HK national security law sheds light on Taiwan question

National People’s Congress (NPC) deputies from Taiwan said Hong Kong’s national security legislation sheds light on the Taiwan question, sending a warning shot to Taiwan secessionists.

With the Hong Kong national security legislation as an example, the central government could further deepen, refine and even make related laws promoting reunification with the Anti-Secession Law as the basis, cracking down on “Taiwan independence” forces legally, said Cai Peihui, an NPC Taiwan deputy and a businessman from Taiwan, according to a statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday by the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots.

This is a powerful warning to Tsai Ing-wen’s authority that “Taiwan independence,” just like “Hong Kong independence,” is not welcomed by the Chinese people. The central government’s determination in dealing with the separatists of Hong Kong and Taiwan is the same, he said.“Taiwan independence is a dead end. National security is a sharp sword hanging over Taiwan separatists’ heads,” he said.

The national security law would be an inspiration to peaceful reunification and the extension of “one country, two systems” principle, said Zhang Xiong, a Taiwan deputy and a professor at Tongji University.

“The process showed that legislation should be timely. If Article 23 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong were established early, it could have awed hostile forces… Probably the fires, riots would not have taken place in the city,” Zhang said.

Cai said that the riots in Hong Kong last year severely damaged the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. The violence weakened the Hong Kong government’s administrative ability and international reputation. The central government making such a national law on administrating Hong Kong is supplementary to the Basic Law, which would be the legal guarantee to deal with the riots and make sure the sovereignty of Hong Kong is unchanged.

Liao Haiying, a Taiwan NPC deputy and a doctor working in mainland, said that “The law also would inform the two sides across the Straits that the bottom line of national security could not be crossed.”

The GDP of East China’s Fujian Province reached 4.23 trillion yuan ($593 billion) in 2019, with a growth rate of 7.6 percent, surpassing the Taiwan island’s 4.22 trillion yuan GDP for the first time. The two regions have similar cultures and dialects.