Hong Kong Needs to Leverage Its Free Market in Ideas

The massive demonstrations in Hong Kong against the proposedextradition bill revealed the moral rectitude of citizens to protect their way of life and freedom from Communist China.   On June 9, hundreds of thousands of individuals exercised their right to peacefully contest the extradition legislation supported by Chief Executive Carrie Lam.  By putting moral and political pressure on government officials, the people succeeded in reversing the course of the bill, which was s uspended on June 15 and declared “dead” on July 9.      Yet the bill has not been fully withdrawn and could be reintroduced in the future—and theprotests continue.Photo Credit: The Asian Age  Protesters are concerned that, if a bill allowing extradition to the Mainland were enacted, Hong Kong would risk losing its unique status as a guardian of the rule of law, limited government, economic freedom, and human rights. The possibility of being convicted of a crime against the Mainland, extradited, and subjected to China ’s draconian penal system would increase uncertainty and result in self-censorship— undermining the free market in ideas that is Hong Kong’s trademark. The resulting outflow of human and financial capital would have dire consequences for both Hong Kong and China. It was to protect their way of life that the protesters marched and stopped the pulse of everyday life in the world’s freest economy.  But on June 12, the protests turned violent as a small minority broke into t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs