It is too late to “chicken out” now (Lee Yee)
Pro-establishment camp keeps spreading news about postponement of the Legislative Council (LegCo) elections. Following Tam Yiuchung, Tong Kawah said the government could put the elections on hold for 14 days as many times as necessary. Tanya Chan pointed out that the government seems to intend extending the current LegCo session in view of the absence of gazetted announcement of when it will end.
Communist China and Hong Kong originally planned to threaten Hong Kong people with the National Security Law, then browbeat candidates into signing a confirmation in support of the law that is to be used as evidence to disqualify (DQ) the opposition faction from the elections. By doing so, they are to get the elections in the bag. However, to everyone’s surprise, the National Security Law has stirred up worldwide backlash, putting China under siege. Meanwhile, Hong Kong have not overawed, as evidenced by their will to resist demonstrated in the primary elections of pro-democracy camp, in which a large number of young pro-resistance hopefuls were elected. So long as the Carrie Lam regime massively disqualifies candidates, it will certainly give rise to an even fiercer global backlash. Providing that the anti-China measures escalate, neither will China be able to stay authoritative in front of its compatriots by showing the white feather, nor will it be courageous enough to wage a head-to-head battle.
It seems that the DQ strategy has been relinquished. Swift and decisive enforcement of the National Security Law was seen merely on the first day of its implementation. Since then, it has rarely been cited for law enforcement. Even though Communist China and Hong Kong stubbornly refuses to admit a fault, they are inarguably aware of having been a bit “cheeky”. Ditching the DQ strategy, they may suffer a crushing defeat in the elections. What should they do now? To counterplot, the epidemic could be a convenient pretext for putting off the elections.
Nonetheless, while the plight in which China is under siege by the world has gotten in shape, it is too late to “chicken out” . On July 21, Pompeo met with Nathan Law, an activist from Hong Kong. Law said to him that disqualifying candidates from elections amounts to a severe challenge to the values of democracy, calling on the international community to respond to it with a tough stance. So, even if the elections are put off, the U.S.’s sanctions will not be delayed.
On the same day, a fire outbreak broke the news to the world that the U.S. ordered closure of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China(PRC) in Houston. The U.S. State Department said: The consulate was directed to close in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information. China has been engaging in espionage and infiltration for decades, and in recent years, it has gone deeper and more extensive.
U.S. senator Marco Rubio said the Consulate General of the PRC in Houston is not a diplomatic unit , but the central point of China’s enormous operation network of espionage and infiltration, which should have been closed. Holding a concurrent post of the Deputy Chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Rubio has access to the classified information of the U.S. Congress.
Gordon G. Chang, a prominent American academic, said the U.S. should direct the Consulate General of the PRC in New York to close as well for it is the core operation center of the CCP in eastern America.
Trump said yesterday there is a possibility that other consulates of China are ordered to close as well.
China indicated that “necessary reactions would be made”. According to Reuters, China is considering closing the Consulate General of the U.S. in Wuhan for retaliation. Global Times Editor in Chief Hu Xijin said “80%” of the Reuters’ coverage is “wrong”, being of the opinion that Beijing would highly likely adopt a tit-for-tat strategy to close the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong, which is as equally important as the one in Beijing, or expel half of the personnel from Hong Kong.
China had better ditch the rhetoric and do it fast. Although “80%” of Reuters’ coverage may be “wrong”, I’m afraid what is wrong is China dare not even close the Consulate General of the U.S. in Wuhan. The response yesterday of the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC to closure of the Consulate General of the PRC in Houston was also empty rhetoric. And its reaction to the UK offering BNO holders right of abode in the UK was: “China will consider denying BNO passports as valid travel documents.” It is not only empty rhetoric, but literally moonshine.
Earlier on, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRC Wang Yi said in a forum held by China-U.S. Think Tanks that the Sino-U.S. relations should “activate and open conduits for dialogues” and “get back to the right track”. On July 21, being asked about the Sino-U.S. relations on CCTV, Cui Tiankai, the Ambassador of the PRC in the U.S., remarked: “It is necessary to activate and open conduits for dialogues. Now that there isn’t even a conversation, it should be deemed abnormal”. It has suggested that China craves reopening a dialogue with the U.S.. However, Trump openly said he did not want to talk to Xi Jinping. The U.S. has already turned a deaf ear to China.
The Hong Kong version of National Security Law certainly plays a major role in contributing to the current predicament. The law has shown to the international community China would not live up to any promise. When the basic trust is gone, the basis for a dialogue is gone. Action is way more down-to-earth than rhetoric!
