HKSAR govt strongly condemns groups for inciting politically

HONG KONG - The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday strongly condemned some groups for inciting strikes and class boycott to protest against the national security legislation and the enactment of a national security law for the HKSAR.

The decision on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for the HKSAR to Safeguard National Security was adopted last month at the closing meeting of the third annual session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).

The legislation to be enacted by the Standing Committee of the NPC to safeguard national security aims to prevent, cease and punish acts and activities by an extremely small minority of people who seriously endanger national security, thereby protecting the vast majority of law-abiding citizens, a government spokesman said in a statement, stressing that the national security legislation will restore Hong Kong to a safe and stable place after having been hit with violent disruptions in the past year.

This important decision aims to ensure the robustness of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong and safeguard the prosperity and stability of the society. The national security law will not affect the legitimate rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents. Judicial independence and the core values of Hong Kong will also be protected, the spokesman said.

He pointed out that individuals or groups with ulterior motives have recently been using different means to smear the work to enact the national security law, as well as disseminate false and misleading information to deceive the public, attempting to create social instability.

"The HKSAR Basic Law and Hong Kong's legal system do not provide for any referendum mechanism. Conducting any form of so-called 'referendum' will have no constitutional basis or legal effect. Holding a 'referendum' on a strike and class boycott is obviously taking advantage of the public and students for political purposes," the spokesman reiterated.

Noting that a civil service staff union is openly calling on civil servants to participate in a joint-union operation for holding a so-called "referendum on a strike" for opposing the legislation of the national security law, the spokesman said this move is absolutely unacceptable, and civil servants have the responsibility to implement properly the work concerning the legislation of the national security law under the leadership of the HKSAR Chief Executive, and should not oppose the legislation.

The spokesman also noted that some organizations have repeatedly initiated through different means, including using schools as venues for expressing political demands and the holding of a so-called "referendum" on a class boycott as an attempt to stop the enactment of the national security law.

"A school should be a place for building character, enhancing understanding of national identity, nurturing awareness of abiding by the law and providing a happy learning environment. It should not involve politics," the spokesman said, urging parents and teachers to discern facts from fallacies and lead by example and work together to bring tranquility back to schools.

The spokesman said students should be reminded to cherish their orderly campus lives and learning opportunities. If individual students refuse to comply with the instructions after repeated persuasion, schools should take appropriate counselling and disciplinary actions according to the school-based mechanism to maintain discipline and order. In case such student misbehavior is noted, the Education Bureau of the HKSAR government will also liaise and follow up with the schools concerned to render support and give instruction.

The spokesman stressed that the HKSAR government firmly and resolutely supports and fully cooperates in implementing the work relating to the decision passed by the NPC and the enactment by the Standing Committee of the NPC of the national security law to discharge its duty of safeguarding national security.