Of thought crimes, laws for thee but not for me, yet another arrest by the national security police, and Taiwan matters

Filming taking place last July for what I then (already)

wondered was a police propaganda film (as there were

soooo many cops about the place!)

 

I read some news yesterday evening that disturbed me so that I thought it'd be best to sleep on it before commenting/writing about it.  One of them involves the prosecution in the Stand News trial alleging in their closing arguments that "it did not matter whether the two former chief editors had a seditious intent, instead the focus should be whether the materials were seditious, and whether the editors knew they were seditious."  

 

If truth be told, some 24 hours after I first read this, I'm still feeling rather nonplussed by this.  Put another way: part of me I feels like I was reading Jabberwocky, and that the world's gone mad!  And then there's this other bit to process: "Citing the judgement of a 1868 Irish case that read “sedition is a crime against society, nearly allied to that of treason,” [lead prosecutor] Laura Ng said it showed that the sedition law was deemed necessary 150 years ago, a time when “television, radio and the internet were yet to be invented.”  

 

As writer-activist Promise Li was moved to Tweet in response: "Beijing’s regime has used a colonial era law against striking workers to ban masks at protests [in Hong Kong], and now used a colonial era law to quell Irish anti-colonial revolts in the 1860s to show that they don’t need evidence to prove editors guilty of sedition since the law is preemptive."  In so doing, he helped serve up a reminder that it's not just the national security law that is being used to prosecute and persecute. (And Article 23 is still to come -- maybe as soon as before the end of this year.)

 

Then there's this other piece of news which actually attracted more attention over on Hong Kong Twitter:  "Hong Kong’s film censorship law does not apply to government screenings, the city’s censorship authority has said after local media reported that a police publicity film was screened at police headquarters despite not having gone through the official vetting process."  This even though: "Under the [Film Censorship O]rdinance, which was amended in 2021 to include national security clauses, all films must be approved by [the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA)] to be screened publicly in Hong Kong. Any that are deemed contrary to national security can be barred from screening, or the authority can request changes such as the removal of certain scenes."

 

If that doesn't sound wrong and unreasonable to you on its own, consider this: there are now films that are looked upon as illegal for people here in Hong Kong to view even in the privacy of their own homes as well as (other) private gatherings because they have not been approved of by OFNAA. Also, since the film censorship law was amended, "there have been more reports of filmmakers being asked to cut scenes from their movies, including one that showed a 2014 Umbrella Movement scene that lasted less than a second."

 

And if you think it was just a member of the film censorship board thinks this: "The police also told [Hong Kong Free Press] on Monday that the Film Censorship Ordinance did not apply to the government."  As journalist Ryan Ho Kilpatrick Tweeted in reaction: "Rare sighting of government outright saying they’re above the law."

 

Some other sample reactions on Twitter by various netizens: "They said the "one rule for us" part out loud"; "Rules for thee but not for us... Hong Kong rule of law"; and "But of course some animals are more equal than others…".  Then there's this in greater detail by Nathan Hammond (in a Twitter thread): 

If I were an administrator in Hong Kong and worried about the appearance of placing police and government above the law I would maybe not state that laws don’t apply to the government.

Just me, but I’d get them to apologize, pay the fine to the gov, and go get the rubber stamp.

 

Like, this is just an accounting and paperwork problem if you follow the rules with the bonus of setting whatever precedent you want in the “prosecution” of the offense.

Instead they chose the much worse option of, “the laws don’t apply to the government!”

 

They’re so used to operating with impunity that they continue to advertise the breakdown of the rule of law in Hong Kong rather than taking advantage of these opportunities to get an even better outcome for themselves.

Exactly.  

 

Oh, and here's something else that happened yesterday: yet another arrest by the national security police.  This time of a 63-year-old man for allegedly "seditious" social media posts.  "According to the police, the man – who was apprehended in Tsim Sha Tsui on Monday – was suspected of publishing online content “several times” that incited the overthrowing of the Central government as well as hatred towards the Central and Hong Kong authorities."  Sad, but we've heard this before.     

 

But, then, there's also this: "He also allegedly advocated Taiwan independence and Hong Kong independence, and “desecrated” the national flag and national anthem."  Do you see the new bit:  Advocating "Taiwan independence", not "just" "Hong Kong independence"?!

 

Coincidentally (or maybe not), "Taiwan residents have been warned against “accidentally stepping into a minefield” and being arrested under Hong Kong’s national security law while travelling to the city by the self-ruled island’s authorities." (More than by the way: note the Hong Kong Free Press' careful description of Taiwan in the previous sentence!) 

 

And should you doubt their seriousness, the interestingly named Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of Taiwan "reminded Taiwan residents to register their personal information with the government before going to Hong Kong to allow the authorities to assist anyone who may be arrested in the city."  It also stated the following on its website: "Even if you are not a Hongkonger and do not reside in Hong Kong, you run the risk of being arrested if you enter Hong Kong… or transit through the city with so-called ‘criminal behaviour’".  Words the world, not just Taiwanese folks, should heed, I reckon!