Safeguarding National Security: For a Better Tomorrow in Hong Kong

On the morning of May 22, 2020, a draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to safeguard national security was submitted to China’s national legislature for deliberation at the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing. This means that the   national security loophole in the HKSAR since its return to the motherland will be fixed by establishing institutional mechanisms to safeguard national security under the framework of law.

Since the return of Hong Kong to the motherland in 1997, the practice of “One Country, Two Systems” has achieved unprecedented success in the HKSAR. At the same time, the implementation of the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” in the HKSAR has also met new problems and faced new challenges and risks, including the rise in prominence of national security risks.

The HKSAR is an inseparable part of China. It is the HKSAR’s constitutional responsibility to safeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and prevent, stop and punish activities endangering national security in accordance with the law. Article 23 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR stipulates that the HKSAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition or subversion against the central government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the HKSAR, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the HKSAR from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies. This article reflects the trust of China’s central government on the HKSAR and its respect for Hong Kong’s legal system.

However, more than two decades after Hong Kong’s return, relevant laws, which had been stigmatized and demonized, are yet to materialize. Because of this unwarranted delay, the HKSAR government lost some of its functions in national security in terms of institution setting, resource allocation and power disposition, resulting in Hong Kong’s long-term “defenseless” status in the field of national security which is rarely seen in today’s world. Considering Hong Kong’s situation at present, efforts must be made to establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR. The whole of Hong Kong society should carry out national security education to enhance public awareness.

All these above-mentioned problems have led to the increasingly serious situation plaguing the HKSAR in safeguarding national security. In recent years, various separatist thoughts were spread in Hong Kong. Eventually, the city witnessed a small group of separatists relentlessly advance with the ultimate objective of turning the HKSAR into an independent entity. Behind the rioting and vandalism since the second half of 2019 was essentially a so-called “color revolution” in Hong Kong. Resorting to violent actions, the extremists ratcheted up the tension from hurling water bottles and bricks at police to making up bomb threats, spreading the so-called “guide to kill police officers” and assaulting innocent people. Their behaviors have gone far beyond of the purportedly “nonviolent” approaches. Through maneuvers to paralyze the HKSAR’s legislature, disrupt the governmental operations and sabotage the local economy, the opposition camp dreams of seizing the governing power of Hong Kong, splitting the country and subverting state power, which has greatly threatened Hong Kong’s public safety and the security of national sovereignty.

Facts have shown that the whole society will pay a heavy price for the national security loophole. The HKSAR must not become a weak link in national security. Now, it is imperative, timely and important for the NPC and its standing committee to formulate relevant laws on establishing and improving at the state level the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security. This move will better safeguard national security, lay a solid institutional foundation for the steady and enduring growth of the cause of “One Country, Two Systems,” and promote the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.