A Chinese official yesterday said Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy must not be taken as a license to confront Beijing and urged the territory’s government to implement contentious new national security laws.
The comments by Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Chairman Zhang Dejiang (張德江), China’s No. 3 official who oversees Hong Kong affairs, highlight growing concerns at Beijing’s top leadership about a fledgling independence or secessionist movement in the former British colony.
They come as Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 amid promises of wide-ranging autonomy under the formula of “one country, two systems,” is set to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its handover on July 1, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) widely expected to visit.
In some of his strongest comments yet, Zhang said in a speech that Hong Kong’s autonomy should not be used as a license to challenge the central government’s authority.
“Under ‘one country, two systems,’ the central government and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s power relationship is ... not one of power-sharing,” Zhang said during an official forum discussing Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, in footage carried by Hong Kong’s Cable TV. “Under no condition should the high degree of autonomy be used as a guise to confront the central government’s authority.”
After the 2014 “Umbrella movement” protests, where hundreds of thousands occupied the streets for months and demanded full democracy, a nascent independence movement emerged, though it lost momentum after China last year stepped in to effectively disqualify two of the movement’s young leaders elected into legislature.
Apart from the independence movement, another group of campaigners headed by student protest leader Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) called for self-determination rights for the territory.
Zhang yesterday slammed both movements.
“In practice they attempt to turn Hong Kong into an independent or semi-independent political entity and to secede Hong Kong from the country,” Zhang said.
“We cannot ignore these actions. The [Hong Kong government] should implement their constitutional responsibility under the Basic Law to enact laws over national security, and resolutely halt any behavior and action that endanger national unity,” he said.
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