Former vice-minister brings years of experience in the field to new post

The State Council announced on Tuesday that Dong Jingwei has been appointed director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The appointment was welcomed by Hong Kong leaders on Wednesday, including Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who pledged that the SAR would continue to communicate closely with the office and implement the National Security Law in the city.

In accordance with that law, the central government established the national security office in July 2020.It is mainly tasked with safeguarding national security, assessing related developments, making proposals on strategies and policies, and handling relevant cases.

Zheng Yanxiong was the first director of the office. In January, Zheng was appointed director of the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong.

As a former vice-minister of state security, Dong has a lot of experience in the field — particularly in understanding national security threats, according to Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, a think tank.

"In an environment where the United States and some Western countries continue to try to contain the mainland and Hong Kong, external forces will continue to use Hong Kong, a highly open city with a large assemblage of foreign intelligence agents, to threaten national security," Lau said.

Lau, who is also a professor of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, believes that Dong's appointment will be effective in "strengthening cooperation between the central and SAR governments to deal with national security threats", enabling Hong Kong to have a better grasp of the national security threats facing the country and enhancing the law enforcement capabilities of the National Security Department of the Hong Kong police.

Executive Councilor Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung also welcomed Dong's appointment, telling China Daily that he is a suitable candidate to head the office as he is familiar with the international situation, has extensive experience in maintaining national security and has close ties with the central government.

Lam, who is also vice-chairman of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, said the city, the subject of smears and suppression from some countries with ulterior motives, must remain vigilant against national security risks.

He believes that under Dong's leadership, the national security office will accurately analyze Hong Kong's national security situation and make suggestions on related strategies and policies to help ensure that the National Security Law is fully and comprehensively implemented.

Lai Tung-kwok, Hong Kong's former secretary for security, said that given Dong's experience, he was a "natural" choice for the appointment and will definitely contribute to Hong Kong's national security efforts.

Dong, 59, was the director of the political department of the Ministry of State Security from 2017 to 2018, according to a resume published on the website of the China Law Society, of which he is vice-president. He previously served as director of the Hebei Provincial Department of State Security from 2006 to 2017.