In this Dec 29, 2020 phoot, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor delivers a video message at a business forum held by China Global Television Network. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

The steady and sustained implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle in Hong Kong saw a new beginning last year as the nation’s top legislature support­ed safeguarding the city’s constitu­tional order three times in less than six months, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-­ngor said on Monday. 

This support laid a solid founda­tion for Hong Kong’s lasting pros­perity and stability, beefing up her confidence in Hong Kong’s prospects despite the pandemic hit, the city’s top official told a local online economic forum. 

The enactment on June 30 of the National Security Law for Hong Kong by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress played a vital role in the special administrative region’s transition from chaos to stability, a key requirement for economic develop­ment, Lam said. 

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Then on Aug 11, the NPCSC also extended the sixth term of Hong Kong’s legislature by at least a year in light of the raging pandemic at that time to address the lacuna caused by the election postpone­ment. 

On Nov 11, the NPCSC in a reso­lution created a clear standard for the city’s lawmakers and those who stand for elections by stating that lawmakers or those who aspire to run will be disqualified, if they do not uphold the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s Basic Law and honor the pledge of allegiance to the SAR. 

These measures have enhanced the full implementation of the Con­stitution and the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and established a legal sys­tem and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security in the city, Lam said. 

The enactment of the National Security Law for Hong Kong by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress played a vital role in the special administrative region’s transition from chaos to stability, a key requirement for economic develop­ment, HK CE Carrie Lam said

These are all telling moments of the constitutional relations between the central government and the SAR, Lam said. 

At the same forum, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-­po cau­tioned that given the deteriorating Sino­-US relations in the past three years, the new US administration may continue to play the Hong Kong card in a bid to contain China. 

Yet with the nation’s backing and Hong Kong’s advantages in finance, technology and trade, Hong Kong has the ideal conditions to turn the challenges into opportunities and further upgrade its economic struc­ture, Chan noted. 

At a news conference in Beijing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he has full confidence in Hong Kong’s future, given the nation’s continuous support for the SAR to maintain its edge in finance, ship­ping, trade, and the legal services sector. 

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Wang said that since the enact­ment of the National Security Law, both Hong Kong’s legal system and business environment have improved. 

He was responding to a report by British business publication the Financial Times, which claimed that some Asia­-based internation­ al companies are considering writ­ing Hong Kong out of governing law and arbitration clauses in business contracts, amid worries that recent moves by the central authorities will harm the SAR’s rule of law. 

In response, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk­-wah, in an online blog article on Monday, said that Hong Kong’s irreplaceable position as a leading international legal hub for deal-­making and dis­pute resolution services will be fur­ther consolidated. 

Her confidence came from the HKSAR’s intrinsic strengths in legal services, the advantages under the “one country, two sys­tems” principle, and opportunities arising from the development of the Guangdong­-Hong Kong-­Macao Greater Bay Area. 

Noting that the National Security Law for Hong Kong has restored the city’s order from the turmoil, Cheng said Hong Kong is now ready to capitalize on these favora­ble conditions and make the best use of the opportunities brought by national development. 

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