China Bullies Hong Kong

Activists like Ms. Yau Wai-ching and Mr. Sixtus Leung are choosing to defend the rule of law; they merit strong international support.

The New York Times

Sixtus Leung, center, with glasses, being blocked from taking his seat in the Hong Kong legislature.

When China took control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, it signed an agreement guaranteeing the city a high degree of political autonomy for 50 years under the “one country, two systems” doctrine.  

On Monday, Beijing took a step away from that commitment, putting at risk the political stability and rule-based governance that have made Hong Kong a free-market mecca.
China intervened to effectively block two politicians, Sixtus Leung, 30, and Yau Wai-ching, 25, who were elected in September to the Hong Kong Legislature, from taking their seats. 

Their crime? 

Last month, at a swearing-in ceremony, they displayed a “Hong Kong is not China” banner; Mr. Leung used a derogatory term for China in his oath, and Ms. Yau used an obscenity. 

They support independence for Hong Kong. 

Beijing’s leaders consider such support a national security threat that must be crushed.
Hong Kong is governed under the Basic Law, a charter negotiated by China and Britain before the 1997 handover. 

It ensured Hong Kong its freedoms, including an independent judiciary. 

It also gives China’s Parliament the right to interpret the law, but until Monday, Beijing had not issued its own interpretation of any clause in the Basic Law without being asked for an interpretation by the Hong Kong government or judiciary. 

In this case, it intervened to say that office holders must “sincerely and solemnly” take loyalty oaths.
Beijing’s unilateral move was a heavy-handed attempt to silence democratic voices. 

And it raised new questions about China’s willingness to reinterpret agreements for its own benefit.
In the past two decades, China has often tolerated activities in Hong Kong that it would not allow on the more restricted mainland. 

Even so, Chinese authorities have limited Hong Kong’s autonomy. 

In 2014 and 2015, negotiations over an electoral reform package deeply divided Hong Kong, provoking 79 days of protests. 

The reforms allowed Hong Kong residents to vote directly for their chief executive, the territory’s highest-ranking official, but Beijing refused to give up the power to vet candidates.
China’s tightening hand is undermining Hong Kong’s economic model. 

For 22 years, the city has been rated the world’s freest economy under a Wall Street Journal-Heritage Foundation index because of its rule of law and its open markets. 

Many multinational corporations locate there because of the independence of the courts.
China cannot afford to erode that credibility, especially when its own economy is struggling. 

Nor can China afford to stoke further unrest, which makes Hong Kong less attractive for investment and sends an ominous signal to Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing considers a renegade province. 

Activists like Ms. Yau and Mr. Leung are choosing to defend the rule of law; they merit strong international support.
On Tuesday, more than 1,000 lawyers marched silently through Hong Kong to condemn China and support the pro-independence lawmakers. 

Britain and the United States, which 20 years ago promised to hold Beijing to account, must do better than issuing mild statements urging China not to undermine confidence in the city’s autonomy.