A political nuclear bomb exploded here in Hong Kong in last Friday when the news set in that China is going to establish a HK version of China National Security Law to be added into the HKSAR Basic Law in the form of an annex. This is commonly understood as a bypass of the Hong Kong Legco's failure to proceed on the law-making as per the Article 23 of the Basic Law after 22 years since the reunion with China. Apparently China is mad about the incompetence of the HKSAR government so lost her temper compounded with the more and more explicit squeezing from the U.S. during the last couple of years.
The article 23 of the Basic Law has been a taboo in Hong Kong because there is a fear among the general public that the infringement on human rights issues that happened across the border will happen in the island after the establishment of the Article. The worry on the further tightening amid the already ever increasing self-censorship on the freedom of speech, freedom of press and the independent jurisdiction surges when the news sets in. The opposite camp described the move signals the death of the "One Country, Two Systems" is certified.
The fact that the Article has such a low reception among the general public here in Hong Kong does not come without ground. China is notorious with her record of infringement on human rights on her citizens. The national security law is a swiss knife on clamping the opposition against the CCP's ruling. Despite of the title of national security but the law per se is mainly for the sake of the fortification of the CCP's governance. The extension of the China's National Security Law(NSL), be it through the establishment of the Article 23 or the introduction of the HK version of NSL, brings only the same outcome that the level of the Hongkongers' human rights will significantly be clamped.
While the public was shocked when the news was aired during the morning news report, the Hong Kong bourse responded with a more than 1300 points all way down blunt plummet throughout the last trading day of the week. The market expressed its most explicit view and the preliminary general view from the stock market commentators were conservative. Most of them hold the view that there will likely be a testing of further south. They are most likely correct because the HSI has leveled off in the past one and a half month while the Bollinger Bands width has reduced to the 1000 points range in the last two weeks, a typical signal that breakthrough is around the corner.
While the stock market is more about the money game rather than the business field, there are also views that the NSL will drive away the foreign investments in Hong Kong as a result of the worry of the deterioration of the One Country, Two Systems which in the worst scenario will render the island becomes just among one of China's thousand common cities. While the impact of the NSL on the future living of the majority of the islanders is out of question, the business world, especially international players, might hold a different view though. For businesses, especially foreign investors, the key concern has always been whether there is business opportunity to make money when deciding where to invest. The well-being of the local people is the least consideration, deep inside their mind.
When the HK version of NSL is in force, the protestors vs police confrontation will become history. All sorts of the opposing voice, view, action against China and the puppet HKSAR government will be harmonized under force. Offenders will be arrested and prosecuted under the NSL immediately to keep all these unwanted phenomenons at bay. Not a nice place to live but it is definitely a more stable environment for conducting businesses as long as the judiciary especially regarding the commercial part remains relatively independent. After all, given that the present situation on human rights in China is much worse than that in Hong Kong now but there are already many foreign investments in China so even if one day the human rights in Hong Kong becomes the same as that in China, it does not really bother foreign investors as long as the capitalism part of the One Country, Two System still survives.
Despite of the high profile comments from the western countries, it is most likely that China is set in stone to proceed the HK version NSL anyway. In fact, the opposing comments from the West in most cases just turned out to be a disservice of their original intent as the CCP has a tradition to defend their ego just to do against what they are criticized by their western counterpart. The more the West criticizes on the HK version NSL the stronger China's determination and sooner the implementation will be. Waiting ahead for the Hong Kong people is a monotone, be harmonized, steady society. People no longer have to worry about the police's tear gas nor the protestors' road blockages. Businesses can go as usual again.
Is that a silver lining of the HK version NSL?
2020年5月24日 星期日
2020年5月3日 星期日
Wild thoughts amid the novel coronavirus pandemic (2)
While the novel coronavirus situation seems to be leveling off in the western world like Europe and mixed in the U.S., in fact, from the global perspective it is still far from satisfactory because there are still a daily close to thousand new cases in Singapore throughout the past week while things in Russia is getting worse now. Coincidentally these two places are in two extremes in the climate that one is hot all year round and the other one is still cold at night now so it tells us that this virus can spread disregard of the weather. Unfortunately this phenomenon suggests that the earlier forecast made by the medical experts that this virus is going to be with us for good perhaps bingo. On the other hand, not only there were already protests in some of the states in the U.S. that people requested lifting on the ban a couple of weeks ago but there are also voices in the Europe that people urging for reopening. Ironically the U.K. prime minister Johnson has just made his speech about his experience on the fighting with the disease saying that he was indeed at the brink of death yet people just seems too brave to ignore the consequence of contracting this virus. Apparently just as what I said in my earlier post that if this outbreak as well as lockdown persist then the fear of more people will die from financial unwell than that from disease overrides mind. This is sad but true and this is the reality or dilemma the world is facing now.
While it is still controversial on the cause and origin of this virus but no matter what this is a setback of the arrogance of human being which is totally defeated by a much much smaller tiny creature at least up to this moment. Not only that an effective vaccine is still far from availability but even if when it exists, how much time will it take to produce enough dosages for the world's 7.8 billion population? Let alone some countries just even cannot afford to buy enough vaccine for their citizen. Willingly or not, herd immunity seems to be the ultimate resort for some poor countries despite at a high cost that many infected will not make it given the poor condition of the healthcare system in these countries.
Despite it is called novel coronavirus but in fact people should not be surprised on its attack. Medical experts have been waving red flag on the onset of the superbugs which is as the result of the abuse on the usage of antibiotics. In fact there are already a few antibiotic-resistant bacteria exist, namely MRSA, CRE, VRE...etc, that these bacteria cannot be treated by the usage of existing antibiotics. These superbugs can cause diseases in various severity from skin infection to death. Luck seemed to be on human's side so far that there was no outbreak of fatal disease caused by these superbugs. Is this Coronvirus just another red flag or will it end up to be the terminator? Time will tell. People should not forget that 90% of the population of the indigenous Indian in the America was wiped out by the virus brought to this new land by the European settlers centuries ago. Viruses are tiny but could be lethal.
Prior to this virus outbreak, human is so contented on their level of scientific knowledge and technologies. Some even think they are almost playing God's duties. People believe that there is a will, there must be way to defy the laws in the mother nature. The world, oh no, should be the universe is all up to human's exploitation. But is it?
No doubt that human's intelligence is above all creatures in the world so this single species excels in this planet. Human being not only dominates the earth but squeezes the room of existence of other species. With their superior intelligence human created a host of tools that other creatures are no match with in the competition on resources. Mankind seems to be almighty with the equipment built under their technologies. However, while people is contented with the progress made along with their intelligence, it seems they have overlooked that other species are also evolving along their own path. Different animals have developed different abilities which mankind is no match with at all not only to survive but also to race against their preys and predators in order to flourish. Unlike the external equipment to human being, these animals own these innate abilities built in their own bodies like bats can locate with supersonic, eagles see with super vision, electric eels shock their prey with high voltage electricity, sharks can detect the tiny electric wave emitted by the prey...etc.
When people is so proud with their equipment and the abilities brought by these tools, it seems they have never thought how vulnerable human is when they are deprived from these equipment which they take it as granted. No need to go too extreme to imagine when there is no electricity in the world but just imagine the Internet is, for some reason, no longer working then can someone think about what a world will we be living in? On the contrary our animals counterpart is not upset at all if one day no matter due to whatever reason human's technologies do not work anymore. There is a saying that if one day the world is destroyed by our own invention of nuclear bomb but cockroach will still be living.
Human appears strong and in fact we are strong when we are in command on our equipment. In other words, we are strong just because we have these equipment and we are nothing when we do not have them. The reality is that most of the people do not survive without the civilization we created.
I recall one of the lyric of the song Hotel California.
"We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
While it is still controversial on the cause and origin of this virus but no matter what this is a setback of the arrogance of human being which is totally defeated by a much much smaller tiny creature at least up to this moment. Not only that an effective vaccine is still far from availability but even if when it exists, how much time will it take to produce enough dosages for the world's 7.8 billion population? Let alone some countries just even cannot afford to buy enough vaccine for their citizen. Willingly or not, herd immunity seems to be the ultimate resort for some poor countries despite at a high cost that many infected will not make it given the poor condition of the healthcare system in these countries.
Despite it is called novel coronavirus but in fact people should not be surprised on its attack. Medical experts have been waving red flag on the onset of the superbugs which is as the result of the abuse on the usage of antibiotics. In fact there are already a few antibiotic-resistant bacteria exist, namely MRSA, CRE, VRE...etc, that these bacteria cannot be treated by the usage of existing antibiotics. These superbugs can cause diseases in various severity from skin infection to death. Luck seemed to be on human's side so far that there was no outbreak of fatal disease caused by these superbugs. Is this Coronvirus just another red flag or will it end up to be the terminator? Time will tell. People should not forget that 90% of the population of the indigenous Indian in the America was wiped out by the virus brought to this new land by the European settlers centuries ago. Viruses are tiny but could be lethal.
Prior to this virus outbreak, human is so contented on their level of scientific knowledge and technologies. Some even think they are almost playing God's duties. People believe that there is a will, there must be way to defy the laws in the mother nature. The world, oh no, should be the universe is all up to human's exploitation. But is it?
No doubt that human's intelligence is above all creatures in the world so this single species excels in this planet. Human being not only dominates the earth but squeezes the room of existence of other species. With their superior intelligence human created a host of tools that other creatures are no match with in the competition on resources. Mankind seems to be almighty with the equipment built under their technologies. However, while people is contented with the progress made along with their intelligence, it seems they have overlooked that other species are also evolving along their own path. Different animals have developed different abilities which mankind is no match with at all not only to survive but also to race against their preys and predators in order to flourish. Unlike the external equipment to human being, these animals own these innate abilities built in their own bodies like bats can locate with supersonic, eagles see with super vision, electric eels shock their prey with high voltage electricity, sharks can detect the tiny electric wave emitted by the prey...etc.
When people is so proud with their equipment and the abilities brought by these tools, it seems they have never thought how vulnerable human is when they are deprived from these equipment which they take it as granted. No need to go too extreme to imagine when there is no electricity in the world but just imagine the Internet is, for some reason, no longer working then can someone think about what a world will we be living in? On the contrary our animals counterpart is not upset at all if one day no matter due to whatever reason human's technologies do not work anymore. There is a saying that if one day the world is destroyed by our own invention of nuclear bomb but cockroach will still be living.
Human appears strong and in fact we are strong when we are in command on our equipment. In other words, we are strong just because we have these equipment and we are nothing when we do not have them. The reality is that most of the people do not survive without the civilization we created.
I recall one of the lyric of the song Hotel California.
"We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
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