By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: A draft decision on improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will bring long-term stability, peace and prosperity for its people, a scholar has said.
The draft decision will also lay a solid foundation for implementing the “one country, two systems” principle, Manzoor Afridi, an associate professor on international relations at the International Islamic University, Islamabad, said in a recent interview.
The draft decision was submitted Friday to the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) of China for deliberation.
“I think it is very much important for the NPC to establish and improve the legal system and the enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security,” said the political expert.
The violent protests in Hong Kong last year seriously threatened the stability and peace of the special administrative region, in addition to posing a severe challenge to China’s national security and unity, he said.
The scholar noted that the opposition forces in Hong Kong tried to play a double game by trying to topple the HKSAR government on one hand and challenging the authority of the state on the other.
“The chaos not only threatened ‘one country, two systems,’ but also shattered the delicate fabric of the society and the rule of law in Hong Kong, putting citizens’ legitimate rights in danger,” he said.
Some foreign nationals reportedly were not only participating in the violent protests against the government, but leading the protests in Hong Kong, Afridi said, citing foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs.
In November last year, the United States passed a bill “that back(s) radical protesters in Hong Kong, exposing the malicious and hegemonic nature of the United States and its involvement in undermining the stability and peace of the region,” he said.
Under such circumstances, there is a necessity of legislation in exigency to address actions deemed detrimental to state security, which will further safeguard the freedom and rights of the people as well as interests of the business community and foreign investors in Hong Kong, he said.
“It is the power of the NPC and common practice among countries to enact their national security legislation,” he said, adding that the national security legislation for the HKSAR is in line with China’s Constitution and the Basic Law of the HKSAR.
