The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration is a binding treaty governing the United Kingdom’s transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. Under the ironically timed treaty’s terms, the Chinese Communist Party committed to protecting Hong Kong’s democratic character and associated rule of law until 2047 (50 years after sovereignty was transferred in 1997).
China has ignored its obligations for the past 15 years. It sentenced Joshua Wong, a 30-year-old pro-democracy activist, to another 10 years in prison on Thursday, the latest in a long list of betrayals.
Hong Kong Chief Executive and Communist Party apparatchik John Lee Ka-chiu said Wong had committed “extremely serious offences, which not only severely undermined national sovereignty, security and development interests, but also directly prejudiced the well-being of the public and the stability of society.” Equally absurdly, the Chinese foreign ministry lashed out at U.S. and European condemnations of Wong’s sentence; a spokesman sneered that “relevant parties need to respect China’s sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, stop making irresponsible remarks on [Hong Kong’s] judicial process, and stop interfering in Hong Kong’s judicial affairs and China’s internal affairs in any form.”
The truth is that Wong called for international sanctions in response to China’s repression, a demand intended to protect the rights to which Hongkongers are entitled. In much the same way, the international community has every right to try to hold Beijing to its treaty obligations. Treaties are agreements between parties. If those parties are not entitled to point out that the agreement is being broken, what is the point of signing a treaty?
Rather than upholding the Sino-British Joint Declaration and protecting the right of Hongkongers to speak their minds and elect local representatives of their choice, China has quashed any semblance of democracy in the once-proud city.
It has sent newspaper publishers such as Jimmy Lai to prison because they exercised their right to free speech. It has banned candlelight vigils in remembrance of the Tiananmen Square massacre, in which Chinese forces murdered pro-democracy protesters in 1989. It has sent police to shutter bookshops and arrest their staff. It has replaced local democratic leaders with corrupt puppets selected in Beijing. It has threatened to kidnap pro-democracy activists living in the West.
Wong’s sentence, the second he has received under China’s notorious “national security law,” suggests that the Chinese Communist Party is feeling nervous and vulnerable. Beijing lacked confidence that even its vast security apparatus and army of online censors would be able to deal with the words of one 30-year-old.
In an age when access to online information and opportunities for global travel have never been greater, the Communist Party fears that more of its shrinking population of 1.4 billion people might start questioning whether President Xi Jinping is a genius. They might also begin to suspect that the solutions to stagnating living standards, slowing economic growth, nonexistent personal savings, a sluggish consumer economy, and the threat of war with China’s neighbors lie beyond the abilities of the party.
Like all authoritarian parties, the Chinese Communist Party exists to serve itself, not the people.
TRUMP’S CORRUPTION HAS COST REPUBLICANS DEARLY
Wong is only one victim, but his persecution testifies to the misery of the Chinese people generally. Beijing runs a loathsome tyranny.
That is why, as the U.S. and China compete over who will lead the artificial intelligence revolution and over other matters relevant to human freedom, we must ensure that America doesn’t come second.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
