Hong Kong leader demands end of independence talk

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s leader urged an immediate end to independence debates in the Chinese-ruled global financial hub on Tuesday, warning that the issue was harming the city’s relationship with Beijing’s Communist Party leaders.

Insisting that the government did not want to intervene on university campuses, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the campaign was “organised and systematic” rather than simply an issue of freedom of speech.

“This has already deviated from the so-called, ‘ Why aren’t we able to talk about this-’ point of view. It is clearly attacking ‘one country, two systems’ ... and destroying the relationship between Beijing and Hong Kong,” Lam said.

“It is not in the interests of Hong Kong’s development and must stop.”

Lam said the calls “violated” the Basic Law, the constitutional document securing Hong Kong’s broad freedoms of speech and assembly after Britain returned its former colony to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 under the “one country, two systems” banner.

While the Basic Law enshrines far broader civil and commercial freedoms than exist in mainland China, some legal experts warn that a sustained independence campaign could break laws against sedition.

Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, have warned that independence discussions are a red line that can’t be crossed, saying the city is an inalienable part of China.

Some students have banners on “democracy placed walls” on campuses in recent days, sparking anger and counter campaigns from Hong Kong-based mainland students.

Some mainland Chinese students and pro-China patriotic groups have since sought to rip down some posters, sparking heated exchanges with Hong Kong students and free speech advocates.

Pro-independence activists should be “killed” and treated without mercy, Junius Ho, a proBeijing lawmaker, said during a rally on Sunday, sparking outrage and calls for police to act.

The widening controversy sparked criticism from Chinese state media, as well as a rare joint statement from the heads of Hong Kong universities, declaring that the universities did not support Hong Kong independence.

Lam said she believed university management would be able to handle the issue without government action.

Asked about Lam’s warnings, Chris Patten, Britain’s last governor of Hong Kong, urged greater efforts to engage Hong Kong’s restive young people.