Alex Lo

My Take | US sanctioning of Hong Kong is like a serial killer accusing a petty criminal

If Washington is serious about human rights, and not in it for just cheap propaganda, there are other places with huge numbers of cases worthy of its attention

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Jimmy Lai leaves Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal where the government is arguing against allowing him bail in Hong Kong, Feb. 1, 2021. Photo: AP

Alex Lo

Published: 9:00pm, 9 Nov 2023

Sometimes, it’s difficult to take US politicians seriously, especially when it comes to Hong Kong. The same worn-out playbook used repeatedly to destabilise other societies and governments is again being applied to the city. Admittedly, it came close to success in 2019. The national security law has put an end to that. Now Washington is back for more.

Two parallel sets of legislation have been introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives, to pressure the Joe Biden White House to sanction 49 local judges and prosecutors. I have no personal knowledge as to whether those legal officers are vile or virtuous individuals. All I want to know is, why is the functioning of the city’s judiciary and its officers any of America’s business? Who are those US politicians to sit in judgment of us?

Shouldn’t the world sanction the United States’ domestic abuses of its minority citizens by its police, justice and prison systems? There are plenty of grounds for that, as documented over many years by human rights organisations, and various international agencies, including those of the United Nations.

The latest US intimidation is called the Hong Kong Sanctions Act. If passed, the Biden administration will have to explain to the US Congress within 180 days why it will or will not go after those Hong Kong officials under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.

FILE - Democracy advocate Jimmy Lai leaves Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal where the government is arguing against allowing him bail in Hong Kong, Feb. 1, 2021. Lai broke into the media industry about 30 years ago armed with the belief that delivering information equates with delivering freedom. Lai now is accused of endangering national security with his now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

Those named include Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung and Sonny Au Chi-kwong, secretary general of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of Hong Kong SAR. So, including those previously sanctioned such as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, Washington pretty much wants to go after the top echelons of the entire government in Hong Kong.