Stop violence and restore order to seek common development

Afew days ago, the Hong Kong SAR Government held its first community dialogue session. The 150-minute sincere dialogue, attended by 150 people, has been considered as a common step for Hong Kong residents towards cessation of violence and restoration of order to find a way out of the predicament.

Trampling on the rule of law, disruption of social order, economic shocks, and negative impact on people’s livelihoods... In the past three months, violent acts conducted by a handful of radical opposition and extremists have caused severe damages to Hong Kong. The chaos has made more and more Hong Kong residents realize the despicable acts of violent radicals by misleading the good people to sabotage Hong Kong under the pretext of anti-amendment, and has also made the international community fully aware of the ill intentions of external forces to interfere in China’s internal affairs and incite a “colored revolution” in Hong Kong. Recently, representatives from all walks of life, as well as many communities and associations in Hong Kong have made statements, advertisements and speeches to jointly condemn the violent rages, calling for ending violence and restoring order with a view to combining efforts in pursuit of common development in Hong Kong.

In the past 22 years since Hong Kong’s return, Hong Kong has kept its distinct features and strengths; its allure of being a vibrant metropolis where the East meets the West has remained as strong as ever - the main reason lies in the socio-economic and political stability. People are keenly aware that maintaining social harmony and stability is not only in the common interest of all sectors of Hong Kong society and foreign investors, but also an important prerequisite for Hong Kong to maintain its status as an international financial, trade and shipping center.

Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity will increase its competitiveness, while chaos will only force the entire society to “pay the price”. Therefore, it is the aspiration of Hong Kong people to stop the violence and restore order at an early date.

Nevertheless, in defiance of the deplorable acts of radicals and rioters in Hong Kong, and disregarding the public aspiration of Hong Kong society, some intransigent external forces still attempt to meddle in Hong Kong affairs. On September 25th, under the guise of human rights and democracy, the U.S. Congress and some politicians approved the so-called the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019.

The bill, under the cloak of “protecting Hong Kong people’s freedom of speech and peaceful assembly”, seeks to maliciously defame the Chinese central government, undermine “One Country, Two Systems”, interfere in Hong Kong affairs, and discredit legitimate law enforcement measures of Hong Kong police to uphold law and order, revealing the ulterior motives to cheer anti-China forces and radicals, and further complicate the situation in Hong Kong for their unlawful benefits.

It goes without saying that the turmoil has reflected some deep-rooted conflicts and problems in Hong Kong society, which are attributed to several factors of complex historical factors and social roots, as well as the international context. These problems can neither be addressed in a day nor in one step, and it is impossible to resolve the issues by strife.

Hong Kong’s current top priority is to restore order as soon as possible, seize development opportunities, and focus on developing the economy and improving people’s livelihood. Development is fundamental for Hong Kong’s survival, and it holds the golden key to resolving various issues in Hong Kong.

In order to cease the violence and restore order for developing economy and livelihood, the HKSAR Government has taken various measures in good faith. In late August, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary adopted relief measures featuring a spending package of allowances and subsidies, including exemption of some government fees, extra social security allowances, and subsidies for kindergarten, primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong. On Sept 4, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government, proposed four actions to break the current predicament. Faced with the complex living conditions in Hong Kong, New World Development of Cheng’s family and other big families in Hong Kong donated farmland to mitigate people’s livelihood issues.

This year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. After 70 years of hard work and growth, China, the once poverty-stricken country, has become the world’s second largest economy, and is getting closer to the world’s center stage. China has made historical transformation in terms of economy, international standing and profile. China’s continuous and rapid development has provided an invaluable opportunity, an inexhaustible source of strengths and broad space for Hong Kong’s development. — Embassy of China