[ad_1]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – As the Hong Kong government moves closer to Beijing, officials oppose any threat to national security, even deploying an elite police unit for monitoring and surveillance policies.
In recent months, the special administrative region has banned the Hong Kong National Party, which wants the separation of China, and banned some activists from standing in local elections.
On 24 September, the Office of Education sent letters to all secondary schools in the special administrative region in which it was written that they should prohibit the "penetration" of the national party or risk prosecution.
And this month, Hong Kong refused to renew the work visa of Victor Mallet, editor-in-chief for the Asia press of the British newspaper Financial Times, after leading the speech of a pro-independence activist.
"We can see them (the government) being much more confident in using these powers and in formulating their political decisions to reflect national interests," said Professor Simon Young. , from the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, pointing out that the courts could be a last. line of defense against the government's overbreadth.
Active or retired police officers, lawyers and lawmakers describe the intensification of political operations by the police security wing, an elite unit that formally deals with sensitive tasks such as protection of personalities and counterterrorism investigations.
According to sources close to the work of the wing, it has conducted monitoring and control operations of the National Party and more than a dozen other groups.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association (Hong Kong Journalists Association) recently described the prospect of strengthening the application of national security as a "sword over the head" of journalists.
The Financial Times has announced that it is appealing the decision refusing a work visa to Mallet. Andy Chan, leader of the national party, was welcomed by Mallet in August as first vice president of the club of foreign correspondents of Hong Kong.
The party was banned last month as an "imminent threat to national security," as the government invoked unfamiliar clauses of a law regulating private corporations and groups.
The authorities have so far refused to explain their decision regarding Mallet except to say that no advocacy for independence would be tolerated.
Mr. Chan, a 28-year-old interior decorator with glasses, claims that his ideology stems from China's unfulfilled promises in Hong Kong and that he claims that he could destabilize China is absurd .
But the Hong Kong government even considers the consideration of independence as a vital threat.
"Disturbingly, they have taken over the ideological and authoritarian line of Beijing … irreparably undermining their reputation," said a diplomat in the city government.
In his letter to schools last month, the Office of Education said, "If students have erroneous and extreme thoughts, school principals and teachers must correct them with facts.
This seems to run counter to Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, which emphasizes freedom of speech and assembly.
Some youths who led the Democracy of the Revolution street demonstrations for democracy in 2014 said that pressure on civil society and individual rights is creating a growing sense of desperation.
Daniel Cheung, a 29-year-old photographer who worked on "Chronicle of a Summer," a documentary about activists such as jailed independence leader Edward Leung, said the situation was worsening rapidly .
"Simply put, if you think of Hong Kong as a house built by the British, this house is falling apart and fleeing. He was hit by a typhoon and about to tip over, "said Cheung.
"BACK TO THE FUTURE"
The Basic Law requires the city to create laws against treason, secession and subversion of the national government, thus updating those of the colonial era.
The laws of British rule, while broad, do not proscribe calls for independence or self-determination.
Previous attempts to draft a new, tougher national security law, known as Article 23, sparked mass protests and were dropped. Executive Director Carrie Lam, who took office last year, has not yet proposed a new version, which partly reflects ongoing public concerns.
But many observers said the government was using the security wing to reinforce its hold, even without Article 23.
Wing officers were actively involved in drafting the 700-page file used by the government to justify the banning of the National Party. The document followed his statements, his public appearances and his activities.
For some, this echoes the special branch of the colonial era, which monitored the potentially subversive activity of the Chinese and Russian Communists in Hong Kong during the Cold War. The agency was dissolved in 1995, two years before Britain returned Hong Kong to China.
"It's clear that (the security wing) is doing a lot more political work now," said James To, a former democracy advocate who spent much of his 27 years in Parliament scrutinizing government security policies.
"What concerns me is that when you monitor people's political life and thoughts, you are going against the provisions of the basic law on human rights. There is a need for balance, "said.
In this regard, the Government had repeatedly rejected the Hong Kong legislators' requests to discuss in detail the operations of the security wing.
Led by a deputy commissioner, the squadron employs more than 700 people, according to information provided by the government to lawmakers in recent years, some of whom maintain close ties with their counterparts in mainland China as well as with foreign diplomats based in Hong Kong.
A former senior officer familiar with the work of the branch said he was witnessing a radical change in the approach previously adopted by the government.
"We are back in the future," he said. "It's strange to see them embarking on the same kind of monitoring and control operations that we used to do with a whole new generation."
The police refused to say whether other activists or groups, including those calling for greater long-term autonomy, such as Joshua Wong, were targeted, saying the department would not disclose details of the operations and investigations. .
Some observers believe that a growing crackdown is inevitable given the political climate.
"They (the police) clearly know what China thinks of this issue," said a senior police official, who declined to be named, because of the sensitivity of the problem.
Report by James Pomfret and Greg Torode in Hong Kong; Edited by Gerry Doyle
