Occupy Central threatens ‘Hong Kong security’, Beijing advisers warn

Two mainland academics who advise Beijing on Hong Kong affairs have warned that Occupy Central protests have threatened “Hong Kong security”, which is a crucial determinant of national security.

The new jargon was invented by Huang Ping, vice-chairman of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, and Chen Xinxin, a legal affairs expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in an article published in the latest issue of the Hong Kong and Macao Journal.

The association, chaired by former deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Chen Zuoer, is a high-level think tank set up by the central government last year to study Hong Kong affairs, including the Basic Law and political reform.

In the article entitled “The Unlawful Nature of the Occupy Central campaign in Hong Kong”, Huang and Chen said the protests, which have paralysed parts of the city for six weeks, had upset social order and undermined the foundation of the rule of law.

“It also has some elements of a ‘colour revolution’ and has already threatened ‘Hong Kong security’,” the two academics wrote.

The Occupy movement was labelled by Vice-Premier Wang Yang last month as a “colour revolution”, a reference to uprisings in post-Soviet states.

“Hong Kong security is a crucial determinant of national security of China, which is Hong Kong’s sovereign country,” they wrote.