think so. Leung Kwok-hung, former lawmaker known as Long Hair, won the final appeal. Court of Final Appeal rules that requiring male inmates to cut hair breaches Sex Discrimination Ordinance. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2816692275214820) After losing the court battle to ‘Long Hair’, Hong Kong’s prisons considered shearing locks of female inmates in name of equality, SCMP said. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2820775728139808)

Joshua Wong and Fellow Activists Plead Guilty 

Pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were remanded in custody on 23 Nov after pleading guilty to charges related to a major protest outside police headquarters last year. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2813527595531288) On 2 Dec, the prison sentences handed down to the trio. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2821155381435176) Agnes Chow received her first prison sentence of a 10-month term and spent her 24th birthday behind bars. Japanese politicians and government expressed concerns over jailing Agnes Chow (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2827542904129757; https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2822355764648471). On the last day of the year, Agnes Chow was reported re-classified as a Category A inmate, same level with murderers, and moved to a top security prison (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2842421919308522).

See also:

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2821159804768067 

12 detainees in Shenzhen

The group of 12 was captured by Chinese coastguards on 23 Aug while trying to flee to Taiwan on a speedboat. Most of them were facing criminal charges in Hong Kong for offences linked to last year’s anti-extradition bill protests. After being detained for over three months, 10 of the 12 were brought up to Yantian District People's Court in Shenzhen for trial. Consulate staff from the US, the UK, Canada, Portugal and the Netherlands waited for about 2 hours but they were not allowed to enter, and so they left. The Yantian Court later on the same day uploaded that the court has listened to the procuratorate's opinion and the defence side's views. The court will choose a date to announce the verdict. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2840392502844797) On 30 Dec, after the verdict was made, the state-run media soon commented the case showed Mainland Judiciary's prudence and professionalism. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2841787936038587) Yet, the transparency of the case was clearly “open”. The response of 12 Hongkongers’ Families to “Judgment” is here: (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2841809446036436) 

Exodus of Hongkongers 

Being hunted by Hong Kong law enforcer using various tools including National Security Law and facing lots of other charges, some Hong Kongers opted to flee their home. To name a few, Ted Hui (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2822059874678060), Nathan Law (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2813922315491816) and Baggio Leung (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2837524823131565), 3 ex-lawmakers left for different places for their safety. Hui arranged his family to leave too, while the 2 other politicians have declared "severing ties with their families" in hope not to burden their loved ones.

A lot of Hongkongers could have a choice to choose to emigrate elsewhere while some were forced to exile themselves. Aurora, Tsang Chi-kin's girlfriend, was one of them.  (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2829790727238308) Tsang Chi-kin, the first protester shot by police said he would skip court and went on the run. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2835816096635771) 

Top Court Rules in Favour of the Administration over the Anti-mask Law

The administration invoked emergency law and announced a ban on masks at all protests including authorized ones on 4 Oct last year. Last Nov, the anti-mask regulation was ruled unconstitutional. The ruling was partially overturned this year in April following an appeal from the HKSAR government. On 21 Dec, a 5-judge panel (including Lord Hoffmann) at the Court of Final Appeal ruled that the ban on face masks at unauthorised protests and rallies was proportionate and no more than reasonably necessary to prevent violence. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2834989970051717)

US’ Sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong Officials

After 11 Hong Kong officials were sanctioned (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2718529815031067), the US on 7 Dec imposed sanctions on 14 senior Chinese officials as it vowed there would be a price to pay for Beijing’s growing clampdown in Hong Kong. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2825294347687946) 

Bishop Hill Service Reservoir

Some residents who often go to Bishop Hill discovered that the spectacular waterworks project was about to be destroyed by Water Supplies Department. Not until some stopping the bulldozers with their bodies, the construction workers did not stop their work. Photos of the inside of the service reservoir made some glad as the city, under waves of crackdown, has lacked some positive news, while some remain pessimistic as the government often ignores voices of the public. With inspections, WSD decided to stop the work and let Antiquities Advisory Board decide its grade. 

Also see:

Oct-Dec 2020

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2021/01/hkct-review-2020-october-to-december.html

Jul-Sep 2020

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2021/01/hkct-review-2020-july-to-september-2020.html

Apr-Jun 2020

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2021/01/hkct-review-2020-april-to-june-2020.html

Jan-Mar 2020

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2021/01/hkct-review-2020-january-to-march-2020.html

Coronavirus outbreak

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2021/01/hkct-review-2020-coronavirus-outbreak.html

Media

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2020/12/hkct-review-2020-media.html

Legal Sector & Judiciary

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2021/01/hkct-review-2020-legal-sector-judiciary.html

Education

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2020/12/hkct-review-2020-education.html

HKCT Review 2020: July to September 2020

HKCT Review 2020: July to September 2020

1 July 2020 marks the first day of a new era - Hong Kong under the effect of the national security law for Hong Kong (HK NSL). From July to September 2020, many events considered unthinkable by many happened in Hong Kong; the ban of the annual pro-democracy protest, people arrested for what they said or what banner they carried, the raid of a newsroom, Hong Kong political activists fleeing Hong Kong for safety, and some caught by Chinese Coast Guards… When protests did not seem a possible means to express one’s stance, the Legislative Council general election 2020 was something many Hongkongers looked forward to. Yet, it was faced with unprecedented states of affairs.

1-July protest

On the first day HK NSL took effect, the annual democracy protest held on Hong Kong Island was banned for the first time in 23 years (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2687733508110698). Despite the ban and the newly enacted national security law, many took to the street. Clashes with the police happened in the afternoon. The police also showcased a new purple banner which warned people of their possible violation of the new law (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2688343724716343/). Over 300 were arrested that day.

First arrests related to the national security law were also made on the first day HKNSL took effect. The police said on that day 6 males and 4 females were arrested for offences related to HKNSL that day (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2688759524674763), although some arrested on that day were released on bail (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2689573047926744), not all of them were. 

One of those denied bail was Tong Ying-kit, 23yo. He was seen riding a motorbike on 1 July, flying a banner with the slogan that “connotes ‘Hong Kong Independence’, according to a government statement the next day (2 Jul) (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2689555551261827/). The police said Tong “rammed into police officers who were on duty nearby” (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2688602724690443 ). Tong was charged with terrorism and inciting secession; he was the first person charged with an offence related to HKNSL (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1489251731292221/2690117731205609/).

HKNSL’s effects shortly after 1-July

Besides the arrests made on 1 July and that Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay was transformed into the temporary base for Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2693752037508845), books suspected to violate the new law were no longer available from public libraries within days after the law took effect. The books removed included those penned by former Demosisto secretary-general Joshua Wong, former lawmaker Tanya Chan and scholar Chin Wan (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2690842541133128). 

Political activists flee HK; 6 wanted by police for HKNSL offences

Following the enactment of HK NSL, political activists announced their flee out of Hong Kong. Those who fled included Nathan Law, who announced leaving Hong Kong on the 2nd day after HKNSL took effect (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2689550007929048). He later confirmed having arrived in London, United Kingdom (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2698329507051098). Honcques Laus, 18yo, chairman of Hongkonger Utilitarian Party, said in late July that he went to the UK at the end of June to seek political asylum. He said when he was in secondary school, he raised “independence” slogans from his tablet when taking a photo with Carrie Lam in 2017, and published a book supporting independence last year. He also formed Hongkonger Utilitarian Party in late June 2019. He expected himself to be persecuted under the National Security Law so he was determined to leave Hong Kong (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2711647725719276). 

In late July, the government announced that Law and Law were among the 6 wanted by the Hong Kong police on suspicion of secession or colluding with foreign forces under the HKNSL. The other 4 wanted are Wayne Chan Ka-kui, Samuel M. Chu, Simon Cheng and Ray Wong Toi-yeung (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2712764038940978/). Law declared his severing of ties with his family after being listed on the wanted list (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2712944442256271/)

BN(O)

On 1 July, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the plan for granting British National (Overseas) passport holders 5 years limited leave to remain, with the right to work or study, and after 5 years, the ability to apply for settled status. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2688655628018486)

Following the enactment of HKNSL, Britain announced details of the BNO immigration scheme on 22 July (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2705471556336893). The Hong Kong government expressed dissatisfaction at the policy (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1489251731292221/2706826686201380/). Beijing reacted strongly against this new policy, saying that they might consider not recognising BNO as a valid travel document (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2706032309614151). Pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong speculated the consequences of China’s retaliation on this policy of Britain: lawmaker Regina Ip said BNO owners might be unable to return to Hong Kong or travel to China if China stopped recognising it as a valid travel document (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2708388456045203), and Hong Kong’s sole NPCSC delegate Tam Yiu-chung, said BNO holders may lose their identity as a permanent resident of Hong kong and as a Chinese national (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2711856912365024). 

(See also:

Australia announced new visa arrangements for Hong Kong passport holders on 21 Aug:

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2731354593748589)

US’s Sanction of Hong Kong officials (7 Aug)

The US Treasury announced in early August, the sanctioning of 11 individuals: Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Commissioner of Police Chris Tang, Former Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo, Secretary for Security John Lee, Chief Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, Secretary for Constitution and Mainland Affairs, Erick Tsang, HKMAO director Xia Baolong, HKMAO deputy director Zhang Xiaoming, director of Liaison Office Luo Huining and director of Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong. 

They said in their statement that “the recent imposition of of draconian national security legislation on Hong Kong has not only undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy, it has also infringed on the rights of people in Hong Kong, allowing mainland China’s security services to operate with impunity in the region, mandating “national security education” in Hong Kong schools, undermining the rule of law, and setting the groundwork for censorship of any individuals or outlets that are deemed unfriendly to China.”

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2718586668358715/)

See also: 

20:04 15 Aug: Carrie Lam's Honorary Fellowship in Cambridge REMOVED

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2725126174371431/

22:17 15 Aug: Carrie Lam Retorts: She “Returns” Cambridge Honorary Fellowship

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2725226647694717/

Jimmy Lai’s arrest & raid of Apple Daily (10 Aug)

In the early morning on 10 Aug, Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Digital which owns Apple Daily. Lai’s 2 sons, Timothy Lai and Ian Lai, and 4 management staff of the company, Wong Wai-keung (translit., executive controller), Ng Tat-kwong (animation general manager), and Cheung Kim-hung (CEO) and Holston Chow (CFO and COO) were arrested. Jimmy Lai, his sons and Chow were charged with collusion and conspiracy to defraud, while Wong, Ng and Cheung were charged with a count of conspiracy to defraud.(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.2720805748136807/2720686818148700/)

Later in the morning, more than 200 police entered Apple Daily’s headquarters and brought Jimmy Lai, who had his hands cuffed at the back, back to his office in the building. Apple Daily’s staff were required to register with the police before entering their offices, and only a few media companies were allowed to come close to the building for reporting.

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.2720805748136807/2720719001478815/)

Live videos filmed by Apple Daily’s staff show the police walking through cubicles, flipping through documents, plucking a paper here and there. The police searched Apple Daily for 4.5 hours, cordoned off some executive offices, including Lai’s, and took away about 30 boxes of evidence from the building. Apple Daily launched legal action against the police after the raid for the return of journalistic material, information professional privilege, and all other material not covered by the search warrant.

Our collection of reports on that day: 

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2720805748136807

Snapshots of the search of Apple Daily:

13:27 Asked Whether Arrest "Political", Jimmy Lai: You Better Ask Police

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.2720805748136807/2720761888141193/

13:58 Police took away hard drive

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.2720805748136807/2720766901474025/

13:57 Cheung Kim-hung (Next Digital Executive) brought away

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.2720805748136807/2720775304806518/

Report by Reuters on the search of Apple Daily: 

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security-jimmylai-raid/hong-kong-police-raid-on-newspaper-filmed-in-real-time-as-china-flexes-muscles-idUSKCN25610W

Agnes Chow’s arrest; Nikkei’s HK office searched (10 Aug)

On the same day (10 Aug), the police arrested political activist, Agnes Chow, 23yo, at her doorstep at night under HK NSL (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2721560671394648). She was released bail the following night (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2721948041355911/). Chow, who is fluent in Cantonese, English and Japanese, has visited Japan and often post in Japanese on social media. Netizens created a hashtag #FreeAgnes during her arrest. The hashtag trended on Twitter in Japan with more than 290,000 messages under it. 

Chow later told reporters that the police investigators showed her an advertisement published on Nikkei about Hong Kong’s democracy movement in 2019 as one piece of evidence leading to her arrest (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740759536141428). 3 police officers also went to the Japanese media company, Nikkei’s office in Hong Kong for an investigation, although the police told Stand News that it was related to “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence” and was not related to the national security law. 

Police arrest pro-democracy lawmakers for Yuen Long Incident last year (26 Aug)

More than 1 year after the 21-July Yuen Long incident, the police made arrests related to the incident on 26 Aug. Yet, the people they arrested were Lam Cheuk-ting, a Democratic Party lawmaker then, who was attacked on that night and was seen bleeding from his head (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2734607876756594). A fellow member of the party and lawmaker then, Ted Hui, was also arrested in relation to an event in Tuen Mun Park on 6 July 2019 (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2734575540093161). The police arrested 14 other people on the same day (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2734737200076995/). 

That night, the police met with the press and called the incident on 21 Jul 2019 “a conflict between both sides”. They claimed that the situation deteriorated after the arrival of a lawmaker and the live broadcast of the incident online. The police officer also criticised a reporter, who he said filmed the incident from one side only, together with some narration, misled others to believe the incident was an “indiscriminate attack”. 

(https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2734737200076995/)

Gwyneth Ho, a former reporter of Stand News, who filmed the 21-July Incident live and was assaulted on that day, spoke out against the police’s remarks. She questioned how a person being attacked could film themselves and whether it was an attack targeting reporters if it was not an indiscriminate attack (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2734789453405103). Ho also said she walked from the east side of the ticketed area to the west side, and to every exit, she captured the white-clad, black-clad and everyone present, the only people she did not film were the police, who were not in the scene.” (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2735112923372756) Critics slammed the police of re-writing history for the 21-July Yuen Long incident (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2735126010038114). 

12 Hongkongers

With the situation deteriorating day by day, some people with charges attempted to flee for Taiwan. It is learnt that some have departed earlier and successfully made it to Taiwan. On 27 Aug, a Weibo post by China Coast Guard said they intercepted a speedboat suspected of illegal border crossing in waters under China’s jurisdiction southeast of Guangdong at around 09:00 on 23 Aug (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2735578756659506). Sources said then said there were 12 on the boat. Later, it was learned that the people on the boat were Andy Li Yu-hin (29yo), Quinn Moon (33yo), Tang Kai-yin (30yo), Li Tsz-yin (29yo), Wong Wai-yin (29yo), Cheung Chun-fu (22yo), Yim Man-him (21yo), Cheung Ming-yu (20yo), Kok Tsz-lun (18yo), Liu Tsz-man (18yo), Cheng Tsz-ho (17yo), Hoang Lam-phuc (16yo). The 12 have been detained in Yantian District Detention Centre.

Andy Li, a member of “Hong Kong Story” was accused of involvement the “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” group, which was involved in international lobbying efforts, he was arrested under HKNSL on 10 Aug and was released on bail. The other 11 were also previously arrested by the Hong Kong police, including 4, who were members of the “Dragon Slaying Brigade” group, which targeted the police and was allegedly involved in cases involving explosives. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2737318739818841)

As of today, neither the 12’s families nor lawyers appointed by them have been able to get in touch with them in person as of today. Many have been concerned about the situation of the 12 in detention. Families reported that medicines were not allowed to be brought to them. Some lawyers appointed by families have been rejected from have been pressured from taking the case. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2746453965571985). A lawyer rejected from seeing the 12 said the authorities told him that the 12 had already commissioned other lawyers, whom he believed were appointed by the officials. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2747072825510099).

(Also: 

11 Sep: Lawyer Warned by Internal Security: Don't Take Up Case or Your Career to Be Ruined

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2748622532021795)

In mid-Sep, the families of the 12 met with the press, and stated their 4 demands, namely: let family-appointed lawyers meet with the detainees, provide appropriate medications to the detainees as necessary, allow the detainees to call their families and that the Hong Kong government ensure that the rights of the Hongkongers are protected and to take them back to Hong Kong. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2749486088602106/) 

The families also went to the Police Headquarters later in the month to report the case and demanded the Hong Kong police to account for the process of the 12’s arrest, Marine Department to submit radar record of vessels that day as well as the patrol routes and locations of the Hong Kong marine police. (https://www.facebook.com/save12hkyouths/posts/131097235397374)

The Hong Kong government has been blasted for their passiveness in assisting the 12 they were even accused of their involvement in the arrest. Shortly after the news of the 12’s arrest, Commissioner of Police, Chris Tang, denied cooperating with Chinese Coast Guards and said they did not know of the incident. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2735700859980629) In early Sep, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the suspects had violated Mainland laws and would be dealt with according to them (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1489251731292221/2746105335606848/). That the case is out of the jurisdiction of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government had no role to play and they would provide assistance whenever possible were the recurring themes in their subsequent responses to the incident.

With the 12’s case gaining attention from international society and US politicians, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing concern of the 12 detainees in mid-Sep (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-hong-kong-idUSKBN262327), China demanded them to stop the “interference” and China’s MFA Hua Chunying tweeted that the 12 were not democratic activists but “elements attempting to separate Hong Kong from China.” (https://twitter.com/SpokespersonCHN/status/1304989967509151744)

Clash on 31-Aug; Pregnant woman dragged to ground

Clashes with the police happened in the area near Mong Kok and Prince Edward on 31 Aug, as people gathered to commemorate the 1st year anniversary of the Prince Edward station incident. On 31 August 2019, riot police entered Prince Edward station and were seen using force on passengers on the train. People were barred from entering the station, MTR refused to release footages to the public and there were rumours of deaths in the station. The police insist no deaths, but without letting the press enter the scene, it takes lots of efforts for the government to clarify (and it seems such efforts remain futile).

During the clash with the police on 31 Aug 2020, a pregnant woman was reported to have been pushed to the ground by the police. Her husband was also arrested for assaulting a police officer and the charge was later changed to disorderly conduct in a public place (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2739695966247785). 

Clash on 6 Sep; 12yo girl pinned to ground; Bus driver arrested

On Sunday (6 Sep), the day when LegCo election was supposed to be held, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Kowloon. Not only did the police fired pepper pellets and arrested almost 300 people, but their action against a 12yo girl and their arrest of a bus driver also sparked an outcry. 

Pamela (12yo) and her brother (20yo) were buying art supplies when the police cordoned off the area where the shop was in. Pamela ran in fright as she was faced with riot police, and the police then pinned her to the ground. Both Pamela and her brother were issued penalty tickets for violating the gathering ban as they said the police pulled a passer-by in and said the three were gathering.

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2744792789071436) 
(Video showing Pamela pinned to the ground - may be distressing to some readers).

A bus driver of NWFB route 970 was one of the arrested that day. The police said he was driving in a high speed on Nathan Road and was honking in an "unreasonable" manner. He was later charged with dangerous driving, as well as possession of offensive weapons. NWFB Staff Union expressed dissatisfaction at the arrest, saying drivers would not normally speed up when they saw many people on the road, that honking was to warn people to stay out of danger in chaotic situation and that the “weapons”, which were a spanner and screwdriver were normally carried by bus drivers to adjust rear mirrors.

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2745436125673769, https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1548263-20200907.htm)

Tam Tak-chi arrested

On 6 Sep, People Power vice-chairman Tam Tak-chi, known as "Fast Beat" was arrested from his home on suspicion of uttering seditious words. He was later charged with holding or convening an unauthorised public meeting, disorderly conduct in public place and refusing to obey a police order. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2744379672446081/) Besides the 3 offences, he was additionally charged with another count of "uttering seditious words” on 14 Sep. The charge said Tam Tak-chi had uttered seditious words at the junction of East Point Road and Great George Street in Causeway Bay on 24 May, i.e. words intended to bring into hatred or contempt, or to excite disaffection against the Hong Kong government, raise discontent or disaffection among Hong Kong people, rebel or to counsel disobedience to law or to any lawful order. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2751198988430816)

Hong Kong has separation of powers?

On 31 Aug, Secretary for Education, Kevin Yeung, made a remark that separation of powers did not exist now or before the Handover in 1997 (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2739408296276552). On the next day, Carrie Lam backed Yeung in her meeting with the media before the Executive Council meeting. She said the Basic Law provided that Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy was not full autonomy, and that Hong Kong is an executive-led system with the Chief Executive as chief over them; although administration, legislature and judiciary, play their own role and have checks and balances each other, eventually it was the Chief Executive who was responsible for the 3 branches and was held accountable to Beijing (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740051899545525). 

Although the remark was backed by HKMAO, Liaison Office, Secretary for Justice, some government officials and pro-Beijing politicians, separation of powers in Hong Kong was in fact first mentioned in 1984 by Maria Tam (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2740343392849709/). Lawyers, groups and scholars have expressed concerns over the remark. 

Also see our legal and judiciary review of 2020.

Supporting Carrie Lam’s remark: 

Night, 7 Sep: HKMAO: Separation of Powers Never Exist in HK

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2745643612319687/

Night, 7 Sep: Liaison Office: Cannot Override Executive-led System by Expanding Right of Judiciary under “Judicial Independence”; Using Separation of Powers to Deny Executive-led “Aims to Reject Beijing’s Overall Jurisdiction”

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2745596892324359/

09:06 2 Sep: Ronny Tong: "Separation of Powers" Debate Pointless

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740880522795996

10:07 2 Sep: Andrew Leung: 3 Branches Play Respective Roles

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740909792793069

Morning, 2 Sep: Junius Ho: CE's Remark Invigorating

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740912196126162

Morning, 5 Sep: Justice Sec: Shouldn't Focus on Labelling of Whether It's Separation of Powers

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2743549755862406/

10:26 6 Sep: Law Chi-kwong: Term "Separation of Powers" Leads to Unnecessary Associations; "Checks & Balances" Is Better

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2744382499112465

06:30 22 Sep: Hong Kong’s separation of powers is subordinate to China, says Beijing legal scholar

https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20200922/K6EMLCUEUBHCVJAC37B2BQUUWY/

Criticisms of the remark:

13:02 1 Sep: Dennis Kwok Slams Comments Dismissing Separation of Power as Ludicrous; Court of Final Appeal to Give Final Decision

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2740219396195442/

21:15 1 Sep: Experts fear Beijing interference after Carrie Lam rejects separation of powers

https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20200901/6YUG3HIJSBCYDI4F7QSPQMYPTU/

Morning 2 Sep: Helena Wong: Separation of Powers to Be Murdered

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740912196126162

2 Sep: Bar Association Concerned About CE & SED’s Remarks of “No Separation of Powers in HK”, Remarks Unfounded & Inconsistent w/ Provisions of BL

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2741384289412286

06:00 5 Sep: Former Hong Kong civil service chief slams Carrie Lam for ‘no separation of powers’ comment

https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20200905/UWYUXI75EFDIRPDCZRL2G3B4YA/

14:05 5 Sep: Progressive Lawyers Group: Separation of powers is a longstanding common law principle and is enshrined in the Basic Law

https://facebook.com/hkplg/posts/1751099801723551

7 Sep: Prof. David Law, Faculty of Law at HKU: It does sound like Carrie Lam is deeply confused or deeply mistaken.

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2746209065596475

Commentary:

Morning, 2 Sep: Carrie Lam Demonstrates ‘Rectification from Root of Problem”, No More Ambiguous Stance on Political System & Constitution

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2741178582766190

Made-in-Hong Kong?

On 11 August, the US published a notice that states the requirements that all goods made in Hong Kong will have to be labelled with “Made in China”. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Edward Yau, in a press conference, condemned the requirement, and said it was “calling white black” (literal translation of Chinese idiom), inconsistent with the fact, and does not conform with the WTO’s regulation on product origin. He said the US’s unilateral, barbaric act ignores the fact, breaches the international convention, and warrants HKSARG’s strong condemnation and staunch opposition. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2723348817882500/)

The Hong Kong government pursued this incident further in mid-Sep and said they wrote a letter to US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, saying Washington is infringing WTO rules and rights of Hong Kong as a separate customs entity by enforcing 'Made in China' tags for goods produced here. (https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1549933-20200916.htm)

US and UK ending transfer of fugitives 

Following Britain’s announcement of the suspension of extradition treaty with Hong Kong on 20 July (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2703771529840229/), the Hong Kong government received a notice from the Consulate General of USA on 18 Aug on the suspension or termination of three bilateral agreements, namely the agreement for the surrender of fugitive offenders (SFO), the agreement for the transfer of sentenced persons and the agreement concerning tax exemptions from the income derived from the international operation of ships. The government condemned the US on this. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2729289463955102/) 

Primary election (11-12 Jul)

When expressing demands by means of a peaceful protest seemed to be a thing in the past, many put hope in the Legislative Council general election, which was supposed to be held in Sep 2020, for a chance to turn things around. With the aim of securing 35+ (more than half of) seats at LegCo, the pro-democracy camp hoped to seek consensus and coordinate for a name list for each election constituency to trump the proportional representation voting system. To do so, the pro-democracy camp decided to hold a primary election in July. 

Before the primary election was held, a government official warned that the primary was unlawful, including violating Articles 20, 22 and 29 of HK NSL (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2694664644084251). The pro-democracy camp also struggled with the logistics of holding the primaries, including finding venues to be polling stations, concerns of being disturbed by pro-Beijing people and violating the COVID-19 gathering ban. Despite the warnings and challenges, with offices of District Councillors turned into polling stations, the primaries were successfully held on 11-12 July. Over 600,000 voted: the unexpectedly high turnout rate surprised many. 

The government expressed a headline stance on the primary election afterwards, alleging that it caused unfairness to the upcoming election and suspected it breached the gathering ban and privacy (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2116-13-jul-cmab-hardline-stance-on-primaries-ce-simply-calls-2-days-of-activiti/2698218133728902/). A Chinese scholar from Beijing’s think tank also alleged that the primaries were illegal (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2700393830177999).  The results were announced on Monday following the primary election, with many younger “protest camp” candidates obtaining high number of votes (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2698208137063235/).

Pro-democracy LegCo Hopefuls Disqualified

After the LegCo hopefuls submitted their nominations, 12 pro-democracy LegCo election candidates consecutively received a letter from Returning Officer in late July. The letter quoted the candidates' past words and actions, and demanded that they explain their stance on various issues, including seeking sanctions on Hong Kong by foreign governments, the National Security Law, and Hong Kong independence. Also, there was the question of whether one could uphold the Basic Law while he/she forces the government to fulfil the Five Demands. The hopefuls who received the letter were: Civic Party’s Alvin Yeung, Cheng Tat-hung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok, Kenneth Leung of the Professional Guild, Southern District Councillor Tiffany Yuen, Central and Western District Councillor Fergus Leung, former Stand News reporter Gwyneth Ho, spokesperson for Civil Assembly Team Ventus Lau, then spokesperson for Hong Kong Higher Institutions International Affairs Delegation Sunny Cheung,  former Demosisto secretary-general Joshua Wong, ADPL’s Ho Kai-ming and LSD’s Jimmy Sham, Civic Passion’s Cheng Chung-tai and Tommy Cheung Sau-yin and Civic Passion’s Cheng Kam-mun. 

(https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2708341806049868

https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2709420259275356)

On 30 July, Returning Officers invalidated the nominations of 12 candidates, i.e. they were disqualified from the election. Those disqualified were Joshua Wong, Tiffany Yuen, Lester Shum, Kenneth Leung, Gwyneth Ho, Ventus Lau, Fergus Leung, Cheng Kam-mun and Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok and Cheng Tat-hung. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2711699309047451/)

LegCo Election Postponed 

The 6th term of LegCo "ended" in July 2020 - why did we put quotation marks here is now clear. On top of the Returning Officers’ action, there were voices calling for postponing LegCo election (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2704252959792086). There were discussions from the pro-Beijing camp of the potential problems related to postponing the election in the week (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2706593682891347), and after news sources revealing the government’s intention to delay LegCo election (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2710869942463721 ; https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2710024145881634), Carrie Lam announced on 31 Jul to postpone the LegCo general election for a year on the grounds of public safety, people's health and ensuring a fair and open election. She invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance (emergency law) for the postpone of the election. Lam reiterated that the postponement had nothing to do with politics, although she admitted that she did not consult the Election Affairs Commission and the 4 coronavirus experts. The Hong Kong government also intended to bring it to NPCSC for their endorsement to strengthen the legal basis of the decision. (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2712728355611213/)

What follows the postponement of LegCo election was the problem of how to deal with the 1-year period of vacuum at LegCo. One proposal was to extend the 2016-2020 term for 1 more year, but there were problems - The Basic Law states that a LegCo term shall be 4 years, how should the legal issues be dealt with? Should the lawmakers disqualified by Returning Officers to run in the election remain in LegCo? 

The Hong Kong government decided to leave them to NPCSC. NPCSC decided on 11 August to extend the LegCo term of 2016-2020 for at least 1 year. Although this conflicts with the duration requirement a LegCo term stated in Basic Law, NPCSC’s decision was not subjected to legal action in Hong Kong. Critics thus deem LegCo after Sep 2020 illegitimate. How should the pro-democracy camp react to the extended year of LegCo term? Whether the pan-democrats should stay in LegCo from Sep 2020 onward became a heated debate. 

Pan-Dems To Stay or Not To Stay?

Although the pan-democrats were inclined to stay at LegCo, many from the “protest camp” called for a boycott of the extended year at LegCo. With voices saying this decision from NPCSC had the agenda to cause a divide within the pro-democracy camp, the pan-democrats decided to use a public opinion poll to decide their fate. Subsequently, the Democratic Party announced that they commissioned Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute to conduct the survey (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740054486211933).

3rd wave coronavirus

The number of COVID-19 cases saw a surge in mid-July and daily cases past 100 for many days between late July and early August. Genetic sequencing of the virus showed the third wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong came from people exempted from quarantine. Ship and flight crew were among those exempted from quarantine that time. 

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2709963315887717,

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2708782676005781)

Facing the 3rd wave of outbreak, the government announced tighter measures on 27 July. The measures included compulsory closing of sports venues and other premises, a stricter gathering ban (from 4 people to 2 people), a compulsory mask-wearing order, and most notably, a dine-in ban for 24/7 from 29 July. 

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1489251731292221/2709233142627401/)

On the first day the dine-in ban took effect, photos of people sitting on streets eating went viral on the Internet. Churches, community centres and other civil organisations advertised online that they welcomed people without a place to eat to have meals at their premises. The government announced that night the opening of heat shelters for people to lunch there as well (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2711019929115389). Succumbed to the backlash, the government lifted the full-day dine-in ban on 31 Jul (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2711638742386841).

 

(See more: 11:47 30 Jul: Ho Pak-leung Sorry for Raising Whole-day Dine-in Ban; Also Urges to Stop FDHs from Coming

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2711874669029915)

The government announced the Universal Community Testing Programme to allow residents to get tested for free in early August in an attempt to control the outbreak. The programme started in the beginning of September. The government worked with a support team from China and hired 3 private companies: BGI (via Sunrise Diagnostic Centre in Hong Kong), Kingmed Diagnostics (Hong Kong) and Hybribio (via Hong Kong Molecular Pathology Diagnostic Centre in Hong Kong) to run the programme. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2718294781721237)

Some worried that the government might use this as an opportunity to collect their DNA for surveillance purposes. Critics questioned the efficacy of a universal testing scheme and whether it was a good use of resources; the qualifications and the reasons why the government selected the 3 companies also sparked controversies. In mid-September, as the programme came to an end, a team member said in an interview that some in the team wore diapers to save time [from answering natural calls], so that they could work in the laboratory for 12 hours non-stopped. Yet, the turnout was way less than 5 million, as hoped by Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health (https://www.facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2721159308101451) and it has so been reported that the testing capacity was lower than claimed (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2741820442702004). 

Civil servants required to pledge allegiance 

In early July, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip revealed the plan to have new civil servants pledge their allegiance to HKSAR. This been suggested to be related to civil servants’ involvement in anti-ELAB. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2694515680765814). Nip invited people to express views on this in mid-July (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1489251731292221/2699699763580739/). In late September, this plan became official, as Nip announced that civil servants joining from 1 July are required to sign a document to indicate their support for the Basic Law and allegiance to HKSAR and those who do not sign the document will not be employed. 

Civil servants have also been warned to watch their tongues, as Nip said comments made in private or on social media platforms, which were originally set up as private, can be made public suddenly, and the impact of those comments is something everyone should be concerned about, even though it might not have been the original intention. (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2760781847472530). 

Not only are new civil servants required to pledge their allegiance, but they may also face termination in their participation in “public order events”. In mid-August, it was reported that internal notices were sent to multiple department heads stating that newly joined civil servants should not be allowed to pass probation if they were found to have participated unlawful public events aimed at the government administration and was arrested and charged (https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2727266337490748). 

After the internal notices were disclosed, Carrie Lam, when she met with the press before her usual Executive Council meeting, expressed that allegiance to HKSAR and upholding the Basic Law were expectations of civil servants; and since the probation period is for the employer to observe work performance and conduct of employees, if the civil servant creates a bad impression of the government, including online remarks, acts and deeds, the government has every reason to dismiss them. She said it is not a question of presumption of guilt, but that of employer-employee relations.

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2727520897465292/)

Patrick Nip, in a subsequent TV interview, also publicly backed this plan to end the probation period of new recruits who are suspected of joining unlawful public events, arrested and prosecuted will be deemed inappropriate in terms of conduct. He added that if a civil servant on probation is arrested but not prosecuted, the government will look at the case and determine whether it is appropriate for the civil servant to finish his/her probation period. When asked if it is unfair that civil servants on probation face termination even when they are not yet convicted, Nip said this has always been the principle of the civil service and they will follow the established procedure, which means presumption of innocence does not apply to arrested civil servants on probation.

(https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1446445815572813/2731963530354362/)

See also:

12:36 30 Sep: 46 Civil Servants Interdicted for Suspected Participation in Public Order Events after Being Arrested/Charged

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/photos/a.1489251731292221/2765233300360718/

Christy Chan’s Death Inquest

Christy Chan Yin-lam, a student of VTC Youth College - Hong Kong Design Institute and a good swimmer who participated the anti-ELAB movement, was found dead and naked in the sea near Devil's Peak in September 2019. The Coroner's Court held a death inquest from 24 Aug to 11 Sep, 32 witnesses and 35 pieces of documentary evidence, including CCTV footages were summoned.

Those who testified included Christy’s mother, grandfather, social worker, juvenile home’s staff, classmates, psychiatrists; the policewoman who tended for Christy when she cried outside Tung Chung station during anti-ELAB last year, a former student of HKDI who spotted a woman who resembled Christy and the taxi driver who drove Christy the night she disappeared, as well as marine police and government chemists who handled Christy’s dead body. The Coroner’s Court also called upon veteran psychiatrist - Dr Ho Mei-yee and forensic pathologist Dr Philip Beh Swan-lip to be expert witnesses. 

The 11-day inquest revealed Christy’s difficult life. Yet, events leading to Chan’s death remained unknown. In the end of the inquest, the jury decided unanimously that Christy’s death was an open verdict, meaning the evidence did not fully or further disclose the means whereby the cause of death arose. The jury agreed that Chan died between the night of 19 Sep 2019 and 20 Sep at an unknown place, and the cause of death was unknown due to decomposition.

Our Reports on Christy Chan’s Death Inquest

14:30 24 Aug: Christy Chan's Mother Reveals Chan's Several Suicidal Attempts; Didn't Bail Christy nor Follow Up

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2732882000262515

12:25 25 Aug: Chan Yin-lam's Coroner's Inquest - Juvenile Home Director: Chan is "Smart", Not Suicidal

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2733877810162934

03:42 26 Aug: 2 Psychiatrists Diagnose Christy Chan with Oppositional Defiant Disorder; Denies Suicidal Intention in Consultation

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2734646330086082

11:18 27 Aug: Court Shows Footage of Christy Chan Bawling outside Tung Chung Station; Cop: She Reacts Emotionally when Hears Going to Hospital

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2735516416665740

11:31 31 Aug: Christy Chan’s Death Inquest – Marine Cop Believes Body Found Naked Suspicious; No Clothing in Waters Nearby

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2739250686292313

13:43 31 Aug: Christy Chan’s Death Inquest – Inspector: No Apparent Injuries on Chan's Body; Wound on Calf Not Fatal

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2739373046280077

15:23 31 Aug: HKDI Alumnus Testifies Seeing Christy Chan Loitering w/o Shoes & Dazed at Tiu Keng Leng MTR Station; Marine Police Claims Didn’t Find Significant Injuries on Chan's Body

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2739391179611597

18:36 31 Aug: [Death Inquest of Christy Chan] Paramedic Claims Rigour Mortis & Livor Mortis upon Discovery of Body; Gov’t Chemist: Toxicology Test Didn’t Find any Drugs in Body

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2739638842920164

Morning, 2 Sep: Forensic Pathologist: Christy Chan’s Cause of Death Unknown

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740943032789745

11:06 2 Sep: Veteran Forensic Pathologist: Cannot Be Sure Died of Drowning; Bit Odd Not Finding Water in Stomach

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2740953262788722

11:23 3 Sep: Christy Chan’s Death Inquest – Father Suffers Mental Illness; Situation Worsens after Daughter’s Funeral; Hospitalized till Today

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2741866016030780

10:43 11 Sep: Christy Chan's Inquest Enters Final Stage; Coroner: This Court No Right to Decide Criminal Liability

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2748504032033645

17:10 11 Sep: 15yo Christy Chan's Death "Open Verdict”

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2748691152014933

See also: 

25 Aug: 1M, 1F Arrested for Nuisance to Christy Chan's Mum, Granddad

https://facebook.com/hkcolumn/posts/2733953603488688