2022 UK Supreme Court President Lord Robert Reed said he and Lord Patrick Hodge were resigning from the court over the threat to civil freedoms posed by the new law. "The judges of the Supreme Court cannot continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression," Lord Reed said. Senior British judges have sat on the court since 1997 as part of an agreement when Hong Kong was handed over to China by the UK The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal hears many of the territory's highest profile cases, often ruling on key questions over civil and political liberties. The exodus of Hong Kongers and foreign city residents has reached such a level that even the city’s chief executive, who announced this week that she will not seek a second term, admits that Hong Kong is experiencing a brain drain. Her replacement will almost certainly be a former police officer who has been saddled with U.S. sanctions and who helped trigger the 2019 protests. His elevation would cement that, above all else, the authorities in Beijing view the issue of security as paramount, even at the cost of business interests, rapidly decreasing civil liberties, and professional accountability.

The Matsu Defense Forces have only one mission which is to defend the territory till the end however that end may turn out to be. Everyone in Taiwan is aware that these frontline islands are Taiwan's best bases from where to hit the PLA in a war. They have done just that during the three crises of the past seventy five years.