Opinion | Congratulations Hong Kong for finally legislating Article 23

Sometimes you wonder if foreign critics have been given the same script to criticize the latest security legislation, so they never bothered to read Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.

The Homeland Security Act took nearly 27 years to pass, but some have described it as “rushed.” The new law will codify Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s legal founding document, which came into effect on July 1, 1997.

Others argued that the legislation was a “kowtowing to Beijing”. Since there are 160 articles in the Basic Law, I guess our critics can argue that we have “kowtowed to Beijing” 160 times since Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

You do not have the right to choose which constitutional provisions to observe and do and which to ignore and denigrate. Or at least that is what Western societies claim as the basis of constitutionalism. But if it is done by some other societies to which they are antagonistic, their propagandists will come into a united front to say that you cannot do it even if we do it like that. It’s the same old “do as I say, not as I do.”

Hong Kong must deal with backlash after passing Article 23 law: analysts

Now I can almost see what Security Secretary Chris Tang Ping-keung – the government’s point man to draft and push through the legislation – meant when he said he had “a lot of mixed emotions”.

“Of course, I am excited to see my child – Article 23 – coming into the world soon,” he said. “But I’m also a little emotional because the bill has been through so many trials, tribulations and miscarriages.”

However, I cannot imagine the extreme pressure he and others must feel from foreign interference in legislation, including sanctioning by the United States – to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy and human rights!

This is coming from the same government that is aiding and abetting Israel to carry out genocidal acts against the Palestinians by supplying them with some of the most destructive weapons known to mankind. America’s murderous hypocrisy made me laugh. I just feel sick now.

Credit goes where credit is due. Tang and Justice Minister Paul Lam Ting-kwok played a key role in pushing the Article 23 legislation through marathon sessions. Both men proved to be masters of detail as they patiently explained to lawmakers the purpose and meaning of key provisions in the new law and outlined possible scenarios in their favor.

They answered the call of duty and did the right thing in Hong Kong. We must be grateful to both men and to some of those legislators who had diligently worked through the legislation clause by clause, including Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who was Security Secretary when the government failed to pass Article 23 in 2003 Mr.

There will inevitably be a backlash and concerted smear campaigns by bad actors overseas.

Beijing condemned Britain and the EU for “slander and attacks” against Hong Kong’s Article 23 law

Lawmakers in Washington have also proposed removing diplomatic privileges from Hong Kong’s economic trade offices in the United States, while some have pushed for issuing a higher level of business and travel advisories against the city and imposing more sanctions on city officials.

Expect political pressure to be applied to international agencies to downgrade Hong Kong’s credit ratings and interfere with the city’s ability to participate in international events.

The passage of Article 23 is the perfect opportunity for hostile foreign governments to exploit and distract the international community from the monstrous crimes they commit or help their allies commit in the name of freedom and democracy.

However, Yip rightly said that Hong Kong should not fear attacks from hostile foreign powers.

“People who take action against us or demote us or threaten us with sanctions are going to regret it, and we don’t shy away from those threats,” she said.

We bit the bullet and in the end the good will outweigh the bad consequences.

It was a long wait. Now the basic law is complete. Hong Kong can face the whole world. Don’t let malicious foreign actors tell you otherwise.