Hong Kong national security law will help business environment rather than harm it, finance chief Paul Chan says

Financial secretary’s remarks came as other top officials also spoke out in support of the central government’s controversial move

Leader Carrie Lam says she and her cabinet will do their best to promote and explain to the public the importance of the proposed legislation

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Beijing unveiled a resolution on a national security law for Hong Kong at the opening of its annual legislative sessions on Friday. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:09pm, 24 May 2020Updated: 11:17pm, 24 May 2020

Hong Kong’s finance chief has argued that the national security legislation to be passed by Beijing for the city will eventually help improve the business environment rather than harm it.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s remarks in his latest blog entry on Sunday came as the city’s leader and three other top officials – the chief secretary for administration, the secretary for justice and the security chief – also spoke out in support of the central government’s controversial move.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in a Facebook post that she and her cabinet would do their best to promote and explain to the public the importance of the proposed legislation.

Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu, meanwhile, said that in light of “growing local terrorism”, the government would not rule out raising the threat level of terrorist attacks in Hong Kong.

The blog entries by Chan and Lee came hours before police fired multiple rounds of tear gas in the Causeway Bay shopping district as thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the planned national security law, denouncing the proposed legislation as the end of the “one country, two systems” principle under which Hong Kong has been governed since the handover from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Paul Chan refuted claims the proposed law had shaken investor confidence. Photo: Sam Tsang