Even more freedom to come when Art. 23 law is passed!

The Hong Kong government says the city’s freedoms are better protected now we have the NatSec Law. HKFP reports…

In a three-page report to the UN Human Rights Council published on Saturday, authorities said Hong Kong had taken a “major turn from chaos to governance” after the security legislation and measures ensuring only “patriots” can run in elections were implemented.

“Hong Kong society has put the volatile situation behind it, and the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents are better protected in a safer and more orderly environment,” the report read.

Dozens of civil society groups have shut down since [the NatSec Law’s introduction], while independent media outlets have also closed following police raids and the arrests of top executives.

A thread from Renaud Haccart…

Some factual changes in HK in the past 4 years: fewer functioning political parties, elections with less diverse candidates, public demonstration where [organizers] get “invited for tea” by the police and in several cases suddenly withdraw their applications, less diverse media.

We can also add elections where less of the outcome depends on HK people’s opinions, leading to a legislative branch that’s less able to reflect the diverse opinions of HKers, and an executive that now controls candidacy at elections. Some public records are harder to consult.

It’s hard to find a single law, governmental measure or change in attitude from the authorities that have gone in the direction of more freedom in the past 4 years. Quite the opposite.

A few between-long-weekends things…

HKFP on activists trying to get the government to stop paving over rural paths…

“Because [the government] does not have any conservation standards to follow, the default option is, of course, to use concrete.”

Could we say this campaign is pro-‘soft resistance’?

From the Carter Center’s US-China Perception Monitor, a translation of an article by Mainland political scientist Hu Wei reflecting on Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts on reform and opening up. While paying due deference to the current official lines and slogans, he implicitly criticizes the current leadership’s direction…

Whether moving towards  modernization, the world, and the future, or regressing to tradition, self-seclusion, and absolutism, is the litmus test for judging whether to continue reform and opening up. Among them, how to handle relations with the West, especially the United States, is a key prerequisite for the success of China’s modernization. Many people always believe that the U.S. seeks to destroy China, which does not conform to the historical facts of reform and opening up and contradicts Deng’s initial judgment about war and peace. Even if the U.S. harbors such intentions, they should be resolved rather than intensified. If we oppose everything the U.S. supports and support everything against the U.S., Sino-US relations will definitely not improve. The deterioration of current Sino-US relations deserves deep reflection, and how to escape the “Thucydides Trap” requires greater wisdom.

The Diplomat on the rise of extreme Han ethno-nationalism in China…

…non-Han dynasties, particularly the Mongol-led Yuan and Manchu-led Qing, complicate China’s ethno-national identity. The Qing era (1644-1911), often viewed by Han nationalists as colonial rule, is especially contentious within the Imperial Han faction, which rejects its contribution to the Han legacy.

…This movement is more than nostalgia. It represents a complex mix of pride, identity, and ambition for global recognition … this movement now significantly influences Beijing’s narratives and policies. 

A group the author calls ‘Radicals’ are the ‘most assertive’. Then you have the more wishy-washy types, like…

The Conservative Faction: More restrained in territorial claims, conservatives base their aspirations on ancient Chinese literature and records. They advocate for a China that mirrors territorial descriptions from these texts, encompassing an ambitiously large area from Lake Baikal in Siberia to the Rocky Mountains in North America. 

Their approach also includes aggressive strategies against perceived historical violators of the Han people, with extreme suggestions like using nuclear force as retaliation for past aggressions, specifically against Japan for its actions in World War II.

Well, quite.

A video of Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu opening presents from Santa. They are items from around the world that China has barred from importing for political reasons.