The Macau government, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and the Office of the Commissioner of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the MSAR said yesterday that they firmly support the adoption by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the amended Annexes I and II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR.
The amendments were passed at the closing meeting of the 27th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee yesterday.
The Annexes I and II to the HKSAR Basic Law, which concern the method for the selection of Hong Kong’s chief executive and the method for the formation of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and its voting procedures, respectively, are a key component of Hong Kong’s political system, the Macau government said in a statement.
The Macau government said the NPC move will help safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, security and development interests and ensure Hong Kong’s long term prosperity and stability, noting that it is a significant step taken in fully implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” as well as an action by the central authorities in exercising constitutional powers and duties.
Voicing its firm support for the NPC decision, the Liaison Office in Macau said in a statement that the two amended annexes will help maintain the constitutional order of the HKSAR as stipulated in the nation’s Constitution and the Basic Law.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry Commissioner’s Office in Macau noted that ensuring that Hong Kong is administered by patriots will help remove the risks of external forces and their political agents meddling in Hong Kong affairs.
Patriots administering Hong Kong is the common aspiration of all Chinese people including compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macau SARs, the spokesperson said, stressing that any scheme to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and exert pressure on China is doomed to fail. – Xinhua, MPD
