The Hong Kong government will step up national security education through activities organised by disciplinary forces, schools and community groups, Chief Secretary Eric Chan has said, as he warned the city to be cautious about “soft resistance.”
Challenges to national security in Hong Kong were “constantly changing,” and “anti-China forces” would not “give up easily,” Hong Kong’s No.2 official Chan said in an interview with Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po published on Friday.
Hong Kong’s domestic security law, known colloquially as Article 23, which came into force last month, empowers the chief executive to make subsidiary legislation for safeguarding national security, after consulting with the Executive Council, to “deal with unforeseen circumstances.” It also allows the city’s leader to issue administrative instructions to any department or agency or public servants to direct them on national security work.
Chan told the newspaper that the government would “act decisively” to mitigate national security risks when necessary.
“While establishing a robust legal framework and enforcement mechanisms to safeguard national security, Hong Kong must remain vigilant against anti-China and destabilising forces, including various forms of ‘soft confrontation’,” Chan said in the Chinese interview.
‘Soft resistance’
Rising from a 2021 speech made Luo Huining, the then-director of the Liaison Office, the term “soft resistance” was uttered by top Beijing and Hong Kong officials with increasing frequency throughout 2023.
The term was also used by the government in explaining why it was necessary for Hong Kong to enact the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
In a consultation paper released in late January, the government said forces seeking to endanger the security of China and Hong Kong had continued to use “so-called artistic creations” released through publications, music, films, arts and culture and online games to promote resistance against Beijing and the Hong Kong government. They also attempted to subvert the state power using a “soft resistance” approach, the government alleged.
Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of to up to 16 days, and suspects’ access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city’s opposition-free legislature.
The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.
In the interview published ahead of the 10th anniversary of National Security Education Day on April 15, Chan said the government would enhance national security education with diverse activities. Various disciplinary forces will organise open days for members of the public to learn more about their work in safeguarding national security, he said.
The official also cited the government’s first national security education study tour featuring 75 principals, teachers and students from 17 secondary schools. The students returned “moved and inspired” after visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou between March 29 and April 4, the government said last week.
The authorities will collaborate with the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education and various youth uniform groups to organise goose step demonstrations and other activities, Chan added.
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