People are seen wearing masks at the Central area in Hong Kong, south China, Feb. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)
BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Lawmakers have been deliberating a draft decision on national security legislation for Hong Kong at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.
World leaders and experts have shared their opinions with Xinhua recently on this legislation. The following are some of the highlights of their views.
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A resident signs in a street campaign in support of national security legislation for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in Hong Kong, south China, May 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
PHNOM PENH -- People around the world had observed that the protests in Hong Kong last year were not peaceful, but "a revolt aiming to secede," Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong has said.
"So what country, what government can accept this intended secession," he said, adding that those violent activities seriously affected Hong Kong's role as an economic and financial hub as well as the peaceful life of the people living there.
"Hong Kong is a part of Chinese territory. I think that the NPC, acting under China's Constitution, has full legal rights to legislate to safeguard national territorial integrity and national security throughout its territory," he said. xhne.ws/NACR5
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SINGAPORE -- In the past several months, there have been local and foreign anti-China forces sabotaging Hong Kong's security and people's safety and properties, said Chung Ting Fai, founder of the Chung Ting Fai & Co Advocates and Solicitors, a law firm in Singapore.
A rioter sets fire outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in south China's Hong Kong, Nov. 17, 2019. (Xinhua)
"Some Hong Kong residents or visitors were beaten up and even been set on fire; quite a number of restaurants and shops were vandalized; public transportation was blocked," which has not only damaged Hong Kong's international image, but also threatened and disrupted Hong Kong residents' normal lives, said Chung.
"No country in the world would tolerate these kinds of atrocities," said Chung, who lived in Hong Kong before moving to Singapore with his family at the age of 10.
Therefore, the evolvement of the situation in Hong Kong spells a need and urgency of the legislation on national security, so as to maintain Hong Kong's rule of law, safeguard Hong Kong's security, stability and prosperity, and protect the basic rights and freedom of its people, he said.
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ISLAMABAD -- The draft decision will lay a solid foundation for implementing the "one country, two systems" principle, Manzoor Afridi, an associate professor on international relations at the International Islamic University, Islamabad.
A rioter sets fire and destroys public facilities outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in south China's Hong Kong, Nov. 17, 2019. (Xinhua)
The violent protests in Hong Kong last year seriously threatened the stability and peace of the special administrative region, in addition to posing a severe challenge to China's national security and unity, he said.
The scholar noted that the opposition forces in Hong Kong tried to play a double game by trying to topple the HKSAR government on one hand and challenging the authority of the state on the other.
"The chaos not only threatened 'one country, two systems,' but also shattered the delicate fabric of the society and the rule of law in Hong Kong, putting citizens' legitimate rights in danger," he said. xhne.ws/32Kyh■