Related: “Rule of Law” in Hong Kong? “Weeks after Hong Kong holds a conference and sends emissaries overseas to maintain that the city still has rule of law, Beijing will overturn the Court of ‘Final’ Appeal’s rejection of the government’s attempt to bar British lawyer Timothy Owen from defending Jimmy Lai. Officially, CE John Lee is ‘requesting’ the NPC Standing Committee to ‘interpret’ the NatSec Law. In practice, Beijing will redefine the wording and amend or expand the meaning of the law.”
From the comments:
In the midst of the anti-extradition protests in October 2019, I published a list of 16 community leaders with whom the Administration could meet if it wished to negotiate an end to the protests. Of course, Mrs. Lam sent in the police instead.
Here’s where the 16 community leaders are now:
In prison: 2
In jail awaiting trial: 3
On bail awaiting trial: 4
In exile: 4
Convicted with suspended sentence due to terminal illness: 1Two have been allowed to escape the net:
Charles Mok, resigned from Legco IT functional constituency in 2020
Anson Chan, retired from public lifeTalking about rule of law in Hong Kong is pointless. The sooner discussion moves on from that quaint notion, the better.
There’s a scene in Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age where a hapless character asks “don’t I have any rights?” Response from a policeman: “Don’t be an asshole, this is China!”