8 | Tuesday, June 30, 2020 HONG KONG| EDITIONCHINA DAILY COMMENTHK

TO THE POINT An open letter to STAFF WRITER Fingers crossed that national the president of security law will be enacted soon

To the relief of most Hong Kong people, Ip a petition supporting enactment of the national Kwok-him, a Hong Kong deputy to the National security law being reviewed by members of People’s Congress, suggested on Sunday that the the NPCSC. In the eight-day campaign ended the United States odds of the draft national security law for Hong on May 30, nearly three million Hong Kong Kong being passed by China’s top legislature residents signed the petition supporting the says the US secretary of state before its current session closes on Tuesday national security legislation. Grenville Cross were over 99.9 percent. Popular support for the new law to be enacted is misleading the president about the facts in Those who want the violence to be stopped, and promulgated by the country’s top legislature social unrest to be quelled, stability to be is conceivable and sensible. Hong Kong simply Hong Kong in order to harm China, and his restored and the rule of law to be upheld in can no longer wait for the city’s legislature, para- Hong Kong are keeping their fi ngers crossed lyzed by the opposition camp, to enact national actions are damaging US interests that the proposed law will be enacted sooner security legislation on its own according to rather than later after the NPC announced the Article 23 of the Basic Law. Moreover, the new Dear Mr President, instead of denouncing the rioters move late last month. law targets only an extremely small number of unequivocally, sought to curry favor The yearlong violent rampages and vandalism separatists, terrorists and hostile external forces n these very di cult with the protest movement. Ever perpetrated by rioters including diehard sepa- who threaten national security. The majority of times, people of goodwill the trouble-maker, he endorsed key ratists in the pursuit of their political objectives residents including expats who have no inten- around the world, includ- demands of the protest movement, have helped Hong Kong people realize: Noth- tion of undermining China’s national interests ing in Hong Kong, will including their anti-police agenda, ing other than a national security law enacted have no reason to fret about the law. wish you well as you try Grenville Cross and even bizarrely accused the gov- by the country’s top legislature can stop such The SAR has failed, for two decades, to ful- to guide the United States ernment of having “primary respon- unprecedented madness. fi ll its constitutional obligation to safeguard back to normality. In particular, by con- sibility” for the situation. He must Hong Kong people realize the city they call national security by enacting a relevant law. The I imagine, however, that you will stantly misrepresenting have recoiled in horror when, on July home is teetering on the edge of an abyss as central authorities have no alternative but take Ibe the fi rst to agree that, whatever 22, you praised President Xi Jinping riots and terrorist acts have dominated the city’s it on themselves to legislate for the SAR when your strengths may be domestically, the situation in Hong for acting “very responsibly” over urban landscape for months and police have the national security of China is nowhere more foreign policy is not your forte. the protests, but he has, by mindless uncovered an increasing number of bomb plots seriously threatened and actually undermined Indeed, your former national secu- Kong, Pompeo is trying China-bashing, sought ever since to against law enforcers as well as civilians. than in Hong Kong. rity adviser, John Bolton, in his mem- to harm China, and this row back on your own very sound The logical and natural response of people Foreign governments or politicians are guilty oir The Room Where It Happened, instincts, and this he has done at who want to lead a normal life free from threats, of practicing double standards when they raise describes you as being “stunningly is in nobody’s inter- Hong Kong’s expense. dangers and harm is to give a loud shout: The an objection to Beijing’s move to safeguard uninformed”. He reveals how you ests, least of all the US. Indeed, although COVID-19 has madness must be stopped without further national security while they have installed their were unaware that the United King- resulted in restrictions around the delay! They made their voices heard by signing own safeguards against subversive acts. dom, your country’s closest ally, is a His actions, moreover, world on public gatherings, Pompeo nuclear power, and that you thought has grotesquely sought to make that Finland was a part of Russia. betray a crass igno- political capital out of it. After the He says you even confused former rance of both the legal police in Hong Kong decided it was Afghan president Hamid Karzai unsafe, on public health grounds, with his successor, Ashraf Ghani. Le niceties and the factual for any gatherings on June 4, he World needs to relearn Monde, moreover, has disclosed how, announced that Beijing was denying at your meeting with the three Baltic situation in Hong Kong, the people “a voice and a choice”, and presidents in Washington, D.C., in and you are being badly “so much for two systems”. However, 2018, you mixed up the Baltics with after the police in the UK likewise what ‘one country, two the Balkans, which left them dumb- served. banned any gatherings of more founded. than six people under the corona- Although your primary focus has virus regulations, with John Apter, always been on the US economy, it tion for the enactment of the national chairman of the Police Federation, systems’ is all about appears, ga“ es apart, that you are security law. The o cials were, he explaining that, although the right to being woefully served by the US claimed, “responsible for, or complicit protest is important, “we are not in omorrow is the 23rd anniversary of the Department of State. Instead of pro- in, undermining Hong Kong’s high normal times”, there was not even a inauguration of the Hong Kong Special viding you with thorough briefi ngs degree of autonomy, as guaranteed whimper of concern from Pompeo, Administrative Region. According to Mr on foreign a“ airs, it is feeding you in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Dec- whose hypocrisy is almost as brazen Shih Wing-ching, Hong Kong should con- fake news, and this is damaging US laration”. Once again, he was wholly as his bias. siderT 2020 as the year of the second return of Hong interests worldwide. By any yard- unaware that the Joint Declaration Quite clearly, Pompeo’s hatred of Kong to China. In an RTHK interview that aired stick, this is a sad situation, for which said nothing about national security, China is visceral, and this has warped earlier, he said that the fi rst return of Hong Kong the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and specifi cally excluded “defense his judgment. As you know, on May to the motherland cannot be said to be successful. Ho Lok-sang 27, he told Congress that Hong Kong must bear responsibility. a“ airs” from its ambit, for obvious Hong Kong needs a second return to China. He is The author is a senior research fellow at Pan Indeed, far from watching your reasons. Under China’s Constitution, was no longer autonomous from right. But why was the fi rst return of Hong Kong to Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy back, Bolton has revealed how, national defense is always an issue China, which could jeopardize its China not successful? Research Institute, Lingnan University. during your historic meeting with for the country as a whole, just as it special trade relationship with the The European Parliament on June 19 condemned Kim Jong-un in Singapore in 2018, is in the US, and the Joint Declara- US. What, however, he failed to tell China’s new national security law for Hong Kong as economic outlook continued to deteriorate fol- Pompeo told him you were “so full of tion never suggested otherwise. Since Congress was that, in Hong Kong, a “comprehensive assault” on the territory’s freedom lowing six months of street protests, and that s—t”. Such candor not only belittled Hong Kong has been unable to enact basic rights and freedoms remain and demanded that the EU prepare sanctions. This persistent unrest put the city’s business reputation your e“ orts to improve things on the its own national security laws for 23 intact, underpinned by the ICCPR, shows that many members of the European Parlia- and environment at risk. Although the outbreak of Korean peninsula, but it also exposed years, largely because of the threat that it is blessed with an independent ment do not know what the “one country, two sys- COVID-19 led to a reprieve, the protesters returned the antediluvian mindset of this Cold of violence, Beijing has naturally had judiciary and fi rst-class legal and tems” principle is all about. Most observers would as soon as there were signs the epidemic was under War throwback. to rectify things, given the current fi nancial systems, and that China is understand why the US criticized the National control. In particular, by constantly mis- threats to “one country, two systems”. doing all it can to protect “one coun- People’s Congress Standing Committee proposal to It is sad that so many youngsters were arrested representing the situation in Hong You, of course, would never coun- try, two systems” from those who introduce the national security law in Hong Kong. for various crimes related to the protests. As the sec- Kong, Pompeo is trying to harm tenance a situation in which a part of are using violence to try to destroy In an interview, Steven Mosher, a founding member retary of education said, this is heartbreaking. But it China, and this is in nobody’s inter- the US was deprived of the protection it. Since he has been less than frank of the Committee on the Present Danger: China, is no use lamenting the damage that has been done. ests, least of all the US. His actions, of national security laws, and China with Congress, he is also presumably said that this relaunch of the former Committee It is imperative that all stakeholders work together moreover, betray a crass ignorance of is no di“ erent. After all, the US has pulling the wool over your eyes. on the Present Danger was to replicate what it had to contain the damage. both the legal niceties and the factual multiple laws protecting national As a businessman yourself, you achieved with the former Soviet Union. Thus, the If the US can be so anxious about national secu- situation in Hong Kong, and you security, including the Patriot Act, the must see that what Pompeo is doing US is intent on breaking up China. Moreover, there rity and will do so much to protect national security, are being badly served. On April 18, Homeland Security Act and the Ter- makes no sense economically, and is concrete evidence that the US government has it should understand China’s need for national for example, after 15 suspects were rorism Prevention Act. Hong Kong, will also harm your country. Indeed, been funding the protests that have been going on security. charged with organizing, publiciz- however, has none, and is now paying over the past decade, the US trade in Hong Kong. So it is not surprising at all that the While the national security law addresses Hong ing or taking part in unauthorized the price. This lacuna is being ruth- surplus with Hong Kong has been US Senate quickly passed the Hong Kong Autonomy Kong’s immediate needs, it is time for Hong Kong’s assemblies in 2019, Pompeo fatuously lessly exploited by subversive forces, the largest among all its trading Act last week in order to bolster the spirit of the youngsters to learn more about the real China and announced that the prosecutions ready to deploy terror-style tactics partners, with the merchandize secessionists in Hong Kong. about “one country, two systems”. were attributable to “Beijing and its on our streets, and, like the US, trade surplus totaling $297 billion It is unfortunate that many critics of China do not Actually, China’s rule of law is not as bad as it is representatives in Hong Kong”, and Hong Kong must now have the tools from 2009 to 2018. Although, in do their homework. If they would do their home- often portrayed. Let us look at three indicators from were “inconsistent with commit- it needs to fully protect itself from 2019, the surplus came down, as a work, they would know that many demands of the 2020 World Justice Project report: China’s rank- ments made under the Sino-British those who wish it ill. Since Pompeo result of trade tensions, to $29.4 Hong Kong’s protesters since 2013 directly challenge ing in civil justice, China’s ranking in criminal jus- Joint Declaration”, for which he pro- has apparently explained none of this billion, from $31.4 billion in 2018, the rule of law, the foundation of the Basic Law, and tice, and China’s ranking in absence of corruption duced no evidence. to you, you have been left exposed, if Pompeo has his way the interests the foundation of “one country, two systems”. are all at least in the median among 128 countries or Despite rushing to judgment, he and it is important for you to see of the 1,300 US companies based in The secessionists today want Hong Kong to be a territories. had obviously read neither the Joint through him, while there is still time. Hong Kong, and their employees, separate state. This contravenes the preamble of the The overall ranking of China’s rule of law index Declaration, which said nothing Your country, of course, is currently could be badly a“ ected. Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, has been bogged down by poor rankings on “Con- about the control of public order gripped by race riots, and several At a time when the polls show that which recognizes China’s resumption of the exercise straints on Government Powers”, “Open Govern- events, nor the judgment of the Hong people have been killed by the police your Democrat Party rival, Joe Biden, of sovereignty over Hong Kong. Does the European ment”, and “Fundamental Rights.” Kong Court of Final Appeal, which, over several weeks, with many oth- has surged to a 14 percent lead over Parliament know this? To Beijing, personal safety and freedom from in 2005, ruled that reasonable restric- ers injured and arrested. By contrast, you in the presidential stakes, you The secessionists claim that Beijing violated its hunger and poverty are more important than the tions on the right of peaceful protest over many months of riots in Hong deserve far better than Pompeo. He is promise of universal su“ rage to elect the Hong right to vote. The interpretation of what constitutes are, as recognized everywhere, consti- Kong, which saw the police regularly bad for you, bad for the US, and bad Kong chief executive. This is simply untrue. In 2014, fundamental rights is culture-bound. tutional under the International Cov- fi rebombed, and people killed and for the world. It is high time for you the SAR government o“ ered a political reform pack- Many critics don’t realize that constraints on enant on Civil and Political Rights. maimed by rioters because of their to restore reason to US foreign policy, age that allowed “one man, one vote” for election of government powers on the mainland exist, and they Beijing, moreover, has nothing to do opinions or where they came from, and to show him the door. the chief executive. It was rejected. are working fi ne. The constraints are self-imposed with public prosecutions in Hong no protesters were killed, which The secessionists claim the political reform pack- through a culture of service to people and internal Kong, where prosecutorial decisions illustrates the restraint and profes- Yours sincerely, age was not genuine democracy because the candi- control. are taken by professional pros- sionalism of our police force. You can I Grenville Cross dates had to be nominated by the Nominating Com- The fi rst return of Hong Kong to China failed ecutors who enjoy constitutionally yourself now see the sort of horrors Senior Counsel and Professor of Law mittee. But they should know that this requirement because our youngsters had been fed too much guaranteed independence. The fear, Hong Kong has had to endure for far Hong Kong is clearly stated in the Basic Law, which became law disinformation. The second return requires much therefore, must be that this exempli- longer, and your reaction to the US June 28, 2020 after years of public consultation. The Basic Law relearning: not with indoctrination and dogma, fi es the sort of tripe which Pompeo riots has been that “when the looting spells out Hong Kong’s rights and obligations and is but with facts about the Basic Law and about the is regularly serving up to you behind starts, the shooting starts”. To: President Donald J Trump, the foundation of “one country, two systems”. challenges that China faces. Only with an accurate closed doors. When, however, the riots erupted The White House, The protesters want the government to drop all understanding about China and the Basic Law can Again, on June 26, Pompeo in Hong Kong last year, organized by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, charges against those arrested for various o“ enses. there be a successful second return of Hong Kong to announced sanctions against Chinese people who wanted to undermine Washington, DC 20500, Would any of the European countries drop charges the motherland. o cials, and their families, in retalia- “one country, two systems”, Pompeo, United States of America. if protesters were arrested for arson, vandalism, aggravated assault, attempted murder, etc.? The views do not necessarily refl ect those of China The views do not necessarily refl ect those of China Daily. In December, Fitch Ratings said Hong Kong’s Daily.