Maintaining constitutional order of utmost importance

A symposium was held in Hong Kong on Wednesday to observe the country’s Constitution Day, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Wang Zhimin, director of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in attendance. Wang emphasized in his speech that maintaining the constitutional order of the HKSAR, anchored by the country’s Constitution and the Basic Law of HKSAR, is crucial to the faithful implementation of “one country, two systems”. Article 1 of the Basic Law stipulates:“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China.” That is Hong Kong’s constitutional status Wang referred to.

Maintaining Hong Kong’s constitutional status essentially requires the acknowledgement and fulfillment of the SAR’s constitutional obligation to safeguard national sovereignty and security. Clearly, the most basic step in doing this is to enact a national security law in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law. Unfortunately, 22 years into its establishment, the HKSAR has failed to fulfill this constitutional duty because of unrelenting obstruction by those with a traitorous mindset.

This legal vacuum has been repeatedly exploited by political instigators and opportunists to pit the SAR against the central government to the benefit of their foreign masters who have an ax to grind with Beijing. The shockingly treacherous behavior some political radicals and instigators exhibited in the past six months, including lobbying for foreign intervention, has made it all the more imperative for the SAR to plug this legal vacuum.

Maintaining the SAR’s constitutional status also requires Hong Kong people’s full respect for the authority of the central government and the Basic Law. But most importantly, they must sternly oppose any plot to use Hong Kong to engage in subversive activities against the country, which is in breach of the redline set by the Constitution and the Basic Law.

In her speech, Lam rightly vowed continued efforts to raise public awareness of the Constitution and the Basic Law in Hong Kong. Given the current situation in the HKSAR, the government is no doubt obligated to step up public education about the Constitution and Basic Law. Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland in 1997, there have been numerous attempts by separatist forces to undermine the exercise of “one country, two systems”, which were especially pronounced in the “black revolution” that has been ravaging Hong Kong for six months in wanton violation of the Basic Law and Hong Kong laws. This calls for increased public awareness of the Constitution and the Basic Law. After all, public awareness and correct understanding of the two is crucial to maintaining the SAR’s constitutional status and therefore its long-term stability and prosperity.