Commentary
Xia Baolong, currently Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office and former Deputy Party Secretary of Zhejiang who allegedly ordered the removal of thousands of crosses from churches, paid a six-day visit to Hong Kong to officiate in the National Security Education Day.
He made many speeches on “one country, two systems.” He said that subversive elements in Hong Kong and Macao would not stop and that external forces from the United States and the West would not be happy about this and might conspire and come back again anytime, so all should strive to defend Hong Kong and Macao. He also made explicit the relationship between “one country, two systems” and national security—protecting national security is equivalent to protecting “one country, two systems” and Hong Kong’s prosperity, democracy, and freedom. All Hongkongers must be patriots, not “bystanders.” In other words, they have lost their freedom not to express loyalty to China….
