Hong Kong Still Has “Soft Confrontation”, Says Director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office

[The Epoch Times, April 18, 2023](The Epoch Times reporter Lier and Zhang Yingyu interviewed and reported in Hong Kong) Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council of the Communist Party of China, visited Hong Kong and gave the opening ceremony and theme lecture of the “National Security Education Day” on April 15 In the middle, together with Zheng Yanxiong, the director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government, he claimed that Hong Kong is still not completely stable and has the influence of “soft confrontation” and foreign hostile forces. Some scholars have criticized their arguments as fallacies, and it is expected that the authorities will continue to arrest citizens to keep Hong Kong people in fear and achieve control effects.

Xia Baolong threatened that the parade is not the only way to express “interest demands”, and hopes that Hong Kong “holds conventions and exhibitions every day, engages in innovation and technology, fights for the economy, races horses, dances, speculates in stocks, and makes big money.” As long as residents abide by the “Basic Law”, “Hong Kong National Security Law” and Hong Kong laws, they can live, work and study freely, “you can do your own things with peace of mind.”

Huang Weiguo, an independent political scholar in Hong Kong, was interviewed by The Epoch Times on April 16, saying that Xia’s words were “one-sided economic activities.” It is “low energy”.

Huang said that “the horse runs as it should, and the dance as it dances” itself is the result of the Sino-British negotiations in the 1980s and the enactment of the “Basic Law”. The most corrupt part of life under capitalism”, rather than respect for human rights, democracy and freedom; the term used to describe the sensual life of capitalism in the 1980s will become very abrupt in 2023. If Hong Kong people are persuaded time and time again One country, two systems, Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong, and a high degree of autonomy are even more impossible to achieve. It cannot cover up the regime’s suppression of Hong Kong people’s freedom in all aspects.

Zhong Jianhua: Exaggeration and smearing provide justification for the regime’s abnormal actions

Zhong Jianhua, a scholar of social policy and public administration, was interviewed by The Epoch Times on the 16th, criticizing Xia Baolong’s exaggerated risk and making out of nothing, calling the normal demonstrations a scourge, which is just an excuse to deprive Hong Kong of human rights. Fallacies” cannot be analyzed by normal logic.

Zhong also believes that all the practices of today are completely contrary to the various statements of the CCP in the past, including one country, two systems, Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong, horses run as they should, dances as they dance, and remain unchanged for 50 years. elements to justify the regime’s abnormal behavior”.

Xia Baolong is afraid of Hong Kong people’s “soft confrontation”, Zheng Yanxiong said that the system needs to be “improved”

In addition, Xia Baolong also pointed out that Hong Kong seems to be calm now, but in fact there are undercurrents surging, and the society needs to be always vigilant against “soft confrontation” to create chaos secretly. Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government, also claimed on the same occasion that maintaining national security is far from reaching the stage of “putting swords and guns into storage, and letting horses go to Nanshan.” The hostile foreign forces will not subside, and the legal system and enforcement mechanism still need to be improved.

Huang Weiguo expects that the authorities may regularly arrest a group of citizens as they are doing now, and convict them for their words, “keep (maintain) the people living in Hong Kong panic, and if the people living in Hong Kong are afraid, they should be obedient” and continue to use the national security hotline to engage in Reporting, falsely accusing innocent people, “using the panic that harasses citizens’ daily life to achieve control effects”, but believes that the authorities cannot control the thinking of Hong Kong people, and suppression and restrictions will only deepen the public’s hatred of the CCP and the Hong Kong government.

However, he also pointed out that Xia Baolong or Zheng Yanxiong still have three issues that they dare not restrict, including the freedom of entry and exit of Hong Kong people; the openness of the Internet will not be like the mainland banning YouTube and Facebook; and the freedom of Hong Kong people to open offshore accounts. Otherwise, the current economic and social collapse in Hong Kong will be worsened.

In addition, current affairs commentator Xu Shaohua pointed out in his online program on the 16th that Xia Baolong claimed that Hong Kong is moving toward freedom and prosperity, but in fact, Hong Kong people will be monitored and even prosecuted when posting on social media; they will be arrested after returning to Hong Kong after posting overseas; The media responsible for monitoring the government ended; journalists from Next Media and Stand News were arrested, and most of them were not released on bail without trial; the parade also had to “wear dog tags”, and if someone engaged in “illegal behavior” during the parade, the sponsor Should bear criminal responsibility, “May I ask which organization dares to hold a parade again?” The above-mentioned things represent Hong Kong people’s loss of freedom of speech, procession, demonstration, and freedom from fear.

Xu Shaohua also said that Hong Kong, which loses all kinds of freedom, civil society, and abuse of power by the check and balance regime, will lose its status as an international financial center, and the brain drain is “bad talents driving out good talents.” ◇

Editor in charge: Lian Shuhua