Hong Kong at ‘critical point’ in safeguarding national security, Beijing’s envoy says

Hong Kong has entered a “critical” point in its development that requires establishing “comprehensive legal and enforcement mechanisms” to safeguard national security, Beijing’s top envoy in the city said as the Asian financial hub marks the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of its mini-constitution amid deep public mistrust of the government.

The director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, Luo Huining, made the call in a review of the “one country, two systems” framework that guaranteed the city a high degree of autonomy after the British handover to China in 1997.

The concept was enshrined in the Basic Law, which also sets out Beijing’s promise that Hong Kong’s way of life will remain unchanged until at least 2047. The Chinese legislature, the National People’s Congress, endorsed the mini-constitution 30 years ago, on April 4, 1990, after a five-year drafting process.

Taking stock of Hong Kong at the midway point, Luo said long-gestating problems had emerged. He pointed to the months of protests over a now-withdrawn extradition bill as an example, saying the unrest had seriously breached the bottom line of the “one country, two systems” framework. The authority of mainland China’s constitution and the Basic Law had been challenged.

“It’s [now] a critical moment to resolve the many deep-rooted problems,” Luo said in an article published on the website of the liaison’s office.

“Hong Kong's long-term stability can only be achieved by establishing comprehensive legal system and enforcement mechanisms to safeguard national security, strengthening the corresponding law enforcement power, and preventing external forces from intervening in Hong Kong affairs and carrying out activities of division, subversion, infiltration and sabotage.”