Beijing ‘has the laws, guns and cannons to prevent independence’, legal expert warns
Joshua Wong and Cheng Yiu-tong take issue with calls for the removal of Leung Chun-ying as chief executive
The Chinese government would respond with “guns and cannons” if activists gathered enough strength to make Hong Kong an independent state, a Beijing-based legal expert said yesterday.
The remarks came two days after National People’s Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang (張德江) dismissed calls for self-determination and independence as “unfeasible” and not acceptable “to the vast majority of Hongkongers”, shortly before he concluded a three-day visit to the city.
Pro-Beijing barrister Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok said that Basic Law Committee vice-chairman Zhang Rongshun (張榮順) told him in a closed-door meeting that advocacy for Hong Kong independence is “not a problem” for Beijing.
“Because it does not have the strength,” he quoted. “Even if it has the strength, it will be easy for Beijing because the central government has the laws, guns and cannons to handle it.”
In March, some university students formed the Hong Kong National Party and called for independence. Occupy protesters, meanwhile, formed the Demosisto party to demand self-determination for the city after 2047.
According to Article 14 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, the Hong Kong government may ask Beijing, when necessary, for assistance from the Chinese army’s local garrison to maintain public order.
Former lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah said it was unlikely Beijing would mobilise its army in Hong Kong. “It would only invite criticism that the ‘one country, two systems’ principle has failed.”
