Top adviser urges city to retain uniqueness

Exco member Ronny Tong says HK’s characteristics do not contradict patriotism

A top government adviser has said the city should maintain its unique characteristics under the “one country, two systems” governing principle, warning against “overcorrection” in efforts to boost patriotism.

Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member of the Executive Council, told a Sunday radio programme that the city’s uniqueness did not contradict patriotism and that the country did not need another Shanghai or Shenzhen.

“China needs a Hong Kong under one country, two systems. One that speaks English, one that runs under the rule of law and common law, one with a society that is free, open and diverse,” he argued.

Tong added such attributes did not contradict patriotism, which he said had risen in a counterpunch of sentiment after the 2019 anti-government protests.

The former legislator noted there should be no situation under which one country, two systems was ignored because of patriotism, such as a recent move by authorities to remove books deemed as sensitive off the shelves at public libraries.

“I don’t agree with these types of opinions … Sometimes overcorrection is not necessarily a good thing,” he said without elaborating further or specifying which titles he felt should not have been taken down.

The city has undergone a Beijing-imposed political overhaul after the 2019 social unrest with the national security law enacted in 2020 to ban acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

The government later reformed the electoral system to create a “patriots-only” political landscape, with cuts in the number of seats up for the popular vote in the legislature, now dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers. Authorities have also pushed for patriotism in various industries, especially education sector.

Tong also said he agreed with calls by Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung for Civic Party chairman and co-founder Alan Leong Kah-kit to take responsibility for his behaviour during the 2019 protests.

Tong was among those who co-founded the party, but he quit in 2015 to pursue a more centrist political path and later became an Exco member.