Opinion | When Hong Kong’s lawmakers can’t get their own house in order, no wonder Beijing is stepping in

Toxic politics has crippled Hong Kong. While Beijing officials act with lightning speed on important legislative work in the shape of a new national security law, we cannot even enact a waste disposal charge, vacancy tax on property or an extension to maternity leave

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Residential buildings are illuminated under Lion Rock in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on May 7. Lawmakers have shelved plans to impose a vacancy tax, which was designed to punish property developers who hoard newly completed flats, taking advantage of the housing shortages to push up prices. Photo: Sun Yeung

Published: 6:30am, 29 Jun 2020Updated: 7:14am, 29 Jun 2020

When it comes to political will, Beijing’s is astonishing. For proof, look no further than the tailor-made national security law for Hong Kong.

It was only on May 28 that the National People’s Congress approved a last-minute resolution for its Standing Committee to do what the Hong Kong government was supposed to do. The breakneck speed at which the legislative work has been carried out for something of paramount importance is truly incredible.

And this efficiency does not seem to be bound by the inherent complexities of “one country, two systems”. In less than one month, 12 high-level consultation sessions were conducted, attended by more than 100 Hongkongers and senior mainland Chinese officials, and hosted by the central government liaison office.

The citywide public signature drive in support of the legislation returned almost 3 million signatures in just eight days – amid the Covid-19 pandemic, no less. That is extraordinary, too, and makes one wonder why Article 23 was such a big deal back in 2003. To think, national security legislation was once considered such a liability that everyone stayed away.

Certainly, Beijing’s efficiency has left Hongkongers, known for getting things done, in the dust. That is most obvious when we consider the progress of the health code system that was supposed to create a travel bubble for Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province to facilitate travel amid Covid-19 quarantine requirements.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the plan in May and some work has apparently been done, but it has yet to yield any results.