[Editor's Note] Zhang Xiaoming, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, published a signed article in the People's Daily today, titled "Uphold and Improve the "One Country, Two Systems" Institutional System." The article thoroughly studies and imp

[Editor's Note] Zhang Xiaoming, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, published a signed article in the People's Daily today, titled "Uphold and Improve the "One Country, Two Systems" Institutional System." The article thoroughly studies and implements the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, demonstrating the country's determination and perseverance to adhere to and improve the "one country, two systems" institutional system. Zhang Xiaoming mentioned in the article: Hong Kong has not completed the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, nor has it established a corresponding executive agency. This is also one of the main reasons why the activities of local radical separatist forces such as "Hong Kong independence" have intensified in recent years. Establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanism to safeguard national security and strengthening law enforcement have become prominent issues and urgent tasks before the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and people from all walks of life.

Some people believe that the country may focus on promoting the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law in the future. Why are the "Twenty-Three Articles" so critical? What role does it play in achieving Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and promoting the country's comprehensive governance over Hong Kong? Since the "extradition bill storm", what are the footprints of foreign forces involved in Hong Kong's chaos, and what are their respective plans? With these questions, "Zhi News" today conducted an exclusive interview with Chen Shaobo, director of the National Association for Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

[Background link] "Article 23" is: Article 23 of the "Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China", which is an article regarding national security in Hong Kong, including treason, secession, and incitement to subvert state power. It is a constitutional provision that provides legislative guidance on many provisions such as the crime of subversion, subversion of the state, and theft of state secrets. It is worth noting that the "Twenty-Three Articles" have not actually been implemented into law. Due to historical reasons, the Basic Law only stipulates that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government can legislate relevant provisions on its own at an appropriate time. From 2002 to 2003, the then Chief Executive of the SAR, Tung Chee-hwa, promoted the "Twenty-Three Articles" legislation, but encountered some resistance in the Legislative Council and at the social level, which hindered the legislative process.

[Guest in this issue] Chen Shaobo, director of the National Association for Hong Kong and Macao Studies

The following is the transcript of the interview:

Direct News: What do you think of this article published by Director Zhang Xiaoming at this time?

Chen Shaobo: Now when we judge and study the Hong Kong issue, there is a keynote: How does the central government view the Hong Kong issue? I think there are three speeches that need attention: the first is that on August 7 this year, Director Zhang Xiaoming held a symposium on the situation in Hong Kong in Shenzhen, where he proposed a tone of "stop violence, control chaos, and restore order"; The two important speeches were some new statements on the Hong Kong issue at the Fourth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee; the third was President Xi's important speech in Brazil on the situation in Hong Kong. What is very important here is a statement in the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which said: Establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanism for special administrative regions and safeguarding national security. Then Director Zhang Xiaoming’s article in the People’s Daily is an interpretation of the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which is an expansion of the Fourth Plenary Session’s statement about Hong Kong. Among them, the core issue and the issue that everyone is most concerned about is how to maintain national security? What kind of legal system should be established? How to improve this legal system? What kind of execution mechanism should be established? This time it’s all laid out in the article.

Because Article 23 legislation has been a topic of great concern to Hong Kong society for a long time. Judging from the development of the storm over the amendment bill in the past six months, the main problem with such chaos and crisis in Hong Kong is that there is no corresponding legal system and no corresponding enforcement mechanism to safeguard the country. Without the establishment and improvement of such a legal system and enforcement mechanism, national security cannot be effectively maintained. This is a fundamental interest of the country in Hong Kong. In addition to safeguarding "one country, two systems" and ensuring the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, more importantly, we must safeguard the country's sovereignty, development and security interests in Hong Kong. This is a fundamental issue. This needs to be based on the law. Only with the law can we act in accordance with the law and achieve comprehensive governance of Hong Kong.

Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, wrote an article in the People’s Daily today.

Zhi News: We have always said that stopping violence and chaos is the top priority at this stage. If Article 23 legislation is now put on the agenda, will there be a big backlash in Hong Kong society, such as an increase in violence?

Chen Shaobo: I think that if Article 23 legislation is proposed at any time, it may arouse great concern from the society in Hong Kong, including some backlash. But for the country, this is a fundamental interest. No matter when, no matter how difficult or how big the backlash is, such a legislative process should be pushed forward. The advancement of such legislation is the fundamental policy for maintaining the long-term peace and order of Hong Kong. Only in this way can the relevant enforcement mechanisms be used to effectively combat and punish all attempts to incite riots in Hong Kong, attempt to subvert the SAR government, turn Hong Kong into an anti-China base, and use Hong Kong as a fulcrum to leverage peace and stability on the mainland.

Direct News: For a long time, we have mainly relied on the police to enforce laws and regulations to stop violence and chaos, but the education system actually has some problems. Today, the Secretary for Education of Hong Kong stated that he will seriously follow up on teachers who commit violence and those who are arrested. What do you think of his statement?

Chen Shaobo: I think this will have a very important warning effect. Because we have seen that for a long time in the past, only the police force played an important role in stopping violence and chaos in Hong Kong. There are also other government departments, but the number and scale are not large enough. So the Education Bureau made such a statement , which shows that all departments of the entire SAR government are taking action. Only when all departments mobilize and everyone works together to stop violence and chaos can the entire society restore order as soon as possible. Another level is that Hong Kong has many deep-seated conflicts, such as land and housing issues; education and national education are also long-standing problems in Hong Kong. If Hong Kong wants to achieve long-term peace and stability and realize the return of people's hearts, education reform must be achieved.

This involves three aspects of issues: the first is the textbook issue, the second is the teacher issue, and the third is the exam orientation and exam question setting issues. At these three levels, the Education Bureau has the unshirkable responsibility to introduce more and more effective measures to carry out reforms.

During the “extradition bill controversy”, we could often see people waving the American “Stars and Stripes”.

Zhi News: In addition, regarding the issue of external forces interfering in Hong Kong, these external forces include the United States. What do you think of their motives and intentions in trying to mess up Hong Kong? How to counter it?

Chen Shaobo: As an international city, external forces have always existed in Hong Kong. But regarding Hong Kong’s policy intervention, we may have a clearer view of it during this “extradition bill storm”. It is completely a "color revolution" operation method. From the propaganda slogans, the construction of the online platform, to the organization of the entire parade, including some "human chains" and "Hong Kong Independence Song", there are external forces behind it. Traces of operation. So for external forces, we first need to understand what the external forces are trying to do to disrupt Hong Kong. The second one is the need to establish a coping mechanism as mentioned just now. We need relevant legislation to clearly regulate and manage the operation of external forces in Hong Kong. The existence of external forces in Hong Kong is a reality and has a long history. But that doesn’t mean we sit back and watch them interfere in Hong Kong and use Hong Kong to subvert the country. This is absolutely not allowed.

For external forces, they used Hong Kong as a battlefield in 2019 and wanted to use Hong Kong as a frontier for the confrontation between Chinese and Western politics, ideologies, and values. External forces want to mess up Hong Kong and use Hong Kong as a fulcrum to influence the politics of the mainland and affect the economy and people's livelihood issues. This is something that the central government will never allow. This is a disruption to the overall interests of our country. .

Many of the dirty deeds of the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Hong Kong ultimately pointed to election manipulation.

Direct News: There is still more than a month until Taiwan’s 2020 election. These small actions of the DPP authorities in Hong Kong are actually quite obvious and have left many traces. What do you think of their plans?

Chen Shaobo: I think Taiwan’s power in Hong Kong is not monolithic. It comes from various aspects and is quite complex. On the one hand, there are the Democratic Progressive Party, members of the "Sunflower Student Movement", and some more radical forces, such as the "Force of the Times", such as the "Taiwan Foundation Progressive Party", as well as some churches and intelligence agencies. He was deeply involved in the entire "revision controversy". However, their demands are not quite consistent. For the DPP, what does it mean to eat "human blood steamed buns"? It mainly uses the social shock caused by the unrest in Hong Kong to accuse the failure of "one country, two systems" and makes it an important election issue. against his election opponents. Then inciting Taiwanese people's distrust and fear of "one country, two systems" to gain votes, this is the intention of the DPP.

Source: Shenzhen Satellite TV live broadcast of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan