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">https://twitter.com/rthk_enew...
Meet the Standing Committee of the National People& #39;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 itâs more than a Supreme Court. Theyâve taken this even further with something like a pre-emptive veto. They stopped waiting for courts to ask for their opinion and issue âclarificationâ rulings while cases are pending.
Chapter IV says that eventually LegCo and the Chief Exec eventually need to voted in to office âby universal suffrage... in accordance with democratic procedures.â
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:
Hong Kongers response:
In 2016, this CCP Politburo-cum-Supreme Court âclarifiedâ that six duly elected and sworn-in LegCo MPâs were âwell, actuallyâ never sworn in because their oaths were invalid because something something about the âbearing allience to the Peopleâs Republicâ 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 letâs 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.
Our first CE resigned over it.
Art 23: âprohibits 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 organizationsâ
- foreign political organizations from conducting political activities in the HK
- political organizations in HK from establishing ties with foreign political organizationsâ
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">https://twitter.com/comparati...
Ours is called LegCo. https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1262749046898229250">https://twitter.com/comparati...
Turns out the @foreignoffice left on tiny little loophole in the Basic Law in the form of Article 18. By âtinyâ 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 Peopleâs Congress is going to pass Article 23 legislation for Hong Kong _in Beijing_ and sheâs 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">https://twitter.com/timmysung...
Any legal challenge that sedition, treason, secession, banning @hrw @amnesty @hk_watch etc + criminalizing collaboration w/ them canât go into Annex III b/c itâs not related to âdefense or foreign affairsâ would have the lawâs authors be the final judge.
https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1263710196116844546?s=21">https://twitter.com/comparati... https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1263710196116844546">https://twitter.com/comparati...
https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1263710196116844546?s=21">https://twitter.com/comparati... https://twitter.com/comparativist/status/1263710196116844546">https://twitter.com/comparati...
* @foreignoffice signed off on the Joint Dec, which handed creation of the Basic Law over to the CCPâs National Peopleâs Congress. The NPC formed the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee. Only 23 of the 59 members were from HK.
They âsigned offâ on this process, not BL itself
They âsigned offâ on this process, not BL itself
âSure, weâre giving the CCP âdirect authorityâ 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!â
They literally wrote into the Joint Dec that the Chief Exec will be determined by the results of elections OR âconsultationsâ that are not elections at all. But hopefully elections! One day! Donât worry, it will work out fine!
I didnât even get to the part where theyâll be adding âMinistry of State Security will open office inside the Kowloon XRL operate in Hong Kongâ to Annex III.
Canât wait for MSS spooks to knock on my door to âinviteâ me over to have âteaâ with them.
https://twitter.com/citizenspc/status/1263760670887034880?s=21">https://twitter.com/citizensp... https://twitter.com/citizenspc/status/1263760670887034880">https://twitter.com/citizensp...
Canât wait for MSS spooks to knock on my door to âinviteâ me over to have âteaâ with them.
https://twitter.com/citizenspc/status/1263760670887034880?s=21">https://twitter.com/citizensp... https://twitter.com/citizenspc/status/1263760670887034880">https://twitter.com/citizensp...