Johnny Patterson: As China signs the final death warrant for Hong Kong's democracy, there must global condemnation

This week, China sounded the final death knell for Hong Kong’s democratic aspirations. New proposals which significantly reduce the number of democratically elected seats, to be signed-off later in the week by China’s rubber-stamp parliament, mark the onset of full-blown totalitarianism.

Commenting on the proposed reforms, Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, did not mince his words: “China’s communist parliament has taken the biggest step so far to obliterate Hong Kong’s freedoms and aspirations for greater democracy under the rule of law.”

“This decision completely destroys the pledge of one-country, two-systems,” he said.

Patten’s words matter because he negotiated the handover. He knows that, at the heart of the one-country, two-systems settlement agreed upon between the British and the Chinese government was the constitutionally enshrined promise that Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms would remain intact, and that the city would transition to full democracy.

The promise made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the treaty between China and Britain, now lies in tatters.

It all began last year, when the National Security Law was imposed via diktat directly from Beijing. The law was a constitutional watershed which was written in a way to ensure that, like in the mainland, there is now nothing to stop the Chinese authorities’ opponents from facing trumped-up “subversion” charges.

The result? All the leading activists in Hong Kong are now on trial, in jail or in exile.

What was started by the Chinese authorities with the National Security Law is now being brought to completion with electoral reforms which are the final nail in the coffin. Although the final details are not yet in the public domain, it has been reported the reforms will mean that Hong Kongers will have a say over barely 20% of the seats in the legislature, and continue to have no say over who is their leader.

To make matters worse, all candidates will be screened by a committee made up of loyal tycoons and party cadres. Those not deemed sufficiently “patriotic” will be screened out.

“Loyalty to the motherland is a basic political ethic of all public office holders and aspirants anywhere in the world — Hong Kong is no exception,” the Chinese foreign minister said this weekend.

Patriotism, in the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party, is defined as loyalty to the party.

One-country, one-system looks to be Hong Kong’s future.

We are witnessing a steady transition of the city from China’s liberal bastion, ‘Asia’s world city’, into a Chinese special economic zone with benefits – like Shenzhen but with access to Facebook and less technology firms.

Why does this matter? For Britain, each step towards totalitarianism in Hong Kong is a further reminder that the Chinese government cares little about the commitments made to the United Kingdom in international law under the handover treaty. As a co-signatory to the treaty, we have obligations to continue to pay attention and respond.

Britain has rightly offered a lifeline to British National (Overseas) from Hong Kong, but this step cannot be seen to be a complete and coherent strategy in response. The government must take further action to signal that this flagrant breach of international law carries consequences for the bilateral relationship between Britain and China – considering sanctions, diplomacy and avenues for accountability.

The UK applied Magnitsky sanctions in the cases of Alexei Navalny and the Belarus protests, but has not yet taken any action in response to the dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedoms. As a bare minimum the human rights sanctions regime should be applied to the officials responsible.

Yet sanctions are insufficient as a response. Accountability should be sought by pursuing international legal avenues, including by bringing a case to the international court of justice.

Most importantly, an international coalition of like-minded democracies should be convened to act together in response to the situation in Hong Kong and other related infringements of international law by China.

A unified global response is the best way of protecting Hong Kongers. If we fail to do this, we should not be surprised if Beijing considers it a sign of weakness and looks to take further steps. Taiwan has long been in Xi Jinping’s sights and his treatment of Hong Kong should act as a warning.

Johnny Patterson is Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch. This article was published in City A.M. on 9 March 2021. (Photo: City A.M.)