Originally published in the Apple Daily "Readers' Forum on the Proposed Article 23 Provision" column
(Clearwisdom.net)
Lately, some Hong Kong political figures and officials have been trying their best to promote the proposed Article 23 Provisions. They try to sell it to the public under the name of patriotism. Actually, the goal [of the article] is simply to strengthen the dictatorship. Is it true that China would be in danger if this Article were not passed in Hong Kong? China would be in danger of what? We will know just what kind of danger they are talking about if we take a look at the rights currently enjoyed by the Hong Kong people versus those given to the people in Mainland China under the autocracy there.
[Hong Kong is] a loophole of the dictatorship system.
China is under the dictatorship of one party. The media is controlled by the government and is a mouthpiece of the party; it is used to abuse any person or any group that has a different opinion than the party line. Also, there is no effective supervision over the legislative system. So the nation is practically ruled by certain people instead of by law. Under the autocracy, the political figures gang up with the heads of the various businesses and industries, all the while uncaring toward the sufferings of the workers who lose their jobs. As the global market is evolving, the information industry is quickly developing, and more and more things are being scrutinized; as such, some leaders of China are terrified by the potential disclosure to the public of the corruption and the cruelty of the party. The only way to avoid this danger is to firmly impose the autocratic mechanism implemented in Mainland China. That is, under the name of national security, they exploit all kinds of means to "lawfully" eliminate the divergent voices though legal means. They use the media to cover up the facts and only report on positive news in order to create a rosy picture. Indeed, Hong Kong is the loophole of the dictatorship system because it has a complete legislature structure. It empowers its people with the freedom of speech and respects democratic values. It is a role model for a democratic system, and used to embody the hope of promoting democracy and freedom in China. It also used to be a good example of "One Country, Two Systems." Today, however, Hong Kong has to be sacrificed for so-called national security reasons. This is due to firstly the economic situation in Hong Kong that has been worsening. It's been struggling to save itself. It might even become a burden to China. Secondly, based on the facts of the past a few years, it is known that it is impossible to use Hong Kong as an example to persuade Taiwan to accept the arrangement of "One Country, Two Systems." Thirdly, the countries around the world have already started to directly do business with Mainland China. There are many cities on the east coast that are ready to take over the role of Hong Kong. Fourthly, it is impossible to rule Hong Kong by some people and by law at the same time. Instead of trying to cover up the "ruling by certain people," why not bring to light the intention of "ruling by certain people" hidden under the name of "protecting the nation." Fifthly, Falun Gong has become the major topic between the world and China regarding the issues of virtue and peace. China has been under overwhelming criticisms of the world media [because of the persecution of Falun Gong]. Currently, Hong Kong is the only piece of land in China that acknowledges Falun Gong's rights as a legal group. Thus, Hong Kong has become a window of exposing the facts of the cruel persecution currently going on in Mainland China. It is a deadly wound to the autocracy system. So Hong Kong is now a target that the dictatorial authority will viciously fight against.
If a law is proposed for the purpose of ensuring China's security, as responsible Chinese citizens we should step forward to support it. However, in this case, "national security" is simply an excuse. The essence of the law is to strengthen the privileged rights of a very small group of people, to sacrifice the basis that keeps the Hong Kong people's lives peaceful, and to sacrifice the freedom of speech and human rights that Hong Kong is so proud of. Hong Kong would put itself into "white terror" by supporting such a law. Hong Kong people, are you going to support this law?
