Legco debates motion of thanks for policy address
Lawmakers on Wednesday began debating a motion of thanks for Chief Executive John Lee's maiden policy address. They started the session with discussions on the One Country, Two Systems principle, national security and governance. House Committee chairwoman Starry Lee, who moved the motion, said the policy address implemented the key points in President Xi Jinping's speech on Hong Kong in July. "The policy address has shown us a vision and international horizon, a very forward-looking mentality and the will to execute all the policies," said Lee, who also chairs the DAB. "It aims to improve governance, and to dovetail national strategy to create strong impetus for growth and it shows us determination to resolve long-standing housing problems as well as to attract talents." The chairman of the Business and Professionals Alliance, Lo Wai-kwok, said the government needs to control the pandemic effectively, and resume normal cross-border travel internationally and with the mainland as soon as possible. DAB vice chairman Gary Chan said security officials have been increasingly able to meet Xi's requirements for ensuring national security, by having a vision for the big picture and preparing for worst-case scenarios. Chan said he supports security minister Chris Tang's proposal to legislate on internet security, and assess comprehensively the national security risks faced by Hong Kong in his drafting of Basic Law Article 23 security legislation. "He will look at the security risks in the past, now and in the future, and effective and proactive legislative proposals will be put forward. I go along with that," the lawmaker said. "We need to have the worst case scenario awareness, this is going to be very important." Meanwhile, Carmen Kan, representing the Election Committee, called on the government to better promote Hong Kong's improved electoral system and the concept of patriots administering the SAR, so that the whole of society can better understand the historical significance of the new era. During the three-day debate, councillors are also scheduled to discuss topics such as economic growth, livelihood issues and youth policies.