Beijing has expanded its national security crackdown on Hong Kong, shifting from the principle of “patriots administering” the territory to requiring businesspeople to be “patriotic,” with national security terms proliferating within the catering and entertainment industries, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) report said yesterday, ahead of the 28th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover today.
In its 2014 white paper on the “one country, two systems” policy following the 1997 handover, Beijing claimed that “Hong Kong would be governed by Hong Kong people with a high degree of autonomy,” the report said.
However, that has since been reformulated to a system in which Hong Kong would be governed by both “Hong Kongers and the Chinese central government,” with a comprehensive system of surveillance gradually being implemented over the past 28 years, it said.
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Beijing has imposed the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” to limit political participation by Hong Kongers, while also implementing patriotism education infused with “Xi Jinping Thought,” the report said.
Last month, China’s Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in collaboration with the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force, conducted an unprecedented “joint investigation” into a national security case, it said.
The move has raised concerns over the possibility of Hong Kongers accused of “endangering national security” being extradited to China, with political dissent continuing to be suppressed, exemplified by the dissolution of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party this year, more than three decades after its founding, it added.
Senior officials in Beijing have also urged Hong Kongers to engage in “united front” work and extend national security requirements to areas traditionally unrelated to security, such as trade restrictions, financial risks and overseas interests, the report said.
National security terms have become more pervasive, covering a wide range of activities, including assemblies and demonstrations, the formation of labor unions, venue rentals, film censorship, tender documents and the qualifications for social workers, teachers and public servants in the territory, it said.
Beijing’s regulatory reach this year has further expanded to include the catering and entertainment industries, as well as other recreational venues, while press freedoms and artistic expression continue to face increasing repression, it added.
Schools across all levels in Hong Kong are now required to scrutinize the backgrounds of external collaborative organizations and personnel to determine if they “oppose China or disrupt Hong Kong,” the report said.
Since the imposition of Hong Kong’s National Security Law five years ago, a total of 332 people have been arrested on charges of national security, with severe penalties given to people involved in the “Hong Kong 47” case, it said.
The Hong Kong 47 refers to democracy advocates, politicians and community organizers who were arrested in 2021 under the National Security Law.
Hong Kong media tycoon and Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) detention for more than four years was the first case of a journalist being convicted of incitement due to news reporting since the handover, the report said.
Lai is also the first person wanted on national security charges to have his assets confiscated in Hong Kong, it said.
Although several international economic rating agencies have upgraded Hong Kong’s credit rating to “stable,” the territory’s economic growth faces significant risks and challenges, driven by Beijing’s tightening control, the US-China confrontation and other geopolitical factors, the report said.
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