Vice Premier urges swift approval of Article 23
Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Thursday recognised the efforts of the SAR on enacting Basic Law Article 23 national security legislation, and urged deputies to help explain the law to the Hong Kong public to ensure its speedy implementation.   This appeal came as the Vice Premier held talks with local deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC). Business and Professionals Alliance member Priscilla Leung, who was at the meeting, said Vice Premier Ding asked deputies to illuminate the main points of Article 23 to the public. “Vice Premier Ding emphasised that the [enactment of] the law has dragged on for too long, for 26 years. He emphasised that we have to adopt the common law practice, as well as to take reference from other common law countries, to pass this local legislation for Hong Kong,” she said. “I believe we already have a general consensus that [the] Hong Kong public now has been awakened [to] the need of this Article 23 local legislation.” Ma Fung-kwok, who heads the local NPC delegation, said the Vice Premier stressed the urgency and necessity of enacting the legislation as soon as possible. Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the NPC Standing Committee, Starry Lee, said she reported the progress of Article 23 and the results of the public consultation on the legislation to the Vice Premier.  “He understands that it is the Hong Kong society's general consensus that we should have that legislation done as soon as possible because we all experienced the 2019 situation,” she said. “He believes that Hong Kong will become safer and more open, and can concentrate fully on the future development of the economy and other aspects.” Another deputy, Nicholas Chan, said the Vice Premier appreciated the SAR’s efforts on enacting Article 23. “He recognised the good work of the Hong Kong government, the hard work of Hong Kong people generally, and also the Hong Kong deputies,” he said. “We could also do well given our network, people-to-people skills, with foreign diplomats, with people from other parts of the world, to explain and share the reality and to clarify some rumours spread by some other countries who have a desire to slow down the growth of China.” The director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, executive deputy director Zhou Ji, and the director of the liaison office, Zheng Yanxiong were also present at the meeting.