Hong Kong's leader defended China's move to impose sweeping national security laws on the city ahead of a planned protest on Wednesday, as international concern grew over what it would mean for the city's autonomy.
Hong Kong citizens support the legislation, Chief Executive Carrie Lam asserted in a weekly briefing Tuesday, while rejecting criticism from foreign governments. She said that Hong Kong's freedoms would be preserved, calling the city "a very free society."
"There is no need for us to worry," she told reporters.
Lam also said Tuesday that Hong Kong's karaoke parlors, night clubs, bath houses and party rooms, which have been shuttered as part of measures to contain the coronavirus, will be able to reopen after May 28 and that airport transit service will gradually resume from June 1. Her move to ease the restrictions comes as Hong Kong slowly returns to normal after having no new local cases for 11 straight days and as schools are set to resume in phases starting Wednesday.
Lam's remarks come days after Beijing announced it would try and bypass Hong Kong's legislature and implement controversial new national security legislation banning subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign interference in the former British colony.
The move already prompted one of the largest protests in recent months, with riot police firing tear gas at demonstrators in a central shopping area Sunday in scenes reminiscent of last year's unrest. Pro-democracy groups are planning another major rally and general strike for Wednesday against both the new measure and a planned Legislative Council hearing on a separate bill that would criminalize disrespect toward China's national anthem.
China's move has rattled markets, led multiple governments to put out statements of concern and prompted top U.S. officials _ who have seen tensions with China increasingly worsen in recent months amid the coronavirus pandemic _ to openly mull retaliatory action.
Chinese officials say Hong Kong's violent protests over the last year made the new legislation necessary. But human rights groups, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the city's bar association say the new security measures are vague, legally questionable and could endanger its reputation as a global financial hub.
Pro-democracy politicians have called the law an unprecedented assault on the city's unique freedoms under the "one country, two systems" principle by which China promised to govern Hong Kong when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
