#Analysis

The expulsion of US journalists from Hong Kong and its implications

When the rule of law can no longer be upheld, the demise of Hong Kong is near

Just after midnight (on 18 March), China issued a bombshell statement that sent shockwaves throughout the Hong Kong media. In the statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a ban of 13 US journalists from reporting in Hong Kong. From a legal standpoint, articles 27 and 154 of the Basic Law clearly state that Hong Kong residents shall have the freedom of press, and that the Hong Kong SAR government shall have the power to apply immigration controls. Prohibiting these journalists from reporting in Hong Kong is a clear violation of constitutional rights under the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” and a threat to Hong Kong’s autonomy.

//the greater concern is that foreign employees of other corporations could also be at risk of expulsion by the PRC. This could lead to significant uncertainties with respect to Hong Kong’s economy.

//Hong Kong does not have to be passive in the face of Beijing’s increasingly oppressive stance.

//where a new cold war could be sparked off in an instant, the decisions made by Hong Kong people can certainly have an influence on the outcome.

https://telegra.ph/The-expulsion-of-US-journalists-from-Hong-Kong-and-its-implications-03-22

Excerpt: Stand News, (18-Mar)
https://bit.ly/2wkrzOY

#HKHRADA #ColdWar #FreedomOfPress #Propaganda #BasicLaw #OneCountryTwoSystem #RuleOfLaw

#OpinionArticle #SimonLau

Simon Lau's explosive talk, Luo Huining's bright sword: Article 23 pushed forward before September's election, Sino-American hot war after Wuhan pneumonia.

(18 Apr) Luo Huining, the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, made a speech on video a few days ago pushing for the enactment of Basic Law Article 23. He focused his criticism on Hong Kong's national security mechanisms and hinted at the Central Government's unyielding attitude.

According to Simon Lau's analysis, "The Central Government knows that after the LegCo election, maintaining national security with LegCo will only become more difficult. Carrie Lam has already done one piece of dirty work; she cannot possibly do another one. While she is finishing her term and stepping down, the September election occurs. As such, it is an opportune moment to enact Article 23. I predict that this is the CCP's game plan."

//They are using the same trick this time, thinking that citizens will not care about political issues after the disaster [epidemic]. Previously, Junius Ho called for a petition to enact Article 23. This must have been a direct order from the CCP and not from Luo.//

//When dealing with the rest of the world, Hong Kong is relied on as just a pretty face to attract investments. But if they are burning alongside the rest of the world, the Central Government does not mind sacrificing Hong Kong.//

Full translation:
https://telegra.ph/Simon-Laus-explosive-talk-Luo-Huinings-bright-sword-Article-23-pushed-forward-before-Septembers-election-Sino-American-hot-war-a-04-28

Source: Next Magazine
https://bit.ly/2VI6UOH

#OneCountryTwoSystems #CCP #Taiwan #FreedomOfPress #US #ExpellJournalists #Article23 #ColdWar #HotWar #DenisKwok

#OpinionArticle #ChipTsao

When the world economic structure is shuffled, what is the role of Hong Kong moving forward?

(23 Apr) Wuhan virus exploded in the US as confirmed cases and deaths skyrocketed, netizens in China were once thrilled and celebrated the decline of the national power of the U.S. Finally, the time has come for China to become the world power.

//The United States is pressing for a cold war against China, knowing that if all medical materials including masks are in China ’s hands, it can lead to the defeat of the United States. Therefore, even if Chinese private factories are temporarily transformed into mask factories, they will not be able to fill the decline of GDP in the long run. //

//As for the state-owned and private enterprises in mainland China, if they are looking to take advantage of the chaotic situation, they will either infiltrate Hong Kong or Taiwanese companies which are pro-KMT, or they will claim their products as manufactured in Vietnam and Cambodia, then blend in with other original products and secretly export them to the US.//

//in theory, Hong Kong businessmen in the mainland can also withdraw their factories and relocate to Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is facing a soaring unemployment rate, catering and retail industry can no longer maintain the high volume of sales that they benefited from China’s bubble economy before. Hong Kong must also follow the trend of industrial transformation.//

//it is no longer the same as Hong Kong’s position and image deteriorates in the eyes of the U.S. //

//it is not essential for Hong Kong to develop advanced technology, because Hong Kong could be subject to sanctions by the U.S. on high technology exports. //

//Hong Kong must be regarded as "different from China" by the United States and the West, which is precisely what the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Edward Yau, tried to convey to the US Consulate General in Hong Kong last year, that “Hong Kong is not China”. //

//But it is too late now. Hong Kong is becoming more “China-like”, its status has become very awkward. Even Google excluded Hong Kong from a U.S.-Asia undersea telecommunications cable.//

Full translation:
https://telegra.ph/When-the-world-economic-structure-is-shuffled-what-is-the-role-of-Hong-Kong-moving-forward-05-05

Source: Chip Tsao’s Facebook

Further reading:
U.S. Allows Google Internet Project to Advance Only if Hong Kong Is Cut Out
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/19409

#Google #compensation #Economy #HongKongIsNotChina #ColdWar #Mainlandization

#Newspaper

Hong Kong Is Becoming Ground Zero in the New Cold War

//If Hong Kong falls, the long arm of the Chinese Communist Party will expand further.

//it is a step that serves no one’s interest, including the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) itself.

//For Hong Kong as a whole, the move delivers a death blow to its century-long status as a separate legal jurisdiction, which is the very foundation of its economic success, freedom, and human rights...It’s also bad news for the establishment, as China’s decision to bypass the Hong Kong legislative process is a vote of no-confidence in the previous model of indirect rule... will find themselves increasingly sidelined under a new direct-rule approach from the center.

//For the West, this step rings the death knell for their presence in Hong Kong. Western companies are going to lose the only Western-oriented business center within Chinese territories and their business interests will no longer be well protected by the British-style common law jurisdiction....international nongovernment organizations (INGOs), media branches, and intelligence operations are also at risk of being uprooted by China’s heavy hand. The West...may forever lose its foothold in the door of China.

//Hong Kong is China’s “financial lifeline,” functioning as its single most important source of foreign capital since the founding of the People’s Republic... Chinese companies are already on the brink of being expelled from the U.S. capital market and dozens of Chinese companies have been forced to plan secondary listings in Hong Kong. Therefore China’s push for a national security law in Hong Kong will only burn its own bridge to the world and add pressure to the vulnerable Chinese economy

//such a lose-lose decision is that it fits with the Chinese nationalist agenda of the Xi Jinping regime. Facing unprecedented challenges at home and abroad... it is comprehensible that the Xi regime would choose to shift the blame to “foreign forces” by playing up its Chinese nationalist card.

//Xi seems to have prioritized the nationalist fervor to control Hong Kong over utilitarian calculations of the territory’s financial contribution.

//By placing pragmatism over nationalist fervor, China provided the room for Hong Kong to function as a geopolitical buffer zone from the Cold War to the post-Cold War period.

//the Xi regime seems to have no interest in keeping Hong Kong as its buffer zone with the West. Driven by a nationalist political agenda, Xi instead sees Hong Kong as the frontline battlefield in the new Cold War with the United States.

//New waves of street fights will happen from now on all the way through the anniversaries of key dates... The extensive disqualification of democratic candidates in September’s Legislative Council election looks inevitable; the election itself may be postponed. A local financial crisis is also looming as a consequence of the massive outflow of local, mainland, and foreign capital from Hong Kong and expectations of the partial (if not complete) revocation of Hong Kong’s special treatment by the United States.

//the fanning of aggressive Chinese nationalism into wider geopolitical conflicts. History tells us that nationalist ambition, once mobilized, will likely develop into ever-more aggressive territorial claims.

//A war between China and the United States is no longer unimaginable.

Source: The Diplomat, (25-May)
https://thediplomat.com/countries/hong-kong/

Further reading:
China is preparing for WAR - Xi Jinping in terrifying alert after global backlash
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1287163/China-news-world-war-three-xi-jinping-latest

#ColdWar #HongKong #China #West #US #NationalSecurityLaw #CCP

#Newspaper

Dawn of Asian century puts pressure on EU to choose sides, says top diplomat

There has been growing discussion in Europe on how to weave a path between China and the US with the seeming end of a US-led global system and the arrival of an Asian century.

The EU’s desire to be tougher on China has been held back by revulsion at Trump’s methods, China’s part in helping Europe’s economy recover in 2007-8 and comparisons between Russia and China as communist regimes in which China appeared to have a more positive image.

With the recent pandemic, however, the pressure to choose sides is growing for the European Union, which appears to be shifting to a more independent and aggressive posture towards Beijing. The shift is sped up by Beijing’s assault on the independence of Hong Kong and its refusal to open its markets.

China’s handling of the pandemic has also backfired with European public opinion and a recent poll showed that 71% Germans believed “greater transparency by China would have mitigated the corona epidemic”.

France and Germany have already become more vocal in their criticism of China with the German cabinet approving new laws to prevent foreign takeovers of medical companies. The challenge now is for European politicians to harness this new awareness to resist China without tumbling into Trump’s cold war.

Full Article: The Guardian
https://bit.ly/2ZIFJ8Q

Further reading:
Merkel Says EU Has ‘Strategic Interest’ in Working With China
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-27/merkel-says-eu-has-strategic-interest-in-working-with-china

#EuropeanUnion #coronavirus #ChinaUSrelations #ColdWar

#ColdWar #US #China #Russia
Phone Call between Chinese and Russian Foreign Ministers:  Wang Yi Accuses US of Using Pandemic to Smear Other Countries, “US Has Lost Its Sense of Reason, Morality and Credibility”
 

⬇️⬇️⬇️ Continue reading

⬆️⬆️⬆️ continue reading

#ColdWar #US #China #Russia
Phone Call between Chinese and Russian Foreign Ministers:  Wang Yi Accuses US of Using Pandemic to Smear Other Countries, “US Has Lost Its Sense of Reason, Morality and Credibility”

China’s official press agency, Xinhua News Agency, reported that Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had talked with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the phone on 17 July, 2020.

Wang emphasised that the US had used every means to shift its responsibilities and smear other countries by way of the pandemic. He said the US had gone on such lengths as creating hot spots and confrontations in international relations, and had lost its sense of reason, morality and credibility.  Wang bluntly expressed that the US had pushed egoism, unilateralism and bullying to the limit, “not what a great power should be about”.
 
Wang also said that the US had returned to its notorious “McCarthyism” and an outdated “Cold War mentality” in its policy approach to China, deliberately provoking ideological oppositions and breaching fundamental principles of international laws and relations.  He asserted that China would firmly defend its legitimate interests and dignity.
 
According to China state media Xinhua’s report, Lavrov remarked that the US had long venerated the American exceptionalism and egotism.  He said lately it had even torn away its façade and made no attempts to disguise, casually making threats and waving about its baton of sanctions.  Lavrov said that Russia opposes unilateralism in international affairs.
 
Wang further stated that as major responsible countries, China and Russia reject “any actions destructive to international order and against historical trend”.   Together, they will jointly safeguard world peace and stability as well as maintain international justice.
 
Source:  Stand News  #Jul18
 #Smearing #CoronavirusPandemic

#Newspaper

In Hong Kong, a Proxy Battle Over Internet Freedom Begins

//The technological Cold War between China and the United States is playing out on various fronts around the world. The trade war ensnared Chinese tech giants like #Huawei and ZTE while American companies complain of industrial policies that favor Chinese businesses. Digital controls in China have also kept companies like Google and Facebook from operating in mainland China.

//Hong Kong emerges as the front line in a global fight between the United States and China over censorship following the introduction of a draconian new security law that mandates police censorship, surveillance and can be applied to online speech across the world.

//Caught in the middle are the city’s seven million residents, online records of political debate which may now be illegal and the world’s largest internet companies which host and guard that data.

//Many big companies including #Facebook, #Google #Twitter, #Zoom, and #LinkedIn have already stated that they would temporarily stop complying with requests for user data from the Hong Kong authorities, which has amounted to over 7000 in the second half of 2019 because of protests. The police have also made numerous requests to have Google remove sensitive posts, to which Google said no.

//The Hong Kong government has responded by emphasizing the penalty for non-compliance. Based on the law, the Hong Kong authorities can dictate the way people around the world talk about the city’s politics, and employees of companies that failed to hand over user data could be arrested.

//Several local apps associated with the protest movement have already shut down. People have begun to delete their social media accounts, switched to using encrypted chat apps like Signal, and embraced coded online speech that flourishes on the heavily monitored internet of China.

//Companies, meanwhile, have the option of shifting data away from Hong Kong but it is by no means an easy task. Moving all employees out of the city would insulate firms from arrests, but it may not be feasible.

//The looming legal fights could determine whether the city falls behind China’s digital Iron Curtain or becomes a hybrid where online speech and communications are selectively policed.

The Cold War between the US and //China continues on the other hand as the US moves to ban Chinese apps that are seen as potential threats to national security.

Full Article: The New York Times
https://nyti.ms/32WaXuP

Further reading:
“Zero logs” VPN exposes millions of logs including user passwords, claims data is anonymous
https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/ufo-vpn-data-exposure/

#coldwar #internetsecurity #censorship

#EditorNote
Another cold war in the era: US orders China to close Houston consulate, China vowed to retaliate

Diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China have reached their lowest point.

On Tuesday, documents were seen burning in the courtyard of the Consulate General of China in Houston. Later that day US ordered China to close the consulate within 72 hours, citing efforts to protect American intellectual property and the private information of its citizens. US officials also alleged it was part of a larger Chinese espionage effort using diplomatic facilities around the US.

David R. Stilwell, from the State Department, said Chinese attempts in research theft has increased in the past 6 months and that the Chinese officials and diplomats were recently arrested for using false identification. He described the Houston consulate, which he said “has a history of engaging in subversive behavior,” as the “epicenter” of research theft by the Chinese military in the United States.”. Recent accused espionage campaigns include coronavirus vaccine research in US. A US Justice Department official also reckoned the Consulates giving individuals network guidance on how to evade and obstruct US investigation, possibly with a network of associates nationwide.

China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday it will revoke the license for the U.S. consulate general in Chengdu as its 'firm countermeasures'. Chinese official claimed that US holds full accountability in the events.

The consulate was closed Wednesday but people were photographed looking at signs outside the main facility that announced that the building was shuttered.

While the Chinese Consul General in Houston, Cai Wei, said China is protesting the closure order and his office will remain open “until further notice”, staff were seen leaving after deadline for closure passes. US federal agents and local law enforcement entered the emptied premises by force later on. The signage 'Consulate General of the People's Republic of China' has been removed.

Such dispute about cousulate emerged this spring after China interfered when US officials returned to the consulate in Wuhan to retrieve diplomatic materials, according to a senior State Department official. Chinese authorities refused to let the US officials leave Wuhan with the pouches, saying they had to search them before leaving, an aggressive move that violates the Vienna Convention which governs diplomatic relations.

On top of consulates, major issues hampering U.S.-China relations included XinJiang, Huawei, trade war, intellectual property and disputes over the South China Sea.


Source:
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/07/22/houston-fire-and-police-responding-to-reports-of-documents-being-burned-at-consulate-general-of-china/?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/23/china-refuses-commit-close-houston-consulate-380220

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/24/china-orders-us-to-close-consulate-in-chengdu.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.PostToFacebook&fbclid=IwAR1nhCbtEz5L03HmOaPZi9TYhAbnxmXumjSMfb0mq8qC0_fE5nagOnVwG8Y

#ColdWar #US #China

#US #China #Visa #ColdWar
Chinese Journalists' Visa Expired in the U.S. with No Notification

The China-US tussle continues to heat up. People's Daily, a CCP-owned newspaper, reported that the 90-day visa the U.S. granted to Chinese journalists expired on June 6. However, no Chinese journalists had received any notice from the U.S. government.

PRC's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Chinese journalists in the U.S. had already filed their application, but no one had yet received a clear response. Wang said that if the U.S. "insists on making more mistakes," China will be forced to make a "necessary and proper" response to insist on protecting its legitimate rights.

People's Daily said in a Facebook post on Thursday that it was the final day of the 90-day visa issued to Chinese journalists, and that no Chinese journalists in the U.S. had received any notification from the U.S. government. The post quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin as saying at a regular Foreign Ministry press conference today that on May 8 this year, the U.S. drastically shortened the visa stay period for Chinese journalists in the U.S. to 90 days and required them to reapply for an extension every three months, and that all Chinese journalists had already submitted their applications for extensions, but none of them had received a clear response from the U.S. yet.

Source: Stand News #Aug06

Pompeo: Not Cold War 2.0 – CCP Threat Worse than Soviet Union

Source: Stand News #Aug13
#US #China #CzechRepublic #SovietUnion #ColdWar #Pompeo #Diplomacy #History #ForeignInfluence

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24480

Pompeo: Not Cold War 2.0 – CCP Threat Worse than Soviet Union

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "What's happening now isn't Cold War 2.0", as the threat China poses to Western countries is in some ways "worse" than that posed by the former Soviet Union.

Addressing the Czech Senate on his first stop of the five-day visit to Central Europe on Wednesday, August 12, Pompeo spoke about "the challenge of resisting the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] threat is in some ways worse" than that during the cold war, because “the CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was.”

In his speech, he recalled the years of Soviet suppression of the Czech Republic. While Russia continues to "undermine" Czech democracy and security using disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks, Pompeo believes that China would pose an even greater threat because of her "campaigns of coercion of control". As an example, he cited the cancellation of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra's concert tour in China due to Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib's pro-Taiwan policies, arguing that this shows that “the CCP leverages economic power to coerce countries".

Pompeo also mentioned that during the Cold War, the Czech Republic, "and others that suffered behind the Iron Curtain, know best of all how deeply communists plunge societies into ruin and repression". He urged Czech senators to "stand up for the sovereignty and freedoms" that the Czech people demanded for their country between 1968 and 1989.

Source: Stand News #Aug13
#US #China #CzechRepublic #SovietUnion #ColdWar #Pompeo #Diplomacy #History #ForeignInfluence

China, Russia 'primary culprits' behind 'Cold War' levels of espionage and foreign interference towards Canada: CSIS

OTTAWA – Canada’s spy agency says that it “observed espionage and foreign interference activity at levels not seen since the Cold War” last year and that many security threats have become “much more serious.”

“The key national security threats facing Canada, namely violent extremism, foreign interference, espionage and malicious cyber activity, accelerated, evolved and in many ways became much more serious for Canadians,” warns Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director (CSIS) David Vigneault in the organization’s 2020 annual report.

Source: NationalPost #Apr12

https://nationalpost.com/news/intelligence-committee-warns-china-russia-targeting-canadian-covid-19-research

#China #Russia #ColdWar #Canada #CSIS