By Wang Zhenmin
Hong Kong has been put in chaos for about 100 days. While many of the arguments of the violent protesters become increasingly invalid, the truth gradually comes out in the wash. What actually happened in Hong Kong? Where is the way out?
If what they want is merely to oppose the amendments to the extradition law, then the protesters already got their wish three months ago.
But they continued with protests and constantly escalated violence, indicating that those who planned, organized and supported the violent protests must have some ulterior motive at the very beginning.
The demonstrations that took place in the past were basically staged in a peaceful manner, where the protesters immediately stopped after they made their points.
This time, however, these radicals don’t seem to give up until they destabilize or even destroy Hong Kong to realize the ultimate goal of putting China in a mess and hindering the progress of the country.
Under such circumstances, the first priority is still to stop the violence, end the chaos and restore order.
The situation is already very clear. The current chaos in Hong Kong has nothing to do with human rights, freedom or democracy. It is blatant violence, some of which has gone far beyond the bottom line of human civilization, morality and the rule of law. Meanwhile, human rights are seriously distorted and abused in such violence.
To stop violence requires Hong Kong police to enforce the law in a professional, effective and solemn way. After all, it is their statutory duty to resort to forceful and appropriate measures to restrain the radicals and defend themselves.
Hong Kong compatriots have had enough of it. It has become a widely held belief that violence should be stopped and the rule of law and order be restored. It is time that every resident took action to safeguard their homeland and no one should stand aloof.
The compatriots on the mainland and overseas Chinese, especially the netizens, need to control their emotions and avoid causing further harm to Hong Kong compatriots by acting on impulse.
Every time China got into trouble in the past, Hong Kong compatriots were always there to support their motherland, which everyone in the country should never forget.
If Hong Kong gets sick, China will also feel the pains and suffer from the loss. The evil forces deliberately create conflicts between the mainland and Hong Kong and make us turn against each other. Every Chinese must be highly vigilant and not fall into the trap of the enemies.
The rest of us should sincerely care about Hong Kong compatriots, especially the young generation, effectively helping them solve practical problems. The incident will never shake our love, support and confidence for Hong Kong.
We should make it clear that China will never give up Hong Kong and will always be the rock of Hong Kong compatriots.
The rule of law in Hong Kong has encountered unprecedented challenges and been cornered to the verge of destruction. The best way to defend the rule of law is to employ rightful thinking and measures to deal with the disorder in Hong Kong.
It is necessary to make use of all resources available, including the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and other laws in Hong Kong, to overcome all the obstacles and difficulties, to resolutely defend the authority of the Constitution and the Basic Law, and to restore order in Hong Kong.
In addition, we should not exclude any possibilities and prepare for everything that may happen. The country will never shy away from its constitutional responsibility for Hong Kong.
“One country, two systems” modelis not an expedient, but a long-term strategy of the country. The central government has always been sincerely and carefully. The practice of “one country, two systems” for more than 20 years has also been very successful.
Despite this incident, the central government will continue to unswervingly adopt the “one country, two systems” policy, making sure that its practice remains convincing.
Of course, the government also needs to find out the deficiencies in the policy and take practical measures to ensure its effective implementation in the future.
Foreign hostile forces need to stop intervening in Hong Kong affairs, supporting or inciting violence and misleading the young people.
The Hong Kong violence revealed to Chinese mainlanders the true colors of the human rights, freedom and democracy in the West.
While the United States and the United Kingdom are increasingly divided from within, Chinese people should remain united under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China that centers around Comrade Xi Jinping so as to win the special war under the current circumstances.
(Professor Wang Zhenmin is the director of the Center for Hong Kong and Macao Studies at China’s Tsinghua University, and former director of the legal affairs department of the central government’s liaison office in the Hong Kong SAR.)
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