Posted @withregram • @hkz.global 0032 The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Friday (7 Aug) that it is placing sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and individuals in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, for undermining political freedoms of Hong Kong citizens.

Sanction Implications:
• The 11 persons will have any property and assets in the U.S. frozen
• U.S. persons and businesses are genereally prohibited to be involved in business transactions with these 11 blocked persons
• Any provision of U.S. goods or services to the blocked persons is prohibited

Source: US Treasury

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【 收合餘燼，背城借一 ──大專學界就白色恐怖時代降臨告港人書 | Resist, however long and hard the road may be - A Letter from Students’ Unions of Higher Institutions to all Hongkongers 】

今日，學生動源前召集人鍾翰林、前發言人何諾恆及前成員何忻諾各自於其寓所內被警察國安部人員上門拘捕，據稱被捕罪名為「煽動他人分裂國家」，亦有消息指可能有更多成員被捕。是次拘捕為國安法自六月三十日生效以來，首次有巿民被國安人員直接上門拘捕。

大專學界於此向全體香港人宣告，白色恐怖年代，正式降臨香港。鍾翰林等人作為白色恐怖下，遭受上門拘捕的第一道破窗，香港人絕不能置若罔聞。大專學界呼籲所有香港人繼續密切關注事件，並警告港共政權勿恣意妄為，因整個國際社會都正在注視著其一舉一動，任何侵犯人權之惡行都必會招來惡果。

未來，可預視將有更多港人身陷赤共魔爪中，但誠如愛爾蘭詩人貝克特所言：「我走不下去了。我會走下去。」香港人必定要秉持若水之志，戰勝恐懼，繼續於最艱難年月中，留一口氣、點一盞燈。過去一年，香港人背城借一、負隅頑抗，已徹底撕破中共的面具，使其邪惡本性原形畢露。天下圍共之勢已成，自由世界已站於香港人一邊。與暴政周旋，不爭朝夕之短長。只要在難彌堅，只要信念不滅，抗爭星火終有燎原之日。我等堅信，香港人終將迎來我城重光之日。

香港大學學生會
香港中文大學學生會臨時行政委員會
嶺南大學學生會
香港城市大學學生會
香港樹仁大學學生會
香港恒生大學學生會
香港公開大學學生會
東華學院學生會
香港理工大學學生會
香港浸會大學學生會臨時行政委員會
香港教育大學學生會
香港科技大學學生會

Today, the former founder of Studentlocalism, Tony Chung Hon-lam, the former member, Ho Yan-nok, and the former spokesperson, Ho Nok-hang were arrested in their respective residences by police officers from the National Security Department. Reportedly, they were charged with “inciting secession or undermining national unification”. This is the very first direct home arrest ever since the implementation of the National Security Law on the 30th June.

Hong Kong has fallen into the Era of White Terror. Students’ Unions of Higher Institutions hereby urge Hongkongers not to connive at the atrocities of the communist regime but to stand up against the oppression by any feasible means. To the tyrannical communist puppets, we warn that the world is watching. Any further crimes you commit will not go unseen.

It is crystal clear that more and more Hongkongers would have to endure the Communist terror. But as Samuel Beckett, an Irish poet, said, “I can’t go on. I will go on.” Hongkongers shall uphold the Be-Water spirit and continue to fight on in the darkest times. In the past year, Hongkongers have fought the battle against tyranny as if it was our last, revealing the Chinese communist regime’s true colour and unearthing its malignant nature. The free world has stood with Hongkongers against Communist aggression. Perseverance is vital to winning the war against tyranny. We shall continue defending Hong Kong with hope until widespread of the flames of resistance. May glory be to Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong University Students’ Union
The Provisional Executive Committee, The Student Union of The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Lingnan University Students’ Union
City University of Hong Kong Students’ Union
The Student Union of Hong Kong Shue Yan University
The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong Students’ Union
The Open University of Hong Kong Students’ Union
Tung Wah College Students’ Union
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Students’ Union
The Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union Acting-Executive Committee
The Education University of Hong Kong Students’ Union
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Students’ Union

【After Winning Majority in LegCo: Beijing's Crackdown May Trigger International Intervention】

***感謝Hong Kong Columns - Translated，將我早前撰寫『議會過半想像：以「#國際攬炒」反制「臨立會2.0」』長文（https://www.facebook.com/joshuawongchifung/photos/a.313299448762570/2887650867994069/）翻譯成英文，鼓勵國際社會關注立會選舉一旦過半的沙盤推演，在最惡劣形勢下的制衡策略。***

中文精簡版本：https://www.facebook.com/joshuawongchifung/photos/a.564294826996363/2888641404561682/

Hongkongers have experienced our revolution for over half a year. They no longer take a consequentialist view to the effectiveness of their movement as they did years ago, or waste time second-guessing the intentions and background of fellow activists. Following the defensive battles at CUHK and PolyU, November’s District Council election saw a great victory of unity. More marvellous is the union between peaceful and “valiant” protesters.

In the process of resisting tyranny, the people have realised that one cannot prioritize one strategy over another. This is also how the common goal of “35+” came into being—the hope that we will win over half of the seats in the Legislative Council (LegCo) this September, such that the political spectrum that represents the majority of Hongkongers is able to gain control of legislative decisions. The political clout of Hongkongers will increase if 35 or more seats are successfully secured on our side. It is certainly one vital step to achieve the five demands within the system.

The possibility of realizing legislative majority

Technically it is not unrealistic to win a majority even under the current undemocratic system. Back in the 2016 LegCo election, we already won 30 seats. In addition to the District Council (First) functional constituency seat that is already in the pocket of the pan-democrats, as long as the candidates in Kowloon East and New Territories West do not start infighting again, we could safely secure 33 seats based on the number of pan-dem votes in 2016.

The other 3 seats required to achieve a majority depend on democrats’ breakthrough among the functional constituencies by dispersing the resources of the Liaison Office. They also count on whether the turnout this September could exceed 71.2% — that of last year’s District Council elections. Some of the factors that could affect the turnout include: will the epidemic persist into the summer? Will there be potential violent repression of protests in the 2 weeks preceding the election? Will Hong Kong-US relations be affected by the downturn of the global economy?

Therefore, the ambition of “35+” is to be prioritised by the resistance as both a means and an end. I have already expressed my support for an intra-party primary at the coordination meeting. In the meantime, it is pleasing to see the ongoing debates reaching a consensus of maximising the seats among geographical constituencies in the upcoming election.

Whilst enthusiastic coordination, we should also assess the post-election landscape and gauge Beijing’s reactions: if we do not reach 35 seats, Hong Kong will be subject to tighter control and more severe repression by China; but if the democratic parties successfully form a majority in LegCo, CCP’s fears of a “constitutional crisis” would become imminent. Hence, the key questions are how the Pan-Democrats should deal with the volatile political situation in Hong Kong and how they are going to meet Beijing’s charge head-on.

Watching out for Beijing’s dismissal of LegCo after reaching majority

To take back control of LegCo such that it faithfully reflects the majority’s principles and needs is the definition of a healthy democracy. Recently, however, DAB’s Tam Yiu-chung has warned that the plan of the Pan-Dems to “usurp power” in the LegCo would only lead to Beijing’s forceful disqualification of certain members or the interpretation of the Basic Law. This proves that winning a majority in LegCo is not only a popular conception but also a realistic challenge that would get on the nerves of Beijing. Could Beijing accept a President James To in LegCo? These unknown variables must be addressed upon achieving a majority.

While there is no telltale sign as to Beijing’s exact strategy, we are already familiar with the way CCP manipulated the Basic Law in the past 4 years. Having experienced three waves of disqualifications in LegCo, twice kicked out of LegCo with my team, and thrice locked up in jail, I have no false hopes of an easy compromise from Beijing: they would not let Pan-Dems control LegCo for half a year and wait (as is the proper procedure) until after having negatived the Budget to dissolve the legislature, and thereby giving them an easy victory in the re-elections. The greater the Pan-Dems threaten Beijing’s rule in Hong Kong, the more likely that it will trigger Beijing’s repression.

Since the disqualification and arrest of lawmakers have already become “normalised”, one can even imagine the police stepping into the LegCo building to force Pan-Dems into voting. Neither is it beyond our imagination to expect the CCP to kick out all 70 lawmakers in a fit of rage and replace them with a provisional LegCo “2.0” [HKCT note: The first was from 25 Jan 1997 to 30 Jun 1998]. To depend on a majority that could lead to a chapter of a “new testament” for One Country, Two Systems is perhaps what many elites long for, but they are overly optimistic:for a ticket to the promised land will not be available at the Chief Executive election campaign a year and a half later.

Admittedly, the Pan-Dems cannot unilaterally initiate “Laam-chaau” [HKCT note: mostly translated into “scorched-earth” mentality or “mutual destruction”; some even translated into “If I burn, you burn with us”]. The most they can do is to force a standstill of the government, and not for long the LegCo will have been eliminated from the equation to make the wheels turn again. It all leaves the plan of “Negativing the motion → Dissolving LegCo → Re-election after re-election → the stepping down of Carrie Lam” merely as overly positive speculation, probably resulting from their overestimate of CCP's capacity for rational calculation. The Pan-Dems must guard their frontlines and recognise what the biggest threat from Hong Kong to China could be. In this case, should LegCo sessions be disrupted or suspended, the Pan-Dems would have to be well prepared to surmount the expected obstacles and prevent the disqualification crisis 4 years ago—a Catch-22 indeed.

Productive tension from global intervention: Using Laam-chaau against the CCP

What aggravates the CCP the most is the potential threat to Hong Kong’s unique status as the one and only “separate customs territory”. Any miscalculation will compromise its role as the Chinese economy’s “white gloves”. Imagine if CCP were to disqualify all 70 elected lawmakers and convene a meeting north of the Shenzhen River to pass a resolution to Hong Kong’s affairs (much like the Provisional Legislative Council “1.0" in 1997), how great will the shock be in a world with an effective Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act? However hard it is to predict the future one thing is certain: With the US presidential election just around the corner, blows to the separation of powers would not be tolerated, and the West would necessarily effect countermeasures against the Hong Kong government.

Beijing has been relying upon Hong Kong to navigate the international community for decades. While clamping down on the political freedom of the cosmopolitan city, Beijing desires to maintain the financial centre’s economic freedom. Hence, we started lobbying for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act four years ago, and today we are determined to promote “Laam-chaau” on an international scale.

The will of the voters must be reflected in an election. If a “35+” legislature were to be dismissed and replaced, such flagrant violation of democracy would assuredly cause a greater backlash than the infamous extradition bill. Knowing what the reality ahead of us could be, we have to combine our election and international strategies to oppose the placement of a 35+ LegCo with an “Emergency Legislative Council 2.0”, to advance an international “Laam-chaau” to Hong Kong’s status as “separate customs territory”. Only then will we stand a chance to resist the regime and to realise the five demands.

Adjusting our mindset: Overcoming the “constitutional crisis” to reach a resolution

Upon the realization of the “35+” LegCo, it is expected that the CCP will launch a devastating counterattack. The Pan-Dems should not expect LegCo to run normally; neither can the lawmakers realise their governing blueprints they have for Hong Kong. Rather, candidates will be able to compete against one another with visions of a liberated Hong Kong through popular vote. Bringing this point up has nothing to do with undermining the common goal of reaching a majority in LegCo, but rather channels the battle of LegCo to positive use upon the rule of law’s death and a “constitutional crisis” ahead. Knowing that Hongkongers have nothing to fall back on, all Pan-Dems should not miss the only way to the realization of “35+”.

Thus, be they partisans, nonpartisans, incumbent politicians, amateur politicians, or the civil society as a whole – if we stay in the political discourse of 2016 and continue to perpetuate old stereotypes, that is to deal with the divisions on the pan-democratic camp by favouring the most “local” faction; to consider only resource allocation and self-aggrandizement as the purpose of a LegCo campaign; to ignore how potential lawmakers are fitted to what specific roles; to turn a blind eye to the journey of resistance since last summer (extending indefinitely into the future)—They would lead as astray and cost us lose a precious opportunity for change by winning a 35+ majority.

The extent to which the pan-democrats can stay united in light of the political atmosphere since last summer is another problem that our side must to address. Before the watershed moment of 12th June 2019, many democratic delegates were trapped in the mentality of needing to “preserve people’s livelihood”, “be content of what we have accomplished”, and other strategies that favours stability. As the government refuses to heed to the five demands, whether the democrats, especially those in the functional constituencies, have the political will to go all-in is the real difficult question that confronts us in the upcoming LegCo election.

All in all, if “35+” cannot be realised, it is unsurprising to see LegCo being more heavily suppressed in the next 4 years; even if "35+" is achieved, it is questionable whether the pan-democrats are able to weather multiple attacks, verbal or physical, from the regime (judging from its power in the last four years) and utilise the international Laam-chaau strategy against the displacement of LegCo. Adhering to the motto of “we fight on, each in his own way”, I can only hope that Hongkongers in elections, street confrontations and international front can reconcile with each other, so that we may collectively compel the government to yield to our demands in the next six months. It is only by reaching a resolution before a real constitutional crisis that we can combat the institutional violence of the regime and not be devoured by it.

https://hkcolumn.blogspot.com/2020/04/joshua-wong-after-winning-majority-in.html?fbclid=IwAR216gf53pG_j9JOpDfr2GItvjLfrFSekKTPzoEs3-s9KBqvPEwz865P8vw