When Queen Elizabeth II passed away, a large number of Hong Kong people went to the British Consulate to mourn, but Ta Kung Pao criticized it: “It shows that some people in Hong Kong still have a deep-rooted”colonial mentality“and Hong Kong’s”decolonization“’ There is still a lot of work to be done.” What kind of work is it? In fact, it is the”re-education“mentioned by the Chinese ambassador to France. Actually, Ta Kung Pao and its owner are the ones who love it the most. Take a look at Section 2 of Chapter 200 of the Crimes Ordinance in Hong Kong ” Treason: (1) Anyone who commits the following acts is treason—(a) kills or injures Her Majesty the Queen,...or restricts Her Majesty’s actions Activity“. SECTION 9”Instigation intended to—(a) cause hatred or contempt for Her Majesty herself, her hereditary successors... or the government of domains established by law under Her Majesty’s protection;...or (d) cause dissatisfaction or defection among Her Majesty’s children or Hong Kong residents; or (e) arouse or deepen resentment and hostility among Hong Kong residents of different classes".

What, Hong Kong has “returned to the motherland” for 25 years, and there is still a law that punishes betrayal of the Queen of England. Even expressing dissatisfaction is considered treason, how strange! What’s even more strange is that the SAR government is very active in citing these colonial laws to sue Hong Kong people. People’s Power member “Quick Bi” Tan Dezhi was arrested by the police in 2020 on the charge of “publishing seditious words” under Article 10 of Chapter 200 of the Crimes Ordinance. He was detained for a long time and sentenced to 40 months in prison in April 2022.

The crime of sedition was enacted by the colonial government in 1936, and it is a typical crime of speech. In 1967, the Hong Kong Communist Party launched the “Anti-British Rebellion”. Back then, a student named Zeng Decheng supported this struggle and distributed leaflets at school, but was charged with “sedition” by the colonial government and imprisoned for two years. After the mainland took back Hong Kong in 1997, he was promoted to Secretary for Home Affairs. When he was interviewed in 2018, he questioned that he was only “freedom of expression” back then, so how could he instigate. However, in May this year, when a reporter asked him what he thought of the crime of incitement, he laughed. Mr. Zeng wonderfully reenacted the last scene of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”: the animals who were re-labored saw the indoor pigs and humans toasting from the window, and the more they watched, the more they couldn’t tell who was the pig and who was the human.

Sections 9 and 10 of the Crimes Ordinance were introduced in 1938, of course to suppress the freedom of speech of the Chinese. Before 1997, the British Hong Kong government made technical amendments through the Legislative Council, but never completely abolished them in accordance with the opinions of the legal profession. Originally, if the CCP was serious about decolonization, it should abolish these evil laws first. In fact, there are a lot of bad laws in the colonies, such as:

– The crime of loitering under Section 160 of the Crimes Ordinance, which empowers the police to arrest civilians at any time without reason;

– Article 3 of the “Public Order Ordinance” empowers the police to prohibit citizens from displaying flags at any time; Part 8 allows the police force to appoint anyone as a spy at will.

- Section 5A/3 of the Societies Ordinance prohibits Hong Kong societies from having “associations” with foreign political groups.

However, the CCP has retained all these colonial evil laws! The SAR government led by it deliberately did not take effect on the “Crimes Ordinance” amendment bill passed by the Legislative Council under the British rule . It can be seen that the regime is talking about decolonization, but it is actually the opposite. It solemnly protects the evil colonial laws and uses them to honor the citizens! It also felt that it was not strong enough. First, the National Anthem Law was enacted, followed by the National Security Law, which tossed Hong Kong citizens to death.

The first half of my life was under British rule. When I was growing up in the 1970s, like many people, I was terrified of the police because even ordinary people, even just because they were ordinary people, were sometimes treated with gratuitous violence by the police. One of the reasons is because the government condones police corruption. I participated in social movements when I was a teenager. At that time, the government was planning to build a power plant on Lamma Island. Environmental groups came out to oppose it. A big brother asked me to help distribute leaflets. I thought I would stand on the street to make pies, but when I got there, he led me to make pies while walking. He told me that handing out leaflets is illegal, and those who stand still are easily seen and arrested by the police. When I heard this, my heart seemed to be crushed by a stone, but I had no choice but to push it hard. It took me years to get over my fear of the police. But this is not entirely my own reason. Another reason is that the youth born in the 1950s rebelled, so the government made some improvements in the last few decades of its rule. Especially after the impact of the “Anti-Corruption, Arrest Godber” movement, it led to the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. These improvements would not have been possible without social resistance. It is the fruit of free men defending their liberty, not the gift of England. I am not procreative.

But I understand why so many people go to the British Consulate to lay flowers in condolence. Hong Kong under the British rule was not a paradise most of the time. A small part of the time is just to live with a little dignity. However, Hong Kong under the CCP is only ten times worse than Britain! This is an undeniable fact.

On New Year’s Eve in the 1970s, my girlfriend and I went to listen to an orchestra program. After it was over, the conductor suddenly spoke a few words in English, and the audience all stood up and sang God Save the Queen. My girlfriend and I looked at each other for two seconds and decided not to stand up and resist colonialism. We thought we were going to be kicked out of the concert hall or something. Nothing at all.

However, “after the reunification,” our motherland’s government wanted to formulate a national anthem law to punish citizens who couldn’t afford to stand and not sing. We have all become animals without human dignity.

I can’t thank England for not punishing me. But I hate the present Orwellian state. I don’t want to go to the British Consulate to lay flowers, but if the regime is brave enough to ban flowers from citizens, I would like to participate in demonstrations.

September 16, 2022

Qu Longyu