CHIEF Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said Hong Kong has returned to the right track of “one country, two systems” and its future is very promising.

“Hong Kong today is more stable than ever before. I’m confident that with the staunch support of the central authorities, Hong Kong will have a bright future as it focuses on economic development and leverages its unique advantages,” Lam said in an interview with Xinhua.

Hailing “one country, two systems” as a great vision and a groundbreaking cause, Lam said that its practice in Hong Kong over the past 25 years has proved successful.

Acknowledging that Hong Kong has gone through great challenges and difficulties over the past five years, Lam said it is now back on the right track.

To boost Hong Kong’s development, Lam called for efforts to raise the awareness of national security among Hong Kong residents, better integrate Hong Kong into national development, and promote further development of various sectors, including innovation and technology, and financial services.

Recalling the turmoil in 2019, Lam said that the Central Government responded decisively by bringing in the national security law in Hong Kong, playing an instrumental role in ending violence and chaos and restoring order in the city.

The 2019 turmoil enabled people to see that a legislative vacuum pertaining to national security in Hong Kong could lead to infiltration or acts of sabotage against the mainland via Hong Kong by external forces, she added.

From September 2021 to May 2022, under the new electoral system, the HKSAR successfully held elections for the Election Committee, the seventh-term Legislative Council (LegCo), and the sixth-term chief executive. An increasing number of capable and patriotic people have entered the governing structure of the HKSAR.

Lam said that the purpose of improving the HKSAR electoral system was to better implement the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong.”

The implementation of the “patriots administering Hong Kong” principle has provided room for the HKSAR Government to achieve more accomplishments, Lam said.

Lam highlighted the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as the most noteworthy accomplishment of the last five years.

“In order for Hong Kong to have a brighter future, it is imperative to integrate Hong Kong into China’s overall development,” she emphasized.

(Xinhua)