2014 Occupy protests and 2019 unrest leave no doubt Chinese patriots must rule Hong Kong
- Beijing’s requirement that Hong Kong’s leaders must love the country and Hong Kong is not new, only emphasised now after repeated attacks on the city’s law and order
- To ensure ‘one country, two systems’ can continue, the SAR must choose a leader that’s not just capable, but also trusted by the central government
Hong Kong will choose its next leader in March next year. As the election of this sixth-term chief executive draws near, the requisite qualities of a chief executive have again become a hot topic of discussion in political circles.
In a recent special edition of the state-owned journal Bauhinia Tribune on the issue, two contributors expanded on the logic for Deng’s insistence on patriots ruling Hong Kong, and the necessity of applying this doctrine to Hong Kong at this point in time.
One of the contributors, Zhang Xiaoshuai, recalled in detail Deng’s remarks on patriotism. In Deng’s view, a patriot is someone who genuinely respects the Chinese race and supports China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong; loves the motherland and Hong Kong; and would not do anything to undermine Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.
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However, the focus on patriotism should not raise undue concern. First, it goes without saying that a genuine patriot would enjoy the trust of the central government.
In addition, in light of the tumultuous events in the past 23 years of Hong Kong as a special administrative region, the ability to navigate the challenges of implementing “one country, two systems”, without losing the resolve to address Hong Kong’s many critical social and economic problems, is clearly a quality that the central authorities cannot overlook.
But the disappearance of the reference to support by Hong Kong people has raised some eyebrows as to whether popular support still matters.
The communique issued after the plenum stressed that the party would insist on improving Hong Kong’s governance under “one country, two systems”, and on patriots playing the principal role in governance.
Hong Kong is not an independent political entity; it is an administrative region directly under the purview of the central people’s government. As part of a highly centralised, unitary state, Hong Kong’s powers stem from the central government’s authority.
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Yet, as Zhang noted, the implementation of “one country, two systems” has encountered unprecedented challenges. Hong Kong society has been rocked by one crisis after another in recent years.
Although the Occupy Central movement – an open attempt to pressurise the central government into a faster pace of democratisation, by fomenting disorder – was resolved peacefully in late 2014, the installation in 2017 of a veteran civil servant – Carrie Lam – as chief executive failed to heal the rift in society.
Images of a beleaguered city teetering on the brink must have hammered home the urgency of ensuring that Hong Kong is governed by true patriots, needless to say with competence.
To ensure that “one country, two systems” can continue to be implemented smoothly for the next 26 years, the chief executive must uphold the nation’s sovereignty, national security and developmental interests, apart from governing Hong Kong to keep it on an even keel.
And to ensure that a true patriot is elected as chief executive, members of the Election Committee who select the chief executive – who themselves will face election at the end of this year – must also be true patriots. The curtain will soon be raised on the next patriot games.
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee is a lawmaker and chairwoman of the New People’s Party