This is John Batchett, a conversation with colleague Mark Clifford about Jimmy Lai being prosecuted by the Hong Kong Chinese

State Security Police for speaking with the Vice President and other members of the United States

delegation once upon a time. Clearly out of touch with reality, but it's the brutality of the PRC.

Mark here comments on how it is that Hong Kong has fallen afoul of the CCP,

just as the CCP has lost its Chinese miracle

and the economy is in contraction or worse.

Is it because of the crushing of Hong Kong?

Are they related events?

Hong Kong was once a capital of the world for financial affairs

and traveling to China.

And now, Mark Clifford, his new book on Jimmy Lai, is out now.

However, this is about Hong Kong and the people of Hong Kong and the people of China

and how they're being contained by the CCP.

More of this later tonight. Well, I think you pick on a very important point, John. What China has

done in destroying Hong Kong gives the lie to all its promises of believing in a rules-based international order.

Let's remember that when Britain handed over Hong Kong to China after 156 years of colonial rule,

the Chinese made a number of very solemn promises in the form of an international treaty

that's lodged at the United Nations between

Britain and China, and later in the form of a mini-constitution that China promulgated for

the people of Hong Kong to rule Hong Kong. In both of those, there are numerous sweeping,

wide-ranging promises to preserve not only in general terms the freedom and way of life that Hong Kongers enjoyed, but very, very specific provisions.

I'll take one, right to a jury trial. Jimmy Lai has no right to a jury trial. We could go on and on, But I think the world has seen that China's promises are

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