Photo: VCG

Officials from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council expressed their firm support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, Hong Kong police and Chief Executive Carrie Lam at a press conference on Monday. This shows the riots that have lasted over 50 days in Hong Kong failed to waver Beijing's position and shake the "one country, two systems" principle. 

Hong Kong opposition responded rapidly, calling the conference a "waste of time" and accused Beijing of misjudging the situation.

But the extreme opposition and demonstrators in Hong Kong have misunderstood the geopolitical factors and the current era. It is they who completely miscalculated the situation.

The riots were sparked by resistance to amending the Fugitives Offenders Ordinance. Despite the HKSAR government declaring the extradition bill "dead," violence continued to escalate and radical protesters have become more vehement. They want to paralyze the HKSAR government, challenge the authority of the police and ultimately establish an opposition-dominated political structure manipulated by the US and Western forces.  

All of their actions have touched the bottom line of the "one country, two systems" principle. 

Beijing didn't forcefully intervene in the Hong Kong situation, and it has maintained respect for Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy. But Beijing will never yield to pressure created by the opposition and the Western forces behind them. Even if the opposition pushes the riots to the extreme, they are doomed to fail. 

 "One country, two systems" principle is a constitutional arrangement. The central government's jurisdiction over Hong Kong is the inevitable result of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, which cannot be impacted by any turbulence within Hong Kong. The riots will only cause harm to the local people.  

 "One country, two systems" principle has ensured Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy while preventing turmoil in Hong Kong from spreading to the mainland. Whatever the mobs did on the streets is ruining Hong Kong. The mainlanders are very sympathetic to this. But the mobs cannot affect the attitude of mainland society, nor can they cause a sense of crisis in the whole country.

The riots in Hong Kong have provided the mainland with a negative example, demonstrating how fragile social solidarity is under the Western system.

A high degree of autonomy requires Hong Kong society to be responsible for its internal order, and the core lever to fulfill this responsibility is the rule of law that Hong Kong has long been proud of. As the rule of law is severely damaged, unprecedented chaos has appeared in Hong Kong. 

When riots are severe enough to destroy the city as an international financial center, Hong Kong society will eventually be fed up with turbulence and begin to rebound.

We believe that a bottom line exists in Hong Kong, and the turning point will come sooner or later.

US and Western forces might suffice to incite extreme opposition, but they are by no means capable of reshaping Hong Kong politically. What they are trying to do is to throw Hong Kong into chaos and thus contain Beijing. 

Understanding the situation is essential to everyone. The riots won't have any political future. Hong Kong's deep-seated problems can only be solved through development.