BEIJING – President Xi Jinping said yesterday the policy of “one country, two systems” has proved to be the best institutional guarantee for the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau after their return to the motherland in 1997 and 1999 respectively.
The policy is the best solution to the questions of Hong Kong and Macau, Xi said while delivering a report at the opening session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing.
The governments and chief executives of both regions will be supported to advance democracy with well-ordered steps, maintain law and order, and fulfill the constitutiona responsibility of safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, he said.
“We will continue to support Hong Kong and Macau in integrating their own development into the overall development of the country,” he said, adding that priority will be given to the development of the Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, and regional cooperation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta.
Policies will be improved to make it more convenient for the people from Hong Kong and Macau to pursue career development on the mainland, he said.
Xi stressed that patriots should play “the principal role” as the Hong Kong people govern Hong Kong and the Macau people govern Macau.
“We will develop and strengthen the ranks of patriots who love both our country and their regions, and foster greater patriotism and a stronger sense of national identity among the people in Hong Kong and Macau,” he said.
– Xinhua, MPD
