Celebrities call for mechanism guarantee for 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong' with patriots as mainstay

HONG KONG -- After "patriots governing Hong Kong" was stressed at a high-level symposium on Monday, celebrities here said the principle should be the basic political ethic in Hong Kong and called for more efforts to improve related systems for steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems."

Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said the spirit of the principle is reflected in the drafting of the Basic Law and has shown its significance since Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

The principle has never changed but anti-China disruptors took advantage of the imperfect related systems to bring chaos to Hong Kong, Yip Kin-ming, a Hong Kong member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said.

"Patriots governing Hong Kong" is the precondition of effective governance in Hong Kong and accurate implementation of "one country, two systems," he said.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said in a statement that to improve related systems of "patriots governing Hong Kong" concerns the success of "one country, two systems," the fundamental interests of the country, and Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability.

Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, anti-China disruptors and "Hong Kong independence" radicals have entered the power structure of the HKSAR through loopholes in the electoral systems to obstruct the policies of the government and damage the well-being of Hong Kong people.

The Hong Kong Coalition also said unpatriotic people who enter the power structure will completely deny "one country, two systems," the Constitution and the Basic Law, resist the central authorities, and collude with foreign forces, which will seriously jeopardize Hong Kong's stability and threaten the national sovereignty, security and development interests.

Given the significance of the principle to Hong Kong's future, appeals have been rising in Hong Kong to improve related systems as soon as possible.

The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong voiced full support for the principle and called for specific measures to improve electoral systems at various levels so that Hong Kong's democratic system will advance in a healthy and smooth manner.

The HKSAR should improve the electoral systems to ensure candidates recognize the constitutional order of the country and Hong Kong, genuinely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and fully protect Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, Yiu Chi-shing, president of the Hong Kong Association for Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, said.

In a joint statement, pro-establishment Legislative Council (LegCo) members also called for efforts to improve Hong Kong's electoral system, with the Constitution and the Basic Law abided by, the central authorities fully respected and the executive-led system genuinely enforced.

Take a look at various places in the world, bearing loyalty to the country is the most basic political ethic for politicians.

Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy director of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee under the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said more than 150 countries required public officers to swear to safeguard the national sovereignty, abide by constitutions and protect national interests.

"It is natural for people entering the power structure in the HKSAR to love the country and Hong Kong," she said.

President of the LegCo Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said it is also a basic principle in many countries that key public posts are held by patriots and he believes that most Hong Kong people are patriotic and will actively contribute to the governance of Hong Kong.

As anti-China disruptors have become the agents of foreign forces in Hong Kong, it is welcomed and supported by Hong Kong people to expel them out of the governance structure, Ng Woon-yim, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Fujian Associations, said.