Third session on &quot;Spirit of the President&apos;s Important Speech&quot; held by Civil Service Bureau
20.7.2022

President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The Civil Service Bureau has been running a series of sessions on "Spirit of the President's Important Speech" so as to enable the participants to obtain a deeper understanding of the spirit of the President's important speech. The third session of the series was held at the Central Government Offices today (July 20). The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, attended as keynote speaker. President Xi raised in his important speech "four musts" for the new administration: we must fully and faithfully implement the principle of "one country, two systems"; we must uphold the Central Government's overall jurisdiction while securing the HKSAR's high degree of autonomy; we must ensure that Hong Kong is administered by patriots; and we must maintain Hong Kong's distinctive status and advantages. President Xi also laid down "four proposals" for the newly inaugurated Government, i.e. further improving its governance, continuing to create strong impetus for growth, earnestly addressing people's concerns and difficulties in daily life, and working together to safeguard harmony and stability. At the session, Mr Lee stressed that President Xi's important speech was an important milestone of high significance, and serves as the blueprint and beacon for the HKSAR Government in the administration of Hong Kong in the coming five years. "President Xi pointed out in his important speech that the principle of 'one country, two systems' has been tested repeatedly in practice and that there is no reason for us to change such a good policy and we must adhere to it in the long run. He also expounded in depth on the important logic and theory underlying the principle of 'one country, two systems' and stressed that the more firmly the 'one country' principle is upheld, the greater the strength of 'two systems' will be for unleashing the development of the Special Administrative Regions," he said. "I hope that the top echelon and civil servants of the HKSAR Government will seriously study and comprehend President Xi's important speech, grasp its core essence and build it into their own work; bear it in mind as the overall direction and blueprint for the administration of Hong Kong in further improving Hong Kong's governance, creating strong impetus for growth, addressing people's concerns and difficulties in daily life, and uniting the society for concerted efforts to build a harmonious, inclusive and diversified community; and respect and safeguard the country's fundamental systems on their own volition." The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, also shared his thoughts and feelings at the session. Several other participants shared their views at the session as well. The session today was attended by about 500 participants, mainly comprising civil servants at the ranks of Directorate Pay Scale Points 1 and 2. The Civil Service Bureau will run further sessions, so as to enable more civil servants to obtain a deeper understanding of the spirit of the President's important speech. Ends/Wednesday, July 20, 2022 Issued at HKT 16:34 NNNN