Nearly 100,000 HK citizens sign petition to support national security legislation for Hong Kong
By Chen Ran, People’s Daily
A petition
activity was launched in Hong Kong on May 24 in support of the national
security legislation for the special administrative region (SAR), collecting
nearly 100,000 signatures in a single day.
The
activity was launched by a united front jointly established by leaders from Hong
Kong’s social organizations, business world, education industry and social
welfare sector.
Many
Hong Kong citizens voiced support for the activity on social media platforms,
hoping the national security legislation to bring pack tranquility to Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Some said it is perfectly justified to
safeguard national security, which is also a common responsibility of the Hong
Kong society.
The
united front has 13 conveners and more than 2,000 initiators, and has won
support from over 700 social organizations.
The
signature campaign is expected to last eight days, collecting signatures of
Hong Kong citizens on the internet and in the streets to support the national
security legislation for Hong Kong.
Citizens
across Hong Kong’s 18 districts flocked to street booths and the designated
website of the campaign to express support for protecting the SAR through legal
means. They said the national security legislation lit their hopes, and the
legislation would make the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ shine again.
Establishing
and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to
safeguard national security from the state level can effectively close the
legal loopholes in Hong Kong’s efforts to safeguard national security, and lay
a solid foundation for the SAR’s social harmony, stability, and long-term
peace and order, said Starry Lee Wai-king, one of the conveners of the united
front and chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress
of Hong Kong (DAB).
“Hong
Kong has been in chaos for too long, and citizens have tolerated too much,”
said a Hong Kong citizen surnamed Wang, who came to sign her name in support of
the legislation at a street booth in Yau Tong of Hong Kong’s Kowloon district.
“The
misdeeds of violent rioters can by no means represent the ideas of all the
citizens in Hong Kong, so I must come to sign my name here to support our
country in protecting Hong Kong through legal means,” Wang said.
In the
past few days, major alliances in Hong Kong, including the DAB, the Hong Kong
Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU), and Business and Professionals Alliance for
Hong Kong (BPA), have all issued statements to support the 13th National People’s
Congress (NPC) in deliberating at its third annual session on the
draft decision of the NPC on establishing and improving the legal system and
enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security.
As a
result of the “black-clad violence,” mobsters’ “mutual destruction”, and the
novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Hong Kong’s regional GDP logged the
worst performance on record in the first quarter of 2020, slumping
by 8.9 percent, while the SAR’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to
the highest level in more than nine years, pointed out the BPA in a recent
statement.
Therefore,
efforts to introduce national security legislation for Hong Kong would be
helpful not only in safeguarding national security, but also in maintaining
prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and better guaranteeing the legal
interests and freedom of Hong Kong citizens, said the statement.
Paul
Chan Mo-po,
financial secretary of the government of the HKSAR, voiced support on May 24 for
the NPC’s deliberating on the draft decision.
With
social unrest on the surface and other disturbing factors underneath, not only
people’s livelihood and safety could be endangered, but the confidence of
foreign investors will be shattered eventually, Chan wrote in his blog.
Some
foreign chambers of commerce have expressed their concerns about the
legislation and pointed out the importance for Hong Kong to uphold its
established advantages, including free flow of information, freedom of speech,
and a Government of high transparency and integrity, Chen wrote, adding that in
fact, HKSAR Government has been working hard to protect and strengthen these
values.
The
central government has also emphasized that it will continue to protect the
legitimate interests of foreign countries and investors in accordance with the
law, support the maintenance and development of relations between Hong Kong and
other countries in areas like economic and trade, culture and tourism, and
support Hong Kong’s external exchanges and cooperation, Chan said. As normal
investment, commercial and trade activities conducted by other countries in
Hong Kong would not threaten the national security, such activities could be
continued as usual.
A night
view of Victoria Harbour in China’s Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region. Photo by Zheng Jinqiang/People’s Daily Online
Nearly 100,000 HK citizens sign petition to support national security legislation for Hong Kong
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