Political heavyweights say Beijing has right to intervene to resolve crisis in Hong Kong
- Government adviser also tells seminar in Shenzhen that mobilising PLA troops in the city would not bring an end to ‘one country, two systems’
Central government advisers on Hong Kong affairs on Saturday said that Beijing had the right to intervene to resolve the crisis in the city and that mobilising PLA troops to do so would not bring an end to the “one country, two systems” agreement.
The remarks were made at a seminar attended by 40 advisers and political heavyweights in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. It was organised by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official mainland think tank.
Xu Ze, association head and a former deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said that the violence seen during the protests had shaken the fundamental interests of Hong Kong and the nation, and that criminal activities that aimed to destroy constitutional order should not be tolerated.
“This situation we are facing is a decisive war between defending ‘one country, two systems’ or jeopardising it,” he said, referring to the framework under which Hong Kong is part of China but has its own political, legal, economic and financial systems.
