Recently, perplexing narratives have emerged within Hong Kong society. Some argue that the emphasis on safeguarding national security is now outdated given that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has restored order and stability with the aid of national security laws. Others pit the national security regime against economic development, falsely claiming the two are mutually exclusive. Viewed from a broader national and international perspective, the imperative of safeguarding national security in Hong Kong remains self-evident, rendering these flawed arguments entirely baseless.
To fully understand this, one must first recognize the various obstacles and containment strategies aimed at China’s rise. The ascent of any major power inevitably encounters profound challenges, and China’s path to modernization is no exception. In the eyes of certain quarters of the Western elite, the growing prosperity of a nation of 1.4 billion people is perceived as a direct threat to their vested interests, worrying that a mighty China would “move their cheese”. Gripped by anxiety over the potential loss of their global hegemony and a zero-sum mentality, they see China as a major strategic rival, abhor its rise, and relentlessly campaign to derail its development. Consequently, China is facing an increasingly treacherous external environment, which poses both traditional and nontraditional risks in terms of national security.
On a strategic level, the anti-China crusaders are putting up a concerted effort to forge a comprehensive containment architecture. By rallying allies and coercing China’s neighboring countries to take sides, they are constructing geopolitical, economic, and military blocs with the aim of isolating China. They deliberately and continuously create tensions, trouble, and geopolitical frictions in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the economic field.
Economically and technologically, the suppression of China has become systematic, extensive, and precise. Under the “small yard, high fence” strategy, they have erected formidable barriers in critical sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and high-end manufacturing. Through draconian technology blockades, investment restrictions, and export controls, coupled with a decoupling campaign in production and supply chains, they seek to choke off China’s access to advanced technologies and derail its industrial upgrading.
In the realm of public opinion and ideology, a massive smear campaign and cognitive war is well underway. Leveraging their dominance over global media narratives, Western powers relentlessly float biased and denigrating reports on China and frequently fabricate controversies over the HKSAR, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the Xizang autonomous region, and the Taiwan region. This calculated misinformation campaign aims to distort international perceptions of China and undermine its international standing. Meanwhile, in normal international exchanges and interactions, some organizations and people with ulterior motives also exploit every chance to carry out ideological warfare.
Against the backdrop of such machinations against China, the HKSAR’s unique role as a superconnector between the Chinese mainland and the broader world has turned it into a highly exposed frontier, placing the city squarely in the crosshairs of the geopolitical headwinds. Its high degree of internationalization, frequent cross-border exchanges, complex media landscape, and unique institutional framework make it highly susceptible to exploitation by hostile forces. External forces can easily weaponize the HKSAR’s open channels, freedoms, and global connectivity to carry out infiltration, sabotage and subversion as well as promote separatism. Consequently, the national security risks in the city are deeply insidious, widely interconnected, seriously damaging, and prone to recurrence, making it the most vulnerable but crucial line of defense for the country’s overall security.
From a broader strategic perspective, the security of the HKSAR transcends the scope of local regional security and is directly related to overall national security. For instance, as a core city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong is actively aligning its institutional frameworks with those of other partner cities to facilitate the interconnection and interoperability of information. However, dashing off interconnection and interoperability of sensitive information without installing effective safety valves could easily lead to catastrophic consequences. Therefore, fortifying the HKSAR’s security defenses is synonymous with securing the nation’s primary gateway to the broader world.
Historically and practically, anti-China forces have consistently regarded the HKSAR as a strategic tool. The 2019-20 riots were by no means a spontaneous eruption. For years, external actors had been laying the groundwork through illicit financing, media manipulation, political backing, and infiltration into academic and civic entities to cultivate proxies and build an extensive network of local agitators and subversives. This long-term orchestration culminated in a sudden explosion of violence or unrest, characterized by external manipulation and internal response, or well-organized collusion, that challenged the red lines. These events clearly demonstrated that the HKSAR’s past turmoil was never merely a domestic social issue but political machinations orchestrated and used by foreign forces to impede China’s development.
The security risks in the HKSAR are defined by a complex interplay of internal and external hostile forces. As long as certain foreign forces cling to a hegemonic mindset and practice the law of the jungle, their suppression of China will persist, and they are very likely to continue churning out China-containment scripts making the HKSAR a tool. Therefore, even with the implementation of national security laws and the overhaul of the electoral system, the city still cannot let its guard down. It must maintain utmost vigilance to preempt crises.
In a nutshell, the HKSAR’s unique status means that safeguarding national security is inherently a more difficult and unpredictable task. In a global landscape fraught with volatility, uncertainty and geopolitical maneuvering, the city’s commitment to defending national security must remain absolutely resolute.
The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
