HONG KONG (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, AFP) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday (May 26) added to a raft of attempts by local and Beijing officials to provide reassurance that proposed national security laws would not trample on the city's rights and freedoms, amid widespread concerns.
Mrs Lam said those concerned need to wait for the details of the proposed legislation and that Hong Kong's freedoms would be preserved, calling the city "a very free society."
"There is no need for us to worry," she told reporters.
"We are a very free society, so for the time being, people have the freedom to say whatever they want to say," Mrs Lam told reporters. "Hong Kong's vibrancy and core values in terms of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the various rights and freedoms enjoyed by people will continue to be there."
The proposed law, she added, "only targets a handful of law-breakers... it protects the vast majority of law-abiding, peace-loving residents".
"In the last 23 years, whenever people worried about Hong Kong's freedom of speech and freedom of expression and protest, time and again, Hong Kong has proven that we uphold and preserve those values," Mrs Lam said. "The best thing is to see the legislation in front of us and to understand why at this point in time Hong Kong needs this piece of legislation."
The comments came after Beijing unveiled plans last week for national security legislation for Hong Kong that aim to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities, and could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in the city.
Mrs Lam also said on Tuesday that Hong Kong's karaoke parlours, night clubs, bath houses and party rooms, which have been shuttered as part of measures to contain the coronavirus, will be able to reopen after May 28 and that airport transit service will gradually resume from June 1.
Her move to ease the restrictions comes as Hong Kong slowly returns to normal after having no new local cases for 11 straight days and as schools are set to resume in phases starting Wednesday.
