The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Nov 11 passed a decision, clarifying the eligibility of Hong Kong lawmakers. With reference to the NPCSC decision, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government immediately unseated four opposition legislators, who had been disqualified by returning officers for the next Legislative Council election for failing to uphold their oath of office and allegiance. Public reaction to the NPCSC decision has been overwhelmingly positive in Hong Kong, whereas the opposition camp took it badly as expected, with 15 opposition LegCo members announcing their collective resignation to show "solidarity" with the "fallen four" at a melodramatic media conference. What is the real objective of their resignation en masse, defending "one country, two systems" or sabotaging it? Are they pushing Hong Kong's socioeconomic advancement forward or backward?

Established according to the Basic Law, LegCo is the legislative branch of the HKSAR government. In addition to making laws, it checks on the executive branch to make sure the latter operates according to law, scrutinizes the latter's bills, proposals and arrangements designed to serve the overall interest of Hong Kong society and, in doing so, fulfills its constitutional duty. All LegCo members are duty-bound by the Basic Law to sincerely honor the oath they took upon taking office and prove they are worthy of public trust and accountable to the people of Hong Kong as well as the HKSAR of the People's Republic of China.

Much to the disappointment and resentment of Hong Kong society, however, opposition lawmakers who have sided with the "burn together" radicals routinely betrayed the oath they all took upon taking office and abused the power entrusted in them by the voting public by harming Hong Kong society from within the governance establishment, albeit with "democracy", "freedom" and "rule of law" as pretenses. Victims of their wanton obstruction included the Innovation and Technology Bureau, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link project, funding for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and the arrangement allowing passengers to clear immigration, customs and quarantine checks by both Hong Kong and mainland authorities before boarding at the high-speed railway station of West Kowloon. They also delayed or blocked funding for more than 10,000 small public works over the years, emergency funding for COVID-19 measures and facilities meant to save people's lives, and filibustered the annual budget every year without fail. They nearly pushed the SAR government over the edge of a "fiscal cliff" in 2013 by taking the annual budget hostage for months, leaving 60-odd government departments in danger of shutting down because of a lack of funds. In July, they vowed to "burn together" with Hong Kong society by vetoing all policy bills and the fiscal budget presented by the SAR government, to cripple the latter.

In political affairs, the "burn together" faction has gone out of its way to oppose everything related to the mainland, such as blocking the enactment of Article 23 of the Basic Law regarding national security, vetoing the electoral reform package aimed at achieving universal suffrage in the chief executive election according to the Basic Law and filibustering the National Anthem Bill. They were the main movers behind the "Occupy Central" illegal movement in 2014. Last year, they upped the ante by targeting the Hong Kong Police Force as their archenemy, abetted multiple besiegements of the police headquarters in Wan Chai, encouraged black-clad rioters to attack police stations and dormitories, and supported cyberbullying of police officers and their family members, apparently in a bid to intimidate the police for the convenience of their destructive agenda.

Such blatant abuse of power would have landed any public officeholder in prison in Western countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, but the "burn together" lawmakers were never satisfied with all those despicable acts, which is why they sought foreign government interference in Hong Kong's internal affairs tirelessly, at the expense of Hong Kong people. To promote their political objectives, they have been colluding with anti-China external forces over the years. In return for obedience to their foreign patrons, the "burn together" faction has been allowed to take credit for "convincing" the US Congress to pass punitive laws against the HKSAR and individual officials as well as central government entities. For example, they claimed last year to have "successfully achieved" amendments to the US-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, enactment of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act 2019, by the US Congress, paving the way for "sanctioning" Hong Kong.

The "one country, two systems" principle does not exclude opposition parties in Hong Kong affairs, and the central government has always been tolerant in the hope of seeking consensus with them. But it will never let opposition lawmakers become criminally inclined "burn together" advocates who undermine the political system. The latest NPCSC decision on the qualification of LegCo members has drawn the legal boundaries of legislative affairs in terms of lawmakers honoring the oath that they all take upon taking office. From now on, all those who aspire to serve the public as legislators must realize the red line between legal and illegal at all times, as shown in the NPCSC decision.

The global situation has been further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hong Kong finds itself in a strong political turbulence and economic conundrum. It is time for Hong Kong residents to think carefully about their hometown's future. To keep Hong Kong from dropping by the wayside, the outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) included suggestions on supporting the HKSAR to become an international center of innovation and technology development as well as a multipurpose platform catering to the Belt and Road Initiative in the years to come. With all the favorable support from the central authorities coming its way, Hong Kong can have a significant role in the next phase of national development. The question is: When will Hong Kong end abuse by the "burn together" faction for good?

The author is a current affairs commentator. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.