In a statement issued with a new report from the State Department criticising Beijing’s assault on dissent in the Asian financial hub, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised Beijing for eroding the independence of Hong Kong’s courts.
Prior to this, the US has criticised China for stifling free speech, persecuting journalists and civil society organisations, and depriving Hong Kong people the freedom to choose their own leader. Blinken’s remarks on Friday highlighted rising criticism that attempts to stifle the democratic movement that sparked numerous, sometimes violent rallies in 2019 had endangered a judicial system that helped made the city a magnet for international corporations.
Blinken said in a statement that “the People’s Republic of China continues to weaken Hong Kong’s judicial independence and the rule of law.” The promised autonomy of Hong Kong has been destroyed during the course of the last year as a result of the PRC and Hong Kong authorities’ increased criminalization of dissent.
Blinken’s remarks were made in conjunction with a State Department annual report that described how Hong Kong authorities continued to allegedly subvert the rule of law by applying the National Security Law that China imposed in 2020. According to the study, authorities have kept “arresting and prosecuting individuals for nonviolent political speech critical of the local and central administrations, including for publishing and forwarding social media messages.”
Response from Hong Kong
The city of Hong Kong “strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected the unsubstantiated and fact-twisting statements and also the slander” included in the report, a government official said in a lengthy rebuttal. The city’s courts are still “independent and impartial” and “free from any intervention,” even in situations involving national security, according to Hong Kong, which asked the US to quit “interfering in Hong Kong issues and China’s internal affairs at large.”
Law experts have questioned the security legislation for a variety of reasons, including a clause that gives Hong Kong’s leader the power to choose judges for cases involving national security and to have them dismissed if they “make any comment or conduct in any way harming national security.”
Blinken’s harsh remarks and the in-depth study come as John Lee, the leader of Hong Kong chosen by China, works to restore the city’s standing as an Asian financial centre after the removal of Covid-related travel restrictions that kept it cut off during the worst of the outbreak. The courts in Hong Kong have a lengthy reputation for fairness and impartiality, which sets them apart from Chinese courts that are in effect under Communist Party control. This is one of the reasons why the city has traditionally attracted foreign industry.
According to Thomas Kellogg, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Asian Law, the Hong Kong government “faces a serious challenge as it attempts to pivot away from the events of 2019 and 2020 and to concentrate international attention on Hong Kong’s long-standing status as a corporate centre.”
He remarked, referring to the National Security Law, “It would be difficult for the Hong Kong administration to persuade the foreign world that the changes caused by the NSL — and the harm done to judicial independence — will have no impact on the business climate.” For all, a number of crucial NSL laws call on private enterprises to produce evidence in NSL cases, which would be a nightmare for any Western company that encountered such an enquiry from the Hong Kong police in terms of reputation.
The State Department’s criticism only exacerbates already high tensions between the US and China over issues ranging from US efforts to stop the export of advanced semiconductors to China to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-“transit” Wen’s this week through the US, whose anticipated meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California has drawn threats from Chinese officials.