John Lee says security underpins Hong Kong development
Bastillepost · 3 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will firmly fulfil its constitutional duty to safeguard national security and use high-level security to support Hong Kong’s high-quality development. In a social media post published on the 24th, he said balancing development and security is a long-term task for Hong Kong and other places, and that both must be advanced continuously rather than treated as opposing goals.
Key Points
- Lee said safeguarding national security has no finish line, while economic and social development is also not a one-off or stage-based task.
- He said security is the precondition for development, while development provides the guarantee for security, making the two mutually reinforcing.
- Lee said some people wrongly set development against security, despite Hong Kong’s painful lessons from the 2019 unrest and violence.
- He warned that hostile external forces have never stopped infiltration and sabotage, and that security risks can remain hidden or emerge suddenly.
- Lee said the government will stay vigilant, strengthen the national security line of defence, and help Hong Kong move from stability to prosperity.
Why It Matters
Lee’s remarks set out the administration’s position that national security work will remain embedded in policymaking alongside economic and social development, rather than being treated as a separate agenda. For Hong Kong, that means official messaging is likely to keep linking stability, investment confidence and governance with continued security enforcement and public vigilance.