The National People’s Congress’ passage on Thursday of the decision on improving Hong Kong’s electoral system ensures that Hong Kong will be governed by patriots, namely people who love China and Hong Kong. The reforms enhance the efficiency of policymaking in the HKSAR and pave the way for the city’s economic transition. 

Hong Kong’s legal status as a special administrative region of China implies that it must be governed by patriots. Unlike the United States, which is a federal state, China is a unitary state in which the central government is ultimately supreme and delegates political power to local governments. Since the handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China in 1997, Hong Kong has been a SAR of China under the “one country, two systems” framework.  

Unlike regional governments under the federation system, where local governments share powers with the central government as equal entities through a written constitution, the head of the Hong Kong SAR government is appointed by and reports directly to the central government. In Article 12 of The Basic Law, it is clearly laid out that Hong Kong SAR “shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy and come directly under the Central People’s Government”. Under this framework, Hong Kong must be governed by people who are loyal to the motherland and care about the city. 

Before the sovereignty handover in 1997, every colonial governor of Hong Kong was appointed by the sovereign of the United Kingdom, which is also a unitary state. The governors, as well as the administrative body, were required to be loyal to the Crown and the Kingdom. No one, then, seemed bothered to challenge the logic. 

Unfortunately, the Western hostile forces do not apply the same logic to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which sounds weird to every right-thinking resident. It has been an undeniable fact that Beijing has granted much more political power and freedom to the SAR than London did during the colonial era.

The prerequisite for political candidates to be patriotic will not damage Hong Kong’s democracy at all. Nor does it mean there will be only one voice in the legislative council in the future. Patriotic politicians in Hong Kong still have diverse backgrounds, different constituencies, disagreeing political beliefs, and possibly conflicting views on particular legislative issues. Even in a federal state such as the United States, both Republicans and Democrats would claim themselves as patriots. But being patriots does not prevent them from forming and joining different parties and pursuing different political goals and agendas. The same logic should apply in Hong Kong as well.

In fact, the electoral system reform should help improve democratic practices in Hong Kong. Previously, some legislative council members were heavily influenced by foreign political powers and created obstacles for the SAR government by blocking voting on economic and social welfare proposals of the government. They also participated in, fueled or even organized violent street protests in 2019. As a result, Hong Kong’s social, economic, commercial and cultural environment was severely damaged; important reforms and proposals could not be approved or even debated properly in the Legislative Council. 

After the electoral reform, the democratic election, negotiation and decision-making process will remain intact, but the efficiency of the process will be greatly enhanced. This will pave the way for Hong Kong to reposition and reinvigorate itself amid rapid changes in global economic, technological and geopolitical landscapes. 

As we all acknowledge, Hong Kong is facing tremendous challenges today. Its economy has fallen into the longest and deepest recession on record, as a result of the Sino-US trade war in 2018, street violence in 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020. Its status as an international financial center is being challenged by competitors such as Shanghai and Singapore. Its highly open economy is being threatened by the so-called deglobalization trend. Local businesses are risking being left behind amid rapid technological advances globally if the city lacks necessary infrastructure or talents.

In face of all these challenges, Hong Kong needs to adjust and reposition itself. Over the past years, the SAR government has launched initiatives to develop Hong Kong into a Green Finance hub, an ESG  investment hub, a global fintech center, besides being an international financial and asset management center. After the electoral reform, the SAR government will be able to move even faster on all policy fronts as past obstacles created by unpatriotic politicians will no longer exist.

The author is deputy chairman and CEO of Haitong International Securities Group Ltd, chairman of Haitong Bank SA and chairman of the Chinese Securities Association of Hong Kong. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.