Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam made her annual visit to Beijing on December 20 to brief mainland leaders on the latest economic, social, and political situation in Hong Kong. Over the course of her four-day visit, Lam met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Vice Premier Han Zheng.
During her meeting with Xi on Wednesday, Xi strongly endorsed Lam for “resolutely implementing” the National Security Law (NSL), adding that with the latest legislative council (LegCo) elections, the former British colony had transformed “from chaos to order.”
According to the broadcast shown by RTHK and other Hong Kong TV channels, Xi told Lam that Beijing “fully affirms” the Lam administration’s work and noted that the situation in the self-governing island is “changing for the better” following the “successful” election. “The democratic right of our Hong Kong compatriots to be masters of their own home has been realised,” Xi remarked.
Chief Executive #CarrieLam briefs President #XiJinping and Premier #LiKeqiang in Beijing on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s latest economic, social and political situation https://t.co/bivHqJ1RD6 pic.twitter.com/g3KNo83pYW
— Hong Kong SAR Government News (@newsgovhk) December 22, 2021
Similarly, Lam’s efforts were also appreciated by Premier Li, who said during their meeting yesterday that the mainland will continue to fully implement the policies of “one country, two systems,” “the people of Hong Kong administering Hong Kong,” and work towards guaranteeing a high degree of autonomy for the region, under the Constitution and the Basic Law. Li also pledged expressed his confidence that Lam would continue administering Hong Kong in accordance with the law.
Lam’s meeting with the Chinese leadership comes immediately after HKSAR held its controversial seventh Legislative Council (LegCo) election on Sunday. It was the first election held under the new Beijing-imposed rules of allowing only patriots to participate in the race, and witnessed a record low turnout of only 30.2%.
A total of 153 candidates competed for 90 seats, and an analysis by local news outlet HK01 found that 82 of the seats were won by pro-Beijing members. Only one candidate was from a non-establishment camp, while the political background of the other candidates is unknown.
Downplaying the low voter turnout, Lam told reporters in Beijing yesterday that since “there is no benchmark” for voter turnout, “there is no such thing as success or failure.” Lam added that the elections were “in line with ‘patriots administering Hong Kong’” and “conducted in a way that is fair, transparent, clean, effective, and humanistic.”
As a pro-establishment leader of the financial hub, Lam has been pivotal in overseeing the implementation of the draconian Beijing-imposed NS, as part of China’s intensive crackdown on the territory. Following the largescale and often violent democracy protests in Hong Kong two years ago, the NSL criminalised dissent and introduced laws that allow Beijing to vet the loyalty of anyone standing for office.