Hong Kong has a “bright future” after the enactment of a new national security law, Beijing’s top man on the city’s affairs has said, as he hit back at criticism of the law.
Xia Baolong, the director of Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO), on Monday hailed the recent legislation of the new security law as a “historical mission,” as he addressed city officials at the opening ceremony of Hong Kong’s National Security Education Day.
Separate to the 2020 Beijing-imposed security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. Known locally as Article 23, it was unanimously approved and enacted last month after a fast-tracked legislation at the city’s opposition-free legislature.
The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” Authorities have cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest as justification for the legislation.
Xia said 25 “strategic enterprises” had set up offices in Hong Kong and series of international events had taken place since the legislation was passed on March 19, describing them as a “vote of confidence” in the city from international elites.
“They prove Hong Kong is still the best business environment in the world, as well as the place for making money and profit and achieving dreams,” Xia said in Mandarin via video link from Beijing.
“The prosperity of Hong Kong cannot be disparaged by a few articles or badmouthing… Hong Kong is destined for a bright future,” he added.
Xia also described the law as “a sword hanging over the heads of the extremely small fraction of people endangering national security,” and “a guardian angel for the freedom, assets, and investments of the majority” of city residents and foreign investors.
The Beijing official said Hong Kong must safeguard the bottom line of national security, adding “the destruction brought by the 2019 anti-extradition bill crisis” would not be forgotten.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
Xia also urged Hong Kong to further economic integration with the mainland, including the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The GBA is a megalopolis spanning Hong Kong, Macau, and nine mainland Chinese cities, and has been earmarked by Beijing as a hub for technology innovation and investment.
‘Vaccine’
Speaking after Xia at the ceremony in Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee said the threats to national security were “unpredictable,” “consistent,” and “discreet.”
“Foreign intelligence officers and their proxies would use different industries as disguise,” Lee said, also speaking in Mandarin. “Spies may marry and raise a family just like an ordinary citizen, and only commit acts of terrorism or theft of state secrets after years [of hiding].”
Lee called Article 23 an “effective vaccine” for Hong Kong, but added that “threats to national security are like viruses that continue to attack [the city].”
Zheng Yanxiong, chief of Beijing’s liaison office in the city, on Monday declared “cognitive warfare” against anti-China forces that had “demonised” the legislation.
“Ill-intentioned foreign forces have been unscrupulously bad-mouthing China and Hong Kong, and some renowned Western media have joined their slandering and smearing,” Zheng said. “The only way to survive is to unite and fight.”
Hong Kong authorities have issued statements and sent at least six letters to several foreign media since March – including to the BBC, The Guardian, Bloomberg, and The Washington Post – over what they said were “misleading” reports and opinion pieces about the security law.
Dong Jingwei, head of Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, also addressed the ceremony, giving a rare public speech since he was appointed to the position last July.
Beijing established the office in July 2020 shortly after it imposed the security law on the city. It is the fourth organisation set up by central authorities in the city.
Dong, the former deputy minister of state security of China, said national security should be a top priority for Hong Kong despite the different political and legal system it had, adding “there is no end to [safeguarding national security].”
A total of 291 people have been arrested over suspected breaches of the Beijing-imposed national security law since its enactment, according to official figures. Among them, 174 people have been charged and 114 convicted.
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