Wang Zhimin Warns HK Is Weak On National Security

The Director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, Wang Zhimin, said on Sunday the city is the only place in the world without legislation to safeguard national security.

Speaking at the National Security Education Day symposium, Wang said Hong Kong has become a risky point in terms of national security, as problems easily arise where the protection is weak.

He strongly criticised advocates of Hong Kong independence, saying they have been unscrupulously using different means to challenge the country's sovereignty. He said they not only spread their mistaken beliefs within the community, but went further by poisoning the next generation at schools.

Wang accused them of linking up with anti-China forces in Taiwan and other places trying to split and subvert the country. He warned that what they did would threaten the country's development and Hong Kong's stability.

Speaking at the same symposium, the Chief Executive Carrie Lam described Hong Kong people's understanding of national security as vague and weak. She said some people simply regarded national security as a military matter, and thought Hong Kong didn't need to care about it as it's the responsibility of the central government.

She said she hoped the symposium would clear up this misconception.

This was the first seminar of its kind held on the "National Security Education Day" designated by the National People's Congress Stranding Committee in 2015.

It was organised by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute - a think-tank which has former Legislative Council president Tsang Yok-sing as a vice chairman.

DAB chairwoman Starry Lee said she doesn't think that Wang's speech puts much pressure on the government to legislate Article 23. She said Wang was just expressing the concerns of the central government honestly regarding the importance of national security.

Ahead of the start of the event, a number of League of Social Democrats members staged a protest outside the venue. They accused the Communist Party of using national security as an excuse to suppress freedom of speech and thought. They attempted to break through a police line at a protest area in Admiralty, but failed.