This week, the Hong Kong non-systemic opposition began calling on residents to a referendum on the adoption of a new bill on national security in Hong Kong.
At first glance, it may seem that through a referendum, the opposition is only trying to make a loud political statement and attract the attention of Americans, who are just waiting for any reason to increase pressure on China.
However, given the peculiarities of Hong Kong law, which was adopted back in 1997, after the return of the former British colony to China, the real reasons for calling for a referendum will be more obvious. The whole complexity of the Hong Kong legal system is that, in principle, it does not consider a referendum as a constitutional legal institution. This condition was accepted by the Hong Kong and Chinese parties back in 1997. It is provided for by the principle of “one country, two systems.”
And most importantly, Hong Kong residents themselves are well aware of this, including the opposition, which has repeatedly tried to legalize referendums, but has been refused. And today’s calls by opposition organizations to hold their own “referendum”, which are primarily aimed at students and youth, carry one single goal – to resume mass protests and riots in Hong Kong.
The opposition understands that it will again receive a refusal to hold a referendum from the Hong Kong government, and it uses this refusal as an excuse for new violent protests in the city. For the most part, young people with little knowledge of legal issues, who are also not familiar with the opposition’s past unsuccessful attempts to hold a referendum, will then become “cannon fodder” for the opponents of China, as it was last year.
The absence of the concept of a “referendum” in the legal system of Hong Kong does not mean that the city and country leadership does not take into account the opinion of their citizens on the issue of changing legislation. Thus, on the eve of the adoption of the bill on national security, the Hong Kong government conducted mass polls of citizens about their attitude to this issue. At that time, more than 1.1 million Hong Kong residents signed a petition in support of the new law.
