It is necessary to deter acts of violence, separatism and interference by foreign forces, said Lo Huynin, Head of the Office of the Central People’s Government of China in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong should “as soon as possible” adopt its own national security law to deter acts of violence, separatism and interference by foreign forces in its internal affairs. Such a call was made on Wednesday by Lo Huynin, head of the office of the Central People’s Government in this special administrative region.
“It is in Hong Kong’s fundamental interests to have a mechanism for ensuring state security”, – RTHK radio station quoted an official as saying.
The representative of Beijing stated that in recent years, external forces have tried to interfere in every way in Hong Kong’s affairs, and the anti-government protest movement that broke out last summer has dealt “a serious blow to the rule of law.
Lo Huynin, who took office in January this year, also stressed that the current fight against the coronavirus pandemic “is also a matter of national security”.
An unpopular bill
The basic law of Hong Kong contains “article 23”, which provides that local authorities must draft and adopt their own legislation to combat subversive anti-State activities. Attempts to initiate such a law were made back in 2003, but failed due to mass protests of local residents – 500 thousand people took to the streets. They feared that a law passed in the interests of Beijing would infringe on democratic rights and freedoms of local people. As a result, the authorities in that autonomous territory refused to adopt the law immediately and postponed it indefinitely.
New protests in Hong Kong
In June 2019, large-scale anti-government protests began in Hong Kong against the intention of local authorities to pass an extradition bill allowing for the extradition of offenders to mainland China. Despite the withdrawal of this legislative initiative, opposition supporters continued the riots. They were periodically accompanied by road blockades, violence, arson and vandalism. From mid-November, the situation in the city calmed down, with rallies held in a peaceful manner.