A woman walks past a banner promoting the national security law for Hong Kong in 2020. Three years after the law was imposed, uncertainty lingers over the impending Article 23 legislation. Photo: AP
Opinion
Alice Wu
Alice Wu
To win the world back, Hong Kong must tell the Article 23 story right
The ‘good’ and ‘true’ stories of Hong Kong that officials tell won’t change minds overseas, as long as uncertainty lingers over the city’s national security legislation
Furthermore, the talk of Hong Kong needing to overcome ‘soft resistance’ doesn’t inspire confidence in the city’s future as a financial and innovation hub
Following President Xi Jinping’s mantra of “telling China’s story well”, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has been exhorting many to join his administration in telling the world “good stories of Hong Kong”. When Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po attended the Apec summit in San Francisco last week, his task was to tell the world “true stories” of Hong Kong.
Storytelling is an art – when done well, your audience is captivated and will start seeing the world in a new light. This is why our leaders are trying so very hard to tell “good” and “true” stories of the city.
With the social unrest of 2019 and the dramatic changes that followed – the shifting dynamic between Beijing and the city, the passing of the national security law for Hong Kong, sweeping political reforms, the emigration wave, not to mention the city’s Covid-19 isolation – an information vacuum was created around the city, which Hong Kong’s leaders are trying to fill.
Yet, while it’s nice to hear good and true stories of Hong Kong as a land of opportunity, these narratives have a limited impact because, at the end of the day, many foreign businesses and talent are in wait-and-see mode, and for valid reasons too.
Just a day before Xi was due to meet US President Joe Biden ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its latest report basically pronouncing that Hong Kong’s transformation into a mainland Chinese city is complete.
That’s just one negative and untrue story Hong Kong officials have been getting really worked up about. To be fair, even Kurt Tong, former US envoy to Hong Kong, has blamed the US State Department for putting out an “inaccurate description” of the risks of travel to the city.
Passengers in the arrival hall of Hong Kong airport on July 6. Photo: Elson Li
But why has Hong Kong become a tough sell? One reason is that the chief executive himself wasn’t at the Apec meeting; he is one of a handful of officials sanctioned by the US government over the imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong.
And those in a holding pattern over Hong Kong have reason to stay that way, amid uncertainty over the impending Article 23 legislation.
The only certainty in this regard is that the city’s own national security legislation will be a done deal by the end of 2024. Otherwise, officials including security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung – who has been tasked with crafting the legislation and carrying out the consultation process for the Article 23 bill – have not been very forthcoming about what the legislation will entail.
In a recent interview, Tang did speak of the need to tackle elements of “soft resistance” inside and outside Hong Kong. He also highlighted that such resistance could take the form of the arts and human rights causes.
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Article 23 to cover espionage and prevent “soft resistance”, says Hong Kong security chief
Article 23 to cover espionage and prevent “soft resistance”, says Hong Kong security chief
It is no wonder then that many outside the city aren’t buying what Lee sold at the International Forum on China’s Economy and Policy last week, when he said Hong Kong would develop “eight centres”, for international finance, innovation, cultural exchange and so on, as specified in the nation’s 14th five-year plan.
Article 23 legislation is the question mark hanging over whether information will still flow freely and how Hong Kong is to transform itself into an innovation and technology hub. The good story of Hong Kong as the super-connector between the mainland and the rest of the world hinges on whether “one country, two systems” continues to inspire confidence.
So we need to get Article 23 legislation done fast and done right. Not only is it a constitutional obligation to do so, it is also a necessary step to maintain Beijing’s trust in the city, according to Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok. More urgently, we need to prove to the world that not only does Hong Kong have a lot to offer, Article 23 is nothing to worry about. In other words, we need to provide clarity and not create any more uncertainty.
But by the look of things, this is going to be tricky to pull off. In the interview, our security chief described himself as a soldier, but it would take a skilled politician to get Article 23 legislation done right while boosting international confidence in the city. This is a story that needs to be told well.
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA
