Safeguarding national security in the SAR brings HK society confidence for future

Hong Kong's business community, academic institutions, and religious groups expressed confidence over their future prospects — stressing that the new national security law will help restore stability in the city.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC), one of the oldest and largest business chambers in the city, said the passage of the national security law is instrumental to restoring stability and certainty to Hong Kong, which benefits the business sector.

The social unrest last year was a severe blow to the local economy, the chamber said in a statement. "Violent protests have damaged the reputation of Hong Kong as a safe, international city, resulting in reduced tourism and business interests," its statement read.

Hong Kong needs a stable social environment for economic development, the statement said.

Milson Yeung, a 30-year-old director of a local technology and innovation company, said his own business had suffered serious setbacks during the past year of social strife. Yeung supports the national security law, saying it will create a friendly social and political environment for Hong Kong, which will help improve its science and technology sector and attract more mainland and overseas talents.

Academics also expressed their support for the law. Chairmen of the councils of the eight government-funded universities issued a joint statement in support of the promulgation and implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong.

"In addition to protecting our national security, the new law will help safeguard Hong Kong's prosperity and stability as well as 'one country, two systems', with a view to putting an end to the yearlong social instability that Hong Kong has suffered," the statement read.

The chairmen appealed to everyone in the academic community to remain steadfast in their respective roles, to make continuous contributions to future generations by leveraging Hong Kong's traditional strengths in academic freedom, cultural diversity, and broad international perspectives.

During the yearlong social turmoil, universities in Hong Kong were turned into battlefields. Universities were invaded, occupied by radicals, and turned into strongholds against law enforcement in November. The chaos interrupted the semester, with faculties and students fleeing the campus due to safety concerns.

Religious organizations, including Buddhist, Daoist and Islamic groups, in separate statements, said the national security law will be conducive to restoring social stability and safeguarding religious rights and freedoms.

In a statement, the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, which had a symbolic Buddha statue built in the name of stability in Hong Kong, the prosperity of the nation as well as peace on Earth, spelled out the importance of the national security law with a reference to their beliefs.

"Siddhartha (the primary figure in Buddhism) recapitulated monastic rules and principles to clarify the orthodoxy and prevent the wrong and evil; (similarly,) our nation is improving its legal system to curb violence and restore order," the statement said.