I Confess

On March 2024 Hong Kong Lawmakers unanimously passed a new National Security Law (art 23). This law was first proposed in 2003 but dropped when about 500,000 Hongkongers protested in 2020. China passed a new National Security Law. The Beijing law punished secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. HK’s article 23 included those mentioned in the Beijing security law aside from those listed by H.K.: treason, sedition, insurrection, theft of state secrets, espionage, sabotage, endangering national security and external interference.

In 1842, China and England went to war because China stopped England from selling opium (made in UK’s colony, India). China said opium selling sapped the moral and physical strength of its people draining its treasury. China was defeated. UK as winner insisted that China should pay for UK’s war expenses. China had no cash. China, with deep pain, anger, sorrow humiliatingly agreed to lease HK and the new territories for a miserable sum, for 99 years it was a grave insult to China because legal principles only allow leases up to 50 years subject to renewal. A lease for more than 50 years (here it’s 99 years) is actually a sale.

The 99-year lease expired in 1942. UK and China were allies during the Second World War (1941-45). China (then under Kuomintang’s Chiang Kai Chek) renewed the lease. Chairman Mao won the Chinese Civil war in 1949.

In 1949, China and UK became cold war enemies. Mao could not get back HK because China was financially drained and had no nuclear bombs; the allies (US, UK, France) had many A-bombs. China’s financial, economic and moral recovery began in 1980 when Chairman Deng Xiao Peng opened China to world trade.

In 10 years (1980-1990) China became Asia’s richest, most powerful nation. More important it had A-bombs. China told UK, I am cancelling the lease. Get out of Hong Kong in 1997. To save face, UK proposed a one territory, 2 sets of laws (meaning UK and China systems will apply to HK). China, with traditional Asian politeness said OK. UK objected to Art 23 saying it is bad. When UK colonies fought for independence from 1947 to the 1960s (India, Africa, Middle East, Burma, Malaysia, Asia) UK created the National Emergency Security Act to stop all freedom movements. This law allowed suspects to be jailed indefinitely without filing cases, torture, zoning, etc.

The UK law surpassed the 1941-45 Nazi Germany security laws in cruelty and harshness. Talk of hypocrisy and double standards. Anti-HK government groups using social media, texting, platform said Art 23 is against the sacredness of confession. What a penitent tells the priest in a confessional box the state cannot force the priest to tell the government. The anti-HK groups want to provoke HK and the Church to quarrel over a phantom issue. The HK Catholic Church said “it recognizes that citizens have an obligation to secure national security” and “that it will not change the confidential nature of confession.” The HK justice secretary said, “The law has nothing to do with religion” and that “it will be difficult to create exceptions for people like the clergy and social workers regarding the offenses.”

The state has the right to protect itself and its citizens from harm or danger. Indirectly, this is like the saying the end justifies the means. If a religious group knows about plans to destroy the government, it should tell the state about it as a good citizen. Suppose a penitent is suspected to have told the priest what he knows about a plot. The state thinks the information was part of the suspect’s confession and believes the priest who heard of the confession, is the only way to confirm or know about the plot. The tradition worldwide ever since is that matters revealed in the confessional box cannot and should not be made known. Unfortunately, the HK anti groups by making general sweeping statements are trying to confuse or muddle up the facts, rock the boat by injecting a matter not mentioned in Art 23. It’s like creating a problem that may not exist. Look for Warner Bros. 1954 film, I Confess starring Montgomery Clift as the priest who heard confession regarding a crime, in Netflix, YouTube, Disney, etc.