Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, speaks during a press conference in Beijing held by the State Council Information Office on the national security law for Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The decision by the country’s top legislature on the qualification of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council members has solidified in law that the special administrative region will be governed only by those who love both the city and the nation, Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO), said on Tuesday.

Whereas prior the decision, the requirement was just a political norm, now the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China has a legal basis on which to exclude those who seek to confront the central government and destabilize the city from within its local political system, Zhang said in his opening speech at the Basic Law 30th Anniversary Legal Summit in Hong Kong.

Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, stressed that it’s only natural to require the city’s governors to love the nation, as the HKSAR is inalienable part of the country

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The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) on Nov 11 adopted a decision stipulating that LegCo members shall be disqualified for office once they are determined by law to have failed to meet the legal requirements of upholding the HKSAR Basic Law and honoring the pledge of allegiance to the HKSAR.

Zhang stressed that it’s only natural to require the city’s governors to love the nation, as the HKSAR is inalienable part of the country.

 “If the SAR is governed by those who don’t recognize the nation and mean to confront it, even plot to subvert State power and collude with external forces, is this in line with the original intent of the principle of “one country two systems” and “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong?” he said.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, speaking at the event, said under the original intent of “one country, two systems” principle, the country’s sovereignty over the HKSAR brooks no argument and the idea of “Hong Kong independence” cannot be tolerated.

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Zhang Yong, vice-chairman of the NPCSC’s Basic Law Committee, and Xue Hanqin, vice-president of the International Court of Justice, spoke about the HKSAR’s constitutional basis and the “one country, two systems” principle’s contribution to International Law.

The event was scheduled to last for a whole day. Three panel discussions in the afternoon will center on the interpretation of the Basic Law, responsibility of maintaining national security under the “one country” principle, and the benefits of implementing the “one country, two systems” principle in the HKSAR.

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