At the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit today, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee underscored his unwavering support for mainland China’s “one country, two systems” policy, which said is “the unwavering cornerstone of Hong Kong.”
“As President Xi Jinping said, marking the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s establishment, in July, “one country, two systems” is here to stay, “and we must adhere to it in the long run.” For good reason. For all kinds of good reasons,” Lee declared.
In his speech, Hong Kong leader John Lee hailed the "stability" that came after "social disturbance".
— Holmes Chan (@holmeschan_) November 2, 2022
"Law and order has returned. The worst is behind us," he said.
He also vowed that HK will remain a leading financial centre, "and you can take that to the bank." pic.twitter.com/9vB0AbHyDJ
Expounding on the policy’s benefits, Lee said it ensured “matchless connectivity and opportunity” with the “world at large.” “Hong Kong’s seamless connection with the Mainland affords Hong Kong advantages available to no other economy,” he asserted.
“Hong Kong remains the only place in the world where the global advantage and the China advantage come together in a single city. This unique convergence makes Hong Kong the irreplaceable connection between the Mainland and the rest of the world,” the city’s pro-Beijing added.
Hong Kong has suffered an exodus of talent, with many departing residents citing strict Covid rules and a sweeping national security law as reasons for leaving#AFPGraphics looks at the city's population growth rate over the last six decades pic.twitter.com/UChdzTg4E0
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 19, 2022
The Hong Kong chief opined that the world’s “centre of economic gravity eastward” is moving eastward and said that “Hong Kong is perfectly positioned to reap the enormous benefits of this irreversible trend.”
Alluding to large-scale pro-democracy protests that have rocked the city in recent years, Lee assured that the city’s streets are now “safe.” “More to the point, social disturbance is clearly in the past. It has given way to stability, to growing business and community confidence in Hong Kong’s future. Law and order has returned. The worst is behind us,” he stated.
“The worst is behind us.”
— Bloomberg (@business) November 2, 2022
Hong Kong’s new leader, John Lee, tells the audience at the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit that the city has turned around a corner https://t.co/Ix90MZOsJn pic.twitter.com/Imj9x44FNc
The event hosted some of the world’s most high-profile banking bosses, including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Morgan Stanley counterpart James Gorman, Blackrock president Rob Kapito, and JP Morgan Chase counterpart Daniel Pinto. The high-profile attendees are in the financial hub for the first time in almost three years as the city slowly scales back COVID-19 restrictions.
The presence of the Wall Street executives at the summit has also been the subject of controversy. Last week, the leaders of the bipartisan United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China urged executives not to attend the event, accusing them of “whitewashing human rights violations” and extending political cover to the city’s leader.
The 64-year-old leader of the special administrative region was elected to power in May with over 99% of the votes by an overwhelmingly pro-Beijing election committee. In his victory speech, Lee vowed to unify the city after three years of turmoil due to pro-democracy protests and stringent COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that closed the city off from the rest of the world.
Lee, a former policeman who oversaw the implementation of China’s national security law in the autonomous region, has been a staunch advocate of the Beijing-backed legislation. In March, he told the United Nations Human Rights Council that the 2020 National Security Law had “restored peace and stability” by ending the “violence, destruction and chaos” of the protests.