The signature picture of China’s Two Sessions(two plenums of the National People’s Congress(NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) this year is the one that captures the moment of the entire Presidium giving a standing ovation to Xi Jinping rising up to the center stage. The most eye-catching media gossip is a single attendant holding a jug at Xi’s service, and his two glasses. The motion of the Two Sessions this year that hogs the limelight is the deliberation on the (Draft) Decision of the NPC on Improving the Electoral System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(HKSAR). Despite ranking 7 on the agenda, the motion was elaborated on the very first day by Wang Chen, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC. The repetitive coverage and analysis of it by party-run media and the foreign propaganda machine proves the motion the most CCP(Chinese Communist Party)-style among all in the Two Sessions this year.

On the inauguration day of the NPC, both the People’s Daily and the Xinhua News Agency issued a heavyweight commentary, putting forward the notion “improving the electoral system of the HKSAR is imperative and time-sensitive”, explaining that according to Wang Chen’s elaboration, improving the electoral system of the HKSAR amounts to reconstruction of the Election Committee which is responsible for selecting the Chief Executive, as well as amendment to how the Chief Executive is selected, how the Legislative Council is formed, and Annex 1 and 2 to the Basic Law. Although he accentuated it has nothing to do with amendment to the main text of the Basic Law, the original Annex 1 and 2 and the related amendment will be repealed after the amendment to Annex 1 and 2 is accomplished and announced by law, and the HKSAR will make corresponding amendment to the local laws concerned accordingly. To the Hong Kong electorate, that is tantamount to having universal suffrage, the ultimate goal they have been striving for since always, taken away from the Basic Law, altering the Hong Kong political system from the ground up. In light of this, the guiding principle of governing Hong Kong – “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong and high degree of autonomy - drawn up by Deng Xiaoping is totally obliterated.

Last July, the SAR government disqualified 12 pro-democracy representatives from running in the election for a new office term of the LegCo. In November, the administration declared 4 pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified from their incumbent seats in the LegCo according to a decision made by the Standing Committee of the NPC. Meanwhile, the Liaison Office and Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office cited time and again Deng’s 1986 remarks: “Let Hong Kong people with patriots as the mainstay rule Hong Kong.”

Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, had a private session earlier with people from different sectors of Hong Kong for two consecutive days. He said “regarding the worst among those opposing China and stirring up trouble in Hong Kong, like Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Joshua Wong Chi-fung, not only should they be barred from encroaching on the public power of the HKSAR, but also penalized by law for their illicit behaviors”. Obviously, he meant tackling the advocates of civil rights movements such as Occupy Central and the anti-extradition protest by means of “class struggle” and “contradictions between ourselves and the enemy”.

Wang Chen cited Deng’s saying again at the NPC on March 5: “What are patriots? The criteria for being a patriot are to be respectful to one’s nation, espouse with sincerity the motherland resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, not cause damage to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.” Evidently, the patriots in the saying “patriots ruling Hong Kong” by Deng does not rule out “those opposing China and stirring up trouble in Hong Kong”, as the ones singled out by name on Xia’s list have never caused damage to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong; otherwise, Deng would have rounded up “the ones opposing China and stirring up trouble in Hong Kong” instead of empowering the NPC to pass the annexes to the Basic Law after Hong Kong becoming a base of operations in support of the Tiananmen Square protests, wouldn’t he?

As early as communist take-over of 1949, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai were resolved not to take Hong Kong back. Zhou put it this way: Considering the economic development of the new China, the country had to deal and keep in contact with other countries; given that China was closed off by the US, Hong Kong might become a “base of operations for economic connection with other countries” if the city remained in the hands of the British. Facts have proven the first generation of CCP leaders breaking away from the Republic of China were visionary. Inheriting the vision from Mao and Zhou, Deng Xiaoping from the second generation, despite taking Hong Kong back from the hands of Margaret Thatcher, aspired to comply with an agreement reached during the Sino-British negotiations to have the Basic Law laid down, keeping the political system of Hong Kong unchanged for 50 years. Beyond any doubt, Deng was fully aware of the fact that only if the rule of law and freedom of capitalism was preserved could the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong be maintained, and the city turned from a “bastion against communism and China” to one of know-how, capital, and trade essential to the economic development of China.

The Heritage Foundation, one of the conservative think tanks in the US, issued the latest Index Of Economic Freedom, in which Hong Kong, which had ranked number one for 25 years, just vanished into thin air. The founder of the think tank believes Hong Kong is directly controlled by Beijing now. It has suggested the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong has been smashed up by Beijing already.

At the end of October 2019, when the anti-extradition movement was going on like a raging fire, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CCP chaired by Xi Jinping did not take opinions of Hong Kong people into consideration at all, but rather be enthusiastic about taking charge and ending the “mutual respect and non-interference” principle by applying the Fifth Modernisation, classified as one of Xi’s important ideas and governance systems, to the political system of Hong Kong.

The pro-democracy camp scored a landslide victory in the District Council elections after the Fourth Plenary Session, which shook the “four self-confidences” promoted by Beijing. Instructing Carrie Lam to put off the LegCo election, Beijing tabled the National Security Law for Hong Kong and had it passed at the Two Sessions and implemented straightaway, which aroused the West headed by the US to impose sanctions. After the trial for the activists rounded up on February 28, the amendment to the Electoral Law of Hong Kong will be passed at the Two Sessions today.

Amendment to the constitution was passed at the First Session of the 13th NPC to name the entire CCP family members of Xi’s. Hong Kong is to be named a family member of the CCP’s at the Two Sessions this year. Party mouthpieces are praising Xi’s manner and working style to the skies. The adjustments made by Beijing to the governance policy in Hong Kong do not end with the National Security Law, the political reform or the foreseeable amendment to the Basic Law. Unless it is ensured that its overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong is effectively implemented with “patriots ruling Hong Kong”, Beijing will not retreat.

This very short-sightedness has slaughtered Hong Kong, a goose that lays golden eggs, and is going to plunge the 20th NPC into an abyss of countering democracy, freedom and foreign interference.

(Lui Yue, veteran Chinese journalist)

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