China Daily:
Could you explain how the NPC made the decision? Does the legislation process take into account the opinions of Hong Kong residents? What are the next procedures for the NPC Standing Committee in amending the Annexes? And, will the opinions of the Hong Kong people be included in this process? Thank you.
Zhang Yong:
Thank you for your questions. The drafting of the NPC decision drew on suggestions and advice from people of various circles. Relevant departments of the central authorities and legal experts established a special work force who made extensive studies and investigations in the drafting of the decision. During the process, they solicited views multiple times from the chief executive of the HKSAR, major government officials, leading members of the Hong Kong legislature, and representatives of various circles in Hong Kong. When the epidemic situation was still very serious, related departments organized webinars with representatives from Beijing, Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen, while officials from relevant departments went to Shenzhen to hold multiple seminars, in order to listen to opinions and suggestions from representatives of various circles. We would like to thank friends from the media in Hong Kong, Macao and the Chinese mainland who extensively covered and initiated lively discussions on this topic. We have been following your reports. Your reports also fully reflected the voices of people from different walks of life. During the fourth session of the 13th NPC several days ago, nearly 3,000 deputies conducted thorough deliberations on the draft version of the decision and proposed many suggestions for its further improvement. The NPC and related departments attached great importance to those suggestions and fully absorbed them after careful research and studies. Next, under the authorization of the NPC, the NPC Standing Committee will strictly follow legal procedures in amending Annex I and Annex II. It will also continue to solicit views from various circles, and increase communication and coordination with relevant parties. I believe this work will begin very soon. Thank you.
