To effectively implement the “patriots administering Hong Kong” principle, a strong supply of capable patriotic political leaders is urgently needed. From the central government’s perspective, these political leaders must meet some basic requirements, including loyalty to the People’s Republic of China, ability and willingness to safeguard national interests, deep understanding and support for the “one country, two systems” policy, good governance capabilities and experience, great political courage, and support from Hong Kong residents.
Lamentably, until recent years, the supply of patriotic leaders was limited, and so were the opportunities to groom them systematically. Even today, the supply of patriotic leaders is not sufficient to meet the escalating demand to ensure “patriots administering Hong Kong”. The dearth of patriotic leaders in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is mainly due to the refusal of the British Hong Kong government to work with Beijing to groom patriotic leaders on the eve of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. From the British perspective, the emergence of patriotic leaders during the transition period preceding the handover would be pernicious to British governance of Hong Kong and the execution of plots to safeguard British interests after 1997. For this reason, the British deliberately obstructed China’s efforts to cultivate political leaders. On the contrary, the British cultivated political leaders who were opposed to Beijing and aspired to turn post-1997 Hong Kong into an anti-China “independent political entity”. However, because of Beijing’s opposition, the British could only obtain partial success. Nonetheless, they still succeeded in significantly strengthening Hong Kong’s anti-China forces and deeply embedding them within Hong Kong’s political structure. These anti-China forces not only obstructed the governance of the HKSAR but also impeded the rise of patriotic leaders through various devious means.
Additionally, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, patriotic forces in Hong Kong were discriminated against and ostracized by the British rulers and by “mainstream” Hong Kong society, making it challenging for them to develop into a substantial political force. Although Beijing tried arduously to cultivate patriotic talent on its own during the transition period, the results were not satisfactory, not least due to a lingering anti-communist milieu in Hong Kong.
The weakness of patriotic forces in the HKSAR has made it impossible to fully implement “patriots administering Hong Kong”, which in turn was the root cause of the significant difficulties and unrest encountered by the HKSAR in the past.
Since the enactment of the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law (NSL) by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in June 2020 and the subsequent comprehensive revamp of Hong Kong’s electoral system and district councils, the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” has been largely realized. As a result, only patriots are qualified to take part in Hong Kong’s governance, and anti-China forces are no longer allowed in the political establishment. Most of the factors that restricted patriots from participating in politics in the past have been largely removed. More people are willing to become patriots and seek a political career. This has created an auspicious environment and conditions for cultivating patriotic political talent.
Today, it is imperative for the central government, the HKSAR government, and patriotic forces to intensify and accelerate efforts to groom patriotic talent. I would like to put forward some suggestions:
First, we need to vigorously resist external forces who continue to undermine the grooming of patriotic leaders with various means such as smearing, harassment, coercion, threats, slander or sanctions. To deal with the malicious attacks from external forces, the central and HKSAR governments need to provide appropriate protection and support for patriotic leaders who are harassed or sanctioned by external forces to reduce their worries.
Cultivating patriotic political leaders is crucial to the success of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, safeguarding national security, and the HKSAR’s effective governance
Second, the grooming and appointment of patriotic leaders demand a top-level design. The central and HKSAR governments need to formulate a long-term strategy for the development and deployment of patriotic leaders and work together with patriotic forces accordingly. This strategy should include identification, encouragement, classification, cultivation, assessment, supervision, appointment, removal, deployment, disciplinary action, and accountability of talent. Crucially, a clear ladder for the advancement of political talent should be established so that those who are interested in politics know how to build their political careers in the long run.
Third, central government officials, especially those stationed in Hong Kong, senior officials of the HKSAR government, and leaders of patriotic forces should use opportunities of close contact with all sectors of society to recruit people with the intention and ability to enter politics and provide them with the necessary support. Additionally, it is essential to establish channels for people who aspire to enter politics to recommend themselves.
Fourth, political posts in the central government and the HKSAR government can be divided into different categories and levels to form a ladder for political career development and promotion. Patriots with political potential, political ability, and political ambition can be assigned to different posts for training. After strictly evaluating their performances, those who are better qualified will be further cultivated and promoted.
Fifth, a revolving door should be established between political posts in the central government and the HKSAR government to allow patriotic political talent to shift between the two types of posts. This will enable patriotic political talent to gain experience in politics in both the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, hone their political skills, and enhance their national identification and national consciousness.
Sixth, given that many patriotic and politically talented individuals do not necessarily regard politics as their lifelong career and tend to move between political and nonpolitical posts, it is essential to ensure that they can balance political and nonpolitical careers. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a revolving door between political and nonpolitical institutions, such as think tanks, business, and the media.
Seventh, the civil service system should be reformed to reduce its closed operation and parochialism, and to allow political talent from outside to enter senior civil service posts directly. The senior level of the civil service should be opened to outside talent to a certain extent and within a specific scope, thereby introducing innovative thinking and knowledge, breaking the old habits of many senior civil servants. This will make the civil service more capable and knowledgeable to promote economic development, industrial transformation and upgrading, improve people’s livelihoods, and speed up Hong Kong’s integration with national development. In turn, an open and enterprising civil service system can also provide a steady supply of political talent for patriotic forces.
Eighth, we should encourage and support patriotic leaders to organize and participate in various election activities, so that patriots in the Election Committee, Legislative Council, district councils or other regional groups can more closely connect with and serve all sectors of society and particularly the grassroots through elections, thereby expanding and consolidating the mass base of patriotic forces, and making “patriots administering Hong Kong” more popular and more reflective of public opinion.
Ninth, since 1997, Hong Kong’s regional and grassroots organizations and networks have been in a state of disarray and desolation. With the thorough reform of the functions and formation methods of district councils and the continuous enhancement of the HKSAR’s district-level administration, district councils and local associations have become a base for training political talent, especially young politicians. To cultivate the political skills of patriots, the central and HKSAR governments need to strengthen district-level and grassroots organizations, including by appropriately delegating power to district councils, granting them more functions related to community welfare, and allocating more resources to them.
Tenth, it is beyond doubt that patriotic political talent must be produced and grown through hands-on training. However, formal, basic, and theoretical training is also indispensable, especially in enhancing a person’s understanding of the national Constitution, the national situation, the “one country, two systems” policy, the Basic Law, the NSL, Hong Kong’s political system and public policies, and international affairs. The central and HKSAR governments can work with universities, colleges, think tanks, and research institutions on both the mainland and in Hong Kong to create various courses to train patriotic political talent formally.
Finally, organizing patriotic political talent in different ways is very important and beneficial for their training and appointment. Hong Kong needs talented political leaders who can unite with others, abide by discipline, and act in unison. Therefore, the central government, the HKSAR government and patriotic leaders need to assist and support the development of various political organizations, and integrate them with other patriotic groups into a broad “governing coalition” with loyal patriots as the main body, a considerable elite and mass base and let this “governing coalition” become a source of patriotic talent.
In short, cultivating patriotic political leaders is crucial to the success of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, safeguarding national security, and the HKSAR’s effective governance. It is an urgent task. In this paramount political project, top-level design is indispensable, but it is equally important to create a good political and social atmosphere to encourage the emergence of political talent. The central government, the SAR government, and patriotic forces must work together to accelerate the completion of these key tasks.
The author is a professor emeritus of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a consultant to the Chinese Association for Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
