1/ It will be unbelievably scandalous if it is really the case that the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland have said that they "understand and respect" Beijing's human rights abuses under its sweeping national security law.

2/ Just within one month after the national security law was put in place, the city has been blanketed in Orwellian fear. Books were pulling from libraries. People carrying stickers with quotes from Bibles or carrying blank placards were charged for breaching the security law.

3/ Activists were prosecuted for commemorating the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, for the first time in 31 years after the crackdown. Days ago, even the city's pro-democracy media mogul @JimmyLaiApple was arrested under the new security law.

4/ Also, the law is also posing threats to all ex-pats and travellers both inside or outside Hong Kong, since Beijing has begun arresting non-Chinese nationals overseas. All these brutal crackdowns are trampling on the liberal values that Western democracies rest upon.

5/ It will be more worrying if the Northern Ireland government chooses to turn a blind eye to the potential human rights concerns behind the law and bow down low to Beijing solely in exchange for more economic ties with China in business and education. http://belfast.chineseconsulate.org/chn/zlghd/t1800197.htm

6/ Therefore, we hope the Northern Ireland government can clarify its stance and stand up for the liberal values that the world cherishes. Since Beijing is now stepping up its suppression, we hope the world will keep a close watch on the development here and stand with Hong Kong.