By Zhong Sheng
Certain U.S. politicians’ backing up anti-China rioters who attempt to disrupt China’s Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is in fact a bald-faced act of challenging international
justice with double standards.
As perfectly justifiable as it is for any sovereign state to safeguard its national security, when
China starts to make efforts at the state level to establish and improve the legal system and
enforcement mechanisms for its HKSAR to safeguard national security, certain politicians in
Western countries, including the U.S., become anxious.
They have made irresponsible remarks about and pointed fingers at China, and even threatened
and imposed pressure on the country by saying that “they will react strongly” and “reassess Hong
Kong’s special status”. These people have actually been interfering in China’s internal affairs and
sabotaging the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.
National security legislation is a matter that falls under the powers of the central government. In
any country of the world, unitary and federal alike, the national security legislation belongs to the
legislative power of the state.
The central government of a country has the greatest and ultimate responsibility to safeguard the
country’s national security and is entitled to and exercises all necessary rights. This is the basic
theory and principle of national sovereignty as well as a common practice of various countries in
the world.
It’s natural and necessary for China to safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and
development interests, and maintain the prosperity and stability of its HKSAR by implementing
relevant provisions concerning safeguarding national security in its Constitution and the Basic
Law of the HKSAR, as well as the decisions and deployments made at the fourth plenary session
of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), establishing and
improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the SAR to safeguard national
security, and supporting the city in enhancing its law enforcement capability.
It’s imperative and there should be no delay for China to establish and improve the legal system
and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security.
Since the disturbances triggered last June by the revision of the extradition bill in Hong Kong,
groups advocating “Hong Kong’s independence” and local radical separatists have frequently
collude with external forces to challenge and break the bottom line of the “one country, two
systems” principle, gravely threatening China’s national security.
Some radicals have openly advocated “Hong Kong’s independence”, touted “gaining
independence through armed revolution” and “public square constitution”. They even clamored
that they are fighting this war in the frontier for the U.S.
These radicals also insulted and burned the Chinese national flag, stained Chinese national
emblem, and attacked offices of the central government in Hong Kong and organs of the SAR
government.
Moreover, violent radicals in Hong Kong have set street fires and thrown gasoline bombs and
napalm bombs around, constantly escalating their misdeeds and eventually turning which into
homegrown terrorist attacks.
The violent activities of radical protesters have seriously endangered China’s national security and
posed huge threats to Hong Kong’s efforts to maintain prosperity and stability, as well as carry
forward the “one country, two systems” principle.
No country can allow activities that split it or endanger its national security in its territory.
Western countries, such as the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and Canada, all have complete national
security laws that explicitly stipulate that anyone who engages in acts of secession, terrorism,
treason, espionage, subversion of state power, sedition and other crimes will be sentenced to over
ten years in prison, or probably life imprisonment or death.
In particular, the U.S. has a long list of laws aimed at safeguarding national security. Shortly after
the 9/11 attacks, the country introduced a bunch of relevant laws including the Patriot Act and the
Homeland Security Act.
In the U.S., deliberately spreading information or persuading others to overthrow the government
by force constitutes the crime of subversion of state power and can lead to up to 20 years in
prison, while those who betrayed the country or offered help to enemies of the U.S. can be
sentenced to no less than five years in prison or death.
As for homegrown terrorists, the U.S. police have the right to search their phones, emails, as well
as all kinds of records, including medical records and financial records, so as to cut off extremists’
any possible access to the U.S.
The country has also enacted laws to enhance national security education. Besides, the U.S.
government has funded courses and relevant studies on national security in institutions of higher
education and scientific research institutions.
While building an ironclad system to safeguard national security at home and even brazenly
imposing restrictions and “long-arm jurisdiction” on foreign investment under the excuse of
national security, certain politicians in the U.S. attempt to sabotage China’s national security
network and obstruct China’s efforts to safeguard its national security.
What typical logic of robbers and double standards these politicians follow!
Without long-term peace and order there will be no development or prosperity. The proposal to
establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms at the state level for the
HKSAR to safeguard national security has demonstrated that Chinese government’s resolve to
safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and development interests has never changed, nor has
the country’s determination to oppose any external force’s interference in Hong Kong affairs.
It’s believed that anyone in the world who genuinely hopes for long-term peace and order in Hong
Kong and steady progress of the “one country, two systems” principle understands and supports
the justifiable move of China.
By arbitrarily blaming China’s efforts to better guarantee long-term stability and peace in Hong
Kong, certain politicians of Western countries, including the U.S., have completely exposed their
true colors and the fact that they don’t want to be responsible for people in Hong Kong at all.
It’s beyond all question that playing double standards runs counter to justice and is despised by the
world all along.
Any attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs by meddling in Hong Kong affairs will be
proven wishful thinking that is bound to fail.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)
