In announcing the visit, Chief Executive John Lee said Xia will attend a forum hosted by the SAR government on national security on Saturday and look into the latest socioeconomic situation here.
It’s the second time this year that the senior Beijing official will be visiting Hong Kong, having looked at progress in Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone developments in early February.
Speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee expressed gratitude for Xia’s concern and care for the SAR and said local officials will work with his office to make timely announcements about his trip.
“Director Xia’s inspection visit and attendance at the forum is very encouraging to me. I very much look forward to it, and I believe the Hong Kong general public are also looking forward to it,” the CE said.
“The SAR government will fully cooperate and support the trip to ensure that everything goes smoothly.”
Lee also noted that almost five years after the promulgation of the National Security Law, the number of security-related arrests has been on a downward trend.
He noted that so far, a total of 332 arrests have been made, for an average of 66 a year.
That compared with 30,000 arrests that the police make every year.
“When we promulgated the Hong Kong National Security Law, we made it very clear that the law was aimed at only a small group of people who endanger national security,” Lee said. “This figure reinforces that clear message.”
He also said the authorities will conduct more promotion and education work to the public to reinforce the importance of safeguarding national security.
