HK society should come together to protect rule of law, legal experts say

Legal experts on Saturday called on the Hong Kong society to form a united front to safeguard rule of law to steer the city out of the current turmoil.

The remarks were made by renowned legal experts from Hong Kong, Macao and Chinese mainland at a seminar in Shenzhen. The seminar, organized by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and attended by 40 experts, revisited a speech by the late State leader Deng Xiaoping, the architect of “one country, two systems” principle.

Calling the recent waves of violence a war on the “one country, two systems”, Xu Ze, head of the association - the nation's leading Hong Kong affairs think tank, said Hong Kong will risk being destroyed if such violence undermining the fundamental interests of the city and the nation continues.

Hong Kong society needs to reach a consensus and form a united force to safeguard the city and its rule of law, Xu said.

In a meeting with the committee for drafting the Basic Law of the SAR in 1987, Deng said “the central government certainly will not intervene in the day-to-day affairs of the special administrative region, nor is that necessary,” but he also raised question that what if some people try to convert Hong Kong into a base of opposition to the mainland under the pretext of “democracy”?

His answer was “we would have no choice but to take actions; first the administrative bodies in Hong Kong should intervene; mainland troops stationed there would be used only if there were serious disturbances.”

Since June 9, Hong Kong has seen a spate of violence and vandalism sparked by the extradition bill. Chaos and mayhem have continued to descend the city after the government announced its decision to suspend the bill on June 15. Amid the waves of attacks on the city’s rule of law, masked radicals also trashed national emblems and flags repeatedly, despite strong criticism from the community.

In light of the wanton challenge on the “one country, two systems”, Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy director of the Hong Kong SAR Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said it is the central government’s right and duty to take actions to ensure Hong Kong’s stability if an unrest broke out.

Tam said the PLA Hong Kong Garrison is an important component in fully implementing the “one country, two systems”.

She said if turmoil emerged in Hong Kong, the central government can and must step in, so that the principle of “one country, two systems” can go back to the right track.

Echoing Tam, Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the association, said when designing the system of the special administrative region and drafting the Basic Law, the central government made arrangements for possible unrest in Hong Kong.

Thus, according to the established system and laws, even if the central government takes actions to quell Hong Kong’s turmoil, it doesn’t mean the end of “one country, two systems”, on the contrary, it is to carry out its duty, Lau noted.

Lau, however, said it is better to let Hong Kong solve the matter by itself, to show its wisdom and ability to govern the city and safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and fundamental interests.