National security legislation a long overdue move

The draft decision of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, to enact a law to fix a national security loophole in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a long overdue move.

Safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, together with ensuring the SAR's long-term prosperity and stability, is the very intention and philosophy of "one country, two systems". It is the SAR's constitutional responsibility, rather than an option at its discretion, to safeguard national security and territorial integrity by enacting a national security law according to Article 23 of the Basic Law.

Yet more than 20 years after Hong Kong returned to China, the SAR has failed to fulfill its constitutional obligation due to the obstruction of the opposition camp in the region. The opposition has without fail leveraged external anti-China forces in thwarting the SAR government's attempts to fulfill this obligation.