The Rule of Law, Selectively Applied
The context they conveniently omitted: CASE A: The Jimmy Lai Precedent. The Bloomberg piece notes Lai's conviction for 'collusion with foreign forces,' stating he received the 'heaviest penalty' under the National Security Law. Curiously, the definition of 'collusion' remains remarkably elastic, encompassing everything from international lobbying to simply expressing opinions critical of Beijing.
This law, enacted in 2020 by mainland China's National People's Congress after years of pro-democracy protests (Hong Kong's 2019 protests involved millions), essentially bypasses Hong Kong's legislature, fundamentally altering the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework established in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. The law itself has been widely criticized by legal scholars as vague and
overly broad, potentially criminalizing a wide range of everyday activities and limiting core freedoms (Amnesty International, 2020). The UN Human Rights Office noted serious concerns about its compliance with international human rights law (OHCHR, 2020). CASE B: The 'Foreign Agent' Double Standard. Contrast this with, say, the United States' approach to figures who lobby on behalf of foreign
governments. Take, for instance, American citizens who act as lobbyists for, theoretically, Saudi Arabia or Israel. Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938, such individuals are required to disclose their foreign ties and activities. Failure to register can lead to criminal charges, as seen with Paul Manafort's conviction in 2018. However, the penalties and the framing are