Lam defends Hong Kong laws
HONG KONG: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam yesterday said Beijing's proposed national security laws would not trample on the city’s rights and freedoms and called on its citizens to wait to see the details of the legislation.
‘‘There is no need for us to worry,’’ Lam told a regular weekly news conference, but she did not explain how the freedoms that Hong Kong enjoys would be upheld.
‘‘In the last 23 years, whenever people worried about the Hong Kong’s freedom of speech and freedom of expression and protest, time and again, Hong Kong has proven that we uphold and preserve those values,’’ she said.
‘‘The best thing is to see the legislation in front of us and to understand why at this point in time Hong Kong needs this piece of legislation.’’
Beijing unveiled plans last week for national security legislation for Hong Kong that aims to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities. It could result in Chinese intelligence agencies setting up bases in the city.
Thousands poured on to the street of Hong Kong on Sunday in a mass protest against the planned new security laws. Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd and arrested almost 200 people.
It was the first major protest since prodemocracy demonstrations rocked Hong Kong last year over an unsuccessful plan to introduce an extradition law with China. The unrest plunged the former British colony into its worst crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
More protests are expected in Hong Kong today.
The commander of China's military Hong Kong garrison said the garrison firmly supported the Chinese parliament's new Hong Kong legislation.
Chen Daoxiang told Chinese state TV the garrison had the determination and ability to safeguard China's sovereignty and the longterm prosperity and security.
China’s military has remained in barracks in Hong Kong throughout the past year, leaving police to confront prodemocracy activists.
Beijing’s security plans have sent jitters through the business and diplomatic communities and raised concerns about the city’s future as a global financial hub and whether it will still function as a vibrant interface between communist China and the West. — Reuters