Interview: National security law helps HK recover original aspiration of "one country, two systems": Basic Law drafter

Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy director of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Committee under the National People's Congress Standing Committee, receives an interview with Xinhua in Hong Kong, south China on July 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

HONG KONG, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The law on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) helps Hong Kong society recover the original aspiration of "one country, two systems" and draws a clear bottom line for its future practice, Maria Tam Wai-chu, one of the drafters of the HKSAR Basic Law, has said in an interview with Xinhua.

The original aspiration of "one country, two systems" is to safeguard national unity and territorial integrity on the one hand, and to maintain Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability by respecting its institutional differences and giving play to Hong Kong's unique role on the other hand, said Tam, deputy director of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee under the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

"One country" is the prerequisite and basis of "two systems", she stressed.

At a moment when the prolonged unrest in Hong Kong has seriously challenged the practice of "one country, two systems", the central authorities' decisive move to enact the law on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong demonstrates the resolve to ensure the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems", Tam pointed out.

Since the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR was adopted and took effect in the HKSAR on June 30, it has shown a clear deterrent effect on the "black violence" and "Hong Kong independence" forces in Hong Kong, which will push Hong Kong society back on track, she said.

Tam, who was a member of the drafting committee for the HKSAR Basic Law, noted that in the drafting of the Basic Law, the central authorities, out of trust in Hong Kong and consideration for "two systems", decided to authorize the HKSAR to enact laws on safeguarding national security in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law, but Hong Kong had not fulfilled this constitutional responsibility for 23 years since its returned to the motherland.

Legislation on national security falls within the purview of the central authorities in countries of both unitary and federal systems, Tam said, adding that the central authorities bear the primary and ultimate responsibility for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, so the enactment of the national security law for Hong Kong by the central authorities is a reasonable and legitimate move.

In formulating the national security law for Hong Kong, the central authorities have shown full trust in the HKSAR and full respect for Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy by authorizing the HKSAR to handle the vast majority of the cases concerning offenses endangering national security, Tam said.

The central authorities' retaining of the jurisdiction over a tiny number of cases under specific circumstances is meant to safeguard the bottom line of national security in Hong Kong, she added.

"The enactment and implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong has both historical and practical significance," Tam said, adding that it plugs loopholes in Hong Kong's legal system for safeguarding national security and helps restore peace and stability in Hong Kong society.