Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam delivered the 2020 policy address Wednesday at a meeting of the HKSAR Legislative Council, highlighting support by the central government for Hong Kong to overcome the economic recession.
The policy address, the fourth one since Lam took office in 2017, came as Hong Kong strives to recover from the impacts of prolonged unrest and the COVID-19 epidemic.
As Hong Kong experienced multiple, unprecedented blows from social unrest to the epidemic, the primary objective of the policy address is to look at ways to get Hong Kong out of the impasse and to restore confidence, Lam said.
Lam had delayed the release of the policy address, originally scheduled in mid-October, to include supportive measures from the central government for Hong Kong to bring new impetus into the battered economy.
At Wednesday's meeting, Lam cited favorable policies for Hong Kong to further integrate into the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial center, and boost the development of innovation and technology.
As 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the HKSAR Basic Law, Lam said that to ensure that the "one country, two systems" principle is fully and accurately implemented, Hong Kong must adhere to the Constitution and the Basic Law.
"In the past year or so, Hong Kong has experienced the most severe political challenges since its return to the motherland. One of our urgent priorities is to restore HKSAR's constitutional order and political system from chaos," Lam said.
Lam said it is the constitutional responsibility of the HKSAR to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.
Stressing the rule of law as a core value and the cornerstone of Hong Kong's success, Lam criticized violent acts and "justice lawbreaking" advocated by some people during the social unrest over the past year, which severely damaged social order and the rule of law and posed threats to people's lives and properties.
Lam vowed stringent law enforcement actions to turn around this situation and noted that no one has any privileges under the law.
