Official: No room for talk about ‘HK independence’

Hong Kong’s second-highest-ranking official said on Saturday that there is “no room for discussion” about separatism in the special administrative region.

Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung made the remark after 10 local university presidents issued a joint statement against recent pro-independence posters on their campuses.

The “Hong Kong independence” notion violates the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s sole constitutional document, Cheung said.

“Advocating the notion challenges the country’s bottom line on sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is intolerable,” he said. The chief secretary added that the university heads had delivered a clear message on the independence question, and advised students to focus on other issues rather than continuing any discussion of separatism.

“There is no room for discussion,” Cheung said.

He added that the people of Hong Kong value freedom of speech, but there are certain boundaries and bottom lines for that freedom. All freedom should be enjoyed within proper limits, Cheung said.

He was joined by Paul Chan Mo-po, financial secretary of the Hong Kong SAR. Chan expressed hope that the people of Hong Kong would stop the wrangling, which he said leads to polarization.

Their calls were echoed by the city’s education sector. Ho Hon-kuen, the chairman of a local alliance of education professionals — Education Convergence — said that educational institutions must make it clear to students that the “Hong Kong independence” notion violates the Basic Law.

Another local education professional organization — the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, released a joint statement signed by eight local educational groups and 11 individual heavyweights in the sector. They expressed their sadness witnessing the recent strife at the universities and vowed to stand firm on what is right in teaching Hong Kong’s next generation.

The controversy began when posters advocating “Hong Kong independence” appeared on university campuses at the beginning of the new semester. In one of the most widely reported incidents, a confrontation developed between student union members and mainland students at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The presidents of 10 universities in Hong Kong issued a joint statement on Friday condemning both the notion of independence and the abuse of freedom of expression. They said they do not support “Hong Kong independence” and stressed that it would be a violation of the law.

“We treasure freedom of expression but we condemn its recent abuses. All freedoms come with responsibilities,” the brief statement said.

The 10 universities were CUHK, the University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Shue Yan University, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Education University, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Open University of Hong Kong.

The Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, Matthew Cheung Kinchung, reiterated on Saturday that any advocacy of separatism, including that undertaken on university campuses, is unacceptable and an abuse of freedom of speech. That the SAR government steadfastly condemns such activities is readily understandable since they violate the Basic Law, challenge the country’s sovereignty, and threaten the special administrative region’s fundamental interests.

As proved over the past two decades, the principle of “one country, two systems” has been the foundation for the SAR’s economic prosperity and social stability, but this innovative framework is being endangered by the incessant endeavors of Hong Kong separatists.

The intent of “one country, two systems” was not only to maintain the city’s prosperity but also to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests. Advocacy of Hong Kong independence blatantly challenges the bottom line of such vital national interests. It simply will not be tolerated by the central government and the Chinese people, including the great majority of Hong Kong residents.

The attempt to defend the advocating of separatism under the guise of freedom of speech is nothing more than sophistry, and the SAR government is right to say there is no room for discussion on the issue and to endorse the statement jointly issued by the heads of 10 local universities on Friday condemning the raising of banners advocating “Hong Kong independence” on campuses as an abuse of free speech.

“All universities undersigned agree that we do not support Hong Kong independence, which contravenes the Basic Law,” the statement said.

The subsequent claim by those advocating separatism that this somehow restricts academic freedom was simply more sophistry.

Asked whether the government had put pressure on the universities, Cheung confirmed they acted autonomously and stressed that the message from the university heads was both clear and correct.

And that message is indisputable, as advocacy of separatism in the SAR is both illegal and unconstitutional.