Hong Kong leader John Lee on July 1 called on citizens to safeguard national security at an official ceremony marking the 26th anniversary of the territory’s handover from British to Chinese rule.
Lee and senior officials, including former Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying, attended an official flag-raising ceremony on Saturday morning before toasting glasses to celebrate the handover anniversary.
During a keynote address, Lee warned citizens to “remain vigilant” of forces aiming to target and suppress China, some of which are "lurking in Hong Kong,” and called for efforts to “spontaneously safeguard national security.”
“Although Hong Kong is generally stable as a whole, some countries have misjudged China's peaceful development, deliberately targeted and suppressed it, and the destructive force of soft confrontation is lurking within Hong Kong. Therefore, we must be vigilant, spontaneously safeguard national security, and fully and accurately implement the one country, two systems policy in the coming year.”
He also vowed to further integrate Hong Kong into the overall development of China.
“Hong Kong will continue to actively and proactively integrate into the overall development of the country, participating in and promoting the construction of the Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative. We will make every effort to promote the development of the Northern Metropolis and the artificial island of Kau Yi Chau. We will actively attract strategic enterprises and leverage Hong Kong's unique advantage of being backed by our motherland while connecting with the world.”
Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, under a "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy and judicial independence not seen in mainland China. Critics say the promise has been eviscerated, after China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 punishing acts of subversion, terrorism, collusion with foreign forces, and secession with possible life imprisonment, in addition to the arrests of scores of pro-democracy campaigners.
Comments (0)