In the next few days, Peking will unitarily make the final move to complete her takeover and eliminate the ‘one country two systems’ (‘1C2S’) from Hong Kong. Throughout history, the people of Hong Kong have pushed for higher degree of autonomy and democracy because it is the best defence to their culture and race. The democracy movement was magnified by large-scale protests and aggressions, when China pinned in the final nail to liberty and freedom by getting Carrie Lam to enact the Extradition Bill through dubious legislative procedures in June 2019. HongKongers physically blocked the Extradition Bill. Now, Peking returns by annexing the firewall altogether by first destroying the Rule of Law, followed by global economy and the Basic Law – Hong Kong’s constitution. By slipping in Chinese Laws directly into Annex III of Hong Kong’s Basic Law, the draconian use of reserved powers enabled Peking to deploy Chinese police, Chinese courts and Chinese arrests in Hong Kong under the umbrella of ‘law’. Therefore, the current definition used by governments with Common Sense (or in China’s terms, the ‘Western World’) about ‘crackdown’ – where crackdown represents another TianAnMen massacre; is a fallacy. What the word ‘crackdown’ means needs to be redefined by the world as the authoritarian Chinese government have evolved from her mistakes.

Throughout the past year, Peking has readily crackdown on the people of Hong Kong. There is the 21st July collaborations. Hong Kong Police walked away as White-Shirt men assaulted civilians on a train, a pro-Peking legislator was seen supporting assaulters and the territories’ police force caught on camera collaborating with gangs of assaulters in a village. (Read more about the events in Terror in Hong Kong? First published on Interlib 2020-04). In other incidences, police have used Toyota mini-vans to ram sit-ins. With a mini-van driving at speed into lines of protesters, who needs tanks anymore? China knows the world is worried about silhouette of soldiers marching on streets with rifles aimed at protesters. Therefore, HK police deploys Swiss-made JPX4 Tasers at unarmed protesters without warning. Moreover, instead of adhering to the manufacture’s guideline to provide treatment after Tasers use; batons are used to further assault the incapacitated victim. Overt crackdowns are ugly. On account of discomfort prevention, police deployed their Hereford trained tactics of Counter Revolutionary Warfare. Disguising themselves as medics, police officers fired from ambulances. Meanwhile, genuine frontline health-workers who attended to the injured were arrested. From all these crackdowns, Hong Kong citizens know loved ones have perished. In early April, pro-democracy politicians and activists visited the cemetery where all unclaimed deaths are buried. In the first 3 months of the year alone, the number of unmarked graves have quadruple when compared with prevailing statistics. With China’s direction, the Hong Kong authorities can direct the HK police to redesign crackdowns as brutal as TianAnMen, but within the comfort zone previously we all defined.

Salami crackdowns is the new definition of ‘crackdowns’ and it should be recognised immediately. In fact, we have all been rather late to realise the new definition. In front of our open eyes, Peking has been conducting salami crackdowns. Peking have sent thousands of Uyghurs to concentration camps. The number, perhaps, have been morbidly silenced by the number of 1.4 billion – China’s population. Also, China have been razing churches in second and third tier cities where we normally will not visit. Consistently, the authorities have been jailing and torturing dissenting voices. Fresh in our minds should be the health workers who pointed out the mysterious strain of Coronavirus from Wuhan that we today known as Covid-19. 

China have been surpassing our Common Sense all along. It is a fallacy to wait for the ‘crackdown’ as we have understood before taking further actions. 

In tomorrow’s article, the Lib Dem Campaigners for Hong Kong will lay out what sticks Britain indeed have to stand with the people of Hong Kong. The deployment of these common senses will not only be Britain’s legal and moral obligations, but also maintaining Britain’s global standing by protecting world trade. Hong Kong is a liberal world commerce hub for everyone. More importantly, these sticks have the dominating support from the Hong Kong people. 

Common Sense is a most English virtue. This country should not be afraid to speak out her definition of a Chinese crackdown. Flesh and blood are on the streets of Hong Kong in defence of her culture and race. By revision of our logic, China has already deployed full crackdown measures in Hong Kong as sinister as TianAnMen.

Picture: Still image of video – Police use police car to ram into crowd of demonstrators. Retrieved from YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WwSB4HlHg4 on 24 May 2020.

* Nicholas Chan is a Liberal Democrat member training in Criminal Law. He is Vice-Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Hong Kong.