'HK must fulfil national security tasks from Beijing'

The vice-chairman of the Basic Law Committee, Zhang Yong, on Monday said the SAR must implement national security "tasks and measures" set out by the central authorities. He also told a panel discussion on National Security Education Day that safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is the highest principle of the "One Country, Two Systems" policy. "Local governments, administrative regions and their administrations, including the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions, must safeguard the authority of the central government, follow national security strategies and policies, and implement the tasks and measures set out by the central authorities on safeguarding national security," Zhang said. Addressing the same gathering, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said the city's national security laws and its development go hand in hand. "Before the legislation was enacted, Hong Kong was like a vehicle with one of its tyres not fully inflated or a bird with one of its wings not fully developed. It is inevitable that the car won't go smoothly, and the bird will not be able to fly high and far," Lam said. Former director of public prosecutions Grenville Cross, for his part, accused the West of hypocrisy for criticising the territory's security legislation, saying there are tougher laws in other places such as Singapore. "As Western politicians are keen not to offend Singapore, they disregard national security arrangements they would have decried had they arisen in Hong Kong. Insincerity apart, the only possible explanation for this is they want to needle China and besmirch its global status, even if they harm Hong Kong's standing in the process," Cross said. Betty Yuen, who chairs the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, said the new domestic national security law helps the SAR maintain a stable business environment in the face of a complex geopolitical situation and an uncertain global economic situation.