Opinion | An open letter to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) is an anti-China organization. As China is gradually rising up, IPAC has made continuous attempts to stigmatize the country with an ulterior motive, which has been widely condemned and criticized by Chinese patriots and international justice forces.

For multiple times, it has also made indiscreet and malicious remarks on the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) affairs. In response to their ill-willed acts, a group of concerned HK citizens who share genuine love for the city reached out to DotDotNews with this open letter addressed to the IPAC. Hence, we publish it to make their voices heard.

Dear Honorable Members of IPAC,

We are a group of Hong Kong citizens seeking to have our voices heard around the world about what is truly happening in our city. We humbly ask that you put yourselves in our position and decide what action you would take if you were faced with our predicament.

First, allow us to dispel the myth that Hong Kong lacks democracy.

Under the constitutional principle of "one country, two systems," Hong Kong has its own lawmaking assembly - the Legislative Council - which is made up of seventy legislative council members. All of them are elected. Thirty-five councilors elected based on geographically demarcated constituencies, and the other 35 elected by the professional or special interest group they represent, for example, lawyers, accountants, doctors, workers unions, etc.

Every Hong Kong citizen aged 18 or above can register to become a voter, and each voter carries two votes, one to vote for a geographical representative and one for a professional or special interest group representative. Every law in Hong Kong is passed by a majority in the Legislative Council. Therefore, anyone going around the world claiming to fight for democracy in Hong Kong is, quite frankly, being non-sensical.

The "one country, two systems" principle in Hong Kong also gives Hong Kong the freedom to enter into agreements with other countries on trade, services, money flow, etc.

Hong Kong currently has operating extradition agreements with 18 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc, but it does not have one with mainland China. This loophole would make Hong Kong a haven for fugitives from China. Therefore, in 2019, the Hong Kong government proposed legislation to close this loophole on the exchange of criminals with mainland China. This proposed extradition agreement with China sparked off thousands of people taking to the streets to oppose this proposal. To this day, why the protesters wish to have Hong Kong harbor fugitives from China is beyond our comprehension.

The protests soon erupted into full-fledged rioting and the Hong Kong government withdrew the proposed extradition bill. However, the olive branch failed to appease the protesters, and things took a sharp turn for the worse with pockets of radical street violence and arson becoming a daily occurrence.

Protesters turned rioters has somehow become a norm in many parts of the world. In a similar manner, the rioters subjected Hong Kong to months of mob rule. Countless innocent civilians faced deadly mob-style attacks for having dared to disagree. Numerous commercial properties were destroyed by rioters hurling petrol bombs with reckless abandon. Drivers faced bodily harm when stopped by rioters who set up roadblocks on Hong Kong's major roadways. For a while, the rioters even forced the closure of the airport and abused many foreign travelers. Protesters were even chanting for independence and waving the flags of foreign countries such as those of the US and the UK.

Considering the circumstances, Hong Kong's police force was remarkably restrained. Not a single protester death was incurred during months of rioting. In good conscience, how would the law enforcement respond in your country, if they were faced with the petrol bombing of civilians, police stations and the officers themselves?

What's worse was that the riots were encouraged by some Hong Kong lawmakers. They openly solicited the US government to impose trade sanctions on Hong Kong and China. Not only did they not condemn the violence, but they also spoke as if the rioters were the victims of "the deteriorating situation in Hong Kong and the worrying developments in the abuse and restriction of human rights". This was what they said in a letter addressed to the US Congress.

Because of the deteriorating situation of law and order in Hong Kong, the Chinese government introduced the National Security Law for Hong Kong. Four lawmakers were dismissed from office because they were deemed unfit to serve Hong Kong. Their open action calling for Hong Kong independence; seeking foreign interference, and threatening national security were the charges. Imagine if any elected lawmakers in your country had done the same thing, would they still be in office? Would they not be deemed to have committed "treason"?

Sadly for Hong Kong, Donald Trump's administration was instrumental in glorifying the protest movement that violated the freedom and safety of millions of Hong Kong citizens. He imposed sanctions on several Hong Kong and Mainland government officials, including the Chief Executive for Hong Kong.

And, even in the final days of Donald Trump's controversial presidency, he continued his aggressive stance by imposing further sanctions on 14 more Mainland individuals and their immediate family members, to asset freezes and visa restrictions. Not surprisingly and mockingly Donald Trump also called on other western countries to follow suit.

We sincerely hope that IPAC members would shed their prejudices against Hong Kong and the entire China. We also encourage you to hold exchanges with Hong Kong citizens who are not protesters and not Hong Kong fugitives.

Finally, we wish you all well in our common desire to fight the pandemic and warmly invite you to visit Hong Kong once life returns to normal.

Yours sincerely,

A group of concerned Hong Kong citizens

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.