Has the definition of ‘patriots ruling Hong Kong’ narrowed under the national security law?

It seems that to qualify as a patriot in today’s surreal Hong Kong, you must support Carrie Lam and her policies, and avoid criticism of the Communist Party or the motherland. Things seem to have changed from Deng Xiaoping’s time

Michael Chugani

Published: 10:45am, 4 Feb 2021

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Only patriots can govern Hong Kong. That was President Xi Jinping’s clear message to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor during a virtual meeting last week. It’s not a new directive. Patriots ruling the city was a key part of the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s vision for postcolonial Hong Kong.

But the insistence that only loyalists who love Hong Kong and China can rule has grown louder and more frequent, especially after the 2019 social unrest that began as mass peaceful opposition to the now-dead extradition bill but morphed into often violent anti-government protests.

Beijing loyalists who got thrashed in the November 2019 district council elections must be thrilled with Xi’s forceful message. They will have a greater chance of winning elections now that many opponents are likely to fail the patriotism test.

Such victories will surely be hollow: there will be no meaningful mandate, if voters boycott elections in droves or cast blank votes. That’s a big if, but I would gladly give loyalists my full support if they could prove in direct elections that they have the people’s backing.

To me, today’s definition of “patriots ruling Hong Kong” is far narrower than Deng’s visionary definition. Deng said we could criticise the Communist Party – it would survive the criticism – but only those who love Hong Kong and the country, and not those who seek to undermine it, could govern.

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I have absolutely no problem with that. As an American, I expect those who run the country to be patriots, although patriotism in the United States allows greater leeway. Americans can kneel in protest during the national anthem, burn the flag, and criticise the president.

Insulting the anthem and burning the flag are illegal here. But can Hongkongers still peacefully criticise the Communist Party without any subversive intent? I wouldn’t try it if I were you, despite Deng’s assurances.

The Beijing-imposed national security law, with its many vague red lines, has moved the goalposts. A day after the law took effect, Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah couldn’t give a clear answer when asked at a media briefing if the law allows criticism of the Communist Party.

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How does one join the ranks of the patriots who love the city and the country, and therefore qualify to govern today’s Hong Kong? I must admit I don’t know. Are the estimated millions of Hongkongers who joined peaceful protests against the extradition bill patriots?

There is an argument to be made that they protested because they love Hong Kong and the country, believing the bill would harm the city’s global image and unsettle people. There’s also an argument to be made that Lam is unfit to govern because she ignored the people’s wishes until protests turned violent.

Patriotism comes in many forms. Like many other Americans, I opposed former president George W. Bush’s “war on terror” and the jailing of terror suspects without trial at Guantanamo Bay. But I still considered myself a patriot. American democracy allows me to oppose policies I disagree with.

Is opposing the national security law without breaking it, or peacefully demanding Western-style democracy, unpatriotic? Who knows in today’s surreal Hong Kong? I can only be guided by the mass arrest of 55 opposition figures for being involved in an unofficial primary election.

How exactly is patriotism defined when the son and daughter-in-law of Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole member of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, are reported to hold foreign passports, like the husband and sons of our chief executive? Do they have the moral authority to ask Hongkongers to love the city and country?

It seems to me that to qualify as a patriot in today’s Hong Kong, you must support Lam and her policies, and never criticise the Communist Party or the motherland. Even opposition figures who consider themselves patriots will probably face obstacles in future elections. That will leave only yes-men who blindly toe the line.

Michael Chugani is a Hong Kong journalist and TV show host