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

Regina Ip

Published: 9:15am, 7 Feb 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

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 recent official statements on the prerequisites of the office, patriotism has emerged as the paramount quality. The most significant comment came from President Xi Jinping, who said at his virtual meeting last month with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor that Beijing’s jurisdiction over Hong Kong – and Hong Kong’s constitutional order based on China’s Constitution and the Basic Law – can only be established if patriots rule Hong Kong.

Last November, at a legal summit marking the 30th anniversary of the Basic Law, all heavyweight speakers from Beijing made reference to Deng Xiaoping’s remarks in the 1980s that the principal positions in the Hong Kong government must be filled by patriots.

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.

01:31

Xi says he is ‘worried’ about Hong Kong Covid-19 cases during virtual meeting with Carrie Lam

The emphasis on patriotism appears at first blush to be a departure from the broader and more inclusive requirements for the chief executive enunciated by Wang Guangya, then head of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, in December 2016. In an interview with Bauhinia Magazine , Wang said a chief executive candidate must love the country and Hong Kong; is trusted by the central government; has the ability to govern Hong Kong, and; enjoys the support of the people of Hong Kong.

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.

It’s important to first understand how the focus on patriotism has come about. Zhang Xiaoshuai’s article points out that the patriotism requirement was mandated by Communist Party leadership at their fourth plenary meeting in October 2019.

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.

As the Basic Law states clearly that Hong Kong’s chief executive is to be appointed by the central government after selection by “ election or through consultations held locally ”, the trust of the central government is paramount.

For Hong Kong’s sake, the judiciary must regain Beijing’s trust

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.

In 2019, a bill to send fugitives to mainland China, despite full compliance with the due process of law, ignited the most violent and prolonged disorder in Hong Kong since the 1960s.

The fourth plenary took place at a time when the party leadership must have been shell-shocked by the repeated images of the breakdown of law and order in Hong Kong, including the storming of the Legislative Council, the desecration of the symbols of China, the attacks on China-related businesses, and the use of dangerous tactics by rioters which bordered on terrorism.

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.

The Basic Law and the State Council’s white paper on the implementation of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong, published in June 2014, specify the governance team that must be filled by patriots. It includes the chief executive, principal officials, members of the Executive Council and Legislative Council, judges at different levels and other judicial officers.

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