Remain vigilant over national security risks, guard against ‘colour revolution’ violence, Hong Kong leader John Lee says after top Beijing official’s visit

Chief Executive John Lee says residents ‘must not become slack in the face of hostile and destructive forces’ as Xia Baolong wraps up six-day tour

Xia tours University of Hong Kong and is briefed by president on construction plans, including new building for interdisciplinary studies in AI and big data

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Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong And Macau Affairs office, with city leader John Lee. Picture: Jelly Tse

Published: 8:47pm, 18 Apr 2023Updated: 9:13pm, 18 Apr 2023

Hongkongers should remain vigilant over national security threats and never forget lessons about the destructive power of the “colour revolution” that emerged in 2019, the city’s leader has said, as he offered his key takeaways from a fact-finding visit by a senior Beijing official.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu offered the summary on Tuesday at the end of the six-day trip by Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. Xia, who earlier told residents that protests were not the only way to express opinions, did not respond to media questions throughout the day.

“We should have this alarm bell ringing all the time,” Lee said at a primary school after the director departed for Beijing. “The superficial calm does not mean that these forces and risks that could cause destruction or pose serious threats to society do not exist.”

City leader John Lee speaks at the Ma Tau Chung Government Primary School. Photo: Elson Li

Lee said Xia had offered a reminder to residents that they should always remember the violence brought by the “colour revolution”, using a term that officials have adopted to describe the anti-government protests that erupted four years ago. While the demonstrations were triggered by a proposed extradition law, the movement morphed into a wider call for greater progress towards universal suffrage, but the demonstrations also brought some of the worst violence the city has seen outside wartime.

Beijing maintains the social unrest showed characteristics of colour revolutions, the term given to popular resistance movements in former Soviet bloc countries in the early 2000s and later in the Middle East.

Lee called on residents to protect hard-earned social stability and pledged that the city’s executive, legislative and judicial branches would do their utmost to safeguard national security.