upcoming changes for Hong Kong, and does not seem to be precisely of the kind demanded by the protesters in the streets. The chinese Government has said that it raises measures to secure their authority and the “national security” in its wayward self-governing territory, where, for nearly five months of mass protests, sometimes violent, demanding more democracy and condemn the policies of its Executive and autonomous of Beijing.
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Among the changes that arise figure a “refinement” of the selection process and the termination of the next heads of self-Government. In addition, the educational program hongkonés will have to emphasize the doctrine patriotic and political leaders, national security. This has advance to a senior official, Shen Chunyao, in a press conference to explain the results of the annual meeting of leaders of the Communist Party of China, which concluded last night.
Currently, the head of Government is chosen by a committee of notables, almost all of them with ties to Beijing, between two or three candidates to the liking of the chinese Government. Citizens do not have the possibility of presenting a candidate, one of the main demands that were raised five years ago, the Movement of the Umbrella, the student sit-ins that paralysed the centre of Hong Kong for almost three months and precursor of modern day protests.
The meeting, chaired by the head of State and Party secretary, Xi Jinping, took Hong Kong as one of its “key issues,” said Shen. According to the final communique of this plenary, Beijing considers measures that strengthen the administrative supervision of the central Government and eradicate any temptation separatist or put in danger the stability of the country.
what would be the “improvement” in the selection of prime minister autonomous is anyone’s guess. The change in the selection process of its head of Government is one of the main demands of the protesters hongkoneses, 82% of which is declared contrary to the current holder of the post, Carrie Lam. But the mobilized demand a system of universal suffrage, which although provided for in the Basic Law or constitution in hong kong —“when the circumstances are appropriate”—, a Beijing increasingly critical of “western values” do not seem willing to grant.
Since this summer, the central Government has come to the conclusion that what happens in the former british colony is, along with the trade war against the united States, one of the great risks to social stability, its absolute priority. A risk that has been the subject of frantic consultations, internal and external, during these 21 weeks of protests, including the plenum of the Central Committee of the Party held this week and concluded the Thursday.
The communiqué of that meeting stresses the need “to govern strictly in accordance with the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao in strict accordance with the Constitution (in china) and the Basic Law. Also protect the stability and long-term prosperity of both”. The document coincided, precisely, with the announcement that, for the first time in a decade, the former british colony has entered into recession, due to the impact of the protests and the trade war.
How Do you protect that “stability and prosperity”? Chinese leaders underlined in the document the need to “establish a legal system robust and a compliance mechanism to safeguard the national security in both administrative regions”.
Although not listed among the demands of the demonstrators, the chinese Government is of the opinion that the ultimate goal of the participants in the protest is to force the independence of the former colony. An absolute red line for Beijing, for whom territorial integrity is one of its key interests.
“we will Not tolerate any challenge to the basis of this principle”, said Shen. Nor shall “any act of division of the country, or to endanger the national security. Will prevent with determination that external forces to interfere in the affairs of Hong Kong and Macau, and engage in separatist activities, subversive, destructive, or infiltration”.
The senior official did not provide more data about what precise measurements, or when, might be put in place. Yes abounded in what the government believes to be the remedy to remove the hostility of many hongkoneses to the system of chinese government: to increase the “patriotic spirit” among staff and students, and to improve the knowledge of the history and culture of China.
The approaches of the Government in Beijing threaten to cause even more rejection among the protesters of Hong Kong, who are preparing for this weekend a new mass rally. An attempt to implement a “curriculum of ” patriotic” in 2013 led major demonstrations among high school students, led at that time by a very young Joshua Wong. The sit-ins of 2014 that paralysed the centre of Hong Kong for almost three months, known as the Movement of the Umbrella, had as main demand the universal suffrage.
The participants in the protests today demanded also the withdrawal of a controversial draft extradition law —the only concession they have made—, the release and withdrawal of charges of the nearly 3,000 arrested demonstrators and an investigation about the violence of the Police.
