[Interview before leaving, Part 1] Consul General of Canada in Hong Kong most concerned about National Security Law and prosecutions of political assembly participants becoming a trend
Translated by Guardians of Hong Kong June 6, 2021
After the enactment of the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong, the Canadian government announced a “Lifeboat Scheme” in Nov 2020 further enabling immigration from Hong Kong. The scheme came to effect in Feb this year and attracted applications from a lot of Hongkongers. When interviewed by The Stand News in Feb 2021, the Consul General of Canada in Hong Kong Jeff NANKIVELL emphasised that young Hongkongers charged for participating in political activities will not be barred from immigrating to Canada.
Nankivell’s term will expire by end of May. Before leaving Hong Kong he accepts another interview. When asked about the most worrying event during his term, he does not hesitate to name the NSL, describing it as the greatest change he experienced after arriving in Hong Kong. NSL has made his work as Consul General, of interviewing different walks of life become extraordinarily difficult.
Along with Canada, many foreign consulates in Hong Kong send staff to sit in a series of court trials involving participants of peaceful assemblies. When talking about these court cases, Nankivell appears slightly agitated. He admits that though under the law, unauthorised assemblies are ‘illegal’, “but you (Secretary for Justice) have the discretion how to lay charge… I am also very worried that the prosecution of people expressing specific political stances in peaceful assemblies is becoming a trend.”
In recent months, Canada has taken a firm stance towards human rights issues in Xinjiang. Apart from issuing statements critical of China, Canada also sanctioned related Chinese officials. Nankivell emphasised that Canada’s obligations as a member of the international community, “When we notice violations of human rights, we have the responsibility to speak up and take action so that the international community can see the truth.”
“It's not targeted against any nation, it's targeted against violations of human rights“(see part 2)
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“Lifeboat Scheme” welcomed with increasing applications
After the enactment of NSL in Hong Kong, the government of Canada announced its Lifeboat Scheme in Nov 2020 for immigrants from Hong Kong.
The first round, “Work visa applications”, started accepting applications on 8th of February. With no upper age limit, all Hong Kong residents who have obtained a Canadian university degree or college diploma or their overseas equivalent in the past 5 years, are eligible to apply for work visas of durations up to 3 years.
Nankivell says between 8 and 28 February, he received 503 applications for work visas. The latest numbers are yet to be compiled, but they increase steadily, indicating an immense interest of Hongkongers in the scheme. He also predicts by summer when college students graduate, the number of applications for this visa, aimed at youngsters, will increase further.
The Immigration Section of Consulate General of Canada held multiple webinars in recent months. The most recent was attended by more than 500, showing an enthusiastic response.
Recently Reuters quoted figures from the monetary regulator of Canada that in 2020, up to 43.6 trillion Canadian dollars (approximately HKD269.3 trillion) flowed from Hong Kong’s banking system to Canada, a record amount since 2012. Nankivell did not directly comment on whether this is related to the immigration boom, believing this to be a normal flow of funds. However his attitude towards immigration is open and supportive, as it has always been. He says Canada has never been more welcoming of immigrants who would help to sustain Canada’s prosperity.
Most concerning event during five year tenure: National Security Law
Nankivell took the post in 2016 and rode through the “Post-Umbrella Movement”, ”Anti-Extradition Bill” and then to the pandemic. The reporter interviewed Nankivell back in February this year. However over less than three months the political situation in Hong Kong deteriorated further. 47 pan-democrats were accused of “collusion to subvert the regime”. Many participants of the “8.18” progression were charged with unauthorised assembly and sentenced to prison.
The reporter asked “which is the most concerning event over these five years?”
Without hesitation Nankivell indicated that it is the NSL. “The national security law empowers law enforcement agencies from mainland China to operate in Hong Kong. They are not regulated by the Hong Kong Government, yet come to Hong Kong to enforce a law bypassing the ‘Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance’ and ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’ and other articles of the ‘Basic Law’.” He said solemnly that NSL has increased Hong Kong residents’ possibility of being investigated and their risk of being extradited to the mainland for trial.
Nankivell stresses once and again, the NSL is the biggest change he experienced since his arrived in Hong Kong. He asserts that the Consulate has always reminded Canadian citizens living in Hong Kong to be aware of the risk brought about by the NSL.
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Making appointments to meet people has become the most difficult task
Nankivell mentions that being the Consul General, meeting various persons of Hong Kong society is a routine part of his work. Yet with the NSL this has become very difficult; he described it as the most challenging task during his tenure. 47 pro-democracy activists organized or participated in a primary election. Under the NSL they were charged with “colluding to subvert the regime”. In the court case 15 defendants were granted bail. However the Secretary of Justice objected to 11 of them. NSL-designated Judge Esther Toh reasoned: the United States Consul General’s invitation to meet with Jeremy Jansen Tam Man-Ho illustrates Tam’s degree of influence; the court has no sufficient reason to believe that Tam will not further infringe the National Security Law; and so bail was refused.
Nankivell also mentions that “a few (persons in the community) feel sensitive and uneasy, worrying that meeting with the Consul General may expose them to political risk”; “Many of those we frequently met in the past have either left Hong Kong or gone to jail.” However he noted that most of his regular contacts are not yet affected.
With words soaked in concern, Nankivell’s says, “I don’t like to see this situation in Hong Kong, which is quite rare in other places.” He thinks that this will inevitably hurt the reputation of Hong Kong as an international hub, which is disappointing. He stressed that it is “absolutely normal” for foreign consulates to meet with local residents. He welcomes any foreign consulates to meet with locals in Canada. “Even if they (locals) criticise the Canadian government, we will not stop them (from meeting the foreign consuls).”
“The existence of foreign consuls is not intended to bring trouble to Hong Kong,” said Nankivell slowly after a long pause. “We hope Hong Kong will become a prosperous, healthy and happy place. Many Canadian citizens live here and view Hong Kong as their home.”
Similar to his last interview, Nankivell asserts that Canadians and Hongkongers have very deep ties. “We have no intention or hope to destroy Hong Kong’s success.” The Consulate General has expressed its concern to the Hong Kong government, hoping that the latter will understand its recent activities will hurt Hong Kong’s reputation.
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Canada speaks out frequently on Hong Kong issues
Following the NSL, Beijing rewrote Hong Kong’s election system earlier this year. It banned democrats from being nominated and stated clearly that Hong Kong must be ruled by “patriots”.
Right after that the conference of the Group of Seven (G7) of which Canada is a member, a joint declaration was issued: China’s actions to overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system and its mass arrest of democrats will damage the “high degree of autonomy” of Hong Kong under “One Country, Two Systems” and eliminates political diversity. The overhaul is causing Hong Kong to regress from reaching the ultimate goal of universal suffrage as promised in the “Basic Law”.
He thinks that Beijing’s act is undoubtedly destroying the promise the government made to Hongkongers under “One country, two systems”. It also largely narrows the channels which Hongkongers can express their views in government organizations. Under the new system, it is doubtful whether many [dissidents] can assume a public role.
It is no longer rare that Canada makes declarations on human rights issues in Hong Kong.
In April this year, Jimmy LAI Chee-Ying, Martin LEE Chu-Ming and several other democrats, due to their attendances in unauthorized assemblies on 8.18 and 8.31 [18 Aug and 31 Aug 2019], were convicted and given prison sentences ranging from 8 to 18 months. At that time Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau made a statement expressing deep concern about the conviction of democrats participating in peaceful assemblies; worrying that the restriction of peaceful political expression will further erode Hong Kong’s basic rights and freedom.
Continue to send staff to observe trials while worrying that prosecution on participating political assemblies will become a trend
On the day of sentencing, among the long queues outside the courts, we could see diplomats from the European Union (EU) and staff from the Canadian Consulate waiting to sit in. Nankivell mentions that he sent staff to sit in after coordinating with EU member states. They will adopt similar approaches in the future.
Nankivell is slightly agitated when talking about these cases. He admits that under the law, unauthorised assemblies are “illegal”. “However, you (Secretary for Justice) have discretion on how to lay charges….. I am also very worried that the prosecution of people expressing specific political stances in peaceful assemblies is becoming a trend.”
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Regarding Hong Kong’s deteriorating human rights situation, Nankivell decisively says no when asked about whether Hong Kong will become like mainland China. He points out that Hong Kong is vastly different in terms of its legal system, access to Internet and even lifestyle. He asserts on the contrary, “We need to uphold the uniqueness of Hong Kong and ensure it will not be eroded over time.”
Wishing Hongkongers safety and happiness
Touching upon the fact that many celebrities have left Hong Kong, Nankivell quotes an opinion survey about the younger generation’s view of Hong Kong’s future. “They are mostly very pessimistic. It is rarely seen in a society with such potential.” Plainly he says,” this is very sad…. Hong Kong is an amazing place, with many advantages.”
In the 1990s Nankivell attended a certificate course on Chinese language and culture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “In fact my children were also born in Hong Kong.” In the past 30 years Nankivell was sent to the Canadian Embassy in China three times. In 2016 he was appointed to Hong Kong as Consul General.
During the last interview, Nankivell mentioned he had a deep love for Hong Kong. In this interview he notes the completion of the XiQu (Chinese opera) Centre in West Kowloon Cultural District in 2019. Nankivell feels very proud of this as the structure was designed by Bing THOM, a Hong Kong architect who immigrated to Canada for several decades. Thom died a few years ago.
Another event that touched Nankivell is the “Terry Fox Run”. Hong Kong-based Canadian citizens brought this popular fund-raising activity from Canada, and attracted thousands of Hongkongers and Canadians. “This is a very traditional Canadian activity, also a very happy carnival.”
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Nankivell is about to leave by the end of this month [May] to return to Canada. He feels sad about his upcoming departure. “I will miss the grand natural view of Hong Kong where the country parks are very close to urban areas. Here we can see seas and hills almost anytime.” He jokingly admits that even Vancouver is hard to match with Hong Kong.
Nankivell wants to tell his descendants, “(they) should visit every district of Hong Kong.” He regrets that he spent most of his time in Hong Kong Island and does not have enough time to visit other districts before leaving.
He will also miss Hongkongers. “There are many interesting and energetic people here. I like Hongkongers very much.”
“I care very deeply about Hong Kong and the future of Hongkongers, and will continue to follow the situation very closely, and I hope the best for the people of Hong Kong.”
Author: CHAN Yan-Kee
Interviewers: CHAN Yan-Kee, FG
Source: The Stand News, #May10
#Canada #JeffNankivell #ConsulGeneralCanadaInHK