In 2019-20, Hong Kong experienced the longest-lasting, most significant and violent riots in its history. To quell the riots, the central government took decisive action, including promulgating the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law (NSL) in June 2020. The implementation of the NSL had a momentous impact on the politics and society of Hong Kong. Over time, these effects have become more widespread and intense.

The NSL has effectively kept most anti-China forces at bay, allowing Hong Kong to realize good governance in a stable and rational social environment. For a long time in the past, some people, especially gullible young people, in Hong Kong had limited respect for the central and special administrative region governments, and were easily mobilized to participate in protests instigated by external forces and local anti-China insurgents. Since the 2019 riots, the central authorities’ decisive action to enact the NSL, the determined law enforcement of the SAR government, and particularly the imprisonment of many anti-China insurgent leaders have had a strong psychological impact on those who harbor animosity toward the central and SAR governments, alerting them to the central government’s firm determination and ability to safeguard national security, and making them realize that engaging in illegal acts will incur a heavy price. Currently, Hong Kong society as a whole values stability, order, rule of law, and a zero-tolerance approach to violent and unlawful behavior.

The implementation of the national security laws dealt a devastating blow to anti-China insurgents in Hong Kong, significantly compressing their space for operation. For a long time, these people exploited the absence of national security laws in Hong Kong to disseminate anti-China, anti-communist and anti-SAR government propaganda and engage in political mobilization and struggle against the establishment. The NSL has significantly weakened these subversives forces’ ability to launch large-scale political struggles; they have largely collapsed, or disbanded on their own.

Following the implementation of the NSL, Hong Kong’s electoral system was overhauled in May 2021, putting the “patriots administrating Hong Kong” principle into full practice, with both the executive and the legislature now firmly in the hands of patriots. Most importantly, the subversives no longer have a foothold in Hong Kong’s governance structure. An even more fatal blow to them is that their past tactics of inciting the public have become futile and ineffective.

The legal proceedings related to the NSL, particularly Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s case and the “47 people subversion case”, provide people with excellent opportunities for political education. The political awakening among Hong Kong people aroused by these cases strengthened their vigilance against foreign interference, making them more convinced of the indispensability of the NSL.

The law has popularized a correct and pertinent definition of “national security” in Hong Kong, making it a buzzword in the city. Many people, especially young people, in Hong Kong previously had the mistaken belief that the country’s security is not under threat and that Hong Kong has no responsibility to safeguard national security. Since the promulgation of the NSL, the central government, the SAR government, and all sectors of Hong Kong society have actively promoted national security education not only to enhance public understanding and vigilance about national security, but also to enable people to have a more holistic understanding of the concept of national security amid the increasingly complex and grave international situation.

The NSL has dramatically boosted the morale, courage, and capability of the patriotic camp. In recent years, under the leadership of the central government, patriots have actively participated in fending off both external and internal hostile forces to prevent violence and chaos; they have become more united, more combative, more mass-based, and more capable of supporting the SAR government’s work.

All in all, the NSL and other relevant laws together have established a solid legal, political, social, cultural, and ideological foundation for national security, good governance, and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong

Thanks to the extraterritorial effects of the NSL, the support from external forces for local subversives has diminished discernibly, a departure from their past blatant meddling in Hong Kong affairs. The NSL has dealt a lethal blow to external forces, making it challenging for local subversives to collude with them and for external forces to mobilize their Hong Kong proxies to create political unrest.

Thanks to the NSL, the SAR government finally has a powerful legal means in its toolbox to safeguard national security and its own security. Additionally, the NSL has revitalized the local laws related to maintaining national security. Following the implementation of the NSL and the subsequent enactment of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO), the SAR government has robustly stepped up its efforts to curb unrest and crack down on subversives, with positive results.

The NSL has brought about a welcome change in the relationship between the executive and the legislature. The opposition forces in Hong Kong had long utilized their presence in the Legislative Council to hobble its operation through devious means. Today’s executive-legislative relations are cordial and smooth, and LegCo is more efficient than ever. One of the most striking examples is undoubtedly the overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system in a very short period in 2021. Another prominent example is the rapid passage of the SNSO in 2024, which implements Article 23 of the Basic Law.

The NSL has created a space for the SAR government to govern proactively and effectively. Since the implementation of the NSL, the government has made significant progress in all aspects of its work in a context of political stability, mainly reflected in accelerating the city’s integration into the national development strategy, expanding Hong Kong’s international development space in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, developing innovative and high-tech industries, attracting foreign investment, competing for talent from the Chinese mainland and overseas, and increasing land and the housing supply. These efforts will in the long run help to resolve Hong Kong’s deep-seated problems, thereby enhancing the happiness, sense of gain, and confidence of Hong Kong people in the city’s future.

Moreover, the NSL empowers the SAR government to safeguard national security more effectively in the field of public administration. In the past few years, the government has gradually added provisions and requirements related to safeguarding national security into various policies, funding, and institutional management, to ensure that the actions of relevant institutions, funding recipients, and individuals must comply with the NSL and the principle of “patriots administrating Hong Kong”.

The role of the NSL in the ideological spheres of society, education, media, social media, culture, law, film, art, and religion is becoming increasingly apparent. For a long time, local subversives and external forces dominated these fields, and thus gained the privilege to misinterpret significant issues, especially on matters related to the “one country, two systems” principle, relations between the central government and Hong Kong, and the development of democracy in Hong Kong. The impact of their distortion and misinterpretation on young people was particularly severe and far-reaching. However, the central government and the SAR government have now gained the upper hand in ideological arenas, gradually rectifying all kinds of erroneous ideas and concepts, particularly among young people.

Finally, the NSL has fostered a more favorable environment and atmosphere for Hong Kong to implement various national education programs. For a long time, there was strong resistance to national education within the SAR government and in society. For this reason, it had been challenging to implement national education in Hong Kong. As a result, many people, especially young people, misunderstood the “one country, two systems” principle, the Basic Law, and the central government’s policy toward Hong Kong, which seriously hindered the full and accurate implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle in the city. The NSL has laid the legal foundation and outlined the path for Hong Kong to implement national education better.

All in all, the NSL and other relevant laws together have established a solid legal, political, social, cultural, and ideological foundation for national security, good governance, and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. However, in an increasingly complex and treacherous international environment, where national security threats persist, constant vigilance is warranted.  

The author is a professor emeritus of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a consultant for the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.