The central government has no alternative but to take action regarding national security legislation when national sovereignty is undermined in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said today.

Mrs Lam made the statement at a media session during her Beijing visit.

She said that the important pillar in the “one country, two systems” principle is “one country”.

“Without ‘one country’, there is no ‘two systems’.

“So, when the ‘one country' concept, the sovereignty issue, is now undermined by the events that we have seen in Hong Kong - the advocacy of independence and even violence verging on terrorist activities - the central government has no alternative but to take action, especially having regard to the fact that after 23 years, despite the faith put in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to enact local legislation to safeguard national security, we could not do it.”

The Chief Executive pointed out that it is within the legitimate jurisdiction of any country to enact laws to safeguard national security.

“The US is no exception, the UK is no exception,” Mrs Lam said.

She added that Hong Kong people’s confidence lies in “one country, two systems” and all the strengths and competitive advantages of the city.

“It does not lie in what individual foreign governments have to say about Hong Kong.”