Beijing’s crackdown on pan-democratic organizations in Hong Kong looks unstoppable after the resignation of a group of pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, making yet another pro-democracy organization in Hong Kong the target of attacks by mainland China.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKASPDMC) responded Tuesday (Nov. 17) to Beijing scholar Tian Feilong’s threats against the HKASPDMC and the Hong Kong people. The Alliance firmly stated that it will not give up its political position, including ending the one-party dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Chinese Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKASPDMC) Chairman Lee Cheuk-yan told the media Tuesday that mainland scholar Tian Feilong’s accusations and threats against the HKASPDMC are nothing more than a looming “red line” to the Hong Kong people, and nothing more than another demonstration of the Chinese Communist Party’s usual “fear tactics” to Hong Kong. The Chinese Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (AFHK) will continue to promote democracy in China, and the AFHK is “totally innocent and will continue to insist on it,” he said.
Tian Feilong is an associate professor at the Law School of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the China National Research Council for Hong Kong and Macao. In an article published Monday in the Hong Kong Business Journal, he issued a scathing rebuke and warning to the UNASPD. The article said that the Alliance is not a so-called “Hong Kong independence” organization, but a political subversive organization, a “color revolutionary organization” based in Hong Kong under the name of “patriotic democracy” and colluding with outside forces. “The government is also concerned about the possibility of the government’s failure to prosecute and punish the offenders.
He also said that the UNISON is suspected of violating local ordinances and the harbor’s national security law, and that local legal resources should be initiated and exhausted to prosecute and punish. If the local law is unpunishable, then national security law proceedings can be initiated.
The Secretary for Security can prohibit the HKASPDMC from operating if it is suspected of violating the Hong Kong Crimes Ordinance, the Public Order Ordinance and the Societies Ordinance.
According to Tian, the Alliance is part of the Western agenda of color revolution and democratic globalization, and has long been funded and supported by Chinese pro-democracy organizations overseas and by anti-China forces outside China.
However, legal academics do not agree with Tian Feilong’s claims of color revolution and subversion. According to Fa Guang, University of Hong Kong jurist Fu Hua Ling pointed out that Tian Feilong’s accusations of subversion against the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China cannot be substantiated.
He points out that the crime of subversion must involve the use of “force, threat of force, or other illegal means,” and must be based on another crime, such as unlawful assembly or unlawful demonstration. Fu also pointed out that “color revolution” is not a legal concept or crime, but may include legal, illegal or violent acts, and that only illegal and violent “color revolution” may constitute the crime of subversion.
According to Hong Kong media reports, Lee Cheuk-yan said that the Alliance will continue to adhere to the “five major principles” of building a democratic China, and reiterated that it will continue to hold “June Fourth” candlelight rallies.
The five platforms of the Alliance are: release the pro-democracy activists, vindicate the 1989 pro-democracy movement, pursue responsibility for the massacre, end one-party dictatorship, and build a democratic China.
The National Research Council of Hong Kong and Macao is a think tank under the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council. Its views often represent the thoughts of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. Therefore, observers have pointed out that the Alliance is likely to be the next target of the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government.
The Alliance was founded on May 21, 1989, during the June Fourth Movement in Beijing, to support the patriotic democracy movement.
Over the decades, it has provided a spiritual sustenance for those who sympathize with and support the June Fourth Movement around the world, and is highly respected by Chinese people around the world.
After Hong Kong’s National Security Law took effect on June 30, the legality of the June Fourth commemoration was questioned. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party, through Tian Feilong, has also been concerned about whether or not the Liaison Committee of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (LASPDMC) is likely to be suppressed as an illegal organization and whether the June Fourth Party will continue to exist.
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