The SAR government on Monday announced that the central government had agreed to start discussions on the notification mechanism between Hong Kong and the mainland law enforcement agencies. It is now official that the central government authorities will work with SAR officials from Hong Kong to improve the existing channels of communication between the mainland and Hong Kong by updating the notification mechanism for a start.

This can be seen as the first formal response from the central government to the recent public concerns over some of the mainland law enforcement practices that have affected Hong Kong residents. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying wrote to the central government last week to convey public concern over the Causeway Bay bookstore incident and to propose reviewing the cross-boundary notification mechanism.

This is in recognition of Hong Kong society's wish for greater transparency in judicial exercises involving Hong Kong residents on the mainland. But it should not be taken as a sign of a willingness to go easy on Hong Kong residents who violate mainland laws. Hong Kong society holds rule of law as one of its core values for an obvious reason - and let us all keep in mind the importance of abiding by the law no matter where we are.

Certain political parties and individuals have been trying to convince the international community as well as the Hong Kong public that a particular owner of Causeway Bay Books is a "hero" because he deliberately broke mainland laws out of political motives, although this person never said this outright. And, because several bookstore co-owners or managers were required to assist mainland authorities to investigate into illegal activities they were involved in, those politically biased parties and individuals have declared the "One Country, Two Systems" promise "broken".

The truth is the central government has never wavered over the faithful and effective implementation of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle in Hong Kong. The opposition camp here has been misinterpreting the "One Country, Two Systems" policy to justify its political bias and completely untrue accusations against the central government. It has apparently forgotten that the Lady Justice wears a blindfold and nothing good comes out of unlawful behavior anywhere.

In other words, the "One Country, Two Systems" policy cannot be used as a shield for illegal acts by anyone anywhere.

(HK Edition 06/28/2016 page10)