Carrie Lam, Chief Executive, "Welcomes Hong Kong National Security Law"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, expressed her welcome on the 28th for the passage of the Hong Kong National Security Law at the National People's Congress (NPC) of China.

According to China's Global Times and others, Lam stated in a press release that day, "Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China," adding, "Safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests is a constitutional responsibility of Hong Kong and is closely related to every Hong Kong citizen."

The core of the Hong Kong National Security Law is to prohibit and punish foreign forces' interference in Hong Kong's internal affairs, acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorism activities, and to establish institutions within Hong Kong to enforce these measures. Hong Kong citizens have raised concerns that this move might infringe upon the "one country, two systems" principle and Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy.

Ted Hui, a member of the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's largest opposition party, threw a plastic bag containing rotten flowers at Andrew Leung, the Legislative Council President, during the parliamentary session that day. Hui said, "What is rotten is not the flowers, but our one country, two systems, our rule of law, and the values of our Hong Kong," adding, "I wanted Leung and the pro-Beijing camp to taste that."

However, Lam emphasized in her statement, "Considering the difficulty of completing national security-related legislation in the Hong Kong Legislative Council within a short period, it was necessary for the NPC to pass the Hong Kong National Security Law," and added, "It also shows the state's concern for Hong Kong."

She continued, "I understand that under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong still has a legislative obligation," and insisted, "The related legislation must be completed promptly." Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law stipulates that laws should be enacted to prohibit acts such as treason, secession, sedition, and subversion against the state, and to punish those who endanger national security.

However, the Hong Kong Bar Association opposed this, stating, "Since Article 23 of the Basic Law stipulates that Hong Kong people themselves should enact the national security law, the NPC does not have the legal authority to enact the Hong Kong National Security Law."

Lam said, "The Hong Kong government will cooperate fully with the NPC Standing Committee to expedite the related legislative work. In this process, we will actively reflect Hong Kong's specific circumstances," and added, "We will actively explain the purpose and importance of the legislation to all sectors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.