City Beat | Are loving China and the Communist Party the same thing? Hong Kong and Beijing each grapple with question

Paramount leader Deng Xiaoping made these words famous in the early 1980s when he met a visiting Hong Kong delegation to discuss the future of what was then a British colony.

The quote has since been widely circulated by many, especially after the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty, to argue that under the “one country, two systems” policy, Hongkongers can enjoy the freedom of criticising China’s ruling Communist Party in whatever way, as long as no action is taken to overthrow its rule, since being patriotic means loving the country.

Now, under President Xi Jinping’s strong leadership, this issue has become a talking point again after a veteran pro-Beijing figure from the city warned that those calling for an end to one-party dictatorship might be risking their future political career.

Xi made it crystal clear that Hongkongers needed to “strengthen their sense of belonging to the nation and their patriotic feeling” in his keynote speech last week at the end of China’s most important annual political event, the more than two-week-long National People’s Congress (NPC) session.

As Xi’s second term officially begins, much of the focus for the whole world, including Hong Kong, has been on speculating how long he is to stay in power, since the national parliament has passed constitutional amendments that include lifting the two-term limit on the presidency. But an equally significant change that should not be overlooked is that the rule of the Communist Party as the “essential feature” of socialism with Chinese characteristics has been entrenched into the body, instead of just the preamble of the constitution.