(Policy Address) National Security Law "remarkably effective" in restoring Hong Kong's stability

The situation of Hong Kong has evolved to such a state that the central government has no alternative but to step in and take action, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said.

Hong Kong has become an “obvious gaping hole in national security” as the city failed to enact laws on its own to prohibit specified activities which endanger national security, Lam said.

She added that Hong Kong has seen escalating violence and damages as well as opposition forces and organisations advocating “Hong Kong independence” and “self-determination” during the anti-fugitive bill movement bill last year.

Lam said the National Security Law that came into effect on June 30 this year has been remarkably effective in restoring stability in the city.

“Advocacies of ‘Hong Kong independence’ and collusions with external forces have progressively subsided; some of the prominent figures have kept a low profile; radical organisations have ceased operation or dissolved; those who are suspected of violating the law have absconded; and street violence is significantly on the decline,” Lam said.