Friday, 29 Mar 2024

China hints at 'enforcement mechanism' to protect Hong Kong

China has hinted at beefing up enforcement in Hong Kong as a matter of national security, as the city remains mired in political turmoil and rocked by months-long violent protests.

A lengthy work report issued yesterday, after a four-day high-level conclave, said the Communist Party’s Central Committee had proposed to “establish and improve legal systems and enforcement mechanisms to safeguard national security in the special administrative regions”.

At the meeting, China’s senior leadership also pledged to uphold and perfect the “one country, two systems” model and promote the reunification of Taiwan.

“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region must be governed in strict accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law, and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao should be safeguarded,” the communique stated.

The last time Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau were mentioned was in 2015, before the party congress ushered in a new leadership team. At that plenum, leaders had called for greater economic cooperation between the mainland and the two special administrative regions as well as Taiwan, which is viewed as a breakaway province.

Beijing has accused “foreign forces” of stoking unrest in Hong Kong over the past five months, and has warned that it will take action if the Hong Kong government asks for help.

Yesterday, Hong Kong police fired tear gas in a bid to disperse masked protesters in crowded Mong Kok, as demonstrators took part in an illegal Halloween march.

Associate Professor Alfred Wu of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said Beijing now regards the Hong Kong problem as a national security issue. “National security is regime security, or security of the Communist Party,” he said.

“From my point of view, I think it means that the central government is going to be tougher on Hong Kong. They will keep a tighter rein, especially on the question of Hong Kong independence,” said Prof Wu, adding that Beijing now views the unrest as a direct challenge to its authority.

A Chinese academic, who asked not to be named because of political sensitivity, said the central government is likely to promote patriotic education to strengthen the “one country” principle.

“The ‘one country’ part of ‘one country, two systems’ is weak,” he said, referring to the formula which promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy when it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.

“Hong Kong needs to overcome its colonial mentality,” he said.

Yesterday’s communique made no mention of the disquieting economic slowdown and the festering trade and tech war between China and the United States.

But the committee urged greater adherence to China’s brand of socialism and the party’s leadership amid “a more complicated situation with risks and challenges significantly increasing at home and abroad”.

The party’s 371 top leaders had gathered after a 20-month break to discuss the future direction of the country.

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