[01 Weekly Editorial] Advancing to stop violence and chaos cannot replace comprehensive reforms

Since 2022, the new year should bring a new atmosphere, but in fact many things seen from Hong Kong society are not necessarily so.

The new crown epidemic continues to ravage and affect our daily lives. The SAR government has also continued to promote various "stop violence and chaos" work. As a result, violent activities ceased and chaos stopped. The supply of land and housing is still tight, and the gap between the rich and the poor is still serious. The industrial structure is still single.

The public has yet to see much hope for a "return to normal". It seems that the Hong Kong government has never intended to implement multi-level and all-round reforms. The development of the whole society seems to have not seen any progress compared with the past two years.

Could it be that the turmoil and epidemic that began in 2019 really caused Hong Kong to sink into a muddy foot, and could not get out of it after two cold and heat?

Or is Hong Kong's administrative and governance system really losing its due effectiveness?

Two weeks ago, President Xi Jinping met with Carrie Lam, who was going to Beijing to report on her duties. She pointed out that she led the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to "resolutely implement the Hong Kong National Security Law, stop violence and chaos in accordance with the law, correct chaos, and uphold the authority and dignity of the rule of law." The "full affirmation" of her work with the Hong Kong government shows that "stopping violence and curbing chaos" is indeed still an important task assigned by Beijing to govern Hong Kong.

However, what cannot be ignored is that when Premier Li Keqiang met with Carrie Lam on the same day, he pointed out that he hoped that the SAR government could "focus on solving outstanding problems related to the vital interests of the general public, enhance the general public’s sense of gain, and promote new achievements in various undertakings in Hong Kong. "Progress" shows that promoting people's livelihood and economic development are the same tasks that the central government requires those governing Hong Kong to do well.

On December 22, 2021, President Xi Jinping met with Carrie Lam who was going to Beijing to report on work.

(Associated Press)

Resolute action should be everywhere

Undoubtedly, the aftermath caused by the social unrest in 2019 has gradually calmed down, the trial of related judicial cases has been completed one by one, and the local public security situation has been significantly improved.

Statistics from the Hong Kong Police Force show that the number of crimes in the first quarter and the first half of 2021 has decreased compared with the same period in 2020. In addition, the Economist Intelligence Unit (The Economist Intelligence Unit) in the United Kingdom has a "Global Safe City Ranking" every two years. In 2019, Hong Kong’s ranking was lowered from ninth to 20th, but in 2021, it dropped to a higher eighth. It can be seen that Hong Kong society has tended towards security and stability in the past two years is an objective fact recognized by the international community.

From this perspective, the work of "stopping violence and chaos" can be said to have achieved considerable results, and it does not necessarily need to be regarded as the first priority.

Moreover, there is no need for all policy bureaus and government departments to directly participate in the matter of "stopping violence and chaos". It is understandable that organizations such as the Department of Justice, the Security Bureau, and the Police Department play important roles, such as the Financial Secretary, the Development Bureau, and the Labour Department. What about other departments?

Let’s talk about the occurrence of any social turmoil in history. It is inevitable that there will be factors behind the people’s lack of livelihood. These are far away from the fact that it is impossible to deal with "stop violence and chaos" alone. Therefore, as long as other policy bureaus and departments can carry out reforms, they will eventually Definitely can make a positive contribution to social stability.

On the contrary, if the non-specialist departments are taking their place, and even the 2018 GDP figures can be attributed to the fact that "reverse forces" are pulling down, when will the "stop violence and chaos" come to an end?

The recent enforcement actions against "Stance News" are sufficient proof that Hong Kong government officials can act decisively. It also represents that "habits" that people thought could not be changed in the past can be broken.

However, this resolute and resolute approach should not be limited to the public security department to deter the society. Other departments, directors and their teams also need to make the public feel the same in the work areas they preside. For example, the Financial Secretary Chen Maobo kept writing earlier. He blogs and shoots videos to talk about various feelings about the policies and measures of the central government and the Hong Kong government. Can he further point out that Hong Kong’s economic development policy has been "changing the soup without changing the medicine" for many years. Why can't it be like "stop violence and stop chaos" Just change course altogether?

Compared with the rapid progress of "stopping violence and chaos", Hong Kong's local people's livelihood and economic development have always stagnated and struggled.

(Photo by Zheng Zifeng)

People's livelihood economy continues to struggle

Compared with the rapid progress of "stopping violence and chaos", Hong Kong's local people's livelihood and economic development have always stagnated and struggled.

This is mainly because government officials have remained the same in recent years, vainly relying on minor repairs and remedial measures to cover people's eyes and refusing to implement drastic structural reforms.

Take Carrie Lam’s speech in reviewing the work of the year last week as an example. She continued to have more reservations about housing issues. Compared with the two housing markets that completely cut the public and private sectors, she only chose to extend the lock-up period for subsidized housing; more than building construction. There are many public rental housing, she would rather allow people waiting for public housing to subscribe for "green homes."

The cure for the problem has been there for a long time, and the vast majority of citizens also agree that these problems should not continue to be delayed. Why is the governance team always confused about this?

It is this sluggish style that has made it impossible for the government not only to lead Hong Kong to resolve deep-seated contradictions, but also all kinds of imminent short-term challenges.

The most obvious example is the case of dealing with the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Carrie Lam claimed that the "main focus of work in the coming year is still the fight against the epidemic", but ignored the repeated points in the society that crew members travelling to and from foreign countries must strictly implement quarantine and closed-loop work. As a result, on the same day, someone went out in violation of the regulations, causing the local case "clearing" record to be disconnected, and triggering a crisis of the virus spreading chain invading the community.

Lam Cheng "hopes that there will be good news soon" to resume the "customs clearance" arrangements for quarantine-free quarantine in the Mainland, and this has added more variables.

The "Northern Metropolis" repeatedly reiterated by Lam Cheng from last year's "Policy Address" has so far more fully embodied what is meant by "big thunder and less rain."

After more than two months, government officials are still repeating several sets of figures based on old development projects, only to appeal to everyone to look forward to the glorious vision of the district in twenty years, but they did not come up with any detailed plans for the community to further develop. discuss.

At the same time, the public is the first to feel the effects of the "Northern Metropolis" concept, but it has already supported the property market in the New Territories. The prices of properties that are cheaper than those in the urban area are gradually rising.

One of the goals of increasing the supply of land and housing should have been to help the people achieve more affordable housing. The current trend is fundamentally contrary to this.

Restoring the surface order is the most basic task of governing society, but the subsequent internal reforms are even more difficult.

The picture shows the Chief Executive Carrie Lam meeting with the media on December 30, 2021, reviewing the overall work of the SAR government in 2021.

(Getty Images)

The next governance team must innovate

The Central Government’s expectations for those who govern Hong Kong have never been limited to "stop violence and curb chaos."

Restoring the surface order is the most basic task of governing society, but the subsequent internal reforms are even more difficult.

Last month, Beijing published the "Democratic Development of Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems"" white paper, which proposed that Hong Kong should "promote economic development and enhance the well-being of Hong Kong people", and it also covers "continuous improvement of people's livelihood... Problems and deep-seated contradictions have allowed the fruits of economic and social development to benefit all Hong Kong residents more equitably."

A local government with effective governance cannot require public supervision and guidance from the upper level in everything. Those who govern Hong Kong must not misjudge the central government’s requirements and only vigorously publicize the four characters "stop violence and suppress chaos", but neglect other more important things after that. Task.

In the final analysis, whether the "Hong Kong District National Security Law" or the decision to improve the electoral system, it is only the Beijing Central Committee's infinite courage and determination in this regard. The various "stop violence and chaos" tasks of the Hong Kong government are at best obedience. That's it.

What we hope to see is that officials governing Hong Kong can work with the same standards in other areas, and are as successful as "stopping violence and curbing chaos" in pursuing social justice and improving the lives of Hong Kong people.

If the old governance team is still a vegetarian diet, and has no intention of taking the lead in reforms and leading the society to solve these problems, then they may have to change hands to another new team. The situation is just like the substantial replacement of members of the parliament not long ago.

Those who hinder social reforms but are unwilling to abdicate to the virtuous are destined to end in embarrassment.

We believe that the vast majority of citizens still hope that Hong Kong can promote reforms on its own, and the head of government that everyone really needs will not be to blame the problem on past social unrest, nor can he use the vision of the future to throw his current responsibilities to others.

Half of the time limit for "no change for 50 years" has passed, and "one country, two systems" is about to enter a new stage, and the central authorities should also have new requirements for Hong Kong in the new situation.

Now as the new year approaches, the new Election Committee and the Legislative Council have successfully assumed their roles, and there is less than three months left before the election of the next Chief Executive. We look forward to the future Chief Executive and his management team. It can also show the courage to reform Hong Kong, lead Hong Kong people to bid farewell to the old days full of contradictions and chaos, and usher in a new era of wealth, stability and fairness.

Please pay attention to the 298th "Hong Kong 01" weekly electronic report published on January 2, 2022.

You can also