It is too late to “chicken out” now (Lee Yee)

Pro-establishment camp keeps spreading news about postponement of the Legislative Council (LegCo) elections. Following Tam Yiuchung, Tong Kawah said the government could put the elections on hold for 14 days as many times as necessary. Tanya Chan pointed out that the government seems to intend extending the current LegCo session in view of the absence of gazetted announcement of when it will end.

Communist China and Hong Kong originally planned to threaten Hong Kong people with the National Security Law, then browbeat candidates into signing a confirmation in support of the law that is to be used as evidence to disqualify (DQ) the opposition faction from the elections. By doing so, they are to get the elections in the bag. However, to everyone’s surprise, the National Security Law has stirred up worldwide backlash, putting China under siege. Meanwhile, Hong Kong have not overawed, as evidenced by their will to resist demonstrated in the primary elections of pro-democracy camp, in which a large number of young pro-resistance hopefuls were elected. So long as the Carrie Lam regime massively disqualifies candidates, it will certainly give rise to an even fiercer global backlash. Providing that the anti-China measures escalate, neither will China be able to stay authoritative in front of its compatriots by showing the white feather, nor will it be courageous enough to wage a head-to-head battle.

It seems that the DQ strategy has been relinquished. Swift and decisive enforcement of the National Security Law was seen merely on the first day of its implementation. Since then, it has rarely been cited for law enforcement. Even though Communist China and Hong Kong stubbornly refuses to admit a fault, they are inarguably aware of having been a bit “cheeky”. Ditching the DQ strategy, they may suffer a crushing defeat in the elections. What should they do now? To counterplot, the epidemic could be a convenient pretext for putting off the elections.

Nonetheless, while the plight in which China is under siege by the world has gotten in shape, it is too late to “chicken out” . On July 21, Pompeo met with Nathan Law, an activist from Hong Kong. Law said to him that disqualifying candidates from elections amounts to a severe challenge to the values of democracy, calling on the international community to respond to it with a tough stance. So, even if the elections are put off, the U.S.’s sanctions will not be delayed.

On the same day, a fire outbreak broke the news to the world that the U.S. ordered closure of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China(PRC) in Houston. The U.S. State Department said: The consulate was directed to close in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information. China has been engaging in espionage and infiltration for decades, and in recent years, it has gone deeper and more extensive.

U.S. senator Marco Rubio said the Consulate General of the PRC in Houston is not a diplomatic unit , but the central point of China’s enormous operation network of espionage and infiltration, which should have been closed. Holding a concurrent post of the Deputy Chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Rubio has access to the classified information of the U.S. Congress.

Gordon G. Chang, a prominent American academic, said the U.S. should direct the Consulate General of the PRC in New York to close as well for it is the core operation center of the CCP in eastern America.

Trump said yesterday there is a possibility that other consulates of China are ordered to close as well.

China indicated that “necessary reactions would be made”. According to Reuters, China is considering closing the Consulate General of the U.S. in Wuhan for retaliation. Global Times Editor in Chief Hu Xijin said “80%” of the Reuters’ coverage is “wrong”, being of the opinion that Beijing would highly likely adopt a tit-for-tat strategy to close the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong, which is as equally important as the one in Beijing, or expel half of the personnel from Hong Kong.

China had better ditch the rhetoric and do it fast. Although “80%” of Reuters’ coverage may be “wrong”, I’m afraid what is wrong is China dare not even close the Consulate General of the U.S. in Wuhan. The response yesterday of the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC to closure of the Consulate General of the PRC in Houston was also empty rhetoric. And its reaction to the UK offering BNO holders right of abode in the UK was: “China will consider denying BNO passports as valid travel documents.” It is not only empty rhetoric, but literally moonshine.

Earlier on, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRC Wang Yi said in a forum held by China-U.S. Think Tanks that the Sino-U.S. relations should “activate and open conduits for dialogues” and “get back to the right track”. On July 21, being asked about the Sino-U.S. relations on CCTV, Cui Tiankai, the Ambassador of the PRC in the U.S., remarked: “It is necessary to activate and open conduits for dialogues. Now that there isn’t even a conversation, it should be deemed abnormal”. It has suggested that China craves reopening a dialogue with the U.S.. However, Trump openly said he did not want to talk to Xi Jinping. The U.S. has already turned a deaf ear to China.

The Hong Kong version of National Security Law certainly plays a major role in contributing to the current predicament. The law has shown to the international community China would not live up to any promise. When the basic trust is gone, the basis for a dialogue is gone. Action is way more down-to-earth than rhetoric!

參選呢個界別真係勇氣可嘉，金融服務界係一個高度壟斷嘅界別。

從業員不少係偏黃，但呢個界別係公司票，仲要本身金融就親建制，只怕提名都唔係咁易搵到

【參選2020年立法會金融服務界｜守金融專業，破界別世襲💪】

由2019年中到現在，香港經歷過一連串的社會運動後，相信許多港人也與我們一樣，背負著極為沈重的情緒。但是，作為熱愛這片土地的一員，與其躊躇在悲憤之中，我們更應在漆黑中昂首起來，為維護香港的核心價值尋找一條出路。

一直以來，讓香港邁向成功的，是因為港人能秉持著理性、良知、公義的原則。資訊自由亦令金融市場運作變得更有效率。 我們所堅持追求的普世價值讓香港與國際社會接軌，並在國際舞台上大放異彩。香港金融業的成功之道，除了有硬件的配合，更重要的是港人的軟實力，我們靈活變通的智慧和能力，歷年來吸引了無數的外資行於香港紮根。

此外，香港穩健的法治制度亦是給予投資者信心的基礎。我們一直引以為傲法治，保護著業界的 權益 、自由和公平競爭環境等。香港的法治制度也充分的保障了所有人的言論自由，我們可以公開討論和透過磋商尋求大眾對社會議題的認同，亦不會出現以言入罪的情況。然而，在過去幾年間，我們卻見證了這些 制度的禮崩樂壞。許多人亦認為這樣的情況會在將來持續惡化，最後更 可能 將港人在過去數十年不辭勞苦所建立的基業毀於一旦。

「一國兩制」的成功有賴於各個持份者的自我約束，北京 的種種決定勢必左右實踐這個制度的路向。作為擁有主導權的一方，如果北京能 積極實踐「一國兩制」，尊重 香港的法治制度，香港作為國際金融中心地位比能繼續成為中國與國際投資者的橋樑。

香港作為一個自由經濟體，銀行、企業和金融從業員在營運和工作也不應受到政治相關的脅逼和影響。在他們發表經濟和市場分析時，如需要「遵從國家的立場」，擔心觸碰政治紅線而作出自我審查，除了與現今的企業道德背道而馳外，更大大削弱了香港金融服務業 在國際的公信力。

作為金融服務業功能組別參選人，我主要的政綱為提高中小型經紀行的盈利能力，以及保持香港 金融 市場多元化和具國際視野的特點，並保持 外資 在港營運的吸引力。

在此，希望我參選的原因能與港人業界的期望產生共鳴，並承諾我會與各位金融服務 參與者 並肩同行，堅守我們的金融專業，打破界別世襲。

【Kelvin Ho-Por Lam’s Declaration of Candidacy - Financial Services Functional Constituency】

Safeguarding professionalism and market diversity

Many of us were filled with sadness as we witnessed the tumultuous year of 2019.

However, now is not for sorrow. Instead we should find a way out while preserving the Hong Kong values that we treasure and that have made us what we are––different. Hong Kong values are universal values.

The city’s financial sector earns its bread and butter from the skills provided by the talent working here. Digging beneath the surface, it is also the city’s great strength that here we do not use the law in a dubious way to browbeat and silence people or even businesses that may hold a different opinion. Open debate and negotiation are used to create public consent.

However, over the past few years we have witnessed the dismantling of the scaffolding and the institutions that underpin the city and make the financial centre work. Many believe that this trend is set to continue and will ultimately undermine the success and the foundations of that success built by the hard work of our predecessors over centuries.

The success of the “One Country Two Systems” depends on the self-restraint of all parties, including Central Government. The system is the bedrock on which the continued success of this dynamic city is built. If respected, Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre will grow.

Banks, businesses and finance professionals should not have to operate or work in a climate of fear or be coerced into making political statements. “Toeing the party line” is the last thing the financial industry needs; this is not only against modern business ethics but doing so will certainly undermine the productivity and added value of the industry.

My policies will focus on enhancing the profitability of small- to medium-sized brokerage firms and on maintaining the diversity of the economy and the internationalism that is key to multinational intermediaries operating optimally in our city.

I hope that my candidacy will resonate with most market participants and the people of Hong Kong who are tired of recent events, and most importantly, bring hope to them.

美國務卿聲明，批中國政府威嚇（browbeat)英國的匯豐（HSBC)銀行。

「北京激進的行為印證了為什麼各國不應該在經濟上過於仰賴中國」

—

Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

The United States stands with our allies and partners against the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive bullying tactics. In the latest example, Beijing has reportedly threatened to punish British bank HSBC and to break commitments to build nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom unless London allows Huawei to build its 5G network. Shenzhen-based Huawei is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state.

The CCP’s browbeating of HSBC, in particular, should serve as a cautionary tale. Just last week, the bank’s Asia-Pacific CEO, Peter Wong, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, signed a petition supporting Beijing’s disastrous decision to destroy Hong Kong’s autonomy and to break commitments made in an U.N.-registered treaty. That show of fealty seems to have earned HSBC little respect in Beijing, which continues to use the bank’s business in China as political leverage against London.

Beijing’s aggressive behavior shows why countries should avoid economic overreliance on China and should guard their critical infrastructure from CCP influence. Australia, Denmark, and other free nations have recently faced pressure from CCP interests to bow to China’s political wishes. The United States stands ready to assist our friends in the U.K. with any needs they have, from building secure and reliable nuclear power plants to developing trusted 5G solutions that protect their citizens’ privacy. Free nations deal in true friendship and desire mutual prosperity, not political and corporate kowtows.