National security tops agenda: CE

October 6, 2021

Voiceover:
In her fifth Policy Address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam pointed out since the implementation of the National Security Law in June last year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Committee on Safeguarding National Security and the relevant enforcement authorities have prevented, suppressed and punished acts and activities that endanger national security in accordance with the law.

However, to safeguard national security in a comprehensive manner, there is still a substantial amount of work for the Government to do, Mrs Lam stressed.

This includes taking forward the enactment of local legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law, reviewing existing legislation to ensure relevant laws are available to the enforcement authorities, and strengthening national security education, in particular raising law-abiding and national security awareness among the youth.

At the same time, to step up education on the Constitution and the Basic Law, the Citizenship & Social Development subject has been introduced starting from Secondary 4 in the current school year.

Mrs Lam said she is willing to give a class to teachers to allow them to have a better grasp of the constitutional status, powers and functions of the Chief Executive under “one country, two systems”.

She also requested Radio Television Hong Kong to play an active role in promoting the Constitution and Basic Law.

Regarding the executive-legislative relationship, Mrs Lam said the current legislative session has seen fruitful outcomes. A total of 46 bills are expected to be enacted and funding of more than $320 billion will be approved.

To enhance the executive-legislature relationship, the Government will announce 40 legislative proposals aimed at helping the Legislative Council to better perform its role in conveying public opinions.

(To watch the 2021 Policy Address speech with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government will take forward numerous measures to safeguard national security in a comprehensive manner, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said.

Presenting her 2021 policy blueprint today, Mrs Lam said there is still a substantial amount of work for the Government, including the enactment of local legislation to implement Basic Law Article 23 in Hong Kong.

“The Secretary for Security is drawing up effective and pragmatic proposals and provisions, and formulating effective publicity programmes to prevent those who are opposed to China and attempt to destablise Hong Kong from taking advantage of the situation to mislead the public with ill intentions,” she added.

In addition, the Government will step up national security education and raise law‑abiding awareness of Hong Kong people, in particular the youth, through different activities and approaches.

The Chief Executive said the six disciplined services and the two auxiliary services have committed to enhancing their work in helping young people develop positive thinking.

The Government will also address issues on combating fake news and ensuring cyber security, and strengthen counter-terrorism preparedness and response capability.

Improving electoral system

On improving polling arrangements, Mrs Lam said the Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Bureau will work closely with the Electoral Affairs Commission to ensure that the upcoming Legislative Council and Chief Executive elections are conducted in a fair, open and honest manner in accordance with the law, thereby fully implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”.

Turning to public education on the Constitution, Basic Law and National Security Law, the Chief Executive noted that the Citizenship & Social Development subject has been introduced to replace the Liberal Studies subject starting from Secondary 4 in the current school year.

To enable teachers to have a better grasp of the issues, Mrs Lam said she has proposed to give a class to teachers who are interested.

Strengthening public education

“More channels should be provided for public education work. Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), as a public service broadcaster, should play an active role in promoting the Constitution and the Basic Law, so as to fulfil its public purposes and mission under the Charter of RTHK, which include promoting public understanding of the implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ in Hong Kong, as well as engendering a sense of citizenship and national identity.

“In this regard, I have expressly requested the Director of Broadcasting to follow up,” she added.

The Chief Executive also highlighted the importance of improving the executive-legislative relationship so that LegCo can better perform its role in conveying public opinions.

The Government will announce 40 legislative proposals for early discussion at the community level.

Mrs Lam said: “Many of these proposals have taken on board the views raised by incumbent members in the past, including introducing mandatory reporting for child abuse prevention, streamlining the statutory procedures for land development, and strengthening regulation over the service quality of residential care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities.”

All secretaries of departments and directors of bureaus will enhance communication with lawmakers to achieve good administration and governance, she added.