(25th Anniversary of Hong Kong's Return to China) Interview with Deng Bingqiang: Hong Kong must also guard against risks after realizing the transition from chaos to governance
China News Agency, Hong Kong, June 26th, title: Interview with Deng Bingqiang: Hong Kong must also guard against risks after realizing the transition from chaos to governance
Author Yang Chengchen Zhu He
"Since the promulgation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, under the principle of 'patriots ruling Hong Kong', Hong Kong has been transformed from chaos to rule. Of course, risks still exist." On the eve of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Deng Bingqiang, Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, was interviewed by reporters. time said.
He analyzed that the current risks that Hong Kong needs to guard against are: first, local terrorism arising from the "revision storm" in 2019, including "lone wolf-style" sabotage, assaulting police, etc.; second, terrorist activities in the form of small groups, such as making Explosives, dropping bombs on public transportation, etc. The third is the intrusion of some external forces, including the use of proxies to influence the stability of Hong Kong and the country.
"(Once) there is evidence that someone violates the National Security Law or other laws and endangers national security, we must strictly enforce the law. In addition, we will also promote legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law to supplement the situations that the National Security Law cannot cover." Deng Bingqiang emphasized that it is necessary to cultivate The patriotic awareness and national security awareness of Hong Kong citizens.
In addition to publicity and promotion for national security, different agencies and departments in the Hong Kong SAR must also consider national security factors when revising laws and formulating policies.
In 2021, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the "Film Censorship (Amendment) Bill 2021", putting national security into the consideration of film censorship; this year, Hong Kong began to implement regulations on telecommunications registered subscriber identification cards, and implemented a real-name registration system for prepaid telephone cards.
In Deng Bingqiang's view, these are specific measures introduced by the Hong Kong SAR to safeguard national security to ensure that the social turmoil in 2019 will not happen again.
He said that safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity is an important responsibility and obligation of Hong Kong.
The SAR government is also responsible for strengthening publicity to schools, social groups, and the media, and at the same time assumes management responsibilities.
This is also an important measure to fully implement the principles of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy, so that Hong Kong can maintain long-term prosperity and stability.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is actively promoting the legislation related to Article 23 of the Basic Law, and the Security Bureau undertakes a major task.
Deng Bingqiang introduced that promoting the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law is Hong Kong's constitutional responsibility and a practical need. It mainly targets seven crimes.
The areas covered by the existing laws cannot fully cover the entire contents of Article 23 of the Basic Law, which also shows that Hong Kong needs to legislate for Article 23 of the Basic Law.
In 2003, the Hong Kong SAR government released a bill on the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law.
He said that from 2003 to the present, there have been many different situations. We need to focus on what happened in the past few years, and at the same time refer to the overall laws of the country to carry out local legislation to maintain national security.
We will do our best to enact Article 23 of the Basic Law as soon as possible so that Hong Kong can fully prepare for some national security challenges in the future.
As an international city, Hong Kong has always been backed by the motherland and facing the world.
Deng Bingqiang said that Hong Kong's convenience in the flow of people, goods and funds will also attract some people who have ulterior motives and even break the law.
The SAR Government has also been actively taking measures in these areas, including jointly combating crimes through bilateral and multilateral agreements, and jointly handling cases with agencies in the Mainland and other countries, so as to prevent Hong Kong from becoming a safe haven for criminals.
(Finish)