Central government rightly concerned about CE election

The exposure by WikiLeaks earlier this week of a systematic worldwide hacking network operated by the US government proves that there is absolute necessity for the central government to pay special attention to the Chief Executive election in Hong Kong.

Despite Washington’s painstaking efforts not to acknowledge non-stop hacking operations against China from all access points for decades, it is hardly a secret among hacker communities around the world. This is because some of them have been hired by the US government to hack Chinese targets from time to time, including those based in Hong Kong. In a way this constant threat to national security is a reason why the central government insists on appointing a Chief Executive it can trust to keep Hong Kong a reliable outpost.

There was a time when effective network security measures were nearly nonexistent in most Chinese computer networks connected to the internet, at least to experienced hackers — so much so that hackers would not consider it a challenge unless it was the top-security government servers they were trying to break into. The cold hard fact is that China has been targeted by cyber attacks far more frequently than any other country in the world on a daily basis. Most of those responsible for these hacks were traced back to the US.

Hong Kong is a significant part of China and home to many State-owned enterprises as well as government institutions, such as the Central People’s Government’s Liaison Office and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They can be targeted by any number of US hackers anytime from anywhere, as can be the SAR government.

The alleged Central Intelligence Agency hacking operation files exposed by Wikileaks point to a cyber warfare division stationed inside the US consulate in Frankfurt, Germany. Who knows what they are doing in embassies and consulates in other countries and regions.

Some people may not want the public to know, but the national security issue concerns the central government now more than ever. It is nothing but natural for Beijing to be eager to make sure the next CE in Hong Kong would have the capability and will to fend off attacks or infiltration in any form by unfriendly foreign forces. It should be from this perspective that Hong Kong people and members of the Election Committee view the CE election.