Opinion | Hong Kong’s security rests on a strong economy, not just Article 23

As Hong Kong’s pivotal Article 23 security bill takes shape, public discourse surrounding the subject has drawn in city officials like moths to a flame. Talk on a variety of unrelated subjects is now couched in terms of security as lawmakers and administrators make haste to present patriotic credentials.

This random-speak poses a problem. National security will feature as a core value in the revised civil service code. But critical thinking on pressing areas like housing, education, manpower, the environment, trade, tourism, infrastructure, job creation and caring for a greying population cannot be seen to be sidelined.

Hong Kong is part of China, albeit with its own legal structure and freedoms as enshrined in the Basic Law. There is no doubt that a domestic security bill is required to replace or hone archaic colonial laws. Many countries have such laws, with varying degrees of latitude in interpreting and implementing them. And yes, Hong Kong needs to get its head around this.

Still, at this time in the city’s re-emergence from the Covid-19 and protest-linked slowdown, it would be wise to frame discussions in the context of socio-economic safeguards rather than purely law and order. Constant talk of sedition, visa scrutiny and surveillance could undermine both public and investor confidence by creating a sense of unease and uncertainty.

The city would be far better served by local officials giving their undivided attention to their own departments and scouring their collective imagination for novel solutions to novel challenges. Hong Kong has long been admired for its can-do spirit and ability to create fixes in impossible circumstances. It needs to dig deep now and tap into its abundant administrative talent.