China’s internet censors block Hong Kong from world

China is beginning its virtual annexation of Hong Kong by blocking out parts of the internet in the same way that the internet is censored and monitored in Communist China, after the passage of a new law that eliminates Hong Kong’s autonomy from China.

“We are already behind the de facto firewall,” said Hong Kong’s IT legislator and Democracy activist, Charles Mok, “as of midnight this morning when the law came into effect, barely two hours after it was announced. Thank you very much.”

“The so-called Great Firewall of China,” says TechForge, “restricts what internet services and websites citizens can legally access. Google, for example, cannot be easily accessed in China as Beijing cannot control what information citizens can consume in the same way as national alternatives like Baidu.”

Hong Kong was supposed to be free from this type of censorship until 2047 under the British-Sino Joint Declaration that was the basis for Britain’s handing back of Hong Kong to China.

The Chinese Communists, however, are increasingly fearful that democratic ideals will spread into Communist China from Hong Kong as China’s dictator, Xi Jinping, tries to establish more authority for himself inside China, and are moving toward complete annexation of Hong Kong.

Recently, the Chinese Communist Party met in Beijing to pass a new national security law that applies severe penalties to any activities in Hong Kong that the Communist authorities consider anti-Chinese.

In the case of the Great Firewall, simply accessing Google would be considered anti-Chinese activity by Communist authorities.

In response, the U.S. and UK have passed sanctions against Communist Chinese officials recently, saying the new law is a violation of Hong Kong’s autonomy and in contravention of the Joint Declaration.  

“It’s a matter of trust, and lots of countries around the world are asking this question — does China live up to its international obligations?” asked British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

“Because if they can’t be trusted to keep their word on Hong Kong, why would they be trusted to live up to their wider international responsibilities.”

Increasingly, countries around the world are believing that they can’t trust China.

Already reeling over the coronavirus outbreak that came from China, India has suffered from an unprovoked attack by China’s military along its common border with the communist country. Vietnam has seen its fishing boats rammed by China’s maritime militia, while the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan have been threatened with military action by China.

At the beginning of July, the British government authorized citizens of Hong Kong the opportunity to immigrate to the UK with the chance to eventually apply for citizenship.    

But as the drama unfolds and we watch freedom die in Hong Kong, expect more action from the U.S., UK, India, Vietnam and other countries that will ally to counter the China threat.

PHOTO: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

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