The patriotism prerequisite in Hong Kong
For obvious reasons, there is no country that does not expect, even demand patriotism from its citizens. This is more so for those who serve as State or public officers. Their loyalty to the country must be beyond question since they are the custodians of sensitive information that can be used by enemies of the country.
In order to enhance this state of affairs, the Chinese government recently came up with changes that overhauled Hong Kong’s electoral laws. These changes which were ratified during the 2021 two sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the NPC Standing Committee held in March requires that Hong Kong’s electoral system conforms to the policy of ‘one country, two systems,’ and meets the realities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Further, it aims to ensure that Hong Kong is administered by people who love the country (China) and love HKSAR, be conducive to safeguarding China’s national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and help maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of the Chinese territory.
Basically, the reforms came up with detailed measures which include enhancing the functions and roles of the Election Committee for electing Legislative Council (LegCo) lawmakers and the region's chief executive, expanding the scope of candidates to make local elections more representative and setting up a high-level vetting committee to ensure candidates meet the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong". 
In the emerging dispensation, China expanded HKSAR’s Election Committee from the current 1,200 members to 1,500 members. This effectively expands the body of people’s representatives to include a wider range of socio-economic and political interests. It is democracy by any other name.
China really has no choice but to secure Hong Kong after spirited attempts in the last couple of years to destabilized the territory. Specifically, the NPC Observer says that the decision follows a series of events in the past two years: mass protests against the Hong Kong government’s extradition bill (since withdrawn), opposition lawmakers’ use of filibusters to delay proceedings, and pro-democracy primaries for the now-postponed 2020 Legislative Council election.
It is really dishonest for the West, especially America, to condemn China for demanding unquestionable patriotism from anyone seeking public office in Hong Kong. The superpower has conveniently forgotten its own elaborate USA Patriot Act, which was enacted on October 26, 2001. The stated aim of the 132-page legislation published in small print is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.”
Consequently, the Act gave the U.S. government sweeping surveillance powers to access any private information on its citizens and non-citizens for either intelligence or criminal purposes, by both local and federal authorities. Section 314 helps law enforcement identify, disrupt, and prevent terrorist acts and money laundering activities by encouraging further cooperation among law enforcement, regulators, and financial institutions to share information.
So why the double standards? How is it that in this case what is good for the goose is toxic for the gander? America has been called out for its high handedness in application of the Patriot Act by human rights activists for infringing on people’s rights and freedoms. The Act has also been perceived as also aimed at undermining the Islamic religion.
The new changes are China’s internal affairs and no external party has the mandate to influence the direction HKSAR takes. Those who have vested interests should be satisfied with the ‘one country, two systems’ mode of governance and stick to where their bread is buttered.
