The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China had expelled from the body four legislators labeled "Infamous" by Global Times, a Communist Party publication, for their opposition views.
Specifically, the Standing Committee decided that a member of Legco, as the Hong Kong legislature is known, does not meet the legal requirements for holding office if such legislator advocates or supports "Hong Kong independence," refuses to recognize China's sovereignty over Hong Kong, seeks interference in the HKSAR affairs by foreign countries or external forces, or commits other acts endangering national security.
The Decision essentially gave Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the territory's most senior political official, the power on her own to determine who meets the legal requirements to serve in the Legislative Council.
In effect, Beijing, for all intents and purposes, ended representative governance in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Beijing has worked hard to dishonor its promises, most notably enacting on June 30 the National Security Law, which essentially ends law in Hong Kong by allowing Chinese officials to do whatever they want.
What happens now that China has just closed off the only peaceful means of change in Hong Kong by expelling elected representatives?
Given the comprehensive nature of Xi's assault, President Trump should exercise his powers under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 and 2020's Hong Kong Autonomy Act to designate Xi and the other members of the Politburo Standing Committee for their role in undermining Hong Kong's promised autonomy.
https://www.newsweek.com/china-completes-subjugation-hong-kong-comes-america-opinion-1546918
No comments:
Post a Comment