‘Patriots governing HK’ key factor
Senior official calls for prompt efforts to improve, plug loopholes in SAR’s electoral system
‘Patriots governing Hong Kong” is the core of “one country, two systems”, a senior official on Hong Kong and Macao affairs said on Feb 22.
Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, gave a speech at a symposium in Beijing on Feb 22 that centered on improving the institutional framework of “one country, two systems” and implementing the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”.
Xia said President Xi Jinping stressed, while hearing Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s 2020 work report, that “patriots governing Hong Kong” must be upheld to ensure the steady implementation of “one country, two systems”. This statement is the “profound revelation” on “one country, two systems” and provides a direction for the long-term stability of Hong Kong, he added.
Xia, who is also a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said “patriots governing Hong Kong “means that the political power of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region must be in the hands of patriots.
He said former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made it clear decades ago when he initiated the “one country, two systems” principle that “the boundary and criterion for Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong is that Hong Kong must be governed mostly by patriots”.
The return of Hong Kong to the motherland meant that the Chinese government had taken over sovereignty over Hong Kong and the right to govern Hong Kong had returned to the Chinese people, Xia said.
Sovereignty and the right to rule are inseparable. Only when the right to govern Hong Kong is in the hands of Chinese people who love the motherland and love Hong Kong will China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong be reflected, he said, adding that all those who govern Hong Kong must deeply agree that “one country” is the premise and foundation of “two systems”, and resolutely oppose foreign interference in Hong Kong’s affairs.
“One country, two systems” has strong vitality and will always be adhered to alongside the policies of “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong” and the high degree of autonomy, he said.
However, the implementation of the principle has not always been smooth. Anti-China disrupters and radical Hong Kong separatists have entered the governance structure of the region through various elections, including the Legislative Council, the Chief Executive Election Committee and District Councils, and used those platforms to resist the central government, incite discontent toward the Chinese mainland, obstruct the administration of the SAR government and undermine the well-being of Hong Kong people, he said.
One of the major reasons that these rebellious forces could become so rampant was that “patriots governing Hong Kong” had not been fully implemented.
He said patriots are bound to sincerely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests and respect the fundamental system of the State. In the political structure of the region, those who hold important positions, wield important powers and shoulder important responsibilities must be genuine patriots.
He also said the scope of “patriots” is broad and the majority of Hong Kong people have the tradition of love for Hong Kong and the country.
As a diverse capitalist society enjoying a mix of Western and Eastern cultures, Hong Kong may have some residents who have stereotypes and prejudices against the mainland.
The central government understands and tolerates their stance and believes that they will clearly distinguish themselves from anti-China separatists.
Han Dayuan, a law professor at Renmin University of China, said Hong Kong’s chaos was the result of not being able to fully implement the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”, which reflected a loophole in the local system.
“So how can we plug the loophole? The most urgent and important task is to improve the electoral system in Hong Kong,” he said.
Wang Zhenmin, director of the Center for Hong Kong and Macao Studies at Tsinghua University, said “patriots governing Hong Kong” is not simply a political requirement, but should be reflected in the legal system and mechanism.
Wang, who also attended the symposium, said Xia’s speech also conveyed the important message that the central government has received and responded positively to the call from the Hong Kong community for changes to the electoral system.
Zhang Jian, head of the Institute of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, said it is correct for any country or region in the world to ensure governance by patriots. In 1861 during the Civil War in the United States, a number of members of the House and Senate were disqualified for supporting secession.
In Hong Kong, on the contrary, there have been repeated instances of anti-China forces entering power by using loopholes in the electoral system to engage in acts endangering national security, he said.
Tian Feilong, an associate professor at Beihang University’s Law School in Beijing, said the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” must be implemented in all aspects, especially in this year’s elections to the Legislative Council and the Election Committee, as well as next year’s election of the chief executive, to ensure the security of the local system.
“The discussion on ‘patriots governing Hong Kong’ and the reform of the electoral system at this symposium made a ‘constitutional moment’ in the history of ‘one country, two systems’ and the history of the Basic Law,” he said.
Chief Executive Lam said it is natural, necessary, and “not a high standard” to request that those who govern Hong Kong should be patriots.
The SAR government will fully respect and cooperate with the central government in improving the electoral arrangements in Hong Kong, because the political system of the SAR falls under the central government’s purview.
Canada’s Conservative Party recently officially designated China’s actions in Xinjiang “genocide”. On Feb 22, Canada passed a non-binding motion that alleges China’s treatment of the Uygur people in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region constitutes genocide. The spokespersons of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin and Hua Chunying, have made clear China’s stands on the issue during the press conferences held by the ministry.
(Feb 19) The Paper: There are reports that the Canadian foreign minister said his government is gravely concerned about human rights conditions in Xinjiang and hopes independent investigators can conduct work in China. Canada’s Conservative Party moved to officially designate China’s actions in Xinjiang “genocide”. Several US lawmakers have reintroduced the updated version of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the House of Representatives. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne earlier urged China to “allow international observers, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to be given immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang at the earliest opportunity”. Do you have any comment?
Hua Chunying: Indeed, lately certain people in Canada, the United States and Australia have been clattering noisily and spreading lies on Xinjiang. But frankly speaking, every time they do so, the world just sees more clearly their ignorance and absurdity, and their self-claimed moral high ground of democracy and human rights is further chipped away.
As to the true situation in Xinjiang, the Chinese side, including the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has given detailed information in many ways. Regrettably though, these people apparently don’t want to listen and couldn’t hear it. I would like to stress the four points today.
First, allegations of “genocide” and “forced labor” are lies of the century. They were ugly farces directed by a handful of colluding individuals in the political, media and academic fields in Western countries including the US, Canada and Australia. These people have never been to Xinjiang. They have no idea what a beautiful place it is and how residents are enjoying their lives. Xinjiang’s Uygur population more than doubled in the past 40 years. Have they ever seen this kind of genocide? Perhaps in their mind, ethnic minorities in Xinjiang can only live with poverty, unemployment and discrimination just like minority groups in their own countries. Do they mean to deny the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang their right to choose a profession of their own free will, get equal treatment in seeking employment, and create a better life with their own hands? Foreigners, including many of you here, are free to learn Chinese. Don’t ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, as citizens of the People’s Republic of China, have the right to learn the common language of their own country? We can see the Uygur language printed on the RMB banknote. Isn’t this a token of ethnic equality in China? In 2019, Xinjiang received over 200 million tourists. If those accusing China truly wish to know the real Xinjiang, they are most welcome to visit the region, talk with the residents and see for themselves. That being said, we are firmly against the so-called investigation based on presumption of guilt.
Second, genocide actually took place in Canada, the US and Australia. In the 1870s, the Canadian government included assimilation of indigenous people in its official agenda and openly advocated the killing of the Indian bloodline. Starting with indigenous children, residential schools were set up to carry out cultural genocide policies. School-age children of indigenous communities were forcibly taken from their families, converted to the Christian church and taught the English language. Incomplete statistics show over 150,000 indigenous children were sent to such schools, of which more than 50,000 died of abuses. The crimes the Canadian government has committed against the indigenous people throughout many years include depriving them of their land and resources and assimilating their language, heritage and culture. As a result, there is a disproportionately high occurrence of depression, drug use, alcoholism, suicide and crimes in the indigenous community. In Canadian prisons, 60 percent of inmates are indigenous residents. Indigenous women and children are 12 times more likely to be murdered or to go missing compared with other groups, with the likelihood being 16 times higher than white people.
In the US, in nearly 100 years after the country was founded, native Indians were expelled and killed during the Westward Expansion. Their population dwindled from 5 million to 250,000, less than one twentieth of the original. In recent years, in the name of fighting terrorism and upholding human rights, the US roiled turmoil in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan, causing millions of innocent casualties. Caught in the conflict are without exception Muslim countries.
In Australia, there was the infamous White Australia Policy. Under genocide policies, 100,000 aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families, separating children from parents and leaving them heartbroken. The lingering pain inflicted on the Stolen Generations can still be felt clearly today across the whole society.
These true episodes in these countries’ history would probably not come to people’s mind today if certain individuals were not turning a blind eye to domestic issues while leveling groundless accusations against China. I wonder what the politicians from the three countries you mentioned have to say to the record of blood and tears of their minority communities? Will they condemn it?
Third, some in the West like to talk about human rights with other countries condescendingly, acting as a judgmental “lecturer”. But I believe, no matter when and no matter which country or society we are talking about, the first order in protecting human rights is to ensure every individual’s right to life and health and defend the value and dignity of every life. To live a life free from want, with food on the table and a roof over one’s head, that is what I call basic human rights.
During the recent Spring Festival holiday, the usual mass movement in China was not possible due to COVID-19. However, the Chinese people had a safe and happy holiday strolling in parks, going to the cinema and enjoying the company of loved ones at home. Over this period, movie theaters sold 160 million tickets; express delivery service increased by 260 percent; local tour booking saw over 300 percent increase in orders. At the same time, a cold spell gripped the southern US state of Texas, causing power outages affecting millions of households. Without electricity to heat their homes, people are in dire straits. Dozens of lives have been claimed. All this has given us a deeper understanding of what human rights truly mean and how to better protect them. We are more convinced that we are on the right path and have every confidence in the future.
Fourth, relevant individuals in the three countries disregard plain facts and keep concocting and disseminating lies about Xinjiang with no moral scruples. Their true aim is to use human rights as a cover to meddle in China’s internal affairs, undermine China’s security and stability and contain its development. But these attempts are all futile. A word of advice to them: Attend to their own people and focus more on addressing domestic problems. Should anyone choose to harm Chinese interests, we will surely make firm and necessary responses.
(Feb 22) Tass: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said on Feb 19 that leaders of G7 countries during their summit agreed to coordinate a multilateral approach in dealing with China’s treatment of its Uyghur population and other mostly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. I wonder if China has any comments on this?
Wang Wenbin: Earlier I stated China’s position on human rights. Here I’d like to add a few words on it. China always protects and promotes human rights. As the largest developing country, China pursues a peoplecentered vision, regards the rights to subsistence and development as the primary, basic human rights, and works hard to promote the comprehensive and coordinated development of economic, social, cultural rights as well as civil political rights. Since the PRC was founded more than 70 years ago, China’s per capita GDP has grown from less than $30 to over $10,000, and more than 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty. For the first time in our nation’s history, absolute poverty is eradicated. Xinjiang, Tibet and other areas where ethnic minorities live in clusters are examples of the progress in China’s human rights cause. Let’s take Xinjiang for instance. Over the past 60-plus years, Xinjiang’s aggregate economy grew over 200 times, per capita GDP nearly 40 times, and people’s life expectancy from 30 to 72 years. During the fight against COVID-19, the Chinese government has made all-out efforts to protect every citizen’s right to life and health at all costs, contained the spread of the virus at the earliest time possible, did our best to raise the cure rate and lower the fatality rate, and guaranteed rapid economic and social recovery.
Meanwhile, I would like to point out that those in the best position to judge a country’s human rights condition are its own people, instead of people or agencies in other countries. According to authoritative international research, the Chinese people’s overall satisfaction toward the Central Government has been over 90 percent for many years. We urge the Canadian side and relevant countries to respect facts, set aside bias, and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiangrelated or human rights issues.
I would also like to point out that the Canadian side’s launch of the socalled “declaration against arbitrary detention” with some other countries is very hypocritical. There can be no
better definition of arbitrary detention than the detention of (Huawei CFO) Miss Meng Wanzhou. What is more despicable is that even though some countries unequivocally said they do not approve of or participate in the joint signing of the so-call “declaration”, Canada put them on the endorsement list against their will. Such cheating and fraudulent deeds should be condemned as they run counter to diplomatic ethics, show a lack of trustworthiness, and violate the norms of international exchanges.
(Feb 23) The Globe and Mail: The Canadian parliament unanimously passed a motion on “genocide” in Xinjiang and called for the movement of the 2022 Olympics away from Beijing “if the Chinese government continues this genocide”. In response, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa released a statement saying Canada should reflect deeply on the miserable experience of its indigenous people. I wanted to ask if you can help me understand what that means. Does this mean that because other countries have done horrible things, they cannot criticize China?
Wang Wenbin: In total disregard of facts and common sense, the Xinjiang-related motion passed by Canada’s House of Commons has deliberately smeared China and seriously violated international law and basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese side strongly condemns and firmly opposes that and has lodged solemn representations with the Canadian side.
Xinjiang-related issues are in essence about countering violent terrorism and de-radicalization. The Xinjiang region of China has been earnestly implementing the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, drawing on similar practices of other countries and taking de-radicalization measures in accordance with law. All this is fully consistent with the principles and spirit of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Thanks to the efforts of the local people of all ethnic groups, there has been no violent terrorist case for more than four years in a row in Xinjiang. The region now enjoys social stability and a sound development momentum, and the local people are living a safe and happy life. In recent years, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang has continued to grow. From 2010 to 2018, the population of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang rose from 10.17 million to almost 12.72 million, an increase of 25.04%.
The growth rate is higher than that of the whole population in Xinjiang, which stands at 13.99%, higher than the 22.14% of all ethnic minorities and much higher than that of the Han population, which is 2%. All residents in Xinjiang fully enjoy their rights, including the right to subsistence and development. Languages, traditional cultures and customs of all ethnic minorities in Xinjiang have been well protected and inherited. Facts have proved that there has never been any genocide in Xinjiang. This is the biggest lie of the century deliberately concocted by extreme anti-China forces, and a ridiculous farce to smear and defame China. Some Canadian politicians have blatantly politicized sports, totally violating the spirit of the Olympic Charter and harming the interests of the international Olympic Movement and athletes from all countries.
Some people in Canada should abandon their anti-China bias, step outside from the dark room into the sunlight, look at China in an objective and fair way, rather than indulge in the obsolete mentality of ideological confrontation, still less play dumb and put domestic political strife or even partisan interests above the overall interests of China-Canada relations. Canada has always claimed to defend its values, but one of the most important values is to respect the fact. The relevant Canadian politicians have never been to Xinjiang or even China, but are spreading false information and lies on Xinjiang-related issues for the purpose of political manipulation under the cover of human rights. This is a travesty of the values they once claimed to champion.
I want to stress that Xinjiang affairs are entirely China’s internal affairs, and Canada is neither in any position nor entitled to interfere in them. China is determined to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests. China will firmly respond to any action that undermines its interests. The Globe and Mail: We have seen over the years that China has on many occasions, sent teams and task forces to investigate allegations of child labor, food safety and other issues of public concern here in China. Can you tell me what task forces have been launched to investigate the allegations of “systemic sexual abuses” in Xinjiang, not merely individual cases like you just referred to?
Wang Wenbin: I haven’t heard about any of the teams and task forces that you mentioned. On Xinjiang-related issues, including some other issues involving China’s internal affairs, there are a lot of slanders against China. In fact, the truth is often not that difficult to clarify. We hope that clear-eyed people, especially our friends from the media, can fulfill their due responsibility and stick to professional ethics. Before truth is verified, don’t jump to conclusions from one-sided stories, still less allowing themselves to be used as tools for spreading lies and rumors. The Globe and Mail: Just a follow-up on your last response to my question. If I understood you correctly, you said you’re not aware of any task forces to examine allegations of systemic abuse in Xinjiang. Without such an effort, how can the Chinese government assure us that no such abuses are taking place? And a related question, the foreign ministry here in China recently pointed out that 150,000 indigenous children were placed in Canada’s residential school system. Since 2017, what is the exact number of people who have been placed in what China calls vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang?
Wang Wenbin: First I’d like to tell you that the Chinese side, including the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, has clarified the truth and refuted lies about “systemic sexual abuses” in Xinjiang’s vocational education and training centers. I also talked about how these people created falsehoods.
After China has made clarification and presented the truth, fair-minded media outlets should at least avoid being biased or spreading lies and rumors about Xinjiang. This is what journalism requires.
As for your question on the trainees in Xinjiang, I’d like to say that they already graduated and now live a normal life in society.