1st national security day in HK
▶ Two laws help restore peace but city still faces risks
Hong Kong will embrace the National Security Education Day on Thursday for the first time with a number of activities to promote public awareness about national security as the city, once hit by black- clad protests and riots, is stepping up efforts to fix the local governance loopholes while enhancing education of the young generation to eradicate radical ideas brought by misunderstanding about the country.
The National Security Education Day, the first since the highly anticipated national security law for Hong Kong took effect last June, comes as the city is accelerating local law amendments in meeting the essential requirements of electoral reform. Both the national security law for Hong Kong and the ongoing electoral reform play a fundamental role of sweeping out secessionist and subversive forces, saving the city from the cliff of “color revolution” – a major risk the Chinese government has vowed to fend off.
Prior to the national security law for Hong Kong, local society lacked an institutional bottom line to guard against national security threats, leading some people to endanger Hong Kong’s security through various activities, Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong studies at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times.
“The introduction of the national security law has helped restore this bottom line, but the acts endangering national security are more insidious in their political activities,” Li said. “They have long infiltrated Hong Kong politics at various levels, hindering normal political activities and paralyzing the political system.”
This problem cannot be solved through Hong Kong politics itself, and Li noted that introducing Hong Kong electoral reform is the only way to solve this problem once and for all.
Senior officials and authorities on Hong Kong affairs have already noted that the months- long violent protests in 2019 had obvious characteristics of a color revolution. Some Western countries like the US and the UK interfered in Hong Kong affairs, colluding with local political figures in order to paralyze local governance.
Radical and extreme opposition figures, who occasionally worked closely with foreign countries’ representatives or begged for foreign sanctions on the HKSAR and the central government in the past, now have no room in local political life. Electoral reform effectively screens out those who fail to meet the basic requirement of “patriots governing the city.”
Secretary for Security John Lee Kachiu said that the city still faces two major national security risks. Some advocating for “Hong Kong independence” have not abandoned the pursuit. Meanwhile, some radical figures with extreme ideas have become “chess pieces” for foreign countries and may adopt “lone wolf attacks.”
Some radical figures have become “chess pieces” for foreign countries and may adopt “lone wolf attacks.”