I just want to say a quick, deep, heartfelt FUCK YOU to the fine folks at @foreignoffice for signing the most poorly thought-out constitution in history, hitting that impossible sweet spot where Hong Kongers have no power but the CCP was handed an Etch-A-Sketch (Annex III) https://twitter.com/rthk_enews/status/1263696648502251523
Meet the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. @foreignoffice put them in as something akin to a Supreme Court. If a constitutional question is too difficult or contentious (see: can Filipina domestic helpers become perm residents?), a judge could punt it to them.
They also have veto power on a lot of issues though, so it’s more than a Supreme Court. They’ve taken this even further with something like a pre-emptive veto. They stopped waiting for courts to ask for their opinion and issue ‘clarification’ rulings while cases are pending.
Chapter IV says that eventually LegCo and the Chief Exec eventually need to voted in to office “by universal suffrage... in accordance with democratic procedures.”
Chapter IV says that eventually LegCo and the Chief Exec eventually need to voted in to office “by universal suffrage... in accordance with democratic procedures.”
Chapter IV says that eventually LegCo and the Chief Exec eventually need to voted in to office “by universal suffrage... in accordance with democratic procedures.”
After saying the promised democratic reform would come, then delaying, they produce a trash electoral reform bill. They allow us to vote on between two to three CCP-vetted puppets for our next Chief Exec. Take it or leave it, no amendments.

Hong Kongers response:
After saying the promised democratic reform would come, then delaying, they produce a trash electoral reform bill. They allow us to vote on between two to three CCP-vetted puppets for our next Chief Exec. Take it or leave it, no amendments.Hong Kongers response:
After saying the promised democratic reform would come, then delaying, they produce a trash electoral reform bill. They allow us to vote on between two to three CCP-vetted puppets for our next Chief Exec. Take it or leave it, no amendments.Hong Kongers response:
After saying the promised democratic reform would come, then delaying, they produce a trash electoral reform bill. They allow us to vote on between two to three CCP-vetted puppets for our next Chief Exec. Take it or leave it, no amendments.Hong Kongers response:
In 2016, this CCP Politburo-cum-Supreme Court ‘clarified’ that six duly elected and sworn-in LegCo MP’s were “well, actually” never sworn in because their oaths were invalid because something something about the “bearing allience to the People’s Republic” not being credible.
Leading to situations like Agnes Chow and Ventus Lau being pre-emptively banned from running for LegCo seats, so Au Nok-hin and Gary Fan ran as replacements. But then a court unseated both by arguing they were never duly elected (b/c Chow and Lau should have been allowed to run)
So now let’s get to Article 23. It and the language around eventual universal suffrage (Article 45, 68) are written as required future legislation. They tried to pass Article 23 in 2003 and it sparked the largest protest HK had ever seen.

Our first CE resigned over it.
So now let’s get to Article 23. It and the language around eventual universal suffrage (Article 45, 68) are written as required future legislation. They tried to pass Article 23 in 2003 and it sparked the largest protest HK had ever seen. Our first CE resigned over it.
So now let’s get to Article 23. It and the language around eventual universal suffrage (Article 45, 68) are written as required future legislation. They tried to pass Article 23 in 2003 and it sparked the largest protest HK had ever seen. Our first CE resigned over it.
So now let’s get to Article 23. It and the language around eventual universal suffrage (Article 45, 68) are written as required future legislation. They tried to pass Article 23 in 2003 and it sparked the largest protest HK had ever seen. Our first CE resigned over it.
So now let’s get to Article 23. It and the language around eventual universal suffrage (Article 45, 68) are written as required future legislation. They tried to pass Article 23 in 2003 and it sparked the largest protest HK had ever seen. Our first CE resigned over it.
Art 23: “prohibits any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the [CCP]; and prohibits:

- foreign political organizations from conducting political activities in the HK

- political organizations in HK from establishing ties with foreign political organizations”
This is what it looks like when they trying to criminalize disrespect when the March of Volunteers is played. How could they possibly get something 1000x more toxic through LegCo? Because, even in HK, laws come out of the legislative branch.

Ours is called LegCo. https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1262749046898229250
This is what it looks like when they trying to criminalize disrespect when the March of Volunteers is played. How could they possibly get something 1000x more toxic through LegCo? Because, even in HK, laws come out of the legislative branch. Ours is called LegCo. https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1262749046898229250
This is what it looks like when they trying to criminalize disrespect when the March of Volunteers is played. How could they possibly get something 1000x more toxic through LegCo? Because, even in HK, laws come out of the legislative branch. Ours is called LegCo. https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1262749046898229250
Turns out the @foreignoffice left on tiny little loophole in the Basic Law in the form of Article 18. By ‘tiny’ I mean you could sail an aircraft carrier through it. Beijing can add any law to Annex III of the Basic Law so long as they say it pertains defense or foreign affairs.
So Lam has agreed that the Standing Comittee of the People’s Congress is going to pass Article 23 legislation for Hong Kong _in Beijing_ and she’s just going to add it to HK Government Gazette. No debate, input, votes, or amendments from anyone in HK gov https://twitter.com/timmysung/status/1263725399906762753?s=21
Any legal challenge that sedition, treason, secession, banning @hrw @amnesty @hk_watch etc + criminalizing collaboration w/ them can’t go into Annex III b/c it’s not related to “defense or foreign affairs” would have the law’s authors be the final judge.
https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1263710196116844546?s=21 https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1263710196116844546
* @foreignoffice signed off on the Joint Dec, which handed creation of the Basic Law over to the CCP’s National People’s Congress. The NPC formed the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee. Only 23 of the 59 members were from HK.

They ‘signed off’ on this process, not BL itself
“Sure, we’re giving the CCP ‘direct authority’ over the new HK gov, but they agreed nothing is going to change except the flag, name of the territory, and whose soldiers and sailors are garrisoned there. All the good and important stuff remains unchanged!”
They literally wrote into the Joint Dec that the Chief Exec will be determined by the results of elections OR ‘consultations’ that are not elections at all. But hopefully elections! One day! Don’t worry, it will work out fine!
I didn’t even get to the part where they’ll be adding “Ministry of State Security will open office inside the Kowloon XRL operate in Hong Kong” to Annex III.

Can’t wait for MSS spooks to knock on my door to ‘invite’ me over to have ‘tea’ with them.
https://twitter.com/citizenspc/status/1263760670887034880?s=21 https://twitter.com/citizenspc/status/1263760670887034880
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