Paul Chan Defends The Need To Secure 'One Country'

The financial secretary, Paul Chan, has defended Beijing's plan to drastically change Hong Kong's electoral system, saying it would be “pointless” to talk about Hong Kong's development or its role as an international financial centre, if the sovereignty of "One Country" is challenged.

Writing on his blog on Sunday, Chan said the planned overhaul can better secure "One Country, Two Systems" by plugging existing loopholes and setting a clear bottom line for the local election mechanism.

The finance chief stressed it is "absolutely reasonable" for Beijing to implement the sweeping changes, saying the US and a number of western countries have, over the past few years, adopted a hostile attitude towards the mainland and tried to impede it's development by using Hong Kong as a base for subversion.

His comment was echoed by chief secretary Matthew Cheung, who also said in his blog that it is “without doubt, reasonable and legal” for the central government to change the electoral system to make sure only patriots rule Hong Kong.

He stressed this requirement is a prerequisite for Hong Kong to “start again”, adding that the SAR government will do whatever it takes to help Beijing introduce and implement the overhaul.