The senior official announced comprehensive electoral and administrative reforms in a speech on Monday. He made it clear that there is no place in leading a city with special administrative status for those who declare anti-China views or want to stir up chaos.
“Those who oppose the patriots are destructive of the principle of one country, two systems,” he said, stressing that such groups should not be allowed near power. According to Xia, the waves of anti-government protests in Hong Kong two years ago could ignite because the “patriots rule Hong Kong” principle has not been fully implemented.
Schiax emphasized that those who violate the National Security Law or oppose the authority of the Chinese Communist Party are not patriots.
The principle of “patriots rule Hong Kong” was originally formulated by former Chinese leader Teng Xiaoping before Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997 from British colonial rule. Last month, Chinese President Xi Qingping referred to this idea, describing it as a precondition for solving the city’s deep-seated problems in a video chat with Hong Kong Governor Carrie Lam.
