London ¨C ¡°We are the meat on the chopping board,¡± said Martin Lee, founder of Hong Kong¡¯s Democratic Party. ¡°They have set a precedent for Beijing to legislate on Hong Kong¡¯s behalf.¡± Or as Dennis Kwok, former member of the Legislative Council, put it rather more succinctly: ¡°This is the end of Hong Kong.¡±
It¡¯s a premature death. The ¡°joint declaration¡± of 1997 by which Britain handed over its wealthy colony on China¡¯s south coast to the communist regime in Beijing promised that Hong Kong could keep free speech, the rule of law and a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. Twenty-three years later, it¡¯s over.
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