Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, underscored the importance of fully and accurately implementing the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL) at a symposium last Friday.
The following day the central government appointed Zheng Yanxiong, former director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OSNS), as the new head of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR. There have been different interpretations of Xia’s remarks and Zheng’s appointment to the new post, one of which suggests that Hong Kong still has a long way to go in fulfilling its responsibility for safeguarding national security in the region.
Many Hong Kong residents are convinced that — following the promulgation of the NSL and the revamp of the city’s electoral system, and with anti-China subversive groups and media outlets on the wane and “patriots administering Hong Kong” effectively implemented — Hong Kong can now move on to its next priority of ensuring prosperity through economic development, improving the livelihoods of people, and focusing on the city’s four established sectors and four emerging sectors. This notion is only partially correct as it overlooks the potential threats posed by foreign interference and dormant local saboteurs amid growing geopolitics against China.
When Zheng was serving in his previous role at OSNS, he asserted that Hong Kong must not tacitly follow the lead of the United States and the United Kingdom, which would render its reunification with the motherland something that exists in name only. Indeed, some local residents, including some members of the “pro-establishment camp”, are still emotionally attached to the US and UK. Both nations wield strong influence over the city through their local proxies groomed over decades before the city’s return to China. Meanwhile, some backbone members of the local subversive groups are still lurking in the city in the hope of making a comeback. At the symposium last Friday, Xia warned that although Hong Kong has transitioned from chaos to order and is moving toward greater prosperity, everyone must be mindful of the potential threats posed by the anti-China subversives lurking in the city and the relentless attempts by foreign forces to contain China’s rise. He therefore added that Hong Kong still faces great challenges in safeguarding national security.
The experience Zheng gained when he was serving his term at the OSNS will not only facilitate his new role at the Liaison Office in assisting the central government to exercise its comprehensive legislative, administrative and judicial powers in ensuring national security in the HKSAR, but will also aid the central authority and the HKSAR government to better enforce the dual-track mechanism
Zheng had been a cadre in Guangdong province for decades and was a member and secretary-general of the Guangdong provincial committee of the Communist Party of China before he came to Hong Kong to head the OSNS. He has full knowledge of various aspects of Guangdong and is familiar with the cooperation and collaboration efforts between the province and Hong Kong over the years; in his new post at the Liaison Office, he will undoubtedly facilitate the city’s participation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development. The expansion of his duties — from safeguarding national security in Hong Kong, to taking charge of all of the central government’s frontline work in the city — reflects the paramount importance of ensuring national security in the region. It is foreseeable that the work of enhancing the legal framework and institutional mechanism for safeguarding national security will remain the top priority for the HKSAR now and in the coming years.
As global power dynamics continue to evolve in 2023, the international community generally believes the Russia-Ukraine military conflict could grow in both geographical dimension and intensity. The situation in the Taiwan Straits could also deteriorate.
This month, major Western countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, France and Canada, vowed to provide more weapons to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the European Union and NATO issued a joint declaration to strengthen their cooperation in subduing Russia and addressing what they call “China’s growing assertiveness”. Before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida finished his last leg of visits to G7 countries in Washington, he made it clear that Japan aims to join hands with the US and Europe to confront China. Although the Biden administration may not wish to engage in military action against Russia and China at the same time, the intensifying political infighting at home may force Washington to adopt a deflection strategy and stoke up tension in the Taiwan Straits by egging on the island’s separatists.
Hong Kong society tends to overlook the West’s efforts to contain China; some members of society have failed to realize that geopolitics is a key driver of local subversive activities.
At last Friday’s symposium, Xia noted that a prominent feature of the NSL is its “dual-track implementation mechanism”. The central government, which bears the ultimate responsibility for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, exercises its powers in ensuring national security through the OSNS. The experience Zheng gained when he was serving his term at the OSNS will not only facilitate his new role at the Liaison Office in assisting the central government to exercise its comprehensive legislative, administrative and judicial powers in ensuring national security in the HKSAR, but will also aid the central authority and the HKSAR government to better enforce the dual-track mechanism.
In resolving the dispute over the legitimacy of hiring foreign counsel in national security trials, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, upon the request of the HKSAR government, delivered an interpretation of Articles 14 and 47 of the NSL, noting that the mechanism for settling such issues already exists in the NSL. This episode revealed the need for the HKSAR to have a better understanding of the dual-track mechanism for safeguarding national security, and to be more proactive in enforcing the dual-track mechanism.
The author is a senior research fellow of China Everbright Holdings.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.