HK Gov't Consistently Supporting One China Principle, TungChief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Tung Chee Hwa stressed April 17 that the SAR government has consistently supported reunification according to the principle of "One China" and "One Country, Two Systems."Recently, the question of media reports on Taiwan has led to concern among certain quarters of the community about press freedom, Tung said at a media session at the Government House Monday afternoon. In reality, Hong Kong's press freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of publication are protected by the Basic Law, he said, adding that media can continue to act in accordance to the laws of Hong Kong. Ever since the transition, press freedom has been fully protected and respected in Hong Kong, he said. "As Chief Executive, I shall continue to implement the Basic Law which protects the freedom of the press. About Taiwan's independence, the SAR government has consistently supported reunification according to the principle of 'One China' and 'One Country, Two Systems'," Tung said. He said that as a Chinese, it is his strong desire to see the early reunification of the country. He said he believed that this is also the hope of the majority of the Hong Kong people. "What we really need to understand is what effect 'Taiwan's independence' might have on cross-strait relationship, on the mainland and Taiwanese economies, on Sino-U.S. relations and on the stability of Asia-Pacific generally, and if these impacts are adverse, what would the effect be on the investment environment in Hong Kong and also on our economic recovery," Tung noted. "Therefore, in the months and years ahead, we must realize that the issue of 'Taiwan's independence' is closely related to our own self interest in Hong Kong," he said. Tung said that he has every confidence that Hong Kong will continue to successfully implement 'One Country, Two Systems' and that in itself is the best way in contributing towards the reunification of the country. |
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