Two Sessions 2020: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vows ‘full support’ for national security law and promises city’s freedoms will remain unaffected
- The chief executive says new legislation will not undermine the ‘one country, two systems’ principle or the city’s high degree of autonomy
- Speaking after Hong Kong stocks plunged, Lam said the law Beijing is crafting is to protect, not hurt, the rights of residents and investors
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor insisted Hong Kong’s freedoms and fundamentals would remain sound as she welcomed on Friday a tailor-made national security law to be passed by Beijing that would require new institutions to safeguard sovereignty and allow for mainland agencies to operate in the city when needed.
Speaking hours after a resolution on the legislation presented to the country’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress, fuelled anxiety and fears on its exact remit, Lam sought to assure residents and investors that the law would protect, rather than hurt, their rights.
She maintained that it would not undermine the governing principle of “one country, two systems” for Hong Kong, its high degree of autonomy or the cherished principle of “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong”.
“It will also provide the best system to ensure prosperity and stability in Hong Kong. It won’t affect the capitalist system and rule of law in Hong Kong. It won’t affect foreign investors’ interests that are legally protected in Hong Kong,” she said.
00:51
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vows ‘full support’ for national security law
Instead, it would create a stable environment for everyone without the “threat of terrorism”, she said, recalling how the city had suffered from the protests and petrol bomb attacks over the past year.
But her administration had not been able to enact the law on its own given the “mutual destruction” philosophy of the protesters and opposition politicians determined to paralyse the legislature, she said.