The 27th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) unanimous voted to pass the amendments on the Annex I and Annex II of the Basic Law of Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) on Tuesday, marking the completion of the second step of “decision plus amendment” to improve the electoral system of the HKSAR. The passage of the amendment is a key part to perfect the system of the “one country, two systems”, through which an improved electoral system will push forward the stable development of Hong Kong’s democracy, achieving better administration of Hong Kong and also consolidating the legal foundation for Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.
After the turmoil, it is Hong Kong people’s collective aspiration to restore order. During the process of improving Hong Kong’s electoral system, all walks of Hong Kong people gave their advice, eagerly hoping to improve the electoral system and avoid the recurring of the crisis of the anti-extradition bill protests. It is the consensus of 7.5 million Hong Kong people that Hong Kong cannot be in unrest anymore. From the establishment of the candidate qualification review committee to the reconstruction and empowerment of the electoral committee, the amended Annex I and Annex II can better tighten the “safety valve” of Hong Kong’s electoral system, making sure the power of governing Hong Kong is firmly held in the hands of patriots who truly love Hong Kong.
Elections are crucial components of a political system, which concern winning or losing people’s support, whether the society is a safe one or not and if businesses can thrive. Since the anti-extradition bill protests, the chaos in Hong Kong indicated the systematic loopholes and flaws in its electoral system. The anti-China disruptors, instigators of Hong Kong unrest and radical separatist forces entered HKSAR’s governing structure through these kinds of elections. They interfered in the SAR government’s administration, vainly attempted to acquire the power to govern Hong Kong, colluded with street violence inflictors and worked as assistants for exterior forces to stick their noses deeply into Hong Kong affairs. It is those who incited and indulged violence in the district council, created chaos in the Legislation Council and advocated “Hong Kong independence” as civil servants that are the largest stumbling stone for Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. Letting patriots govern Hong Kong and knocking out those instigators of Hong Kong unrest is the inevitable path for Hong Kong to walk out of the political mire.
Stability is the premise of development, which is also what all people desire. It has been well-recognized that some Western countries create confrontation and conflicts in other countries to overturn the governments, cause social unrest and result in the suffering of the peoples. Facts have proven that color revolutions can bring no democracy or freedom but turmoil and darkness. Which also proves that without stability, people cannot live or work in peace and contentment, and the country cannot achieve long-lasting governance. Hong Kong must cut off the collusion between the internal and external forces, stay on guard and resist the external forces’ attempt to introduce a “color revolution” and pave the path for Hong Kong to have united hearts and set off again with a stable environment.
From this perspective, who Hong Kong’s elections choose to execute public power is not about abandoning democracy or not. Instead, it’s an issue about securing the governance, anti-subversion and anti-infiltration. The key point of this improvement for Hong Kong’s electoral system lies in strengthening the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, severing the passageway in the system that anti-China disruptors and instigators of Hong Kong unrest use to seize power, preventing the interruptions on the operation of the Legislation Council and the SAR governance from happening again and ensuring there will be no one abducting public opinions to create social unrest anymore. Only if the civil servants hold patriotism and loving Hong Kong as their code of conduct, can they better fulfill the expectations of 7.5 million Hong Kong people, fully represent the collective interest of Hong Kong society, restore the economy, benefit Hong Kong people’s livelihood and drag Hong Kong back the right track of development and prosperity.
The prolonged social unrest has eroded the social foundation of Hong Kong’s society, which the SAR cannot withstand any longer. Support the improvement of the electoral system and support the SAR to finish its local legislation accordingly, and Hong Kong can get rid of the constraints, step out of the political mire and build a brighter future with united hearts.
(Compiled by Qiao Wai)