Economic focus: Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, flanked by Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung and Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee,  says the Government has decided to withdraw the controversial national security bill, to allow more time for community consultation - and to focus on economic recovery.

The Government has decided to withdraw the controversial national security bill, to allow more time for community consultation - and to focus on economic recovery.

Addressing the media at noon today after a special Executive Council meeting, Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa noted that Article 23 of the Basic Law stipulates that Hong Kong must legislate on its own to ban actions that would threaten national security.

"This is a representation of the Central Government's trust of the Hong Kong people," he said. The Central Government has been informed of the decision.

"Legislating on Article 23 is a constitutional  obligation and one that should be fulfilled by the citizens of Hong Kong. Judging from the results of consultations done earlier on, on this particular point there has been a consensus in the community."

People's concerns must be allayed before legislating

But, he added, "concerning the detailed legislative provisions, there is still doubt and there are still questions remaining in the community.

"To afford more time for the community to ponder over the issue, we have decided to withdraw the bill, and within the Security Bureau we will set up an internal task force to review and take stock of the entire legislative project."

The Chief Executive and his Council believe that after another round of consultation, Article 23 legislation will win consensus from the community that the Government will eventually be able to put it through.

Community must focus on economic revitalisation

"Hong Kong is in a painful economic adjustment, especially after SARS. We have been hit hard by SARS and we all the more require all quarters of society and all sectors of society to come together to revitalise the economy," he said.

"The Hong Kong Government has pushed ahead with a range of measures to revitalise the economy and there have been good results coming out of these measures, so we must grasp this very valuable opportunity to continue to push our economy further. "

There is no timetable Mr Tung said repeatedly, in answer to reporters' questions.

When asked whether he would like to see the laws pass during his term in office, Mr Tung replied: "Being a Chinese national citizen, I do think we should legislate Article 23, but we must go through consutlation and get the support of the community before we act."

Mainland will continue to support HK's economic recovery

He reiterated that the legislation was being withdrawn for two key reasons, so that there could be a wide consultation that would alleviate people's concerns over the bill, and so that the community could focus instead on revitalising the economy.

When asked whether the Central Government might withhold some of its promised economic advantages since Hong Kong was delaying the security bill's passage, Mr Tung replied that the two should not be linked "at all".

He added that, "when the time is ripe, Hong Kong will be given priority as an offshore renminbi trading centre."