China improving Hong Kong's electoral system guarantees "one country, two systems" -- observers

Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in south China's Hong Kong, July 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

"Chinese lawmakers have done the right thing," said Sheriff Ibrahim Ghali, director of the Institute of Legislative Studies at the University of Abuja, Nigeria. "This is because it is a matter of the sovereignty of China."

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China's recent improvement to Hong Kong's electoral system serves as a guardrail for the implementation of the "one country, two systems" policy, observers from various countries have said.

In a bid to ensure that Hong Kong is administered by the "patriots," China's top legislature on Tuesday unanimously passed two amended annexes to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) which concern the method for the selection of the HKSAR chief executive and the method for the formation of the HKSAR Legislative Council and its voting procedures, respectively.

"Every government has the obligation to defend the sovereignty, stability, and internal order of the state," said Eduardo Regalado, senior researcher at the International Policy Research Center of Cuba.

Guaranteeing that Hong Kong is administered by the patriots, the amended annexes develop the democratic exercise in the region and enhance the "one country, two systems" policy, noted the researcher.

Taxis hanging Chinese national flags participate in a peace rally in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

These legislative changes were made in accordance with the needs of the time, said Afrasiab Khattak, president of Pakistan's Roshan Democratic Institute, adding that these necessary amendments would fill up the loopholes in Hong Kong's electoral system and ensure the implementation of the "patriots administering Hong Kong" principle.

Xulio Rios, director of the Observatory of Chinese Politics in Spain, said that the improvement to Hong Kong's electoral system shows "the firm will" of the Chinese government to preserve the stability of the region.

Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs, in which other countries should not interfere, said Azamat Seitov, a professor at the National University of Uzbekistan.

Head of the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Tehran Hamed Vafaei believes that China's adoption of the amended annexes provides an institutional guarantee for Hong Kong's enduring peace and stability.

A pedestrian walks past a poster on improving electoral system and ensuring patriots administering Hong Kong in south China's Hong Kong, March 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

The newly adopted annexes would inject new vitality into the "one country, two systems" policy, said Ivona Ladjevac, head of the center for the Belt and Road Initiative at the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Serbia.

Ladjevac added that the legislative changes also help create an environment that would benefit economic development of the region.

Wilson Lee Flores, a columnist for the English-language daily The Philippine Star, said China's amendments to the HKSAR Basic Law would ensure long-term stability of the region, guarantee that only patriots administer Hong Kong, and help cement Hong Kong's status as a global financial and trade center.

"Chinese lawmakers have done the right thing," said Sheriff Ibrahim Ghali, director of the Institute of Legislative Studies at the University of Abuja, Nigeria. "This is because it is a matter of the sovereignty of China."

These amendments would bring peace and harmony to Hong Kong and ensure that the interests of the Chinese people are well protected, noted the scholar.