Photo taken on Aug. 5, 2019 shows China's national flag and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

Under the combined impact of social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is facing another tough year in 2020, with anti-government and separatist forces preparing to take more action in June to extend the turmoil.

Meanwhile, the US State Department is looking closely at the upcoming annual session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) to further interfere in China's domestic affairs in the special administrative region.

In order to bring the city back to the right track and start its economic recovery, Hong Kong deputies to the NPC said that their proposals for the NPC plenary session, which is scheduled to kick off on May 22 in Beijing, would focus on such issues as integration between the Chinese mainland and the HKSAR, public health affairs and policies for creating more opportunities for youth in Hong Kong. 

The US State Department is delaying a report to the US Congress assessing "whether Hong Kong enjoys sufficient autonomy from China" to continue receiving special treatment from the US, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Pompeo told a news conference the delay was to allow the report "to account for any additional actions that Beijing may be contemplating in the run-up" to the NPC on May 22 "that would further undermine the people of Hong Kong's autonomy."

Chinese analysts said that no matter what policies or announcements the NPC plenary session issues about Hong Kong, interference from the US is unlikely to stop, and its support for separatists and troublemakers in Hong Kong will continue, so China needs to prepare its retaliation.

If Washington changes its policy toward Hong Kong, US interests in the city would also be impacted, they said.

The "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act," which is a serious interference in China's domestic affairs, approved by the US Congress and President Donald Trump last year, requires the US State Department to certify at least annually that the HKSAR retains "enough autonomy to justify the favorable US trading terms that have helped it maintain its position as a world financial center."

Chan Yung, a Hong Kong deputy to the NPC who will attend the plenary session, told the Global Times on Thursday that economic recovery and democratic elections in the HKSAR should be based on the basis of a secure public order.

"The police and the government of the HKSAR are responsible for the law enforcement against separatists and local anti-government forces, but when it goes to foreign forces, we surely need help from the central government as this is a diplomatic matter," said the deputy.

The State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office on Wednesday denounced separatists, anti-government forces and the "burn with us" mentality in the HKSAR, calling them "the political viruses of Hong Kong society" and the enemy of the "one country, two systems" policy.

"Hong Kong will not enjoy a day of peace until violence is eradicated," the spokesperson said in a statement, noting that the central government will never sit idly by or allow destructive forces to act wantonly, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

During the May Day holidays, radicals renewed violence in Hong Kong by holding illegal assemblies, disrupting shops and throwing petrol bombs, which have laid bare the ill intentions of the violent forces and the behind-the-scene plotters, organizers and instigators aiming to drag Hong Kong into an abyss, the office spokesperson said.

Li Xiaobing, a Hong Kong studies expert at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times that these "political viruses" have seriously damaged the city, and even now they still have the capability to extend the turmoil into 2020 to further harm the city's economy, since the sponsorship and guidance provided by foreign forces still exist. 

"These forces won't give up making trouble to let the whole city to burn with them; otherwise, they will lose everything and will be punished by the law, one by one," Li said.

According to Hong Kong-based media hk01.com, Hong Kong separatist forces are organizing a series of protests to be held in June to mark the first anniversary of the turmoil started in 2019 that was sparked by the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Bill. 

Chan said Hong Kong police and the HKSAR government have enough authority under the Basic Law to handle those "political viruses" as long as they are determined to fight those evil forces, even though Article 23, or the national security law, is yet to be passed.

Li agreed, and he said that "we saw how much trouble that separatists and rioters in Hong Kong made last year, but Hong Kong police can handle it, and currently, the law enforcement by the police is strengthened to be more determined and effective"

Chan said compared with the novel coronavirus, the black-clad violent forces or "political viruses" might need more time to handle. Although some of their leaders and puppets controlled by foreign forces have been arrested, they are still capable of causing trouble, so any economic recovery for Hong Kong this year should be oriented toward integration with the mainland.

"We will suggest that the central government provide more convenient channels for Hong Kong youths to work in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," said Chan.

"Because compared with Hong Kong, these regions are more stable and secure, and offer more chances for young people with special skills. We also hope the communication and exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong can return to normal as soon as possible, since the COVID-19 outbreak is now generally under control in China," Chan said.