Ban makes clear Hong Kong has no place for separatists

The outlawing of the "Hong Kong National Party" has sent a strong signal across the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that separatist activities will not be tolerated. The ban of the party that advocated "Hong Kong independence" also sends a clear message that the central and SAR governments will defend at all costs the country's territorial integrity and the principle of "one country, two systems" - the red line President Xi Jinping emphasized in Hong Kong last year.

The decision taken under Section 8(2) of the Societies Ordinance on Monday is an important and timely move given the intensifying activities of some pro-separatist foreign forces, including some Western media outlets.

The decision, first of all, is a castigation of the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong, for inviting the now banned group's convener Andy Chan Ho-tin to a live-stream luncheon talk on Aug 14 despite the strong protests from the Hong Kong chief executive, the commissioner of the ministry of foreign affairs in the SAR and society at large.