Hong Kong back on right track of 'one country, two systems': Carrie Lam

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has got back on the right track of "one country, two systems" and governance has returned to normal under the protection of the national security law in the HKSAR and the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam said Wednesday.

Lam made the remarks at a Legislative Council meeting when delivering the 2021 policy address, the fifth of its kind since she took office in 2017.

Lam noted that despite the severe and unprecedented challenges faced by the current-term government, 96 percent of more than 900 policy initiatives proposed in the past four Policy Addresses have been completed or are progressing on schedule.

"We have strived to improve people's livelihood by significantly increasing our recurrent spending on healthcare and social welfare to 95.9 billion and 105.7 billion Hong Kong dollars respectively ($12.32 billion and $13.58 billion respectively) for the current financial year, an increase of 53 percent and 62 percent respectively over the past four years," Lam added.

For Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, Lam said that each and every Hong Kong resident should have a more comprehensive understanding of "one country, two systems," safeguard national security with greater loyalty, and take pride in the development of the country and their Chinese identity, while striving hard to bring Hong Kong's unique strengths into full play to better integrate into the overall national development.