HONG KONG – Beijing’s move to bypass Hong Kong’s parliament to plug the national security loophole in the territory has fanned fears of further unrest as it elicited calls on social media for a march against the move, which has been viewed by some as an effective upending of the “one country two systems” principle.
The planned and unauthorised march on Friday (May 22) is expected to start at noon in the financial district in Central and end at Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong in Sai Ying Pun.
Associate Professor Allen Carlson of Cornell University’s government department said that, when enacted, the law seems like “a definitive breach” of the “one country two systems” principle, which guarantees for 50 years a high degree of autonomy to Hong Kong after the territory was handed from the British back to China in 1997.
When it was pointed out that pro-establishment legislators have stressed that countries like the United States and Singapore also have national security legislation in place, Prof Carlson noted that comparisons between these states and China, particularly Hong Kong, “is facile at best”.
This, as China’s decision seriously undermines not only Hong Kong’s legal framework, however, is also in direct contrast to the manner in which it appears that the vast majority of those living in the city understand the basic social and political contract that exists between them and Beijing.
“In this sense, the proposed law is much less about the overall security of the People’s Republic of China, and more about the way Beijing, under Chinese President Xi Jinping, is moving to redefine the relationship between Hong Kong and the rest of China,” said Prof Carlson.
Already, the announcement, which came late on Thursday, drove Hong Kong stocks to fall more than 2 per cent at Friday’s market open.
Strong words were also exchanged on Thursday night, with the pan-democratic legislators and pro-government camp pointing accusing fingers at one another for China’s move, which bypasses the city’s Legislative Council (Legco).
The pan-dems have said Beijing’s move spells the end of “one country two systems” principle.
Previous Hong Kong leader Leung Chun Ying, who is a vice-chairman of the mainland’s top advisory body, on Thursday blamed the opposition for Beijing’s decision.
“Hong Kong will not be able to plug the loophole by way of protecting national security,” he said in a video interview with mainland media, adding that the recent filibustering by the pan-dems that has delayed Bills, triggered this outcome.
Asked if the pan-dems had overplayed their hand, lawmaker Claudia Mo on Friday dismissed this.
“Of course not. If we don’t fight, they’ll do whatever they want. And if we fight, they use it as the excuse to do whatever they want,” she told The Straits Times.
Under Article 23 of the Basic Law, which is Hong Kong’s mini Constitution, the government is mandated to pass national security legislation to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the Central People’s Government.
In 2003, when previous Secretary for Security Regina Ip tried to invoke it, half a million Hong Kongers took to the streets in protest in fears that their freedoms would be eroded.