LettersHow to further inflame Hong Kong protests: start talking about the national security law

Senior Beijing official’s comments linking the protests to the lack of a national security law in Hong Kong add to the pressure on the city’s chief executive, who is struggling to contain the unrest

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A fire set by protesters burns near Yau Ma Tei MTR station at Waterloo Road on October 20. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 6:35am, 15 Nov 2019Updated: 6:35am, 15 Nov 2019

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has so far been silent on the national security law. In her early days in office, she said she would not press ahead with the law if “conditions are not favourable”. Even her latest policy address did not mention the law.

But Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, in an article of over 6,000 words, seemed to want to remind Lam of her political mission. Stressing the need for this law at such sensitive time is of no help at all to the government, but only makes the chief executive’s job harder.

Zhang blames the intensification of the current turmoil on the lack of a national security law. But would it help to quell the unrest? Wouldn’t a discussion of the national security law at this time further inflame the protests?

His remarks only add to the pressure on Lam, whose urgent task is dealing with the protests that have engulfed the city and triggered an economic recession. The international community is also gradually putting pressure on the Hong Kong government amid the trade war and human rights concerns.

The current situation provides no room to think about the national security law. It is the last thing Hong Kong needs right now – it would only provoke more Hongkongers to take to the streets, and prolong and intensify the protests.