Pearl of the Orient shines bright

Advancing the cause of 'One Country, Two Systems' has benefited the development of Hong Kong and the mainland

President Hu Jintao attended the 15th anniversary celebrations of Hong Kong's return to China and delivered keynote speeches at a dinner on Saturday and the inauguration of the new chief executive and Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Sunday.

In the speech delivered at the inauguration ceremony, Hu emphasized the importance of correctly and comprehensively understanding and implementing the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" and acting in strict accordance with the Basic Law. He also highlighted the necessity of maintaining a balance between abiding by the "One Country" principle and respecting the differences of the "Two Systems" and between upholding the authority of the central government and ensuring a high degree of autonomy for the special administrative region. He said there needed to be a balance between safeguarding overall national interests and protecting the interests of various social sectors in the special administrative region, and between supporting its connecting with the outside world and opposing interference by external forces.