After the successful district council election on Dec 10, the reshaping of Hong Kong’s governance structure has been largely accomplished, and the political configuration of “patriots governing Hong Kong” has been firmly established. As a fundamental principle of “one country, two systems”, “patriots governing Hong Kong” has only recently been fully realized thanks to the expulsion of the anti-China and destabilizing forces from Hong Kong’s governance structure. All quarters demand that patriots display activism and make a difference in the new political situation. Their outstanding performance will confirm, in turn, the necessity and superiority of “patriots governing Hong Kong”.

On July 1, 2022, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and the inauguration ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, earnestly putting forward four hopes for patriots: focus on improving the quality of governance, continuously enhance the momentum of development, effectively solve people’s livelihood worries, and jointly maintain harmony and stability. President Xi’s “four hopes” are the guidelines for the behavior of patriots that warrant serious attention. In the context of “patriots governing Hong Kong”, they constitute the critical criteria for evaluating their performance.

Now that the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” has been realized, all parties will focus on whether patriots can meet President Xi’s expectations. In more concrete terms, in the new situation of Hong Kong, the “four hopes” should encompass better safeguarding of national security and interests, the steady and comprehensive implementation of “one country, two systems”, the realization of good governance, the acceleration of Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of the country, boosting Hong Kong’s economic growth, industrial restructuring and upgrading, serious attention to and alleviation of Hong Kong’s deep-seated contradictions, the expansion of the patriotic camp and the broadening of its social support base, the speeding up of the “return of the hearts and minds of the people,” reinforcement of social stability, Hong Kong contributing more to the development of the country, and the rise in Hong Kong’s international status and reputation. In other words, if the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” is to gain recognition and trust from all quarters, the above should be the essential indicators of the performance of patriots.

In essence, patriots must be proactive, innovative and responsible, and they must constantly upgrade their knowledge, acumen and skills to shoulder their historical responsibilities in the new era.

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To make a difference through “patriots governing Hong Kong”, patriots must first understand and embrace their historical mission, primarily their responsibility to create a new political, governance, economic, social and ideological milieu in Hong Kong. They need to devote all their energy to dealing with the significant challenges and problems that Hong Kong is facing, especially economic development, improvement of people’s livelihoods, “return of the hearts and minds of the people,” and the city’s integration into the overall development of the country. They should let their achievements tell the story, make Hong Kong residents genuinely believe that “patriots governing Hong Kong” are closely related to their interests and well-being, let them sincerely and joyfully think that “the present is better than the past”, strengthen their support of Hong Kong’s new political order and governance model, enhance their understanding and trust of the central government, the HKSAR government and the patriotic forces. Compared with the government and the Legislative Council, the revamped district councils have a much closer relationship with Hong Kong residents in the context of the government’s strengthened district administration, and their work and services are more closely related to residents’ daily lives and practical needs. The government must work with the district councils to improve residents’ living conditions and quality of life and create a broader and more solid mass foundation for “patriots governing Hong Kong”.

To make a difference through “patriots governing Hong Kong”, patriots must unite, have a clear division of labor, cooperate, and make joint efforts. Patriots must convince Hong Kong residents that Hong Kong’s development and the resolution of contradictions can only be achieved in a stable, secure and peaceful environment, and that the past’s protracted political struggles and political turmoil are the main culprits of Hong Kong’s stagnation and contradictions. Patriots should let Hong Kong residents taste the benefits of political stability and effective governance. If patriots responsible for governance can make Hong Kong residents feel that they are a solid, strong, pragmatic, capable and harmonious governance team, more and more of the residents will come to believe that the past’s chaotic and horrible political and governance situation will not return. This will enhance residents’ confidence in “patriots governing Hong Kong”.

To make a difference through “patriots governing Hong Kong”, patriots must maintain close ties with the masses and be concerned about their anxieties. Government officials, legislative councilors, district councilors, patriotic organizations and patriotic leaders must use multiple channels to strengthen contacts with residents and respond quickly to their aspirations. For example, mechanisms could be implemented to allow residents to have separate or simultaneous access to legislators and officials so that their demands can be conveyed and responded to more briskly. In promoting connections with the masses, they should not focus only on the constituents of the patriotic forces. Instead, they should expand the “clients” of their services and win over those residents who used to depend on the opposition forces to provide services and represent themselves. This will expand the patriotic forces’ social base, compress that of the opposition forces, and create a more harmonious political atmosphere.

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To make a difference through “patriots governing Hong Kong”, it is necessary to alleviate the deep-seated contradictions in Hong Kong, especially those social contradictions that could  grow worse because of the increasingly harsh economic and people’s livelihood conditions in the years ahead. Housing, poverty, labor, welfare and the development needs of young people should be the top priorities. In tackling these problems, the government, which has vast resources, has inescapable responsibility. Still, public resources are limited, and the future financial situation of the government is far from rosy. The government must strengthen cooperation with all sectors of society, especially the business community and the affluent patriotic organizations, and actively mobilize more social resources to support government policies and address various social problems and needs. In other words, the relationship between the government and the community must be significantly bolstered.

To make a difference through “patriots governing Hong Kong”, positive and innovative attitudes and methods to govern Hong Kong must be adopted. Since the reunification, the government has gradually shaken off the shackles of the past dogma of “positive nonintervention”, increased its involvement in economic and social development, allocated financial resources more sensibly and flexibly, and charted Hong Kong’s future from a more holistic and long-term perspective. In the end, the government and all sectors of society need to expedite their participation in the country’s development, seriously cope with the increasingly consolidated vested interests, promote the rise of new industries, create more opportunities for the middle class and young people to develop and attain upward mobility, and enable more Hong Kong residents to enjoy the benefits of the joint development of Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. In turn, the government needs to create an environment that can expand and unleash Hong Kong’s productivity and creativity through policy innovation, long-term planning, talent training, attracting foreign capital and talent, institutional reform, and proactive fiscal means. How to connect more closely and quickly with the country’s development strategies and policies will be a test for patriots.

To make a difference through “patriots administering Hong Kong”, a critical task is to promote the “return of the hearts and minds of the people”. For a long time, because the patriotic forces have not been able to dominate Hong Kong’s ideological, educational and media arenas, the goal of the “return of the hearts and minds of the people” has not only failed to be realized but the ideology and mentality that hamper attaining this goal have wreaked havoc among many Hong Kong residents, especially young people. Under “patriots administering Hong Kong”, patriots are presented with an unprecedented opportunity to promote national education, national condition, national security education and patriotism education in schools and society in an environment immune from interference and sabotage by opposition forces so that Hong Kong residents, especially young people, can have a deeper understanding of the country’s achievements, the contributions of the Communist Party of China, the policy of “one country, two systems”, and the central government’s support and care for Hong Kong, thereby fostering better relations between the central authorities and Hong Kong, laying a solid foundation for nurturing trust in the CPC, promoting the steady and successful implementation of “one country, two systems”, and accelerating Hong Kong’s integration into the country’s overall development. This hard-won opportunity must be firmly grasped and well utilized.

Under the grim international situation, patriots must be determined and courageous in countering the external forces to make a difference. Although the anti-China and destabilizing forces are no longer formidable, the external hostile forces led by the United States remain a lingering threat. Not only do they want to undermine Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability and weaken Hong Kong’s role in the country’s modernization, but they will continue to use the city as a tool to contain China’s rise. Since the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, the US and the West have stepped up efforts to smear and sanction Hong Kong. They also team up with the anti-China fugitives to foment instability in the city by spreading disinformation. The government needs to lead and coordinate patriots from all quarters, especially members of the Legislative Council, to robustly refute and counter the hostile acts of the US and the West with facts and explanations. These joint actions can promote social solidarity in Hong Kong, promote the unity of patriotic forces, enhance their combativeness, enlarge the mass base of patriotic forces, educate Hong Kong residents to understand and be vigilant against threats to national security from external forces, and prevent Hong Kong public opinion from being misled, to turn unfavorable factors into favorable factors.

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Under the central government’s grand strategy of further opening up the country, patriots can make good use of Hong Kong’s privilege to engage in external activities under “one country, two systems” to assist the country in promoting people-to-people diplomacy; they should fully utilize Hong Kong’s wide-ranging international connections, Hong Kong elites’ leading roles in many international institutions, Hong Kong as an important venue for international conferences and activities, Hong Kong as a global information center, etc, to tell the story of China and its HKSAR well to the world, burnish China’s international image, and raise the international community’s understanding of the country. President Xi recently emphasized the importance of the people of the two countries in the Sino-US relations. People-to-people diplomacy is also critical in strengthening China’s ties with the rest of the world in today’s turbulent international environment. If patriots actively participate in charity and welfare work in foreign countries, it will help enhance foreigners’ goodwill toward China.

The above are specific suggestions on what patriots can do that align with President Xi’s “four hopes”. They should also be areas where patriots can make significant achievements in demonstrating the superiority of “one country, two systems” in the new era and situation.

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

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.