At the end of the one-month public consultation period on the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, the Security Bureau received over 13,000 comments, of which 9864% supported the legislation, and 512 organisations and bodies from different sectors and professions supported the legislative work of the HKSAR** through public statements or signed articles during the public consultation period. It can be seen from the data that the society has reached a general consensus in support of Article 23 legislation, and the next step of the HKSAR** should be to carefully study the opinions collected, submit a comprehensive bill that is in line with the actual situation in Hong Kong, and strive for the Legislative Council to deliberate and pass the ordinance as soon as possible, so as to fill the legal loopholes in the Hong Kong SAR in safeguarding the law.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron issued a statement on the occasion of the expiration of the Article 23 legislative consultation period, smearing the legislation as a so-called violation of the "Sino-British Joint Declaration" and affecting the freedom and rights of Hong Kong people, which was strongly refuted by China's Office in Hong Kong. In fact, Article 23 legislation is an internal affair of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the UK has no right to interfere, and the UK itself has a number of laws to protect itself, let alone distort the legislative work of Hong Kong to safeguard national security into harming human rights.
Nearly four years after the promulgation and implementation of the National Security Law, Hong Kong has been questioned and slandered by the outside world, but it has proved that Hong Kong is still one of the most open and business-friendly places in the world, and its economic freedom has long been ranked among the highest in the world. The upholding of the law not only does not affect the daily life of Hong Kong residents, but also protects the rights and freedoms of citizens under the Basic Law.
During the consultation period, nearly 30 consultation sessions were organised by the HKSAR**, which were personally explained to local and international business, legal, financial and foreign consuls to explain the importance of Article 23 legislation and to dispel concerns in the community.
Nowadays, the public has witnessed the benefits brought about by Hong Kong's transition from chaos to order to order and prosperity, and their awareness of safeguarding the situation has gradually deepened. However, the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law is only the starting point for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to maintain its own security, and hostile forces inside and outside the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) are lurking in the shadows, from time to time stirring up the public's hatred against ** and the SAR ** in the form of "soft confrontation", and smearing the governance of the HKSAR under the pretext of different issues, which shows that the Hong Kong National Security Law is difficult to fully respond to the current international situation and social needs. The HKSAR** should finalise the legislative proposal for Article 23 of the Basic Law as soon as possible, and the Legislative Council should also expedite the scrutiny process to assist the HKSAR** in fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities as soon as possible and create a harmonious and stable social environment, so as to promote Hong Kong's all-out efforts to strive for economic development and development.
Text: Wen Yiyi