Beijing has heard opinion of Hong Kong people and remains ‘very firm’ on national security law for city, Carrie Lam says after visit
- The central government is looking to safeguard national security as well as the city’s stability through the new law, according to Lam
- But Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan, who convenes a group of opposition parties, has complained that views on the bill were heard in Beijing instead of the city
Han had reiterated the new law would only target “a small minority” of criminals in Hong Kong, Lam said, in a meeting also attended by state public security minister Zhao Kezhi and Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
The official Xinhua news agency also confirmed that Han was now head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, elevated and renamed from the previous central coordinating group, with Zhao and Xia being Han’s deputies.
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Zhao’s unusual presence at such a meeting was also seen by analysts as indicative that the issue of security was now Beijing’s top concern when it came to Hong Kong affairs.