YOURSAY | ‘No nation is above scrutiny or reprimand if their actions so demand it.’

COMMENT | Foreigners should stay out of Hong Kong and China's affairs

Andrew Khoo: I am flabbergasted at some of the remarks made by Kua Kia Soong in his comments here (on Hong Kong protests against China), given that I have great respect for both himself and Suaram, for which he is an advisor.

Amongst the excellent and award-winning work that Suaram has undertaken is detailing and documenting the abuses by the Malaysian authorities using laws such as the Sedition Act, the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Emergency Ordinance, the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) and numerous incidents of deaths in police or law enforcement custody and enforced disappearances.

Indeed Kua himself, and many from Suaram and their supporters, have suffered from the abuse of these laws. Many of these laws derive from provisions in the Federal Constitution dealing with national security and times of emergency that allow for draconian legislation that has the effect of violating the human rights and fundamental liberties of thousands of people over the years.

These are the same or similar over-arching provisions upon which the government of China is now relying, and which Kua appears to be defending.

It, thus, comes as a complete and utter shock that Kua would suggest that the government of China should not be criticised because to quote: “China has not broken any human rights in Hong Kong yet.”

Must we wait for the house to be burnt down before we accept the warning that it is dangerous to play with fire? And the point is, China does not come to this with a clean slate or clean hands.

When you add to what is being proposed the kidnapping of individuals from Hong Kong who then show up in mainland China, either in detention or being charged in court, and the countless mainland Chinese lawyers prosecuted/jailed and banned from practice for trying to defend human rights cases or causes, you have no choice but to be very deeply concerned.

Yet Kua is prepared to advise and adopt a “wait and see” approach and to grant the government of mainland China the luxury of the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, he seems to suggest. Wait till we see the actual wording of the specific law. Maybe it won’t be so bad.

Sadly, it is a luxury the democratic and progressively-minded people of Hong Kong can ill-afford.

Anonymous_1371512311: Kua is a China apologist. He is whitewashing China’s sins by diverting the focus on the sins of those who criticise it.

There are plenty like him, making excuses for China's incarceration of one million Muslims in Xinjiang, its bullying tactics in the South China Sea or the way it handled the Covid-19 outbreak and the spread of the disease, and of course, its evisceration of the ‘one country two systems’ promises made to Hong Kong.

There are many ways to oppress and violate human rights without sending out the army. People have been abducted off the streets and disappeared, protesters have been confronted with brutal force, laws have been passed just to legalise previously illegal actions by the Hong Kong government, which is a Chinese stooge. Kua chooses to see no evil in any of these actions and interprets the violation to suit his bias.

No nation is above scrutiny or reprimand if their actions so demand it. Every day we read op-eds critical of US President Donald Trump and the United States and Kua is clearly okay with that. Why is China untouchable?

If people who are beyond the heavy hand of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the full force of communist China do not speak up, then are we to stand by, watch and twiddle our thumbs while China crushes all who dare to resist?

We're not just "foreigners". We're all part of the human race. "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke.

Gman: So I guess, Kua, that no human rights were abused when the Hong Kong bookshop owners were kidnapped and then popped up in China to face false charges? No human rights abuses by China in Tibet? No human rights abuses against the Uyghurs?

Your article has shown that you and Suaram have lost your ways. You should be standing up for those abused by the Communist Party of China. Will you support China claiming our territorial waters?

Ada Harapan: The US needs to demonise China to ensure its hegemony over the world with endless wars and regime change. Hong Kong is just an excuse, and together with old imperialists like the UK, the US has chosen to inflame the situation.

Why countries like Australia want to join in this fray is hard to comprehend. It has a novice prime minister and a new foreign minister who feel the need to export their so-called superior brand of democracy and human rights.

Hong Kong is part of China and no sovereign nation will allow outside interference. More than 80 percent of Chinese citizens are satisfied with their government - a figure politicians in other countries would die for.

I don't see millions of Chinese tourists seeking asylum in US and western countries. In fact, they happily return to China after their holidays or business trips.

This new Cold War is just a US creation and so many naive Hong Kongers go along with them. In any other country, these protestors would be arrested for treason, subversion and the like.

Anonymous_1cfb3ab6: And while we are it, let’s revisit what the UK did in Northern Ireland in the 70s-80s when they brutally suppressed the independent seekers then.

The UK also did Hong Kong a big disfavour by not specifying in the handover agreement with China that no enactment of new laws until five years before 2047. China can argue that there’s no stopping them from doing it now.

And let’s remind ourselves that Hong Kong never had any elections during the 100-year rule by the UK.

Anonymous_3fe1: It seems China apologists always use some past episodes by western powers to sing China’s song.

Going by that logic, the world should stand idly by if China were to take revenge on Japan for past wrongs. It just shows a lack of rational arguments.

Jazz: Lots of people being hypocritical here. When the Malaysian government detained activists under ISA, Kua was all in favour of democracy and human rights; when the people of Hong Kong are fighting for their rights, he sides with China’s government.

Hong Kong is part of China, there’s no question about that, but China should also respect the agreement it signed.

As for the Americans, if they are so concerned with democracy, they should focus on Saudi Arabia with the same enthusiasm.

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