Glistening Jewel of Asia Tarnished by a Lie

It was quite remarkable that even as dozens of Falun Gong practitioners from around the world were detained and turned back at the airport during the Fortune Forum, Hong Kong immigration officials kept denying that they have a blacklist and that they were trying to block them from entering during Jiang Zemin's visit.

But everyone knew what was really going on, and now Hong Kong officials have been exposed in a lie.

Hong Kong's credibility is on its way to being almost as bad as that of Beijing -- "Students? We didn't kill any students in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Falun Gong practitioners? We don't torture them..."

We understand that Hong Kong is caught between a rock and a hard place. How to maintain a welcoming investment climate while at the same time placate the powers that be in Beijing? It's a tough juggling act. And dangerous, too. Displeasing a Chinese dictator, can, as recent history has shown, mean losing more than just your job.

And yet we must call upon the officials, the journalists, the business community, and the people of Hong Kong to resist the influence of the PRC for everyone's sake.

The first step to eroding rule of law is dispensing with the law of decency. Every time you allow fear to dictate your actions, every time you succumb to the pressure to resort to manipulation, lies, or violence, you corrupt Hong Kong, bit by bit.

If enough of you do this, over time, this glistening jewel of the East will become dark, and indiscernible from the PRC. Your fifty years of autonomy will be up a long time before it's due, and each one of you will have played your part.

But we have seen the courage of the Hong Kong people in the wake of the Tiananmen Incident, and we see that it is keeping Catholicism, Christianity, Falun Gong, and free speech legal and safe. Hong Kong has heart, and it has pluck. Let this be your legacy.