‘Patriots governing Hong Kong’ principle is a call of the times
A SYMPOSIUM on improving the institutional framework of “one country, two systems” and implementing the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” was held in Beijing Monday.
Participants of the symposium, organized by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, agreed that the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” is the essence of “one country, two systems.”
Prompt efforts are now needed to improve related systems in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), especially the electoral system, to effectively prevent and dissolve the risks in the governance architecture of the HKSAR.
China’s resumption of exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong can only be truly realized when the jurisdiction of Hong Kong is in the hands of the Chinese people who love the motherland and Hong Kong.
Upholding “patriots governing Hong Kong” is not a stringent standard but the bare minimum in order to ensure the implementation of “the people of Hong Kong governing Hong Kong” in the HKSAR.
Hong Kong’s transition from chaos to stability has once again demonstrated that the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” must be always upheld to ensure the steady and sustained implementation of “one country, two systems,” as President Xi Jinping has said when hearing the work report by HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam on January 27.
Long-term stability
This statement has shown the way forward for maintaining Hong Kong’s long-term stability.
In the past few years, Hong Kong witnessed some phenomena and problems that challenged the bottom line of “one country, two systems.” One of the direct causes is that the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” has not yet been put into effect in all fields of endeavor.
Some anti-China disruptors, “Hong Kong independence” elements and other radical separatists have been infiltrating into the governance architecture of the
HKSAR through loopholes of the region’s electoral system.
They had spread ideas of “Hong Kong independence,” resisted the jurisdiction of the central authorities, wantonly interfered with the governance of the HKSAR government, and begged for intervention from foreign anti-China forces.
These people are no doubt destroyers of “one country, two systems,” fermenting unrest in Hong Kong and bringing harm to China.
More and more far-sighted people have come to realize that implementing the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” is a shared responsibility of the Hong Kong society. The most critical and urgent task is to improve related systems, especially the electoral system.
We have every reason to believe that as long as the “patriots governing Hong Kong” principle is implemented stringently and the loopholes are plugged, Hong Kong is certain to have a brighter future with patriots playing the principal role in governance.
RESPONDING to concerns over rising bond defaults by some local state-owned enterprises, China has reiterated that the debt risk of central enterprises is generally under control.
The higher number of debt defaults by local SOEs should be attributed to multiple factors, including external factors such as the impact of COVID19 and market fluctuations, as well as internal factors such as enterprises growing blindly and poor management, according to Peng Huagang, secretary general of the State-owned
Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
To ease investor concern over SOE bond defaults, the commission pledged to promote the long-term healthy development of the financial market.
All violations, including fraudulent issuance, false disclosure, maliciously evading debts, should be severely punished, and investors’ legitimate rights and interests must be protected, Peng insisted.
“Only when the government practically implements strict supervision, issuing enterprises assume primary responsibility, and investing institutions improve the pricing ability of risky assets, can they jointly safeguard the financial ecology and the credit environment,” the official added.
He also noted that although the default rate of SOE bonds had increased recently, it was still below the market’s average level, and the default risk was generally controllable.
Central enterprises, meanwhile, had never defaulted on their bonds in recent years.
Despite last year’s difficulties, central enterprises had successfully fulfilled the target of “reducing the three-year asset-liability ratio by 2 percentage points” set by the State Council. The average debt ratio fell to 64.5 percent, a relatively healthy and safe level.
Hao Peng, director of the SASAC, said that it will push for net profit and total profits of central enterprises to grow at a faster pace than the national economy in 2021.
The SASAC will also raise the profit rate of operating income, increase the intensity of investment in research and development, and boost the productivity of all employees, while keeping the balance sheet ratio stable and controllable.
It will ensure that at least 70 percent of the three-year tasks of the SOE reform will be completed by the end of this year.