The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the media with the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC; the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee; the Commissioner of Police, Mr Tang Ping-keung; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki in Beijing this afternoon (June 3). Following is the transcript of remarks of the session:
Reporter: The British Prime Minister has pledged to give up to 3 million Hongkongers the right to live and work in the UK if this national security law is passed. What’s your response to that and to the international condemnation that this law has drawn?
Chief Executive: I can only say that the international community and some of the foreign governments have been adopting blatant double standards in dealing with this matter and commenting on this matter. It is within the legitimate jurisdiction of any country to enact laws to protect and safeguard national security. USA is no exception, UK is no exception. Why should they object, resist or even condemn and take sanctions against Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China for taking similar actions to protect …
Reporter: You don’t believe that breaches the 1997 handover agreement?
Chief Executive: We are operating in accordance with the Basic Law. The Basic Law provides for “One Country, Two Systems”. The important pillar in “One Country, Two Systems” is “One Country”. Without “One Country”, there is no “Two Systems”. So, when the “One Country” concept, the sovereignty issue, is now undermined by the events that we have seen in Hong Kong – the advocacy of independence and even violence verging on terrorist activities- the Central Government has no alternative but to take action, especially having regard to the fact that after 23 years, despite the faith put in the Hong Kong SAR to enact local legislation to safeguard national security, we could not do it. As the Chief Executive, I have to confess that with the current Legislative Council and the political climate in Hong Kong, there’s no way that in the foreseeable future we could do it. Hong Kong people’s confidence lies in “One Country, Two Systems” and all the strengths and competitive advantages of Hong Kong. It does not lie in what individual foreign governments have to say about Hong Kong.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
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