National Security Law eclipses Hong Kong
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What the people of the former British colony dread:
Every Sinographically literate person who sees this graphic art will instantly recognize that it says Xiānggǎng 香港 ("Hong Kong"). At the same time, they will be unable to avoid seeing that it also says Guó'ān 国安 ("National Security"), which is short for Guó'ān fǎ 国安法 ("National Security Law"), which in turn is short for Guójiā ānquán fǎ 國家安全法. Indeed, the dark red color of Guó'ān 国安 ("National Security") signifies that it overwhelms the white colored Xiānggǎng 香港 ("Hong Kong").
As explained in "Hong Kong: language, art, and resistance" (5/24/20), last week the "Two Sessions" (Liǎnghuì 兩會), the PRC's highest legislative body, enacted legislation referred to as Guó'ān fǎ 国安法 ("National Security Law"). What this essentially means is that the Beijing CCP government has imposed PRC law upon the erstwhile autonomous Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong. According to treaty signed with Great Britain, Hong Kong was supposed to have a special status that would have provided constitutional guarantees for implementing a policy of "one country, two systems" for at least 50 years, until 2047. Under that policy, Hong Kong would have enjoyed limited democracy and an independent judiciary that upheld principles of British law. No more.
With the imposition of the National Security Law by the Beijing central government, that is all finished. The rules, regulations, and laws of the PRC are now directly applicable to Hong Kong, 27 years ahead of schedule, and in contravention of the treaty known as the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in Beijing on December 19, 1984.
No wonder that a mass exodus of Hong Kong residents has begun.
Selected readings
- "Hong Kong protesters messing with the characters" (7/28/19)
- "Hong Kong protesters messing with the characters, part 2" (9/1/19) — includes a lengthy list of posts on the language and writing of the Hong Kong protesters
- "Hong Kong anti-China graffiti" (7/26/19)
- "A new polysyllabic character" (4/3/16)
- "Polysyllabic characters in Chinese writing " (8/2/11)
- "Polysyllabic characters revisited " (6/18/15)
- "Vocabulary of Hong Kong protest slogans and new characters" (9/1/19)
François DEMAY said,
June 2, 2020 @ 11:22 am
Sans commentaires
https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/pda/en/basiclawtext/chapter_2.html
Article 23
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies.
Jim Breen said,
June 2, 2020 @ 6:20 pm
The only thing that really surprises me about Hong Kong is that the 1984 Declaration has lasted as long as it has. Of course, tearing up international agreements is hardly confined to the PRC.
Tim Taylor said,
June 2, 2020 @ 6:22 pm
What do you expect? XJP is the epitome of modern China and its relentless drive for power.
"After being rejected seven times, Xi joined the Communist Youth League of China in 1971 by befriending a local official."
Just had to get in there, finally achieved by backdoor means.
"From 1973, he applied to join the Communist Party of China ten times and was finally accepted on his tenth attempt in 1974."
Determination, persistence, and a relentless drive to gain a foothold on the road to power.
Hong Kong never had a chance against a person who will stop at nothing to achieve personal and national power.
Michael Watts said,
June 3, 2020 @ 1:53 am
Why? Isn't it just the color of the Chinese flag? Look at that yellow star replacing the 点-stroke in 国.
Victor Mair said,
June 3, 2020 @ 6:23 am
Guó'ān 国安 ("National Security") emanates from Beijing.
Guó'ān 国 ("National") and ān 安 ("Security") are both red, not just Guó 国 ("National").
Isoraķatheð Zorethan said,
June 3, 2020 @ 8:22 am
There's a nuance that I picked up that ⟨国⟩ specifically when used in an otherwise zh-Hant context means specifically the PRC, not any other country. It's not just "national security", it's "national security with [PRC] characteristics".
B.Ma said,
June 3, 2020 @ 2:53 pm
@Isoraķatheð Zorethan
Not necessarily. 国, or rather 國, would mean Taiwan when used in Taiwan, and it could mean Singapore when used in Singapore.
Just like the words "national security" would most likely refer to the USA's national security if used by D.Trump, and so on.
"zh-Hant" refers to traditional characters, does it not?
Isoraķatheð Zorethan said,
June 3, 2020 @ 6:41 pm
@B.Ma
Correct; specifically, in Hong Kong Chinese as used on the Internet, 国 is used for China and 國 for all the other countries.